Lubdub. Lubdub. Lubdub.
It was as if someone was banging on a drum, right next to his ears. The loud rhythm travelled through his body, he could both feel it and hear it. Why was someone drumming at a time like this? Was there a party? It didn't make sense. But then it hit him. It weren't drums that he heard, it was his own heartbeat.
From that moment on, more sounds penetrated him. Children's laughter, elders' chatter, wind through the leaves. He could feel it too, the warm wind that tickled the skin of his cheek. "Still no reply?" someone asked, and his clouded mind tried to decipher to whom the voice belonged. He knew that person. Was it... Hikaru? Yes, it must have been Hikaru.
A sigh. "No." Another voice spoke only one word, but Shindou didn't need more to know who it belonged to. For some reason, he knew it immediately: Kirino Ranmaru. He shifted a little and tried to open his eyes. A bright light attacked his mind and when he closed his eyes, red and purple specks were floating through his vision. His headache, which he hadn't fully realized before, increased as well. "Shindou?" Kirino asked again. He opened his eyes again, though more careful than before, and saw that the former merman was blocking the sunlight from his eyes.
More heads appeared, and hands reached out for his shoulders to help him up. He was still a bit dizzy and leaned on the nearest person as he sat on the ground and tried to make the world around him stop spinning. When he succeeded, he focussed on the faces of the others, who had joined him in a circle on the ground. Four faces stared at him, checking if he was really alright. Kirino, Hikaru, Kariya, Shinsuke... Wait!
"Where's Tenma?" he croaked.
"We don't know," Shinsuke said in a sad tone. "They knocked you unconscious and brought us here. Kirino and Kariya were brought in a bit later. But Tenma... I don't know why, but they brought him to that hut over there."
He pointed and Shindou followed his extended finger until his gaze fell upon a large round hut, made of wood. It was quite small, actually, but it was big when compared to the other huts he saw. It was only now that he realized that they were trapped in a wooden cage, in the middle of a large clearing. The wooden poles were thick and strong: impossible to break without an axe or a big sword. There was a door in the cage, but it was closed with lots of leathery ropes, which were also tarred, from the looks of it. Again, it was impossible to break those, unless they had some kind of weapon. Or if they set them on fire, but how on earth could they make fire?
The throbbing in his head got worse as he thought about it, so instead he looked around the clearing. He saw a group of small kids, running around and playing tag. They must be around the age of seven. A little red-haired girl was now chasing after a boy with raven-black hair. They seemed to be of the same age and wore the same simple clothes, but there was something different about them.
Despite the boy's speed, the girl slowly but surely got closer to him. She extended her arm and the distance between her fingertips and his back decreased by the second. A foot, half a foot, three inches, two, one and then... Suddenly, the boy disappeared before their eyes and consequently, the girl lost her balance and fell to the ground, rolling over a couple of times before she came to a halt. Shindou gasped.
A second later, the black-haired boy reappeared, with tears in his eyes from laughter. "I can't believe you fell for that," he neighed. "Literally!"
"Unfair!" the girl yelled in reply. She was the only one of the children that wasn't amused. "You can't change to another form in the middle of a game! That's cheating!" Without warning, she chased after him, but he must have seen it coming, because he immediately dashed away. He threw a few teasing remarks at her, which really fueled her anger. And then... Well, her hair caught fire.
Shindou inhaled sharply when the wavy red locks suddenly changed into flames, which followed her like a waving flag. Strangely enough, her clothes didn't catch fire and the girl didn't seem to have any pain. It was like... like it was normal for her to have burning hair. But how could flames on your head possibly be normal?
Her anger gave her strength and she caught up with the black-haired boy again. But he pulled the same trick as before and suddenly disappeared again. Shindou rubbed his eyes to see if he was dreaming. Boys that disappear into thin air? Girls with flaming hair? Surely, his mind must be playing tricks on him. The girl tripped again and stopped when her back collided with the cage. She let out a pained yelp at the contact and Hikaru, who was the closest to her, hurried to her side.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he extended his hand through the poles of the cage. The fire-haired girl's pupils dilated in fear and she slapped the hand away, leaving a burn on Hikaru's arm. At the same time, she let out a shriek and crawled backwards, away from the cage and from them.
"Don't touch me!" she half cried, half yelled. The other children quickly got to her side and helped her up while sending accusing glances at the humans in the cage.
"Back off, humans!" one of them hissed and Hikaru obeyed, just to not upset the children any more. Their words surprised Shindou a bit, since the children used 'humans' as if it was an insult. Something clicked in his mind and he realized that if these children talked like that, they had to be something else. Maybe his mind wasn't playing tricks on him when he saw the boy disappear and the girl with the fiery hair.
In the meantime, the children were still throwing insults at them. "I think that's enough," a calm voice said, but it was enough to shut the children up immediately. All eyes turned towards a tanned boy with dark-blue hair. He had two bangs, which had a red and white stripe on the tips. He couldn't be older than Shindou, though the latter sensed a great wisdom from this stranger. His eyes seemed considerate and caring, but also strict.
The children pulled back and went back to their game, every now and then shooting a glance at those in the cage. The stranger disappeared and before any of them could respond, he reappeared, but now inside the cage. Without a word, he headed towards Shindou. Shindou, who was kind of freaked out from all these impossible things that happened all around him, backed away. The stranger knelt down beside him and smiled kindly.
"Don't worry," he said as he took out a bowl with a green paste in it. He dipped his finger in it and smeared a little on Shindou's bruised neck. "This may sting a little bit, but it warms the muscles so you can move without pain."
"Thank you," Shindou said. He didn't understand why they were trapped here or what was happening, but he thought he could at least thank the boy for helping him.
"Who are you?" Kirino joined the conversation.
"I'm Shuu, representative of half of this village."
"Representative? But you're so young!" Hikaru exclaimed.
Much to their surprise, Shuu let out a cheerful, youthful laugh. "You're right about that."
"Why have you trapped us here?" Shindou asked. He tried to pick his words carefully, but he couldn't help but sound a little accusingly. Shuu's face darkened a bit.
"We have taken you into custody. Yesterday evening, there was an injustice done to one of our people by humans. You are our main suspects." He said it casually, like he was talking about the weather instead of a crime. "But since you haven't been found guilty yet, I see no need not to treat your wounds, that's why I'm here."
"You speak about humans as if you're not one yourself," Kariya remarked warily. His eyes had been on Shuu ever since the other boy came into the cage.
"That's right," Shuu shrugged, turning to him. "I'm not a human, I'm what you would call a shadow."
"Shadow?" Shinsuke inquired, unconsciously glancing at the darkness at Shuu's feet.
"Yes."
"Is every one of you a shadow?" Shindou asked. His neck burned a little, but not so much that it hurt. The paste did a good job on warming his stiff muscles. Shuu made a face as if he didn't want to share information with strangers.
"I'm going now," he said as he abruptly turned around.
"Wait!" Shindou grabbed Shuu's arm. One second his hand laid on the boy's arm, then he went through it. Shuu was gone, but reappeared outside the cage a moment later. The kind look had disappeared from his eyes, and he glanced warily and sternly at Shindou. The latter gulped, but then decided that he needed to ask his question.
"How's Tenma?"
"Tenma?" Shuu followed Shindou's quick glance in the direction of the main tent and his eyes softened a little. A faint smile was on his lips when he answered: "Your friend is alright, his fever has dropped and he isn't as weak as before."
Then he left and the people in the cage sat back down, waiting for what would happen next.
Late in the afternoon, when the sun barely over the treetops, a crowd gathered around the cage. Feeling that something important was about to happen, the people inside shifted their attention to what happened outside. A boy their age, with bright orange hair, walked over to them along with Shuu. Where Shuu was discreet and held a neutral expression, this boy openly glared at the prisoners.
Kirino shifted when he recognised the boy: it was the same boy who had captured Kariya and him! According to the reactions of Shinsuke and Hikaru, the boy was familiar to them as well. Only Shindou didn't show any sighns of recognision, but maybe he was just a good actor. The boy walked up to them and gave them a loathing look before he spoke up.
"I am Amemiya Taiyou, representative of half of this village," he said in a clear voice. It seemed that he and Shuu were some sort of leaders of these people. "I give you one chance to confess your crimes. You'll be treated merciful if you do that." He said that last thing reluctantly, like he didn't mean it wholeheartedly.
Shindou cleared his throat. They unconsciously decided that he would act as the spokesman. "Excuse me, but... What crimes are we accused of?"
Taiyou's eyes shot fire, literally. Shindou's eyes widened when he saw flames flashing in the other's pupils. Taiyou's hair started to flare and crackle and his orange locks turned into flames, just like the girl's hair this afternoon. In general, Taiyou looked like he could burn them alive. Contrary to his looks, his voice was soft and low when he spoke again. "You dare to act like you don't know. Did she mean so little to you?"
Shindou decided to keep quiet, mostly because he really had no idea what they had done wrong. Taiyou took a deep breath and his flaming hair went back to its original state. The crowd parted for two men, both with dark hair and a tanned skin, who carried a stretcher made of plaited leaves. On the stretcher was a pale blue-haired girl in simple clothes. Her hands were folded on her stomach and she looked like she was dead. However, Kirino didn't see a wound and the girl looked too young to die of age.
"Is she alright?" The question left his mouth before he realized it. Taiyou's glare shifted towards him and the representative opened his mouth for a snappy reply, but he stopped when Shuu placed his hand on his shoulder.
"As you can see, she isn't. We have tried to heal her, but we can't cure her if we don't know what causes her all this pain. Please, just tell us what you did to her," Shuu said. His voice wasn't accusing, but it showed the concern for his subject. Kirino recognized it.
"Let her rest, don't touch her more than necessary and make sure she eats and drinks enough. Put her in her most natural circumstances."
Five seconds of silence, then the hell broke loose. Shindou, Hikaru, Kariya and Shinsuke were staring at him with open mouth. Taiyou pretty much exploded - or at least, his hair went back to its fiery state - since he thought that this counted as a confession for the crime. Shuu narrowed his eyes and nodded once, a gesture that Kirino repeated.
Taiyou shot Kirino a murdering glance, but fortunately, the former merman refused to die on the spot. Shuu interfered before there would be any casualties. "Thank you," he simply said.
"Thank you?!" Taiyou shrieked. "They nearly killed her and all you say is 'thank you'?!" He seemed like he wanted to lunge himself at the other boy, but two men stepped forward and held him back. Both men were older than him, thus hadn't much trouble in holding him. The leftmost man had platina blond hair that was tied in a pony tail and he was slightly tanned. The other man had red hair, which had the shape of a flame on top of his head, and a lighter skintone.
Shuu didn't move a muscle during all this."Taiyou," he said calmly. "There isn't any proof that they are the perpetrators. I know that Aoi is a great friend of yours ever since you could walk, but if your grief leaves you incapable of fulfilling your tasks, then please leave." He gave the other a few seconds to let the words sink in before he continued. "Or you can calm down and listen to what they have to say."
Taiyou seemed to calm down and the men let go of him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I crossed a line. Please continue."
Shuu nodded and turned back to the prisoners, especially Kirino. "How do you know this?" he asked, not unfriendly. "Are you the ones who did this to her?"
"No," Kirino said calmly. He took his time to answer, because he knew that a quick reply only made the story sound more unreal. "I didn't do that to her, nor did any of my companions. But I know who did it, because he did the same thing to me."
Kariya nodded, deep in thought, and Shindou gasped when he realized what Kirino meant. Now that it was pointed out, he scolded himself for not realizing it sooner. "The Leader," he breathed, and Kirino nodded in confirmation.
"Explain," Taiyou's stiff voice pulled them back to reality, and they did as told. They explained what had happened to them so far, their mission, Kirino's capture, the anxious days when Kirino was imprisoned, how they deserted the Leader's army, Kirino's recovery, Akane's fate and Tsurugi's attack last night.
It was already dark when they finished their stories and looked at the two representatives with anticipation. Said boys leaned closer to one another and negotiated by whisper. Kirino felt anxious for their answer, though he knew it should be okay because they told nothing but the truth. After a few minutes, Shuu and Taiyou seemed to have come to an understanding. They looked each other in the eye and nodded once, before Taiyou walked up to the door of the cage.
A flick of his wrist, and his hand was surrounded by a halo of fire. He slowly brought it to the tarred rope that kept the door shut and set it on fire. Less than a minute later, the rope was burned to ashes and Taiyou entered the cage. He stood in front of them with a blank expression, and for a moment, Kirino felt his intestines twist. It didn't work out, he thought. They didn't believe us and they still think we're the perpetrators.
That's why he was very surprised when Taiyou suddenly bowed before them. "I think I owe you an apology," he said.
Me: I'm sorry if this is very confusing, everyone, but I'll explain things in the next chapter, okay? And with 'things', I mean EVERYTHING! Also, if you have trouble imagining the flame-hair thing, look on YouTube for 'Disney's Hades'. I actually got the idea while watching Hercules :3 Though this was less drama (so no volcano erupting every time someone gets angry. Just normal hair turns to flames)...
I really hope this is not too confusing and/or random for you, because I realize it's quite an odd thing to suddenly bring up. But as I said before, EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I'll write my main plot idea then, so please stick with me until then *bows*
Is it too much to ask for a review? *puppy eyes*
PS. sorry for OOC-ness on Taiyou's side. I needed him to be angry and 'fiery'. :3 I'll try to stick more to his character next time.