Disclaimer: See previous chapter, under the heading "Disclaimer"
A/N
Not sure how much time I can devote to writing right now since I am working and training a lot, but I still intend to increase my update frequency. In other news, I'd like to wish a happy (belated) Canada Day to all you Canadian (et canadien/canadienne) readers. And if you're reading this and you're not Canadian... it's okay, nobody's perfect ;P
Chapter 16
Battle at the Crossings
"You sure you're ready?" I asked Neph as we inched closer and clasped hands. She looked as thrilled and nervous as I felt; We had both been looking forward to this moment for some time now.
"Yep. Let's do this," she replied quietly as she leaned in, looking right into my eyes. I took a deep breath, centering myself and preparing for what was about to happen. Then, together, we began.
"One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war!" we proclaimed in unison, passing our thumbs over each other with each word. "Five, six, seven, eight, you are stupid, I am great! Bow, kiss, stand back... ATTACK!" On the last word, our thumbs shot forward, crashing together as the epic struggle for dominance, glory and bragging rights began.
"Seriously, again?" Ilyana groaned, looking up from the pot of soup she was 'sampling'. "You've been at it all day!"
"Yeah, and we're still tied! Twenty-three to twenty-three!" I responded as I forced Neph's thumb to my left.
"Nuh-uh, I have twenty-four wins. One more and I'm the champion," Neph corrected me.
"What? No way!" I exclaimed. Neph nodded, then disengaged and brought her thumb around to the other side of mine, nearly pinning it. Oh man, this is bad.
"You guys are so juvenile," Ilyana grumbled.
"You're just jealous that you're not playing. Now shush, I'm trying to concentrate!" Whatever you do, Adam, don't lose!
"Hmm, not sure jealous is the word I would use..." Ilyana muttered as she went back to stirring the soup and occasionally 'checking the temperature' with a large spoon.
Five days after arriving in Begnion, the Apostle finally got around to hiring the mercenaries. We were all tired of being cooped up in the cathedral with the snooty seneschal and stuffy, condescending nobles, so Ike was more than happy to have an excuse to leave. As jobs went, it was pretty straightforward; Stop the caravan on the old highway to the north of Sienne, seize the cargo by any means necessary, and bring it back to Sienne, no questions asked. Quick and easy, right?
Wrong. It was a miserable two-day journey through non-stop rain just to reach the ambush site, a wooded section of the road between two river crossings. Once there, Ike deployed the mercenaries in several small camps along the heavily wooded road so that, if it came to blows, we could attack the entire convoy all at once. I was stationed furthest up the road with Ilyana, Rolf, Al and Neph. Our camp was concealed in a small wooded depression beside the road, and there was a slight rise nearby that gave a good view of the northern bridge. Our job was to send messengers to alert the other mercenaries once the caravan showed up, and as soon as Ike's group, the southernmost camp, stopped the convoy, we were to close in behind them and prevent any escape.
It was a good plan, designed to surprise and rapidly neutralize any resistance. There was just one problem; The caravan never showed up. Not one wagon. Ike assumed they were behind schedule due to the weather, so on his orders we waited. And waited. And then, for good measure, we waited some more. We were bored out of our minds by the end of the first day, and by now we were halfway through our second day of waiting. We'd tried other things to keep ourselves entertained, but 'I spy' got old pretty quick when the only options were something green (trees), something muddy (the ground), something wet and grouchy (us), and something that's STILL EMPTY (the road). Hence, the thumb wars. It took a few minutes to explain the rules, and a few more to convince the others at my lookout post that it was a good idea, but we managed to get a little tournament going. Al, Rolf and Ilyana were all eliminated after several rounds, leaving only Neph and I in the running for the title of 'Glorious Thumb Champion'.
Neph chose that moment to push my thumb back, extending her own far over my hand. I seized the opportunity and lashed out with my index finger for a sneak attack, pinning Neph's thumb against my hand.
"Pinned!" I crowed triumphantly before starting the countdown. "One! Two! Thr-"
Neph unexpectedly launched her own sneak attack, catching me off-guard and giving her time to extract her thumb from my grip. Before I could react, she pushed my index finger over my thumb and held it there, effectively pinning me with my own finger.
"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! I win!" she shouted, throwing her arms up victoriously as soon as the requisite five seconds had passed.
Despite the humiliation of pinning myself, I couldn't help but laugh as I pulled my hand away and admitted defeat. "Alright, you win. As your prize, O Champion, you get dibs on the first bowl of soup." Neph grinned and led the way over to where Ilyana sat at the campfire.
"Umm, yes, well about the soup..." Ilyana said when we got closer. "It looks like you didn't make enough of it."
"What are you talking about? I made more than enough for five of us!" I retorted. I'm no Oscar, but I still know how to cook; Earlier that day I'd sent Neph to a nearby homestead to ask for a bit of food so that we had something more to eat than just plain bread. Apparently, the house's lone occupant, a woman Neph described as "some crazy mage lady", took a liking to our quiet, blue-haired friend and set about trying to make her less peasant-like. It seems she gave Neph some makeup and tried to teach her how to change her rustic accent to the refined, aristocratic one prevalent in the upper classes of Begnion. Neph claimed she would have none of that, but then she did keep the makeup in her pack, and I could swear I heard her trying to alter her voice while she was on lookout duty. Regardless, Neph returned to our camp with a sack of potatoes, a few carrots and some salted pork, which I promptly washed, cut and used to make a sizeable pot of soup. A pot that now sat empty in front of a very satisfied-looking Ilyana.
"Perhaps I was a little... overzealous in my taste-testing," she admitted.
"Ya think?" I grumbled as I rummaged around in my pack for some bread. Yep, stale and dry, with no soup to dip it in. Joy. My attention was drawn to the right by a sudden rustle of bushes accompanied by hurried footsteps as Al and Rolf burst into the campsite.
"Guys, there's wagons on the road!" Rolf exclaimed, an excited gleam in his eyes.
"How many wagons?" I asked, the midday meal instantly forgotten.
"Only five. They're covered, but from the way the horses are straining it looks like they're carrying some heavy cargo. I count ten people on the wagons, with another four horsemen for escort, but there could be more," Rolf reported. The boy may be young, but he was observant. I nodded approvingly. The others sat there for a second in surprised silence, so I finally spoke up again.
"Alright, we all know the plan. Al, go let the other groups know they're here." I ordered. Al nodded and ran off, and I turned to the others. "Let's get into position for the ambush, and stay quiet; We don't show ourselves until Ike gives the signal," I wasn't sure exactly why I was the one taking charge, but everyone else seemed to agree so I just went with it. I led the way to up out of the gully we'd camped in and dropped to a crouch behind some bushes once we came in view of the road. Rolf carefully climbed a nearby tree and set himself up in a good position to rain arrows on the caravan. The lead wagon was just passing by perhaps twenty meters from the treeline when Al crept back to us.
"Ike says Oscar's group will handle the envelopment since the convoy's smaller than expected. We're to stay on reserve and keep travelers away while they seize the cargo," she whispered. I sighed and signaled for Rolf to climb back down. After all that waiting, we were relegated to lookouts. It was pretty frustrating.
With no other option, we sat back and watched the rest of the mercenaries execute the plan. Once the lead wagon reached his position, Ike led Brom, Gatrie and Soren out into the road and stopped the convoy. They were out of earshot and I couldn't hear the conversation, but the men guarding the convoy obviously objected violently to the seizure of their goods. On a shout from the caravan leader, the horsemen charged Ike and armed men began pouring out of the covered wagons. The other groups of mercenaries launched their attack, Zihark and Titania's groups engaging the men from the wagons while Oscar led Kieran and Astrid around behind the enemy to cut off any escape.
The mercenaries were, as usual, making a bloody mess of anyone who came within reach, but more men just kept charging out of the wagons. There must have been at least a half-dozen from each wagon, and the mercenaries soon found themselves heavily engaged. I was just about to suggest we join the battle, but when I turned to address Ilyana, I saw something much worse than a few extra enemies.
"More wagons coming!" I yelled. The others spun around to see two more covered wagons crossing the bridge. Their drivers saw the battle and pulled their horses to a halt, stopping side by side in the middle of the road.
"They've stopped. Probably just farmers or merchants," Ilyana said hopefully, but even as she finished speaking a squad of mages climbed out of the wagons and began pouring fireballs and lightning bolts into the battle.
"Definitely not farmers!" Al replied, biting her nails nervously as the mercenaries in the road dove behind cover. Astrid and Boyd started returning fire, but the enemy mages were using their wagons for cover.
"Shit, they'll be slaughtered if it keeps up like this!" I exclaimed, desperately searching for a way to help. There was at least forty meters of open ground between us and the mages. If we made a run for them, we'd be picked off before we made it halfway.
"We gotta help'em!" Neph said urgently, and made a move for the road. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"We will, but not by getting ourselves killed! Rolf, Ilyana, I need you to shoot at those wagons!" I said urgently, a rudimentary plan forming in my mind.
"We won't hit anything, they've got too much cover!" Rolf cried, an edge of panic in his voice. One of the wagons in the main battle was on fire now, and I could see Zihark, Mia and Mordecai scrambling madly to get away from the flames.
"Yeah, but you might keep their heads down long enough for Neph, Al and I to get in close," I snapped. Nothing fancy, just using suppression fire to cover our advance and hoping we don't get shot dead, but it was the only plan I had. "Okay?" The others nodded. "Get ready, we go on my mark." I ordered, a sickening feeling of dread settling in my gut. I'm not supposed to be in command of anything; I could be sending us all to our deaths. I forced that thought away, and focused on the mages ahead. They launched a volley, then ducked back in cover to cast again. "NOW" I screamed, throwing myself out of the safety of the forest and bolting across the open ground.
For an instant there was no sound but the thud of my feet and my own heartbeat thundering in my ears as I sprinted away from the treeline. Then a fireball exploded not four feet to my right, showering me with clods of dirt and making me swerve instinctively. Arrows from Rolf started whistling by and spells from Ilyana crackled loudly through the air as terrified battle cries from Al and Neph broke out just behind me. More fireballs and thunderbolts came out at us, and blades of wind smashed into my shield. I screamed in pure terror and anger but I did not slow, knowing that if I paused, if I relented or turned back, I would die.
One second became an hour became an eye-blink as explosions and cracks of thunder split the air around me, and then suddenly I was through the gauntlet of fire and coming around the back of the first wagon. My sword was in my hand though I didn't remember drawing it, and an enemy mage leaned out from behind the wagon, tongues of fire dancing around his hands. His eyes went wide with surprise and terror, and my swing tore through the spellbook he raised in defense before taking his throat and sending him flopping to the dirt road, gurgling out his last breaths.
Another pair of mages were behind the wagon, midway through casting spells of their own as I stepped over their dying friend. One threw his tome at my head and pulled a dagger while the other retreated a few steps, chanting furiously. I caught the mage's dagger arm just as his friend finished casting, and yanked him between me and the forthcoming spell. Blades of wind tore into the mage's back and he let out an agonized scream before sagging grotesquely in my grip, nearly cut in half by the power of his friend's magic.
The other mage was still staring in wide-eyed shock at his dead companion when the tip of a spear tore through the front of his chest. He glanced down at the wound, uttered a quiet "Oh," and fell dead. Al stood behind him, shaking from adrenaline or terror or both as she struggled to tear her spear free. I brushed by her and ran to the other wagon, where two more mages lay dead at Neph's feet. As I watched a fireball exploded against her shield, and for a moment she was wreathed in fire.
The mage who'd hit her didn't even have time to register his success as an arrow took him in the gut and a lightning bolt blasted him right in the face. His compatriots, seeing Rolf and Ilyana advancing to support us, decided this was not a fight they wanted and ran for their wagon, hiding in the covered back.
"You okay?" I asked as I ran to Neph's side. Her hair was singed and her shield was blackened, but she was still standing and I could see no burns.
"I'm fine, th' shield took th' worst," she said. "Where'd they go?"
"They're holed up in the back of that wagon." Ilyana, Rolf and Al had rejoined us by now, so I motioned for them to close in on the wagon with me. As we drew closer, one man climbed out onto the driver's seat and made a grab for the reins. Rolf put two arrows in his chest, and he collapsed. The team of horses at the front of the wagon, already terrified by the battle, were whinnying and stamping their hooves restlessly.
"Surround the wagon," I said when we got close. "But don't go in yet; I'd rather not eat a fireball at point-blank range."
With Neph's help I cut the horses' harnesses, letting them run free and giving the mages no way to escape. Neph and Al then moved to the right side of the wagon, while Ilyana and I took the left and Rolf covered the front. No one went around the back; It was the only opening in the covered cargo area, and no doubt the men inside had spells ready for the first person who showed their face.
"Ilyana, do you have any spells powerful enough to take them out through the cloth?" I asked. Going in there could get very, very messy.
"Thoron might do the trick," she mused. "Should I do it?"
"Not yet. Let's try talking this out first," I said. I moved close to the canvas covering and called in to them. "We've got you surrounded, there's no way out! Throw your weapons on the ground and come out with your hands up!"
No answer. I could hear thuds and cracks coming from inside the wagon; They were up to something in there. I tried again. "This is your last chance! Surrender!" This time there was an answer; A concentrated blast of wind magic tore through the canvas and smashed into the ground, missing my head by inches. "SHIT! FUCK!" I screamed, jumping back from the wagon. Those bastards, I was trying to save their miserable, ungrateful hides. "Ilyana, light those fuckers up!" I yelled.
""Everybody stand back and cover your eyes!" she warned as she finished her spell. I complied, and an instant later the air was split by an ear-shattering boom and a flash so bright I could see it even though my eyes were closed and covered by my arm.
A wave of heat and charged air rolled out from the wagon as I turned back. The wagon itself was a mess, the covering tattered and burning in places while the wooden planks on the side were shattered completely. I stared in shock at my friend. I'd never seen her use something THAT powerful before. I collected myself, and walked carefully towards the wagon to check for survivors. Neph must have had the same idea, and she joined me at the rear of the wagon.
Weapons ready, we climbed inside. Three unmoving bodies lay around a large crate, burnt spellbooks still clutched in their stiff, blackened hands as a foul smoke rose off the corpses. I covered my nose with my sleeve to block out the stench of burnt flesh and went to inspect the crate. Several latches had been undone, but one still held it closed.
"Looks like they were tryin' ta open it. Wonder what's inside?" Neph said as she sized up the crate. It was over a meter long, and wide enough for at least two humans to fit side-by-side.
"That's the Apostle's problem, not ours," I said as I turned to leave. "Escort's dead, cargo's secured. Let's report back to-" I was interrupted by a raspy, choking intake of breath behind me. I looked back to see one of the mages, his face half burnt away but wearing a disgusting grin nonetheless, letting out a wheezing chuckle and clawing his way closer to the crate.
"Go... to... hell!" he rasped, blood leaking from his mouth with each word. My eyes went wide as I realized what he was trying to do, but before I could stop him he sneered and flipped the last latch on the crate open.
I lunged for the crate, but it fell open and something huge and furry shot out and slammed right into me, throwing me out onto the road and landing atop my chest. A distorted, unearthly roar came from the thing's drooling maw, and it's claws dug painfully into my armor. Neph yelped in surprise and stabbed at the creature, driving it off me and giving me a moment to roll away. She chased after it, stabbing the thing in the side with her spear, but it didn't seem to care. The monstrosity, which I could see now looked like it might once have been a tiger laguz, twisted towards the spear and grabbed the shaft, wrenching the weapon around violently and flinging Neph across the road like a rag doll. The weapon snapped, tearing a great wound in the thing's side, but it didn't even slow down as it pounced on Nephenee and attacked her with a vicious fury.
Rolf had three arrows in the beast's side and Ilyana was casting frantically, but the thing just kept going, snarling and spitting and screaming as Neph struggled to keep its jaws at bay with her shield. I couldn't tell if she was screaming in pain or in fear, and I didn't care as I ran flat-out towards the fight. The only thing that mattered was stopping that thing from tearing my friend apart, but I was too slow. It clamped down on her shield and tore it from her grip, then reared its head back to finish her off as I watched in helpless horror.
Just when its head was about to snap down and crush the life from her, a crossbow bolt shot in and took the thing in the mouth. It looked up in the direction of the shot, roaring in pure, inhuman rage as a second bolt slammed into its throat. Its previous victim forgotten, the feral tiger bounded off towards this new assailant, spraying blood with each muted roar. In its path stood a lone, hooded figure, waiting patiently as six hundred pounds of deranged tiger tore straight for him. With an almost leisurely calm he put his crossbow on his back and shifted his trailing foot back, aligning himself with the beast but otherwise remaining perfectly still. At the last second a blade flashed out of his sleeve and he spun to the side as the beast lunged, driving his knife deep into the tiger's chest and sending it crashing to the ground. Before it could recover, the hooded figure produced a knife in his other hand and stabbed the thing right at the base of its skull. At last, the beast lay still.
Neph was still on the ground, alive but very shaken, and I bolted over to check on her. The stranger got there first and took her hand, helping her to her feet. She stammered incoherently, and the stranger smiled graciously.
"That was a close call. Are you all right?" he asked as he inspected her.
"I-I'm okay, just a coupl'a scratches," Neph mumbled as she shied away from the stranger's gaze. He noticed her discomfort and took a step back.
"I apologize if I have frightened you, I did not mean to invade your privacy, merely to make sure you were alright. Few have escaped a Feral attack unscathed, let alone alive," he explained. He pulled back his hood, and I had to do a double-take. He was a laguz! There were two black ears sticking out of the shock of black hair on his head, unmistakably laguz, and yet he fought with beorc weapons and spoke with the refined accent of Begnion nobility. "But where are my manners, I have not introduced myself! Kezhda, at your service my lady."
"Umm, I'm Nephenee..." Neph said.
"Nephenee," Kezhda repeated, bending to kiss her hand. "A beautiful name for a beautiful young lady." Neph's face turned bright red, but she smiled despite her discomfort. I just shook my head in disgust. Ugh, what a bunch of corny, sappy crap! As if having Boyd and Gatrie around isn't bad enough!
"You sure you're okay?" I asked as I reach the pair, passing a vulnerary to Neph. She nodded and applied some of the salve to a cut on her arm. Satisfied that she was not badly hurt, I turned my attention to this mysterious new arrival. "Thanks for the help. We're very lucky that someone as skilled as you just happened to be around," I added gruffly, not bothering to hide the suspicion in my voice. That was almost too convenient, there's gotta be something else going on here...
"Very fortunate indeed. I take this route to Sienne because it is usually very quiet. Not this time, I guess," he explained lightly. "Might I ask what you were doing attacking this convoy?" His gaze strayed tellingly to the crates in the back of the intact wagon.
"This caravan and its cargo have been seized in the name of the Apostle Sanaki, and is to be delivered to her Holy Guard in Sienne," I declared, watching Kezhda's reaction carefully. "Unless you have a problem with that..."
"Adam!" Neph said sharply, not liking my tone at all.
"Friendly bugger, aren't you?" Kezhda replied, raising one eyebrow. Still, he couldn't hide the flash of disappointment that crossed his face at the mention of the Apostle. "I was just curious."
"Of course," I agreed, all ice. Whoever he was, he clearly had an interest in the cargo, and he was no friend to the Apostle. I noticed Neph was looking at me reproachfully, so I extended my hand and tried to be a little more gracious. "Well, thanks again for saving Neph. Perhaps we could buy you a drink when we get back to Sienne?" See if a little alcohol makes him more talkative...
"You are most welcome, but I fear I must decline. I have pressing business I must attend to," Kezhda stated, being deliberately and frustratingly vague. "Farewell. It was a pleasure meeting you, my dear," he said to Neph, before pulling up his hood and walking off along the road.
"That guy was awesome," Rolf mumbled, starring in awe at the Feral tiger Kezhda had killed. Al nodded her agreement.
"He's up to something. I don't trust him," I replied.
"He was very nice," Neph retorted, a slight smile on her face as she watched Kezhda leave.
I cringed instinctively at her tone, a pang of -What the hell? Is that... jealousy!? I thought, dumbfounded by that particular emotion. I'm not jealous, am I? Jeez Adam, Neph is your friend! Think platonic thoughts! Burying that wierd and disturbing train of thought deep in the recesses of my mind, I forced myself to attend to the current situation.
"Well, we can stand around staring like a bunch of fangirls, or we can start getting these wagons ready to go," I snapped gruffly. "And somebody go tell the others not to open any of these crates!" Al, our fastest runner, went off to warn Ike and the others while the rest of us made sure the crates in the intact wagon were as secure as possible. For some reason, I couldn't get rid of those nagging suspicions about Kezhda. Who the hell is this guy?
A few days later, I found myself back in the Mainal Cathedral, heading anxiously for the room Ike used as an office of sorts for the mercenaries. Almost as soon as we'd arrived I had been pulled aside by Titania and told that Ike wanted to speak with me immediately. I was no fool, I knew exactly what he needed to talk with me about; I'd acted without orders in that battle, charging out foolishly and putting four other people in harm's way, and now it was time to face the consequences of those actions. I gulped as the door opened and a captain of the cathedral's guards emerged, his face unreadable as he brushed by me. I took a deep breath and stepped inside the room.
Inside, Ike stood facing away from the door, looking out the window thoughtfully with one hand propped on a desk littered with reports. I stopped in front of the desk, glancing at the reports as I waited for Ike to speak. It looked like security reports and crude maps of the cathedral, mostly of the west wing. I ignored that; The only people I cared about were all housed in the east wing. Ike still hadn't spoken, so I broke the silence.
"Reporting as ordered, Commander," I said stiffly, bracing myself for the reprimand of a lifetime.
"Good. I assume you know why you're here," Ike said, turning to face me. Well, at least he didn't look angry, but that didn't mean I was off the hook.
"I think so, Sir, and I've done some thinking and I know it was stupid and I shouldn't have-" I blurted, saying way more than I'd intended but driven by a need to explain why I did what I did. Ike raised a hand to silence me. "Sorry, sir."
"Don't apologize. We were in a tough spot, and you guys dealt with the threat and allowed us to finish the fight," he said, breaking a smile. "I'm told it was you who took command of the reserve group, am I right?"
"Y-yes sir, it was me," I stammered, totally thrown by his tone. And here I thought I was in deep shit... Ike nodded and considered me thoughtfully before continuing.
"It was damn good work. You proved you've got good instincts, that you can think on your feet and adapt to a changing tactical situation, and I need people like that." I had to consciously keep my jaw from dropping.
"I-I just did what I had to, sir."
"Well, I think it's time I started to make use of you." Ike took a seat behind the desk and gestured for me to sit across from him. He pushed a pile of parchment over to me. "There was an incident at the cathedral while we were away. Read it." I glanced at the report. Tellian script was a little different from English letters, but I could read enough to get the general idea.
"Breach in security... West wing, fourth floor, three dead," I mumbled as I scanned the document. I consulted the rough map. "That's one of the innermost rooms! It can't be seen from the street." Ike nodded gravely. I continued. "Victims; Reginald Cutweed of the merchant's guild, one guard and..." I had to do a double-take. "Lord Clais? A visiting noble was killed?!"
"Keep reading, it gets worse," Ike prompted me.
"Numerous documents stolen from Clais' study... All victims killed from behind... Single wound to the neck... No trace of the assassin or assassins, no sign of how they infiltrated the Cathedral." I paused for a minute as that all sank in. "Sir, I wouldn't know the first thing about hunting assassins."
"That's fine, you don't need to. The Holy Guard can handle that. I'm more worried about the Princess. That noble was one who seemed inclined to support us, and while Elincia is in the east wing, I'm not sure I can depend on the guards here if Daein makes an attempt on her life."
"What do you need me to do?" I asked, although I had a vague idea of what he was getting at.
"You will be staying here, in Sienne. I'm assigning you as Elincia's bodyguard." Oh God, this not a good idea...
"All due respect, sir, but wouldn't it be better to assign someone more skilled than me? I mean, I appreciate your confidence but wouldn't Oscar or Titania or Kieran be a better choice?"
"I can't spare Oscar or Titania, Kieran and Mia are both insane, Volke's too expensive, and I don't need to tell you why Boyd or Gatrie would be a terrible choice. You're loyal, competent, and as I've said, you've got good instincts. The palace guard will still be there, and you can bring one other person of your choice. I just need people I can trust to be with her at all times, in case something goes wrong. You up for the job?" he asked, extending his hand.
This was big. Ike was putting a lot of faith in me, but when he explained it like that it did seem like a good idea. I took a deep breath, and shook the offered hand. "I'll do it."
Author's Note
That's right, we're splitting off from the main storyline here. Adam is no longer with the Greil Mercenaries, and gets to stay in nice, comfortable and (mostly) safe Sienne while the others are out doing all that glorious shit in the desert and taking on Duke Oliver. Oh, the surprises I have in store for you guys... Muahahahahaha! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.
Anyway, no review responses this time, so I guess I'll bore anyone who's stuck with the A/N this long with details about life. I recently passed yet another martial arts test (that's four so far woot) and now I get to start some of the advanced stuff. This chapter was actually delayed because I was spending a lot of time training for said test, but it was totally worth it. Oh yeah , and I might be going to Japan in a few years to train there... Oh that would be so cool, I can barely contain my excitement! Anyway, enough A/N. Seeya next time!