Chapter 10: Bark and Bite
"IT'S DONE!"
The tailor kicked open her back door and ushered out her clients. Sakura stepped out, wearing a green and white dress. The sleeves and hem of her dress were decorated with pink lotus petals, topped off with a big green bow at the center of her chest. Raphtalia also got a new dress to replace the cheap one she had. Though the design of the dress was pretty much the same.
"I can only assume things went well."
"Very. The little one didn't want to change designs. A shame; I had some plans, but the will of the customer comes first." The tailor nodded before her eyes began to sparkle. "This one, however, was a masterpiece! The green contrasts with her pink and this design. Most would confuse it for a heart when in reality it's a lotus. The white down the middle of the dress also works well with the pink, while giving some brightness to the darker green. And the bow! Oh, so pretty." The tailor marveled.
"Okay, but does it work?" Naofumi pressed.
"You tell me." Sakura transformed into her filolial form. The dress vanished, the only thing left was the bow that was now wrapped around her neck. When she turned back, the dress returned, undamaged by the transformation.
"Huh, I didn't think it would work."
"Not every person we meet is trying to scam us, Naofumi." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"It's still a pretty large margin." Naofumi got up from his seat and wandered over to the tailor. Here's all I got for now; I'll be sure to pay you back." Naofumi placed the last of his silvers into the tailor's hand, about 120, the amount he got from the nue.
"No worries, I had a blast. Pay me back any time." The tailor puffed up her chest with pride.
"Good, I need food anyway. Thanks again for this."
"No problem!" The tailor puffed up her chest with pride.
/~/
"That was the scariest four hours in Sakura's life." Sakura shuddered.
"Oh, grow up."
"Trust me. You do not want to grab clothes from that woman. She manhandled me like Sakura was bread dough. Sakura couldn't escape her grasp once she grabbed me."
"You make it sound like a murder attempt."
Sakura grabbed Naofumi by the shoulders and began shaking him.
"With those tight dresses, she forced me to wear. It was."
"Alright, get off." Naofumi pushed Sakura aside.
"Clothing trauma aside. Now that you're done, we can finally move outside the castle town." Naofumi opened a map and showed it to his party.
"A few hours away is the village of Ryte. My plan is that we go over there, terrorize the local monster population, and sell some of my medicine to them." Naofumi rolled up the map and continued walking. "With them being a small village far from the castle town. Their demand for medicine must also be high. The profits I would gain will be staggering." Naofumi explained, having a sinister grin on his face.
"You mean the profits 'we" will gain?"
"You're a bird, and I already cover all your living expenses. What possible reason do you need money for?"
"Sakura will have you know that she has her desires as well."
"If it's food, then you'll need a stronger argument."
"It is not!" Sakura whined.
"It isn't?" Naofumi raised his eyebrow as he questioned the bird.
"Well, somewhat. Sakura just desires a blade, like little Talia here."
"You can fell trees in a kick; in what universe do you need a sword?"
"Because using a dagger was pretty fun and really shiny too. You've seen the shine on it, right?"
"Stop stalling."
"Fine, Sakura just doesn't like scraping off monster guts from your foot and feathers."
Sigh. "You were like that when you were younger." Naofumi groaned. "Why can't you just grow up?"
"Sakura will have you know she is an adult. And being disgusted with blood isn't a habit you can just grow out of." Sakura pouted.
"Adult? You're only like, two and a half weeks old."
"In Filolial years, that 24."
"You're just making that up."
"Can Sakura get a sword or not?"
"Just take the coins and go get a blade already." Naofumi tosses some silvers over to Sakura, the bird being overjoyed by the shiny coins.
"And if you get anything else—"
"Yeah, yeah, Sakura gets it. Ohh, should Sakura get a dagger, or maybe even a claymore?" Sakura ran off, leaving Raphtalia and Naofumi alone. With the bird off to buy a weapon, Naofumi shifted his attention to packing up the inn they were staying at.
While cleaning, however, Raphtalia interrupted to ask a question.
"Master. Do you and Sakura hate each other?"
"Not at all. I just hate the things she does."
"Ohh, like Keel and Rifana. They would do that a lot and then be fine right afterward. One time they were angry at each other for so long they forgot what they were fighting about." Raphtalia laughed before slowly changing to a silent whimper.
Naofumi attempted to ignore her and continue his work. But she couldn't anymore once she clung onto his leg and started to cry a bit. Naofumi just stood there and did his best to comfort the weeping child until she fell asleep.
"This would put a delay in my plans."
"Sakura is baaaack~!" Walking into the room, Sakura looked down and saw Raphtalia cling tightly to Naofumi's leg.
Great.
"Aww, that's so adorable."
"Shut up and get her off of me already; her grip is surprisingly tight."
"Sakura could~, but it's funnier to see you this way."
"Oh, screw you."
"Don't worry, Sakura will get her off in a minute. Now look what she got!"
Sakura held up her new weapon. Along with a silver blade and black hilt.
"How pleasant."
"Come onnn~" Sakura whined. "You could at least be more supportive."
"I don't have to do anything. Now get some sleep or whatever; we leave at dawn."
"But that's so early!" Sakura pouted as she pulled Sakura off of Naofumi.
It seems like the early bird catching the worm was a lie. "I don't care. See you in the morning."
Exiting the room, Naofumi slammed the door to the room, making Raphtalia stir in her sleep.
"How'd I deal with him for two weeks?"
/~/
"It's time to go; wake up!" Naofumi shouted. He violently shook Sakura out of her slumber, her annoyed groan confirming she was awake.
"Damn it." Yawn "Damn it, Naofumi. Why couldn't you let Sakura sleep in more? Sakura whined.
"It's nine in the morning."
"Again, why does Sakura have to be up so early?"
"Oh, shut up, you lazy bird; we have things to do today. Besides. I prepared a little gift." Naofumi replied as he dragged Sakura down the steps.
"If it isn't a full-course meal, I'm abandoning..." Sakura stopped as she stepped out the door and stared at a carriage sitting in front of them. She looked over to Naofumi to confirm her suspicions and got a nod back, giving her the energy to dash over to the cart and inspect it from all angles.
"Hmm. This is a darker shade of brown than the norm; definitely painted. This cloth... no... a tablecloth? A bit rudimentary, but with the right waterproofing, it'll do fine. But this wood, and this wood feels familiar. No, not oak, and not pine. Smooth, cold to the touch. Definitely birch."
"How did you?"
Naofumi was suddenly hugged by Sakura and effortlessly lifted into the air by the joyful bird. "Carts are my life! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh my gosh, we should go on a ride now!"
"I mean, that was the plan; it's packed and read-!" Naofumi yelled as he was picked up and thrown inside the cart. Recovering from the throw, he looked out, only to see the bird carrying Raphtalia and tossing her into the cart as well.
"Alright, where to! Sakura is ready!"
"Umm, Ryute."
"Map."
"Can you even re-?"
"Map now!"
"Alright, alright." Naofumi handed Sakura the map, and she quickly snatched it. She took a quick look and threw it back into Naofumi's face.
"Assignment understood."
"But your harness."
"Who uses that anymore?" Sakura transformed and grabbed the cart with her wings. After a while, she started running, the wind parting around her as she ran unhindered.
/~/
A few minutes after her initial burst of speed. Sakura sped past the gates of Melromarc and onto the open road. She was happy, overjoyed that she could run to her heart's content with something heavy. Her two passengers, however, weren't as pleased. Raphtalia hung near the back of the cart, nauseous and struggling to hang on. Naofumi was also annoyed, now that his medicines were in danger of breaking. Despite that, however, he allowed her to run for a bit longer before ordering her to slow down.
With a much slower pace. Naofumi finally had the time to work on more medicine. He worked on his pestle for a bit until he looked over and saw Raphtalia trying to pry the shackle off her neck.
"You're not going to get that off with your strength alone." Putting down his supplies, Naofumi scooted over to Raph with another bag.
"You're better off attacking it with your dagger. Though that may put you at risk of stabbing yourself."
"Umm, I'll pass then."
"No, it's best we deal with this now. Don't want you going through a growth spurt that would cause your neck and arms to be squeezed."
"Okay, second thought, good luck!"
"We'll see; I'm not sure if doors and shackles have the same locking mechanism. So this would be a bit. Just try not to move so you don't accidentally get choked out."
"Why does removing this thing have so many chances of death?"
"You tell me. I'm not the one who's wearing shackles." Naofumi took out a few tools made for picking locks and began working.
"It's not like I had a choice."
"Right, because the slavers thought it was a smart idea to get rid of perfectly good shackles in a last-ditch attempt to cause a slave pain if not removed correctly. If I were in charge, I'd be reusing the ones from the people I already sold to save money."
"You're not helping!" Raphtalia grumbled, practically fuming.
"Alright, a touchy subject, I get it. Just know that if you ever get into the slave business, you should make smart ideas. Or just don't do it entirely, because I think slave care could probably be expensive too."
"Naofumi. Stop teasing Raph, or I will kick you." Sakura threatened.
"You know, I started to realize how violent you are," Raphtalia shuddered.
"You try being raised by someone who constantly talks about wanting to throw a girl down a cliff and see how it affects you."
"Just say I'm a bad influence and spare me the passive aggressiveness."
"Sakura thinks accepting the fact you were a terrible parent and not changing your ways is the issue here."
"It's funny that you think I was attempting to be a good role model to anyone.
A click was heard as the shackles, but it refused to open as Naofumi pulled on it.
"Shit, that was a false set. What a pain," Naofumi grumbled as he continued to pick the lock.
/~/
Hours after their departure. Naofumi was able to remove all the shackles from Raphtalia. And with minimal stops to account for her weak stomach, they finally made it to Ryute, hours ahead of schedule.
Being a rather small village, Sakura had no trouble finding a nearby inn. Transforming back into a human, Sakura and Raphtalia unloaded the cart as Naofumi laid a mat down on the ground to sell his medicine.
However, immediately as he opened it. The town's doctor approached him to confirm the quality. After he did, the customers immediately swarmed his mat and bought all his stock.
"Wow, that was fast." Sakura looked on in amazement.
"I know. Though we're going to need a better money-making strategy, I only made around 1 gold."
"Then get to potion-making. You only made two yesterday."
"I don't have the time or supplies to constantly make them Sakura. The profit just barely outweighs the sales."
"Perhaps we could head into that mine over there." Raphtalia pointed toward a mine, which from afar seemed abandoned.
"I don't know. Looks abandoned..."
"We could ask the people and see what they say," Raphtalia suggested.
"Good idea. At least someone is making good plans today." Naofumi jabbed, side-eyeing Sakura.
"Don't look at me; you didn't either." Sakura snapped back.
"This entire trip was my doing!"
"Uh, I ran you here. You did nothing."
"Guys?"
"What!?" Both Naofumi and Sakura shouted in unison.
"The man over there said it's open. It's just monster-infested."
"Well, look at you being the useful one. I'll make you a cookie later." Naofumi patted the tanuki on the head and began marching up the hill.
"He's a real nutjob. Stay nice, Talia." Sakura also patted her on the head and marched after her owner.
"These two are weird," Raphtalia mumbled as she ran after both of them.
/~/
A few minutes later, they made it to a cave. Entering the shack next to them, they made sure to grab a pickaxe this time, so they wouldn't make the same mistake again.
"You sure this is free?"
"If it were not, they wouldn't have left it here." Naofumi grabbed one of the pickaxes on the wall, along with some rope, and absorbed them into his shield.
Rope Shield Conditions Met
Equip Bonus: Erst Shield, Special Effect: Rope.
Pickaxe Shield Conditions Met
Equip Bonus: Mining 1
"[Erst Shield!]" Reaching out his hand, a floating shield appeared before the Bird and Tanuki, startling them both.
"Can't lie, that's pretty cool. Sakura, see if you can break it."
"Oh, fun challenge time." Sakura draws her sword and stabs at the shield. As it connected, it cracked a bit near the center but successfully stopped the sword.
"Whoa, the arm went numb for a second."
"It's pretty strong as well. If it can survive a strike from you, then most monsters won't stand a chance."
"Well, Sakura was just off her game; she can break it now." Sakura stepped back, this time preparing to kick it. Before she could hit it, however. Naofumi disabled the ability, and Sakura lost her balance and fell.
"Sakura hates you. So much."
"I know. Now let's get a move on."
/~/
"Naofumi, behin-"
"Ya!" Moving before Sakura could. Raphtalia stabbed at a bat that dove at them and killed it. Naofumi was slightly impressed. Raphtalia successfully killed a monster without having to puke this time. However, he became slightly less impressed as he saw that she was still a bit disgusted by the whole affair.
Well, at least it's an improvement.
"Good one, Raph. Let's keep moving."
Fighting through the cave, the party disposed of any monster they came across. Finally, they got far enough into the mine where the gems were plentiful. Too plentiful. So much so that Sakura was hypnotized by them.
"Nooo, Sakura wants them all. All the shinnnies~!" Sakura whined.
"We're already at capacity! We're leaving now!" Naofumi exclaimed.
"Awww~ You're no fun." Sakura pouted.
She drew her sword and did a pathetic slash. The slash caused a ripple in the air and released a blade of wind that cut through an approaching bat.
"Once we leave, you can do whatever. But we're not grabbing any—move!"
"Any mo-omph"
Naofumi pushed Sakura out of the way and caught the jaw of a dog monster—well, one of the jaws. Naofumi was surprised to find out that the monster he was fighting had two heads, one of which was prepared to bite him as he held the other.
"Not a chance!" Sakura drew her blade, slashing the dog across the face before it could bite down.
"Raph, it's neck now!" Sakura ordered. She jumped back, awaiting Raphtalia's attack. But the young Tanuki didn't move; she didn't even take out her weapon. All she did was stand there, visibly shaking as she stared down the monster.
"God damn it. Not the time!"
Naofumi evaded the bite from one of the dog's heads and used his shield to push the monster back. Taking a moment to recover, he prepared for another assault. But the dog shifted its focus to the scarred tanuki and immediately began running at her, jaws wide open.
Targeting the weakest. It is either intelligent or hungry. "[Erst Shield!]"
Naofumi materialized a shield in front of Raphtalia, blocking the dog from attacking. Sakura then swooped in from above, grabbing Raphtalia and running off.
"Sakura will be back; she'll get Talia to safety!" Sakura shouted.
"Wait. What am I supposed to do against this thing?"
"Stall it!"
"Easier said than done!" Naofumi shouted.
Naofumi ran forward, swapping to his Nue shield as he held the dog back.
"Hold on, mutt. I'm your target." Mustering all his strength, he picked up the dog and slammed him into the wall. Although there was no damage dealt, that seemed enough to get their attention, as they used their remaining leg to kick Naofumi back.
"There you go. "[Lightning Shield!]" Holding out his shield, the second the dog came into contact, an electric current flowed through and shocked the dog, actually dealing some damage. However, it was nowhere near enough, and all it did was make the dog even angrier.
I really hate this shield.
Bracing himself. Naofumi blocked one of the heads with his Erst Shield, then caught the jaw of the other. Bringing the head to the ground, Naofumu pinned it down with his foot before holding onto the other.
I can't hold them.
Breaking out of his grasp, the dog knocked him aside with its head, almost sending him over the edge of a cliff. Regaining his balance to avoid falling to his death, one of the heads took advantage of his predicament and attacked, biting down on Naofumi's shoulder.
"Agh. Damn it, not again!" Naofumi yelped out in pain. Blood started to drip from his shoulder as the dog's jaws dug deeper and deeper into his flesh. He tried to escape, but he was lifted into the air and tossed over the edge.
He quickly swapped to his rope shield, unleashing a hem of rope that latched onto a nearby stone. But he was at the mercy of the dog as they waited for him to come back up.
As all of this was happening, Raphtalia watched from afar as Sakura carried her away. She flinched at every blow and cringed at every injury. And now, all she could do was watch as Naofumi dangled from the cliff, with the dog approaching, waiting to attack its prey.
As she did, she remembered the wave, back when she herself was in a similar situation. Her parents threw her off the cliff, protecting her while sacrificing themselves. Before, she couldn't do anything, but now. Now things were different.
"No, NO! NOT AGAIN!."
"What are you doing? That's where the dog is!" Sakura shouted as she watched Raphtalia runoff.
I'm not going to make it. No, I have to; I must. I'll save you mas-!
"If you're so determined now! Go for it!" Sakura picked Raphtalia up once more and took a big step, throwing the girl with all her might.
She approached the dog as quickly as they ran. At first, she was scared, sad even. Not of the dog, but of herself. Rifana, her parents, everyone else. She couldn't; she wouldn't let anyone die. Not as long as she had the power to prevent it. Her sadness turned to anger, and her anger to fury as she rolled to a stop and drew her dagger.
"DON'T DIE, NAOFUMI! I'LL SAVE-"
Raphtalia pulled out her dagger and attempted to stab it. But the dog shifted its focus and knocked her into the wall with its tail. With a mighty bark, the dog leaped at the tanuki, but Raphtalia stood up and drove her weapon into its neck at the last moment.
Ripping it out, blood began to spill as the dog backed away in pain. But Raph didn't let up and attacked again, leaping onto its back this time and stabbing it on its upper neck.
"You know, almost dying is not really a good stalling tactic, but I'll give you 5 points for the attempt." Sakura reached out a hand and pulled up her dangling owner.
"Not now." Naofumi ran over to the fight and caught Raphtalia, who was just flung off the dog's back.
He then used his shield to block the dog's claw. And held it long enough for Sakura to come in and cut it off.
"RAAAGH!"
"It's weak. End it here!"
"On it. [Fast Wind Blade!]" Holding out her sword, razor-sharp wind gathered around it, with a slash, the blades flew, cleaving through the air, and cutting through one of the dog's heads. As it backed off with a whimper, Raphtalia boosted off of Sakura's back and came down, stabbing her weapon deep into its head. Finally killing it.
200 EXP!
"Well, that was easier than Sakura thought."
"Easy for you to say," Naofumi grumbled as he held onto his arm.
"No worries. We'll get you to the doctor and patch you up in no time. What about you, Talia? You need healing."
"No, I'm fine... "just." Raphtalia sat silently, watching the corpse of the dog they just killed. She had no idea how to feel. Usually, she'd be a sick mess on the floor. But now... she felt content in a way. Almost as if she needed this.
Before long, Naofumi tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of her trance. "Less pondering, more lifting. We'll go over things when we get back." Naofumi reprimanded.
"R-right. Sorry, master." Raphtalia ran off, doing her best to gather all the scattered gems from the fight.
"Not even a good job. You suck." Sakura grumbled.
"You know that's not how I roll. Now let's go; I'll make dinner once we're."
Gasp. "Never mind, you're the best!" Sakura cheered.
She's very easy to influence. Raphtalia thought as she followed behind her new master. No. He wasn't any ordinary master. Sure, he was rather rude and quite distant. He always made sure she had the best. If she were to stay a slave for the rest of her life. Then she had no issue serving a master such as him.
"If only you were here... Rifana."