Promise? Chapter 5
Fuggin Waka, I hate chu so much :V
Chapter 5: The Night After
I saw a funeral. It was raining. I saw the boy kneeling beside the one in the casket crying. Everyone around the boy kept their distance, and the preacher hastened his speech. The boy was dressed in all black, long brown hair drooping over his face as he cried. The people around him where whispering to each other after the sermon. I heard one conversation between two middle-aged women.
"Did you hear what happened to the father?" asked one.
"I heard that they found him lying dead next to that...thing covered in blood, most likely his blood." Answered the other.
"Why doesn't the emperor put that monster down? It murdered its own father and who knows who it'll target next!" said the first one
"The emperor probably fears it, knowing what power is required to kill another." answered the other.
"That poor man's life must have been miserable, forced to raise such a beast."
The boy heard the conversation, but he didn't care. He was used to their torment. No, the only thing he cared about anymore was one thing.
The boy drew something in the dirt. It was the figure of a fox. The boy drew another thing in the dirt. It shone throw the rain as clear as day. Like a beacon in the middle of the night.
"You're next."
I woke up in a tent, the vine wounds patched up. I did my best to get up but failed in doing so. What happened? I wondered, all I remember is...darkness. I was in the ruins, being attacked by that giant spider, Ammy saved me, she got hurt, and I freaked and charged the monster. Then darkness and I'm guessing right after killing the thing, the darkness went away. I remember seeing Ammy, then passing out.
I walked out of the tent and saw Ammy sitting on the ground across from another man and boy.
"Well, looks like you're up. How are ya holding up kid?" asked the man.
"I'm good, thank you." I replied
"That's good to hear, come have a seat and we'll explain what happened."
So apparently my battle with the spider caused a bit of an uproar. Karude, the man, and his son Kokari live here in the forest and checked to see what was going on. Apparently, we were right by an exit after the fight and so Ammy tried to get me out of there and get help. Karude found Ammy passed out near the lake and helped both of us out. Issun explained the situation to them while we were out. Ammy woke up a little before I did.
"Thank you for all the help, Karude. I don't know what we would have done without you." I stood up and bowed.
"Please, please; no need to thank me. I wanted to help in any way I could."
"Nevertheless, thank you."
"You're welcome; your clothes are over there on the rack by the way."
My clothes? And then I noticed; I wasn't wearing my clothes, I guess he gave me a set of his.
"What happened?" I asked.
Karude got up, looked over at Ammy, "I think she can tell you what happened." He said before tending going fishing with Kokari who had been begging him for a while. I looked at Ammy curiously. "I...kinda dropped you...in the lake..." she said blushing.
I just couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. Ammy glared at me, still blushing slightly "Oh come on! It was an accident!" Still didn't keep me from laughing. Ammy just rolled her eyes.
After my laughing fit, I said with a light smile, "Thanks for the rescue Ammy; I guess we're even now huh?" She chuckled, "I think you owe me a bit more, you've been eating too many rice cakes. It was like carrying a ton of sake back."
For about three minutes, we sat in silence. We knew that this conversation was inevitable. Fuck it, better to get it over with now I thought to myself.
"Ammy?"
"Yeah?"
"This is gonna sound a bit redundant, but I think the monkey was right."
"I know."
There was a pause.
"I don't care." She said suddenly.
My mouth was wide open at that point.
"But Ammy, you've been really weak ever since we met, the only logical thing is that I'm causing it."
She thought for a minute.
"It's not you that's causing it."
"What?"
"You heard me; it's not you that's doing it. It's the fact that people don't believe in me. The world is in turmoil and being a goddess I've do nothing to fix it. In order to be stronger, I need people to believe in me." She said quietly, obvious pain in her voice. I looked at her for a couple of seconds.
"Ammy, I think you're right, but I think something else is the problem as well." I said to her. She looked at me with confusion.
"You're not believing in yourself Ammy. It's obvious that you feel guilt for the people of this world, that's why you are so afraid of failing. Use that guilt; use it as a way of progression. Grow stronger for the people, but also for yourself."
She stared at me for a few seconds, laughed, and said "You know what, that was pretty amazing."
"I should write a book shouldn't I?" I returned the laugh.
I stood up and went for my now-dry clothes. I heard Ammy call after me, "Yu!"
"Yeah?"
"...Thanks."
"Anytime."
I grabbed my clothes, changed, and got all my gear. I noticed that my sword had changed. It was the same sword that I used during the fight with the spider. I examined it. Its blade was the color of aqua blue with a hilt that this weird symbol on it. It looked like a ring with fire around it. It was night time when we all decided to talk. When all was set and done, Ammy, Issun and I sat around the camp deciding on what to do next.
"So, before we talk about anything else and I've already got the "ok" from Ammy, but is it ok with you Issun that I continue to travel with you two?" I asked.
"That was in question?" answered Issun. I couldn't tell if he was being the nicest guy or the slowest guy, but either way I was grateful for having him along.
"One other thing before we head out. I think I may be recovering my memories." This piqued their interest. "How do you figure?" asked Issun.
"Well, I've been having recurring dreams about this boy that looks somewhat like me. I don't really want to go into detail but from what has happened in these dreams I can make a safe assumption that they're real and part of my past. The boy had red eyes, like I do. He also had long brown hair like I do. All I remember from these dreams location wise is a big city."
"Sei-an city?" asked Issun.
"Maybe."
"What has happened in these dreams? They may help us figure out where you're from." Said Ammy.
I looked down to the ground. I remembered how Ammy woke me up from one of my dreams crying. She wants to know what happened that was so terrible most-likely.
"You don't have to tell us, nevermind." Ammy said apologetically. I shook my head, "It's better to get it all out in the open than to have it kept inside."
"The city where the boy is from, everyone thought he was a monster because of his eyes. They referred to him as "Fox eyes" and called him demonic. The first memory was about the boy, covered in blood, his presumable father on the ground next to him dead and a shadowy figure close to them. I couldn't get a good look at it but the boy raised his hand toward the figure and screamed "Salim seguru", and summoned a burst of dark energy at the figure. The same thing I did during that one fight with the demonic seafarer, the turtle demon thing. I call it that because turtle thing is weird to say. Anyway, the figure just laughed at the boy and vanished. The second memory was at the father's funeral. The boy was weeping by his side the entire time while the people who attended the funeral just watched and stared, afraid of the boy. Two middle-aged women insulted the boy in a private conversation, calling him a beast and "should be put down". The boy heard it but didn't care. He grabbed a stick from the ground and drew something in the dirt. It was raining out so it was easy to do so. He drew a fox and above it he wrote "You're next". That is everything so far." I finished.
Issun and Ammy stared at me, very quiet. I took a deep breath and said "Well, enough with the sappy stuff. Let's talk about the next destination."
"...right. So next we're going to Sasa Sanctuary. It's an inn near the windmill. We should rest up a bit, fully recover and also see if they're any new techniques I can learn." replied Ammy. I nodded. We said our goodbyes and thank you's too Karude, he gave us a week's worth of food to keep us going, and finally got out of the forest. Our first steps into Taka pass, a gargantuan field full of new things!
Including this oddly-dressed man with a stupid looking hat right in front of us.
"Ma Cherie, who might this be?"
-End of Chapter-