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Part 82

Page history last edited by douglaspluylaar@... 14 years, 4 months ago

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Part 82: The Storm


 


Info

Writer

 

Dougurasu

 

 

Character Introductions

 

Kaigai

Rutonow

 

 

 

Character Deaths

 

Kanshi

 

 

Arcs

 

Hikari Crystals Arc

 

 

Timeline Entries

 

 

0210 It begins to storm heavily. Part 82
0210 Kanshi is murdered. Part 82
0210 Inoe recieves a letter from Sasaeru who asks the help of the Tiko Tribe. Inoe brings his request to Tiko Lord Kaigai Part 82
0210 Pyro Phoenixtruth appears before Moyasu and they start their quest again, leaving the cave and Hiyou Lake in the direction of Chi village. Part 82
0210 Alika forgets the way back to camp and Nagata and her seek shelter. Part 82
0210 Hana's group decides to follow Saiya's advice to seek shelter in the Forest Village. Part 82
0210 Kino and Zesshou have to stay inside because of the storm. Kino offers Zesshou to help him and his mother. Part 82

 

 

 


The Story

 

Endless Rain

Part 82: The Storm

© Dougurasu

 

A giant bird soared through the morning sky. The sun had just begun rising above the walls of the valley as the bird touched down on a high stone tower in the center of the Tiko village. A woman with maroon hair and blue eyes reached over to Ezra and plucked a small piece of parchment from his paw. The woman took it and read it whisperingly.

 

Dear mom,

much has happened since my first message. I've become involved in the quest for the domination of the five magical Hikari Crystals. I'm not sure if you can believe that, seeing as everyone seems to think they're a myth, but I've seen these Crystals in action and I sincerely believe in their truth. Moyasu, my Permanent, is in possession of one of them, which makes my job to protect her even harder, but I'll cope.

I also have more pressing concerns. I went with two of the Guardians to an enormous cavern beneath Hiyou Lake, where I discovered is the prison of Layou. I have, in fact, seen him all the way down in his pit. If there's anything our tribe can do to help, please do. The Mikomi have a worthy cause fighting against the Sendo. I know we've secluded ourselves from the rest of the Valley for so long, but I believe what the Mikomi are fighting for is worth it, so please forward my request to the Lord.

I can't tell you how much I miss you,

longing to see you again,

Sasaeru

 

Inoe sat down, looked at Ezra and stroked her feathers. She gazed Ezra in the eyes and nodded. Then she rose to her feet and put Ezra in her cage and went down the stairs to look for the Lord of the Tribe, Kaigai.

As she did, a man in cloaks released a black hawk into the sky carrying a note.

 

“Heeeey, did you miss me?” a familiar voice sang.

Pyro!” Moyasu jumped up at the sound of his voice. She looked around and located him near Mermaid and Urania. She ran at him and hugged the small guardian tightly to her chest.

“Oh-oohh! Not so rough!” Pyro, his smile broad.

Sasaeru walked up towards the two and couldn't help but smile as well. It gave him much joy seeing Moyasu beaming like this. Why couldn't he clear his head of the image he had of him and her smiling, holding hands, hugging...

Pyro turned to the group. “Okay, I think it's time we return to our quest, what do you say, Moyasu?”

 

“You can't find me!” a distant childish voice teased.

Nagata leaned his palm against the bark of a tree, sighing. This girl was inexhaustible! They'd been playing hide-and-seek for hours now. The full moon had lighten up the woods, but it was still near to impossible to find a little girl hiding, especially when the clouds covered the moon every now and then.

He had only agreed to play for a little while, but the girl's seemingly endless energy had kept him from admitting defeat, though that was about to change. Riding Lightning wasn't particularly tiring so he had the energy in the beginning to at least play a little. He still hadn't found any place to stay, so he could do whatever he wanted. He was probably not going to sleep very well anyway.

When he had asked the girl where she came from and she answered that she was from a camp nearby. She had convinced him that it was okay for her to be out this late, but the joy he was having while playing with the girl had kept him from sending her back to the encampment. However, he just realized that it was already dawn.

“I'm coming to get you!” Nagata said playfully. But as he continued his search the upcoming sun was blocked by the clouds. The blockage was accompanied by a flash of light and just a few moments after that a deafening thunder.

“Okay, Alika! You better come out now! I think the weather's gonna turn real bad!” Nagata shouted.

Scared Alika dropped from a tree and raced into his arms. “I don't like thunder! I wanna go back, Nagata!”

“That's fine, sweetie,” Nagata comforted her, “Just tell me which direction we should go.”

“It's...” Then she gasped. “I can't remember! I can't remember, Nagata!” she panicked and flailed her little arms

“That's okay! We'll find your parents! Don't worry! They can't be far away, right?” Nagata smiled, but his smile inverted as he saw a second flash of light accompanied with an instant thunder. The drizzling stopped and was replaced with torrents of rain.

 

Saiya, is there any place we could stay?!!” Hana shouted over the increasing volume of the rain.

Saiya turned her already soaked face around. “I think there's the forest village is close by here! A little more to the East.”

“The what? The forest village?” Wevlum asked.

“Yes, it's a village where a lot of people are that are not in favor of any tribe,” Saiya explained, “I usually only go there for a bit of shopping. The Market Square is far too busy for me.”

“Are you sure it's a good idea to go somewhere with a lot of trees in this weather?!” Wevles inquired.

“Don't worry! We'll be fine!” Saiya answered, already leading the way..

“As long as we're getting Hitori to someplace dry!” Wevli yelled.

The thunder and the flashes were now completely synchronized. It was common knowledge that whenever that happened, it meant that the thunder was very close by. Even though the people of the valley knew this, they had no idea what the actual facts behind this were. The mud under their feet had turned into a soup of water, sand and floating plants and their shoes were increasingly harder to free from the sand. Carrying Hitori they almost ran through the rain, not daring to take one of their horses and make them sink into the mud under their increased weight.

 

“Well, I think this kind of puts a dent in our plans, don't you think?” Moyasu screamed, the waves of Hiyou Lake slapping into her face.

Sasaeru considered their options. “I guess it'd be good to wait until this blows over, but if we do, those soldiers are gonna be back the moment it's clear for us to go!”

“We could just go now,” Mermaid said, “I can protect you from the rain.”

“I agree with Sasaeru that going now is the preferred choice, safety wise,” Pyro grinned, “It's all you, Mermaid.”

“Alright.” The little girl lit up like a sun and encompassed the two normal sized humans and lifted them up. The three floated to the other side of the lake in the direction of the Chi village, with Pyro and Urania floating behind them.

 

“And here we were trying to make our first move on Shikai,” Zesshou said looking somberly outside through the windows of Kino's house. After they had brought Hitori through the secret passageway they went straight to bed to catch some sleep. As Zesshou met up with Kino early in the morning it started to pour.

Through the window Zesshou could see Kino's garden, still vandalized from three days ago. He apparently hadn't had time to tend to it. The people of the Mikomi Tribe probably still haven't forgotten what he had done, but two days was definitely not enough for an entire community to forgive one man.

“With the weather this rough it's going to be impossible to stay inconspicuous. Especially if we're soaking wet we won't be able to sneak around anywhere,” Kino said depressed, “At least the rain will prevent everyone from finding out that Hana and the others are missing. It's hard to find anyone in this storm, nobody'll want to go outside.”

“Yeah.”

“I suggest we wait it out. Why don't you go to your mom for a little while? at least until it clears up.”

“No, I'd really rather not,” Zesshou continued to examine the garden as it was under attack by a thousand spears of water.

Zesshou... you're all she has left.”

“I know, but I don't know what to do!”

“You're still a kid, no one will expect you to know what to do in this type of situation. Have you ever thought of seeking assistance from the counsel?” Kino asked sincerely.

“Well... yes, I have. But that's kind of not an option right now.”

Kino stroked his beard. “You do remember that I'm a council member, right? I might not have a lot of say in village matters, but I am still wise. I have lived more than four times longer than you and I've seen my fair share of family dilemma's and solved pretty much all of them.”

“That... that would really be great!” Zesshou said, unable to understand why he hadn't thought of that before. “I think I should go and tell her that she's going to get help!”

Zesshou, please understand that she'll probably dismiss the idea or ignore you altogether... I'll wait till the storm is over to get out,” Kino explained.

“What about Shikai?” Zesshou asked at the door.

“He has our priority, but your mother is important too,” Kino smiled, “We'll make sure we work on both.”

 

As Zesshou walked through the rain from shelter to shelter he saw a group of people, including a few of the nurses, standing near a house he couldn't make out instantly. Curious he walked up to the group.

“What's going on?” Zesshou asked, his voice almost drowned by the rain.

“There's been a murder,” one of the spectators explained.

Zesshou looked up and saw a board of wood hanging from a metal pipe. The board had a crystal painted on it and then it struck him. He pushed through the crowd and saw what he dreaded to see. He looked at his ring finger, his ring glowing in the lights of the house, and then back at the body. The owner of the jewel store, Kanshi, had been murdered, stabbed in the back.

 

“Good morning.”

Mr. Shikai sat in his room, having just finished his conversation with the Mikomi guards that were supposed to bring back Moyasu and her Crystal, but had returned complaining of the cold. He had hollered at them, most of them frightened to death. Apparently they were under the impression that Shikai's wrath wasn't going to be all that bad compared to the wet cold of night. Instead Shikai had ordered them to search the valley for Moyasu, starting with Hiyou Lake. They could use any means at their disposal, as long as they bring back the Ruby of the Dragon. He had told them that if it were to fall in Sendo hands all would be lost.

Tebok, what a pleasure,” Shikai said with a grin.

“Took you long enough to get alone,” Tebok said as he completely emerged from the wall, being completely untouched by the rain, “Our spy has picked up on an interesting message.” He held up a piece of paper, almost drenched from the rain.

“Ha, what does our peeping tom say?” Shikai asked.

“He says that there is a secret passageway in the cellars of the Mikomi Tribe. He's included a map, but I'm afraid the rain destroyed it, however he wasn't sure of how accurate it was, anyway,” Tebok explained, putting the piece of paper carefully on the table, “In any case, yesterday night Hana, those triplet brothers and that girl Kyen Koh left the village through that secret passageway and they took Hitori as well.”

“What?!” Shikai said slamming his fists on the table, “What about Zesshou?”

“He's still here in the village. His head injury prevented him from joining them at this time. But don't sweat it,” Tebok said, “They have no idea where Moyasu is. But they have found out about you.”

Shikai gasped and looked at him wide-eyed.

“Relax, old man,” Tebok continued, “It seems that that a geezer called Kino had overheard your conversation with Pyro Phoenixtruth.”

“They know I'm working for Lana?!” Shikai burst out.

“We don't know that for sure,” Tebok said moving his face closer to Shikai's, “If he knows, he hasn't said anything to Hana and the others.”

“We must know for sure,” Shikai barked.

“Your position here is compromised, Ruulo,” Tebok whispered in his ear, “You know it'd take another 10 years before we can re-introduce you into another Tribe, right? I say make sure that Kino is no longer a threat and Lana will be happy.”

“Yes, I'll make sure of that,” Shikai complied.

“Good,” Tebok concluded and walked off, but before he disappeared inside the wall again he said, “Oh, and by the way. The jewel-man has left this village.”

 

“Mom, I'm home.”

“Hey, dear, where have you been? Have you see your father?”

Zesshou and Kisha's voice sounded hollow in the Tiko chamber.

“Not that woman again!” a dark and gruff voice said.

The man, named Rutonow, stood up and walked towards the windows. Leaning on the window's frame he could clearly see the entrance to the Lord's mansion. In the rain he saw a woman hurry through the door trying her best not to get any wetter than she already was.

“Hmmm...” Rutonow hummed and walked back towards his collections of Crystals. He waved his hand over the one which had the ceiling of Zesshou's house dancing in it and it turned black. He waved his other hand over one of the other Crystals lying around and after a small flash it changed into another room seen from a skewed angle.

The female voice sounded as hollow as Zesshou's did. “Lord Kaigai, I have an urgent request from Sasaeru we need to consider.”

 

 

 

To be continued

 

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