“Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full.”
He looked up into the friendly face of a black-haired woman, holding a large venti coffee. It took him a second to respond because he was so busy staring into her warm eyes. With a nod of his head, he broke eye contact and freed himself to actually respond to her. “Of course, here…” He shoved some books out of the way to give her some space, purposefully not meeting her eyes, before hiding in his book again.
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Jason worked on the computer, completely focused on it, his hands moving rapidly over the keys.
Reiken sat on the floor with River. He was talking slowly before explaining as well as he could what he just said. River then repeated the words, while Reiken corrected him.
Acheron sat on the couch, going through a book he found somewhere. One that Bell translated for him after Jason gave her some of the translations.
Clover chatted with Hein, since she was the only other person that could understand him.
Amilia and Max were busy sparring against each other, in the back of the bunker. Neither of them used any ability, just going hand to hand. Every now and then Jason would glance over the two, to make sure that they were fine.
Tyler took Nova and Curio with him to go get the supplies that Jason needed. They left early and haven't contacted anyone again.
Jason rubbed his temples. He could feel the headache threatening to start, right behind his eyes.
"How long have the others been gone...?" Kade asked, where he was lying on one of the couches.
"About two hours," Clover said, before turning her attention back to Hein.
"Clov... what are you doing?" Jason asked, as he worked.
"Teaching Heiny about the modern world," Clover said, as she showed Hein something on her X-powder.
"What is that thing?" Kade asked, turning his head towards Clover, frowning at her X-powder "Looks like it's something like a cellphone"
Clover looked over at Kade, grinning. "Well" she said, looking really impressed with herself.
Jason rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to computers. "Here we go..." he muttered under his breath.
"Well... It is kind of a phone" Clover said "It has all the functions of a phone, can do analysis, access other computer systems, as well as create disguises, a fingerprint scanner, tracking device, flashlight and can even be used as a satellite dish" she looked over at Jason "And just why did you decide to stay behind?"
Kade stared at her. "All of that.... In that thing?" he asked, almost looking impressed.
Clover laughed. "Oh we've got some really good tech" she said.
"Evidence is in that bag.... and don't touch it" Jason said, pointing to his bag "And I think it's just safer for me to stay right here. Don't want to get chased again".
"Probably for the better," Clover said.
"I'm not touching your creepy tech" Kade said, shaking his head "I have enough problems of my own"
Clover nodded. "I don't think that Jay will let anyone touch his creepy tech," she said before turning back to Hein.
Jason squinted at the screens in front of him. The looming headache had gotten so much worse in the last few minutes. It almost felt like his head was going to explode.
For a second his vision blurred and the sounds in the bunker dimmed. Jason caught the edge of the desk with one hand, just holding on to it. Everything felt like it was moving. As if he was about to faint. There was something seriously wrong at the moment.
He started running through options of what might be happening. There wasn't much not that his mind wanted to focus on anything much.
Jason gasped.
He heard a voice talking, but couldn't make out what it was saying. Images started flashing through his mind.
It took him a moment before he realised that he was seeing Tyler and Curio. They were running. He wasn't sure if it was toward something or away from something.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear voices talking to him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He was too focused on the images.
The Images started again.
Nova was fighting what looked like some blue skinned creature. Tyler and Curio had their back towards him. There was blood on their clothes. They were struggling.
Flashes of lightning kept on appearing around them. Everytime it looked like they were being absorbed by Curio. The teen's skin had taken on a light blue, almost translucent colour.
Tyler called out, his words lost in the static sound of the vision.
Nova spun. Something slammed into his chest throwing him back. It almost looked like some kind of burn. His body hit the ground, and spasmed for a moment.
Immediately Tyler rushed over to help. Curio stepped between them and the blue skinned creature.
Tyler knelt next to Nova. His mouth moved as he talked without sound.
The vision focused on Nova and Tyler. Tyler seemed to be checking Nova's vitals, before the blond's hand shot out and gripped Tyler's writs.
So he was alive.
That was good. That was very good. At least he wasn't dead, although Jason doubted something like that would kill that guy.
Tyler pulled Nova to his feet. The blond looked unsteady on his feet, one hand pressed against his chest. There was some blood dripping from his nose, but at least he was conscious.
Without warning both spun to where Curio was fighting against the blue skinned creature.
More and more lightning formed around them. The teen was good, he was keeping up with the creature, clearly used to fighting, but he was still falling behind. The creature grabbed him, its fingers curling around his throat.
Tyler and Nova tried to reach him, but an explosion of electricity kept them away.
Curio squirmed in the creature's grip, before he gripped the creature's wrists. He seemed to say something before there was an explosion of lightning.
The last thing that Jason saw was a being made of lightning stepping out of the explosion.
Curio's blue eyes seemed to glow, his blond hair was like fire. His skin was a blue translucent colour, with lightning as his veins. Lightning crackled around him.
Jason watched as Curio effortlessly attacked the blue skinned creature. He had to admit, the kid was good.
As the fighting continued, Jason could have sworn that cracks started appearing on the teen's lighting body. He probably had a limit for how long he could use it.
One attack threw Curio back.
The teen crashed into the ground. Immediately Nova and Tyler stepped between the creature and Curio. They needed to protect the teen until he could get up again.
Nova and Tyler attacked at the same time.
Jason lost sight of them for a moment. So he turned his attention back to Curio.
The teen was slowly getting to his feet.
Lighting erupted around him and he attacked again. Curio appeared and disappeared into the lighting, attacking every time that Nova and Tyler's attacks gave him an opening.
Without warning this vision disappeared.
Jason was ripped back to the bunker. Immediately pain tore through his head. He could hear people talking and moving around him again. Slowly he opened his eyes.
Worried faces filled his vision.
The first one he recognized was Clover. Her blue eyes were wide and worried. He could have sworn that there were tears in her eyes.
"....Jason?" her voice asked. It sounded far away and almost like he was listening from under water.
"...Jason... hey... can you hear us?" another voice asked.
He wasn't sure he knew that one. Who was that? It sounded like a woman. He stared up at the ceiling. Slowly the rushing in his ears started to fade. His vision cleared enough so he could make out the faces around him.
"What....?" he started, before winching.
His head felt like it was going to explode.
"That's what we want to know" the blond teen said, as he crouched next to Jason "You freaked out and passed out on the floor"
Jason stared at him for a moment, before he slowly sat up. "We... We need to get to the other three.... they are in trouble" he said as the vision started to come back to him.
"What do you mean?" Amilia asked, catching his shoulders when he tilted slightly.
"I..." Jason started, blinking at them before frowning "I saw it..."
"Did you hit your head?" Clover asked, worried "You don't have any abilities, Jay..."
"I know..." Jason said, "But I saw it... Alright... They were fight and Nova got hit with something, while the kid turned into some lighting being"
"What?" Kade snapped, grabbing Jason by his shirt "What do you mean, are you sure about it?"
Jason nodded. He did not have the energy to go against the teen.
Kade immediately let go of Jason, pulling back. "Shit.... no..." he whispered "We need to find them... Quickly... if the kid used full mimic, we need to get to him..."
"What's wrong, why?" Jason asked, blinking surprised.
"He gets seizures when he uses it.... It's not good for his health" Kade said as he got to his feet "The longer he uses mimic the worse the seizure gets".
"Hold on..." Amilia said "We don't even know where they are.... and even if we did... we don't know how to get there"
"Then ASK the DAMN AI!" Kade snapped, the worry in his chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Easy there..." Bell said "But he's right... I can give you the directions to where they are"
"There you have" Kade said with a clenched jaw "Now let's go!"
"Hold on" Amilia said, catching Kade's shoulder "Most of you are injured... You are not going out there to get hurt more"
Kade's eyes narrowed at her. The shadows in the bunker flickered and twisted, soft hissing and growling came from them.
"Alright... take it easy" Jason said quickly, putting a hand on Amilia's wrist "None of us want to see anyone get hurt... But we can't go out there without a plan" he took a breath "Bell... can you triangulate where the other three is?"
"Yes, I can"
Jason nodded. "Do that please.." he said looking at the others that have now gathered around "Now who's the least injured?"
"We're not," Max said, motioning to himself and Amilia.
"I'm fine," Clover said.
"..We're... fine..." Reiken whispered, motioned to Acheron, Hein and himself.
Kade clenched his jaw, not saying anything.
Jason nodded. "Alright... Max, Clover and Reiken" he said "You three go out to where the others are... Find them and bring them back here. Acheron, Amilia, make sure everything you'll need to treat the injured..."
Amilia nodded, before motioning to Acheron to follow her to the back where the infirmary was.
"What about the rest of us?" Kade said, his voice cold and dangerous.
Jason took a deep breath. "We're going to try and find out what the hell happened out there and how they were found out"
Kade nodded slowly, before motioning for Hein to come to him.
The shadows started calming down slightly and Jason breathed out. That still weirded him out a bit. The immediate feeling he got from them was extreme danger. The teen was the same.
He kind of scared Jason....
"Now Bell... can you show me where the other three are?" he asked.
Immediately images started flickering over the screens. More and more images went over the screens, moving faster as if the computer was searching for Tyler, Nova and Curio.
After a few seconds the images started to slow down before Tyler appeared on the screen for the first time. After him more images appeared but this time it was Nova and Curio.
"There" Kade said quickly "When was that?"
"That was about an hour ago," Bell said.
"Anything else a bit closer?" Jason asked, eyes flickering around over the images.
"Give me a moment," Bell said.
Immediately the images started speeding up.
"There!" Kade said quickly, pointing to another screen.
The image flickered to the main screen. It showed Nova and Curio fighting.
"Bell, can you give those three the coordinates for the others?" Jason asked quickly "Why didn't they call for help?"
"They can take one of the devices from the first drawer to the left" Bell said "I will give them the directions on that"
Immediately Jason pulled open the drawer that Bell mentioned and threw one of the devices at Max.
Just as the other three started moving, the outside door burst open. Jason and Kade shot to their feet as everyone else turned their attention to the door. Everyone looked ready to fight.
***
Tyler was the one that came rushing into the bunked, bridal carrying what looked like an unconscious Curio. One of Tyler's sleeves looked like it's been ripped off, blood ran down his fingers. There were more cuts and bruises over his body. Behind him Nova came in. His clothes were covered in blood.
The teen in Tyler's arms was limp. His skin was so pale that he looked ghostly. Not that his pale face against Tyler's black clothed shoulder helped at all.
"Come on kid..." Tyler was muttering "Just a bit longer... Just hold on..."
"Curio!" Kade called out, stepping forward, eyes wide.
"Bring him over here!" Amilia called out to them.
Tyler managed to take a few more steps, before his legs gave in and he sank to the ground.
Kade and Nova reacted at the same time. Nova caught Tyler before he could collapse and Kade caught Curio before he could fall to the ground.
"Come on, kid..." he said, as he slowly lifted the teen up and carried him to where Amilia and Acheron were.
"Come on you, Fucking moron" Nova grunted as Max came over to help him with Tyler.
"What the heck happened to you three?" Max asked, frowning at Nova's bloody clothes.
"Attacked" Nova grunted, through clenched teeth as they helped Tyler towards the back.
"Bell..." Tyler groaned "Call Arthur"
"You are reckless..." the AI said "Arthur is on his way"
"Peachy...." Tyler groaned, feeling his body starting to get weaker. The damn demon wasn't healing him again. Screw that thing, if he gets injured enough, it will force the demon to heal him faster.
"Stop fucking chatting with your fucking computer and move" Nova growled at Tyler.
Tyler rolled his eyes. "I'm fine..." he hissed as pain shot through his side into his shoulder. He might have to get one of the others to break a bone or two to get the demon's attention.
"Like fucking hell you're fine" Nova snapped "You look like shit... bleeding all over the fucking place"
Kade gently placed Curio on the bed, stepping back. He clenched his hands into fists before turning to Tyler and Nova.
"How long did the seizure last?" he asked, eyes flashing dangerously.
The two guys looked at Kade.
"We didn't exactly have a fucking chance to measure the time" Nova said they reached the second bed.
Kade's eyes flashed dangerously as he looked at Nova. "I need to fucking know how bad it was" he snapped. The shadows around him surged for a moment.
"Calm down" Amilia said, "We'll take care of him..."
Tyler smirked slightly. "Thanks... Arthur will come help" he said "He can take care of anything that happens so.... you don't need to... worry"
Amilia nodded as she turned to Curio, immediately making sure the teen didn't have any other injuries. He looked so pale that it all but scared her, especially with his breathing being so shallow and short.
"You... are.... not fine" Reiken said softly as he walked toward Tyler, Nova and Max.
Tyler looked at the red headed man.
"...Don't worry..." he said "I just.... need to.... jumpstart my... healing"
Nova looked at him with a flat expression. "The fuck is wrong with you?" he asked.
Tyler chuckled, before his leg gave in beneath him. Immediately Nova and Max were forced to hold him up. Blood dropped to the floor and the two quickly put him on the second bed.
"Keep your fucking mouth shut" Nova grunted.
Amilia looked at Reiken before motioning to Tyler. "Help him" she said before turning her attention back to Curio.
Before she could start healing him, his hands started twitching.
"Bell" she said "Time the seizure!"
Curio's body started spasming.
Gently Amilia made sure that he wouldn't fall off the bed, not hit his head on anything.
Immediately Kade was next to the bed again, gently placing his hand on Curio's shoulder.
"It's alright, Kiddo..." he said softly "You'll be alright.... Just hold on a bit longer... It wouldn't be much longer..... just hold on..."
As the seizure continued, they heard the door to the bunker open and footsteps coming down the stairs.
Acheron shook his head slightly as he walked over to the black haired guy on the other bed. Immediately he started checking Tyler's wounds, making sure that the other guy wouldn't bleed to death.
"Alright" Arthur said as he reached the infirmary part of the bunker "What happened this time?"
Kade's head snapped towards the old man. "He's having a seizure..." he said softly "Please.... help him"
Arthur nodded and immediately went over to the bed.
"How long has it been going on?" he asked, quickly taking out a few things from the drawer next to the bed.
"That's the third time..." Nova said.
"It's about five minutes now," Bell said.
The old man nodded and quickly took Curio's arm, giving him an injection. After a few more seconds the spasms stopped. Arthur quickly gave the teen another injection.
"Keep an eye on him..." Arthur said "If anything happens, let Bell call me"
With that he turned to Tyler and Acheron.
"Master Tyler..." he said "Has the healing started yet?"
Tyler shook his head, winching. "Not yet...." he said "Thought.... maybe... it needs some... encouragement"
Arthur looked at him with a flat expression. "Don't be an idiot, Master Tyler" he said "Now let us take care of your injuries before you bleed to death on that bed"
Nova and Max stepped back.
With a scowl, Nova watched everything. The blood on his shirt, making it stick to his body. He could feel the stitches above his hip pulling slightly, but at least he didn't rip them this time.
"Will they be alright?" Max asked, watching everything with a worried expression.
Arthur glanced up. "Yes..." he said "They should be alright... As soon as Master Tyler's healing starts, he'll be fine and sir Curio.... He'll need treatment for a while and enough rest"
Max nodded.
"Sir Nova," Arthur said.
"Just Nova," Nova said, watching them.
Arthur nodded. "Very well then.... Have you been injured?" he asked.
Nova shook his head. "Just a few scratches" he said "Take care of them first... Although a change of clothes would be nice"
"Bell.... please ask Master River to bring down a change of Master Tyler's clothes"
"Of course, Arthur," Bell said.
"Why are you always so nice to him?" Tyler asked, with a slight pout.
"Because he's polite" Bell said and Tyler rolled his eyes, before he could say anything, the pain of the healing started.
Tyler clenched his jaw as the pain started to rip through his body. His hands clenched into fists. Slowly he felt the cuts on his body starting to knit together.
He bit back a groan, as his vision started to black out at the edges.
"Breath Master Tyler..." Arthur's gentle voice said "It's almost over... Just a little longer..."
Time slowed down for Tyler as the pain kept on bombarding his body. In the back of his mind, he could hear the demon laughing at him.
When the pain slowly started to fade, Tyler just slumped back down on the bed, eyes treating to close. He tried to keep his breathing even. It was no use to upset everyone with the NightAngel.
***
River looked at his brother with a flat expression as he handed the blond guy with an angry scowl some of Tyler's clothes.
"The heck did this moron do this time?" he asked.
"Got beaten trying to protect the brat" Nova said as he took the clothes.
"Who's blood is that?" River asked, looking Nova up and down.
"His...." Nova said, nodding to Tyler "I think"
River nodded, crossing his arms. "Fine... When you've changed clothes, give me your dirty ones and I'll have them washed" he said.
Nova nodded. "Alright..." he said, looking the teen in the eye. Well the kid was barely a teen. He kind of made him think of Max when he was younger. Shaking his head, he patted the kid on the head and slowly made his way to the bathroom.
River patted his hair back into place, before walking up to the bed where Tyler lay. He leaned onto the bed.
"Hey, Ty" he said "What kind of mess did you get into this time?"
Tyler's eyes flickered open, for a moment. The corner of his mouth pulled into a slight smile.
"Sorry kid..." he said as he slowly sat up. His body complained for a moment before the pain dimmed. Exhaustion rushed through his body. The healing really took a toll on his strength and energy.
River frowned, flicking Tyler's forehead. "Idiot" he said, shaking his head.
"See... I'm fine" Tyler said "Now don't you have any homework to do?"
"Unlike you... I don't like patronising everyone around me" River said "Don't get killed while doing whatever the heck all of this is"
Tyler snorted. "Whatever, you damn brat" he said.
With that River nodded and left the bunker. Amilia and Acheron were still helping Arthur to take care of Curio and check everyone else's injuries.
Jason was sitting on one of the chairs, his head in his hands. His head hurt so badly that the slightest light made him feel like he was going to throw up. Clover brought him some painkillers but they haven't kicked in yet. So now he was just sitting there.
Cover and Hein sat next to each other, talking softly. Mostly it was just clover talking and Hein looking confused.
Kade sat next to Curio's bed, like he had to make sure the other teen was still alright, no matter how many times Amilia and Arthur told him he'd be alright. The shadows flickered every now and then.
Max sat off to the side, just watching everyone with a frown.
Reiken looked like a ball of nerves, not knowing if he should try and help or not.
When Nova came back, he was wearing a black t-shirt that was clearly too big for him. The sweatpants were also to long for him, the bottoms rolled up. There was still some blood staining his hair and face, but mostly he didn't look like he's gone swimming in the stuff.
"Damn Dami..." Max said looking at his brother, trying not to laugh "You look like a drowned rat"
Nova flipped him off.
Amilia looked up, chuckling softly. "I did not think that Tyler was that much bigger than you..." she said, shaking her head.
"Just focus on the idiots," Nova said, slowly sitting down. The sleeves of the t-shirt reach his elbows.
Arthur looked at the rag tag group. "Alright.... None of you are leaving here again today" he said "Not until I give you a clear bill of health, or that you wouldn't die tripping over your own feet"
***
Curio's eyes slowly opened. He felt sick. His body hurt and nothing wanted to stop moving.
"...Cure?" Kade's voice asked, sounding like it came from far away.
He slowly turned his head towards the voice. If Kade was here.... Everything will be alright.... It should be safe.
It took some time before his eyes managed to focus on the brown haired figure next to him. He could make out a bit of the worried look on Kade's face.
"...Kay?" he groaned.
His vision slowly started clearing.
"Yeah...." Kade said softly "It's me, man.... How are you feeling? Do I need to call the butler guy?"
Curio shook his head slightly. "No.... I'm fine...." he muttered "Just feel... A bit... Sick" he said.
"You had a seizure," Kade said.
It took a moment before Curio nodded.
Kade pulled back, before smiling slightly. He patted Curio on the shoulder.
"Don't scare me like that," he said before pulling back. It looked like he hadn't slept the entire time.
"I see the danger, it's written there in your eyes"
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Reiken slowly stepped back, before turning around and walking down the mountain pass. He was so tired. The only thing he wanted to do was to go to sleep. There's been so many attacks the last few days and between that he had to deal with the others as well. All of this because the spirit clan started to show up again.
Every time he had to deal with Acheron, he came back even more depressed than usual.
He sighed, looking down at the ground.
Maybe he should tell them to just leave him alone. Not that they would listen to him anyway. This might just make Acheron even angrier at him. And that was something he did not need.
Shaking his head, Reiken folded his arms. There was a cold breeze coming down from the mountain.
It might start to snow soon.
When the cottage finally came into view, Reiken felt a relief wash through him. As he stepped over the barrier, it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
A small smile pulled on his lips as he looked at the cottage. That was home. A good place to be.
He liked the cottage.
He started walking again. Enjoying the last of the warm sun, Reiken reached the cottage. Hopefully he can get some sleep before something happens and he has to go out again.
A shiver ran down his spine as he stepped into the cottage.
It was cold inside. Maybe he should have left some of the windows open. On the other hand, if he did that... It probably would have started raining. That would just be his luck.
Reiken dropped his coat on the couch, before curling up next to it. He was too tired to go to his room.
Slowly he started drifting off to sleep.
He did not even notice the soft rain that started falling or when it stopped. When he finally woke up, the sun just started to rise.
Blinking Reiken sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"...it's morning..." he said quietly "Oh.... I slept that long..."
Reiken breathed out before he got to his feet. Slowly he moved towards the kitchen. He had to go back down to the village today. Hein and the others will probably come look for him if he did not at least show up.
Without warning, the back door of the cottage got flung open.
Immediately Reiken spun around, only to be thrown back. His back slammed into a wall with enough force to drive the air from his lungs.
He crumpled to the ground, legs giving in beneath him.
As he looked up a figure came stalking towards him. For a moment his vision blurred, it almost felt like something was pressing against his chest. It became more and more difficult to breathe.
"Who....?" he gasped, before the pressure started to increase, completely cutting him off.
The figure walked over to Reiken, kneeling in front of him. "Little fire sage..." he said "I finally found you"
Reiken coughed. "...Spirit.... clan..." he managed to gasp.
Immediately the figure nodded. "Well done..." he said "Now that wasn't so hard... now was it"
***
Hein and Gruen walked up the path, looking around.
"Damn the rain really came down today...." Gruen said, as a small stream of water ran down next to the trail.
"Seriously... I don't know how Reiken manages to do this" Hein said "He just goes on like it's dry land... which is really weird"
Gruen chuckled and shook his head. "Rei... is a strange one," he said.
It took them a while before they reached Reiken's cottage. Everything looked very quiet. Just like usual.
"Let's see if he's here," Gruen said.
Hein knocked on the door. "Rei!" he called "You home?"
No answer.
Gruen reached over, knocking on the door again. "Hey... Rei! You in there?" he called.
Silence.
"Maybe he's not home?" Hein said.
"Give him a bit of time... Maybe he's asleep" Gruen said, before knocking again. This time a bit louder than before.
"Rei! Seriously.... You in there?" Hein called out again.
The two stood in silence and Gruen could have sworn he heard something, but when nothing happened, he assumed he imagined it.
Reiken clenched his jaw. He could feel the knife against his throat. The Spirit clan stood behind him, holding a knife, as well as one hand stretched towards the door.
"Make... one sound" the man whispered in Reiken's ear "And I will kill who ever is on the other side of that door.... and then I will make you watch as they die"
"Rei! you in there?"
It was Hei's voice.
"Alright... let's just leave this here... When he gets back he'll get it"
Gruen's voice.
Both of them came. At least they didn't bring the others. He breathed out. He wouldn't let them get involved in this.
Clenching his jaw, Reiken nodded slightly. He had no reason to put those two in more danger. The pressure of the knife against his throat became more and he could feel the blade drawing blood.
On the other side of the door, he could hear Hein and Gruen talking. Their voices were muffled.
He wanted to call out to them. To tell them to run away. So they could get away from the danger. But he couldn't take the risk. He wouldn't let them get hurt here, even if it kills him.
Clenching his jaw, he could feel more blood dripping down his neck.
The Spirit clan member leaned closer so his mouth was right next to Reiken's ear.
"oh.... So you don't want your very.... human friends.... to die" he whispered "Just keep still.... or else I'll show you just how mortal they really are"
Reiken slowly turned his eyes towards the spirit clan. "...if you hurt them..." he said, his voice quiet and soft, but threatening "....I promise you will suffer for it"
"Well... Isn't that quite a threat" the spirit clan said.
Not moving, Reiken just watched the guy. After a few more seconds they could hear the footsteps slowly leaving.
"Let go," he said quietly.
"So that you can fight me again" Spirit clan asked.
"What do you want?" Reiken asked.
"Obviously...." he started "We... want you dead"
"You will need more.... than just your power.... to kill me" Reiken said "And I wouldn't let you... hurt anyone else"
"You don't have a choice, Sage" the spirit clan said, before he gave Reiken a hard hit against the head.
Everything blacked out as Reiken went limp, forcing the man to catch him.
***
Reiken slowly started waking up again.
There was a pounding in his head. Probably where the spirit clan hit him. Not that he blamed the man. He probably would have done the same if he was the man.
He opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the blue sky above him. So he wasn't in the cottage anymore.
The next thing he noticed was the cold. He was getting cold. It took him a moment before he realised that they were moving up the mountain. No wonder he was getting colder.
He closed his eyes again, just letting who it was, carry him.
After a while, he was thrown down onto the ground. The fall made him gasp. His eyes snapped open and he coughed, trying to catch his breath. Everything in his body hurt.
The spirit clan member leaned over Reiken.
"Welcome back Sage” the man said, before aiming a kick at Reiken's ribs.
He could hear something in his side cracking, before the pain followed. It hurts to breathe.
Hands grabbed him and hulled him to his feet.
"Don't try anything stupid, Sage" a new voice snarled at him.
Reiken lifted his head. His eyes flickered around, taking in everything around him. Immediately he recognized the place. They were almost at the top of the mountain.
Another punch hit him in the stomach. He doubled over, only the hands holding him up.
This place.... He did not want to be here. There were too many memories. It hurt too much to remember, he did not want to think about it. Why did they have to come here?
A white haired man stepped up in front of Reiken and the immortal's eyes widened slightly. All he could do was to stare at the man. The royalty of the Spirit Clan. He had not seen one of the Spirit Clan royals in such a long time that he couldn't move from the shock.
"Ah... Fire Sage" the white haired man said as he walked over "It has been a long time since I've seen one of you... You know... It's very difficult to get our hands one of you"
"What... Do you want?" Reiken asked softly.
"Oh the great Sage wants to know what we want" the man said "You should already know... It's not that difficult to figure out"
Reiken's eyes widened slightly. "....no..." he whispered.
A slow smile formed on the man's face. "There we go..." he said "You know... You know what we want..."
"I wouldn't...." Reiken said, shaking his head "I wouldn't do it...."
"Why not?" the royal asked "It's not like you haven't done it before"
Reiken clenched his jaw. "No" he snapped "I wouldn't.... I wouldn't do it"
The royal turned in the direction of the town. "Well... if that's how you feel" he said "It seems like I will have to motivate you a bit"
With that a blast of energy shot out heading towards the village.
Reiken's eyes widened.
"NO!" he screamed.
Power ripped through his body. A shield of elements twisted through the air, blocking the attack from reaching the village.
"BASTARDS" he screamed "Leave them ALONE"
The Royal turned back to Reiken. "Oh.... Do you want to protect them now? What about protecting us when we needed you?"
Reiken struggled against the person holding him. "I'm NOT opening the gate.... not for you.... not for anyone!" he snarled, anger bubbling up in him "I shouldn't have done it... I'm not letting them out"
"Then you don't really care.... about that small group of people down there" The Royal said "You either open the gate... or we will destroy that village"
"No.... I wouldn't let you...." Reiken said, glaring at the royal.
The Royal shrugged. "Well... if that's what you want...." he said "Why don't we burn this entire mountain down.... with that village and everything here"
Reiken froze.
Slowly he looked over at the Royal. "You.... want to... destroy this place?" he asked, voice quiet and soft.
"Everything...." The Royal whispered, as he leaned towards Reiken.
Reiken shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly. Anger burned through him. Uncontrollable and furious.
"...I wouldn't let you..." he whispered.
"There is nothing you can do," the Royal said.
Slowly Reiken lifted his head. His eyes were empty and cold. "...I failed you... again...." he whispered "But... I wouldn't let you hurt them... or this mountain"
The Royal narrowed his eyes at Reiken. "Do you think you can stop us?" he asked.
"You can't…. I can't let you… please… PLEASE DON'T!" Reiken called out, straining against the one holding him.
"You CAN'T stop us!" The royal said.
Reiken's breathing sped up. His vision blurred as he screamed.
The mountain shook.
Storm winds ripped through the trees, tearing them from the ground.
Cloud started covering the skies. Rain poured down as the air heated up.
Thunderstorms raged over the mountain. Lightning ripped at the ground. Everything shook and trembled. Fires started on one side of the mountain, reaching towards the skies, burning furiously in the rain.
The royal stumbled back, covering his face with one arm.
Reiken's scream slowly faded.
The immortal lifted his head. No hands were holding him anymore. His red hair fell over his face in wet strands.
Slowly he got to his feet. Steam rose from his body, as power rippled through the air around him.
"...I will not…. Let you kill them…. Nor destroy that town… and I will NOT… let you destroy HER resting place" he snarled, as the mountain shook again "You insolent CHILDREN"
The sound of thunder ripped through the air. The ground trembled.
Power tore at the Spirit Clan members.
When the last Spirit Clan fell, the shaking and thunder stopped.
Reiken watched as they fell. There was no expression on his face. As the rain started to slow down, his expression softened.
"...I am so sorry…" he whispered. Tears filled his eyes and he sank to his knees.
"Please… forgive me…"
A quiet sob ripped through his chest as he gripped his burned wrist.
Reiken sat cross-legged on his bed, just staring down at his hands. Mostly at his wrist. His entire hand and wrist were covered in a thick bandage. It hurt just to move his arm, not to say anything about his wrist.
After what happened with the demons, his not been able to move much. His body was really exhausted. He hadn't been able to fight the demons since then. If it weren't for Gruen and the others bringing him food, he probably wouldn't have eaten anything.
Shaking his head slightly, Reiken forced himself to get up from the bed. His legs almost buckled beneath him as he got up.
For the room around him turned.
He whimpered softly, wrapping his arms around himself. When the room finally stopped turning, he limped over to the kitchen.
Everything around him, felt dull and numb to his senses.
His power was exhausted. He could barely feel the heat from his fire element, nor the calming effect of his water and wind. The worst was the loss of the earth. He couldn't feel the earth, or smell it. It was all just dull and beyond his reach.
Nausea rolled in his stomach, and he almost crumbled right there, pressing his hand over his mouth.
Reiken leaned against the doorframe, breathing slowly.
His other arm wrapped over his stomach as he tried to keep his breathing even. So that he wouldn't start throwing up right there.
Shutting his eyes for a moment, before he stumbles over to bathroom. He barely made it in time, before starting to throw up. When the heaving finally stopped, he just curled up on the floor, whimpering softly.
He wasn't sure how long he lay there, before he finally had the strength to get up.
With a soft groan, he managed to get up. There was a soft ringing in his ears as he continued to stumbled towards the kitchen. Slowly he got the tea pot, putting it on the fire.
A fire that Hein made sure kept on burning.
Reiken sank down on the floor as he waited for the water to boil. He hugged his knees to his chest. He sat there staring at the flames. They felt nice and warm and calming.
"Why... can't I reach you?" he asked quietly.
A shiver ran through his body and he lean a bit towards the fire. He wanted to reach for his power, but it stayed out of his reach.
Sadness filled him and he hugged his knees a bit tighter.
He jumped slightly when the kettle started whistling. Immediately he looked up. Slowly he got to his feet again and for a moment he reached for it with his bare hand. He jumped slightly before reaching for the cloths.
They were just out of his reach.
Biting his lip, shuffled to the side, quickly grabbing them. He sighed as he took of the kettle.
***
Reiken sat curled up on his couch, just staring at the fire in the fireplace. A cold cup of tea stood next to him. Shivers ran through him as sat there. A shrill screech sounded through the air.
He flinched, his head snapping in the direction the sound came from.
For a moment his eyes widened as he stumbled to his feet, knocking over the tea cup.
"no...." he whispered, feeling the fear rising in his chest.
He couldn't really much at the moment. His power stayed out of his reach. Holding his hand against his chest, he stumbled towards the door opening it.
The sound of the demons felt like they were cutting through his soul.
Reiken whimpered, almost pulling back into himself. He was terrified of going out. Only he couldn't leave the demons. They will go to the down to the village and he could not risk that.
Shutting his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath.
Clenching his jaw he started moving to where the sounds were coming from. Even if he had to fight the demons with his bare hands and sai daggers. He was not going to let the demons get to the village.
It took him longer than it should, to find the demons that made the calls.
Reiken nodded as he shot forward.
Immediately the demons turned their attention towards him. He stumbled slightly as pain shot up his leg. The sai daggers fell into his hand.
Taking a deep breath he shot forward, constantly reaching for his power that stayed just out of his reach. He was lucky that they weren't high level demons, or else he'd be dead already.
One of the claws caught him across the chest, throwing him back.
Out of reflex he reached for his power, only to feel the bracelet around his wrist burned white hot. The pain made him drop his dagger. His back slammed into a tree and he whimpered, sinking down.
His vision blurred as he gasped for breath. Pain tore through his chest.
The world started disappearing. And the last thing he could make out was the image of the demons moving towards him.
Maybe this was it.
His time to atone for everything he's done. If they kill him, maybe that will be enough.
A new sage will be born.
Someone that can be worthy of the title.
It might be good.
Everyone can have peace. They can be happy. Everyone can be happy. They wouldn't have to worry about him, because he wouldn't be there to cause them any more trouble.
So will it really be that bad if he just gave in...?
If he'd let them kill him now?
Would that really be so bad?
Demon claws ripped through his abdomen, lifting him of the ground. A weak scream sounded from his throat.
His hand weakly held on to the demon's hand, as his vision faded again.
Slowly the corner of his mouth lifted in a sad smile. A weak cough, sounded from him as blood dripped from his mouth. He could taste a rancid taste in his mouth as he started fading.
The last thing he saw was a flash of brown, black, white and blond.
Pain tore through his body, before everything disappeared.
Pain shot through Reiken like lightning.
He wanted to scream. But he did not know if any sound came out of his throat, maybe there was. He didn't know.
"...."
A long familiar voice sounded.
"...."
More familiar voices.
Why did everything hurt so badly? Couldn't they just leave him to sleep.... Who every they were.... The familiar voices.
Brown and Black.
They stayed with him as a flash of colour filled his eyes. It didn't want to make any sense.
Something warm took his hand.
It was gentle.
Misha? What was she doing here?
He was tired. Wanted to sleep and rest. To get away from the pain and the confusion. Why would Misha be there with him? Wasn't she....
He couldn't even finish that thought.
Why would he think about her? When she couldn't be with him, when she left him.... No wait.... That's not right... He's the one that left her...
"...."
The voices again.
Not Misha.
"...you cannot die yet..."
"...don't think we'll let you off so easily...."
"...Rei.... you'll be alright...."
"...I WOULDN'T let you die!"
"...Just hold on..."
"We've got you"
The colours merged together. He felt so confused. The pain slowly pulled him back into the darkness.
***
Slowly Reiken started waking up. He couldn't feel his arms. Pain throbbed in his abdomen. It was echoed by the pain in his head.
Waking up, surprised him.
He did not expect that.
Opening his eyes felt like a chore. As if it was the hardest, most difficult thing he'd ever done.
What he saw was a canopy of green above him. He couldn't make out what it was made of, and he couldn't figure out what the hazy figures were moving around them.
"...he's waking up" a voice said.
That voice belonged to the blond, not that was the brown... He wasn't sure anymore. It confused him.
"...Then we leave"
That was the black... He was sure that the black.
Blond moved into his field of vision, before followed by black. Immediately his entire body went cold. Pain shot through his body. He wanted to scream again.
Maybe he did.
He wasn't sure. The pain clouded his mind, leaving him feeling weak and cold. He wanted to reach for his power to warm him up, but it stayed out of his reach.
A gentle hand brushed back his hair.
Slowly his vision cleared.
Finally he could make out what was going on around him.
"Slowly" a voice said "Don't move to fast"
Reiken slowly turned his head to where the voice came from. "...Waneta..." he whimpered.
The blond head nodded. "Yes..." she said "Are you... feeling alright?"
For a moment Reiken just blinked at her. His eyes widened as his mind caught up with what was going on. Immediately he pushed himself up, only for his arms to give in beneath him.
Someone caught him, lowering him back to the ground. "You should stay down for now" a new voice said.
Sigurd sighed, when Reiken just stared at him with a terrified expression.
"....I'm sorry..." Reiken whispered, pulling back, away from Sigurd, as if terrified of getting into trouble.
Sigurd lifted his hands slightly in a show of peace and shook his head. "Easy there, Fire Sage..." he said "We're not here for trouble, Reiken"
Reiken all but curled up into himself, his body trembling.
"...sorry..." he whispered.
"You should have been more careful" Acheron said as he walked over to him "What the hell did you think going out like this?"
Reiken immediately looked away, his body trembling.
"Ash..." Waneta said "Back up... You're not helping"
Acheron rolled his eyes as he pulled back. "He should get back to his cottage.... because he croaks" he said coldly.
"He wouldn't die" the last voice said, Kaelah.
Reiken stared at the other immortals. It felt like he was hallucinating them there. Why would they help him?
"Why're... you here?" he whispered, still tasting blood in his mouth.
"You were going to die" Waneta said, tilting her head slightly "We couldn't just leave you to die like that"
She held out her hand towards him.
"It's okay, Rei.... You're save now... I wouldn't let anything happen to you"
Slowly Reiken reached out to her, taking her hand.
Waneta smiled as she helped him up. Immediately she had to catch him again as his legs gave in.
Sigurd sighed as he went to Reiken's other side, putting his arm over his shoulder, holding him up. "Come on... you will probably fall over if we leave you alone..." he said.
Reiken just looked down at the ground. "...sorry..." he whispered.
"You power is exhausted" Acheron said with a frown "What did you do?"
When Acheron started talking, Reiken flinched. ".... demons.... they... attacked the village" he said quietly.
"And you used all of your power for that?" Acheron asked, frowning.
Reiken nodded slightly. "...A hoard" he said and felt Sigurd stiffen next to him.
"A hoard, are you sure?" Sigurd asked.
"Of course he's sure" Waneta said "What kind of idiot do you think he'll be if he didn't know..... All of us know what a hoard looks like"
"And he used all of his power for that?" Acheron asked again "He shouldn't have had to do that"
"You forget the seal" Kaelah said quietly.
Acheron paused for a moment before he nodded. "Right..." he said "half his power... right... that makes sense now... Just take him home so we can get out of here"
"You really have to work on your personality, Ash" Waneta said, shaking her head "It's starting to get really bad..."
Reiken just looked away. He could feel Acheron's dark eyes on him, like daggers in his chest. All he wanted to do was to go home and curl up on his bed.
"....Can I go home... now?" he asked, voice barely audible.
Waneta looked over at Reiken, smiling slightly. "Alright.... let's go" she said "You look terrible"
***
Reiken closed the door as the others left. He could barely stay on his feet, so he was thankful that they brought him back to the cottage.
Wringing his hands together, he limped back to the living room. The fire that was there, had long since gone out. He sighed as he sank down on the couch, curling up.
After a few more second he struggled back up and stumbled to the fireplace.
He went down on his knees as he put some logs in the fireplace. It took him a few tried before he managed to get a fire started with the firestones. Immediately heat filled the apartment.
He was to tired to do anything else, so he just curled up on the floor, in front of the fire.
It did not take very long before he slowly started falling asleep.
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It took Reiken a few minutes before he realized that he was waking up. Again pain rushed through him. It hurt so badly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that there was someone talking to him. He just could not make out what they were saying.
"There we go...." the voice said, finally clearing up a bit "Now you just need to keep on moving.... We're almost out, just a bit longer"
The voice kept on talking, but the rest of the words were just a jumble through his mind. He realized that he was moving, someone was helping him to move, but his painfilled mind just did not understand what was going on at all.
With every move, it felt like something was stabbing him. Over and over and over again. It hurt so badly.
"Stay with me, Sage..." the voice said, becoming clear again for a few seconds "You'll be fine.... I'm going to fix you up"
Reiken groaned, before his eyes started flickering open.
"....sorry..." he whispered.
"Shit... you're awake..." the voice said "Dammit.... it would have been better if you stayed asleep.... Alright, I'm going to help you, so stay with me"
Reiken whimpered, just holding on to the person.
"Right.... I'll give you something for the pain, when we get to my place..." the voice said "It's a bit of a walk.... but you'll be save there, got it?"
".... sorry...." Reiken whispered again.
"You're really a piece of work, Sage..." the voice said "Why the hell didn't you fight back? You could have gotten away if you wanted to"
"Not even to save yourself?" the voice asked, starting to sound a bit out of breath "That's not good... you need to take care of yourself as well, Sage"
Silence fell between the two.
Reiken whimpered as he moved a bit to much.
"Do we need to stop a bit?" the voice asked.
Reiken nodded slightly. ".... please.... Can't... breathe" he whimpered.
The voice went quiet for a moment before the movement stopped. "It's alright" the voice continued "Just get some rest.... Then we can start moving again when you feel a bit stronger"
Gently the person lowered Reiken to the ground.
Reiken gasped softly, his body relaxing slightly. The hands holding him up disappeared and he looked around. A blurred face appeared in his line of sight.
"Sage" the voice said and he could see that it was the blurred talking to him "I'm going to bandage some of your wounds.... It's going to hurt... they beat you up pretty badly"
"Why...." Reiken whispered "... are you... helping...?"
"Because.... You protected us" the figure said "By the way... I used to be Spirit Clan.... but... please don't be scared of me"
A sadness rushed through Reiken. Ignoring the pain in his body, he lifted his hand, reaching to the figure.
"...Sorry... for... failing you..." he whispered.
The figure caught his hand, slowly lowering it to the ground again. "Don't move, Sage... you'll make your injuries worse"
It took Reiken a while before he realized that the figure was now treating his wounds. Pain rippled through him with every touch. It slowly started to overwhelm him, until he had to bite back a scream.
His vision black out and the last thing he heart was the voice calling out to him.
***
Yuran clenched his jaw as he looked at the Sage. The fire Sage passed out as he reset the immortal's broken arm. It did not surprise him all that much. The torture they put him through just made him so angry.
Why would they do something like that? It's not like the Sage did anything wrong. He just protected them.
And just look at where that got him.
Breathing out, Yuran carefully lifted the Sage again. They needed to keep om moving. He did not want the villagers to find them again. It wouldn't be good for them.
He wasn't sure he'd be able to get them to back off again. They were pretty onto it that the Sage was a monster or something.
If only they knew that he used to be part of the Spirit Clan.
They'd probably try to kill him as well. Unlike the Sage, he wasn't going to just stand there and let them take him.
"Curses, Sage...." Yuran muttered as he started moving again "Why do you have to care about us humans so much? At least try and take care of yourself"
With a grunt he shifted the Sage a bit as he kept on walking. This was going to take a while. Since it almost took two hours for him to walk to his place on his own. So going so slowly with the Sage, it might take them so much longer.
Not just that, they had to stop every now and then so he could make sure the Sage was still alright.
Well... Alive...
He doubted that the Sage would die so easily, but he was not going to take the chance on that.
They were almost half way, when the Sage groaned softly.
Yuran looked at the pale face over his shoulder. "Sage?" he asked as he kept on moving. The Sage's face was so pale that he was surprised that the immortal was still alive.
They were leaving a blood trail behind as well.
If the demons did not follow the smell, he'd be shocked.
Taking a deep breath, Yuran kept on moving. The sooner they get to his house, the quicker he can take care of the Sage's injuries.
The Sage woke up another quarter of the way towards Yuran's home.
"Sage" he said "Are you still alright? We stop a bit if you want to?"
"....I'm... sorry..." the Sage whispered, pain in his voice "... don't worry.... about... met"
"I really hope you don't think that I should just leave you here"
The Sage lifted his head slightly. "... don't... want to... cause trouble" he muttered before coughing.
Yuran could hear just how painful that was.
"Don't talk, Sage" he said "Just focus on staying awake"
Silence fell as they kept on moving, until a small house came into view. Not a house exactly, more like a cottage.
"We're here" Yuran said softly as he carried the Sage to the small cottage "You don't have to worry about anything here... The people wouldn't bother you"
The Sage lifted his head slightly. "Thank... you" he whispered.
"You don't need to thank me, Sage" Yuran said "I'm just repaying the favour"
"I.... don't... understand" the Sage said, before coughing again.
"You've saved my life before" Yuran said as he opened the door carrying the Sage inside "And you didn't care that I was Spirit Clan... So now I will make sure that you have a save place to stay"
Yuran let the Sage lay down on the small couch. "I'm going to get my treatment bag" he said.
Sage's eyes flickered open, glancing towards him.
"Thank... you" he whispered.
Yuran nodded and quickly disappeared deeper into the small cottage. When he came back again, the Saga was sitting up slightly, pressing a hand against his side.
"You shouldn't be sitting up" Yuran said, kneeling in front of the sage.
"...Who.. are you?" the Sage asked, his voice weak, but also very gentle.
"My name is Yuran... Sage" Yuran said, surprised.
The Sage shook his head slightly. "Don't... call me... that" he said "...my name is... Reiken. Thank you"
Yuran blinked, before he nodded. "Alright" he said "I... need to treat your injuries. It's going to hurt"
Reiken nodded slightly. "...I know" he said "It's alright"
"I'm going to get some water... we need to make sure none of the wounds get infected" Yuran said, getting up again.
Reiken just watched as Yuran left. His head hurt so badly, not that the rest of his body felt any different. At least the bleeding had stopped. Clenching his jaw, he just waited. There wasn't anything else he could do. He was sure they fractured his leg and broke his arm badly.
When Yuran returned, he carried a bowl with water.
"I'm sorry if this is going to hurt" he said "But we need to clean it and... it looks like I'll have to.... um... reset your arm"
Reiken nodded. "Thank you" he said.
"Alright..." Yuran said, carefully taking Reiken's broken arm "Let's do this first"
Before Reiken could say anything, Yuran twisted his arm back into place. He smothered a scream as the pain tore through his arm. His vision blurred before the pain overwhelmed him completely and he just slumped to the side.
Yuran cussed softly, but did not say anything as he caught the Sage, carefully letting him lay down again.
"Now I need to hurry" he muttered to himself. If he could take care of most of the injuries before the Sage wakes up, things would be much easier.
Quickly Yuran started working, going as fast as he could.
When the Sage woke up again, Yuran already took care of his injuries as was working in the kitchen.
Reiken slowly struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body. Slowly he limped over to where the sounds were coming from. The young man that helped him before, was moving around in the small kitchen.
Hesitating, Reiken glanced back towards the couch.
"You shouldn't be up" the now familiar voice said, making Reiken jump and quickly look back.
Yuran stood in front of him, looking worried.
Immediately Reiken stepped back, only for a bolt of red hot pain to shoot up his leg. It gave in beneath him and he fell.
Yuran's eyes widened slightly, as he shot forward, catching the immortal.
"Hey... Don't go doing stupid things like that..." he said, holding Reiken up "You are going to hurt yourself"
"...sorry..." Reiken whispered, his voice feeling raw.
Yuran sighed. "That's alright... just be careful" he said "You got pretty beaten up"
Slowly he helped Reiken back to the couch. "Don't get up again... I'm making us some dinner" he said "After we've gotten something to eat, we can decide what to do next"
Reiken coughed softly as he left the cottage. He felt a bit off, but not enough to make him stay at home. Although he was sure that if Fuki or Alice heard him cough, they'd force him to stay at home. He still had work that he needed to do in the town. It wasn't much, not enough to take Fuki with him.
With a sigh, he pulled his coat a bit tighter over his shoulders. He felt a bit weird, body aching and a headache that felt like if he just moved wrong it would get worse.
He sneezed as he walked. Maybe he was getting sick.
Although the trip down the mountain shouldn't make it any worse. It wasn't like he was going to do anything stupid.
He'd leave that for Fuki.
The Spirit clan member did everything without thinking. Reiken pouted at the thought. He would somehow have to get the guy to be more careful. It was getting quite ridicules the amount of stupid things the guy did.
Not just that, Alice quickly got annoyed at Fuki for the smallest things.
Usually that amused Reiken a bit, but today he just did not have the energy to deal with the two of them bickering and arguing about stupid things.
They would probably just make his headache worse.
If he told either of them that he had a head ache, they'd just fuss over him again. That was annoying. He didn't like it when they did it.
Reiken frowned slightly as he looked up at the skies.
It was getting darker as rain clouds started packing together. He should not have even thought about it. With a tisk he, kept on moving. No use in turning back now.
***
"Hey Fuki!" Alice yelled as he got back into the cottage "Where is the Sage?"
Fuki looked up from where he was busy cleaning. "What?" he asked "I don't know.... He wasn't here when I got back. I thought he went out with you"
"Of course he didn't go with me, he was still sleeping when I left" Alice said, glaring at Fuki with her hands on her hips.
There was a flat expression on Fuki's face as he looked at her.
"Don't give me that look" Alice snapped "We both know that he's been working so hard the last few days. And he was coughing last night"
"You think he's sick" Fuki said as he put down the cloth he was using to scrub the floor clean "And now you're going to follow him around like a lost puppy to make sure that he's not sick"
Alice pouted, crossing her arms. "It's not like that" she said.
"Then what is it?" Fuki asked "We're not his caretakers.... All things considered, he's the one that's taking care of us"
"He's reckless" Alice said.
Fuki sighed. "So are we... but he doesn't go around babying us"
"I'm not babying him" Alice argued.
"It would be weird if we tried to baby a thousand year old immortal" Fuki said "One that's been taking care of himself this entire time"
Alice glared at Fuki, but didn't say anything else as she turned around and went to the kitchen.
"He's my friend" she said before stepping through the door "I want him to be alright"
Fuki glared down at the floor. "And you think that I don't want him to be..... He saved my life.... Do you really think that I want him to not be alright? The least I can do is to repay him for what he did for me"
Alice sighed and nodded. "I know..." she said "I'm just worried about him... that's all"
***
The moment Reiken stepped back into the cottage, Alice and Fuki were there.
"Where did you go?" Alice asked "We were worried sick!"
Reiken wiped some of the rain water from his face. "I... went to.... the village" he said, eyes flickering between the two. It almost looked like he surprised about them.
"Seriously, Sage" Fuki said "You need to tell us when you go out... We were.... really worried"
Reiken sighed and looked down at the ground. "I... apologize..." he said softly "I did not.... mean to... worry you"
Fuki pulled his hand through his hair as Alice sighed.
"It's alright" Alice said "Just want to know where you go..."
Reiken opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but before he could, he started coughing.
Alice and Fuki glanced at each other.
Worried Alice stepped closer. "Are you alright?" she asked, gently.
Reiken nodded, as he tried to get the coughing back under control. A shiver ran through his body.
"You're bloody soaked..." Fuki said as he grabbed a blanket wrapping it around Reiken "We need to get you dry, before you get really sick"
"...I'm just.... going to... sleep.... a bit" Reiken whispered.
Fuki nodded. "Of course..."
Reiken nodded before he quickly walked to his room.
"he's sick..." Fuki said as he looked over at Alice.
She sighed. "Yeah..." she said "We should make him something to eat, a soup or something"
Fuki nodded.
Reiken curled up on his bed, holding on to the blanket that was wrapped around him.
Maybe he shouldn't have gone out today.
The coughing had gotten worse and not to talk about headache. His body ached.
Slowly he drifted of to sleep. Hopefully he'll feel better after some rest.
Alice and Fuki were quiet as they tried to make the soup as quickly as possible. They didn't want Reiken to have to wait to eat when he woke up. every few minutes they could hear the coughing coming from Reiken's room.
Each time they paused, almost like they wanted to make sure that he was alright.
After about half an hour, they heard movement from Reiken's room.
"Do you think he's awake?" Alice asked.
Fuki shrugged. "Go take a look..." he said "I'll keep on eye on the soup"
Alice nodded and walked over to Reiken's room. She knocked softly, but did not get an answer. Taking a deep breath, she knocked again.
Again, no answer.
She glanced over her shoulder at Fuki. But he just shrugged. So she opened the door and peered inside.
"Sage?" she said softly as she stepped into the room.
Reiken lay curled up on his side. His face was flushed, breathing shallowly.
Alice sighed as she walked over to the bed. Gently she placed her hand on Reiken's shoulder. Even with that, she could feel the heat radiating off him.
"Oh Sage..." she said softly, before putting the back of her hand against his forehead.
Burning.
With a sigh, Alice got up and left Reiken's room.
"He's got a fever..." she said when Fuki looked at her.
"I'll bring you a bowl with some cool water and a cloth" Fuki said gently "You get the medicine.
Alice nodded and quickly went to get the medicine.
Fuki grabbed the bowl, quickly filling it with cold water. He went to Reiken's room.
The immortal lay curled up, just like before. His face was flushed with fever. Every now and then a shiver would run through him.
"Dammit.... what did you do?" he asked as he sat down, wringing out the cloth he had "You shouldn't have gone out if you weren't feeling well"
For a moment Reiken's eyes flickered open.
"Sage...." Fuki started "Um... Reiken.... how are you feeling?"
Reiken coughed, moving a bit restless on the bed.
"You need to keep still..." Fuki said softly, as he placed the cloth on Reiken's forehead "Alice will bring you some medicine... You just need to rest a bit"
Again Reiken could, this time gasping softly.
"Easy now...." Fuki said, gently wiping Reiken's face with the cloth, before dunking it in the water and wringing it out again "just get some rest... You'll be better in a little while"
Alice stepped into the room. "How is he?" she asked as she walked over.
"A fever.... and he woke up for a little bit, but he's asleep again" Fuki said, putting the cloth back again "And he has a bad cough"
Nodding Alice quickly looked through the medicine.
"We'll have to keep an eye on him" she said as he found the medicine she was looking for "And we'll have to get new medicine"
Fuki nodded.
"If he's not better tomorrow I will go to the village and get some" he said.
Alice nodded. "See if you can wake him up" she said "He needs to drink this"
Fuki nodded again. Then he leaned over Reiken. "Sage" he said softly "Hey... you need to wake up for a little bit"
Reiken groaned, before his eyes flickered open. "...Fuki..." he whispered.
"Yeah, it's just me" he said "I'm going to help you sit up"
Reiken whimpered, but did not argue with them.
Fuki breathed out before he gently helped Reiken to sit up. "There we go" he said "Now Alice will give you some medicine... You will feel better after you take it"
"Here" Alice said gently as she leaned over the bed.
She held a small cup to Reiken's lips. Gently she lifted it, so that Reiken could drink.
He quickly swallowed it, before coughing again.
"There it's alright... all done" Alice said gently, brushing his hair back "Now you can lay down again... Get some sleep, alright?"
Reiken nodded slightly.
Carefully Fuki lowered him so he could lay down again. "There you go... Get some sleep" he said softly.
Immediately Reiken's eyes flickered closed.
Fuki sighed and started cooling Reiken's face and neck again.
***
Fuki frowned as he came back to Reiken's room.
Reiken was sitting up, just staring out the window.
"What are you doing, sitting up?" Fuki asked as he walked over to the bed "You should get some more rest"
Reiken jumped slightly, looking over at Fuki, before looking down at his hands. "I'm... sorry..." he whispered, voice sounding rough from coughing the entire night.
"Hey... I wasn't..... I didn't...." Fuki started before shaking his head "Don't worry about it... You just scared us"
"Sage" Alice asked as she stepped into the room "Do you want to try and eat something?"
Reiken blinked at her, before looking at Fuki again, who just nodded.
Reiken focused on the plants in front of him. He hadn’t been able to pay much attention to the garden the last week or so, so there were a lot of weeds between everything, that he needed to clean.
With a sigh, he started working again. It didn’t take long before he was completely focused on his work. As he worked, he lost complete track of time as well. Reiken dropped some weeds on the ground, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
With a sigh he got to his feet, gathering all of the fruits and vegetables he’d gathered. Quickly he packed it in the basket he had. He grabbed his coat, before starting to make his way down the mountain.
With the time he had, he’d probably have to stay the night. Not really what he wanted to do, but he really did not have a choice.
Nothing happened as he went down the mountain. It was quiet and peaceful.
When Reiken reached the small village, he just stopped for a moment, blinking at the place.
It looked so lively.
There were lanterns all around, in the streets.
This confused him slightly as he just stared at the lights, before he noticed the vendors lining the streets.
Did he forgot something?
Shaking his head, Reiken slowly walked down towards the village. His eyes flickered around, taking in everything around him. People were laughing and walking around, dressed up in traditional clothes.
As he stepped into the village, he could immediately feel the festive atmosphere. Quickly he moved away from the more crowded area, towards the back where the old vendor was that usually bought his things.
“Oh Reiken” the old man said as the immortal stepped into his shop.
Reiken nodded slightly as he handed the man the basket. “...here” he said softly “.... fresh... today”
“Ah... thank you” the old man said “What can I give you for it?”
Reiken blinked, before biting his lip as he thought to what he might need for the next week. “...Normal supplies” he said after a moment and the man nodded.
For a moment Reiken hesitated.
“Is there anything else you want to ask?” the old man asked.
“What is.... um.... what is going... on?” he asked.
“It’s the winter festival” the old man said.
Reiken blinked. “Oh....” he said softly.
“Why don’t you go take a look” the old man said with a slight smile.
***
Reiken slowly walked through the street. He pulled his hood a bit over his face as he walked. He listened to the people talking around him. There was an excitement in the air.
It did not even look like the people notice that he was there.
That suited him just fine. He could watch everyone enjoy themselves. It looked like they so excited about the festival.
With a slight smile, Reiken moved to another part of the festival grounds, so he could just watch everything. He barely sat down, when some walked over to him.
“Rei!”
Reiken jumped slightly, his head snapping towards the voice.
It was Gruen and Hein, with Saffron and Leia behind them. Quickly he got to his feet.
“Hi....” he said quietly.
“What are you doing here?” Gruen asked, looking happy to see Reiken.
“...um... just came to... bring some.... things...”
Hein nodded. “That’s great.... Now you can got with us through the festival. That would be really fun” he said.
“Yeah... you can watch the light show with us...” Leia said with a smile.
Saffron paused for a second. “No wait.... the rain from last night made everything wet.... they wouldn’t light...” she said and everyone’s face fell with disappointment.
Reiken tilted his head. “Can... I help?” he asked.
Everyone looked at Reiken.
“You think you can fix it?” Hein asked, and Reiken shrugged.
“Let’s go see” Gruen said with a grin.
Quickly the group went to where the light show would have been held. Gruen talked to one of the guys that was in control of it, so they wouldn’t get into trouble just braging in.
As he returned, he grinned at the others and nodded. “They said we can give it a try” he said.
“YES” Hein said, doing an air punch “Come on, Rei... Let’s see what we can do”
Reiken smiled slightly as Hein pulled him to where the lights were.
“Fire... Fire works?” he asked, tilting his head.
Hein blinked and nodded. “Yeah... Light show” he said.
Reiken nodded. “I can.... make them light” he said slowly.
“Are you sure...?” Saffron asked and Reiken nodded again.
“Will you do that?” Saffron asked.
Reiken nodded, looking down.
“That’s amazing....” Gruen said “Thank you, Rei. It will make the festival so much better”
“The.... festival...” Reiken said with a slight confused look “What... for?”
The four smiled.
“It in honour of the fire sage” Saffron said “For saving the village so many times...”
Reiken just stared at them. “... I don’t.... understand...” he said.
Hein patted Reiken on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, man” he said “just know that it’s for you and you will make it so much better if we can have the light show”
“You do... this... every... year?” Reiken asked.
The other nodded. “Yes... you just never come down at this time of year” Saffron said.
Reiken just nodded, blinking. “....oh...” he said softly.
“Now let’s make sure everything works” Gruen said “It’s almost dark”
As they worked, people started gathering around. More and more people came. Reiken made sure to stay behind the others, so they wouldn’t be able to see him that clearly. As the darkness fell, people started extinguishing the lanterns until all the light in the village disappeared.
“Come on, Rei” Leia said, taking his hand.
Reiken nodded and let Leia pull him along. He studied the fireworks, looking at the order that they were supposed to ignite it. Then he glanced at Leia, nodding slightly.
“Give some... space...” he said.
Immediately all four stepped back. Reiken knelt knelt to the fireworks. He took a deep breath before holding out his hand. For a moment nothing happened, the the fire works started going off.
Cheers and gasps sounded from the crowd.
Reiken looked up at the sky. Everything was dark, being lit up by the most beautiful patterns. It moved from flower to plants to animals, forming patterns and stories.
For a moment Reiken just stared up at the sky. His mouth open slightly in wonder, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile.
As the last fireworks died out, the sounds of cheering came from the crowd.
Leia, Saffron, Gruen and Hein ran over to Reiken, just hugging him.
