The month seemed to drag on for Kish. The tasks Satsuki had set out were exhausting. It seemed as soon as he was able to do something Satsuki upped the load. It was nearly unbearable. It was only nearly unbearable in the sense that the only thing that kept him going was the thought, "You'll be out of here soon. Just press on. He can't break you." Well, there was that and the fact that by the end of the month he could visibly see the change in his strength. He wasn't bad looking before, he certainly wasn't pudgy, but if he compared himself then and now he viewed himself as hideous. The muscles that had developed weren't overly large. In fact, they were just large enough to be perfectly attractive. It was enough to get Miwa back on his good side, well the gun show, and a promise to bring her back something pretty from Castle Town when he finally went.
"Kish, I think you're ready to make the journey to Castle Town," Satsuki told him when Kish arrived earlier than usual one day.
Kish's eyes widened, "You think so?" he asked. His teacher had been incredibly hard on him, so while he was ecstatic, he wasn't convinced there wasn't a catch.
"Yes, but your father and I have been talking," Satsuki said in a grave tone.
"Oh," Kish's heart sank. It was clear by his teachers tone his father didn't think he was ready yet.
"Don't sound so happy," Satsuki said with a roll of his eyes, "he wants you to take some of the kids with you: Mr. Fong's children, Ms. Miwa, and your sister. We think they'd enjoy the trip. You'd take your first message, the kids would get to see some of the world, you'd get to get your horse, and then you'd come home with any messages."
"Are you serious?" Kish asked, not trusting his teacher to not let him down.
"Of course I'm serious! I may be a hard teacher but I'm not a liar," Satsuki replied shaking his head.
Kish smiled and asked his instructor when he would be able to leave.
"You leave tomorrow. I suggest you let everyone know," Satsuki said.
"Shall we train first?" Kish asked. Satsuki smiled at his pupil, and pulled his sword from his sheath, swinging it elaborately as if to tell his pupil that while he was proficient he still had a long way to go.
Kish was sore after his practice with Satsuki. Satsuki had an exercise that Kish had just successfully completed for the first time. One that would leave both of them wishing they had not set out to do it. Kish swapped his sword for a wooden one. He had to hit Satsuki one hundred times before Satsuki hit him three times with a blunted spear. It was hard for Kish, and if Satsuki actually tried Kish would barely get a hit in. But the exercise taught Kish how to block, and how to use versatile attacks. Not to mention he got an immense amount of satisfaction in bruising his teacher.
But now was not the time to rest. Now was the time to alert the others that they best pack. Then he would have to finish his training for the day by practicing his stances, running, and doing pull-ups on a now dear tree branch. He actually smiled at the thought of his training. He was glad he had taken the challenge of learning the ways of the sword. It had been hard, but the path was rewarding. He now enjoyed the exercise, and saw it as a vital part of his day. He didn't know if he'd have any bandits to fight on the way, but the idea that he would be prepared gave him great satisfaction.
Kish knocked on the heavy wooden door of the aging Mr. Fong's tree dwelling. When he saw the old man standing in the open door way he smiled. The old man had trained his father in the ways of the sword and there had always been a great friendship between the Yuebin and Fong house. He supposed that was why both of the patriarch's were gladdened at the thought of the houses joining in Masaya and Mariko.
"Mr. Fong," Kishu greeted the older man with a bow.
Mr. Fong smiled, "What can I do for you today Kishu?" He leaned against a thick wooden staff (that had been carved from a fallen tree with a large knot in it) as he awaited an answer from Kish.
"I wanted to request your permission to take your children on a journey to Castle Town," Kish explained.
Mr. Fong's eyebrows furrowed in thought. He was quiet for a minute as he pondered the idea. After many moments of silence he finally said, "I think that taking Pudding and Masaya would be a good idea. The others are much too young, and would be too much a burden to keep an eye on. You will have other concerns and you do not know Castle Town well enough to find the children should they wander off, which is likely. Perhaps in a year they should be able to go, but now I wish not to put the responsibility on you."
"I understand, sir, thank you," he said with a polite bow, and a smile, to Mr. Fong.
"Of course, my boy," he looked at Kish closely, "you've been training hard."
"Yup," Kish said with a cheeky grin. He then flexed his muscles, causing Mr. Fong to laugh.
"You rotten child, you are still filled with such pride. Go on now, you must prepare for your journey," he smiled when he dismissed the boy.
Kish smiled and left with a wave. He then went into Mrs. Uemura's shop to inquire as to whether or not Miwa would be permitted to accompany him.
At the sight of village prankster Mrs. Uemura grew suspicious, "What business do you have here Kish? You know I don't tolerate your antics in my shop."
Kish smiled, and put his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "No pranks, Mrs. Uemura, just a question. I'll be traveling to Castle Town tomorrow and I was wondering if Miwa could accompany me. It would not be only the two of us, Masaya and Pudding Fong will be accompanying us, as will my sister if that would please her."
"If what would please me?" Mariko asked, coming out from the supply vault with an armful of milk jars.
"I'll be going to Castle Town tomorrow, do you want to come?" he asked his sister without the formality he'd used with his elders.
"That would be most enjoyable, now I really must get back to work," Mariko informed him and started placing the jars on the shelves behind the counter her brother leaned upon.
"Well, I suppose if Mariko, Masaya, and Pudding will be going I can't refuse. But if you lay a finger on my daughter, so help me, you'll wish you'd never been born," the shopkeeper threatened.
"Thank you, ma'am, now, if you'll excuse me, I must go prepare for my journey," he said with a bow before departing. So, that business was taken care of. He now actually had to pack before tomorrow. He was on the way to his house when he heard a cry from the ranch.
"STOP THAT GOAT!" Mr. Irjuuin yelled, flailing his arms.
Kish turned and braced himself, remembering his father's stance the day he had been on the goat's back and mimicking it. He grabbed the goat by the horns, stopping it in its tracks. The goat was calmed by Kish rubbing its head and whispering soothing words. There was a rope on his porch and he made a leash for the creature. He led the goat up the hill and Mr. Irjuuin was actually surprised to see Kish was the one to bring his livestock back.
"Well, thank you Kishu, I'm mighty grateful for your assistance," he informed the younger man.
"It's no trouble sir. May I ask where Masaya is?" he continued to lead the goat up to pasture.
"Of course, his father sent for him, said somin' about a journey tomorrow."
"Ah," Kish said in understanding, and then released the goat. "I'm awfully sorry to steal him away from you. He's journeying with me to Castle Town tomorrow."
"Is that so?" Mr. Irjuuin seemed intrigued, "awfully dangerous, ain't it?"
"Well, we hope not, but I've been training to deal with any trouble just in case we run into it," Kish told him.
"Well, that would explain how you could catch that goat when a month ago you were on 'is back. Discipline is a good thing," he said gravely.
Kish smiled and shook the goat herders hand, "Well, I do enjoy your company, sir, but I have a journey to prepare for myself."
"It's been a pleasure, Kish. Enjoy your trip, and may the Goddesses smile upon you."
Kish smiled and waved, and then he went down to prepare for the journey.
~In the Zora's Domain~
"Does anyone know where the Priestess is?" Queen Eina* asked one of her guards with a frown.
"No, Your Majesty, she's not in the Lakebed Temple, or her quarters," the guard replied.
"Oh my, where could she be?" the Queen smoothed her dress. She splashed some water on her blue skin.
"Perhaps she is with Lanayru?" the guard reassured her.
"Perhaps you're right. I shouldn't fret too much over it," she rubbed her webbed hand over long coral-like hair.
The Priestess, who was also the only one gifted in the Human and Hylian language, and therefore in charge of mail, entered the throne room, "You called for me, Your Majesty?" she asked with a curtsy.
"Yes, I wanted to enquire about the message we sent to Hyrule Castle, has there been a response?"
"No, Princess Zakuro has not replied. Um, if I may say so, perhaps we could send out a message to the other provinces? While the possible contamination is most presently an issue to Castle Town it concerns the others as well," she said, then quickly added, "I apologize if I spoke out of turn," and stared at the ground.
"Perhaps it would be a good idea, although, I don't want to alarm anyone needlessly."
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, there is cause for alarm. Pollution in Lake Hylia directly affects us, Prince Umi is ill because of it, and this pollution is from all of the Humans, not just the people of Castle Town. I apologize for such bluntness."
"It's quite all right, if you feel so strongly then ready the messages."
"Of course, Your Majesty," she said and curtsied before exiting. She wanted to go the Lakebed Temple to pray to Lanayru and Nayru before writing the letters. So she dove down the waterfall to reach Laky Hylia where the temple resided.
Ok, so I know there are a few issues with this chapter and I'd like to address them. The first one being Kish's respectfulness, I think it's clear that Kish respects those that he knows are superior to him, at least to a degree. I think this because when he was talking to Deep Blue he was respectful. The second: Queen Eina, who is she? Well, when I found out what Lettuce's mother's name I was like "What? I'm never gonna remember this!" So Eina was close-ish (okay, not really, but whatever) to Lettuce's mothers name, but shorter, so it ended up being her name in this story.