Original Stories Fan Fiction / Angels Fan Fiction ❯ Angel and Demon Wars ❯ Chapter Six - Emiko ( Chapter 6 )

 

Angel and Demon Wars

Chapter Six

© 2008 Ohne Sie

 

 

“Do not be afraid,” the girl with the silver-white hair said, stepping toward Ami. “I'm not going to hurt you, and neither are the rest of the unicorns.”

 

“The rest of the unicorns?” Sadako asked. “So you are the one Ami was riding?”

 

The girl nodded. “A human man came into the forest a long time ago. He cast a spell that made me able to transform into a human. But before I could say anything to him, he ran away. I never understood why he ran. I've seen him since, when we went to the stream for water, but whenever I approached him, he ran away. I've always wanted to ask him why he did that…and to thank him.”

 

Ami looked at Sadako, who had apparently come to the same realization she had. “Wait, I think we saw that man,” Ami told her.

 

The girl's eyes widened and she clapped her hands together. “Really?” she asked excitedly.

 

“Yeah, he told us how to get here.”

 

“That's fantastic! When you go back, could you please tell him that I would very much like to see him?”

 

“Yeah, we can do that,” Maeko said. “What's your name?”

 

“Emiko,” she said. She glanced away, distracted by four unicorns coming their way. “Oh, no…”

 

“What's wrong?” Ichigo asked, turning to look in the direction Emiko was looking. She watched Emiko run forward to the unicorns.

 

Emiko nuzzled one of the unicorns. Then she turned sadly back to the girls. “One of the unicorns died fighting that troll,” she said. “The rest got away with only a few scratches.” She sighed. “Be careful crossing the bridge. The troll is uninjured.”

 

The girls looked at each other. Ichigo bit her lip nervously. “We need that horn, but…how can we ask for it?”

 

“We could just steal it,” Maeko said, shrugging. “It's not like he'll need it anymore.”

 

“We can't do that,” Sadako said. “But we can't just ask for it. Like, `Hey, sorry about your friend. Can we take his horn so we can give it to a witch who turned her boyfriend into a statue?'”

 

Maeko raised an eyebrow. “Wanna bet?” she whispered. She turned toward Emiko. “Hey, this will sound awkward, but we kind of need a unicorn horn for a witch who turned her boyfriend into a statue. Not to make light of your friend's death or anything, but…um…could we have his horn?”

 

Several unicorns grunted, lowering their heads. Emiko nuzzled them, trying to calm them down. “I don't see why not,” she said after a long pause. “Don't worry about these guys,” she said, pointing to the angry unicorns. “They'll come around. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to use his horn to benefit someone else.” She frowned. “Although…if you really want to get in their good graces, you should find a way to defeat the troll. Or at least prevent him from hurting anymore people.”

 

“Another sidequest?” Sadako mumbled. “What is this, a video game?”

 

“Not one I'd ever play,” Maeko said. “Alright, I guess we have to defeat the troll before we can have the horn, right?” she asked.

 

Emiko shook her head. “No, you can take it. I was just letting you know that in case you want our help in the future.”

 

“We'll do it,” Ami said. “And we'll bring the sorcerer back, too. I promise.”

“I love how she volunteers us for stuff,” Maeko grumbled. “Does she do this a lot?” she asked Sadako.

 

“All the time,” Sadako whispered. “It gets annoying.”

 

“Oh, and you'll need a strong knife,” Emiko said. “Unicorn's horns are kind of hard to cut, apparently. That's one reason they're so valuable. They're tough so that we can use them to attack people who come and try to kill us. They're also the source of our magic.”

 

“Back to that town, then, I guess,” Maeko said, sighing. “We can find a knife, find that sorcerer guy, and get some sleep.” The others agreed that was a good plan. But on their way back to the town, they realized that they had another obstacle ahead of them.

 

“Oh. Right,” Ichigo said. “The troll.”

 

The troll stood atop the bridge, peering out at them with a leering grin on his face. “GRAAAAAARRRR!!!!!” he shouted. “You're back!”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Maeko said. “What do you want now?”

 

“If you can ask me a question for which I have no answer, you may pass. If not, I get to eat one of you.”

 

Ichigo frowned. “Maybe we can find another way across?” she asked worriedly.

 

“Don't worry, sis,” Maeko said. “I won't let the troll eat you. I've heard angels are much tastier.”

 

Ami and Sadako pretended not to hear what Maeko said. “I've got a question!” Sadako said.

 

“Sadako, no!” Ami said. “This is probably some sort of riddle, and—“

 

Sadako brushed her friend aside and continued, “Why are you trolls always so angry?”

 

The girls winced, preparing for the troll to give some simple answer and then eat one of them. But he said nothing. He cocked his head to the side, then looked to the sky, and finally to the ground. He scratched his head. “I…I don't know,” he admitted.

 

Sadako grinned victoriously. “See?” she said. “I win.”

 

“I have to admit, you did pretty well,” Maeko said as they crossed the bridge. “But still, I think he was expecting something like, `If the gods created the universe and everything in it, who created the gods?'”

 

“Sometimes, you just have to think outside the box,” Sadako said.

 

“I'm just glad nobody was eaten,” Ami said. “That probably would have been an instant failure.”

 

“It would,” a voice behind them said. The girls whirled around and realized they were being followed by Keisuke.

 

“Why is it that you always appear after something Ami says?” Sadako demanded.

 

Keisuke ignored her. “I hear you need a knife to cut off a unicorn's horn,” Keisuke said.

 

“Yeah, so we can give it to some witch who froze her boyfriend,” Maeko said. “Are you going to give us a knife?”

 

Keisuke shook his head. “No, sorry. I'm going to tell you that the sorcerer you're looking for left town about an hour ago.”

 

“What?” Ami said. “But…I promised Emiko that we'd bring him back for her…”

 

“Well, you can probably catch up with him. Coincidentally, he went in the direction you need to go next for your real mission, north.”

 

“Can't you just use your godly magic and bring him back here, or whip up a knife, or something to help us?” Sadako asked.

 

“Cute,” Keisuke said. “But no, I can't.”

 

“But it doesn't have anything to do with the mission you gave us!” Maeko protested. “They're just a couple of stupid sidequests!”

 

Keisuke shook his head. “You'll understand later. I can't help you, except to give you information when I think you might need it.”

 

“Are those your rules or the gods' rules?” Sadako asked.

 

“My rules are the gods' rules,” he replied. “Ichigo, you've been quiet. What are you thinking?”

 

“That we should get the knife and the unicorn's horn as quickly as possible so we can save that man,” she said. “That's all.”

 

He nodded. “I see your point. Okay.” He reached into his pocket and produced a map. “Here, this will come in handy.” He gave it to Ami. “Any key items you need for your…” He paused. “…Sidequests…” Maeko smirked. “Will appear on this map in blue. And important people are in red. Also, your current location is in purple.”

 

“'You are here,'” Ami read, rolling her eyes. “Cute.”

 

“Thanks,” Keisuke said. “I thought so. As you can see, the knife you need is conveniently located at the inn where you rented a room earlier.”

 

“Do we steal it?” Maeko asked.

 

“Uh…honestly, that's a bad idea, but it's up to you.” He shrugged. “I've given you enough help for now.”

 

“Wait, can you tell us how to defeat…” Ami frowned as Keisuke vanished. “The troll…?”

 

“Jerk,” Sadako said, sticking her tongue out.

 

“Let's go to the inn,” Maeko said. “It's getting dark. We'll need some rest before we get the horn and go back to Miya's place.”

 

The others agreed and they walked through the town's one dirt road toward the inn.