"I'm goin, I'm goin. Keep your pants on, lady." He complained, opening the doors to the gym and holding them open for me.
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A quick stop by the hardware store netted us the wrench needed for Ed's repairs. Another 20 minutes of me pulling and yanking on Ed, whohad gotten caught up in a posturing war with an older Ed and a Winry, and we were on our way back out of town.
"I could have taken him, Onee-san." Ed grumbled, pouting at the back of our little procession. Kakashi walked ahead, once again preoccupied with his book. I had no doubt he heard our conversation, and was 100% aware of our surroundings, but he could have fooled most anybody with how engrossed he seemed. Iruka was all but glued to my side, only drifting away to stab at an imaginary foe with his kunai every now and again. Ed drug his feet behind us, grumbling and muttering to anyone who would listen. Which was pretty much just me.
"Ed, we were not going to start a battle in the middle of a hardware store." I said exasperatedly, for what felt like the hundredth time since we'd left town.
Iruka leapt out once more, slashing out at yet another shadow monster. This time, however, he faltered, just the slightest bit. That trip up sent him tumbling into Ed, who pitched forward with a startled yelp. I had turned at the noise, just in time to catch Ed mid fall, and was sent sprawling to the ground beneath him.
"Oof!" Air left my lungs in a gasp as Ed's metal plated shoulder drove into my midsection. Iruka, pinned as he was under Ed's legs, pushed and pulled and clawed his way out from under the pile of tangled limbs with a dirty, sweaty sort of grin on his face.
"I'm sorry, Danny-onee-chan." Iruka all but giggled, trying to roll Ed off of me. Between the two of us, we heaved him to the side, and I stumbled back to my feet coughing and grasping at my ribs.
"Ed, you weigh a ton!" I groaned, offering the dazed alchemist a hand up.
"Not my fault the Rockabells can't make a lightweight piece of automail." He grumbled, dusting off his front and glaring at Iruka.
The chibi hid behind my legs and stuck his tongue out at Ed with a grin still plastered across his face.
"Sure they could, Ed…but then it'd just be a prosthetic. It wouldn't be automail, and you wouldn't have such brilliant motor skills." I argued, poking his arm. I jerked back when he flexed, pinching my finger between two sliding plates. "Ouch." I grinned, sticking the finger in my mouth and sucking on it like that magically made pain disappear.
"So Danny-onee-san, why didn't we stay in town tonight?" Ed asked after I'd finished nursing my 'wound'.
I shrugged, picking up the pace to catch up with Kakashi. "Why would we?" I tossed over my shoulder at the blond, trying in vain to peer over Kakashi's shoulder at the little orange book.
"I dunno…I always thought girls preferred nice soft beds and warm showers to cold ground and icy streams?" Ed offered, trotting after us.
"That's stereotypical Edo," I clucked, wagging my finger in his face, "Not true at all, no sirree! Some guys don't like to camp out either. But I hate the city."
"Why's that, Onee-chan?" Iruka asked, reaching up and slipping his hand into mine.
"Ahh…well," I scratched the side of my nose with my free hand, completely done in by those big, innocent eyes, "I grew up on a farm, 'Ruka…but my mom moved us to the city when I was about 10. Bad things happened after that. But I couldn't go back to the farm, I was stuck where we were."
Iruka hugged my leg, burying his face into my jeans. "I'm sorry bad things happened to you Onee-chan."
"It's not your fault 'Ruka-chibi… don't feel bad for me. After all, look where I am now!" I plastered on a grin, and swooped him up to spin in a circle, "I'm out in the wide open, surrounded by people I love! What could be better?" Setting the giggling chibi back on his feet, I caught Ed's eye, and he was quick to hide the look of pity on his face. I just shot him a small smile, shrugging my shoulders in a 'what can you do?' fashion.
The moment of silence stretched on awkwardly, and I groaned, shrugging my shoulders under the warmth of my leather jacket.
"It's getting warmer out, isn't it, guys?" I asked, unzipping the coat and fanning the edges to try and get a cool breeze circulating. The outside air wasn't oppressively warm, but the jacket was heavy, and it got warm fast. But this was the first day since coming to the bishi world that I'd had a problem with it.
"Take off the jacket, Danny-kun, that would help." Kakashi sniggered, snatching one lapel with his free hand and tugging at it.
"Ri~ight, perv. You just want me to take something off, huh?" I laughed, swatting his hand away. He wiggled his fingers in my face, giving me a crescent eyed grin.
"You always want to read my books, I thought maybe you were just interested in getting some ideas of your own, ne, Danny-kun?" He was teasing, but I could still feel the blush rising in my cheeks.
"Yea, yea….in your dreams, 'Kashi-kun." I laughed, shrugging out of the jacket and tossing it at him. He caught it and swung it back at me without missing a beat, catching me in the face. I flailed under the heavy jacket for a minute before finding my way free, and stuffing it into my backpack.
I raised my arms away from my sides, and sighed in contentment. The air felt great!
"Onee-chan, what's that?" Iruka asked, tugging at the hem of my tanktop.
"Hmm? What's what, 'Ruka?" I asked, distracted by the breeze.
"You have drawings on your arms, Nee-chan." He was poking at my upper arm, and I turned to look at what he was referring to.
"Oh! They're tattoos, 'Ruka. They're permanent."
"How?" I hung my head. This was gonna be one of those twenty questions games kids loved to play, I could just feel it.
"Um…the artist uses a machine with needles in it to put ink under the top layers of skin…then when it heals, scars form around the ink so it stays put. I think. I'm not honestly sure about the technical bits, 'Ruka, I just get them done, I'm not a tattoo artist myself." I tried to explain. His face scrunched up at the mention of needles.
"But…don't they hurt?" He asked.
"Yep. But it's not all that bad. If you pick a design you love, or one that's got special meaning to you, it's worth the pain." I answered honestly, swinging him up to balance on my hip, so we could walk and talk. Ed was close behind me, inspecting the tattoos and listening to my explanations intently. Kakashi had paused to wait for us, and was listening with half an ear. Every so often, he'd sneak a glance from the corner of his eye.
"What do they mean, then, nee-chan?" Iruka asked, tracing the wolf on my right arm.
"Well, that one's to commemorate my grandma. See, the wolf always reminds me of her, 'cause she was so fiercely protective of all of us, me and my mom and my siblings. The dates are her birthday and the day she passed away. The ribbon, well…people use these ribbons in bunches of different colors back home, to symbolize support for different things. This is the one for the problems she had, that made her sick and took her away from us. The flowers and vines are just things from her garden. So I've always got pieces of her with me, no matter where I go." I explained, as he traced the vines around my arm and down over my elbow.
Iruka looked at me with those big, sad looking eyes again, and then threw his arms around my neck, burying his face in my shoulder.
"I'm sorry your obaa-san passed away, nee-chan." He mumbled into my shirt.
"S'not your fault, 'Ruka. She was real sick, and it was better that way," I muttered back, rubbing his back and blinking away a few tears that had sprung up during my story. This had happened years ago, but I still missed the crazy old woman like nobody's business.
I jumped when I felt a hand clamp down on my free shoulder, turning to look quizzically at Ed. He just squeezed, giving me a sympathetic grin. I raised the hand not supporting Iruka, and squeezed his hand in thanks.
"Oi, kid, stop fussing over that one, she's got loads more to ask about, they can't all be sad!" Ed said, poking Iruka's cheek in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"She does?" He asked, rubbing at his face with one sleeve, and peering over my shoulder at whatever Ed was pointing at. "You have wings!" He cheered, all but crawling up onto my shoulder for a better look.
"I've got a whole tree back there, Iruka." I laughed, letting Ed pick him up and set him back on the path.
"Really?" He was wide eyed, tugging at my shirt again.
"Really. I got real heavy into tattooing, after I turned eighteen, before I had to get my own place and pay bills and stuff. I blame my brother for getting me hooked." I joked, kneeling down and tugging the back of my shirt up. This time, even Ed had to trace the lines of ink, mapping out the picture that spanned my back.
"What's this for? You said things had meaning, right?" Iruka asked.
"Well, the wings are my family tree. Each separate twig feather is for an important person in my family. My brother and sister, my mom, grandma and grandpa, and a couple of cousins I was best friends with." The wings were stylized, branches instead of feathers, growing out of my shoulder blades. Iruka used a finger to count off the 'feathers' as I listed off people.
"And the tree?" Kakashi prompted this, and I looked up in shock, seeing him leaning over with Ed to study the art on my back.
"That's Yggdrasil. The world tree in Norse mythology. Way long story behind that. But it's supposed to be that all the nine worlds are connected to one another by this great big tree, who's roots run right down to the bottom of the universe." I was editing the story heavily, to avoid going into a huge long story about Thor and Loki and Odin and Ragnarok and the like.
"Where's our world?" Iruka asked, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't think the Norse gods knew about the bishi world, Iruka. It's not on there. Sorry." He seemed to accept this easily enough, tugging my shirt down out of my hands and smoothing it over my back.
"What else have you got?" the chibi demanded, circling me and eyeing the rest of my pieces.
"Uh-uh. Why don't we save them, and I can tell you some more after we set up camp tonight?" I grinned, ruffling his ponytail. He straightened it with a scrunched up face, pouting.
"So sweet. But I think there'll be a change of plans." We all whipped around at the sound of the voice, coming from the trees to the west of the road.
"Who's there?" I demanded, pulling Iruka up against my side and wrapping an arm protectively around his shoulders.
"Easy missy, just doin' my job. Pass over the runt, and I'll be on my way, no harm, no foul." A man, looking to be no older than me, stepped out of the shadows, hands held out in supplication, an easy smirk on his face. Kakashi and Ed had both stepped in front of us by this point, Kakashi with a kunai in hand, Ed ripping through his sleeve and glove with a transmuted automail blade.
"You seriously think that'd work? Just ask nicely and you'll get a chibi?" I demanded, stomping my foot. My free hand was creeping towards my dex, instinct warning me to get the authorities.
"Not really, but I had to try." He sighed, running one hand through his short red hair. "Might as well get to it then. Now, Naraku!" Before I could turn to see, something shoved at me from behind, sending me sprawling into the dirt with a curse.
"Danny-nee-chan!" Iruka shouted, and his grip on my shirt disappeared as he was wrenched up into the air, held fast in the arms of a Kagura. She floated above us on a giant feather, clinging desperately to the struggling bundle of Chibi doing his best to crawl out of her arms and over the edge.
"Ruka! Kakashi, Iruka!" I shrieked, clawing at the dirt as a tentacle wrapped around my ankle, dragging me further from the demoness and her prey.
Kakashi let fly a handful of kunai, but Kagura deflected them all with a swipe of her fan, nearly dropping the weapon when Iruka planted a foot under her chin and pushed away.
"Brat, get back here!" She snarled, yanking at his shirt and wrapping a clawed hand into his hair.
"Don't you lay a hand on him!" I shouted, rolling over to claw at the appendage wrapped around my leg. Naraku hissed, flinging me up into the air. "Holy crap!" I shrieked, the blood rushing instantly to my head and my vision tinting grey around the edges.
Shockingly, the half demon deposited me into a tree, the tentacle unwinding from my leg and disappearing from sight.
"Wha?" I clung to the branch while my brain sloshed around, the ground beneath me swimming in and out of focus.
"Onee-san, are you okay?" Ed shouted, and I blinked, turning to see him hacking and slashing at a dozen more of the tentacles. Naraku reproduced them as fast as Ed cut them down, and so he was kept constantly on the defensive, backed up into the tree line, nearly out of view.
"Yea, Edo, I'm okay…just stuck. Look out!" He rolled to the side, a tentacle ripping through the hem of his duster.
"Worry 'bout yourself, baka!" He shouted back to me, clapping his hands together and pressing them flat to the dirt. A wall burst from the ground, rising up in between us and Naraku, but the tentacles were already bashing away at the rock, chipping through to the other side.
Kakashi appeared on top of the wall, hands blurring together as he moved rapid-fire through a set of seals. From here, I couldn't hear what he said, but I could see clear as day when he brought his hand up to his face, and a massive fireball erupted between the two battling bishounen.
Kagura had landed by now, by who I could only assume was her trainer, and held Iruka tightly against her legs, one hand still buried in his hair. Even from here I could see the tears, frustration or pain, it didn't matter at this point.
"To hell with this." I muttered, and dropped out of the tree. Hitting the ground in a tuck and roll, I sprang to my feet with a wince, both knees protesting the unfair treatment. "I'm too young to say I'm getting too old for this!" I groaned, limping towards Ed's wall. By this point, the tentacles had broken through and tore it down into a crumbled mess across the road, but the large chunks of rock made good cover as kunai and tentacles flew overhead.
Kagura saw me coming as I slipped behind Kakashi, snagging the kunai he pressed sight unseen into my hand. She took to the skies once more, floating just out of reach a few measly feet over my head. Changing course, I charged headlong at the trainer instead.
"Give me back Iruka!" I howled, but before I got close, Naraku had lifted the red head up with another of those tentacles, and deposited him next to Kagura on the floating feather.
"Nee-chan!" That one utterance was the only warning I had as my knees buckled, the ground exploding under my feet, and sending me shooting up into the sky. Ed had given me a boost on one of his pillars, and I took advantage of the momentum to tackle Kagura, smashing head first into the bishoujo. The kunai tore through her kimono and dropped out of my hand as the force took us both right over the other side. Iruka grabbed hold of me, clinging tight as we fell.
The air burst from my lungs as we tumbled through the brush, coming to a stop with my back against a tree. Iruka was still clinging to my shirt, both fists buried in the dirty fabric, tears streaking his cheeks.
"Hey, 'Ruka-kun, we're okay. Shhh." I soothed the child, brushing leaves and grass from his sloppy ponytail.
"I wouldn't say that just yet." The red headed trainer stood in front of me, hand held out impatiently, "Give me the little brat, or else your bishounen are done for."
Ed had broken down the pillar as we fell, burying Kagura, and Kakashi was thoroughly tied up dealing with Naraku. So I did the only sensible thing there was to do. Pulling both knees up as close to my chest as I could get with Iruka in the way, I kicked out, catching him dead on and sending him tumbling to the dirt with me. Air escaped in a high pitched whine as he curled up on himself with his back to the fight.
"Kakashi, let's get out of here!" I shouted, hobbling to my feet and limping back towards my bishounen.
He turned, dodging another of Naraku's attacks, and scooped me up, taking to the trees. Despite Ed's protests, I called him back into his ball as Kakashi took off. Iruka clung to me, while I latched onto Kakashi's flak jacket, risking a peak over his shoulder.
Naraku stood amidst the destruction, staring passively at us. He was quickly swallowed up into the foliage as Kakashi pushed deeper and deeper into the woods.
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Bishi-dex
Winry Rockabell – A F.M.A. bishoujo, highly skilled with mechanics, she's a natural companion to Edward Elric bishounen for her use as an automail technician. Prone to fits of violent temper, it is highly recommended to keep all wrenches out of reach unless work needs to be done.
Naraku – A half demon bishounen from the InuYasha territory, it's said he was once human, but now no more than an amalgamation of the parts he harvests from other demons. This bishounen is conniving and cunning, ruthless in his endeavor to achieve his goals. It is not advised for a rookie trainer to attempt capture of a Naraki bishounen.
Kagura – An InuYasha bishoujo, she is actually a 'detachment' from a Naraku bishounen. A wind sorceress, she is able to manipulate the wind into deadly blades, animate the dead, or float, using the feather charms decorating her hair. In the wild, most Kagura bishoujo are opposed to their Naraku creators. However, if a Kagura bishoujo is created by a captured Naraku who's temper and goals are of a mild manner, it is possible for these two to get along and work together.
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A.N. Whew! Poor 'Ruka-chan, he just can't catch a break, can he? I hope that this battle scene came out okay, I'm not very good at getting the words out. It always looks so much more dynamic in my head! ^_^;
Thanks everyone, for the views, and thank you thank you thank you Lady Demoonica Darkmoon for your kind review! ::bows profusely::
I have a good deal of the next chapter already written, and there'll be a lot explained, but this seemed like a good stopping point. So keep an eye out, the next chapter should be up by this weekend at the latest!
As always, if you want to have a trainer appear in the story, feel free to send me a bio! Give me the trainer's name, age, appearance, personality, how long they've been in the bishi world, what bishi they have, what stage the bishi is, and how the bishis interact with you and each other.
Tsunami