Fan Fiction ❯ Gundares: The Destined Warriors ❯ Journey Through the Forest of Eternity ( Chapter 5 )

---Battle with Ja'aku, Shizen, and Ningen---

The others were engaged in a temporary staring contest with the Three Lord Masters. All three of them had their weapons drawn and were attempting to stop their little annoyances in their tracks. The others were not fairing very well against them and slowly were losing the battle. They battle stopped for a moment as they tried to formulate a plan. Konin drew the group together.

"Okay this is very bad," Kiyomitsu commented.

"I know, but imagine what they would would do to others if we do not stop them," Konin explained.

"If we do not stop them, then others will die," Shinji added.

"Right. And if anyone wishes to back out of this now, feel free to do so. We will not shame you if you do. The rest of us will stay here and fight until the end. You all are very aware of the consequences. So I live this choice up to you," Konin stated.
"Who is staying and who is leaving?"

"I will stay and fight as long as I can lift my sword," Strider answered.

"There is no reason for me to back down now," Kauwn added.

"I owe this much to myself so I might as well go all out," Mustadio replied.

"If honor and duty demands it then I shall stay and fight," Yang said, smiling.

"For the innocents who will not have to fight this," Shinji replied.

"To avenge my sister, I will stay," Gremoro answered.

"For the promise of leading peaceful lives in the future," Kyrama added.

"For the country and this world I shall keep my stance," Kiyomitsu replied.

"Good. But if we are to win we must have a plan. There are nine of us and three of them, so three people to each one. We must keep together or we will not succeed. Yang and Strider, you two create a distraction while the rest of us move in to attack from different angles," Konin explained. "It does not matter if some of us die in the process as long as they are defeated in the end. The ones left living will preserve the memory of the ones who died today in the name of honor and justice."

Everyone nods at this and begins to move out. Yang and Strider draw their weapons and walk up to challenge the masters. Yang connects both of his katana at the ends to form one large one. Strider takes a defensive stance with his own sword. The others scatter silently through the bushes to engage their own attack. Shizen is the first one to step up and challenge the pair. Ningen and Ja'aku stand back and watch from their respective rocks.

"Only one dares to fight?" Strider commented.

"It will only take one of us to bring both of you down," Shizen replied.

"I warn you despite how simple you think this may be, it will not be," Yang added. "So I suggest you take calculations into your own hands and do the math."

"Sounds like something a desperate person would say. No time for small talk..." Shizen said, taking her flute to her lips.

"Be ready... Her vines can only attack from direction at once. So once you know that dodge and watch out for the second wave of her attack," Strider whispered to Yang.

"Guard me and I will try to stop her with my power," Yang said, holding up his katana in front of himself. "My barrier can only with stand about three hits so please.."

A white light surrounds Yang and it disappears. The light of the sun reflects off of it showing that a barrier surrounds him. Strider nodded to him and charged towards Shizen. Shizen started playing a tune on her flute and vines attack Strider from his right side. He dodges easily and quickly looked to Yang. Yang had his katana in front of him while his other hand held two fingers to his forehead. He was chanting something for his attack. Strider charged again and managed to dodge the oncoming slaughter of vines coming towards him. this process lasted for more than six minutes before Strider heard Yang yell the last of his chant. Yang had his katana pointed towards Shizen.

"Powers of the past, present, and future lend me your strength. I summon your forbidden wisdom to aid me in this evil. Cease to movement!" Yang cried.

A white light mustered around Shizen. It started to stop her every muscle except for her heart. She stood absolutely still and did not move. After the light vanished Yang collapsed on the ground. His katana dropped from his grasp and he laid there motionless as well. At that moment Kitayama, Leona, Ohashi, Xaingfei, and Ryutaro return from their fights. Ohashi runs to Yang's side and tried to make his friend respond. The rest joined the others in hiding for an attack. Ohashi started shaking Yang.

"Yang-san, answer me!" Ohashi yelled. "Please..."

"I am okay... just need to rest.. that attack takes a.. lot out of me..." Yang said, weakly and stood up. "I will be fine..."

"No... Not him... Why does he do this to my heart... It aches every time I see him..." Shizen said to herself. "Why do I care for him so?"

Shizen did not realize that the others were moving in to attack. It was all too late when Ningen and Ja'aku finally noticed the trap they had set up. They surrounded her about to attack. Konin is the first one to charge at her. Right before hitting her he stopped and stared wide eyed at her. He choked unable to follow through with his attack. The others stared at him in confusion.

"What's wrong with you!? Attack!!" Ryutaro yelled.

"No... She is not my enemy... she can't be.." Konin responded.

Ningen and Ja'aku took this opportunity to call out Jegoro and their captive. They planned this all along hoping that it would lure the Gundares into the trap they had made for them. Jegoro walked out holding onto Krystalia with a dagger pressed to her neck. Ja'aku smiled and looked to the battle below them.

"Halt!" Ningen cried. At this everyone turned their heads to the four standing on top of the hill.

"As you can see your friend, here, was not as fortune as the rest of you. I suggest you back down before we end her life here and now," Ja'aku explained.

The Tenshinions looked to Ohashi for instructions. Since she was not one of their own, they wondered if they should attack anyway. Ohashi signaled them to back down.

"Good. I think we have an understanding. If anyone moves then... I think you get the picture," Ningen said, evilly.

"Let her go!" Kitayama yelled.

"Or we will be forced to kill you!" Mustadio added.

"Pitiful little brats... You can not stop us by mere words of your tongues..." Ja'aku mocked.

While Ja'aku and Ningen raved on Shizen had gotten free. She joined her comrades on the hill, mocking at the others below. Little did they know someone was planning to free Krystalia. He quickly moved in the trees to reach them without detection. He finally was right behind Jegoro and the captive Krystalia. He jumped from the trees and quickly grabbed Jegoro's arm that held the dagger. Jegoro resisted in a struggle. He stopped fighting back when he heard a sickening snap of his forearm. He turned his head to look. Ohashi had his thumb pressured down on Jegoro's broken bone. The sight had told him what had happened. He grabbed his arm in a reflex. Ohashi took the shocked Krystalia in his arms and ran down towards the others. Jegoro stood cradling his broken arm against his chest in pain. You could hear Kyrama laughing maniacally in the background. Ja'aku turned to him and smiled.

"Hahaha!!! I laugh at your pain," Kyrama shouted at Jegoro. Jegoro glared in her direction.

"If they will resist like this give them a trip they will never forget," Ja'aku ordered.

"Yes master," Jegoro said, grimacing in pain.

Jegoro raised his still functioning left arm to the air. He closed his eyes in concentration. His lips moved, but no one understood the words he muttered. Above the skies started to grow dark and the wind blew with a strong force. No rain or thunder came from these clouds, and yet they were thunderstorm clouds. The clouds started swirling around in a circle. The clouds started to reach out for the ground. The trees bent themselves in very sharp angles. Some even were threatening to uproot themselves.

"Tornado!!" Kiyomitsu cried as everyone scattered.

The clouds touched the down and the tornado started to go after the Gundares. Shizen, Ja'aku, and Ningen stayed near Jegoro. Knowing the tornado could not harm the area around him. One by one each person was sucked into the spinning vortex unable to escape from their fate. They were spun around many times. All unable to scream because the air was knocked out of them. Suddenly the tornado spun rapidly and threw everyone in all directions. They could only hope the ground they landed on was soft.

--- Area Near a Mud Bank ---

Kitayama screamed as she and Strider neared ground. They hit the ground not too softly. Strider picked himself up to find he was covered in mud. Beside him was Kitayama, disgusted over the way she looked covered in mud. In a tree nearby Konin and Mustadio were hanging on the branches. Konin was showing Mustadio the safest way down that would support their weight.

"These were new clothes too!" Kitayama complained. "Ew!!! Get this stuff off me!!!"

"I hate to be rude, but complaining about it will get you nowhere," Konin said.

"He is right. Our greatest worry is trying to get out of this jungle," Mustadio added.

"So like men! They always worry about what will happen to them and not women!" Kitayama retorted.

"Well, I am sorry that you are dirty, but..." Konin started, but was cut off by Strider.

"Will you ever quit worrying about your damn self! A little mud is nothing compared to starving or dehydrating! So get over
it!" Strider yelled. "You are not the only person stuck here or covered in mud! And am I complaining about it? Nooo...."

"At any rate we need to get out of here..." Mustadio added, turning to Konin. "Since Tenshinions are experts on forest survival I guess we have to keep you alive. Seeing that you are the only Tenshinion here."

Konin nodded jumping into a nearby tree. He took only a few seconds to reach the tallest branch that could support his weight. Kitayama stuck her tongue out at Strider and Mustadio for arguing with her. She was not in a very good mood at that moment. How dare they tell her her beauty was not important?! And what was so good about a Tenshinion, anyway? All they caused were war and trouble.

----Near a Cave----

Krystalia and Ohashi landed hard on top of the hill. The rolled down it until the landed at the bottom. Ohashi was aware of some kind of weight laying on top of himself. He looked up and saw Krystalia's head on his chest. Ohashi's eyes grew wide out of surprise.

"Nani!!!" Ohashi yelled.

"Oh! I am so sorry I didn't realize!" Krystalia said, turning red.

Krystalia quickly rose and stepped away from Ohashi. He looked at her and stood up as well. He brushed the dirt off of himself before looking to Krystalia and then the surrounding area. Suddenly, two backpacks that belonged to the pair fell from the sky. They hit Ohashi in the head, sending him back to the grass and dirt below. Krystalia removed the backpacks from his head.

"Nani....." Ohashi replied.

"Well at least we have a little food now," Krystalia commented.

"Would not matter... I can find food... Been trained to live in conditions like this.... We have to find shelter..." Ohashi responded.

Krystalia turned around and found a cave not too far from their current position about five feet from them. She motioned to it. "There is shelter," she said, smiling.

Ohashi laughed slightly morrow on finding others..." Ohashi said, setting up a small camp in the cave.

"That sounds good to me. That way we can rest up a bit. I don't know about you, but I am a little tired myself... oh... Um thanks for saving me back there," Krystalia replied.

"No problem," Ohashi responded.

Ohashi went outside and started to gather loose sticks and wood laying around. He made a pile a few feet inside the cave. He could hear thunder off in the distance and saw dark clouds heading towards them. He quickened his pace of gathering wood. He stopped only when the pile was about five feet stacked into the air. Krystalia had already set up a small area in the cave for the fire to be started in. As soon as the evening sun set in they started the fire using their weapons. Ohashi was kneeled over the wood striking his two katana together to cause sparks. Krystalia was preparing a meal. Strangely, despite their differences not one argument had arisen. Finally, the blazes of the fire rose up from the wood. Ohashi rose and begun walking towards his futon. Krystalia noticed his increase in limping.

"There is something wrong with your leg?" she asked. "Come over here and sit down..."

"No, I am quite fine thank you," he replied.

"No, you are sitting down whether or not you like it," Krystalia said, pulling Ohashi down to the floor on his futon, gently.

Ohashi could do little to protest against this. She wanted her way and was determined to get it. She felt his left ankle, which caused him to grimace slightly from pain. She eventually found what was troubling him. Carefully, she felt along his ankle until the small fracture had made itself known. She took out a few things from her medical kit and started to splint the fractured bone. She finished and set a small pack of ice on it, wrapping a small bandage around it so it would stay in place. She pushed Ohashi back, completely, against his futon.

"A hairline fracture, but moving can make it into something more complex. So you are ordered for bed rest until morning," Krystalia ordered, smiling at the face he gave her in return.

"But... I have to help out with cooking..." Ohashi said, trying to sit up.

"You are stubborn, aren't you? I said no!" Krystalia replied.

Ohashi relented and gave into her orders, sinking back down to his comfortable bed. He laid back against his sheets, staring basically into nothing. Krystalia had taken the liberty of elevating his ankle on a small pillow. She smiled and went back to preparing something to eat. Ohashi grabbed his backpack and took out a cold fish and a preparing kit for sushi.

----Near a River Bank----

Shinji landed a little hard against the mound of grass beside a river. Yang landed in a bush not too far from him. Leona came crashing down through the branches of an oak tree, branches and leaves embedded themselves in her hair. Finally, Kyrama landed in the river and became soaking wet. Shinji reached over and pulled her from the river and looked at her, strangely. Yang rose up from the bush and brushed himself off. He picked off a few leaves that stuck in his hair. Leona glared at the tree she fell from. She brushed the dust off from herself, picked the leaves from her hair, and went towards the others.

"Well that was a nice ride and all, but where are the others?" Leona asked.

"The vortex of the tornado and its harsh winds set us in different directions, thus, we all were sent flying away from each other. That is why the others are not in the same point as us," Yang explained.

"Yang, sometimes these scientific explanations of yours can be avoided because we do not care. A simple answer would have been nice," Leona complained.

"But that was one of my more simpler explanations," Yang replied.

"Oh goodness... Yang, you are hopeless," Kyrama commented.

"We shall look for the others in the morning. It is getting too late now and twilight will be upon us soon," Shinji added. As soon as his remark was finished, a rain cloud started to drift above them. The rain came down without mercy pounding on their bodies.

"Well this is just great...." Kyrama commented.

The four ran under a nearby willow tree to escape the pouring water from the sky. Leona and Kyrama looked at it with curiosity. Since Venchi hardly had rain this was a special treat for them. Shinji and Yang were used to it by now seeing that it rained everyday in Tenshin. Feeling uncomfortable by being so close to the others Shinji jumped up into a lower branch of the tree they were sitting under.

Leona looked up at the serene looking ninja and sighed. "So you are too good for us all of a sudden?"

Shinji paid no attention to Leona's outburst. He remained looking out to the landscape before him. Little did the others know he was comparing the surroundings to a small map he had in his pocket. He saw mountains and and what seemed to be a valley in the far off distance. That was a good sign as far as he was concerned. He looked at the map and confirmed what he thought was true. He looked down at the others, his face showing solemn indifference.

"Yang, we are close to the Ki Valley. It is beyond the mountains ahead of us that way," Shinji announced, motioning his hand in the direction. "If we hurry, we can make it there in about four days at the maximum."

"Well, that's good news. At least we won't be here for long. I say we wait the night and start that way early tomorrow," Yang replied.

"Yay! I like to steal Tenshin things!!" Kyrama yelled out. "Um wait... I mean I like to see Tenshin things... Yeah that's it!"

Everyone just sighed in her direction. They settled down for the night and decided it best to sleep until morning. Despite the fact that it was an early bedtime as far as Venchiain standards were concerned. Shinji wrapped his ninja scarf around himself and settled comfortably in the tree branch. Kyrama and Leona shared a small blanket they had. Yang slept on the other side of the old tree, crossed legged and his katana resting on his shoulder.

---The Next Morning in the Cave---

Krystalia was forced to be awakened once Ohashi had risen. That was about the same time the sun rose into the sky. They packed up the few things they had and moved out. Taking a route, Ohashi said that would lead to the mountains. Ohashi had taken to the trees, despite Krystalia's orders not to. He went to the very top of one of them to get a better look at the landscape around themselves. He looked in all directions, trying to get a small perception of where they might be.

"Well, do you see anything...?" Krystalia asked from the ground.

"We are not very far from the Ki Valley.... About two days away from it..!" Ohashi yelled back.

"Ohashi!" Ryutaro's voice came from somewhere not too far away.

Ohashi looked in the direction his voice was coming from. He saw Ryutaro waving his arms at him while running with Xaingfei not too far behind him. Ohashi called back, making motions with his hands to lead them to Krystalia and himself. He had to be careful not to fall from the motion, though. It did not take Ryutaro and Xaingfei long to reach the pair. They looked at each other, catching their breaths before speaking.

"Man, thank Guardians, we found you guys," Ryutaro stated. "We've been wondering aimlessly since we got separated from the others. I hope you have some idea of where to go."

"In fact, Ohashi just found the way to Tenshin. So we are going to head in that direction. Hopefully, the others would have enough sense to go there too," Krystalia replied.

"That's if they have a Tenshinion guide with them if not they will be totally lost," Xaingfei commented. "That would be a sight to see."

"Please, Xaingfei, as much as we hold grudges against them, laughing about this isn't funny at all. Besides, they are Gundarians like us and getting lost is no fun," Ohashi declared. "Besides we have Venchiain Lady in our mists. We should at least treat her and her friends with proper and well do respect."

"Um... Thank you... for your kindness towards me... Ohashi-sama..." Krystalia said, blushing slightly.

"Hey don't mention and no need for formalities around me..." Ohashi replied.

"Hey guys! Over here I found Ohashi and Ryutaro!" Kauwn yelled from a high point.

Everyone turned their heads towards the sound. They saw Kauwn standing with his ninja cloth around his face on a small mountain side. He noticed that they looked at him. He waved to them and smiled, though, they did not see his smile. They could hear noises of others coming to where he was. Soon enough, Kauwn was joined by Kiyomitsu and Gremoro, who just climbed up from the other side. Ohashi, Ryutaro, Xaingfei, and Krystalia ran towards them. They meet up and the greeting was started.

"Well never thought we would run into you here. We've been looking on mountain sides for any of the others," Kauwn explained.

"It was good thing you came along when you did. We found the location of Tenshin and were about to head there," Ryutaro responded.

"Well at least we won't starve to death like we first thought," Kiyomitsu commented. "If we can locate the river and follow it, then, we can reach Tenshin, easily."

"We won't have to. If we walk in that direction then we'll run right into the valley mountains," Ohashi said, motioning towards the distant mountain tops.

They all nodded and started off in that direction, telling everyone what had happened to them over the past few hours. The time passed relatively fast for the group. They enjoyed themselves and made sure that they stuck close together so they wouldn't get lost, again. Their pace was stopped when Krystalia pointed at Ohashi. He looked at her confused, unsure of what he had done to upset her.

"I thought I told you to stay off that leg," Krystalia pointed out.

"I'm sorry," Ohashi replied.

Ryutaro walked up beside his best friend, threw Ohashi's left arm over his shoulder and supported his left side. He, too, had noticed that Ohashi had an unusual limp in his step. Krystalia smiled and nodded. Once they settled down they continued forward. All happy that they would not be in the forest for long and would see civilization once again.

---Somewhere near the Mountain and River---

Kitayama and Strider had long since had dried mud on their clothes. They had failed in finding someplace to get it off. Konin stayed in the trees, scouting the area. Mustadio followed all of them on his feet; silently laughing at his sister for her appearance. All were wearily from the traveling and lack of food and water. Konin announced that he had heard water in the distance. Kitayama bolted for the direction he pointed in. They found her kneeled by the river, looking at the water.

"This water doesn't look safe to me..." Kitayama commented.

"Well, it's either this or we die of dehydration," Mustadio said, then drinking with his hands from the river.

Konin and Strider were not too long following suit in this. Kitayama stayed at bay. They weren't going to make her drink from some poisonous Tenshinion water supply. She sat on the bank, saddened over her dirty clothes. After finishing getting a fair share of water, Konin stood up. He looked down the river and could have sworn he saw a wooden bridge. Upon further inspection he found that his assumption was right.

"Hey there is bridge down there," Konin said.

"So...?" Kitayama retorted.

"There might be people down there," Konin explained.

"They are going to be Tenshinions so what is the use in doing so? Your people only bring destruction and disaster along your wakes!" Kitayama retorted.

"Think what you want, but if I live and you die, don't let your soul come back to my house," Konin replied. (This is a Gundarian term meaning do not come back and haunt me once you're dead.)

Kitayama crossed her arms and turned her back on Konin. He shrugged it off and ran towards the bridge. Strider and Mustadio grabbed Kitayama as they ran after him. Of course, it didn't take them long to catch up, seeing they were the faster race. Once they reached the bridge, they found that the guard posts were long since abandoned. The bridge looked unstable and long since worn out it's use. Upon further inspection of the surroundings, it seemed that were on top of the ruins of an ancient city, used long ago. The trees, bushes, and vines covered the weathered stones and cobble paths that once made up the proud city, even some remains of old temples still stood. All of it was decrepit and done for by the elements. Konin and Mustadio wandered through it, wondering what tales the old town could still speak. Strider and Kitayama stayed near the bridge.

"This place must be at least 1000 years old," Konin commented. "But the question is why was it abandoned...."

"I think I found out why..." Mustadio said, looking over a small hillside.

All three came over to the hill's top where Mustadio stood. Below them lay remains of battle posts and weapons along with mummified remains of Gundarians lost in the battlefield. Two flags stood up on the left and right sides on the back side of the field near themselves, one for Tenshinii and the other for Venchia. On the opposing side was another flag standing alone written on it an Ancient Gundarian symbol.

"Whatever this battle was it must have been serious. Rarely do we have threats, but one where Venchi and Tenshin combine forces?" Konin commented. "This must have been a bloody battle for us to desert the town...."

"Maybe there were no survivors at the time and it seemed the best thing to do..." Mustadio suggested.

"Yes, we do have custom of that. If whole city's or town's population is eliminated, then we do bury the town so to speak or close it down for the spirits here to rest in peace..." Konin he Venchiain way of praying for the same thing. They all rose and decided it was time to leave the place before their presence disturbed it anymore than it already was. The silence was interrupted by a muffled voice. Strider's and Konin's head turned to the direction the sound was coming from. They saw Kyrama waving at them while Yang had his hand wrapped around her mouth. Leona was near them, shaking her head in shame. Shinji was standing by Yang, looking like his usual expressionless self.

Yang removed his hand from Kyrama's mouth. "Now why did you go and do that?" Kyrama asked.

"Yelling here would disrespect the souls that still lie here, restless," Yang replied.

"Besides by the looks of it, both countries were sacrificed here," Shinji added. "Now you may quietly go to your friends."

Suddenly, Kyrama ran yelling some cry of joy towards Kitayama and the others. Yang and Shinji shook their heads in silence, never understanding her methods of mayhem. Leona chuckled silently to herself, finding this situation all too amusing. Konin looked at the others and smiled. He would finally not be the only Tenshinion around and he was glad of that fact. Strider looked upon the others and disgusted on the fact they had two more of them to deal with. Shinji and Yang approached Konin, silently.

"Kita friend! We found you! I'm so happy!" Kyrama exclaimed.

"Hugs!" Kitayama replied. Kyrama backed away slowly, determined not to be hugged. Her plot was diluted when Kitayama hugged her. Kyrama was about to choke from lack of oxygen while Leona laughed at Kyrama's pain.

Mustadio cocked his eyebrow at them. He would never understand why his sister behaved in this manner. He probably didn't want to ever know why. He turned his back to them. "Okay... Can we please skip the introductions... It is not like you two don't see each other everyday, anyway..." Mustadio commented. At the comment Kitayama whacked him on the head with her purse, leaving a nice bump on his head. Strider merely laughed at them.

"Do you want some, too?" Kitayama asked Strider.

"No... thank you... I am quite fine with everything at the moment," Strider replied.

"Good..." Kitayama said, giving him the evil eye.

"Well, this seems like a happy reunion, doesn't it?" Leona said, smiling evilly.

"Technically, this isn't exactly a reunion, but it s a..." Yang began.

"Shut up, Yang!" Everyone yelled.

"Okay, then..." Yang replied, "I can tell when I'm not wanted."

"Let me ask the all important question... Does anyone know where the hell we are?!" Strider shouted.

"A few days walk from Tenshin..." Shinji answered.

"No! There is no way I am walking all the way to your damned country's capital just to get out of this hell forsaken place!" Kitayama bellowed in great anger.

"Suit yourself, you can stay here... You just better hope the dragons around here go easy on you..." Shinji replied with a smirk on his face.

"Dragons?!" Kitayama and Kyrama said, their eyes getting wide and twitching.

"Yeah, you didn't know that. The forests, here, are the best place for them to live... It's not uncommon to see one," Yang added, a hint a evil glinting in his eyes.

"Dragons not good for Kyrama," Kyrama commented.

"Come, we haven't got all day," Shinji said as he walked off into the distance.

The others followed suit as the went deeper into the forest, not knowing what they were going to run into next. All they could do was hope that nothing seriously wrong would happen. Little did they know what would greet them later down this road in the forest of eternity.

---In the Mountain Ranges---

The other group trekked up the steep mountains of the Tenshinion forest. They all could see the rain forest below them. The skies were growing dark and being covered by clouds, that would soon bring rain. They continued to follow the path and hoped they could find settle before the rain started pouring down on their travel weary bodies. The mountains ahead of time seemed to laugh at their efforts to continue onwards. Finally, Kauwn, he was scouting ahead of the group, came back to report what he had found.

"Well, how does it look up ahead of us?" Xaingfei asked. "And did you find someplace we can stay until the rains pass?"

"Yes, there seems to be town up ahead of us, small one," Kauwn answered. "If we hurry then we can make it there before these rains begin and we get stuck in them."

"Why are you in such of a hurry to clear out of the rain? I mean it's just water," Gremoro questioned.

"Well, you can get sick for one thing. Another is that it rains so hard and sudden on these mountains that the soil here becomes unstable and if we were to walk on it..." Kiyomitsu explained.

"Kauwn san, was the name of the town, Izenki?" Ohashi asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Kauwn replied. "Oh I see! That town is along Kihakudo path, which leads to Tenshinii."

"Maybe we can rent hovercraft to get rest of way home," Ryutaro said as they continued forward, following Kauwn.

A gigantic roar was heard coming somewhere off in the distance. They continued on like no one heard it, but Gremoro had no idea what is was and intent on finding out.

"What the hell was that noise?" Gremoro asked.

"A dragon, and a big one by sound of it," Kiyomitsu answered. "They flourish in this area for one reason or another."

"Great... Life just got more complicated than it already is..." Gremoro said with sarcasm. "All I need now is for that dragon to be hungry and pick up our scent..."

As if on cue a large black dragon with red eyes came up behind them. His breath steaming hot from the internal heat inside his body. Salvia dripping down the sides of his mouth, showing his hunger. He did not look at all friendly in any way. His wings tucked closely against his body. His claws scratching the ground, anxious to start to devour the prey presented before him.

"NANI?!" Ohashi yelled.

"SHIMATTA!" most of the Tenshinions yelled.

The dragon let out another deafening roar. It threw its head, preparing to strike down its prey. Its head shot out, biting out to get Xaingfei. She jumped back in time. Kauwn and Krystalia began running for the town. They were followed by everyone else. Ryutaro picked up Ohashi and practically dragged the poor boy behind him as he ran at his top speed. Krystalia and Gremoro ran faster than the Tenshinions and soon ran ahead of them. The dragon roared before chasing after them.

"You just had to open your big mouth, Gremoro!" Krystalia yelled.

"How did I know the thing was hungry and right behind us!?" Gremoro replied.

"You gave it ideas!" Kauwn screamed.

"It that thing still behind us?!" Xaingfei questioned as they all continued to run for their lives.

Kiyomitsu, who was bringing up the rear in the running group, quickly, turned his head to see the enraged dragon chasing them. "If I were you, I wouldn't stop running!" he screamed back.

"Why don't we just turn around and blast it with our powers?!" Gremoro asked.

"It is against the protocol! We aren't allowed to hurt innocent creatures!" Ohashi replied.

"It doesn't seem so innocent to me!" Gremoro quipped.

"Gremoro, in Tenshin it's against law to harm or kill dragon without permit, and we don't have one!" Ryutaro yelled.

They continued forward, the town quickly coming up in the distance. The villagers watched the oncoming visitors waving their hand and yelling something, but they could not hear them. It was only until the dragon came into view that the villagers knew what they were yelling. A guard working near the city loaded a gun and aimed for the dragon. The group ran into the town, having no other choice but to. The guard fired her gun and shot the dragon. It landed in a huge heap at the village entrance. The others stopped out of breath, and they adrenaline rushing.

"Welcome to Izenki village," the guard said. "Of course you probably didn't have very good welcome committee."

"Is it... dead..?" Krystalia asked.

"No, just unconscious. This is tranquilizer gun. The servants and other guards will move it to another location," the guard answered. "So what brings you here to our village?"

Ohashi limped over to her and bowed, keeping his left leg from bearing too much weight. "I'm sorry for intruding like this, but we had no other choice. We are here to get back to Tenshin."

The lady guard looked at Ohashi's face long and hard and finally her eyes went wide in remembrance. She immediately bowed until her forehead touched the ground. Once she did this the villagers in sight followed suit quickly. Ohashi cocked his head and smiled slightly, knowing why they did that.

"Emperor Tenyiachi-sama, our village is blessed by your presence," the lady guard said.

"I am honored, but please miss and citizens, no need to do this around me. Please rise.. and act as you usually do..." Ohashi said. "And I never caught you name..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry my name is Kiko," the guard replied.

"Now that everything is settled how about providing us with some food and shelter for tonight and stuff?" Ryutaro said as his stomach growled.

"Why of course, I'll go make arrangements with the inn," Kiko replied.

"Come on, Ohashi, and anyone else who is injured. We will all find a clinic to tend to you," Krystalia said, dragging Ohashi off to another building.

"Nani..." Ohashi said, confused a little.

Ryutaro followed his friend and the girl that had dragged him off. Kauwn and Kiyomitsu took it upon themselves to buy some supplies from the nearest store available. Xaingfei went to the stables to rent some horses or a hovercraft. Gremoro decided it was best for him to follow Kiko. Krystalia opened the door to the clinic to see it empty, but they could hear the screaming a man in pain in the back. She walked up to the reception desk to talk to the woman on duty. Ryutaro helped Ohashi inside the place, sitting him down on a mat on the floor.

"Miss, my friend over there received a hairline fractured ankle during our journey here, and I was wondering if we could use one of the rooms here to properly address his injury. I am a certified medic so I know how to do it," Krystalia told the receptionist.

"Sure all the equipment you need will be the second room to your right," the receptionist replied.

Krystalia lead Ryutaro and Ohashi to the room she was directed to. Ryutaro placed his friend on the examination table while Krystalia got the proper splint needed. She removed the previous one and replaced it with the better plastic one. She gave Ohashi a pill that would promote healing and speeding up the process of it. They left the clinic for the inn that Kiko headed to earlier. Gremoro waited outside the building for them as did Kauwn and Kiyomitsu.

"Well are our rooms prepared?" Ryutaro asked.

"That's what we want to talk about," Gremoro answered. "They only have two rooms, one large one and one small one."

"That's simple to solve. Xaingfei and myself will take the smaller room while Ohashi, Kauwn, Kiyomitsu, Ryutaro, and you take the larger room," Krystalia explained.

"Well look who is back," Ryutaro said as Xaingfei walked up to them. "What's the word on our transportation?"

"They don't have any hovercrafts available so I rented us seven horses instead," Xaingfei explained. "Each of them is capable of climbing the mountains to get inside Ki Valley."

"Well then what will we do until tonight?" Kauwn questioned.

"We'll party!" Xaingfei exclaimed.

Everyone nodded in agreement with her. Ohashi immediately took out a small pouch from the inside pocket of his gi and dumped the contents of it into his hand. There were at least more than 2,000 hiko in his hand. Everyone smiled, knowing he was offering to pay the expenses. They knew being lost, dirty, and stuck in the forest for the while would have been worth it tonight.

---Meanwhile---

Everyone looked worn down and tired beyond belief. They had been mindlessly moving their feet in hopes of reaching the mountains before night fall. Of course at the moment that seemed hopeless. No matter how much they tried the forest did not seem to be getting any smaller or further away. Finally, Kyrama collapsed from exhaustion, her feet giving out on her. That is when the rest of them deciding to stop for now and call it a night. They built a small campfire in the middle of some trees. Yang and Konin pulled up some old fallen logs so they could sit on them around the fire. Everyone else seemed bored, exhausted, and hungry. Mustadio had already started cooking something for all of them to eat.

"Oh come on, can't you cook any faster?" Strider asked.

"No...." Mustadio replied.

Kyrama peered over the log she was laying on and saw the food. "Food for Kyrama?" she asked.

Shinji's eye twitched. That was about the millionth time since this journey started had she said that. His patience with her was growing very thin. He unconscious gripped his scythe harder.

"Food for Kyrama?" Kyrama repeated.

"No, so just shut up!" Shinji yelled.

"Whoa, someone is getting a little bitchy," Kitayama proclaimed.

Shinji just crossed his arms in response. It was bad enough he had to lead a bunch of idiot Venchiains through his brother's land, but also he was forced to put up with their annoying comments and complaining. It was enough to drive any Tenshinion mad. He was surprised that Konin or Yang were not about to snap as well. Yang had to be, Leona was practically staring him down. She was most likely waiting for the slightest mistake he made in any way, so she could criticize him. The two showed a definite dislike for the other. Shinji sighed, admitting to himself that he could have it as bad as Yang right now.

Kyrama suddenly looked up and saw something long and silver from the tops of the trees. Being the thief she was, her eyes grew in awe at the brightness of whatever it was. As if in a trance like state she begun to walk towards it. Her arms outstreched to recieve her prize. Everyone looked at her in confusion, but she could handle herself and left it at that. It wasn't but a few minutes after Kyrama left the campsite did they hear something like a dragon's roar in the bushes. Kyrama came running through the camp and beyond. Right behind her was not one dragon, but a herd of them. The girls screamed and ran and the boys followed.

They could not look back as they had little time to think about the jaws that would devour them if they slowed down. They could only hope that they could escape them as the dragon herd started gaining ground on them.

---To Be Continued.....