I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but during the last chapter I'll tell you how I picture Mari. And, if any of you guys care to tell me how you imagine her, I'll put those descriptions up too. I just thought I'd say so, since I don't remember mentioning that bit. I do this with all of my stories. Anyway, I found a new jewel manga that I started reading. I call it a jewel because it's hard to find mangas like it, with an intense storyline and unique characters. It's a mash up of a pretty much all my favorite genres, except, you know, shounen-ai. It kind of is, though, being a gender bender and all. Although she looks pretty and feminine, she makes a really convincing pretty boy. Actually, it's a manwha, which is a Korean version of manga. Basically the only difference is that you read it left to right. It's called Saver Manwha, if you wanna go check it out. I haven't finished it yet, but so far I'm seriously enjoying it. Be warned, though. It's kind of long. If you actually do go read it, pm me what you think! I would love to analyze it with you, if you're up for it! I'm a book nerd, through and through. Yes, I'm counting manga as books. Deal with it.
But before you go check that out, please, read what I've written first. That's why you're here, right?
When I catch up with the others, having had to follow their footprints to find them, they're already at the giant tree. Mori knocks on the door as whispers circulate through the suspicious crowd, sounds of surprise and amazement earned when the bark slides open. A caramel blonde stands in the doorway, gaping at the sight of the masses.
"W-what is all this?" she sputters.
I push to the front, stepping up to face her. "You must be Renge." I release Haruhi's hand for only a second to shake her hand. "Kyoya offered his house as refuge. Hikaru and Kaoru…"
Her eyes widen, her mouth forming a wide O. "Come in, then! Please, get inside!"
"That girl's an elf!"
I glance to the elderly grocer, who seems to have been dragged from her house by her daughter. Unable to stand, she leans against the young girl without supporting herself in the slightest. Her words restart the whispers, one or two of the children crying out in fear.
"Yeah, I'm an elf!" Renge declares openly. "And right now, I'm the only one providing you all shelter! If you'd rather spend your time out here in the forest, be my guest! I'm sure there are plenty of mischievous imps and fairies delighted to have humans in the forest again. But if you don't, get inside already!"
Her forcefulness sends a hush through the crowd. Mother leads the way, thanking Renge before descending down the small flight of stairs leading into the inner recesses of the house. The orphanage children follow her without question, Mori letting down the one on his shoulders and helping the ones on Honey off. Seeing the blind faith of the kids, slowly the rest of the village starts to file in. Considering the size of the town, everyone should be able to fit, but it'll be really tight. Even though there are barely over a hundred people, this is only a one room home. It might be a pretty big room, but that's a lot of people for such a small space. There's probably going to be a few people on the stairs, and the beds will likely be taken by the elderly or sick. Ryo goes in with the rest of the group, leaving just me, Naki, Haruhi and Renge outside the tree.
"So," Renge begins, "who are you? How do you know Kyoya?"
"I got lost and injured in this forest and he healed me," I shrug. "My name is Mari, and this is Naki and Haruhi. Sorry that this is how we meet, but...the town is kind of burning and we needed a place to go."
"I assumed as much once you mentioned the twins." She sighs. "What happened?"
"I'm not entirely sure, actually. I was being pursued by a witch, and they protected me, but then they got mad. Something about 'why can't it be us'? I don't really understand. After that they went after the witch in dragon form. Even though they're my familiars, they wouldn't listen to me."
She stares at me. "They're your familiars?"
"They wanted to be, and I wanted the protection, so it somehow happened."
"Do you have any idea why they wanted to be someone's familiars so badly?" I shake my head. "It's because being a familiar means you're tied to the witch for life. A lot of witches never marry, and if they do, it's to their familiars. The bond is that strong. They wanted you to love them."
As I soak that in, my cheeks heat up. "Y-you mean...They w-wanted me to like them? In that way?"
"Yup."
"Take Naki." I shift the child into her arms, her expression perplexed. As soon as my hand is free, I cover my face. What? So, they were jealous? Of Kyoya? It's not like we were courting each other or anything. Of course I like the twins, even now, but love….I don't know. I've never considered it.
Breathing out, I lower my hand. "Let's get inside. After I see everyone settled, I'm going to go back and try to appease them, but I want to make sure everyone's okay first."
I coax Haruhi in first, following her down. Even with the crowd and limited number of lamps, the gold in the decor reflects what little light there is to make the room alight as it was when it was just a few of us inside. Really, the design of the interior isn't only elegant, but intelligent as well. Kyoya must have put a lot of thought into it. The other possibility is that it just happens to be this way by chance, but knowing Kyoya, I find that doubtful.
"Mari!" A blurred figure crashes into me, wrapping arms around my waist. "Mari, it's Junko!" I hold the child back and look into his panicked face, identifying him as Sora. Then his words process and I bristle.
"Where is she?" I demand. Leaving Renge and Haruhi behind, I let him drag me past people to one of the beds. Junko, her black hair splayed around her head, lays atop the covers wheezing. Umehito sits on the edge of the bed, gazing at her with a pained expression.
"Junko?" I release her brother's hand to lean over her, hands hovering with uncertainty. "Junko, did you take your medicine today?" She doesn't respond, but a hand on my shoulder distracts my attention from her. I glance back to see Mother, who's shaking her head. My throat clenching, I turn to Umehito. "Could you...is it possible to make another dose on the spot?"
"I don't have the ingredients."
"Then I'll go get them! What do you-"
"Mari, even if I had them, it takes over a week for the formula to ferment properly."
My vision blurs with water, my mouth gaping without producing sound. Her face is reddening from lack of oxygen, each passing second darkening. Much longer and she'll begin to turn blue. It must have been all the excitement that got to her. Without taking her asthma medicine, she had to run away from home with the fear of a dragon chasing after her. Isn't there anything I can do? In times like these, we've always had her medicine on hand, but right now the new bottle we got is probably melting in the twins' fire.
Clenching my fists, I hang my head and wrack my brain for something, anything that could stop her asthma attack. Then a light flashes in my eye, causing me to squint. Opening my eyes, my focus lands on the red jewel hanging from my neck.
Hope flooding back, I yank the chain from around my neck and dig my fingernail between the gem and its holder. I ignore the pain in my finger as I put all my effort into prying it out, my reward being a dull clang as it pops from its set place. Please, please work!
I set it in her open mouth, closing it for her. "Junko, it's Mari. You need to swallow. Do you understand? I know it might be hard, but you have to."
Her eyes don't open, nor does she give any sign of hearing me. Holding on of her hands, I use my other hand to smooth down her hair. Come on, Junko. You can do it.
And then she swallows. The action is strained, taking three times as long as it normally would, but she very clearly swallows. I suck in a large breath, waiting. Even though my injuries healed quickly, it still took a few minutes to take effect. I'm not sure Junko has a few minutes to wait.
I loud gasp fills the room that'd fallen silent and everyone releases their breath. Curling up on her side, Junko rushes to breathe in deeply. The cherry quality to her face fades back to a normal tan. Her muscles visibly relax. Closing my eyes in relief, I lean back against Mother.
The door opening draws our attentions away from the passed emergency. Kyoya steps into his own house filled with strangers, a child on either side of him. Two families immediately rush forward, grabbing their children into their arms and checking them for possible injuries. Kyoya descends the stairs, scanning the mass of people with analytic eyes. I wedge myself between people until I manage to get to him.
"I'm going back. I leave everyone in your hands until I get back, okay? And, could you keep an eye on that little black haired girl? Her name is Junko. She just had an asthma attack and I had to use that blood crystal I had. If I didn't have to go to the twins, I wouldn't leave her side."
He chuckles. "You're not in charge, in case you haven't realized," he points out. "This is my house, after all."
"So you should be just fine without my assistance, then," I reply. I take the stairs two at a time, not bothering to stay long enough to see his amusement. With the trail left from such a massive group moving through the forest, it shouldn't be all too difficult to find my way back out. The glow of the forest guides my feet as I half walk, half run back to the town. A few creatures gaze on from the snaggled bushes, or down from the branches of the trees, but I don't stop to marvel at their strange appearances. The more time I waste, the less of the town will be salvageable.
When I reach the edge of the forest, my feet plant themselves. The yellow-red fury edged with blue reaches towards the sky, as if trying to conquer the world. The only home I've ever known acts as the fuel for this inferno. The giant shape of the two headed dragon rises from the smoke, the very same creature from the legends that terrify even the eldest members of the village. Added to it, the explosions of energy indicating the battle of a witch.
Seeing it drains the will from my body, and I collapse against the tree behind me. My legs feel as liquid as water, my arms foreign to me. As horribly sickening as it is, as savage and nauseating as it is, something in the back of my mind whispers that it's beautiful.
As I stare at flames, they fill my mind until there's nothing else. I can only see the disgustingly gorgeous brilliance. The glow from the enchanted forest creeps back out of my vision, the ground fading into black, only the blaze visible now.
When the black begins to seep into even the flames, I can't do anything. My body won't move, my mind not daring to move from the scene in front of me. The spots in my vision widen and stretch, increasingly narrowing the light until my world falls into absolute darkness.
Dun, dun, DUN! She faints in the end, btw. Why? Well, there are a few possibilities, but I won't name any. I'll let you think what you want until next chapter. That's the point of a cliffhanger, right? Sorry guys. Actually, this is one of the first cliffhangers I've written in a while. My fruits basket story was jammed full with them, which got a close friend of mine upset. I think that may be why she's not reading this story...But I've been doing alright with holding off on the cliffhangers, right? Well, I'll update soon.
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!