Here's a long chapter! And MAN was it fun to write! I would have had it finished and out last week, but this weekend was beyond crazy. I FINALLY MOVED OUT OF MY PARENT'S PLACE! I'm 15 minutes away from work and life could not be better! Also, I got two new parakeets named Buttercup and Sprinkles. Just a little side note.
I know you guys have been waiting for the chapter, so here you are!
The first bite out of the perfectly toasted bread caused Hitomi's empty stomach to groan with pleasure. Sitting slouched forward on a wicker chair with her elbows braced on the dark wood of the excessively crowded dining table, she saw out of the corner of her left eye as Van's tan hand reached out from a small hole between the stacks of books and papers to slide several importantly marked sheets further out of her way. Chordata hadn't put a plate of her delicious breakfast in front of him. Hitomi wasn't surprised in the least. She hadn't seen him sleep yet – he'd been awake and reading a geography map when she came downstairs early that morning - so how could she expect him to join her for breakfast?
Maybe saturating in every little detail of life was his nourishment – like a demon who fed off the awkward discomfort of others.
Her attention was absorbed in her plate, but her thoughts turned to Yukari and how much her friend would understand the care taken into this breakfast. If Yukari was sitting here beside her, she'd comment on how crispy the bacon was or how carefully over easy the eggs were without the yokes breaking or… A pang of worry caused the food to travel a bit more thickly down Hitomi's throat. Granted, she didn't have a lot in common with her best friend when it came to interests, but Yukari was one of those people she could depend on even through the eye rolling complaints. Van had said she was in the care of the "Fanelian" Police, but that didn't help matters much if Yukari was accused of retaining important information. What if they actually were torturing her? What if she was already… dead?
And it was her fault for dragging her friend here. For making such a scene at the Winged Palace.
"You are eating too slowly. Do you not like Chordata's cooking?"
The heavily loaded fork stopped right at her open lips. Her green eyes flicked up, but he was still hiding behind the multiple towers of books.
"It's actually really wonderful. I noticed you aren't eating any of it though." She answered stiffly.
"I am not hungry at the present moment. Once you finish your breakfast, we will discuss our next course of action."
"So, you understand what Dragon Slayers mean?" Hitomi asked with surprise around another mouthful.
"I refuse to talk about important matters during mealtimes." She could just picture his lips curved downward into a shadowed frown of disapproval. It made her want to stuff her mouth further in retaliation.
"So, you don't understand what Dragon Slayers means and you just want to avoid the subject?"
When he didn't reply to that, she swallowed down her smirk with another bite. With the feeling that she'd finally won a round with this impossible man, she grabbed her glass of gloriously refreshing orange juice and drained half of it in one go.
An increasingly uncomfortable silence befell the table. Besides Hitomi's quiet chewing and the periodical crinkle of pages turned by Van's careful fingers, the small birds outside the tall windows only dared to break the muteness in the increasingly stuffy living room. What was he planning over there? Was he any closer to figuring out his big magic mystery? And honestly, how was she supposed to help anyway? What was the point when he had all the information he could ever want in the form of her father's old journal? His mind was like constantly raging river; slipping from one thought to the next without a moment's pause.
Finally, after three minutes, she couldn't take it any longer.
"What are you thinking?" She blurted out, dropping her fork with a loud clatter on the simple white plate.
"I told you to finish your meal."
She pushed from the table and stood from her chair. Boldly leaning over the tower of mess, she finally saw him; his familiar hatted head and messy black hair bent over the table as he scribbled letters on another blank sheet of paper. Propped open with the help of three other books, her journal sat not far from his reaching distance. His beautiful hand-writing had just finished the letter 'M' with a swirling flourish. He'd written S.E.T.S.S.Y.M.
"What's that from?" she asked curiously, leaving her chair to move closer. Her hip knocked clumsily against the sharp edge of the heavy laden table and she held back a hiss of pain. His mahogany eyes leapt up in alarm and she instantly translated it for worry about his precious mess - which was so cumbersomely heavy not even one paper was disturbed by her painful encounter. Standing swiftly from his chair, he leaned his tall frame over the exquisite stacks from left to right making sure each book and paper were in its proper disastrous place. With a rigid jaw and a mahogany glare of deadly solemnity, he murmured, "Please watch where you walk. I have everything organized by date, reference, and location on this table and it would be an inconvenience to have just one book out of place."
She almost knocked the table again just out of spite. "Organized?" She scowled, lifting a hand to rub the throbs of her future bruise. "It looks like a library threw up. Maybe you should move some stuff and I wouldn't have to be a danger to your preciously systematized junk."
He ignored her comment and sat back down. Lifting his pen, he asked. "You have concluded your meal, I presume?"
"Done for now. Is this something to do with dragon slayers?" She gestured to his paper and he shook his head sharply at once.
"No. It's the ending letters in 'things are not always as they seem'. I decided to try different approaches with the words as a possible code. Your father hid two full words in an acronym. Chances are high there is more in his message. Maybe one that will lead me to figure out what he meant."
"Setssyeum? Setssyum? This clearly isn't any language I've studied. In fact, I don't even think I can pronounce it." She shrugged, taking several steps closer to hover over his right arm. "Don't you think you are reading too much into this?"
"No such thing." He countered immediately, straightening his back importantly. She stifled a laugh behind his head. Van really didn't realize how easy he was to read. It was obvious he had no idea what dragon slayers meant.
It was probably killing him to figure it out.
"By the way, this is kind of a random question, but how did you get past the Zaibach to reach me last night? Did you sneak in?"
"You could say that." He answered quietly.
She waited several minutes for him to embellish, but he sat still, his eyes periodically dancing from her journal, to a large open book at his left, and back again. Her green eyes flipped patiently over the titles of a small stack next to her right hand. There were all about various vegetation grown in the southern region of Fanelia. Why would he possibly try to find answers studying fauna in his own country? What a weirdo.
"You're not going to tell me more?"
"Do you need to know more?"
"I would like to hear it, yes."
"It is not something I wish to discuss as of this time."
"And why not? I think it's important."
"You think it is important because you do not understand the concept of personal boundaries and cannot handle your own curiosity."
"You are one to talk about personal boundaries." She quirked an eyebrow.
"I have not noted your barely concealed loathing for me. I respect your wishes for your privacy."
"No, you just don't comment on it."
"And that is my way of respecting it."
"Ugh, whatever." Releasing her breath slowly, she calmed her growing irritation for about a minute and finally found the tolerance to asked, "So, what are we going to do about Yukari?"
"Yukari?" His voice was full of distracted thoughts as he glazed over the words he'd penned.
She opened her mouth with disbelief. "My friend I came here with! The one who got kidnapped and you didn't save. You seriously forgot who she was?"
He nodded absentmindedly as if humoring a temperamental child. "Yukari, yes, yes, you mean your annoying companion." Van gave a one shouldered shrug, not even lifting his eyes from the paper. "She is useless. I did not save her because there is a high probability she will be a hindrance to my research. I already put myself in too much unwanted danger saving you. Why would I do that for someone who is no concern of mine?"
"She's my friend! She's a concern to me!"
"Again, that is not my problem."
"It should be considering I'm helping you and everything."
He sighed quietly. "And how helpful you have been. You have yelled at me, cried irrationally, slept for hours, and eaten my food. I had the strong feeling you were the one to assist me in figuring out my mystery, but I am beginning to have heavy doubts."
She threw her hands up and shouted, "Unbelievable! You are absolutely unbelievable. It's been less than twenty-four hours since I got here. You can't give me time to catch my breath? I was just kidnapped by Zaibach yesterday. Hit on the head. Almost raped. Knocked out twice – once by Zaibach and the other by you, might I add! None of this means anything to you? What about your calculations on how much a human body can handle in a day?"
"Today is a new day. You have rested and ate. Get over it." He began to write something underneath the letters. It started with an "M".
She clenched her fists and resisted the persistent urge to slap his infuriating self-righteous face. "Is this really all you care about?"
"Yes."
"Are you really so heartless that you can't even spare any time to make sure my friend is safe?"
"Yes." The deep controlled tone of his voice held a sharp pitch. Though his hands were still perfectly writing, she saw the muscles on his shoulders twitch several times underneath his thin grey t-shirt.
She crossed her arms with a glower. "I don't believe you for a second. You saved me."
The king sighed, placed his pen easily on the table top, and sat back in his chair. Hitomi glanced down to read: M.Y.S.S.T.E.S. It was the same thing he written before but backwards. He really was at a loss on where to start. And here they were. A stalemate. He couldn't find out what Dragon Slayers meant and she had no clue where to begin either and he refused to help her find Yukari unless she spewed out some secret information that he seemed to think was buried deep inside her skull. Really, it was as if he expected something supernatural out of her. Like she was actually magical or some other silly notion. She wasn't anything special. She'd told him that.
So, why did he insist she could help him? Why did he say she'd been touched by magic before?
Van stood slowly, his head turning towards her. Hitomi avoided his sharp stare by glaring at his perfectly penned MYSSTES on the table.
"I have explained to you the reason I saved you three times now. It is as if you cannot retain anything I tell you. You wish for me to let you see your friend, but I have told you where she is and that she is relatively safe. Yet you still insist on it."
"Of course, I insist on it! I was the reason she was taken!"
"I have waited. I have waited and waited and I will not wait any longer. You want to go to your friend than by all means, go. Leave the journal with me, make your excuses to Chordata, and just go. You are useless to me."
As the king straightened to stand tall and strong in front of her, she was suddenly reminded of a headless corpse in a cold dark room and she was very aware of his sword lying only a few feet away. The short-haired girl felt his pricking eyes stabbing all over her body; somehow reading her inner thoughts with her self-deceptive body language. She hoped he read how much she hated him at this very moment. He was mean and completely self-centered! Why did she ever agree to help him? What good would it do to be verbally abused constantly by such a conceded bastard!? One that only thought of his predicament? One that didn't even bother to think of others at all? He remained so still, so defiantly quiet, she finally whipped her eyes to his sheltered mahogany and inwardly cursed his stupid hat just because he seemed to like it so much.
"I'm just worried about Yukari-"
"You wish to leave and find your friend? Chordata will show you the way back. Go to your inn and get kidnapped once more. At least, I will have peace to study and not be bothered by your constant rampage of physical demands."
"Physical… demands?" She said slowly with incredulousness. "Physical demands? Eating and sleeping like a human being after getting kidnapped twice is considered too much for you? Are you that much of a robot?"
"I will not listen to your ramblings any longer than necessary. Insults are for children."
"Yeah, well maybe this is in a language you'll respect!" she shouted and slapped him fiercely across the right cheek. The navy cap flipped off his head and landed with a solid poof on the carpet. The hit stung the palm of her hand, but she took strength and satisfaction at the bright red mark that was slowly appearing on his stupidly, blank face. "Analyze that, Your Majesty!"
Reaching over, she snagged the small journal from the table just as he was gathering his wits. Her fingers clasped over it and his quick hand brushed the empty air. Tucking the precious book to her chest, she turned on foot and ran to the steps, yelling, "I am taking my journal! Just because you feel you need something doesn't mean you can just take from whatever or whomever you please! Like I said before, you are not a king here!"
She raced up the steps, her heart pounding like a gazelle hunted by a lion. He couldn't make her stay, could he? He'd told her to get out. Well, out she'd go, then! Bursting into the top room, she startled a lovely Chordata, who was just finishing tying the strings of a white plastic sack full of trash. Her green eyes danced around the room in surprise. The white cat had cleaned and straightened a lot of the furniture. The bed was made perfectly with a new blue quilted blanket. The window was open, letting in the cold clear morning breeze. The stray planks of wood and trash were gone from the floor and replaced by a comfortable navy rug. With a swallow of guilt, she tightened her grip on her journal and steadied herself.
"I'm leaving, Chordata. Where is my jacket?"
The beautiful older woman's mouth dropped slightly, revealing small fanged teeth. She gave a bow and instantly glided to a closed door her right; opening it to reveal a small tattered closet. Her jacket was the only piece of clothing hanging on the rack.
"My Lady Hitomi, why would you leave? What about Master Fanel and -?"
"He told me to get out. I'm just doing what he wants."
"Why would he ask you to do such a thing?" The white cat retrieved the jacket, but held it in her small hands. "He told me you would help him."
"Help him, Chordata? Help him with what?" Throwing her hands up, she shook her head and her short hair flicked in her face. "I don't have anything he can use. As a matter of fact, I'm probably the last person who can help him right now. I just want to make sure my friend is safe. That's it. But apparently that is too human for Mr. Robot downstairs!"
Chordata's amber eyes softened. "Master has… had a difficult time, My Lady Hitomi. Please do not hold his harsh comments against him."
"He could at least act like a human," she returned hotly, though her rage was smothered somewhat by the cat's understanding expression.
"He told me you saw his past through the necklace, and I… I have seen it as well. His entire world crumbled into dust right before his eyes." The cat took a few steps closer, her fluffy tail ceasing its usual swinging flick back and forth. "Yesterday was his first time to see the Winged Palace so close up. It was a rough decision for him to make – to see all that destruction and death. But then he met you," Chordata's sharp gaze spilled into Hitomi's with a silent plea of acceptance, "someone who not only believed wholeheartedly in the corruption of Zaibach, but preached the proof of it loudly right in front of his greatest foes. Right in front of his destroyed past. He saved you from Zaibach for reasons even he cannot comprehend because he has trouble grasping his emotions. It is the way he has coped with the way the world is. He hides with logic and psychological reasoning."
"And with that stupid hat…" Hitomi commented dryly, swallowing down the familiar whelp of pity that surfaced every time she thought of Van Slanzar looking at his ruinous castle. "He might be emotionally deformed, but that doesn't give him the right to forbid me to do anything I don't want to do. I want to see my friend, Chordata. If he wanted someone who followed his orders like a 'yes man' then he shouldn't have chosen to save me."
The cat went quiet, her mind obviously it mulling over. Finally coming to some form of a decision, she handed the short-haired girl her thick jacket. "I will take you to your friend. The police let her go late last night. She is at the hotel. We will use my tunnels."
Grabbing the jacket, the short-haired girl snuggled into its comfort and gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"I will go get my shawl and supplies. Meet me outside the back of the lodge."
Hitomi had thought 'tunnels' meant the sewer system that ran throughout the entire city. The ancient ones that the supposed rebel group used to sneak attack the Winged Palace. She had pictured traveling in the darkness with only Chordata's white, fluffy tail to guide her. She had imagined coming up through the floorboards of the hotel like a spy, appearing suddenly as if a ghost.
She was very, very wrong.
"One ticket for three hours activation please," the cat purred pleasantly in the hustle and bustle of the train station. "And I would like to reload my pass for the month." She extended a card from her large satchel strapped to her thin shoulder and the beanpole man behind the busy counter hardly gave them a second glance through his magnetized spectacles as he stamped a purchased ticket and scanned the card through a whirling machine to process more money into Chordata's account.
"Very good, ma'am, here you are." Sliding both their passes through the glass pane, the man hollered out for the next customer and Chordata strolled easily past the hectic bodies, shouting merchants, and stampeding civilians. Hitomi followed trying to keep the anxiety off her face as she glanced suspiciously at almost every stranger that walked past her.
"Take caution. I have heard it said Zaibach is on the lookout for you. Thankfully, your train is only a bit of the way down this hall to the left. Take platform four. That is your train. It is about ten minutes between each scheduled train pickup. Once you are on, make sure to get off at Albat Station. Your hotel is only three more blocks once you exit the station to your right." The cat stopped for a moment with a flash in her amber eyes. "This is a good thing. A very good hotel to stay at. I will make sure you get on the train, but the rest is up to you, My Lady Hitomi."
Hitomi nodded, trying to keep her breath steady, her heart from beating out of her chest, and remember every single instruction the cat just uttered. "Thank you, Chordata."
They neared the tunnel for her tram, ducking and weaving through the garbling traffic. Approaching the farthest left tunnel, a thick group of civilians parted abruptly to show a tall, hairy guard with the lightning bolt insignia on his green garbs standing beside the entrance way to platforms 1-5. The man scanned the crowd with squinted eyes spilling on each face that passed him. An urge to duck her head and run the opposite way was almost overwhelming. The white cat grabbed her hand indiscreetly and they slowed their pace behind a large flashing sign.
"I will distract him. You keep walking. If anything happens, run."
"But Chordata, he could kill you! This was a mistake to come here!"
The white cat shot her a mysterious fanged smile. "You need to see your friend. I make sure your way is as safe as possible. I will go distract him and you follow me after you count ten seconds. And you forget: I raised Master Fanel when he was a teenager. There is no way one little guard could ever take me down." Her voice purred harshly on the word 'ever' and she took dainty steps forward. Hitomi watched in awe as Chordata threw down the shawl over her snowy white neck and practically glided to the guard with the seduction of a siren. Hitomi followed the cat's footsteps a handful of seconds later; her head held down and her eyes striving to not look in Chordata's direction.
Ten feet away… seven feet… five… She could hear bits of the cat's purring conversation with the guard.
Three… one…
Passing the Zaibachian on her right, she heard Chordata give a charming giggle. "You know, I thought the same thing about radishes…"
And she was through.
Quickening her pace in the tunnel, she felt even the air shift to a different wind pattern. Warmth of relief and happiness at finally seeing Yukari's comforting face made her unthinkingly flick her gaze back to the white cat in gratitude.
And she caught the guard's deep black orbs glancing back at her curiously from the tunnel entrance. Chordata's whiskered face reflected a terrible panic behind the guard's turned head.
Swinging back with nothing but survival leaping to the forefront of her mind, she instantly sprinted down the winding tunnel. A low, but sharp "Hey, you, wait!" burst after her and she pushed herself to an even faster run. She could feel the curious eyes of those around her staring in surprise at her unexpected flight. The tunnel was long. It was at least a minute before she passed platform one. Running on sheer panic, she finally chanced another look over her shoulder and noticed not one, but two guards hurrying in pursuit.
"Oh, god," she panted. "Oh, no, no, no, no…" Skidding around a cart full of luggage, she ducked underneath a flamboyant sign and brushed past several shocked women, knocking one of them to the floor.
She passed platform two…
The station buzzed loudly with a woman's light voice echoing down the tunnel: "Incoming platform four train. Incoming platform four train."
A loud roar like a tiger was trailed by a man's piercing scream of pain, but Hitomi kept going. She pushed her legs past endurance to a speed she'd never gone before. Skipping several steps down a crowded staircase and practically falling to her knees on the last landing, her green eyes soaked for signs of platform four. A whimper of sheer horror slipped from her throat.
She'd reached an unmarked fork.
Right or left? Right or left?
Grabbing the nearest man that passed her, she shrieked in his face, "Which way is platform four?!"
The poor man's eyes were as wide as saucers. He pointed to the left and the short-haired girl plunged down the left; battled against the rushing air that pushed ferociously against her body.
Shoving the staggering amounts of people aside with her hands and shoulders, her heart seized up with relief as she turned a corner and the awaiting train hissed only twenty feet from her. The tram was built small for speed and economy, but the people crammed themselves like pack rats.
The train! It was here! She had to get on!
"You, stop! By the orders of a Zaibach Elite, I command you to stop!"
Sprinting with the last dregs of her energy, she hit about ten feet away and the doors began to slide shut with an audible screech.
She was going to make it.
She had to make it.
A gloved hand caught her arm, yanked her backwards, and she fell tumbling blindly into pairs of strong arms. More hands grabbed her body, slamming her down on the cold, tile floor. She struggled in vain against the bruising force, letting out small screams through her gasping breaths. Hitomi was turned over roughly, her hands already bound together by sharp metal handcuffs.
"Soldiers! This drill is over! Let the Strategos go!"
The noisy clanks and sharp hiss of the train leaving the station was the only sound to protrude. Everyone's bodies – including those that walked by - stopped at the words that carried further and sharper than any scream she had belted out.
But Hitomi stopped struggling for a different reason all entirely.
That voice… there was no way that voice belonged to…
Looking up with difficulty through the multi-green legs of her captors, all rational thought washed from her mind.
Van Slanzar de Fanel.
Dressed in the green uniform of Zaibach's military. Standing in the middle of the tunnel way like a sergeant. His hands clasped firmly, but patiently behind his back. His chest stuck out like the proudest peacock. His feet spread steady and strong on the gritty floor in shiny black boots. A black beret held the usual unruly long hair back from his tan face. Her green eyes flipped to his waist and she blinked. The pommel at his hip wasn't navy, but dark green. This was a different sword. With a stern jaw and uncompromising mahogany eyes, Van stepped forward and cocked his eyebrow haughtily at the men still holding her down.
"I said this-drill-is-over! Release the Strategos at once!" He barked the words with such force, they scrambled to their feet.
But they didn't pick her up from the floor.
Or release her hands.
His usual strong Fanelian accent had all but disappeared and now he produced his 'TH' with more of a 'Z' and his 'W' with a 'V'. A bit shaky, but certainly passable for Zaibach's trilling dialect.
Her brain was still trying to process the undeniable conclusion that Van Slanzar was standing right here. Commanding Zaibachian troops. And dress liked that no less.
She got her answer on how he'd snuck into the ranks last night to save her… and then her mind drifted briefly if the soldier he'd stolen the green regalia from was even alive to miss his uniform.
That was something she realized she didn't want to know.
One of the men stepped forward from the three, confusion and suspicion practically spilling like liquid off his voice. "Did you say this was a drill? We were given orders from the Commander." The soldier glanced at the badge on Van's chest, immediately straightened his back, and added, "Colonel Lavariel, sir."
"Did I stutter?" Van snapped back. "Release the Strategos at once."
Hands fell over her wrists and she was gently pulled to her feet. Refusing to even glance at Van – or 'Colonel Lavariel' as he was called– she straightened her shoulders. The three Zaibachian soldiers who had held her down stood together now in a cluster of utter bewilderment. Shooting them a look of calculated irritation – a look she copied from Van ironically - her green eyes narrowed importantly and she imitated Van's proud stance facing the panting soldiers. The men all turned their eyes immediately away from her face.
Good. She thought, her sheer panic subsiding to make room for the exciting possibilities of being named a Strategos. Her mind instantly scattered for all the information she'd studied the past years. Strategos were practically royalty in the militia. Revered for completing the examinations of complex strategies in dire circumstances and logical equations that were nearly impossible to solve, there was only one spot available in each of the one hundred String Divisions. If she named herself from one of the lower strings, they had the highest chance of not knowing who that exact Strategos was.
Also, lucky for her, Strategos weren't known for their physical strength, but the enormous power of their logic and cunning; especially the ability to outsmart their opponents.
And that was why there were respected. Awed.
Worshiped as perfect beings.
You wanna play the pretend game, Fanel? Watch the magic and learn from it.
"Do not question your Colonel, Private. I am your new Strategos, from Eighty-Ninth String Division, Code name:… Digit."
Whew! She hid her relief as their backs straightened even further. They didn't notice her pause and her brain supplied good specialization. 'Digit' meant she was numerical.
Very important with economic strategy.
"Strategos Digit, with all due respect, we did not know of your coming to Fanelia."
Oh, crap… uhh… She glanced at the communication screens strapped to their right wrists and noticed one blinking with a miniature picture of her smiling face.
It was the one on her passport.
She turned to flick her green eyes boredly at the taller man's face and he swallowed nervously, zipping his light eyes instantly away. "I requested your Commander to set up a test. This was my way of seeing his Division's skills in action. Your Commander was to name me as the vigilante known as Hitomi Kanzaki and procured a picture of myself with detailed background information." Trying to keep her legs from visibly trembling, she walked away from them to join Van's side. "Judging from what I have seen just now, I find myself highly displeased with the performance and will inform the Commander accordingly."
"What happened to Strategos Corp? Did he get removed?" One of them whispered behind her back.
"I didn't hear anything. I saw him earlier this week."
Turning with a snap, she snarled, "To the ready! Ranks!"
It must have been the combination of shock and potential military sovereign standing before them, the Zaibachians instantly scrambled to line up in ranking order. Passerby civilians were beginning to take pictures and videos with their camera phones. Others had stopped, a circle forming around them as passengers waited for the next train to come rolling by. She took confident steps towards the soldiers, her mind racing with her research on Zaibach military procedures and Strategos.
You are soooo lucky I researched this thoroughly several months back, Your Majesty. She thought with masked annoyance.
Eyeing each of the soldiers openly, she found the one that fought Chordata. His uniform was ripped at the right sleeve and, walking around the man, she saw a long red gash on the back of his neck that was weeping blood into his green collar.
The cat lady got him good.
But where was she?
"Request!" She pointed to the man, who was second in line. He gulped and stated, "Strategos Digit, what is your request of this soldier?"
"I request you to state your full name, rank, company, and reason for not spotting me sooner in this drill. Do as this Strategos commands." She spilled out the perfect commanding sentence and congratulated her brain with pride. She heard Van's feet shift slightly and lifted her head further.
Impressed, Fanel?
The man's eyes shifted from one side to the other and he swallowed again. "Strategos Di-Digit, I am Private Hammel P. Marsh, Rank Sixty-Seven. Recently shipped from the Forty-Eighth String Division to the Thirty-Ninth last week. And I…" He faltered, his eyes slipping accidently into hers.
An insult! She lashed out immediately to smack his face.
And smack the man she did.
Hard.
Much harder than she intended to.
Her wrist spotted with swirls of pain, but that was nothing compared to the bursting red-hot agony from her palm and fingers. The soldier's face was one of shock and fear, the whelp already appearing on his cheek and ear. Burrowing the pain down in her stomach, Hitomi stepped underneath his chin and whispered quietly into his neck. "You will never look a Strategos in the eye ever again, Private Marsh. I can and will have you held in violation of the Uniformed Code of Zaibachian Justice, Section G-2: Segment 22 and 27 and that will be the least of your punishments. Now respond to your Strategos' request. Explain to me why you did not spot me? I walked past you and was almost able to escape."
The poor soldier kept his head up respectfully, his body shaking and tears actually filling his dark eyes. "Strategos Digit, I was distracted by a-a… by a cat…" he trailed off, flat out looking ashamed of himself.
"You were commanded to find the target labeled Hitomi Kanzaki of Austuria, were you not?" Hitomi hissed, her heart pounding in her ears.
"Yes, Strategos Digit."
"Were you not aware that the information given to you from your commanding officer stated clearly she was a wanted criminal for public slander and besmirching the Zaibachian authority here in Fanelia?" Her tightly clenched right hand lying at her side was the only betrayal of her inner fear. She prayed her intuition was right.
"I-I- did receive the information, yes, Strategos." She had to stop herself from visibly sighing in relief.
"And did you not receive the picture like your comrades?"
"The picture they sent us looked exactly like you, yes, Strategos."
"And yet you failed to take the target out, Private. Why did you let your guard down over a cat?"
The man burst into tears. Sobs racked his body.
"Where is the cat, Private Marsh?"
"I t-t-tied her to a p-p-pole outside platform t-two…"
"This Strategos requests you to hand Colonel Lavariel the key to the cat's handcuffs." She barked instantly. Hitomi felt Van approach her side and she only halfheartedly prayed he didn't look at her.
She found that she wouldn't mind giving him a nice slap again.
Her green eyes left the sniveling man to slip over the king's tense features. Van's tan jaw was locked edgily as he placed the jingling keys into his front pocket and stepped away. With his hair smoothed back and his face finally fully exposed, he actually looked kind of dignified. She could see the deep bags under his eyes and the tired lines around his mouth.
He dutifully kept his mahogany gaze away from her. Instead, he focused sternly on Private Marsh.
She could get used to this.
"Colonel Lavariel, this Strategos requests you to go get my cat."
How's THAT for useless?
"Yes, Strategos Digit," he murmured. Fighting a self-satisfied smile, she saw how stiff his broad shoulders were. He turned away to head up the stairs.
Taking several steps away from the lined men, she was suddenly knocked into by a large woman who was headed to the available train and almost fell over by the brute strength of the lady's massive bulk. Two of the soldiers broke formation and instantly grabbed the woman's arms with unyielding hands. She let out a loud squawk, the prominent curve of her chin and fissure of feathers at the base of her thick neck suggesting she was from a bird clan of sorts. She dropped her purse as the taller Private, with tears still on his cheeks, leapt forward and burrowed his thick fist in the woman's huge gut. She let out a whistling wheeze, her legs giving out to their strong grip.
"W-wait!" Hitomi cried out in shock, breaking out of her Strategos get-up by this unexpected violence. He gave the helpless woman another punch and her puffy eyes rolled. "What are you doing!?"
The tear-stained Private stopped, his back still facing her. "Strategos Protection Protocol demands we retaliate to any and all-"
"Let her go, Private! Let her go right now!"
"But the Protocol states that-"
"Do as your Strategos requests!" She shrieked. The soldiers dropped the woman's arms and she collapsed to the ground in a thick clatter. An even larger crowd of people had stopped, whispering behind their hands, fear, disgust, and hatred secretly glinting through their eyes. Holding herself back from running to the woman's side, Hitomi felt her familiar panic lace back into her stomach. The bird let out a small coo, but no one stopping came to help her. Looking at each private with barely cloaked tremors, she whispered, "This Strategos must follow-up with your Division Leader. This Strategos requests each of you to go back to your assigned locations at this station."
"Yes, Strategos Digit." They said in unison. Her breath silently caught as the taller stayed for only a three seconds longer, his muscled arms flexing, the blue-black veins in his forearms pulsating sickeningly.
And with the greatest of hushed sighs, her green eyes gratefully watched him march back to the stairs to his tunnel. As he disappeared in the hallway to the crowded multitude, she turned away just as several helpful Fanelians strolled to take care of the poor woman. Others were still watching her.
The poison in their stares. The underlying hatred in their eyes.
What had this country come to?
"Incoming platform four train. Incoming platform four train."
"Thank God for that." She whispered under her breath and hurried to catch the opening tram door.
Despite the ridiculous amount of action and drama that had happened in the Main Station, the small and rundown underground at Albat Street held no Zaibach soldiers that she could make sob like a little girl.
Or hardly any people at all for that matter.
Hitomi stepped off the train armed with a new found respect for incognito travel. Ducking her head to blend in with the scattered individuals exiting with her, she climbed the easy, paint-pealing steps and slid her pass card into the scanner covered in strange graffiti. Slipping through the practically empty lobby, she thumped up more concrete steps to the street.
She was surprised. She'd thought the three privates positioned at the Main Station were now well aware they'd been tricked. Hitomi had figured she'd have to fight her way through to Albat Street. But the midday was quiet. Strikingly, quiet. It made the short hairs on Hitomi's neck stand with heightened apprehension. No cars, scarcely any people. Even multiple store signs on the corner of the streets were dark. Every growing shadow in the alleyways, every little nook between doorways and signs looked like hiding Zaibach soldiers waiting to ambush her.
But total silence. Completely unnerving
Three blocks from the Station to the right.
She could already see the hotel from here, glowing like a beacon of hope.
Trying to stop herself from running full out to doors of expectant safety, the short-haired girl counted each step, each foot, and each second. It felt like an eternity until she grasped the decorative handle to the hotel. Turning immediately to avoid the receptionist upon entering, she climbed up the steep stairs to the right and let out a small sigh of relief as she cleared the second landing with no uproar from the front desk.
She slipped into the hallway that had once given her such pleasure.
Though the paintings were the same, everything was somehow different now. Just a day ago, they held historical significance to her research - and that was it. There wasn't anything else there. Just objects to quench her thirst for more knowledge, to understand her father's thoughts. But now… she saw the power in the strokes of paint, the passion in the spread of colors that swirled on the canvases. The lighted hallway was now a picture of patriotic love. There was more here than she ever thought possible. A quiet declaration of Fanelian pride. A silent cry for something better than this current world could give them. From what she saw at the Main Station, the oppression, the violence inflicted on that poor, innocent woman, she knew she couldn't be the only one fighting for this cause.
There had to be more people out there. But… where?
Hitomi stood to the threshold of her hotel door and knocked only once.
A muffled, "who is it?" resounded from inside the room.
Yukari.
It was a wash of relief was so thick; Hitomi had to hold herself up with the hanging doorknob to not slink to the floor.
"It's me."
"HITOMI!"
The wooden door burst open so fast; Hitomi jumped out of the way with a small cry to avoid getting smashed. Her best friend, pale face, tear-streaked, beautiful auburn hair a thick mess leapt into her arms, hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe. Such comfort, such relief, such love, Hitomi felt the tears beginning to leak from her own eyes as well.
"Where-have-you-been?"
"Can't tell you in the hallway. We better get inside. We should leave this country right now. Within this hour if we can manage it."
"You have to tell me everything though!" Yukari let her go and yanked her by an arm inside the room. The familiar double beds in the corner, Yukari's clothes scattered all over the floor, the yellow backpack obviously tossed haphazardly on a nearby chair. Everything was a comfort.
Her friend pushed her on one of the cots, but Hitomi immediately shook her head and stood. "We need to pack. Like I said, we have to get out of here. Get your suitcase."
"Not without explaining yourself first! What happened? I thought I'd never see you again." Yukari's bloodshot brown eyes exploded with fresh tears and she stamped her foot on the carpet. "I-I-I thought I'd l-l-lost my best f-friend…"
"I'm fine, Yukari. Really, I'm okay." Grabbing her empty bag from the foot of one bed, she strolled briskly to the chest of drawers and yanked open a squeaking drawer on the right. "I… well, I was taken by Zaibach."
Yukari was quiet for a moment. The only sound punctuating the hotel room was her small sobs.
"I t-told you, Hitomi," she finally scolded. "I told you not to s-spout off like that during the tour. They t-took me in for questioning when you never showed up. Four huge soldiers escorted me out of the place and drove me in a police car to the station. Blindfolded me. They asked me all these questions that I didn't know the answer to. Then they asked me personal questions. Stuff about you. How long we'd been friends, how did you know so much information, where we were from, home addresses. Stuff like that."
"What did you say?" Hitomi asked quietly, stuffing her underwear into the bag. A vision of her mother's smiling face circled her silently panicked mind. They had her passport picture, so they must have looked up her information.
Mama…
"I told them we met on the airship on the way here, that you were a historian studying for a dissertation on Historical Controversies in the Great War, that I lived in the farmlands and gave them the address to my crazy Aunt Ollie and I didn't learn where you were from. I didn't have my passport on me because I left it in the hotel, so that was lucky. I played it off as slightly drunk, party chick." Yukari gave a watery smile. "I'm apparently pretty good at that." She paused for a moment to wipe her dark eyes with her sleeve. "What happened? I thought you were dead."
"I almost was…" the short-haired girl stopped and took a deep breath. She avoided Yukari's sweet eyes and decided to confess to the red carpet instead. "I watched you exit the Chapellieur. The next thing I knew, I… woke up in a huge metal box with storage supplies in it. They had two soldiers standing out guard. They were going to interrogate and torture me and then… kill me."
Her friend gasped and, judging by the audible thump on the ground, she fell to her knees on the ground.
"Oh, my GOD, how did you escape?"
"I need you to start packing." Hitomi commanded gently, pushing another drawer closed and pulling another one open. "And… I… I was saved."
"Saved? SAVED? By who? By what?" Glancing at her friend, Hitomi saw she hadn't moved an inch on the floor.
"Get your suitcase, idiot!"
"Answer the question, idiot!"
"We have to leave soon!"
"Who the hell saved you!?"
"I was saved by that ragged man in the navy hat!" She blurted out, dropping the bag – which landed with a solid plop. She ran her trembling fingers through her short locks and pulled on the strands lightly. "He came and killed the guards and took me to his house. I… I have been there since last night."
"He saved you?"
"Yeah…"
"He killed those guards?"
"Chopped their heads off with a sword."
"And you went with this lunatic?"
"Not on my own free will."
To his house?"
"Look, he knocked me out, okay?! I didn't have a choice in the matter!"
"To his house?"
Hitomi gave her an exasperated look. "He didn't do anything if that's what you are implying."
"How did he know where to find you?"
"I don't know."
"How did he sneak past those guards?"
"I don't know for sure, but I think he disguised himself like one of them."
"Why did he save you?"
"He wasn't really clear on that."
"Who are you to him?"
"I'm nobody, apparently." She answered with a simple shrug, but a strange thickness appeared in her throat. She swallowed down the sour feeling before adding, "I believe the term he used was 'useless'."
Yukari put a hand on her hip with a scowl, obviously defending Hitomi's worth from the absent man's accusations. "Useless? Useless? What does he care? Despite saving your life, I think he's one shot away from the crazy juice they give in insane asylums."
"There's more to this than it seems!" Hitomi injected. Things are not always as they seem. Her brain flashed with what Van had written earlier that morning and she asked without thinking, "T.A.A.N.A.T.S… does that mean anything to you, Yukari?"
Her friend's lips turned downward and she gave the short-haired girl a look like she was cracked. "Are you sure you're not into the crazy juice as well, Hitomi?"
"Just answer the question."
"Taanats…? Why would it?"
"What about S.E.T.S.S.Y.M? Setssyum? Setssyem? Something like that? Mean anything at all?" A feeling of importance hit her. Hitomi stepped over her fallen bag and knelt down to her friend. She grabbed her cold fingers with her own and Yukari shook her head slowly, her mouth open with an utterly lost expression.
"May I ask why you are asking me these weird questions?"
"No, you can't. Let's try M.Y.S.S.T.E.S. Do you know anything about that?" A flicker of recognition hit Yukari's dark eyes and she tilted her head thoughtfully.
She repeated the words slowly. "M.Y.S.S.T.E.S? Mysstes? That's actually a famous bar in Joko. I've always wanted to go there. Read a review saying they make the best alchemy bomb martinis in the world. I don't think that's what you're looking for though."
"A bar? Probably not." Hitomi frowned, letting go of Yukari. Standing up, she sighed in disappointment and headed back to her nearly forgotten travel bag.
"Now will you answer why you asked me all those weird questions?"
"It was just a hunch."
"Did that raggedy guy ask you those questions?"
"In a way…"
Yukari frowned from the floor. "You are being so secretive."
"I need to be. Now pack!"
"Who is he, Hitomi? Answer me that at least. You owe me something for the hell you've put me through."
Hitomi stopped with a handful of t-shirts clutched in one fist. Opening her mouth, she let out a small shriek as the door to their hotel burst wide with such ferocity, she was sure it was going to break off the hinges. Yukari screamed and scooted away to press her back against one of the cots as an uniformed soldier and a white cat stormed into the small room.
"Van! Chordata!" Her shock was beyond comprehension. "Wh-What are you doing here?"
"My Lady Hitomi!" the white cat rushed to her with amber eyes blazing relief. Her shawl was torn in several places, but she thankfully looked unhurt. "You are safe."
"But why? What? H-How?" Her ability to form proper sentences had temporarily malfunctioned.
"They are coming. That little stunt you did in the Station was not enough." Van had turned back to the hallway, his head turning left and right. He'd lost his beret and his long locks were once again falling into his eyes. Hitomi noticed his right hand crossed to his left hip where the small saber was buckled. His tan fingers hovered steadfastly over the narrow green pommel.
She was weirdly comforted seeing that weapon on him.
"Of course, it wasn't enough, but it was good enough to get Chordata to safety, wasn't it?" She answered defensively. "And I wasn't the one to name myself a Strategos! That was your doing!"
"I went with my instincts. They proved faulty."
"I thought I did a pretty good job of it! I made a Zaibachian cry!"
"That soldier was weak."
"A weakling who pummeled a woman almost to death right after you left me."
Van was fell silent. Chordata's sharp eyes instantly zipped all over Hitomi's body for any bruises or scrapes.
"I imagine you stopped them?"
"Of course, I did."
"And therefore, your cover was blown. You are too sentimental."
"Well, you're are a self-centered ass, but who's blaming you?"
Shouts from the street made all their heads swivel to the window.
"They followed you. Waited to see where you were staying. Informed the Commander of your trick. Unfortunately, Colonel Lavariel is no longer an option either. He was discovered several minutes ago."
"Oh, god… I figured you killed that guy."
"Who killed what now?" Yukari squeaked. Hitomi had almost forgotten she was there.
"You are getting upset over that? Now of all times?"
"How do we get out?"
"The boat can only handle three people." The black-haired man injected cryptically. "We cannot take your friend with us."
"Boat? What boat? I can't leave her behind! They'll kill her!"
"It is how it is."
The panic settling inside her stomach was the worst. She felt sick. Her green eyes focused with a wavering illness on Yukari's frightened face and her sense of impending doom sunk deeper. "Are they outside? Are they waiting for us? Maybe she can run for it!"
"You must put these on!" Chordata hissed, whipping off her heavy satchel with a prominent thump on the carpet. "I…" she glanced at Yukari. "I only have one uniform." Opening the top, she fished out a full multi-green garb of the Zaibach military.
"Take the uniform, Yukari!" Hitomi ordered immediately. Chordata froze, her facial features filling with indecision.
"Take what? What is going on?" Yukari's voice shook like a leaf as she regarded both the cat and king with equal horror. "You're the man who saved Hitomi! Why are you here? What's going on? What boat?"
"You told her nothing?" Van's deep voice resounded from the doorway.
"She doesn't know." Hitomi answered with a shake of her head. She gasped. Chordata jumped and dropped the uniform with claws extending as the front door downstairs audibly burst open with a loud scream from the receptionist. Van's sword swished out of its sheath with a shhnnk. Running over to the forgotten garb, she tossed it to Yukari, who caught it more with her face than her hands.
"Go in the closet, brace the door, and put that on right now! When you think they are done searching this room, come out and pretend you are one of them. Get out of here." She unzipped a small compartment in her bag and tossed her passport to her. "Take that home with you. Tell mom when you see her…" Hitomi froze for a moment and the thumps downstairs increased.
"We need to go!" Chordata's white hair was standing on edge.
"Tell mom that I am sorry. I'm too much like dad."
"B-but-but-"
"No buts, just GO!"
As Yukari scrambled to follow her wishes, Chordata brushed through the hallway, racing to the left near the stained-glassed window. Van stood just at the doorway, his expression covered by his thick black hair. Grabbing her small bag, she flung it over her shoulder, and hurried past the king. Chordata's puffed white tail was just whipping around the corner.
"This way," she hissed quietly.
Hitomi stopped just briefly to see Yukari's familiar body disappear inside the dark closet with a click. With a steady hand, Van grabbed her shoulder and pushed to get her moving.
"Hurry."
The king's eyes were visible only for a second.
But in that second, she saw a glimmer of something she'd never expect to see in him.
Amazement.
"You are a fool."
His deep voice echoed in the vast underground. He had said it quietly, but it sounded like a billion Vans all at once calling her a fool. Trying to keep her tears at bay, she scowled nastily at him and snuggled her damp bag closer to her chest. His mahogany eyes were turned away from her and busy watching the dark shadows on the stone walls. His arms methodologically pushed the oars of the little wooden boat quietly down the waterway channel.
Hitomi shivered with the freezing cold and the heated anger burning in her belly. "I was trying to save my friend."
"You put her in more danger than need be. We lost two good uniforms because of it."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Colonel Lavariel." Hitomi let the sarcasm drip heavily. "How could I have been so careless? So unthoughtful to the uniforms! How dare I try to save my best friend by giving her a uniform and letting her escape safely? How dare I only think about the protection of someone I love when there are uniforms on the line? What will become of us all by my thoughtless, selfish, uselessness?"
"Your sarcasm has run its course."
"I think it could probably go a couple more laps, actually." She snapped back.
Chordata remained silent, holding the small lantern in her lap with one hand. Her left arm was upraised to her mouth and she feverishly licked her wet fur back into place.
The escape through the hotel was more of what Hitomi had imagined when Chordata had said 'tunnels' earlier that day. Once they had crossed the left hallway with the stained-glass window, the white cat was busy slipping a sharp claw into a simple locked door. With a final twist, it snapped open and swung easily open. A small broom closet greeted her. Before the short-haired girl could ask what exactly they were doing at a broom closet, Chordata had bent, traced another nail around the floor, and lifted a secret trap door.
"I hate water, but this is the only way. Hope you can swim, My Lady Hitomi." She had said briefly before springing through the small black hole with the agility of a lioness. Leaning where the cat had disappeared, Hitomi felt her heart bound in her chest.
Where would this take her? Water?
"Jump inside now," Van demanded his elbow nudging on her shoulder. His sword was still drawn, his back to her, facing the open hallway fearlessly. With her eyes clenched shut, she stepped into the hole and bit back her screams as she fell for what must have been several minutes.
The cold, dark, murky water engulfed her senses and ran up her nose. She was in shock as the chill invaded and sucked all the warmth from her body. Finally kicking upward, she fought a heavy current that was trying to pull her downstream. Pushing, her head broke the surface and she coughed the musty water up with chalky lungs.
"Right here!" Chordata's sweet voice had trilled to her right. Fighting the water, she noticed the drenched cat waving to her from a small stony walkway on the side. She stroked closer to the edge just in time for Van's long body to follow in right behind her and drowned her face in his splash.
She kept going, kept coughing, her body fighting the underground river. Chordata's white hand grabbed her fingers and she was instantly pulled up and over the side.
As the cat-woman ran to pull Van up as well, Hitomi had wondered again how strong Chordata actually was. She looked so dainty.
"Do they know we are here, Master Fanel?"
Van had panted the words with his dripping hands on his soggy knees. "Not that I am aware of. I closed both the door and the trap behind me as I jumped. If they get the door open, they will have to inspect it to find the trap. There is a high probability they will continue searching the building and not think to check the waterway for at least several minutes." Van had straightened up and brushed his wet hair from his face.
"Enough time to get to the boat."
"Plenty of time."
"We should hurry then, Master Fanel."
Hitomi had stood on shaking legs. Her body shivering violently against the wet cold, shock, and continual panic attacks she'd had in the past couple of hours. Both Master and cat strolled away in the blackened darkness. Taking a deep, shuttering breath, she had followed their wet footprints. They remained silent, listening for tell-tale signs of voices following their footsteps. And finally, they were well on their way down the river, Van jumping to the oars in the tiny row boat. It had sunk deep in the water with their combined weight and even Hitomi had to admit there was no way they could have taken Yukari with them.
"Why did you come back for me in the hotel?" the short-haired girl asked curiously, watching the cat smooth her arm with her small tongue. She felt tempted to ask her to lick her flyaway short hair back in place. Too bad that was such a weird thing to ask. "I thought you would head back to the house after you got Chordata to safety."
"Chordata wished it." The king answered simply, turning the oars perfectly in unison.
"I…" the cat's amber eyes looked startled, illuminated green by the lantern light. She glanced, first at Van, then at Hitomi, and back again. The boat glided to the left as Van avoided a bit of large rubbish sticking out of the water. "I-I did… I wanted you to be safe, My Lady Hitomi."
A warm wave of gratitude for the thoughtful cat washed down Hitomi's spine and warmed her slightly. She gave the older lady a small smile. "Thank you, Chordata. I just met you and you are so kind to me."
"I-I like you, so naturally I would want you to be safe." The cat's eyes flicked once more to Van before she settled into a gentle purr. The sound vibrated the boat and echoed briefly in the vast stone tunnel.
"I like you, too," she confessed honestly, her smile growing a little more. Turning to the rowing king, she asked. "So, where are we headed now?"
"We have no leads. We are still at square one." Van's deep voice was swathed with a soft disappointment. "I am no closer to the truth than I was yesterday."
"I'm sorry you wasted time saving my life again." She announced stiffly. The memory of Yukari's revelation sprang back into her mind. "But I did learn something though. It's probably irrelevant, but Yukari mentioned something about Mysstes."
"What?" Mahogany eyes finally left their continual search of the shadows and focused fully on her face. His hair was a wreck, flopping all over his scalp like a shaggy dog's fur. The bright twinkle in his dark red irises almost made her nervous. "You told her about what we have discovered?"
His tone was practically accusing her. Seriously, will I ever catch a break with this guy? She thought angrily. "I just asked her about the acronyms. No need to get your royal pants in a twist."
Van's mouth pressed into a thin line. She wondered if he was warring with himself. She could see it clearly. One half of his mind was fighting over her insult. The other half was dying with curiosity and resentment at her discovering the puzzle before he could. To be honest, she only figured it out because of Yukari.
That is. If her father was trying to point her to a bar - which was highly doubtful.
"What did she say on the subject?"
"Well, if you must know, Mysstes is a very popular bar in the capital of Joko."
"A bar? Like a tavern?"
"Uhhh. Yeah. If that's what you call it. I found it ironic they are known for their alchemy bomb martinis. The owner has a weird sense of humor."
"Why would you say that, My Lady Hitomi?" Chordata had switched to licking the palm of her hand.
"Joko developed and used the bomb back during the… the…" the short-haired girl faltered a bit, looking at Van's heavily concentrated face for a brief second. "…during the Great War. Killed all of the Austurian Royal Family except for Princess Millerna when they dropped it on Palas. She was thankfully smuggled out by Allen Schezar the Brave." A sudden thought cropped into her mind. "Hey, did you… did you ever meet the Warrior Princess, Van? She would have been about your age at the time."
Water sloshed against the side of the boat.
"Are you sure your friend is right about Joko?" Van dodged her question with another question and pulled the oars harder than needed. The boat sped up through the thick, dirty streams and groaned lightly.
Hitomi tilted her wet head and frowned. "Of course, I am sure. She's my best friend. And if someone knows about popular bars, it's her."
"Are we headed to Joko, Master Fanel?" Chordata's pleasant purr paused only briefly for her to speak. Hitomi glanced at her and she saw the cat woman give her a miniscule of a wink.
Van was silent for a full minute.
"I find it highly improbable that a tavern named Mysstes is where your father intended you to go. Traveling from Fanelia to Joko by airship will be dangerous enough due to your infamous visage" Hitomi opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "However, I have no other leads. Every other way has given me nothing." He finally looked at her and she felt her heart jump into a harsh beat. There was a flash, the smallest briefest moment. That glimmer of amazement sprinkled into his mahogany eyes and fizzled out before she could fully register its presence.
Then his long hair flipped back into his face and he pushed the oars.
"Despite my better judgment, let us go to Joko. Maybe it will not be as useless as I originally thought."
And we are on our way through my plotline. :) I have to admit, that part with the train was seriously fun. When I sat back and really thought about ways Hitomi could prove herself more than capable, that was my favorite plan. And then I just went with it and next thing I know, she's slapping Zaibach soldiers and barking orders. Man, my brain seriously knows how to have a good time.
Rutilus is getting worked on, but probably won't be updated until next week. I'm lucky I got this much out for Be Ready. Between the packing and the moving and the birds and the getting rained on all weekend and the everything else in my life I'm just glad I'm not sick.
Thank you always for reading. Just to know people enjoyed the chapter makes me so happy (and write faster). ;)
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