Besarki: Chapter 20. Wow. Did not think I was going to make it this far. :D
So, normally, I wouldn't update until tomorrow, but the quota was surpassed--early, at that. So, reward for you.
But phew, lots of work to do. I'm working on another fic with somebody else, but I won't say anything about it yet. JUST WAIT! IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME!
Well, this was a rather short author's note. Hmm. That's odd. Now the chapter is going to seem short. Meh. Whatever. The closing note is short too. Big chapter for you this time. Not half author's note, half chapter like usual. Hee hee.
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Whoa, I feel just like we're taking
Control
Of the night, of the night
Whoa, I feel just like we're losing
Control
But if you let go, I'll let go tonight
~Control, Metro Station
The United States of America
Hana
March one, two. March one, two. March one, two...
"Come on, Matamune! March!" I laughed.
My nekomata spirit ally gazed at me tiredly and then sighed. "Yes, Hana-san." He picked up his feet and began marching after me.
The morning following the fight with Opacho found me and Matamune running around outside the small motel while Kaa-san, Redseb, and Seyrarm ate breakfast inside it.
I'd eaten quickly, nearly inhaling half the buffet in the process. I finished long before anyone else ate even half of theirs and I was being a pain in the butt waiting around so Kaa-san told me to go wait outside while they finished up. Playing outside sounded way more fun than just sitting there so I happily took her up on her offer.
Because we were in the open, it was doubtful that we'd run into any trouble, but I had to take Matamune just in case. Not that I minded. He was a good play buddy...even if all he ever did was sigh and make half-ass (AN: Too much time around Redseb ;) ) attempts at doing whatever it was we were up to.
"You call that a march?" I kinda wished I had a whistle. Why? Cause I really felt like a drill sergeant then. Hahaha.
"Must we march like neanderthals, Hana?" He asked.
I just laughed. "I don't know what the heck that word means, but yes! We gotta march! Pick up your feet! Don't be lazy!" Ha. I was turning into my mother.
Again, he sighed. "Yes, Hana."
The weather was very pleasant where we were, and there was just enough noise--the singing birds and the clop-clop of Matamune's sandals.
However, my fascination with how perfect the day was turned off my senses as usual, and I didn't notice that we had company. Neither did Matamune, by some off chance. It was only natural that we would both jump fifty feet in the air when someone starting speaking to us.
"Ha ha! What a weird dance!" A stranger laughed.
We both whipped toward the voice, and our jaws dropped in response.
It wasn't human, like I had thought, but it wasn't a normal ghost either. It was a nature spirit, I was pretty sure. At least, it looked sort of like one, even though it didn't quite resemble any type of plant or animal. Well, maybe a rabbit...that lost a battle with a rolling pin. (AN: Long ears. Sorry, didn't know how to incorporate that in Hana-speak)
"Why the face, shrimpy?" The ghost asked, the purple flag on his chest flowing slightly in a light, passing breeze. The big Z printed on the center of it didn't make much sense to me, though.
"HEY!" I yelled back. What a jerk! "Who are you supposed to be, anyway?!" I demanded. "And you shouldn't try to pick a fight with me, either. My okaa is right inside there and she has a big demon spirit ally that could rip you to shreds!"
"Ha! You think a demon scares me? I'm a demon, too, kid." He flashed a smile. I didn't like it.
"What?! How could you be a demon? You look like that little rabbit monster on that one tv show I used to watch."
He glared. "You know, I've been confused with that retarded rabbit enough times! Shut up!"
"Well, sor-ry. It's not my fault you look like a bunny."
"ZIP IT, KID!" He seethed. A spiked club suddenly appeared in his hand. However, before he could take even a single step forward, Matamune pushed me out of the way and met him with the Oni Goroshi.
"Who are you?" He demanded. "What business do you have here?"
"Angry kitty!" The demon chuckled. He grinned and allowed the club to dissolve. "I'm Ohachiyo, and I'm here on the request of Mappa Douji."
"Who?" I asked, confused.
"Oops. Forgot he changed his name: Hao-san."
That got me. "Hao?!" I yelped. Ohachiyo laughed hysterically.
"What a funny kid! You should be a comedian."
I stared at him strangely. I didn't find any of this funny by any stretch of the imagination.
Matamune withdrew his sword. "Hao-sama?" He asked.
I rolled my eyes. "You know he's the bad guy, right, Matamune?"
The cat glanced over at me. "Your father was not so blunt, Hana."
"Well, I'm not my father, am I?" I was sick of being compared to him. I loved my parents dearly, but there were them and I was me. We were not one in the same. People needed to GET THAT THROUGH THEIR THICK HEADS ALREADY!
"You okay over there, kid?" Ohachiyo checked, gazing suspiciously. He could see my seething rage.
"Mind your own business," I growled. "You said Hao sent you? Why?"
"Watch it, brat," He snarled, creating a long flag staff in his hand and swinging it threatening. "I came here to do you a favor--to tip you off. If you insist on being a twerp about it, I'll just leave and tell Hao-san that I couldn't find you."
Matamune touched my arm and gestured with his head. Stand down, that's what he was surely trying to say. I frowned but stepped away from the stand off. Matamune nodded and turned back to Ohachiyo. "Give us your warning," He urged.
Ohachiyo grinned maliciously, his pointed eyes glinting dangerously. "Hao-sama said to warn you..."
I waited, but he only continued to grin. "...About?" I asked, gesturing for him to continue." Matamune elbowed me. I yelped, glared, and, absolutely appalled, stepped on his foot.
Ohachiyo went on as if he hadn't seen any of this.
"The broken gathering," He recited. I stared, totally lost.
"A what?"
"I just said it! I ain't saying it again!"
I shook my head furiously. "B-But what does that mean?" I demanded, stumbling over my words.
"It means I'm not repeating it."
"Not that!"
"HAHAHAHA! Regardless, my job was to tell you to be wary of a broken gathering. Hao said nothing about me explaining it."
"But that's not fair!" I argued. "Matamune, help me out here."
"I cannot, Hana-san."
"Hana-chan," Ohachiyo jokingly corrected. I glared at him.
"Shut up, bunny boy."
"What did you call me?"
"Oh, sorry, I can't repeat it."
"COMMERE, KIDDIE! I'LL GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT!"
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR," Came a sinister growling from behind me. Matamune and I turned to see Naka flanked by Shigaraki and Imari.
"Grraarrrarrr."
"Rrraarrrarrr."
Ohachiyo laughed and whipped out his club. "Oh, now it's a party!" He barked. He was awfully confident for a demonic bunny rabbit with a stick.
Redseb and Seyrarm rushed up to stand on either side of me.
"Friend of yours?" Redseb asked.
I snorted. "Yeah right."
He laughed. "Didn't think so." Redseb turned to his sister. "Seyrarm?"
"Ready when you are," She said, squeezing her hand into a little ball. Redseb smirked.
"Shigaraki!"
"Imari!"
And then in unison. "Rise!"
The command confused me at first. Why tell a spirit to rise when...oh.
Fountains of mana poured from their outlines and flowed into their fighting spirit allies. Suddenly, they grew. They grew. No longer even the normal size for a tanuki and a kitsune, they expanded--doubling, tripling in size until they were as big as Naka.
I watched with humongous eyes.
"GRRAARRRARRR."
"RRRAARRRARRR."
"RRRRRRRRRRRR,"
It was like clash of the giant monsters. No, clash of the GIANT MONSTERS. Emphasis added for size.
I almost had to laugh. Only I could have a monologue in the middle of something like this.
Naka crept up beside me and draped his hand over my entire body. I think he was trying to protect from Ohachiyo by using his hand as a shield. It was a pretty flawed idea, but it's the thought that counts.
Ohachiyo glanced around with a nervous smile. "Kid, I came to give you a warning and now you're sicing your attack dogs on me?"
I peeked out from behind Naka's hand. "I didn't send anybody."
"Is that right?" He didn't look convinced.
"If you aren't here to hurt us, they won't hurt you." His head eyes shot towards me.
"I already said I wasn't here to hurt you!" He said, lightly, yet still nervous. "So they have no reason to attack me. I'll just be on my way and--"
"No, explain first."
Ohachiyo stared at me, disbelieving. "I already told you I couldn't. I wasn't saying that just to make you squirm, kid."
Naka inched forward, but I asked him to hold back. "Not yet, Naka."
"Keep that thing back," He growled. Imari and Shigaraki took steps toward him instead. "Them too! Keep all of those things away from me."
The mountain gods exchanged glances and a nod, and then turned back to Ohachiyo, growling and baring their fangs.
Ohachiyo jumped forward, swinging his staff at them. It hit Shigaraki and threw him backwards into a big red truck, totalling it. The demon grinned.
"I wasn't bluffing with this before. I came here to help you, but I'll fight if I have to."
"That has nothing to do with it!" Seyrarm snapped. "We just had a fight yesterday. They're tired is all."
He turned to her, ghostly sweat dripping down his face. "Tired? Aren't they spirits? Spirits don't get tired."
Seyrarm froze. Imari jumped in front of her, growling protectively.
This didn't phase him much. "I'll do the same thing to you that I did to that tanuki back there."
"And what about you?" Redseb demanded from Shigaraki's side. "You say that spirits can't get tired, but you're sweating."
His deadly eyes turned back on Redseb then. "Ah? You saw that?"
Naka stared at me. The answer was there in his bright oni eyes. I gasped. "It's not fatigue--it's fear."
Seyrarm and Redseb looked at me at the same time. "Fear?" One of them, not sure which, asked.
"But what would he have to fear?" Seyrarm asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Rang a different voice. Kaa-san had finally decided to make an appearance. "He's afraid of Hao."
Ohachiyo eyed her oddly, like she'd just said something that he wished she hadn't.
"This petty creature's job," Kaa-san continued, "was to deliver a simple message. He was to give no more clues, and he wasn't to engage you. However, he did both."
"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, lady," He said. Kaa-san smirked.
"I think that it is actually you who needs to learn to hold your tongue. Hao won't be punishing me later."
He shuddered, stepping backwards. She only smiled.
"You can go. You've delivered your message, or your threat, whichever you'd rather call it. Tell Hao that we appreciate his concern."
Ohachiyo sneered, but took several more steps back. "We'll meet again." And then, in a cloud of smoke he was gone.
I frowned, confused. "Why didn't he just do that in the first place."
My mother snorted. "Because Hao is a twit. He wanted to be thanked for the advice so he made his little lackey stick around until it was said."
"Wow, that's lame."
"Very." She sighed, her eyes turning toward the skies. "Fear the broken gathering," She repeated. "You know, I have no idea what that means for once."
"Wow, that's pretty surprising."
"It is."
I looked up at her. "So what do we do about it?"
She shrugged. "Nothing, I suppose. Until we figure it out, that is, though, by that time it may be too late."
"Too late for what?" I asked, confused.
Kaa-san smiled gently. "Nothing, Hana. Now, come with me. We're very close to him now. It will only be a few more days."
"Really? That's it?" I questioned, eagerly. "And then we can all go back home and be a big happy Asakura family again?"
Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
Besarki: My plan to keep the next few chapters light just went out the window -.-
"Fear the broken gathering" Ooooo. What does that mean? What could that possibly MEAN? I'll give you a clue: A gathering can be a grouping of anything: people, items, elements, anything. So, what among them is gathered? Think. You'll probably get it and dismiss it immediately. Don't overthink, but don't go for what's really obvious. Some of you will get this one, and some won't. It'll probably be an equal divide. When the gathering breaks, I won't make a big deal about it so you may miss it. I'll probably point it out to you in an author's note.
Anyone ever noticed how similar Ohachiyo looks to Terriermon? When I first saw him, I was like, "IT'S TERRIERMON!" Oh, but I might just be oblivious or forgetful, but what is the Z for on Ohachiyo's shirt...cloth thing? They make a big deal about it in volume 27. I, of course, couldn't read it so I don't know what the significance is. I've read Mappa Douji (who hasn't) and every chapter translated as of yet and I don't remember them mentioning anything about the Z. Someone who pays better attention than me, fill me in.
So, I was thinking about my previous estimate of having a grand total of 28 chapters, and, adding all the stuff together, there's no way in hell I'm going to finish by chapter 28. I have to quit procrastinating if I hope to finish by thirty. So, the MAIN CONFLICT and the MOST IMPORTANT ARC OF THIS ENTIRE STORY begins chapter 22. I've been building for it and will finish the building next chapter. I can tell you right now that chapter 21 is going to be LONG. There's a lot that still needs covered and that's all going to be in next chapter. Unfortunately, next chapter will be the last even slightly light-hearted chapter for a really long time. Oh noes. The Munzers will be leaving next chapter as well. At the very beginning of the chapter, in fact. It'll go back to Hana, Anna, Naka, and Matamune for the next few chapters and then the main party will be changed again, though this time it will be a MAJOR modification. You won't like it... :'( But, I digress.
And, surprisingly, I don't have much else to say for once. Wow, right? Well, I guess I'll just wrap things up here. Many thanks for meeting the quota early.
...Okay, this is under 2,500 words (it was before I added some stuff above and below this) as it stands now. Time to ramble and get it above that.
AND WHAT BETTER TO RAMBLE ABOUT THAN MANTARITE!
So, my copy is shipped, but it hasn't been recorded as in the US yet. Kinda makes me sad. There are two new stories in Mantarite (EXCITING). The first one, Snake's Legs has a preview available online. It's pretty funny. All the boys are drunk and then Hana walks in and is all, "WTF?!?!" then Anna walks in and steps on Yoh's head and throws a fit and...ha. Funny. I'm eager to see the rest of it.
The other story is also about Hana. It's focused around a teenaged Hana (who apparently resembles Marco. WTF happened there, Takei?) as well as Silva's daughter, Anna and Men. I'm al little nervous about that one because the summary was pretty weird. Meh. If you've already read it, please REFRAIN from telling me about it. I've spoiled enough for myself as is. EEK!
Well, I've stalled and rambled long enough, Munchies. Enough cheating for today, eh? See you in a few days!