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/ v ^"\ hi.. Ok so let's start off with I'm back! Better late than never I'd say, Anyways hope you enjoy the chapter!
Watching as Kage and Shin argue I can’t help but think back to the kid in the main hall. He has the red string of fate around his wrist……..I just hope it isn’t a similar situation to Sai. Looking over at kage I sigh.
“I swear I saw him looking at you”
“Well, apparently you saw wrong...Like always”
Laughing I apologized to the servant girl that was leading us to our rooms where we would be staying the night. “They’re not fighting I’m sorry if they frightened you”
Shaking her head frantically she mumbled “No not at all...They didn’t” she seemed eager to get to our destination as she quickened her steps. We soon arrived at a large wooden door. Bowing with her hands cupped she said a few words then left in a hurry.
“What’s all that about (´･ω･`)?
“Maybe she’s busy”
Looking at the empty hallway I narrowed my eyes; it looks like this mission isn’t going to be as easy as we thought.
Opening the large door I walked into the room and walked around inspecting the walls and the objects in the room. The room was very large and was sectioned off into 3 smaller rooms, the main room had a large window, a bookshelf, and a desk. All of the rooms were sectioned off by a light blue curtain and had a small window next to the bed, the decorations were simple but elegant and the beds were large and looked very soft. Walking into all the rooms I began to place paper talismans on the windows.
Closing the door behind him Kage took out a paper talisman from his sleeve quickly placing it on the door. Looking at Shin that was about to open his mouth I put my finger to my lips. Walking over towards the large open window I closed it as Kage walked over placing a paper talisman on the window shutters. Looking around the room I nod “That should be fine for one night”
“Shiro I feel like something is off”
“Me too…..You don’t think this is a set up right? Rubbing his chin Shin looks at kage. Shaking my head I wave them over to the desk
“We are not being set up but…. That doesn’t mean that no one is”
“Wait...you think the person who hurt the favored disciples is not just trying to weaken the sect but something else?
“Well it was only announced yesterday that we would be hired to guard the disciples of the sects”
Nodding I tapped my finger on the table as I sifted through all of the information that I read not too long ago. “And it looks like whoever is trying to harm the sects are not happy they have an unknown variable now, I’ll send word to Sara’s group just to be safe.
After a bit of bickering, we headed to sleep.
Hearing a knock on the door I woke up looking around the room confused taking a minute to remember where I was I changed quickly, putting on my hat I rushed to the door. Opening the door the servant that led us yesterday stood at the door, her head bowed low.
“Esteemed guests Sect master Feng would like to see you before you head out, inform me when you are ready and I will lead the way”
Nodding I closed the door and turned around I spotted Kage coming out of his room, his hat in hand. Looking over at Shin’s room I sighed “He’s not in the room, is he?
Shaking his head he pointed into the direction of the small courtyard “He’s over there...he’s been up since 4:00 am”
Walking to the courtyard I could hear the sound of a blade being swung through the air accompanied by soft whispering. From afar I could already see Shin’s broad figure swinging his sword as he used a practice dummy that he got from who knows where. Getting closer to him I stood and watched for a while. Hearing the whispering get louder I looked over at the wall of our courtyard spotting several disciples peeking at Shin as they argued.
Smiling I turned back to look at Shin “Looks like you have a large number of admirers”
Startled Shin puts his sword down, he wipes his sweat as he looks at me then looks away “Shiro…”
“Did something happen? Kage told me you woke up early”
Sliding his sword into its sheath he walks past me heading to the room, turning around I follow after him slowly. Entering the room Shin heads straight to shower.
Raising his eyebrow Kage points at Shin “What’s wrong with him?
With a wry smile, I shrug “Not sure”
Waiting for Shin to finish showering I started to make a list of the things we had on hand in case of emergencies. Having Kage help me we finished rather quickly. Coming back from his shower Shin stood at the entrance to his room as he stared at us. Turning to see Shin standing there, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. With an awkward smile, I waved him over
“Shin...Why don’t you join us? Looking at me shin sighed heavily
“Shiro...I had that dream again”
Glancing at Kage we looked at each other then looked at Shin “Oh”
Ruffling his hair violently Shin walked over and plopped himself down next to us sulking “...”
Patting Shin’s head Kage sighed “It’s ok”
“I don’t understand what the dream even means. I'm so frustrated and I thought it had gotten better… I might have to drop out of this mission”
“It’s ok Shin” Standing up I reached into my space and handed Shin an amulet made of stone. “Take this you don’t have to drop out but be extra careful from now on”
Looking at shin with pity Kage patted his shoulder “To be honest I’m glad I’m not you...Be careful your bad luck usually doubles when you have that dream”
Groaning Shin lays on the ground staring at the ceiling with a blank expression “It’s not fair”
Seeing as Shin was not in the mood to go anywhere I decided to go meet Master Feng by myself leaving Kage to take care of shin. Opening the door I nod at the servant and a flash of surprise and annoyance flashed through her eyes as she realizes I’d be going alone. Raising my eyebrow I smile Ah so that’s what it is huh.
Walking in an empty corridor I smile, slowing my steps causing the servant girl to turn and look at me motioning me to go faster, nodding I quicken my pace then once again slow down causing her to turn to look at me once again. I repeated this cycle until she turned glaring at me, looking at her expression my smile deepens “You are not part of the spear sect, are you?
The servant girls expression becomes twisted for only a split second quickly being replaced with a smile “Esteemed guest please do not play games with this lowly servant”
Laughing I nodded “Of course it was all but a poorly made joke please forgive me… I tend to have a twisted sense of humor”
Nodding the servant girl covers her mouth with her sleeve as she giggles. “No, it must be this servant that did not get this young masters joke please forgive me”
Arriving to meet Master Feng in a garden, Master Feng motions me to sit down pouring me tea. The servant girl dismisses herself as she glances at me; she smiles fluttering her eyelashes at me.
The smile on my face freezes as I look at her Is...Is she trying to seduce me? I’m sorry miss but this young master is 100% gay (。・ε・`。)
“Master Shiro I’m sorry I asked for you on such short notice but I wanted to be completely honest with you”
“Of course Master Feng”
“We think that someone may be plotting to wipe out all of the children on the way to the sky peak sect, that's why we insisted you escort our sects children”
Looking at me Master Feng sighs “We do not know who the person plotting is so we decided to use the trip to sky peak as a chance to find out but that would mean the disciples would be in danger”
Taking a sip of tea I raised my eyebrow “So that's why you contacted my sect”
Looking down into my cup I let my thoughts wander. That explains why the sword sect was so pushy about me going in person but also why the sky peak would agree to hire us, seeing as they never had contact with us before.
Looking up I put my cup down “Master Feng we should head out early today”
With a start, Master Feng nodded “Of course I shouldn't take up too much of your time”
Getting up I nodded at him turning around. I walked back to our pavilion.
Frankly speaking the only time they could find out who attacked their disciples is during this trip, but that also means they are not confident about being able to protect their disciples by themselves. Besides that, it seems they have spies in their sect’s ….Looks like this should be interesting.
Standing on a stone platform in front of the gates of the untethered spear sect I look around as Master Feng's voice booms through the sect
“On this journey, the Silver Fox sect will be guiding you to your destination I expect for every single one of you to bring honor to the untethered spear sect’s name and come back safely”
“Yes Master Feng”
Sighing I jumped down from the platform, raising my voice “Alright we’ll be heading out now but before that, I will explain the rules” Whispers from the disciples rang out but stopped as my voice fell.
“Rule number one: There is no special treatment!”
“Rule number two: No one gets left behind!”
“Rule number three: Don't disrespect my people!”
“We are here to protect you but that doesn't mean we are here to babysit anyone, I expect each of you to pull your own weight”
Looking around I can already spot the ones that would need to be pulled off their high horse. Just thinking about it I looked over at Shin and Kage. They're going to have fun soon enough.
“Simple enough right?
Apparently, it's not simple enough. Sure enough not even out of the forest yet and we already have a pompous ass trying to display his authority over us.
Standing with his arms crossed Shin looked unimpressed as a black-haired disciple stood in front of him.
Shin clicked his tongue “What did you say?
“I said I want to take a break, we've been walking for a while now and I'm tired” Saying so the black-haired disciples sat down on the roots of a giant tree smirking at Shin.
Looking over at me I nod at him. Eyes sparkling under his veil Shin smiles evilly grabbing hold of the black-haired disciple’s leg Shin holds him upside down as he flails about yelling.
Rubbing his chin Shin's smile widens. “Hey, kid aren't you supposed to be strong? How is it that I just swept you off your feet like nothing?
Swinging his hands at Shin the kids face flushes red as he yells “Put me down”
Shin chuckles and with a voice deep mocks “Make me”
Shocked by Shin’s tone the disciple stops struggling tears starting to drip from his eyes sniffling.
“Hey weren't you tough just a second ago demanding we let you rest and now you want to cry? What happened to all of your confidence huh?
Mumbling could be heard as the disciple cried harder
Looking around I could see that most of the other disciples were shocked as they whispered amongst themselves unlike the red-haired child from the last time who was once again looking at Kage, that was currently sitting in a tree right behind Shin.
If I had not observed him closely I wouldn't have noticed he was staring at Kage and just assume he was watching Shin. My narrowed eyes widened as I looked into cold amber eyes startled I looked away.
Wait, I'm wearing a veil. There's no way he could tell I was actually staring at him so why did I look away? That's basically telling him yes I'm guilty, I was staring at you!
Embarrassed I cleared my throat ignoring the heated gaze directed at me “Shin that's enough put him down”
Pouting shin let him go grumbling he walked over to me “Just a little longer would have been nice”
Finally, the heated gaze left my body as Kage jumped down from the tree walking over to us “Because traumatizing the poor kid isn't enough for you?
“He was pissing me off”
Sighing I looked at the kid being lifted off the floor by the others “I hope this incident made it clear that there will be no special treatment as I said before”
“We rest when I say rest. We stop when I say stop. There is no I there is only me” Turning I started Walking away.
Shin walked after me as he whistled “Wow Shiro you looked so cool standing there pressing your lips while radiating a cold gust of wind--”
“Shin….shut up”
The forest was large and there were all kinds of animals causing the leaves to rustle, so to keep a good eye on the disciples I walked in front, Shin in the middle, and Kage at the end. The forest was under the untethered spear sect’s protection so the journey through the forest was uneventful and was very pleasant, but the closer we got to the edge of the forest the more alert we were.
We knew that as soon as we stepped foot past the protective barrier the people after the disciples would most likely be alerted.
Stepping out of the Spear Sects Protective barrier did not necessarily mean we would be out of the forest it just meant that we were out of the Spear Sects territory. The forest the Spear sect lived in was a very large mass of land with 99% of it being forest as for the other 1% well to put it simply, Its a large cave system.
Most of the disciples have never been out of the sects barrier so once we finally passed it they became more alert.
Curving vines with dangerous-looking leaves grasped most trees, and an array of colorful flowers, which were unique to this region, highlighted the otherwise green scenery. Making for a beautiful but odd scene. As we walked we would occasionally catch a rustle of a bush or a howl of an animal causing the disciples to quiet down and cast a nervous glance at Shin.
During the long walk, Shin of course couldn't keep quiet and kept running his mouth explaining the region, the plants and the animals around the area, and anything that came to mind. Showing off his extensive knowledge caused most disciples to look at him in awe, almost forgetting the fact that he had just harassed one of their own previously.
“That's a Purple venom lily It helps to detox if you happen to get bitten by a purple venom python”
Looking confused the other disciples all looked at each other until one spoke up “Um...I had never heard that name used for this flower….”
Laughing I explained “Shin got lost here a while back and started to make up his own names for the plants after finding out what uses they have”
“EHH?!”
Looking embarrassed shin nodded “I got bit by a purple python and just about met my death until I stumbled upon the purple lily it detoxed my body pretty quickly….It was just a tad painful”
A scoff could be heard from behind and Kage’s cold voice echoed “Never seen a grown man cry so loud….Annoying”
Face flushed with a mixture of anger and shame Shin yelled out “Shut up Kage maybe if you had not rushed ahead I wouldn't have fallen behind!”
Looking to the side Kage sighed “Not my fault….You got distracted”
Silence fell on the group for a while before someone asked “How did you know the purple lily would detox you?
Scratching his cheek, Shin smiled sheepishly “It's the same color as the python?”
Silence once again fell on the group and this time no one spoke anymore only focusing on reaching the destination quicker. Surprisingly we encountered no problem making us the first group to make it to Night grove city. We all looked on in awe of the sight of the city, the disciples' eyes sparkled as they looked around.
The City itself looks magnificent. With the building’s dark blue rooftops that reflected the stars in the sky so clear, it looked as if they were made with bits of the sky, dark gray brick walls, and a gorgeous mirror lake at the center causing the city to have a mythical atmosphere.
The city looked decorated for a festival as lanterns were hung on every house and down every street, giving a warm glow to the whole city, dark blue and purple flowers were planted and placed everywhere. Being a crossroad for many different sects Its multicultural identity has truly left its mark.
Hundreds of stands selling a multitude of weapons, herbs, and robes made one's wallet ache, Hundreds of restaurants offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy libraries, competitions, sightseeing, or one of the many other activities the city had to offer.
Turning around I cleared my throat to catch the attention of the disciples that looked as if they were eager to run off.
“We first have to check in to the agreed inn….Then we will allow you to enjoy the cities sights”
Finishing checking in I turned to see Kage rolling his eyes and pointing to the half-empty hall. Lips twitching I sighed “You can go enjoy yourself too Kage”
Nodding Kage turned and walked out of the inn in long strides disappearing into the crowd. Lowering my gaze slightly I barely caught a glimpse of a head of red messy hair before it disappeared into the crowd after kage.
“That kid has a lot of confidence…..I guess it's good since he's going to need it”
Sighing I made my way up the stairs to my room opening the door I immediately took off my hat placing it on the bed, jumping onto the bed I closed my eyes slowly feeling myself lose consciousness.
Across the city, Kage swiftly made his way through the crowds walking quite a distance he finally slowed down looking up he spotted someone laying leisurely on the roof. A slight smile made its way onto Kage’s face looking at the young man in all black laying on the roof of the Nightingale Arena.
The Nightingale arena is a training arena open to travelers, oftentimes there will be people sparring and training together. The arena is also a place where those that have had disagreements with each other come to settle the grudge or argument. It's Kage’s favorite place to come observe people and gather information.
“It's been a long time Spade”
Jumping down next to Kage Spade chuckles “I heard you were coming, so it was true”
“Mmm”
Slinging an arm around Kage’s shoulder Spade lead him to start walking “It's a surprise Shiro lets you wander on your own”
“He’s at the inn”
“Probably sleeping” “sleeping”
Laughing they headed into the arena
The arena had an open roof right in the middle of the large sparring area with raised seats for those who like to spectate, sitting in the seats right in the middle Kage and Spade chatted as they observed all the fights. Today seemed to be a full house with multiple of the fields already having fierce fighting.
Laughing spade pointed out multiple of the Spear Sects disciples excitedly watching one of the fights between a buff man with a broad sword clashing against a scholar looking man holding a green fan.
“Are those the brats you had to escort over here?
“Mm…. Their ok”
“I would have hated doing that the big sects always act as if we owe them the land and sky”
“...... Well some of them aren't bad”
“Hahaha I could say the same about the devil cultivators… doesn't mean much”
“By the way isn't that Little green? What’s Little green doing here”
“...Fighting”
Rubbing his temples Spade sighs “You never change huh Kage”
Standing up, Spade made his way to where the two men were fighting. Cupping his hands over his mouth he yells out.
“Hey, Little Green why are you fighting with that buff guy?
Catching the attention of the man with the green fan Spade chuckles and waves at him granting a snort from the man.
Watching as the buff man falls to the floor Spade whistles “Hey not bad Little Green”
Dodging a hit, Spade takes shelter behind Kage, waving his hand slightly Kage chuckles.
“Oh, Kage! You came so the rumors were true”
“Mmm it's been awhile Oran”
Running over Oran is all smiles “Why don't we go eat since it’s been a while since we've seen you”
As Kage was about to answer he felt a shiver go down his spine swiftly turning he looked around catching sight of a fight that had just started. A young man with dark black hair wearing a sapphire blue robe was fighting with another young man with silver hair, his green robe littered with holes. Clicking his tongue Oran made his way to spectate the fight.
Voice trembling Oran cursed “That Fucking idiot”
“Eh, Little Green isn't that your junior brother being beaten up by that brat from the Righteous Sapphire Sect?!
Looking at Oran Kage whispers “Righteous Sapphire Sect?
Face dark Oran nods “Their sect is the biggest in Nightgrove City...They settled here after the last time you guys were here and have just gotten bigger and bigger”
“Why is your junior brother-” Interrupting Kage spade chuckled
“Well...That kid has a terrible personality”
Confused Kage asked “The kid in blue?
“No….My junior brother has a twisted personality hence why he should be under house arrest right now”
Walking over to the referee of the match Oran explains his situation, nodding in understanding the referee blew his whistle to stop the match. On the platform, the Sapphire sect’s disciple was inches away from piercing Oran’s junior brother’s arm. Hearing the whistle a dark light flashed in his eyes and then he calmly puts his weapon down. Turning to look at the referee, the boy's indifferent voice rings out his blue eyes giving off a cold glint.
“What's the matter?
Shaking his head the referee makes a gesture to Oran, Stepping onto the platform Oran picks up the half-conscious Junior Brother of his.
“I'm sorry my junior brother seemed to have caused you some problems but I must take him back to our sect..”
The Boy’s blue eyes darken as he watches Oran walk off the platform.
“I’m sorry Kage It seems I need to go back now, we’ll eat together another time”
“It’s fine”
Patting Kage on the shoulder spade smiles “I'm going to make sure Little green is ok... See you, Kage”
Feeling a cold stare Kage tilts his head making eye contact with the black-haired boy
The son of destiny…
Turning his head Kage takes a step but is forced to take a step back as a person runs past him and bumps his shoulder stunned Kage feels his body go numb clenching his fist Kage turns to look back eyes cold.
A soft feminine voice calls out “Junior brother Cheng! Are you ok!?
Looking up at the beautiful girl the boy named Cheng nodded, feeling Kage’s gaze, Cheng looked up with a lazy smile on his face. The girl standing next to him flushed as she stuttered.
“J-Junior Brother Cheng I-Im glad your uninjured”
Looking away Kage took big strides and made his way out of the arena.
I need to tell shiro...The son of the heavens is in town
Just as Kage walked out Cheng’s narrowed eyes widened as he watched a red-headed young man jump down from the specters area, turn to him with cold amber eyes size him up and then stick out his tongue.
Watching as the red-headed kid ran after the man in the veil cheng’s cold blue eyes showed shock and confusion
What is Mingyu doing in night grove city? He isn't supposed to appear until later when we're on the way to sky peak...Wasn't his group attacked by a wild animal? And who is that man in the veil?! What's going on?.... Mingyu is supposed to be on my side as one of my people….so why are things so different this time? Or am I thinking too much?
BONUS*
Here's a little drawing I did of Kage ( ^ω^) Some eye candy lol
