Suikoden Fan Fiction ❯ Suikoden - The Dunan Wars ❯ Journey to Toran ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11 - Journey to Toran

As Makoto Genkaku and Oulan sat on the riverboat leaving Radat, Oulan gave him a somewhat rueful smirk. "Yup. First we have to sail down to Banner Village, and that's a few hours' trip even downstream. Then we have to walk and climb through a mountain path that's fairly strenuous even without the tigers and bandits that frequent the area. Then there's the walk DOWN the mountains, past the checkpoint into Toran territory. Long enough?" she asked.

Makoto sweat dropped but shook his head gamely. "I'd fight all the way there if I had to if it let me see Jillia again safe and sound," he replied with a determined look on his young face.

Oulan nodded. "Good attitude. You'll need that soon enough, I think," she acknowledged, and went back to looking at the riverbanks passing by the boat.

Several hours, a fight and two long climbs up cliffs - Thank goodness for the ladders, Oulan thought to herself - the pair were well into the mountains. She glanced at the boy beside her, having been pleasantly surprised by both his attitude and his skill. He makes a decent travel partner, she thought with a grin.

After their fight with a pack of three White Tigers had been set to claw Oulan to bits until the boy had used something - either a spell scroll or a Rune on his gloved right hand - and healed most of Oulan's wounds, giving her the chance to activate the Angry Dragon Rune. She'd killed one tiger, Makoto had wounded the second in the leg, sending it limping off into the brush, and Oulan had caught the third as it leapt at him, getting her arms around its head from the side and breaking its neck with a bit of help from a slamming pair of Tonfa.

She was jolted out of her retrospection by a noise in the surrounding brush. "Makoto! Stand ready!" she whispered to him, using the military slang he would have grown accustomed to in the Highland Youth Brigade. Stiffening, the boy snapped his head up from where he'd been studying the grass and looked about, coming to a stop.

"What is it?" he asked, speaking in the same whisper she had used. Oulan didn't think much of men, who'd murder their own charges, but she had to give Rowd some credit - because of (or perhaps in spite of) him, the boy was well trained.

"I don't know for certain, but something's sneaking around in the bushes nearby," she whispered back. "Be ready for-"

Oulan's warning was cut short as three skimpily dressed figures leaped out onto the trail. "AIYAH!" the lead figure cried. The three were girls, slight of build and with their dark hair done up in buns to either side of their heads - but Oulan wasn't fooled by their looks. She'd heard of these three.

"I Rinrin!" the red-garbed leader continued. "I Renren!" the second said, spinning in place and showing her blue outfit, and the third, dressed in green, chimed in, "I Ranran!" Whipping out staves from somewhere, the three chorused, "We the Three Sister Bandits! You give money now or prepare for battle!"

Oulan took a defensive step back, trying to come up with a battle-plan. I've never heard of these three using Runes, but they're supposed to be REALLY good with those staves, she thought furiously. I could probably handle one or hold off two, but I don't think Makoto's ready for this-

Her thoughts were again cut short as the three twirled their staves and charged. For a moment Oulan was totally focused on fighting, not planning, as two came at her at once. She blocked the first staff with both Iron Fists, caught the second sister with a one-legged stop kick as she came in, and shoved the first back. The second came in again, but Oulan jolted her head back with an uppercut. Given a moment's pause, the bodyguard noticed that the blue- and green-garbed sisters had gone for her - the leader had headed straight for Makoto. Leaping away from her own assailants, Oulan frantically scanned the area. The kid's got to be overmatched here, she worried. Where-

She stopped in shock, as did her two attackers, when she caught sight of Makoto. His oversize tonfa were a blur, smacking and blocking as the red-garbed Rinrin attacked him furiously.

And he was smiling.

"If you think you're gonna beat ME with a staff," he cried out confidently, "you've chosen the wrong weapon!" Punctuating his cry, the tonfa flashed out in two different arcs, the left coming up from underneath in an underhand shot aimed straight at Rinrin's face. Yelping, the girl slashed the end of her staff down to block... and thus fell right into Makoto's trap. His right tonfa continued in its overhand arc, aimed not at Rinrin's body but at the far end of her staff. The ironwood weapon descended, and as it hit the far end of Rinrin's staff leverage came into play. Still firmly in Rinrin's grasp, her staff flipped end-for-end, the tonfa pushing it the whole way, leaving Rinrin's arms helplessly crossed over each other as the staff came back to a horizontal position. Makoto's left tonfa, now the topmost weapon, whipped up and down onto Rinrin's head as she tried to bring her staff around again to block, but her crossed arms snarled the move and the woman crashed to the ground, unconscious.

Oulan was so surprised by this that she just stood there for a moment. Amazing, she thought. He knew what she was going to do before she did it! He must have trained against staves a lot-

Her train of thought was interrupted when a staff slid behind her elbows, pinning her arms behind her, and Ranran stepped up and shoved the end of *her* staff against Oulan's throat. Damn!! Staring like a novice! Stupid, stupid!! The bodyguard berated herself, but could do nothing to escape her predicament unless one sister's attention somehow wavered.

"Boy is very good, beat Rinrin!!" Ranran cried. "But boy give up now! You drop too-big clubs or we kill woman!!"

Makoto stopped, looked at the three females in surprise, and then seemed to shrug. With a quick spin, he stuck his tonfa into his belt-loops.

"No!" Oulan yelled at him. "There's no way they can stop you if you run! Cut through the woods, rejoin the path, and head for Toran! Your princess needs you!" she cried.

To her surprise, the boy shook his head. "I'm not going to abandon you, miss Oulan," he said, peeling his right glove off and pointing his hand at the trio. A Rune - A *white* Rune, Oulan noted - began to glow on his palm.

Renren jumped, startled - Oulan could feel the woman move behind her - but Ranran laughed. "Boy use Rune!? Boy stupid!! Boy no can use Rune on us and no hit woman too! You brave and skilled, but you no bluff Bandit Sisters! You come here and give up or we kill!!" she cried.

"Actually, you're wrong," Makoto commented, before Oulan gasped in shocked recognition of the Rune that flared above his head and he cried out a spell.

"SHINING LIGHT!!"

Oulan tensed for a blast of pain, but felt none. Ranran and Renren, on the other hand, were picked up and hurled backward, cracking into the trees on the far side of the path. "And I'm not stupid," Makoto finished, slipping his glove back on.

Oulan blinked at her young charge several times before grabbing his arm and pulling him onward along the path. A few minutes of jogging later, Oulan slowed back down to a walk but kept her grip on Makoto's arm. "Okay, I think I need some explanations! How did you get so good fighting against staves, how on Earth did you end up with Genkaku's Bright Shield Rune, and why in HELL did you risk a spell with me that close to them?!?" the bodyguard roared. "And why wasn't I hurt, anyway?" she asked in a somewhat quieter tone.

Makoto cringed under the verbal onslaught. "Um, uh... where do I start??" he wondered aloud, then swallowed hard and began. "Okay... I was always training against Jowy Atreides, my best friend from Kyaro, and he uses a staff. He and I were really competitive... I used that on him about a year ago, I think, and a week after that he came up with a counter. But I think I've seen just about everything a staff can do against tonfa."

Oulan nodded "And my other questions?"

Makoto gulped. "Um, I kind of got given the Rune in Toto..."

"...By Leknaat?" Oulan asked. "THAT explains what she was doing there. When a new True Rune Wielder appears, that woman's there more often than not. So why..."

"..Did I risk a spell with you that close to the bandit ladies?" Makoto finished her question. "Well, the Bright Shield Rune seems to be for protecting your friends and allies... so the Shining Light spell only hurts the *enemies* of the wielder," Makoto explained, "And that's why you weren't hurt."

Oulan let out a low whistle. "Only enemies, huh? Nice stuff. I can see how that would be useful. OK, kid, let's get out of here." With that, she led the way along the path to the Toran border guards' post.

Almost half an hour later, the pair reached the border gate. Oulan waved to the guards who were getting up from bored postures near the gatehouse, then whispered to Makoto, "I'm going to explain you as my apprentice bodyguard, since that'll allow you into the country under my supervision. Just play along."

Makoto nodded, and the two proceeded to the gate. A man in a rather scruffy set of clothes and armour came out of the main gatehouse, prompting a worried look from Makoto. Oulan, however, brightened considerably and waved to the man.

"Varkas, you old bandit! So you've FINALLY gone respectable, have you?" Oulan asked jovially, and Varkas winced.

"Respectable? Please, you busybody bodyguard, not THAT word and my name in the same sentence!" he protested, to which Oulan and all the guards laughed.

Makoto blinked. "Um... 'bandit?'" he said incredulously, then looked at Oulan. "You know him, miss Oulan?"

Oulan clapped Varkas on the shoulder. "That I do. He was the leader of the Mount Seifu Bandits back when Toran was still the Scarlet Moon Empire. His bandits were stealing from the corrupt Imperial governor of Rockland and helping the villagers survive under his ruinous taxes. Last time I was in Scarlet Moon before it fell, the governor conned me into going after the 'Terrorizing Bandit Leader,' and Varkas and I fought. He's a mean hand with an axe, let me tell you!"

Varkas clapped Oulan's back just as jovially. "But just as I was about to finish her off..."

"Hey! You mean I was finishing YOU off," Oulan protested.

"Fah, details," Varkas dismissed her, and went on, "Up the trail comes one of the village girls we had coming up to collect money and supplies from us..."

"...and it was a girl I'd helped out in the village, and she got all teary-eyed and asked why two nice people like us were fighting." Oulan went on. "We exchanged stories after that, and I left the bandits alone and dropped off a report in Gregminster that the governor was shorting his tax payments to line his own pockets... which was true," she finished with an impish grin. "I didn't hang around after that long enough to find out what happened..."

"Why, your act of kindness brought the Mount Seifu Bandits into the Liberation Army!" Varkas yelled. "Young master McDohl, who Gregminster sent to investigate your claims, first thought of us as you did, but after he saw what damned old Grady did with us he deserted the Empire, freed us from our prison, and joined up with Lady Odessa! 'Twas that what led to him rising to command the Liberation Army and lead it to victory over the Empire with the help of Mathiu Silverburg, True Runes rest his soul."

Oulan blinked several times. "Well!" she commented, and then turned to Makoto. "There's a life lesson for you, apprentice - cause and affect. Always do the best thing you can, because you never know what might spring from those deeds," she finished.

"And what're you doing here?" Varkas asked, finally returning to business.

"Nothing major, Captain... no, High Commander of the Border, I see! You HAVE gone legit!" Oulan said with a grin, seeing the rank insignia on Varkas' shoulder. "I'm between jobs right now. The boy here," and she indicated Makoto, "is Makoto Genkaku of Highland. He's rather fed up with their armies and posturing, and he's come with me to learn the arts of the roving bodyguard."

"An apprentice, eh?" Varkas asked. Eyeing Makoto sharply, he said, "Right - get those oversize truncheons off yer belt and show me what y'can do, lad."

Makoto snatched both tonfa in a quick motion, putting first one, then the other into a defensive spin before him while the 'free' tonfa swung and thrust around it. Finishing his pattern, he snapped the tonfa back into their belt loops.

Varkas raised both eyebrows. "Yeah, he's your apprentice all right," the former bandit said.

Oulan shrugged. "He learned the weapons from his grandfather," she noted truthfully. "It's the *other* tricks of the trade he's here to learn from me - and since he likes Runes, I figured to take him to see Hellion on Magician's Island," she finished.

"Good luck to you then," Varkas noted, before turning to his men. "Open the small gate, ye laggards! Get a move on!" he cried out, and soon Makoto and Oulan were leaving the mountain pass into Toran north of Kalekka.

Several days later, the two came within view of the coastline. Oulan, noticing this, quickly wrapped up the story she was telling her young charge about how his grandfather came to live in Highland, after being a hero for the City-States. "...And so Han and Genkaku were to fight a duel for the Kingdom and the State, using the swords of their leaders. The winner's nation would have possession of the town where you grew up - Kyaro - and the war would be over. But Genkaku refused to draw his sword against Han, which puzzled a lot of people - the two had fought plenty of times in the war, both directly and by proxy. The people grew angry, and finally Han knocked Genkaku to the ground and demanded his surrender, which he gave."

Makoto gave Oulan a look of such bewilderment that it was nearly painful. "But why would Grampa do that? If it was just a duel, not a death match..."

Oulan nodded grimly. "That's why Genkaku was sent away in disgrace. But I found out later from Lady Annabelle - at the signing of the peace treaty between Jowston and Highland that set Ruka off, ironically enough - that Mayor Darrell, her predecessor, tried an awful trick. Remember I said he was an amateur at war and needed Genkaku to save him?"

Makoto nodded. "Yeah. So he set Grampa up to lose?"

Oulan shook her head with a frown. "Nope, he did something a lot worse. He put poison on Genkaku's sword, figuring that Genkaku would kill Han, then Darrell could disgrace Genkaku for using poison and banish him, since many people wanted Genkaku to be the leader of the whole City-State once the war was over. But your grandfather was too savvy for him. Genkaku detected the poison and refused to draw his sword, and he was so disgusted with Darrell that he left on his own and went to live in Kyaro, which was part of Highland thanks to the duel. I guess he was happy there, because even after Annabelle found out what Darrell had done and offered to welcome Genkaku back, he chose to stay in Kyaro."

Makoto grinned. "Yeah. It's small and quiet, but it's... home," he said wistfully.

Oulan grinned back. "Speaking of home, we're at the Magician's Coast."

Makoto looked around. There before them was a beach leading to a huge sea, and far out in the water was an island. The boy blinked and looked some more, but there was no sign of a port or even a dock with a boat. "Um... how do we get across? It's a bit far to swim!" he protested.

Oulan laughed. "There are no boats to Magician's Island, kid. You either fly there or teleport with a Blinking Rune or something similar."

Makoto blinked in dismay. "Well, what are we here for, then?" he asked. "We can't get there-"

Oulan laid a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, youngster. I know someone who lives there." With that, she stepped away from Makoto and walked down the beach until her feet were just inches from the waves. Ignoring the water splashing on her boots, the bodyguard then yelled - no, bellowed - no, ROARED - across the water. "HEY, HELLION!! I KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT ABOUT MY RUNE NOW! COME HERE! I NEED A LIFT TO THE ISLAND!!"

Makoto turned to her to complain, but there was a swoosh of displaced air, and an old woman suddenly stood on the shoreline near Oulan - but a bit farther from the water. "Hello, little dragon," the old woman said, getting a frown from Oulan.

"Hi, Hellion - long time," the redheaded fighter greeted the old spellcaster. "You could have told me about my Rune back then, you know," she continued, but nodded at Makoto. "That's a topic for later, though. The youngster and I need to get to Magician's Island. He's lost a young woman by the name of Jillia, and I need to find a certain white-haired Lady, and thanks to a vision, we think they might be here."

Hellion nodded. "You mean Princess Jillia and Lady Sierra? You're in luck, child - they're both on the Island all right."

Oulan grinned with a sigh of relief. "Great! Can you rustle up some transport for us?"

The old sorceress grinned. "Of course I can! I may be old, but the eye hasn't dimmed that much!" she declared, grabbing Oulan by the wrist. "Hurry over here, sonny," she called to Makoto, "and we'll be there literally in a flash!"

Oulan looked alarmed at this, and as Makoto came over, she tried to free her wrist from the surprisingly strong grip. "Hey, I meant find a boat or something - I *Hate-*"

There was a flash, and the three were gone.

Nanami sighed as she packed a few things, I KNOW Makoto's alive and I'm going to find him. She knew he was not anywhere in Highland but decided to look for him nonetheless she left a letter on the door of the dojo explaining to Jowy where and why she has gone. She cast what would probably be her last look at Grandpa Genkaku's dojo. I will find you Makoto. Then she went on her way.

A similar flash in the courtyard of the Seer's Palace on Magician's Isle brought the trio back into the material world. Oulan finished her sentence - "-Teleporting - urk..." and promptly bent over to retch. "Urrgh... Dammit, Hellion, I told you I hate teleporting. Whether I have part of a True Rune or not has nothing to do with it!!" she complained, and then groaned as her stomach again protested the method of travel.

"Miss Oulan??" Makoto exclaimed, but Hellion calmed him down.

"Relax, youngster - Oulan there just gets a little teleport-sick, the way many folk do from riding a boat."

Makoto relaxed. "Oh. Where's Jillia, miss Hellion? I don't see her..." he asked, looking about anxiously.

As if the words were a cue, Jillia suddenly appeared, about a yard above the ground, and fell to the turf in a less-than-graceful heap. "Ow! I hate tele-" she began, only to break off in midword as she caught sight of someone she'd last seen in battle inside a burning fortress. "..Makoto?" she asked, not quite believing it.

The boy in question didn't leave her in doubt long. With a glad cry of "JILLIA!!" he dropped down beside her and wrapped the princess in a hug. All the pent-up worry, guilt and grief burst out as he bawled, "I'm really sorry, I let you down I was so stupid I shouldn't have gotten you into the fight, I'm SO glad you're okay!!" he finished in a rush, shedding tears but not willing to let her go in order to wipe his eyes.

Meanwhile, Oulan finally quieted her innards' protest over her method of travel. "Urgh - yuck. 'Porting always turns my gut inside-out," she griped. Looking down at the youngsters embracing on the ground, she smiled. "Heh. I guess you've found YOUR lost one," she commented to Makoto, "now if I could just find -" Suddenly, Oulan broke off, twitching slightly as she felt something across the bond between herself and Sierra... something she'd been missing ever since the vampire withdrew into herself and fled North Window. "...Sierra?" the bodyguard asked quietly, slowly turning to face the Seer's Palace.

Just as she did, Sierra walked out the door into the courtyard. "Brat moves too fast," the silver- haired woman complained in a low tone. After a moment to let her eyes adjust to sunlight, she looked up - and saw Oulan. "So that's what Leknaat meant about a 'Happy Dragon'..." she said, standing stock-still in surprise.

"SIERRA!!" Oulan cried, grabbing her comrade in a tight hug. "Boy am I glad to see you in good health, spirit-sister." Releasing her hold and stepping back, the bodyguard then gave Sierra a mock glare. "And just WHAT did you get yourself into here? I had nightmares about this place three nights running!" she complained, and then blinked as she took in Sierra's new choice of attire. "Sierra…A MINSKIRT??" she asked, incredulously.

From the ground, Makoto blinked "Huh? Oh, is this the friend you saw in the dream?" he asked, then made a noise of dismay as he turned to his princess. "Aak! I'm being rude!" Getting up, he introduced the group to each other. "Jillia Blight, this is Oulan of Rockaxe, a traveling bodyguard. Oulan, this is the princess I've been babbling about, Jillia Blight of Highland. And you are..?" Makoto finished, turning to Sierra with a slight bow and waiting for her reply.

Sierra struck a dignified pose. "Sierra Mikain, Lady of the Vampire Tribe, former keeper of the Lunar Rune-"

Jillia interrupted by whispering to Makoto, "She's a little long-winded."

Sierra broke off her speech to glare at the young princess. "Silence, brat," she commanded. Jillia glared at her.

"Hey, why're you getting on Jillia's case?" Makoto asked in defence of his lady. "You WERE going on a bit long there-" suddenly, the boy broke off midsentence. More quietly, he went on, "Hang on. Lunar Rune? But Grandpa said..." Pausing, Makoto turned to Oulan. "Hey Oulan, you never said she was a vampire!! I thought she was a thief!!"

Oulan's eyes widened in surprise. "Eh?? Where'd you get that idea??"

Makoto shrugged as if it were obvious. "You said she favours running around at night, that she was somewhere she shouldn't be, and that she was 'um, looking around.' That sounded like you were avoiding saying she was a thief to me..."

Hellion raised an eyebrow, her only comment being, "I can see why..."

Sierra scowled at Oulan. "You're telling people I'm a thief?!"

"Sounds about right to me," Jillia commented.

Oulan frowned back at the former Mistress of the Coven. "Well I can't just tell everyone I'm spirit-sister to a vampire!! People tend to make assumptions about statements like that, such as that IM a vampire-" Oulan paused as she caught a very weary look from Sierra. "-and I'm not telling you anything you don't already know far too well, am I? Sorry, Sierra," she sighed.

"I'm sorry too," offered Makoto. "I recognize you from Grampa's stories now - you're the great White Lady of the Vampire Tribe, right? The one who's been hunting..." Pausing, Makoto grumbled as he searched his memory for a name that was only, to him, part of an old tale. "Oh, what was the traitor called again... the one who was in the Gate Rune War..."

Oulan growled, "NECLORD"

"Yeah!! That creep!" Makoto agreed.

Sierra smirked. "I'm starting to like this kid.." she commented, drawing a surprised stare from Oulan.

Meanwhile, Jillia complained, "Neclord? Never heard of him."

Makoto explained. "He betrayed Sierra there," he began with a nod to the vampire, "and stole the Lunar Rune from her. It's 'cause of him that the vampires have to drink blood to survive." Uncharacteristically, he scowled. "And if I ever meet him I'll shove this," he said, pulling his right glove off to show his Rune, "down his throat and trigger Shining Light. Where does he get off playing God?"

Oulan grinned at Sierra. "You see why I like travelling with him?" she asked.

Sierra nodded. "Very creative for a mortal. What's this?" she asked, grabbing Makoto's right wrist. "The Bright Shield? It's certainly been a long time since I last saw this one..."

"Yeah, I guess," Makoto shrugged. "I don't know how often you're around the Highland/Jowston border, but the last time was when my grandpa..." Makoto began, telling the tale of the lives of Han and Genkaku as Oulan had related it to him. "...so I guess that was it." Pausing and taking a deep breath, he glanced at Sierra's left hand - and *leaped* away. "Tell me that's not Soul Eater!!" he cried out, obviously frightened.

Oulan laughed quietly. "That's just a Darkness Rune, kid... relax."

"Oh," Makoto said, embarrassed. Glancing over at Jillia, who was stifling giggles, he protested, "Hey, it seemed *pretty* close to my grandpa's stories about it..." Receiving no reply, he shrugged. "Oh well.. Hey, is it almost lunchtime? We skipped breakfast to get here faster," he commented.

Sierra began walking quickly back to the tower.

"That was... sudden," Jillia noted, an odd look on her face.

"Wha - that was odd! Hey Sierra, wait!" Oulan cried out, jogging after her vampire friend.

Makoto shrugged as he turned to Jillia. "I guess we should get going too," he mused, and then took note of how dishevelled Jillia was. "Hey, your hair all fell forward when you took that tumble," he said, gently brushing it away from her face. "Not that it isn't pretty that way, but-" he paused as he noticed a marking on her right hand. "Hmm? What's the Rune, Jillia?" he asked, pointing to it casually. "I don't recognize that one..."

Jillia looked down. "Well, when mo - Leknaat saved me from that wound from Ruka, she attached this so I wouldn't die before she could do anything. It's the... Beginning Gate Rune," she confessed.

Makoto was shocked for a minute, and then rallied. "Half the True Gate Rune... to save your life?? Well, I can't argue with that goal," he grinned at her. "The rune suits you like you were born to it," he commented, drawing an 'urk' from the princess. Missing this, the boy sighed deeply. "What is it with us and half-True Runes, anyway? You've got one, I've got one, Sierra's still connected to hers, from the stories, and Oulan's got an aspect of the Dragon Rune... weird. It's like fate or something..." he finished, then paused. "Hey, did you call Lady Leknaat something else? It sounded like you were going to say another name..." he asked.

Jillia glanced away. "It's.. Nothing! Come on, let's hurry to catch up, or they'll eat everything before we even get there!" she deflected the question, and then ran for the tower.

Makoto, left in her dust, only managed to blurt out, "Huh? Hey Jillia, wait!!"