Wherever the Wind Takes You
The forests that blanket the valley of Pure Heart are rich in vegetation and wildlife. The canopies of greenery provide a decent coverage from the casual downpour.
The wildlife, aside from the monsters, was plentiful. The monsters filled the role of predators in Pure Heart Valley, so a majority of the animals were herbivores, like small rabbits, and the occasional sheep.
One of these herbivores was a grazing deer, poking its head through a hedge of foliage. It's wide dark eyes searched for some berries to sustain itself.
It's ears flicked from side to side, constantly searching for any nearby threats. Currently there were no threats. But what it's ears didn't catch was that it was being watched.
A surveyor rested in the trees, their boredom urged them to watch the deer in its everlasting attempt to survive. Their leg hung from the branch, swing with the casual flexing of their muscles.
It hadn't taken Hinata two minutes to defeat the monster from the other night. She later found out that she called it a night too early, because Mao Mao and company got ambushed hours later by a Moon Moth.
She had been sun bathing on the roof of Sheriff HQ when Violet explained it to Badgerclops and Adorabat. Hinata eavesdropped for a majority of the explanation before quickly flying off. It wouldn't have taken Violet long to notice someone shuffling around on the roof.
Ever since, Hinata had been patrolling the outer perimeter of the kingdom. From all the inactivity, she got bored pretty quickly. Now, she settled down in a tree where the bark was digging into her fur, resting uncomfortably against her skin.
Hinata wondered if Mao Mao was doing okay, Violet said he was being treated. We're his injuries that bad? Hinata had to constantly remind herself that she was here for a reason. It was the only way she could stop herself from flying straight to him.
The deer's head jolted up, having heard something from the brush. Hinata sat up, looking out into the thick forest. With all the trees, she could barely see further than the clearing. The deer bolted, bounding through the grass, between the trees, and out of sight.
Hinata jumped down from the tree, faced in the opposing direction to where the deer ran. Hinata bent her knees, and moved her arms to be slightly behind her body. This was her unique fighting stance, she experimented and deduced that this was the best stance to make use of her legendary weapon.
The bushes rustled, quivering from whatever was running towards Hinata. She heard the pounding of paws against the soft earth, they sounded a little light though. There was another sound too. It was the sound of jingling.
The beast leaped out from the forests, and dashed towards Hinata upon sight. In turn, her eyes widen, the shock kept her still as she processed what was running towards her. Finally, Hinata smiled.
The animal knocked her down onto her back, assaulting her with an unrelenting series of licks. Hinata wrapped her arms around him, happy to see a familiar face.
"Bao Bao!" Hinata disregarded Bao Bao's dog breath, giggling from the texture of his tongue. "Yeah, I know, I know, it's been too long!"
Hinata sat up, Bao Bao jumped off and rubbed against the yellow-clad Mao, trying to nudge his head underneath her hand.
"Calm down, buddy," Hinata dragged her fingers through Bao Bao's fur. "What have you been up too? I haven't seen you in years!"
Bao Bao let out a few barks.
"You're joking!" Hinata exclaimed, "and then?"
Bao Bao barked again.
"No!" Hinata laughed in disbelief.
Shortly after the family had adopted the shiba inu, Mao Mao and her would play with the young pup. Hinata, walking past a young Ashaki, caught sight of a book from the Mao archives. The book was bound in green dyed leather, it had a musty smell to it that made Hinata scrunch her nose when she picked it up. The cover of the book read: Art of Animal Speaking. The author's name had faded over time, and all that was left was the surname, Mao.
Hinata took the book and bolted, with Ashaki shouting at her. She showed the book to Mao Mao and talked about how they could use the book to understand Bao Bao. Mao Mao was excited to give it a try. It took them months get the hang of it.
"I'm really glad you're here, Bao Bao," Hinata moved back onto her feet. "It was getting pretty lonely."
Bao Bao leaned their head to the side, letting out a small whine. Hinata faced towards the west and began walking, continuing her patrol around the perimeter of the kingdom. Bao Bao bound after her, close on her heels. Every now and then, he would run around her, nearly tripping her mid stride, and walk next to her again on her opposing side.
It was reminiscent of the time he and Mao Mao would go on walks together. He hadn't seen Mao Mao's sisters in ages, this was a welcome surprise to see Hinata again; she gave him the best scratchies.
"Hey, Bao Bao," Hinata's words caught on Bao Bao's ears. "Could I ask you to do something?" Bao Bao barked in response. "Could you maybe sneak around the kingdom, and spy on Mao Mao and my sisters?"
Bao Bao jumped back, squeaking out a startled yipe.
"Don't judge me!" Hinata quickly defended herself. "It's getting harder and harder to sneak around Pure Heart, but you can come and go freely." Looking back, Hinata saw the shiba inu looking at her with a half lidded stare. "What did I say about judgement?"
Before the conversation had the chance to progress any further, Hinata's hero instincts sent a chill up her spine, and Bao Bao heard the creak of a tree branch.
The two of them spun towards the source. The trees stretched upwards from the ground, vertical bars made of bark. Hinata's eyes darted back and forth, waiting for something to attack.
"Bao Bao," she whispered, barely moving her lips. Bao Bao didn't look at her, or give any indication that he acknowledged her words, but she knew he was listening. "Let's to do battle plan Sigma."
A low growl reverberated deep in Bao Bao's throat, signaling that he knew what to do. Hinata's feet left the ground, and in a single moment she was zooming between the trees. Everything blurred at the sped she moved at, but a splotch of brown that didn't match the bark stick out like a sore thumb.
Her feet skidded along the dirt, kicking up loose leaves and stray rocks. Coming to a halt, she got a better look at the beast. It's base physique was similar to a gorilla, but it had a couple extra sets of limbs, and it's jaw was misshapen.
"Some kinda... spider monkey?" At the sound of her verbal thought, the beast was spooked when its prey was suddenly behind it. In it jump, it opened its mouth and shot out a white globule. In the midst of its path towards Hinata, the ball ballooned out, threatening no net the scarf-clad Mao. Hinata sped out of its reach, catching herself on another tree. The projectile was left to flop on the ground. Now that she had a good view the projectile, she could see it was made of an assortment small strings, woven together to craft a net. "Oh, an actual spider monkey!"
The primate whipped its head back and forth, searching for its prey. Picking out the black and yellow palette from the green and browns of the forest were a simple feat. The ape leaped off the tree, arcing through the air, bringing each of its six fists down on the space Hinata stood. Branches cracked into splinters, dirt was kicked up from the source of impact. Several small craters burrowed into the ground, the spider monkey examined its hands, searching for evidence that it had flattened its target.
"You need to move faster than that," Hinata remarked, leaning against a tree, arms crossed.
The ape, at the sound of Hinata's voice, grabbed the first thing it could find, and as it spun to face her threw the object. The object of interest rocketed towards Hinata, almost too fast for her to identify it. The projectile went wide, crashing into the center of an oak tree fifteen feet behind and to the left of Hinata. The bark broke beneath the ovular rocket, like glass, as it tore through the trunk. A whole was punctured through the tree, jagged splinters zig zagging around its diameter. The ovular object continued, planting itself into the tree behind the initial one. A large rock, slightly bigger than the ape's fist, protruded from the bark.
"Well," Hinata's eyes were wide as she took in the power this beast held within itself. If that thing grabbed her even once, it would tear her apart. "Guess I should get serious, myself."
Hinata sped off, a shockwave kicking up more dirt and foliage. The beast immediately checked its corners, expecting her to show up behind it again. Not this time.
Hinata snaked between the trees, her fist connecting to the beasts shoulder. You would expect someone with such a lithe and skinny build to topple a gorilla, but her fist sent the gorilla spinning.
The beast clutched it's shoulder, the impact seared with pain unlike any it felt before. The ape scanned the trees once more, unsure where Hinata would appear this time.
But it's view had turned upwards when something had hooked its legs, taking them out from under the spider monkey. Staring up at the canopy, the beast kicked itself back up, only to be knocked back down by another one of Hinata's rocket punches.
For once, Ashaki's lectures were useful. Hinata goofed off a lot during those lectures, but she still had the notes. She remembered seeing the formula F=ma. Force equals mass times acceleration. There wasn't a lot she could do to change her mass, but acceleration was another thing. Speed was her weapon, using it make each hit feel like an eighteen wheeler to the face.
"Look, I'll make you a deal," Hinata perched onto the branch the spider monkey hung from earlier, her arms resting on her raised knees. "You stop this, run away with your tail between your legs, and I'll let you go. Pretty good deal right?"
The ape clenched its fists, digging its nails into its own palms. The frustration of being knocked down over and over by someone as thin as a twig, being emasculated so easily, it built up with every hit received. The ape was flexing its muscles so hard, it was beginning to stimulate the follicles of its body hair, causing strands of body hair to stand on end.
Hinata let out a sigh. "I guess not then." The gorilla leaped over, driving one of its fists through the trunk of the tree. However, Hinata had long since left the tree. "They never want to take the easy way out."
Before the beast could react to her voice, they had already been flattened. The straw had finally broken the camel's back. The spider monkey grabbed the closest thing it find and threw it, missing Hinata by a mile. The ape was thrashing about, shooting webs left and right.
"Guess I need to finish it up, hope your ready Bao Bao." Hinata dodged and weaved between any thrown objects sent her way with ease. The real challenge was avoiding the ape's multiple swinging arms. Hinata would get close enough to touch the ape, only to pull back as one of its arms was about to graze her.
In the cover of shadows, Bao Bao crept closer to the fight. Careful not to draw the attention of the beast. Thanks to Hinata's constant distraction, Bao Bao was able to go undetected. Once Bao Bao was as close as he was going to get, he craned his neck towards the sword fastened on his back. The taste of leather filled his mouth when his teeth gripped the blade's handle.
Tugging it from the sheath, Bao Bao sent the blade spinning through the air, towards the game violent cat and speedy mouse. The blade caught the numerous rays of light that beamed down through the canopy, the silvery metal flashing like a rave.
Hinata caught the shimmer just on the periphery of her vision. Ignoring the brown, whirling tangle of limbs, Hinata beelined to the spinning blade, orienting herself to align with the rotation. Grasping the handle herself, her first feeling was of the smelly slobber that Bao Bao had drizzled onto the leather. A shiver of discomfort settled in her spine.
Rather than pulling the sword out of it the air, she sped up its rotation speed. The silhouette, once a clear indication of a cat wielding an comically sized sword, began to blur. The ape leaped at the blur of yellow, black, and silver. When the spider monkey's feet touched the ground, they were followed by its knees, the beast gripped at one of its wrist, its hand laid on the ground twenty feet away.
Hinata came to a halt, looking back to the spider monkey. The beast spat a whorl of silk around the bloody stub, making a quick tourniquet. "So you can strategize. Please stop, I really don't want to kill you if I don't have to."
The spider monkey ever so slowly turned to face Hinata once more, the burning rage in its eyes could light the forest ablaze. Hinata released a sigh, having to come to terms with the inevitability of the situation.
The ape leaped up into trees, wrapping its large fingers around branch. The Spider Monkey swung its arms forward, reaching out to a neighboring branch. Before it was able to even graze the branch, it's body lurched, weightlessness overcame the hulking behemoth. The ape collided with the earth, the initial branch clutched between its fingers.
Hinata stood over the spider monkey, the sword glinted in rays light. She glanced the branch in the ape's hand, the end had a clean cut. In its moment of desperate survival, it swung the branch at Hinata. But the branch never made it to her, it plopped on the ground along with the ape's forearm.
The spider monkey opened its mouth to let a cream of agony, but all that came out was a soft rasp. The air in the ape's lungs seeped through the gash in its chest, before the beast knew it, its vision grew dark, its limbs fell limp to its sides.
Hinata hopped off the monster carcass, a shiver crawling down her spine. Everything about that felt wrong to her. Dominating foes wasn't her style, it fell more in line with Brunhilde's. But it didn't show signs of backing down, it kept going, unrelenting.
Gazing down at the blade in her hands, dripping with the spider monkey's blood. Relaxing the grip of her hand, Hinata let the blade clatter against the dirt. Bao Bao ran up to the weary Mao leaning against her calf to give some support.
Looking down to see Bao Bao, Hinata lowered herself to her knees, raking her claws through the dog's fur. "I'm okay, boy, just a need to take a breather."
So many things ran through her head, like what her first words to Mao Mao will be when she sees him again. How her sisters may act when she hasn't been in contact for almost ten years; she may not have been in contact but she wasn't out of the loop. Hinata was aware of how worried they all were about her, but she needed to know. For that to work, she'll need to stay in hiding until the last possible moment.
But with the deadline less than a month away, and Brunhilde is nowhere to be found, she wondered if this would all be for nothing.
Hinata picked herself off the ground and made her way to where Bao Bao's sword laid. Using both hands, she picked up the blade, feeling its heft in her palms. Across the clearing was a sizable oak tree, that would be a good spot.
As soon as Hinata stood at the base of the tree, she buried the sword into the dirt, leveraging the blade, Hinata used the sword as a shovel. It took her nearly an hour to have a hole of the size she wanted.
Leaving the sword against the tree, she flew over to the fallen monster. Hooking her arms under the ape's pits, she heaved, struggling to pull the monster over to its grave. "A little help, Bao Bao?"
At the mention of his name, Bao Bao leaped over to Hinata's side, biting into the monster's flesh, tugging at it over the clearing. Once the monster laid in its ditch, Hinata and Bao Bao filled the hole back up with dirt.
From there all that was left was for nature to take its course. The spider monkey's body would begin to decompose, the tree's roots would absorb the nutrients to sustain itself.
Hinata looked over to Bao Bao's blade, resting against the trunk. It's tip splattered in blood, and coated in dirt. There was a river to the west she could use to clean it, she had been using it for a source of water.
"Come here Bao Bao," scooping up the shiba inu into her green hand, Hinata readied herself for take off. Bending her knees, her scarf's twin tails lifted up to either side, springing into the air, the scarf responded, catching the gentle wind, it lifted her into the air.
Once she had broken through the canopy, she had a clear sight of the entire valley. Beautiful lush forests, rolling hills, clear open skies. If things had been different, she would vacation here.
Hinata floated on the tailwind heading west, letting the take her. The weight of Bao Bao in her arms was nostalgic, this was how she'd hold Mao Mao when she took him flying.
It was the best feeling in the world, climbing and diving in altitude at her own behest, nothing to chain her down, not even gravity.
Ashaki had libraries, Minori had the dojo, Violet had her room that was filled to the brim with manga, Brunhilde had... well, Hinata didn't really know what her "happy place" was. But she, she had the skies. Sure people hade aero-vehicles, but this was different, she would feel the breeze as it whipped at her fur, it was liberating.
When she first received the scarf, it felt right, like it belonged around her shoulders. Hinata wasn't usually big on books, so she had to learn by doing. Acceleration, drag, using the wind the affect her trajectory, all of it learned firsthand. When she was confident in her skills, she offered Mao Mao a flight through the mountains.
She held the young Mao in her arms, gliding through the mountains on the winds that raced through the corridor of sheer cliffs. The occasional flight with her father was nice too, but now? She didn't know what to think of her father, and how he had treated her little brother. Yes, he treated Mao Mao horribly, but he had also reportedly turned a corner as of recent.
Hinata shook her head. She'll cross that bridge when she got there. Until then, she would patrol the Pure Heart Valley and fight off any and all the monsters she could until Brunhilde arrived.
Coming up on the river, Hinata lowered Bao Bao and herself to the river shore, where she released Bao Bao from her grasp. The dog took a few minutes to sniff at the ground and check out the surroundings.
Hinata dipped the dirty sword into the river, the excessive amount of blood and grime, washing off with the current. Twining streams of red and brown seeping into the river. While she cleaned the blade, she looked down at herself, her clothes and fur had stains of red from burying the carcass. Now would probably be a good time to wash herself off as well.
Hinata rested the guard of the blade on a rock, leaving the tip of the blade in the river. Hinata jogged along the edge of the river, to a rocky outcropping just a few dozen meters up the river. Using her scarf, she leapt from stone to jagged stone, coming up onto an angular boulder that pointed out over the river.
Stepping out onto the edge, Hinata bent her knees, kicking off the rock, she plummeted down towards the water. Her voice calling out, "GERONIMO!!!"
All at once, her body had been doused in chillingly cold water. Kicking her legs, she swam back towards the surface. Breaching the surface of the river, she took a breath, filling her lungs with air. The same air hit her waterlogged fur, turning it even colder.
"Bao Bao! Jump in the water's fine!" Bao Bao on the other hand, just laid on the lakefront, yawning as he rested his head between his paws. "Oh well, your loss!"
Hinata leaned back, resting on the top of the water on her back. This setting was tranquil, so peaceful. She wished her family was next to her. She missed the chaos of a lake day with the Mao clan. Now that she thought about it, there was a lake in the valley somewhere, maybe before they leave, they could take a day of R there.
The water lapped at her sides, the subtle movements and the river lulled her into a trance. Her eyelids felt heavy, and her muscles asked for her to rest. Before she could give in to those desires, she turned over, and began swimming towards Bao Bao and the lakefront. Her fingertips brushed dirt beneath the water, letting her know she could stand in the shallow riverbed. Hinata plopped herself down next Bao Bao.
"I hope Mao Mao gets better soon," Hinata said to herself. With her eyes closed, she felt the suns rays warming her wet fur, and the shifting of the earth under her weight in the soft dirt. What she also was felt were vibrations of something large.
Bolting up, she saw Bao Bao was already crouched. "Bao Bao," she whispered. "Hide and silence." The two ran towards the outcropping that Hinata had jumped from earlier. This time, the slid into the space between to boulders.
Edging around the moss ridden rock, Hinata was able to catch sight of the things, that were making the vibrations. The appeared to be a trio of mercenaries. A bull wielding oversized machetes, a dragon with metallic wings, and a pink ape with a pair of electro knuckles hanging from his belt.
These guys, even for Hinata, gave off a bad vibe. She felt the need to stop them from going to the valley, but she knew if she tried to fight the three of them herself, she would have a slim to no chance of walking away.
Hinata cursed herself, giving herself a Charlie Horse into her thigh, mentally apologizing for whatever she just let walk into Pure Heart.