Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Blood of the Gods: Part One- When the Sun Sets ❯ Unexpected Family ( Chapter 5 )

Unexpected Family

 

Morning sun shown through the unnoticeable holes in the roof, peeking down on Moriko as she prodded the fire with a stick causing small orange sparks to dance up into the air before fading and falling to the wood covered ground. Aki walked in with an arm full of wood. “Nobody else is up yet and all the guards and soldiers have left already.” Moriko looked up as Aki set the wood next the wall, “Really?” Aki nodded. “Geez, when do you think they get up?” Aki just shrugged. She reached into her clothing, “I got something.” “What?” “Some one left it in the kitchen…” She pulled out a good sized piece of dried pork. “Then that's breakfast.” Moriko broke it in half with her teeth and handed a piece to her sister. They ate the pork, looking around the room to get a better feel of it. “What are we going to do today sister?” Moriko shrugged. “We should go find something to eat tonight.” “That's what the forest is for.” “What about the guards?” “What about them? We climb up the wall, wait till no one's lookn' and then we jump down. As long as we don't catch anything to big, we can get back up, no problem.” Aki nodded her agreement and tore off another bite, chewing thoughtfully. Moriko turned to her sister when she heard a scratching noise and saw Aki lightly scratching her ears with her claws. “I don't ever want to have to keep them down like that again. It sucked.” Moriko tweaked her own ears, “I know.” She undid her tail and watched it work the kinks out of itself. Aki stood and stretched like a contented house cat, the fur on her tail bristling then laying flat in ripples. Moriko stood and bent back, popping her back before completely flipping over to stand on her hands. Aki rolled her eyes, “Show off.” “Hey!” Moriko flipped back over to stand on her feet and pointed a accusing finger at her sister, “You're just jealous cause you can't do it.” Aki stuck her tongue out at Moriko and sat on the floor, arms crossed. A loud noise made their ears flatten against their heads and they instinctively crouched low to the ground. Moriko growled and whoever was in the hall stopped moving.

 

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Roiyaro pushed his brother out into the hall, the reed curtain slapping against the door frame. “Move Minzu!” Kozue watched his younger brothers from his place in the hall. He was the oldest of three brothers at nineteen summers of age; Roiyaro was the middle brother at seventeen summers and Minzu was the youngest at a mere fourteen summers. Kozue Uchuu had a mop of thick brown hair and soulful brown eyes. He had a tough build and was about average height for a guy his age, though his tanned skin and freckles give him a boyishly handsome look. Roiyaro Uchuu had a more wiry build then Kozue, but still had plenty of muscle on him. He had short black hair and chocolate brown eyes, though his tanned skin and freckles somehow hade his eyes look bigger then they really were. Minzu Uchuu was big for his age, but still not as much so as his older brothers. He had the same messy brown hair as Kozue, but he had their father's dark blue eyes and he was the only one with the tanned skin and without the freckles. All of them were wearing old hemp trousers and shifts that were dark green with small blue designs on the edge. They looked a lot alike and shared the boyishly handsome look, but they had a tendency to fight over the smallest things for no reason what so ever. Which is what Minzu and Roiyaro are doing now; they seem to be fighting over who was blocking the door.

Kozue walked on down the hall as his brothers squabbled behind him. He came up to the door where Daitan had told them two pretty girls were staying now. He had said that he and Yuusou had found them when they went out with Commander Hiroko. “Shut it guys!” Minzu and Roiyaro stilled at the sound of their older brother's voice. “You're going to wake up old man Nobu again.” He turned and heard a loud crash behind him and turned back around to see Roiyaro pinning Minzu to the floor. He opened his mouth to say something when a loud growl struck the air. His eyes widened. I know that growl… Roiyaro and Minzu must have remembered it as well because they scrambled off of each other and stood next to Kozue. Minzu turned to Kozue, “Do you think?” “Must be. Unless someone's got a tiger in there.” They heard shuffling from inside the room and low whispers. Kozue lifted the reed curtain and peered inside to see two young women standing there, looking at him. He took in their appearances; flawless tanned skin, long legs, slim waists, long dark hair, no shoes, worn out clothing, claws, and black feline ears hidden half way by their hair and black panther tails wrapped around their waists. He heard his brothers mumbling behind him, “Is it them?” “Is it?” Very feminine voices drug his attention back to the sisters, “Kozue?” “Is that you?” He smiled at them, “Moriko! Aki! I-!” He was tackled by Aki when she launched herself at him. “Kozue!” Minzu and Roiyaro pilled on top of their brother and village sister with yells that were quickly muffled as they hugged her. Moriko walked up to the pile with a lopsided smile on her face. She squealed when Roiyaro grabbed her ankle and pulled her into the pile, “Moriko!” She was instantly wrapped in a Minzu bear hug. She laughed, her voice like feathers on the air. Aki managed to wriggle free of the pile and tried to pull her sister out as well. After much untangling and some swearing, they were all back on their feet. Moriko looked all of them over. “Come in guys.” She walked into the room her and Aki were sharing and sat by the fire pit. Aki sat beside her and the brothers sat across the fire pit. “How did you two end up here?” Aki told the edited version of their trip to the Capital, Moriko throwing in something ever now and then. “Why are you here?” Kozue shrugged, “No place else to go. Some of the guards found us on the boarder to the forest a while ago and brought us here. We've been here for…Two summers?” Roiyaro nodded, “Two summers.” Aki stared into the fire. Moriko looked at them, her eyes swimming with unreadable emotions. “We thought you were dead…” They looked down, “We know. We thought you were dead too.” Aki looked up at them, “Do you know if anyone else made it out?” Roiyaro shook his head, “No.” The sisters smiled sincerely, “It's so good to see you after all this time.” Aki nodded her agreement. “Yeah.” After a moment of comfortable silence, Roiyaro stood up. “Come on men! Let's show these ladies the town!” Minzu pushed him as he and Kozue stood. Aki giggled, “Shall we Moriko?” Moriko stood, dusting off her clothing in mock lady behavior, “I believe we shall.” She turned to Kozue, “After you my brother.” They laughed, walking in zigzag drunkard patterns on their way out of the guard's house, pushing each other good naturedly as they walked through the courtyard.

Moriko and Aki `ooed' and `awed' at the carts and merchants as their old village brothers showed them around the bazaar. They pointed out the different places and told the sisters how good the food was or if the merchant was a crook. They looked at small glass wares and a merchant cart with small wooden bowls, they looked at odd looking birds in cages that the merchant told them were from far away lands and they searched for something cheap to eat among the carts. Minzu found a bread vendor and came back with some small sweet cakes. They toured the bazaar until dusk began to settle, slowly blackening the skies. Minzu yawned loudly. “Okay then. I think I'm beat.” “Oh yeah.” Roiyaro picked Minzu up and began to walk back to the guard's house. “Hey! Put me down!” Roiyaro just cooed at him like he was a baby and continued walking. Kozue shook his head and walked on, Moriko and Aki sniggering behind him.

The guard's house smelled of cooking pork when they walked in. Aki stopped to sniff the air, “What is that?” Moriko walked closer to her, “Pork.” “Shut it. I meant, what's-” “There you are!” Daitan walked up, “I thought you vanished.” The sisters looked at him from over Minzu's head, “Hey.” “I see you met the Uchuu brothers here.” Moriko's gaze unnoticeably slid to Aki, then to Kozue, her eyes saying what she could not. Don't say anything. Aki quickly looked back to Daitan “Yeah. They showed us the bazaar.” Minzu looked like he was going to say something, but Roiyaro elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up. Daitan walked over and put an arm around Aki, “Gee, I wanted to show you the bazaar.” Moriko suppressed a loud growl that was trying to climb up her throat. Aki laughed nervously and glanced at them for help. Kozue came to the rescue, “Hey, Daitan. How `bout we go find Yuusou and get something to eat for the ladies?” “All right! Come on then.” As they were walking out, Kozue winked back at Aki and mouthed a silent, `You owe me.' before leaving. Moriko looked after them, a serious expression on her face. Aki leaned closer to her sister, the same look on her face as well as the faces of the brothers behind them. “How much does anyone know?” Roiyaro spoke up, “Nothing.” “Good. No one needs to know about your connection to us or any of our connections to the village.” “Agreed.” They turned and walked back to the brother's room to wait for Kozue and Daitan to return with Yuusou.

 

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Yuusou was just coming back from him daily patrol around the Capital wall when Daitan and Kozue waved him over. They were walking back to the Guard's house with some dried pork and chicken in hand, Kozue lagging behind a little. They don't need to know. No one does. He glanced around and really took notice of all the people who are actually here. He frowned, We have to leave soon or someone may find out. Someone will and then we will have to run. I refuse to run from a pack of crazed men and I will not leave my village sisters to run on their own anymore. He paused to look at the guards around him once more before following his friends into the dark corridors of the Guard's house.

 

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Aki dashed across the small section of courtyard between the Guard's house and the manor wall. She leapt easily over the wall and disappeared into the dark between the huts. She slowed down when she came to the bazaar and paused to look around. There was a small space between some carts not far from where she was. Aki walked over and sat down with a small huff. She had to get out of there. Yuusou kept eyeing her like some show doll and Daitan kept arguing with Minzu over the most stupid things. Moriko knew that she had left, so she didn't have to worry about her sister. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to come up with some lame excuse for the boys when she went back. Aki watched all the people moving by, some shopping and some just wandering around with no obvious destination. A woman and a young man walked by dressed in the strangest looking cloths she'd ever seen. Their shifts had closed sides and were made out of a material she's never seen before. Their white trousers looked baggy and were made out of the same material as the shifts. How strange. She watched them walk into an alley way and then stared at that spot for a long while. The coming of night pushed most of the people out of the bazaar until the next day, but still she sat there, not thinking or doing, just being part of the world. More people in those odd cloths walked by. Aki stood and looked around, finally noticing the half moon high in the inky blackness of the sky and the great number of torches around, lighting the shops and the carts. There was something around here that was calling to her, though she didn't know what it was. It seemed so familiar. She followed it. She walked blindly through the alleys and in between the huts until she realized that she had no idea where she was anymore. She stopped and looked around. All the different alleys looked the same. Her ears twitched when the sound of running footsteps rang softly through the air. Her body tensed to run, but something told her to stay. She waited; her tail unwound from her waist and began writhing tensely behind her like a nervous snake. The footsteps grew louder, and then a man slid around the corner and stopped just short of crashing into her. Her arms flailed uselessly as she began to fall back in surprise. A strong arm reached out and caught her, “Hold it.” He steadied her back on her feet in front of him, “Can't have a pretty little thing like you falling for me now can we?” Aki had no time to really take in his appearance or even respond when the loud noise of more footsteps rumbled into her ears. He swore and grabbed her arm, “Come on. You don't want to be caught by those guys, trust me.” He pulled her with him as he began to run down the way she just came. He ran like he had done this way too many times before, his face completely calm and sure. She glanced back and saw many armed men in the blue and red soldier's uniforms run around the corner they were just standing at moments before. She followed him and they quickly vanished into the night, leaving their pursuers searching pointlessly for them in the dark.

Aki panted loudly, leaning against the old stone wall next to her for support. “What in the hell was that?” It was more of a statement then a question, so she didn't care when the man she was here with didn't answer. She felt like her chest was on fire. He was sitting in the dirt, his hammering heart and raspy breaths screaming in the still air. His legs were bent up with his arms resting over them, his head hanging low in exhaustion. She sat down with a thud and looked at him. He wore the same strange shift those other people she saw in the bazaar wore. His was black, allowing him to easily blend with the dark they just finished running through. The sleeves were cut at elbow length, but she could still see the strength in his muscled arms. His baggy white trousers looked soft, yet strong enough not to tear; she wanted to touch them to see if they were as soft as they looked. His skin was the most tanned she's ever seen, like he spent whole days under the sun and his long and unruly hair was a sandy looking tan color, like nothing she'd ever seen before. His left hand was covered in silver rings, each with a different type of insignia engraved into it. Aki looked away, embarrassed when he shifted and his fingers now hung down by his bare feet. “So, what is your name my dear?” She turned to him again and was met by two soulful blue eyes. “Aki.” He leaned his head back against the wall, a small devilish looking grin on his face, “That's beautiful.” Her cheeks turned pink at the compliment, but she remained quiet. He was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. She took a moment to gather her courage before speaking again, “I told you my name, now who are you?” He chuckled quietly, “Yes you did.” He heaved himself to his feet with a grunt. “I am Kannashi Fox, the Master of Thieves.” He bowed to her in a dramatically formal gesture, blue eyes sparkling. She bowed her head to him in respect as he stood straight again. He waved her off, “None of that. Now how is it a little thing like you knows about me?” She smirked, eyes gleaming in the darkness, “Every thief knows of the master.” He chuckled quietly. She stood, stretching backwards a little to work the small kinks out of her back. He stared as the muscles grew taught and the skin on her flat stomach stretched. He looked away, slightly embarrassed when she looked at him. Aki saw him look away and a small sly smile spread on her face. Her ears suddenly went up, each moving independently from the other. Kannashi watched her curiously, her ears now focusing on something in the distance. He looked around, eyes turning slightly violet as they adjusted more to the darkness. “What do you hear?” She held up her hand in telling him to be quiet and wait. He did what he was told and unconsciously froze, waiting. A huge smile broke on her face and she ran out of the building. He yelled and ran after her, bare feet kicking up dirt in the process. She leapt onto a part of an old stone wall and pulled herself onto the rocks. He climbed up after her, “What are you doing?” She looked out at the dim lights of the torches at the bazaar. “My sister calls.” She moved to leave, but a hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to Kannashi, “Kannashi?” He looked down at her, “Come steal with me some time?” She grinned, “How could I pass that up?” He released her and she jumped down and vanished into the darkness. His eyes grew violet again as he watched her through the black. What is it about her? He grinned, a saber- like fang peeking over his lip before he jumped down and walked away, he too vanishing into the dark.