Name: Misaou Himeko "Dove" (Misaou means "Fidelity" in Japanese.)
Class: Monk
Eye color: Dark blue
Hair color: Black
Blood type: B- (B negative)
Birthday: Dormouse 18th
Age: 13
Hometown: Serpentine (Serpentine is a town that is located near Olympus. The people who live there worship snake statues and they worship demons like Pandora. Dove's family was considered royalty there.)
Notes: Dove's an ex-convict. Her family was killed in a fire that her aunt, Isamu, caused on purpose. Her aunt was considered a demon. A demon of fear at that. Dove has snake blood in her veins, and some say that is why her pigtails move like snakes when she's happy. Dove has a twin sister named Tei. Tei lost her memories after she lost her family. Dove said that it was best for them to separate. Dove has also found out that Asuka was her older sister who was adopted by another family. And the family that adopted her just so happened to be related to Rai. Dove is a pervert ,and most girls are uncomfortable around her. She shares that trait with her cousin, Tsukiro. Dove also broke Meru out of Jotunheim with her friend Kokoro. Dove is considered a saint because she can revive that dead, but Kokoro helped her find out that she could not revive people who have run out of "Time" as Dove called it. When someone's Time is approaching they grow a cloudy look in their eyes. Dove found out what Time was when Kokoro started acting funny, and had that lifeless look in her eyes. Soon after she gained that, she committed suicide. Dove tried to revive her over and over again, but Meru stopped her.
"It was her time..." Meru's words helped Dove come up with the phrase "Time". Dove knows that someone's time runs out when they lack a purpose. She hopes that nothing like Kokoro's death will happen before her eyes again.
Height: 5'2" and 7.6/8
Pros: Can heal any sort of injury. Even death. She is very good at hand-to-hand combat.
Cons: Perverted, doesn't shut up, won't sit her full sentence in prison, and she has been stalking everyone for the past four years.
Hobbies: Looking through people's underwear, peeping at nearly everyone, stealing things, and going to shrines to honor the dead.
*Psychotic laughter* So... I found out that I had my guest comments disabled! Now everyone can review! I'm so ridiculous...
Chapter Fourteen: Torture! I mean... Training!
Ryuu woke up to the sound of drums playing in his room. He tried to ignore it, but it got louder by the second. He sat up and saw that Aoimi was playing them. But the worst part was that Brac and Rai stood next to Aoimi. Ryuu wished that he did not sit up.
"Good morning, Ryuu!" Aoimi beamed. "You have to go train now!"
"What?" Ryuu squinted at her. "But... I haven't eaten yet!" He came up with a decent excuse.
"Oh... You'll be able to eat my fists." Brac bragged. Rai laughed at him.
"No... I would prefer something with more flavor!" Ryuu dashed for the door to his room, but Rai grabbed him by his scarf.
"Nice try, Ryuunosuke." She flashed a few teeth at Ryuu.
"I thought that this was over with!" Ryuu whined.
"You were very wrong about that!" Rai did her signature dry laugh.
Rai dragged Ryuu out the room and Brac and Aoimi trailed after her. They walked out into the town's square and walked behind the Explorer's guild. There was a wide open space before them. Luna was there and she was doing push-ups beside Keiko. Tanaku was eating a piece of a bagel, Tsukiro was reading a small book, Niku and Yoshiko were looking at an insect, and the new recruits were there too.
"Well, well, well. Sleeping beauty's finally up." Tanaku finished her food. She pulled out another bagel and gave it to Ryuu. "Here, you idiot." Ryuu took it and began to eat it very slowly. Aoimi began to watch him eat with and her usual big goofy smile appeared on her face.
"Procrastinating again, Ryuu?" Aoimi shrugged. "Oh well, too bad for you. You'll be stuck here all day. Even when Hana's on her little date that you won't be able to stop." Aoimi tapped her foot as she waited for Ryuu to respond.
"Date? What date?" Ryuu sounded relatively calm. Everyone stared at him, but looked away when he continued. "With who? Why? How did Hana even get herself hooked up? I told her not to. Teenage relationships never end well. They never do! What is she thinking?" Rai kicked Ryuu in his side.
"Shut up! You remind me of my mother-in-law!" She seemed flustered when she said that.
"Isn't that Brac's mom?" Aoimi looked confused.
"Yes, and if you think Brac is scary, think again."
Aoimi made a frightened face. "Well, I'm off now." She began to tread away from them.
"Off to where?" Rai straitened her glasses.
"To stalk Hana."
"Are you sure that..." Rai moved closer to Aoimi and held her shoulder. "Are you sure that Midori isn't doing so already?" She whispered. Aoimi's teachers had always known about her secret. Rai took her in promised not to tell anyone else except for Brac. Aoimi had no clear idea on why Rai took in a possessed murder girl, but she gladly accepted it..
"Well, why would she do that?" She inquired quietly.
"She's jealous, Aoimi. And she does plan to ruin this life for you."
"How do you know?" Rai laughed at Aoimi's comeback and pointed to the ground. Aoimi looked down to see that there was no shadow beneath her. She made a rather offended noise and stomped away.
"What was that all about?" Luna asked while she was in the middle of her one hundred fifth push-up.
"Nothing." Brac replied.
"Let's get started." Rai said. She looked at the newer recruits of RAGNAROK and smiled. "Since you have gotten new guild members, I say that we do a sort of... Trust test."
"What do you mean by that...?" Ryuu began to tremble.
"We are going to put a group of you in a certain part of the labyrinth, while the others watch and learn from the group's mistakes." Rai looked at Ryuu's frightened face. "And just because we are your teachers does not mean we will pick you, Ryuu."
"We're going to have a raffle!" Rai pulled out a bucket from midair. "Now, I'll pick three people!"
"Three? Isn't it dangerous to have a small amount of people go into the labyrinth?" Inki spoke.
"All the more reasons to trust each other." Brac added.
"And just because you said that, we'll add in another group of three into a different part of the labyrinth." Rai dug her hand into the bucket, and everyone waited for her to pick out a name. "Ooh... The first group has, Inki, Miki, and... Luna." Rai seemed a little more than disappointed as she read the names. She put the shreds of paper on the ground beside her. She stuck her hand in the bucket again, and it seemed as if she looked down in it. The results proved that she did. "And the second group contains, Ryuu, Asuka, and Maki!"
"You cheated!" Ryuu shouted. "I saw you look in there..."
"Says the blind boy." Rai smiled. "Okay. It's time for the blindfolds."
"What, blindfolds?" Luna asked. "I don't see any."
Rai walked over to Luna and pulled Luna's purple scarf over her eyes. Luna did nothing in response. She tugged Ryuu's scarf over his eyes, she pulled Inki's headband down over her eyes, she also took out Asuka's hair ties and tied them over her face, she put her hand over Maki's eyes, and told Miki to close her eyes.
"Follow me." Rai motioned to the other children.
"Hey, Hana." Aoimi knocked on Hana's door. Hana opened the door slightly.
"What?" She sounded quite annoyed.
"Um..." Aoimi blandly stared at Hana. She didn't want to tell anyone else about Midori. She realized that she couldn't just ask Hana if she had seen a shadow creeping around. She needed an excuse, but she lost her train of thought after thinking about Midori.
Hana peered up at her with a surprised look on her face. "Aoimi, are you okay? You never stop talking." She was hiding a small grin she had on her face.
"Yeah." Aoimi suddenly cheered up. She looked at what Hana was wearing. "Are you seriously going to wear that?" She pointed at Hana's pink nightgown.
"No." Hana spoke with an irritated expression. "I woke up five minutes ago." Hana glowered at Aoimi again. "What do you want me to wear anyway?" She asked quietly.
Aoimi began to squeal. "Oh my goodness! Let's go shopping with Meru and Yoshiko!"
Hana hushed Aoimi's screaming. "I don't think that's necessary."
"But... You'd look cute in a dress. And you know who's great with dresses? Magnum and Haruka!" Aoimi could not stop getting excited.
"No. No one needs to buy me new clothes." Hana rubbed her eyes. "I have enough clothes. If I buy more, Dove's gonna look through them anyway."
"Dove's in prison. Did you forget about that?"
Hana nodded slowly. "Yeah. Bye." Hana slammed the door.
Aoimi frowned. "Fine. I guess she hasn't heard of a gift." She sat down in front to the door. She skimmed her surroundings. She saw Niku's sheep, Niwa, wandering throughout the inn. She heard a panting from somewhere, and a voice screamed from the same direction. She examined that area, and it was another long hallway. She saw another sheep run down from there. It was a black sheep.
"Machaera?" Aoimi called out to it. She recalled Yugai's introductions. She said that their sheep was named Machaera. The sheep seemed to be after Niwa. So, Aoimi called out to Niwa instead. As she did so Sai, Yugai, Hari, Caelum, Riko, and Caelum's two new children came from the hallway. By the time they looked around, both sheep were on Aoimi's lap.
"Hey, look. It's seizure girl." Hari pointed at her.
Aoimi held up Machaera. "I believe that this sheep belongs to ewe." Aoimi pulled off a really bad pun. No one in Machaera got it except for Sai.
"He's not a ewe. Ewe are female sheep. He's a ram, to be precise. Rams are male." Sai took the sheep. "He's been looking for a mate, and your sheep appears to be female. Sorry..."
"That's fine." Aoimi petted Niwa.
"Our guild has interns now!" Yugai showed off the two children.
"They are not interns, Yugai. They are my children." Caelum spat out those words with an unhappy tone.
"Same thing." Yugai half shrugged. "The boy is Alexandros, and the little lady here is Jacinth." Yugai looked at Aoimi's face. "You don't look so happy."
Aoimi gave them a weak grin. "It's nothing." She saw that Riko was still eying her.
"If it's bothering you, then it's something." Yugai knelled down. "What is it?" It was hard for Aoimi to take her seriously. Her guild had some issues. Hari and Riko were tossing Machaera around like he was ball, and Sai was trying to stop them. Caelum was observing her children and they were staring at her. Aoimi tried to smile wider.
"No... I'm really fine." She got up.
"Aw, stop it. You're acting like Gears now!" She punched Aoimi's shoulder.
That really wanted to make Aoimi tell her, but she was pretty sure that she had told enough people about Hana's and Agata's outing. She thought back to when she spoke to Lamia at the campsite.
"If you want to keep something secret, make sure that you never tell Machaera."
Aoimi encouraged herself. Fang was full of jerks anyway. Why should she believe them? She sighed; if that was her reason, she'd have to forget about Blue Sky.
"Ah, hello?" Yugai seemed flustered. "Are you going to tell me or what?"
Aoimi thought that Yugai was trying too hard to get the information. "No. I'm fine." She turned Yugai down. Yugai's friendliness vanished.
"Oh, okay then." She sounded really frustrated. "That's fine. Let's go Machaera." They began to walk away. Guild Fang came out of another hallway, and proceeded to pick on Machaera. Those popular guilds were jerks. Aoimi shook her head. And put her ear up to Hana's door.
"Should I take that offer...?" Aoimi heard Hana speak through the door. Aoimi looked back at Fang and Machaera bickering. She felt like she should do something. She looked at Niwa in her arms. Niwa seemed as if she were angry too. Aoimi placed the sheep down. Niwa ran over and looked back at Aoimi. It was like she wanted Aoimi to come with her. Aoimi followed Niku's sheep.
The two guilds seemed to be arguing about how Yugai wasn't the real leader of Machaera. And Fang seemed to be winning the argument. And Lamia was the main person talking. She was so two faced. Why was she so nice to Aoimi the other day? Maybe it was because she heard Meru say that her sister betrayed her. Aoimi didn't know. Aoimi walked between the two guilds.
"Top of the morning to you, guild Buzzkill." She jeered.
"Look, it's that string bean from BRAGNAROK." Herald commented.
"You can't call me a string bean. You lost to a thirteen year old boy. Remember, Herald?" Aoimi spoke with a sly sound to her voice. "And if you can lose to Ryuu in two minutes, I'll have you up and over within the first thirty seconds."
Yugai gestured for Aoimi to stop. "This isn't your argument. It would be best if you didn't get involved."
"Do you really think that I care for the best? No. I want to set things straight here."
"You don't have the power to do that." Yakusoku retorted.
"We do." Isis and Ezra came down from the same pathway as Machaera did.
"Says the guild that almost lost to a bunch of baffled novices." Flame crossed his arms.
"How did you find out about that?" Ezra mumbled. When he finished Hari and Yugai began to whistle loudly. Isis frowned.
"Imbeciles, can't you do something other than point out other's mistakes." Isis directed that at Machaera.
"Of course they can't." Herald spoke again.
"Hey! Why can't we get along for once!?" Aoimi yelled at everyone. "It's really annoying! You should at least try to communicate with other guilds and be friendly to them! You're all so selfish!" Everyone stopped what they were doing.
"Selfish?" Lamia broke the silence with laughter. "Let's go Fang." And with that all the guilds separated. Yugai stayed next to Aoimi, Isis did not move from her spot. Yugai thanked Aoimi and sat next to her in silence. Isis appeared to be saying something.
"Ezra's not selfish... If anything you are. You caused the Green Massacre." Her words were barely heard.
Aoimi walked back to Hana's door, and saw that it was ajar. She looked in the crack and saw Hana's eyes peering out.
"I'll go shopping with you Aoimi. It is a date after all." Hana muttered.
"A date? With who?" Yugai's mood came back. Aoimi and Hana had a feeling that they were going to regret the next few hours. Fortunately, they were slightly incorrect.
Ryuu regained his sight after Rai pulled his scarf away from his eyes. Rai was standing in front of a door with a star on it. That door was located on the second floor. Ryuu made a note to himself. Ryuu studied the door and realized that they were on the other side of it.
"Your mission is to find the other group and exit through a passage on the first floor. Happy travels!" Rai opened the door and slammed it before Ryuu could say anything in response. Ryuu wondered how she made the door open even though it was locked.
He turned back to Maki and Asuka. Asuka was staring at the ground, and Maki was glaring at Ryuu. Ryuu thought it would be best if they figured out what they were going to do, and if they told each other their strengths and weaknesses. He took a deep breath before he went to talk.
"I don't need your advice, peasant." Maki turned away. "Let us get this over with."
Ryuu had a certain look on his face. He felt interrupted. He felt like he did when he was with Niku. He had to hold in his anger because his teacher was probably still watching him.
"We won't get this done if we don't figure out how to work together." Ryuu began to walk away from the glowing door. He turned his attention to Asuka. Asuka was way ahead of the two boys. She was skimming the pathway in front of them. Ryuu hoped that she would be more agreeable.
"Do you see anything?" He asked her.
She turned back to face Ryuu. "There are a couple of doors down there. I say that we should check each of them before we continue through the one that proceeds farther into the labyrinth." Ryuu sighed. At least she knew what she was doing. Asuka went to check the doors by herself, and wouldn't let the other two accompany her. That left Ryuu alone with Maki. Ryuu glued his eyes on to Maki. Maki seemed to be waiting for Asuka to return.
"Um... Hey. Maki, don't you think it would be best if we shared our abilities before we started exploring?" Ryuu asked with a cautious tone.
Maki acknowledged Ryuu's comment. "I assume that you're smarter than I thought." Maki took a glimpse forward. "Why would Meru want to court someone of your likes?"
"I dunno." Ryuu scratched the back of his head. "Sometimes, I wish she didn't like me," Ryuu saw Maki's facial expression change and switched the topic. "but that's not important! We need to figure out our skills!"
"Why didn't you ask Asuka?"
"Asuka has an defensive role, and defensive roles almost never interact with offensive roles. I have a main physical offense, and you have a supporting offense role. If you helped me, our attacks would be much higher."
Maki appeared to be slightly awestruck after Ryuu said that. Why would anyone know that much about battle roles anyway? Maki blinked before he heard Asuka approaching.
"The first door and the fourth door lead to a golden statue that moves. Those are the only doors that could lead to the first floor..."
"I'm surprised that a lady could have searched this place so thoroughly." Maki began to walk down the trail. Ryuu trailed behind him and Asuka lagged behind. She was muttering things to herself.
"What should we do?" Ryuu asked Asuka.
"Enter through the first door and provoke it. It'll chase after us until we reach the first door again." Asuka pointed to the door. "After it reaches that door, we run for the fourth door. Then we'll see if there is a staircase. It won't be able to catch up to us. Its movements are slow. The only thing that should worry us are the enemy encounters, but I recall that woman saying something about warding the monsters away while we were headed here."
The three peaked in the first door, and slowly entered the room. They took some steps and saw a beautiful golden statue. The problem was that it was hostile. It began to move toward them at a steady pace. It was so sluggish that they had to run toward it and provoke it. They even had to make sure that it didn't stop following them too soon. After they finally got it behind them, they closed the first door in its face. They began to head to the fourth door. There wasn't much of a challenge after that. They just walked away from the intricate giant hunk of stone. They found a staircase that went up to the next floor.
"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." Ryuu sounded alleviated.
"It's all in the roles." Asuka smiled.
Ryuu squinted at her. "Wait. You think roles are the most important thing?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Asuka was suddenly frustrated.
"Yes... The most important thing about it was that we worked together."
"You need roles in order to do that."
"No. You don't." Ryuu laughed in a mocking manner.
"Is that something you live by? Because if it is, I see why you haven't accomplished a thing yet."
"Can you two please be quiet?" Maki barged in.
"No, pretty boy. I'm trying to prove him wrong!"
The three began to argue very loudly as they walked through the labyrinth. But then they realized that they hadn't thought about something. If there was only one statue on the second floor, shouldn't there be more on the first floor? They stopped when they saw one. Without even thinking about any of their comrades, they dashed forward.
"This is all your fault, Ryuu!" Asuka ran the fastest even though she wore an abundance of armor.
"Don't use the peasant as a scapegoat, it's all your fault!" Maki retorted.
"No, it's clearly your fault ,Maki!" The three still found time to bicker even when they were running for their lives. They ran into five or six of the statues and the statues chased after them. The trio found a long pathway ,and sprinted down there a light's speed. After they managed to run down there, the statues lost interest in them and fled.
"Where the heck is Luna's group?" Ryuu plummeted down on the flowery soil.
"Right here." The three looked up to the tree Luna lounged in. Inki and Miki were beside her. "I'm surprised you made it this far without Hana, Ryuu." Luna showered Ryuu in offensive praise. "You were pretty loud. I heard you from all the way over here."
Ryuu glowered up at her. "You're awfully gabby today, Luna."
"I speak when it's needed." She leaped out of the tree, and her team followed her action. Luna pointed to the blue flowers behind Ryuu. "Those flowers are a passage, but it seems as if it was deliberately clogged up." She muttered. "I am aware that there was another passage to the west, but I do not know what lies in wait for us." She sighed. "And that's the only reason why I waited for you."
"I... Think that there are more things over there..." Miki spoke in a slow whisper. "Six more until we reach that passage..."
"Good." Luna acknowledged Miki's hypothesis. "The sooner we go the better."
Ryuu gazed at Luna. He didn't know that she had leadership in her. She was so dull and blunt when she was with him. Luna was also rude, but she didn't know. That intrigued Ryuu the most. Weren't children forced to be polite in the east? He shrugged; he'd ask her about it later.
Inki crossed her arms and addressed the party. "These statues are stronger than any of beast on the first or second stratum. It would be best if we avoided any contact with them. Be sure to keep your distance too. They have the ability to turn living objects into stone." Inki removed a large sheet of paper from her pocket. "And since we lack a map, it would be extremely useful if someone would navigate. It would be easier to elude becoming the prey of such beasts."
"I will navigate." Miki agreed
Ryuu, Maki, and Asuka couldn't contain their envy. Why did they get along so well? Why didn't they?
"Why so green, blind boy?"Luna taunted Ryuu. "I thought that you were all for a little teamwork." She strutted forward with the other two quiet girls.
"Are we seriously less cooperative than the girl who belongs to a family that killed people for fun?" Asuka asked.
"How about we work together to beat them at this?" Ryuu and Asuka fit together like puzzle pieces right then.
"Wouldn't that defeat the point of this trust test?" Maki inquired.
"Well..." Ryuu had that ridiculous smile from the day he fought Herald. "Rai said that we find the group... She never said that we had to work with them."
"Are you going to overtake Kakasei, Pretty boy?" Asuka put her hand out in front of Maki's.
"You have a deal." Maki shook her hand.
"I told you, Brac. Ryuu is my smartest pupil, and he had knowledge of what I was planning." Brac rolled his eyes after Rai finished.
"Aoimi would have found out earlier."
"Sure, Brac."
Yoshiko took a deep breath and began to talk. "But doesn't a goal like that ruin the teamwork?" She was shaking.
"No, not really." Keiko spoke. "It's like a competition. Whichever team makes it out first wins. Rai didn't say that because they would ruin the purpose by themselves if they had known at first."
"That's right, Keiko." Rai nodded.
"What would happen if any of them got injured?" Niku asked ,worried.
"They will prevent that before it happens. And if they don't we'll interfere." Brac said back.
Hana came out of a dressing room with a small frilly dress on. She didn't seem to be pleased at all. She also wore a small frown.
"I don't like this dress." Hana examined it more.
"Hana, you don't like any of these dresses." Aoimi scrutinized a massive pile of dresses behind them. "I thought that you would act all cutesy about this." Aoimi whined.
Yugai glimpsed at Hana. "Agata doesn't care about what you're going to wear. Just wear something that describes you." Yugaina tied the laces to her boots.
"How do you know?" Aoimi grabbed her hair and began to stroke it.
"Agata and I used hang out before, but we were friends. Just friends." Yugai spoke like she was trying to make herself sure about something. "Our guilds are close allies, but we haven't spoken much because we just defeated the Narmer. We're actually in the second stratum now, and Machaera is one of the most popular guilds in Armoroad."
"Oh." Hana played in the dress more. "Which guilds do you think are the most popular?"
"Oi..." Yugai thought. "Gears is the talk of the town. I'd have to say Fang and Brawn are tied for second..."
"Oi?" Aoimi laughed at Yugai.
"It's what I say!" Yugai elbowed her. "Anyway, your guild's popularity has skyrocketed to third. My guild used to be third, but now we're fourth. Guild Satan has made their mark as fifth. That's only because they are the first guild that defeated the Narmer without a Monk, and with only three members. And Murotsumi's the sixth most popular."
"Okay." Hana walked back over to the dressing rooms. "I didn't know we were popular at all." Yugai grinned. She waited until Hana came back before she responded.
"The way that Ryuu kid in your guild stood up to Fang just for Hanasaku... It was just amazing!" Yugai patted Hana's head. "You're lucky that you have such loyal companions!"
"What?" Hana screwed up her face. "That's what they did the day before yesterday?"
"Yeah. Ryuu fought Herald and beat the living crap outta him. And that Meru girl came over and pointed out that he was Obi's son. She was also the one who told everyone about you." Yugai spoke again. Aoimi turned over to Hana to see her face.
"Are you happy now?" She asked.
"I was upset with Ryuu and Hanasaku because of Meru's mistake!?" Hana fell over into the pile of dresses and screamed.
"Yeah, you were. And you took it all out on me." Aoimi rose from her chair.
"Sorry about that." Hana pulled out a dress and began to fold it for once.
"No, you aren't..." Aoimi mumbled. She took the dress out of Hana's hands. "This one is cute. I didn't see you put it on." Aoimi glistened each time she stared at the tiny blue dress with frills at the ends. "This compliments your eyes and your hair. How come you didn't wear it?"
Hana picked up another dress. "It was too expensive. It's eleven thousand en."
Aoimi thought and snapped her fingers. "Get someone to buy it for you!"
"No." Hana studied the dress in her hands. It was white and pink. It was long and curvy, and the sleeves were decorated with lacy flowers. She began to fold it, but Aoimi snatched that dress from her too.
"Ooh! I want this one!" She lifted one of the sleeves and saw the price tag. Her mouth dropped open. "Fifty two thousand en!" She sounded very hurt. "These are like the shopkeeper's prices!"
"We can't buy it, Aoimi." Hana muttered.
"Actually..." Yugai trailed off. "My mom can buy it. She works for a very popular restaurant that has a store." Yugai seemed glum. "The problem is that she'll force me to buy one too."
"What's wrong with that?" Aoimi was eying the dress she had.
"I'm a tomboy."
"I'm one too." Aoimi pointed to her outfit.
"And my mom's a creepy person. She used to be an innkeeper, but now she technically leads Machaera. She looks just like me too. People confuse me for her."
"It doesn't matter." Aoimi turned to her side and saw a large shadow that wasn't fit to be in that spot. That was Midori. It had to be. Upon noticing Aoimi had spotted her, she fled from that area.
"I'll be back." Yugai walked away. "If I find a dress, I'll go get my mom..." She began to vanish from their line of sight. "I really don't hope I find one."
Hana gazed at a grand piano they had in that store. It was large and golden. Next to it was classic black grand piano that was decorated with orange emblems. Hana peered back at Aoimi. Aoimi wasn't there and her dress wasn't either. She probably followed Yugai or changed into the dress. Hana saw the dress that Aoimi said would look good on her. Should she wear that? She quietly walked over to it.
She examined it. She didn't like how it would make her look like a child, but she could not resist the frills on it. She eagerly went to change into it. She came out of the dressing room and twirled around some before she went to the piano. She sat down on the bench in front of the piano. She was surprised to see that there were sheets of music that came with piano. She looked through some, and decided that she would play the "Für Elise". It was a bit complex for her taste ,but it was the easiest one there.
She began playing it, it was easier than it seemed. She almost messed up when it got faster, but caught herself in the act. She felt like there was someone watching her, but she doubted it. She finished the piece and her hands were aching. She shrugged. That was the price at choosing piano instead of a violin. But the violin would hurt her hands and her chin. She wanted to play another piece, but she heard clapping behind her.
Someone was watching, but it wasn't Aoimi or Yugai. It was Marin with the little girl known as Kise. She felt a bit embarrassed as she stood up and turned toward them. Kise was the one who started clapping. Marin just watched with a lollipop in her mouth. It was one of the large and swirly ones that tasted like apples.
"You're really good at playing that piano!" Kise praised her. "I want to learn how to hit keys like that!"
Marin removed her lollipop from her mouth. "You should have gone to a music academy instead of becoming an adventurer. It pays more, and it's a lot more satisfying." She was wearing a black dress with red flowers on it. Hana assumed that she shopped there.
"Nah. Playing this piano hurts my fingers."
"How come you look like you want that piano then?"
Marin's question took away Hana's guard. "Uh. I play for fun. I guess having a piano would be nice, but..." Hana shook her head. "I don't have enough en for it." Hana pointed to a label on the side. The piano was a hundred thousand en.
"Whoa." Kise stared at the label. "Marin, do you have that much money?"
Marin glared at the girl. "I have much more than that." Marin waltzed over to Hana's side. "I came here because I have proposition."
"What would that be?" Hana took a stance.
"You might want to take a seat." Hana sat down after that. "You are aware that you're headed to the second stratum soon, right?" Hana nodded. "Well, no guild has ever surpassed that stratum." Marin shook her head as if she wasn't approving of what she said. "But..." She pulled out a letter. "If you are willing to take this letter, and see what I have to say about the entire thing. You may make it." Hana eyed the letter.
"If so many people have died there... Why haven't you done anything?"
"She's doing something now." Kise said from behind the woman. Kise had a dress in her arms. It was a yellow dress that was rather short. It had a red ribbon on the waistline. Yugai and Aoimi came back. Kise smiled at Yugai and proceeded to hand her another letter.
"If you want any other details, you'll have to wait until Dormouse first. That is the day this meeting shall take place." Marin stopped talking after that.
"Yugai didn't find a dress, Hana. We'll have to leave them here." Aoimi sighed.
Hana scowled. "There was no point in buying them in the first place. We have nothing formal coming up in the future-" Marin put her hand over Hana's mouth.
"I'll buy them for you, Hana." Marin's voice sounded bland. Yugai's face scrunched up, and Aoimi lit up with delight.
"Really!?"
Marin had her hand out in a certain fashion. She was going to slap Aoimi. "I swear if you call me Marebear one more time."
Aoimi backed away. "I wasn't going to do that..." She lied.
Yugai walked over to Hana's side. "I think she wants something from your guild specifically." She whispered in Hana's ear. "She expects something big out of you. I can tell. Just make sure to keep your guard up." Yugai trailed away from the rest of the herd. "I have to check on Machaera. Machaera the sheep." She left the store.
"What was that all about?" Aoimi asked Hana.
"Nothing."
Ryuu, Maki, and Asuka had just finished telling the others about about their skills. They felt a lot more accomplished after they did so. They had a new problem.
"How the heck are we going to win this competition now?" Asuka complained. "The other group was filled with quiet girls that move really fast. There's no way we can find them. Or even catch up to them by now!"
"There might be a way." Maki rubbed his chin.
"It doesn't matter. As long as we work together we technically win." Ryuu was still sitting on the floor.
"Okay, now you sound too much like Magnolia." Maki stated. "She's so obsessed with stuff like that." Maki closed his eyes. "Anyway, on Tuesday, Luna seemed to either really happy or she was being nice to me for no good reason."
"Are you sure she wasn't acting nice because you're royalty? She's nice around Meru too..."
Maki opened his eyes slightly. "She smiled at me."
Ryuu made a disgusted face. "Okay then! Maki since you can run fast, you can distract Luna!" He was suddenly standing.
"See? I told you that roles were needed for teamwork." Asuka had smug smile on her face. "I'll distract the statues! And Ryuu. Your job is to outwit all of Luna's teammates!" The three got up and continued the race they thought they were in. There were two statues waiting beyond that point. They were still alarmed from Luna's team invading their territory. "You boys wait until I distract these things. Run when they're far enough." Asuka seemed to be entertained with the situation they were in.
"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Ryuu was speaking with a hushed tone.
Asuka smirked. "This is something I don't tell others, but I used to be a dancer. And dancers never fail, they prevail." She dashed away into a passage. Maki and Ryuu waited for her to come back. She sprinted back with both statues behind her. The two males hid in a flower bush to make sure the idols would keep on going after Asuka.
Ryuu and Maki sped down the path and took a turn and made it into a lone hallway. Asuka reunited with them seconds after. She was still running and forced Maki and Ryuu to move farther away from the statues. They stopped moving just a few minutes afterwards. Ryuu walked ahead of the other two and peeked around the nearest corner. There were three pathways. Ryuu thought that they would have to use the same strategy as before. He heard a few noises, and decided that it would be best if he didn't look anymore. He turned back to Maki and Asuka. Asuka was panting and she was using a tree for support. Maki was staring straight ahead.
"What did you see?" Maki appeared to be nonchalant about the dilemma.
"Nothing that important. I think there are more of those Golden Idols in the next room. I can tell based on the room's format."
"More?" Asuka choked on her next breath. "Ryuu, you're going to help me this time. It's really hard to bring both of them in the same place if there's only one person doing it..."
"Fine. Maki, stay here." Ryuu trotted away with Asuka.
"Ryuu, go to the hall that's to the north." Ryuu followed Asuka's bidding. When Ryuu made it to that point, Asuka told Maki to stand in the center of the middle path. Asuka then proceeded to head down the path to the south. Maki stood in his place until both Asuka and Ryuu dashed past him. He walked behind them.
"Why are you two running? These things aren't even that fast." Maki even stopped to pick quite a few flowers while the others were in such a rush.
"You see, there's this thing that I value. It's called my life! And you seem to be lacking one!" Asuka turned into another hallway. Ryuu didn't hesitate to do so nearly right after she did. Maki looked back. Those things weren't even behind him. He saw a kunai lodged into the ground. He knew that Luna's group wasn't that far ahead. He pulled it out of the ground, and peered behind him. The idols were right behind him. He backed away and knew that he probably should run very far away. But instead, he moved at a moderate pace. He didn't want to provoke the statues. The first one was falling for the bait, but the second was moving in a strange fashion. It seemed as if it was breathing. Maki saw that and , without a thought, put the kunai in front of himself. Surprisingly, it shielded him because the second idol was behind the first one. Maki examined the kunai once again and saw that it was turned to stone. Just as Inki said.
He stopped his daze and got out of that area. There was one thing that was still on his mind. How did Inki know that when no one else knew? He shook off the question, and held the kunai in his hand close to his chest.
"What took you so long, Pretty Boy?" Asuka and Ryuu were stretching when Maki arrived. She turned back to face him when she didn't get a response. "Are you okay, Maki?" Maki nodded and dropped the kunai in his hand. Ryuu watched it as it fell to the ground.
"It's stone..." He muttered. "What Inki said was true?" Ryuu asked the question knowing that no one was supposed to answer it. Maki nodded once again. His arm was becoming hard for him to move, and he felt oddly cold.
Asuka gasped loudly. "Maki! Your hand!" She cried out. Maki gaped at his hand. It was pure stone. Maki returned his gaze to the kunai he dropped. He found that it was golden by then.
"There's only such an abundance in these idols because they turn other living creatures into more idols." Maki muttered.
"Petrifaction. It's the only ailment that still hurts explorers after battle." Ryuu spoke. "That's why you should have came with us."
"We need to hurry..." Asuka spoke to herself anxiously. "The Monk you have... Can he heal Maki's hand?"
"Probably..." Ryuu started walking. "Let's go."
The three continued their search for the passage Luna had brought up. They found another room where there should have been more idols lurking around, but they were no where to be seen. Ryuu grew concerned for Luna's group. His worries were proven to be correct when he found Luna's scarf on the floor. The problem was that it was turning into stone. Ryuu led the other two people behind him to the path that went to the passage.
"Go ahead without me." Ryuu's voice was very low.
Asuka's eyes widened. "What? No!" She shook her head rapidly. "It's a Hoplite's duty to stay with their companions no matter the problem!"
"But you're a dancer today, are you not?" He retorted.
"Shut up, Signum!" She slapped him. "Maki and I are not leaving!"
"I would leave, but I just lost all feeling in my legs. So, it's pretty impossible." Maki chimed in.
"Asuka, take Maki to the crevice. You can't handle this." Asuka hesitated, but eventually complied. She lifted up Maki and held him like he was her wife.
Ryuu turned away from the two and walked into another path. There were two Golden Idols around Luna's group. Ryuu muttered something to himself, and joined their battle. Luna was okay, but Inki was unconscious and Miki was lying on the ground. She was clearly turning into stone.
"Took you long enough, Ryuunosuke!" Luna was bleeding from her mouth, and she was in a mood that Ryuu had never seen her in. She was amused. "Your teacher knows how to pick a challenge..." She was smiling widely.
"What happened?" Ryuu pulled out his sword.
"These idols surrounded us, if you can't tell. They hit pretty hard, they haven't used their breath to turn things to stone... But there was an incident..." She gestured to Miki.
"Stay behind me." Ryuu stood in front of the Kakasei.
"No." She wiped the blood off with her hand. "I have an idea."
Ryuu tightened his grip on his sword. "What is it?"
"That fiend is completely resistant to physical attacks. Your sword will deal no damage whatsoever. But... I'm willing to let you have a gift. Or see a gift to be correct." Luna had a berserk aura. Ryuu had heard that her family got like that when fighting. Luna stared at Ryuu's curious face and gently removed her mask from the side of her head. "This mask, the 'Ryuketsu no Kitsune', has the ability to enhance anyone's skill level to it's maximum potential." Luna put it on her face. "Nothing that has faced my family has lived to see it on a Kakasei's face twice." She cackled. "Now, you have a small chance of seeing it twice!" Luna disappeared into the scenery like a phantom.
Ryuu heard the first Golden Idol collapse shortly afterwards. It's body was deformed into small pebbles. Luna reappeared in front of Ryuu. She was being really cocky. So cocky, that it was hard to see her as Luna. Ryuu realized that the statue was about to breathe and he immediately covered the girl. Luna seemed shocked for a second before she saw that Ryuu was perfectly fine.
Luna's mask popped off her face and she caught it. She fell to her knees. "You managed to learn 'White Flame' in such little time." She clenched her chest and her breathing was ragged. Ryuu nodded. "Don't worry me like that... If the Ryuketsu no Kitsune comes off... It will inflict damage to the body because it is still sucking out power... And when it is disconnected from its source it takes all of the user's energy away..." Her sentences were spaced since she was running out of breath. "And that leads to serious exhaustion... That is why I am like this..."
Ryuu glimpsed back at the statue. It didn't look like it was going to spare them... There was a sudden loud cracking noise from behind the beast. It shattered before their eyes. Beyond the rubble was a white haired woman. More commonly known as Obi.
Ryuu had intense rush of déjà vu. Where did he see that woman from? The woman walked over unhurriedly, and revived Inki and refreshed Miki. She shot a look at Ryuu before she went to leave.
"Wait..." Ryuu was nearly silent. "Where have I seen you before?"
The woman's gaze became a little more sincere. "It does not matter... I doubt that we'll ever meet again." She sounded heartbroken, but she left anyway. Ryuu had his arm stretched out, but he moved it back to the hilt of his blade. Inki and Miki rose from the ground, and suggested that they found the crevice.
"You idiot!" Asuka began to shake Ryuu. She saw that he wasn't reacting and placed him down. "Know your place, Gladiator!" She shouted. "You act like you're the only thing that can protect others. That's a Hoplite's job! And even Hoplites know that they can rely on others!" They were on their way back to Armoroad.
"You don't seem to..." There was a low mumble from Niku.
"Well, yeah you're kids! I have to defend you!"
Niku face was blank. "You say you're sixteen, when really your still fifteen, if I am correct. I turn sixteen before you do. I was the oldest person in this guild. That was until Magnolia joined." Everyone stopped in their tracks.
"You aren't ten?" Rai covered her mouth. "Ew! I sounded stupid like Brac."
"I knew that he wasn't ten. And I know when his birthday is." Brac eyed his wife. "I guess you're the stupid one today, Rai." Everyone laughed except for Ryuu. Rai began to glare at Ryuu. He always laughed at insults that were directed at her. Out of nowhere, Niku froze again. Yoshiko realized, and called out his name.
No response.
Yoshiko turned around and walked over to him. "Niku~?"
Niku blinked. "What? Oh, sorry. I must have dazed again."
"Huh?" Yoshiko looked to see how far away the others are.
"I daze out a lot..." Niku seemed bashful.
"Why?" Yoshiko moved closer to his face.
Niku's bashfulness quickly changed to complete shame. "I-I have multi-personality disorder..."
Yoshiko put her hand on the boy's shoulders. "Oh, well. I don't care about it! We're still best pals ,right?"
"Right." Niku and Yoshiko scampered up to where everyone else was.
It was dark when everyone returned from the labyrinth. Everyone scattered about after they made it to town. Ryuu stood at the forest's entrance. He had nothing better to do. He did not want to go back to the inn. Meru was probably waiting for his arrival. He leaned back and used his sword for support.
He had a feeling that he was missing out on everything. That woman didn't make him feel any better. He felt terrible. Maybe he felt like he made people miss out on life. He couldn't even describe the belittling mood he was in.
At another patch, of grass he heard giggling. He looked toward it to see Hana with Murotsumi's leader. Hana seemed to be genuinely happy. Ryuu hadn't seen her like that in ages. He thought that he could talk to them, but quickly retracted the thought. She was having fun in the one moment she wasn't with him. And it was a date anyway. He had no right to mess with it. He had always messed with Hana's business before, but that was because...
He felt like he had no place in that world.
That took a depressing turn. I seriously did not plan that. It's strange because I relate to Ryuu and Hanasaku the most.
New section time!
Songs that oddly fit the characters
Isis: "Jinsei Game" by Hatsune Miku (Look for English subs... You'll see what I secretly plan for Isi to become. You'll also see the weird music I listen to.)
Hanasaku: "Tokyo Teddy Bear" By Rib. (Look for those subs... Buds. *Gets slapped*)
Meru: "World Is Mine" by... Anything female? Anyone sounds good singing it. I never listen to English music.
Next Time: A big fishy problem awaits Ryuu, Magnolia, Asuka, Tsukiro, and Tanaku. Ryuu's self esteem goes down the drain ,but can a green eyed demon fix it before it becomes an issue? A third time convict breaks out of prison! Hanasaku recovers! This all happens next time in Chapter Fifteen: Big Fishy Problems!