| What of Jin and Touya? | |||
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CHAPTER 12: THIEF, ASSASSIN, SHAPE-SHIFTER Morning light filled the cold sky as she flew through it, while down below small ponds sparkled brightly. She found it so ironic that when she was so gloomy, that the day was so beautiful and stunning. She couldn't help it; her boss was in the emergency room of Spirit World, a black arrow embedded into his flesh. Sure, the prince could be a real prick sometimes.....But the didn't stop her from caring about him. He was, after all, a lot better than King Enma. By far. The ferry girl's thoughts were cut short as she noticed something out of place, even in the mountains. Ice. Sure, mountains usually had ice, even in the summer. But not like this. It appeared to be a solid sheet, and how thick it was was a mystery. For a few moments, Botan was quite puzzled. Then it suddenly hit her; Touya. If there was anyone that could cover up anything in the mountains on a hot summer day, it was the ice master. But why? She couldn't really tell what the ice was blocking, and even if she had, she probably would have been too tired to comprehend. An all-night flight on an oar was plain murder. Not that flying into a wall in the Human World had helped either. Where was the coffee when it was needed most? Ferry girl eventually decided to go down and take a look. But after a long night of flying, and very little movement, her plans of a quiet, gentle landing were more than shattered. No thanks to a low-hanging tree branch where her oar was caught and a certain pile of sticks under her back, of course. Staggering to her feet and trying to keep her balance, Botan drifted in the direction of the ice. Now that she was on the ground, she could see it was an entrance to a cave. The big question was, what was behind the ice seal? "Well, what could it be? One, Touya. Two...really scary monster that Touya trapped..." she murmured. Deciding that she really didn't care if it was a monster or not, she began rummaging through her kimono. After finding a compact, pack of matches (for really dark times), a few candles and a brush, she found what she'd been searching for; a pen. Well, what a human would mistake for a pen. After all, it used ink, and had a cap. And if it weren't for the fact that it had a small red button on the side, a human probably would've thought it a normal pen...How wrong that human would be. "All right now...Melt ice!" the ferry girl exclaimed, and a red beam shot from the pen to the wall of ice she had pointed it at. The wall instantly began to melt. Touya and Neko woke, startled, to an odd hissing sound. Red light flooded the cave as something destroyed the seven foot thick ice barrier the ice master had created the previous night. Both backed away to the end of the cave, holding onto each other tightly. The light dimmed as the ice thinned, until a small hole opened up in the middle of the ice seal. Expecting Risho or another shinobi, the two were shocked to see Botan at the cave entrance. "Botan? What are you doing here?" Neko questioned, rushing forward and embracing the other female. Touya stepped forth with more....dignity, and patiently waited for his turn to greet the ferry girl. When his turn came, he gave Botan a polite shake of the hand. He became concerned when he saw the unusually pale skin of her face give way to heavy black bags beneath her eyes. "Botan? What is wrong?" the ice master inquired, before the girl collapsed in a dead faint. Moving swiftly, he caught her, then looked up at Neko. She motioned to the house, and he nodded. "I don't mean to sound like a damn pathetic slob, but how do we get her up there? She's a lot bigger than us, so it would be very dangerous to try and carry her up the steep slopes at the top." Touya pointed out. Neko thought a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Simple. I can shape-shift." she stated, doing just that within a blizzard of hailstones. A few even hit Touya in the head, making the said demon go cross-eyed and gave him other amusing facial expressions. The hailstorm died down quickly, revealing something Touya had hardly even thought about. With stunning white fur, pale blue stripes, and standing over four feet tall, the tiger was no doubt a rare sight. Yes, Touya had read about legendary tigers such as this, but he'd never imagined what they'd really look like. Or how large they would be. Neko had long fangs that resembled saber-toothed cats' famous canines, he noticed instantly. Besides beautiful fur and pale stripes, her shape-shifted form also had razor-sharp, white claws and odd, clear spikes. Two said spikes rose from her shoulders, and another pair rested over her hips. Awed by the Shape-shifter's new form, Touya barely registered that she had moved close so he could put Botan between the large spikes, which each rose two feet from her body. Jumping slightly when he noticed her, Touya realized her intentions, and set Botan inside the large, clear weapons. As soon as Touya had situated the ferry girl, Neko began a slow climb towards the house, the ice master beside her every step of the way. He was amazed, that much she could tell. But she had a funny feeling he might be repulsed when he found out how the spikes had gotten to their current positions. She knew she was; she'd seen how Kaze's were made and placed. The Shape-shifter flinched at the memory, and prayed Touya hadn't noticed. When the two ice wielders reached their home, they found it empty. No Taki, no Kanaria. And no Jin and Kaze. Cuddles was the only other member of the household they found after setting Botan on the couch and covering her up. They couldn't help but worry over the fact that the rest were gone, and with Risho probably still somewhere on the mountain. That in itself was a scary thought. Add the fact Jin and Kaze had been gone for over 24 hours...That was just frightening. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Taki silently crept to the house. She had walked for two hours down the mountain to reach it, yet her need was pushing the pain in her feet away. Her need, she realized with a blush, for Kasumi. In under two weeks, she had become attached to the doctor. And yet she hardly even knew him... "Talk about jumping the gun..." she sighed under breath, reaching up to knock on the door. The echoes from her hand hitting the wood travelled through the house, as well as through the girl's heart. No response came, and Taki sat down on the porch. If she could walk two hours down to his house, she could wait for him to return. As the exhaustion from the hike caught up and flooded her, she felt her eyes slowly start to close. "Maybe...a little nap will help pass the time." she thought, before falling into the realm of sleep. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ She didn't know how, but suddenly she was surrounded by an entire herd of deer. However, seeing that they had silver and blue pelts, as well as black-feathered wings, she realized they weren't everyday deer. "So these deer....They are beasts of Kaze's. Deer of the Dark Winds." Kanaria thought, backing into a tree away from the gathering creatures. Several bucks lowered their heads, pawing at the soft dirt beneath them with sharp hooves. Some of the others merely spread their wings, displaying the strong, muscled appendages as though saying, "try to run, you won't get far". Of which Kanaria had no doubt. They were all in top condition to run her down and trample her. And with so many beasts, they could easily wear her out, despite the fact that she was an earth sprite. Without warning, the herd suddenly cleared a path in front of her. But it wasn't to let her out. A large buck, battle-scarred and bearing a thick hide, stepped boldly into the circle. At his side was an average deer; a small fawn with a brown and spotted coat. Both of the new arrivals strode up to the girl, the buck starring her straight in the eyes. "Hmm...An earth sprite...." the buck stated, "What are you doing here?" "Umm...Well, I've been staying with two girls up here...And I was going to the town because I couldn't find them...And I kinda got lost..." she replied, quite sure she was losing her mind if she was talking to a blue and silver deer. The buck snorted, and the younger bucks in the circle began stomping in a war-drum pattern. Does were leaving into the shadows, nudging their fawns with them. "Lost? My, that is a big understatement." the buck said, the tone of his voice revealing anger. The small fawn at his side shivered, backing up before darting after some of the females. "I-if you could just tell me how to get onto the main path, I'd be able to go to the town and not hinder you further." Kanaria said, hardly managing to find her voice. The buck snorted again. "You lie, earth sprite. I can smell it. You have anger in your heart for our masters." "Masters? You have more than one master?" Kanaria asked, dumbfounded. The buck nodded. "One male, two females. Jin, master of all winds. Atatakaitenki, master of the light winds. And Kaze, master of all dark winds." the buck replied. "B-but you bear the colors of Kaze." the earth sprite pointed out. Grunting, the buck stamped the ground. "Kaze takes care of us. Kaze needs no other demons at her side. She needs only the beasts of dark winds. Jin and Atatakaitenki rely on demons and humans. They do not take care of us. We are nothing to them." the buck growled low in his stomach. "Oh...Well, um...BYE!" Kanaria yelled, running around the tree and in an unknown direction. The bucks thundered behind her, gaining distance easily over even the roughest mountain terrain. River, rock, loose top soil...everything. Trees slapped her face at every turn, and small puddles scattered throughout the forest floor threatened to make her slip and become trampled beneath nearly 50 strong bucks. Sharp rocks pressed into her feet, and branches scrapped at her bare arms. Winds whipped loose dirt into her face, and blasted her clothing and revealed skin. Her red hair had many twigs entangled in it, and the airborne dust was drifting into her green eyes, stinging them without mercy. "Is this the beasts' doing?" she thought, since the winds continued to pick up. A lake came into view, and Kanaria felt her blood go cold. Water? It was her worst enemy. She couldn't swim, for starters, and the deer could fly above her. If that happened, they could nail her in the head with those sharp hooves, knock her unconscious, then let her drown. That wasn't exactly her ideal way of kicking the bucket. Glancing around, Kanaria realized she had no other choice. It was either get wet, or be crushed beneath several full-grown bucks. Looking closer at the lake, she saw something to her advantage; a floating log. Grabbing a handful of dirt and seeds as she ran, Kanaria prepared to jump, knowing full-well what would happen if she didn't make it. Reaching the edge of the lake, she bounded out over the blue water below. As soon as her feet hit the log, she filled the seeds in her hand with energy. Most of the bucks had already taken to the sky, and were about to enter the lake. The weren't exactly built for the water, but they were better in the fluid than she was. It was then that her energy kicked in, and the plants began to grow at a very fast pace. Quickly setting them down on the log, Kanaria witnessed them as they continued to grow, trapping any deer in the air. The roots ensnared the rest, so that the deer were all caught. Taking her chance, Kanaria jumped off the log onto solid ground, and ran as fast as she could away from the struggling beasts tangled in her plants. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ "What the hell?" inquired a female voice familiar to the deer. They all looked over, spying the old friend with eager eyes. Even though she was in a cloak that covered her up entirely, they knew her voice and scent. "Risu! We were chasing an intruder, and she managed to catch us like this. Can you help us?" the eldest buck asked. The girl nodded. Turning around, she whistled. A second figure appeared, also garbed in a concealing cloak, and stood beside her. "Kioti? Is that you, you old fox? Ha! It's good to see you! When are you and our little water fox here getting hitched?" the old buck asked, as the two came forth into brighter light. "I plan on wedding her as soon as the eyes of the elders are not locked so tightly upon us." the male replied, whipping a dagger from beneath his shredded black cloak. He moved swiftly, cutting the roots to free the water-logged creatures. Risu worked at the top, riding the airborne deer from their hellish state; captured. When all the beasts were freed and solidly standing on dry land, Risu and Kioti stepped forward, gaining the old buck's immediate attention. "Old buck, where is your master? Surely Kaze would never have left you like this." Kioti inquired. The buck glanced about him before facing the two friends. "My friends, I am sorry. Our master was claimed last night by shinobi. Jin as well; he was with her. Atatakaitenki will not return to this place after her last visit either." he answered, and the newly arrived lovers gasped in shock. "The shinobi? Caught Kaze? How?" Risu questioned, petting the head of the great buck. "Taka, the psycic, attacked master first. Badly starved of energy, our master went to the heart of the forest. There she took from the old trees their strength, before she was shot by a sleeping dart. Jin was too, and now they've been dragged off to the Demon Slave Trade." the old buck responded. Risu's eyes began to cloud with tears, and Kioti protectively enveloped her in his arms. "Shh...Don't worry, my love. We will get them out. We will release them. The shinobi will not claim our friends. Not while I draw breath and am able to fight." he said, kissing his lover upon the head. The two nodded at the deer, then turned towards the house. They darted at it swiftly, for it was getting dark. "Hmm..." the old buck thought. "What is it, sir?" asked a younger buck. "I was just thinking, my son. Thinking about how ironic it all was. It seems even the tamest of the Shape-shifters of Darkness are breaking the biggest rule of their kind: never fall in love, for love brings weakness and weakness brings death. Who would have thought...Neko and Shadow, Tora and Risu. Even Hikari, leader of them. I wonder how master will hold up to living with Jin. They would be an unlikely couple." the old buck said, speaking his wisened mind. The young buck stood silent, now pondering those evasive questions. "Father," the young buck said after a few minutes, "We all know that master will not fall for him. The cold wind needs no other. The cold wind is just that; cold. Only another cold wind can get past her defenses and confuse her so. And there is no other cold wind. Not anymore." "You are wrong, son." the old buck replied, "A cold wind still follows her, and he will not give up until she is his." |
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