Breath of Fire III: Of Gods and Dragons
Chapter One: A New Life
Written by Estrelita Farr
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He crouched among darkness of the bushes, keeping his head hidden low as his sharp golden eyes focused forward. His hands, tipped with sharp claws, hovered over the hilts of his dual daggers, his muscles tensed in a constant readiness to leap.
And there it was. His prey.
The wild boar he had stalked all the way here strode along the forest path, stopping occasionally to sniff the ground. It was very thin, with its ribs showing plainly for everyone to see, but it would be able to put up a fight should its safety be threatened. Still, it was wary; it always kept a watch out.
But it was no trouble for him to follow its trail. After all, he had already trailed after it for half an hour, awaiting the chance to pounce.
He felt the thrill and anticipation of stalking, as he always did during a hunt. The hunter's spirit inside him was already demanding him to attack.
But no, not yet. It was not time to act yet.
Unaware of the danger it was in, the wild boar relaxed and lowered its snout to sniff the base of a bare apple tree.
That was when he struck.
Suddenly, silently, he leaped forward from the bushes with the agility of a tiger. With one swift movement, he unsheathed both his daggers with a loud sound of metal scraping against metal, his teeth bared in a silent growl.
Yes, he could already taste triumph.
…or not.
To his horror, a pair of wolves overtook him from either side of him, one grabbing the boar by its neck. The boar made a strangled cry as its jugular vein was torn apart, then fell to the ground with a soft thud.
"Dammit!" he cried.
The currs, a breed of purple and pink-furred, fire-breathing wolves, were rather skinny, their ribs showing even more plainly than the boar's; it seemed that hunger had forced them to steal prey from others, against their normal behaviour of staying away from other hunters.
For a moment, his heart was moved with pity.
"Well… I would've liked to say, 'Please, go ahead, I can always hunt another one…'" The corner of his mouth twitched, then he charged again. "But you still stole my dinner! HYAH!"
One of the currs yelped as his dagger slashed its throat, instantly forcing it down. The other stepped back, growling, and leaped high in the air with a roar, but he was, however, faster than ordinary wolves, and soon he had both the wolves down on the ground, covered in blood.
He shook his head. "Looks like this year's been hard on them too…"
He wiped his daggers on the grass before sheathing them, and stepped towards the wild boar. Kneeling, he pulled out a carving knife and began carving parts he had planned to bring home.
As he worked, the streaks of light from the afternoon sun shone on him, revealing his features that were hidden by the darkness in the bushes. His golden hair, though unkempt, gleamed as the sunlight shone onto it. His skin, covered in short, golden-orange fur, had dark stripes at regular intervals. His ears were longer and sharper than the ordinary human ear, and his fingers and shoeless feet had claws. His striped tail swept across the grass continually as his hands busily worked.
He was the type of person that people called a half-tiger, where half implied he had both human and tiger features, not that he had both as parents, though some people actually had the sick thought. Even though tigers were considered dangerous animals, he did little to hide his appearance; all he wore was a purple vest that showed his chest and a matching pants, complete with armbands. He had thought that there was little point in hiding himself, though to tell the truth, he didn't really care.
Then, his ears twitched, catching the voice of a boy in the forest air, "Reeeeeeiiii? Wheeeeeere aaaaaaare yooooouuuuu? Reeeeeeeiiiii!"
"Over here, Teepo!" he called out just as he was done carving, placing the last bit of meat in the food bag he brought.
No sooner than five seconds later, a boy around ten years of age came running up to him. His straight and long violet hair gleamed in the light like silk, matching the lighter purple clothes he wore beneath his silver half-armour that covered only his chest. His sheathed rapier hung by his waist, a weapon that seemed to be a little too long for a boy his age to use.
"Hey, Rei!" he greeted with a grin, his crimson eyes gleaming with enthusiasm as he spied the food bag on the ground. "Is that dinner?"
Rei turned and grinned as well. "Thinking of your stomach again, eh, Teepo?"
An embarrassed smile washed over Teepo's face. "Eheh…"
"Well, looks like we won't have to go hungry for a while." He stood up, slinging the bag over his back. "Let's go ho–"
Just as he turned, all ready to return home with his companion, his eye spied something under the nearby bushes. Thinking it wouldn't hurt to bring home more food, he passed the bag to Teepo as quietly as possible, bringing a finger to his lips to tell him to stay quiet.
Teepo nodded.
Rei pulled a dagger, crouching low as he moved silently towards the bushes. His ears focused forward, attempting to catch any sound from the thing under the bush. The creature made no sound, even after a few minutes… was it sleeping?
Oh, what the heck.
He pounced.
And discovered something he had not expected.
Something he regretted finding.
"Teepo," he spoke without turning, without bothering to lower his voice. "Take a look at this." His grin was gone, he pushed the lower leaves of the bush out of view.
His younger partner, curious, crouched next to him.
And his eyes grew wide with surprise.
Hidden under the bushes, a small boy, perhaps slightly younger than Teepo, lay unconscious on the ground, his shivering, naked body covered in dirt, bruises and wounds. His pale skin stood out in the dim sunlight, and his blue hair gleamed.
Rei heard Teepo inhale sharply next to him, and wondered if the latter recognised him. He asked, "Do you know him?"
"…no, I don't think I've seen him before…" There was hesitance in his voice.
Shrugging, the half-tiger stood, grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder once more, stepping away.
"W-wait, Rei!" his companion called, standing up. "Are you going to just leave him there?"
He spun around, expecting to see an angry Teepo… but what he saw was only a confused, almost teary purple-haired boy, unlike the one he had grown accustomed to.
"Are you going to leave him there… abandoned?" Teepo's gaze lowered. "He was… abandoned…" His eyes dimmed, filled with sorrow that was nothing like his usual confident self. "…like me…"
Rei sighed. It had been a harsh year, and food were difficult to obtain even in a lush forest such as Cedar Woods – the boar they had hunted today was a rare delicacy. With hardly enough to feed two, there were certainly not enough to feed three.
That had been the deciding factor that made him resolve to walk away… until he saw Teepo like this.
Did he really have to play a nice guy? But since his companion had already said what he did… now he had not the heart to just leave the boy be.
"Doesn't this just beat all?" Rei sighed again and tossed the bag at his companion. "Take this. I'm going to need both hands to carry him."
His partner's eyes lit up. "Thanks, Rei!"
Still, the half-tiger did not feel too enthusiastic, as he knelt to hoist the smaller boy onto his back.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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It was darkness once again. Just like before, with nothing visible to the eyes. Yet this darkness somehow managed to spin around him, making him feel dizzy. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to push the wave of nausea back, but he still could hear a low buzzing in his ear. He had to lie down, his head ached so much… he just wanted to sleep…
Suddenly, someone grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook him awake forcefully. He opened his eyes, only to see a young man with long purple hair, speaking loudly, evidently angry.
"Don't you see, Ryu?" he cried, swinging an arm angrily once in the air. "They're weak! Pitiful and pathetic! All they can do is to use our powers to their own selfish desires!" All of a sudden he calmed down, then spoke softly, forlornly. "You're the same as me, you must understand…"
No, he did not want to listen. He only wanted to sleep…
His eyes closed, and judging by the silence, the man had decided to let him be. However, as he drifted, he heard a different voice this time, a female one.
"Ryu…"
Her voice was soft and soothing, like the lullabies of old. Calm, full of care and love. Yet, at the same time, alluring. Filled with anticipation.
He thought he saw a flash of white wings as the voice came again.
"…my poor Ryu…"
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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He stirred and opened his eyes, only to wince against the sun rays that came through the window. He blinked several times, and gradually his sight began to focus. He still felt rather dazed, rather confused and disoriented, but well enough to sit up, so he did so very slowly and carefully.
Rubbing a sleepy eye, he observed his surroundings – a small room with wooden walls and floor. He was sitting one of the two beds that were leaning against the walls, separated from each other by a bedside table and an open window, from which a ray of sunlight shone in. There was a door on one side of the room, and a staircase led downstairs against an empty wall.
This… is…? Where…?
He raised both his hands to look at them, and he realised that he was wearing an oversized white shirt with sleeves much longer than his arm. Feeling as confused as ever, he slowly slid off the bed, intending to search for the owner of this place he was in, but the instant his feet touched the wooden floor, his shaky legs gave way and forced him to a sitting position. He tried to stand up, but collapsed once again. There was simply not enough strength in him at the moment.
What… had happened to him? Why did he feel so weak now?
He turned his gaze around, only realising then that there was a nearby mirror that reflected his appearance. A pale, skinny boy around eight years of age, barely four and three quarters feet tall, with short messy azure hair and cerulean blue eyes filled with confusion. Somehow, his own appearance threw him off guard, a jolt of surprise hitting him, as though he had expected something else.
He remained seated on the floor, trying to recall what had happened to him, but his attempts were futile. All he remembered were shrieks of terror and a burst of red-hot flames…
Why?
But what he remembered most was the strange dream he had before he woke up.
Both man and woman in the dream had called him Ryu… so that had to be his name.
After a few minutes of rest, he tried to stand up once more. This time he was strong enough to at least remain standing on his feet, and he walked slowly to the door. He nudged it slightly, causing it to open with the slightest creak, and stepped outside to find himself on a balcony atop a wooden cabin in a forest.
The sun greeted him cheerily with its rays, providing him with familiar warmth. He felt reassured; as he suddenly found himself lost in an unknown world, at least the sun was something familiar to him.
Then, the door creaked open, startling himself and, for some reason, the purple-haired boy behind it. Both jumped with a start.
Ryu was stunned. He had expected to meet a completely unknown face, yet, as he gazed into the crimson eyes, he felt a certain familiarity that he had never known… as though he was meeting a lost family member.
But why? Who was this?
Seeing the astounded expression on the other boy's face, Ryu knew he thought the same thing. Both of them had met before… but forgotten where and when.
Then, the older boy shook his head quickly, recomposing himself, and blurted out, "Ryu, what are you doing out there?" As soon as he had said that, he realised. "…wait. Wait a minute. Did I just call you Ryu?"
Ryu just nodded dumbly.
"Is that… your name?"
Another silent nod.
"That's funny, how'd I know that?" He scratched his head, confused. "Maybe I dreamt it all…?"
An awkward silence hung in the air.
It was at that moment he caught a whiff of pork stew, and a low growl came from his stomach.
And that sent the older boy into a fit of laughter.
Turning red, Ryu put a hand over his stomach. "S-sorry…"
When he stopped laughing, he grinned. "It's lucky Rei caught a boar today, huh?" He held out a hand out towards him to help him up. "C'mon, don't keep him waiting!"
Nodding, he took the hand and got to his feet, though a little shakily.
And their unexplainable bond was quickly forgotten.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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Rei had always been an early riser, so the next morning he was already up by sunrise. Though actually, he wasn't really used to sleeping on the hard wooden floor – since he gave up his bed for Ryu to sleep in – so he didn't sleep all that well at all. Still, he was already up, might as well make do with it, right?
Unfortunately, unlike the day before yesterday, today's hunt was unfruitful. Somehow the animals knew where and when to hide, because he couldn't seem to find any of them during this two-hour trek around the woods. All he could find were two small packs of currs searching for food, and he refused to bring those home because their meat had a rather bitter taste. Teepo would certainly raise hell if he did.
Sighing to himself, he returned home empty handed. Upon stepping to the living room, he found Ryu already sitting at the table, lost in his thoughts. Teepo was most likely still asleep in bed, as usual.
The half-tiger walked over to the table and took a seat beside him. "Hey, buddy, up already?"
Startled, Ryu looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I couldn't sleep anymore so I came down."
There was a short pause.
Observing this boy, Rei recalled his initial thoughts of him. Ryu seemed to be a little younger than Teepo, maybe by about two years. He seemed to be skinnier as well, which made him look a little frail, but perhaps that was caused by whatever that happened to him before he was found.
One thing Rei noticed was how close the two boys had suddenly seemed, despite the fact that they had just met. Was it because they were about the same age? Teepo had been rather animated during dinner, telling the other boy about all kinds of things, something he had never done with other people before. Rei, as much as he didn't want to admit, felt a little left out.
"So…" The young man tried to continue the conversation, as he flicked his tiger tail. "Do you remember what happened to you before you woke up?"
Ryu's blue eyes dulled unexpectedly, with sadness and confusion. "I… don't remember…" He closed his eyes, ready to cry. "I don't remember what happened… where I was… or even who I am…"
"I… see…" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, I'm no doctor so I can't tell you anything about memories, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like, yeah?"
The moment he said those words, he immediately regretted it. After all, it had been a harsh year, when food was hard to come about… but looking at this small boy beside him, he hadn't the heart to throw him back out into the harsh environment. Just like how he had felt the moment when he saw him unconscious and shivering, with not a single strip of clothing on him, in the woods where currs would be ready to make him their dinner.
Upon hearing his words, Ryu's eyes lit up with gratitude. "You mean it…? You really mean it?" Wiping his eyes, he smiled. "Thanks… Thanks so much!"
Doesn't this just beat all?
Rei sighed inwardly. One of these days, his heart would be his downfall.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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Later, as the sun rose high into the afternoon sky, it was decided that the trio would head into the village, though for what reason, Ryu didn't know exactly. Of course, as he couldn't exactly walk into the village wearing Rei's oversized shirt, he was given Teepo's old garments.
The armour that now became his everyday garments was black with silver shoulder pads, and a piece of brown cloth covering his front, with matching brown shorts. Fingerless gloves covered his hands and his greaves were silver and red in colour. They looked pretty light to other people, but in reality, they were much heavier than ordinary clothes.
"Oy, Ryu, hurry up! Don't be a slowpoke!" Teepo yelled at the top of his voice, scaring a flock of crows in a nearby tree.
"S-sorry, they're pretty heavy," Ryu apologised, flustered.
"Still not used to them, eh, buddy?" Rei shrugged. "Well, at least it's better than pyjamas, I suppose."
Teepo grinned mischievously. "Well, we could've just dragged him out in his pyjamas; I don't think those village folks are that picky!"
"N-no way!" the younger boy protested.
The half-tiger chuckled.
The walk through the forest was pretty uneventful, save for a few encounters with some strange creatures with eyes bouncing on their blue gooey bodies, which Rei called an "Eye Goo". Ryu couldn't help but to stare at a red one in wonderment, which turned out to be a bad idea; it spewed fire in his direction, and he would have been burned it weren't for Rei pulling him out of the way.
Lesson number one: the wild is infested with monsters. Never stare at one.
"And–" Rei shook his head. "–remind me to get you a weapon."
Ryu smiled sheepishly. "S-sorry."
It took an hour to walk from the cabin to the exit of Cedar Woods. Once they were out, Ryu found himself standing on a small hill at the edge of a huge grassy plain surrounded by mountains, like a great stony fence, and right in the centre of the plain was a small farming village. Beside the entrance that led into the village, a worn wooden signpost said "McNeil Village".
"This is McNeil Village…?" Ryu muttered to himself.
For a village, the buildings were pretty well-organised. The northern side of the village, the side they were on, was the residential area, where the houses and stores were neatly arranged along the village road, while the southern side was where all the farms were.
As young as Ryu was, even he could tell that the farms were not doing well – the fields had little vegetation, and the cattle were as skinny as the people that tended to them. The villagers, even as they went on with their everyday lives as well as they could, had a heavy air around them. Only the large mansion to the north – the extravagant building which Ryu presumed to be the village mayor's house – seemed to be unaffected by the scarcity that raged these lands.
"This is McNeil Village!" Teepo announced proudly with his hands on his hips, as though the village belonged to him. "Where we work!"
That statement piqued Ryu's curiosity. "Work? What do you guys do?"
"Uh…" Rei scratched the back of his head, searching for the exact words to explain. "Let's just say we scrounge for food."
"Scrounge?"
"You bet!" was Teepo's reply. Grinning, he walked to the right of the village entrance, where a lone house stood on a small hill, then turned and beckoned to his partner. "C'mon, Rei! Let's show him what we're made of!"
The half-tiger nodded, a carefree smile on his face. "Oh well, no harm doing it." And he followed.
Puzzled, Ryu stayed at the village entrance, watching his companions walk to the back of the house, out of sight. Unable to see anything, he felt the curiosity build up inside him, making him long to follow them and see what they were doing. He guessed that they were begging for food from the house occupants.
He was quickly proven to be wrong.
A shattering crash came from the house, startling all who were nearby, followed by crashes of something large falling to the floor. Frightened and bewildered, Ryu stared at the house, wondering what to do.
Then he caught sight of Rei, who came running out and leaped high into the air, like a soaring bird, and surprised Ryu off his feet by landing right in front of him.
"Get OUT of my house, you PUNKS!" an angry woman shrieked from the house's front door.
"Haha! You can't catch me!" Teepo's high voice cried as he sped down the hill and stopped beside Rei and Ryu.
And the younger boy, stunned, only stared at them from his seat on the ground.
"It's no use, Rei," Teepo spoke first, shaking his head. "We haven't even started today and everyone's already on a lookout for us."
"It's not surprising," the half-tiger replied, shrugging. "No one's got much food, with the poor harvest and all… hey, why don't we hit the road?"
"Oh yeah, good idea!"
"…what on earth do you guys do?" Ryu asked, confused. But, the moment the words escaped from his mouth, the answer hit him. "W-wait, don't tell me you…"
The grin was back on the older boy's face. "It's work, Ryu!"
"B-but–" Agitated, he got to his feet. "But it's stealing! Stealing from people is wrong, isn't it?"
Rei appeared a little uncomfortable. "It's not like we hurt people or anything, we just steal from them…" He shook his head. "I'm not into hurting people, you know?"
"That's right!" his younger companion piped up. "Even a beginner like you can do it, Ryu!"
The other boy shook his head. "No way. I mean, stealing from people, it's wro–"
"Don't worry about it!" Teepo interrupted, grabbing hold of his arm. "C'mon, let's go!"
No matter what Ryu said and how he protested, eventually he was dragged along the brown village path that led through the farms and past it. The farmers worked hard, harvesting what little wheat that grew on their farms, yet the three of them were going to go stealing from them…
The blue-haired boy shook his head. He felt detestable, but he didn't feel like he had a choice… his companions accepted him, and he had to do things their way.
Soon, they left the village behind and arrived at a fork in the path, where the road split into two; one to the left and one to the right. The signboard right at the T-junction said, "North to McNeil Village, East to Wyndia, West to Dauna Mine."
As Ryu read the words Dauna Mine, suddenly a vision flashed across his mind; a vision of a dark cave with wooden platforms, of great glowing crystals…
Of screams of terror.
What…?
He shook his head to clear his mind, trying to think clearly. He had never been to the Dauna Mines...
Or had he? What happened before he was found in the woods?
He pressed a hand on his aching temple.
No… I… I can't remember…
Jus then, Teepo waved a hand and called out to him. "Hey, Ryu, over here!"
Ryu, having snapped out of his thoughts, his pain forgotten, spun around and saw the other two at the side of the road that led back to the village, among some bushes. He shook his head once again and ran towards them.
The other boy grinned. "All right, this is Yraall Road, where we work, Ryu." He gestured towards the road that forked to the left. "That road goes all the way to Wyndia…" A hopeful expression came to his face. "Someday, we're gonna blow this place and head out to a big city like Wyndia! Right, Rei?"
"Well…" The half-tiger shook his head. "Instead of worrying about that, let's think about getting something to eat today, okay?"
He grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right."
"We should hide and wait for someone to come by… behind that tree up there looks good enough to me."
All three of them moved towards the said tree and kept themselves well-hidden. Even as he reluctantly followed, Ryu's head kept chanting the same three words to him.
This is wrong… this is wrong… this is wrong…
But he didn't say a word.
"All right, let's wait here," Rei stated, and sat down on the ground.
The other two complied, laying low among the bushes, then Teepo proceeded to explain the whole process to their newest group member.
"Okay, Ryu, when someone comes by, we jump out…" Then he pounced onto Ryu with his sword drawn, startling him. "Like this!" Then his confident expression changed to annoyance. "What's up, Ryu? Don't get all soft on us now…"
"N-no, this is bad, stealing is wrong…" Ryu said in exasperation. Why won't they understand?
Rei sighed, somehow looking as though he understood, but then replied, "Don't worry, we're just some poor kids trying to get some food… whoever it is will forgive us, right?"
The younger boy seriously doubted this, but he didn't say a word. He just didn't want to be caught stealing…
"Hey!" Teepo cried. "Here comes somebody!"
True enough, someone was strolling down the road that led to Wyndia, but due to the volume of the bushes around them, they couldn't see who it was.
"Okay, he's alone… this should make it easy," Rei observed.
Teepo flashed his cheeky grin once again, and went over to the other boy. "Okay, Ryu, show us what you're made of!"
Ryu's eyes widened. "W-wait, what do you–"
"Just run into him, like this!"
The older boy gave him a huge shove, with strength greater than a boy his age, and sent him rolling down the little hill towards the lone man walking down the path.
However, they had failed to notice who their target was… a huge burly man almost seven feet tall, with brown hair and beard covering his face. He appeared to be a woodsman, wearing clothes made of cotton and deerskin, and in one hand he held a large heavy sack that even Rei felt that he couldn't carry. Ryu, still rolling down the small hill, crashed into him and merely bounced off like a ball.
And the man did not even budge an inch.
"Uh… oops?" Teepo whispered, but his half-tiger companion knew that, from his wide grin, he didn't mean that statement at all.
"Hm? What's this?" The large man gazed downwards, making Ryu felt like he was looking up at a towering monster. "What are you trying to do, little one? Mug me, hmm?"
Ryu, then still feeling that stealing was wrong, quickly shook his head. "U-um, I'm sorry, I tripped and ended up rolling downhill…"
"Well, accidents happen." He started to walk away, then stopped and turned. "Listen to me, boy… if you run into those rascals Teepo and Rei, tell them that if ol' Bunyan catches them, they'll be sorry!"
With that, he strode off along his way to Wyndia, leaving a nervous Ryu behind him.
Rei shrugged. "Whoops, figured that it was Bunyan…"
Teepo kicked a tree angrily. "Who does he think he is anyway?"
"Guys, I still don't think stealing is a good idea…" Ryu began as soon as he arrived at their side, but apparently his companions didn't hear, because the older boy suddenly interrupted with a grin.
"Hey, wait a minute! If old man Bunyan's out here…"
Rei grinned as well. "…that means there's no one at his house!"
"Oh yeah! Let's go steal his food! That'll show him!"
"No, no, wai–" Ryu started again, but in their excitement, the other two ran down the road, leaving him behind. "Oh no… what have I gotten myself into, this time?"
.
-o-o-o-o-o-
.
To Ryu's surprise, both his friends led him through the village and back into the woods that he had came out from earlier, a place that they called Cedar Woods. He had thought that this Bunyan lived in the village…
The half-tiger abruptly stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and then turned to the two boys. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot." He rummaged through the bag that he had and pulled out a sheathed short sword, a little short for a man but just long enough for a boy. He handed it to Ryu. "Here, I got this for you at the village."
Ryu stared at him.
Rei began looking uncomfortable. "No, don't look at me like that… you'll need this to be able to protect yourself against the monsters around here."
Sighing, the younger boy decided to ignore the fact that it was a stolen weapon. He nodded as he accepted the sheath. "Thanks, Rei… but I've never held a weapon before."
Teepo grinned. "Ah, don't worry, Ryu! Once you practice with us long enough, you'll get the hang of it!"
"Thanks, Teepo." He smiled – even though they were thieves, his new friends weren't really that bad. They had accepted him into the group so readily too.
Suddenly, a loud screech interrupted their conversation and three large birds with green feathers and purple-tipped wings – larger than even Ryu, who gave a yell – dived at them but the trio ducked in time.
"Rippers!" Rei cried as he pulled out his dual daggers, flipping them once before getting into his battle stance.
Teepo unsheathed his sword with ease as well. "Rippers aren't really that strong, Ryu, but their attacks sting!"
"R-right!" Ryu replied, too surprised by the attack to pull his weapon out immediately. After he recovered, he fumbled around with the sheath, picked it up when he accidentally dropped it to the ground, then finally, after a lot of hassle, managed to unsheathe it.
By then, Rei and Teepo had killed two of the three Rippers, but the last one remained. To Ryu's astonishment, the dead birds' bodies disappeared away.
"Ryu!" Teepo yelled as the third Ripper dived towards his friend.
The younger boy was too petrified to attack for a while, staring at the incoming creature, then he snapped out of it and lunged. However, due to the weight of his armour and his own nervousness, he tripped and fell flat on his face just as the Ripper passed by above him with a great gust of wind.
Rei reacted quickly and pounced onto the monster, slashing it thrice on its front, which caused it to, like its brethrens, shriek and disappear away.
Ryu blushed as he got up. "S-sorry…"
"No worries," the young man replied with a smile as he sheathed his knives with ease. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just a little bruised from the fall."
Teepo sheathed his sword as well. "Don't worry about it, Ryu, I was just as bad the first time I fought!"
Rei grinned. "You didn't mention that you were hiding in the bushes the whole battle then…"
His expression fell immediately. "H-hey! Did you have to tell him that?"
Ryu laughed and felt better immediately.
Yes, he had great friends. He would need to repay the favour one day.
Though unfortunately for him, being great friends didn't stop them from acting on the decision to pilfer Bunyan's house.
"Guys, I mean…" He sighed as they walked up to a stone cottage in Cedar Woods, surrounded by piles of neatly cut logs. They didn't listen the first time, so what would make them listen now?
Rei peeked into the windows, listened for a few moments, then turned towards the other two. "We're right – nobody's home…"
"Great!" Teepo cheered, though not as loudly as he usually did.
He went to the door, examined the padlock that kept it closed. "Locked… I'm not surprised." He drew a claw out from a finger and slid it into the lock, fiddling with the mechanism inside it.
The lock opened easily and the door swung with the slightest creak.
"Keep your eyes open, Ryu…" Teepo warned as the three of them entered. "Someone might hear us if we make too much noise."
Ryu nodded, feeling a little glad; at least he did not have to do the actual stealing.
Inside, the house was simply decorated but neat. A low wooden table stood near the door, several cupboards leaned on the wall next to the bed on the other end of the room, and the floor was clean. Someone had obviously been here recently.
"Okay, let's split up and check the place out quietly," Rei said. He walked a little and stood next to a low table, scratching the back of his head. "Where does he keep all the food?"
Rei turned around, unaware that his tail swished the top of the table, and plate that stood on the surface was forcefully knocked off the table. It was a cheap plate, no doubt about it… but the noise it would create when it shattered would certainly bring an army to the house.
"W-whoa!" Ryu exclaimed. He dived, reached out as far as his arms would go, and fell on the floor so hard that it knocked the breath out of him. The plate landed dolefully on his hands.
"Ryu! Shhhhh!" Rei shushed him.
"Just relax!" Teepo cried. "Calm down, Ryu, this isn't that bad!"
"S-sorry…" Ryu muttered meekly, and returned the plate to the table.
"Now, let's get back to searching for the food…" the half-tiger told them.
The younger boy shook his head and helped them to look for the food, for he could not get rid of the feeling that this Bunyan guy might turn up any time soon… it made him nervous. So, while the others were raiding the cupboards, he searched around the other rooms, and found a ladder leading to the basement at the back of the house.
Now the question was, would anyone keep food in the basement?
He thought for a moment, then shrugged and went down anyway. Bunyan's basement looked like… well, a basement, albeit a small one. There were several wooden logs sitting in the far corner, two crates leaning against the same wall as the ladder, and a barrel stood next to a lone cabinet on the left wall.
Ryu opened the cupboard, not expecting to find any food.
And there it was, beef jerky!
"Guys!" he called, as loudly as he dared. "I found something!"
Hearing him, his companions slid down the ladder quietly. Judging from their empty hands, their search was futile.
"No luck," Rei said, shaking his head. "Find something, Ryu?"
Ryu nodded and showed him the beef jerky he had found in the cupboard. Teepo's eyes lit up as he ran to his side, clearly excited at the sight of food.
"Hey, there's food here!" he cried, perhaps a little too loudly. He turned towards both of them, and quickly lowered his voice. "C'mon! Let's get outta here!"
His companions nodded, but just as they were about to climb up the ladder, they heard an unmistakeably loud creak of the front door. Ryu's fears were confirmed.
"Uh oh… old man Bunyan's come home…" Rei gulped. "We might be in trouble…"
Ryu, eyes wide with fear, shook his head. "H-hey, what do we d-do now?"
The oldest among the three turned to the boys. "I'll go check it out. If anything happens, I'll distract him and you guys get away… okay?"
Without waiting for a reply, he climbed up the ladder and into the living room.
"Rei…" the azure-haired boy muttered, feeling terribly nervous. Were they in trouble now?
Teepo shivered a little. "Hey, everything's okay… there's no way Rei would get–"
Suddenly there was a loud crash, defying his claims, followed by several loud crashes and thuds, then there was a high-pitched yell.
"WOOHEE!"
Both boys stared uneasily at each other.
"…um, I guess I'd better go and see what's happening," Teepo volunteered.
Ryu nodded. "Be careful."
"Don't worry… we can get out of here, right?"
As Teepo climbed up, Ryu's nervousness only increased, and even more so when he heard more crashes from upstairs, followed by silence.
"I guess it's my turn now…" he muttered to himself and hoisted himself up the ladder.
He cautiously poked his head out of the hole on the floor, glancing around in search of everyone else, but found no one. The living room was empty too, and everything was silent.
Where IS everybody?
He thought that perhaps both Rei and Teepo had gone outside, so Ryu went cautiously to the front door, his eyes darting around, then slowly pushed it slowly open and stepped outside.
Big mistake.
There was not even enough time for Ryu to register the image of the forest outside the house in his head, before something hit him hard on the head. As he fell towards the ground, everything went black.
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End of Chapter One.
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Author Alert:
Finally, my novelisation is done, all the way to the epilogue! Now I'll just have to edit them and post once every week. :D
Though somehow, Rei reminds me of the ninja cat video on YouTube. xP
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Review Replies for Prologue:
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To Lord Kain:
Yeah, I'm on my last chapter now, as opposed to my second last chapter on Sunday. Then only an epilogue to go! Though don't worry about the triple I's thing, it also happens in FF (dot) net's PMs. Thanks for reviewing. :D
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To Kestre Wynde:
Haha, you haven't seen the actual chapters yet... they're more than twice as long as the prologue. xP
While you're envious of my writing, I'm also envious of yours; your writing style is pretty good. :D I like Gary and Mogu (I think they're cameos from BoF1), but I don't really remember their personalities well so I don't think I got them well portrayed enough. But hey, I hate that manager too. xP
I like to use caps rather than italics to emphasise strength in the voice (but I do use them sometimes), though that's probably because I use italics for thoughts and dreams. To each of our writing style!
And thanks for the review! :D
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To Hubert:
Thanks for the review! BoF3 is also one of my favourite games, and it's my favourite among the BoF series! Though that's probably because I played BoF3 first. xP
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To Jonathan Priest:
Thanks for the review! It's nice to see people liking my story. :D
Well, except there's this small detail... I'm already on the final chapter of this story. I originally planned to finish the whole thing before I start posting, but since 23rd was an important day for me, I posted then. xP
It's because I learned my lesson from the time I used to write original fiction… the first few chapters would be posted every week, then it gradually stretched to two weeks, a month, and the last three chapters took three months each to post. T_T
So I thought, if I finished this before I start posting, then I can post every week! Readers would be happy too. :D
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To Nina Windia:
Thanks! Great to see you reviewing. xP
Actually, when I wanted to write the prologue thingy at the start, I was debating to myself whether to do it or not. I was wondering if it was unprofessional (as unprofessional as putting author's notes in the middle of the chapter instead of top or bottom?); there has to be a reason why not many people do it, right?
But then again, I'm more of a visual writer. I like describing the characters, surroundings, etc and imagining my story in anime form (don't think I didn't do it with Ryu and gang speaking Japanese xP), so I decided to put the prologue thingy… just like in the game's intro cinematic. Glad to see that it has the desired effect. :D
Thanks again for reviewing!
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To Airess Byrd:
Yay! Thanks for reviewing!
I like game novelisations to follow the game accurately enough, but also expand more on story / character development; at least it's not that boring and repetitive, right? :D Also, I'm glad you like the part on the chrysm Dragon, even I find it so sad. T_T
Thanks again!
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To Myrmidon:
Thanks very much for your compliments! I'm not that talented, but I'm glad you enjoyed reading the prologue and gotten hooked! Hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of the novelisation too. :D
Thanks for the review!