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Chi Story 1: Innocence
Koudo, Youji, Teinei (not by name), and Jishuku (not by name).
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(I dunno how to do this properly)
Endless Rain Untold Stories
Chi Stories: Innocence
The day was slowly ending, the colors of sunset turning the world different shades of brown and orange as the children of the Chi tribe played a game that incorporated their tribe’s trademark ability: archery. The laughs and cheers of their young voices resounded with every shot, so the parents of this tribe never found it hard to track down their little ones... though as is sometimes the case, they come at the wrong times.
“Moyasu! It’s time to come in!” a feminine voice called. Moyasu turned towards it, letting loose the string of her bow at the same time and turning back just in time to watch her arrow zoom past the target and into a nearby tree. A round of childish laughter and jeering followed.
“Aw... you made me miss, mama!” she complained, stomping her foot in the dirt as the other children continued their laughter and fun. Her brothers among them.
Moyasu pouted and ran to retrieve her arrow, the wind picking up and causing her to look up to the cloudy sky with a blank look on her face. The others looked up as well, watching the clouds churn and froth in the sky like an angry cook that was stirring the pot.
“It a-rain now?” Moyasu’s little brother asked, holding fast to the hem of her shirt sleeve after catching up with her. He was almost five years old, but still hadn’t caught up with the other children’s vocabulary.
“Looks like it. Come on, Youji, we should go in before mama gets mad...” she replied, rustling his hair lightly and waving to the other children who began to scatter and head home. Another of her brothers, Koudo, who was just a year younger than Moyasu, ran to catch up with them. Koudo was almost as good at the bow as his sister, and he was an even better fighter. They had already picked him to join the specialists brigade when he turned thirteen, while Moyasu was overlooked because she was a girl. Girls weren’t allowed. It didn’t really matter to her, though, because Koudo always let her play with the other boys and learn the ways of the warrior with him. They were very close, almost like twins. They even finished each others’ sentences now and again. Everything Koudo did, Moyasu wanted to do, and their parents knew better than to try and dissuade their stubborn little girl into giving anything up that she didn’t want to, so they allowed it because it made her happy.
“Come on, now! Before it rains! Dinner is ready, Moyasu... maybe that’ll make you get in here a little faster!” that same voice called to the children. “And don’t think I forgot you were supposed to be in here helping me cook it, young lady!” she added, standing in the doorway of the little house as her three children came inside with big smiles on their faces and empty little stomachs. A knowing hand came down on Moyasu’s head just as she entered the doorway, and she obediently stopped and looked up to her mother.
“Tomorrow you’ll help me cook dinner, yes?” her mother insisted, bobbing the little girl’s head up and down for her. “Good! We can’t have you playing with the boys all the time and forgetting your chores, now can we?” she asked, moving her daughter’s head from side to side in a similar way. “Good. Now let’s eat, shall we?”
-
After dinner, Moyasu helped her mother with the dishes and cleaning, then went upstairs to the small room she shared with her brothers. She changed for bed and as soon as father’s stories were finished and goodnight kisses were received, she lay in the dark room with her eyes on the ceiling, deep in thought.
“Koudo... when you go to training, can I come too?”
“They said you can’t go ‘cuz you’re a girl.”
“I’ll cut my hair... they’ll never know!”
“Don’t be silly, sis... they’ll know.”
“How?”
“‘Cuz you fight like a girl!”
A pillow flew from one side of the bedroom to the other and a squeal followed as it made contact with the teasing sibling it was aimed for.“Man, sis... you have good aim. I wasn’t even on the bed...”
Silence filled the void for a few minutes, before giving way to the soft noise of Moyasu’s crying. Koudo immediately went over to her bed and sat next to her, one arm poised around her shoulders protectively.
“Come on, sis... don’t cry. It’ll be okay.”
“I don’t want you to go! When you go, mama will make me do girly things and I’ll never get to play the bow game anymore... no one will be there to beat people up so I can play.”
“You’ll just have to learn to fight better before I go... and I’ll come back and teach you everything I learned.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. Now will you stop crying? It’s weird... you being older and all.”
Moyasu’s glare was unseen in the darkness, but her brother still felt it. It sent chills up his spine.
“W-well... let’s get to bed before mama and papa find out we’re still awake...” he noted, slipping off Moyasu’s bed and returning to his own. Moyasu sighed and crawled under her covers.
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The next morning, while Moyasu played hide and seek with the other children of the village within the safety of the village’s thick walls, she found herself at the main gate where several men were working on repairing the aging structure. One of them was her father, and he brushed the sweat from his brow as he took notice of her.
“Hey there... shouldn’t be hanging around here, you could get hurt.” he commented, his axe resting on his shoulder.
“I know, papa. I just wanted to see whatcha doing.” she replied, smiling up to him and waving lightly, running off again a moment later. She had to find a good hiding spot, and she could already hear the seeker reaching 100. Her father merely smiled as she took off and went back to work.
The Chi had heard some disturbing news lately that was accelerating the repair process. There were reports of Sendo scouts in the area. Reports of Chi tribesman going missing. Reports of strange sounds coming from deep in the forest. These types of things were common in this day and age, what with the war between the Mikomi and the Sendo always raging on their proverbial doorstep, but the Chi were always cautious about the threats in any case. It was the main reason these repairs needed to be completed soon. Once finished, it would take more than a month for the Sendo to breach the wall, giving Chi archers the leisure of sniping each of them off one-by-one. But if the rumors were true, the Sendo knew of the weakness and were preparing to exploit it. That spread fear through the village, though the children were blessedly ignorant of the apprehension of their parents. They played like they had every day before, not even caring that they weren’t allowed to play outside the walls anymore.
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A few hours later, Moyasu ducked behind a barrel, watching the boy who was currently the seeker pass by not ten feet from her. He looked from side to side, then continued on to a nearby bush, giving chase to the boy who was hiding there in order to tag him. Moyasu only giggled and stepped back, turning to find another hiding spot. She stalked by several other hiding children and found a tree to climb. She was only halfway up when the horns started blowing and the shouts of orders started to fill the air. The Sendo were here!
To Be Continued...