Part 77: Runaway Key
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The Secret of the Tiko Tribe Arc
| 0209 | Moyasu and Sasaeru both experienced headaches from the attack on Mikomi Village, but don't mention it to eachother. | Part 77 |
| 0209 | Shikai came to Moyasu to take the Ruby of the Dragon, but Moyasu wasn't about to give his up. She and Sasaeru escaped from Mikomi village, being followed by four Mikomi Warriors. | Part 77 |
| 0209 | Mermaid Aquateam and Gaia Titaniacare made sure that Sasaeru and [Moyasu could escape to the island on Hiyou Lake.Part 77 | |
| 0209 | Mermaid Aquateam and Gaia Titaniacare tell Moyasu and Sasaeru that Pyro Phoenixtruth thinks that Shikai has temporarily been possessed by the Key, because Hitori is in a state of trance. Pyro wouldn't reveal any more. | Part 77 |
Endless Rain
Part 77: Runaway Key
© Acrocat
“Oh Sassy, you forgot to put some sugar in my tea.” Moyasu said, acting like a spoiled princess.
Sasaeru growled while he added some sugar to her tea. They both had only just recovered from a severe headache, though he wasn’t going to tell her he had one too. That would make him appear weak while he had already been demoted from permanent to personal slave and Moyasu sure treated him like that. While she had the luxury to sleep in a nice, soft, warm bed he was entitled to the couch. He responded to every whim. Moyasu would tell everybody about the secret of the Tiko Tribe if he didn’t. He could not allow that, especially since he would have to kill her if she did. At this point he found this easier than the fighting they did before. At least he had some steady ground now. Moyasu had given her word not to tell anyone as long as he would be her ‘personal attendant’ aka slave. He had noticed a slight difference in her attitude though. Now more than ever did she try to hide the Ruby of the Dragon. Was there something wrong with it? Nagata and Wevles had visited earlier that day and wanted to speak with Moyasu. They’d retired to the bedroom for a short while so he knew nothing about what they discussed.
That's when she noticed the Ruby of the Dragon. Something was different about it. It wasn't glowing anymore at all!
“What in...?!”
She had never finished that sentence, but the lack of the Crystal’s light made Moyasu feel uneasy and filled with many questions. Was she too late to fulfil her quest? Did Lana get her hands on one of the other crystals, making them stop glowing? Was it just her Crystal or did the others suffer the same fate? And what about the headache, did it have something to do with all of it? Questions she could not answer and it made her edgy. Sure she enjoyed bullying Sasaeru, but at this time he was also being the victim of her frustration. Then there was a knock on the door.
“Go and see who it is Sassy.” Moyasu ordered.
“You are closer to the door, why don’t you do it?” Sasaeru replied.
“I wonder how I can get to the roof of this house…”
“Alright, alright I’m going already.” He sighed and opened the door.
Mister Shikai, trouble written all over his face, was admitted and got straight to the point of his visit, “By order of the Mikomi council you are to give up the Ruby of the Dragon to us so that we can keep it somewhere safe.”
Moyasu was taken aback by this sudden order. What was this guy thinking? “Why do you want it and where would you keep it then mister Shikai?” Moyasu asked polite yet suspiciously.
“The other three crystals have been taken from our village by the Sendo which makes it vital that the Ruby of the Dragon stays hidden at a secret place only the council knows about.”
The Sendo had taken the crystals! But how? She didn’t notice an attack.
“Don’t let them take the crystal Moyasu. It won’t be safe with them.” Pyro appeared next to her in his ghostly form.
“Why don’t you tell them that yourself.” Moyasu thought.
“Because then they won’t trust me anymore and I won’t be able to help Nagata…”
“I’m sorry mister Shikai, but I cannot give you the Ruby of the Dragon. It belongs to me and that’s where it will stay.”
“I knew it.” Shikai grumbled as he beckoned to some soldiers, “First Kino betrays us, then Nagata. How could we have possibly have any trust in you, who is not even a Mikomi? Men, get that crystal!”
“Sassy, get the horses!”
“Way ahead of you.”
Sasaeru neatly made his way out while Ezra distracted the soldiers. Moyasu ran to the bedroom and locked the door. Some soldiers gave pursuit on Sasaeru, but Shikai ordered the to stay at the house. It was Moyasu they needed, not the boy. The soldiers surrounded the house as they tried to break through the door. She had thought to escape through the window, but the soldiers were already in position. Moyasu was trapped… Perhaps there was still a way out. Moyasu remembered that the carpenter who had renovated this house had warned them about a weak spot in the roof. It was supposed to be somewhere, how conveniently, in the roof of the bedroom. If she could only spot it. Moyasu scanned the ceiling and soon spotted a spot that looked a bit wet, like the rain had sipped through the roof. She got onto the bed, but could not reach it. Luckily her arm was almost as good as healed now so she could tilt the bed on its side. She climbed it and took out her sword and began to make a hole in the ceiling. This was all done while the soldiers were trying to ram the door. It was a good thing the door was made of a hard wood or else Moyasu would have been caught already. Eventually she managed to make a hole large enough to get through and climbed on top of the roof. The soldiers soon spotted her and some of them tried to get on the roof, but Sasaeru was already on his way. In his hurry he had managed to get only one horse, but it would suffice. He galloped to the house, ran over some of the soldiers who tried to stop him and signalled to Moyasu to jump. She did and neatly landed right behind him as Sasaeru nudged the horse into a gallop again and rode out of the village.
Zesshou, woke up due to the noise coming from outside. Carefully he stood up and walked towards the door to see what was going on. He was just in time to see Moyasu and Sasaeru gallop out of the village. Shikai was jumping up and down, shouting at the soldiers, calling them idiots and what not. Zesshou had never seen him like this. He was usually calm and decisive, hence what made him head of the council.
“Something fishy is going on here, and I intend to find out.”
“Not until you are fully healed.”
Zesshou shook up and saw the nurse standing right behind him. With a commanding finger she pointed at Zesshou’s bed. Obediently Zesshou lay down again.
“Still I’m going to find out what’s wrong with Shikai.” He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Sasaeru just kept on riding, not really knowing where he went. Mikomi soldiers were on their trail and they needed some place to hide. The edge of the forest came into sight. Sasaeru knew that they would not stand a chance on the open plains, but he had no choice. No sooner had they left the forest or were forced to stop. Before there was quite a bit of plain between the forest edge and Hiyou Lake, but that plain had to give way for the growing water level.
“Psst, over here!” A female voice said.
Moyasu and Sasaeru both look around to see where the voice came from and soon spot a blue-haired girl standing on the lake surface and beckoning to them, it was Mermaid Aquateam.
“Who are you?” Moyasu asked.
“I’ll explain later, please hurry. I’ve made it so you can walk over the lake’s surface. Ride towards that island and hide in the cave.”
They obeyed and Sasaeru steered the wild-eyed horse across the lake’s surface to the island and into the cave just in time before the pursuing Mikomi soldiers exited the forest and were facing a mystery.
Inside the cave the duo was greeted by a woman with long green hair and guided down the long-winding stairs of the cave, where they were soon joined by Mermaid.
“Who are you?” Moyasu asked again.
“We are the sisters of Pyro.” Mermaid said.
“I am Gaia Titaniacare, guardian of the Emerald of the Earth and protector of love and care and this is Mermaid Aquateam, guardian of the Pearl of the Ocean and protector of teamwork and friendship.” Gaia introduced.
“You’ll be safe here in my cave until it has all past.” Mermaid said.
“Excuse me, but I don’t really know what’s going on right now.” Moyasu said.
“We don’t know exactly either, but we do have a theory.” Gaia explained.
“Or rather, Pyro has a theory.” Mermaid added.
“Hitori is the first Chosen One to have found her crystal and to complete her test and is thus the one known as the First Chosen One. This person carries The Key, which brings the burdens of all five of the crystals on one person, but is also the solution to combining them.” Gaia started.
“This is under normal circumstances, but we’ve never come this far and we think something has happened to The Key. As long as the Hikari Crystals stay with the First Chosen One or their own Chosen Ones The Key will stay with the First Chosen One.” Mermaid continued.
“The Sendo however, have found an innocent girl and used her and some sort of spell to get the three crystals from the Mikomi Village, while you were suffering from a severe headache.”
“Even as we speak Hitori and Lana are engaged in a battle for the Light of the Soul, which is why the crystals have stopped glowing.”
“Hold it.” Sasaeru interrupted while he turned to Moyasu, “Your crystal has stopped glowing?”
“Yes they all have.” Mermaid answered after which she continued, “The theory is that due to these events The Key somehow became temporarily unstable.”
“We think that Shikai acted as a temporary substitute as he was sort of the best option. Hitori is the Lady of this tribe, but now that she is not available Shikai is. Asides that he was also pretty close to the only crystal left in the near vicinity.”
“This is what Pyro thinks, though we don’t know for sure whether The Key is behind all this. There was more to it, but Pyro wasn't all too clear about that.” Mermaid ended.
Moyasu was not sure whether she understood this explanation, but nodded anyway. At least they had tried to explain it to her. “So how long will it takes until it’s safe for us to come out again? I still have a quest to do.”
“The Ruby of the Dragon is still in your possession. When the battle between Hitori and Lana has been settled the crystals should start glowing again and you will be free to go.” Gaia answered.
“Well I might just as well make myself comfortable then.” Moyasu sat against a rock, “Sassy, make some food will you, I’m hungy.”