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* * *
“No no no no NO!” Daichi shouted once he could breathe easily again, running towards the wall of rock that trapped him and Rei inside the cave. He began pulling away rocks in an attempt to dig his way out. “I am not going to be trapped in here!”
“Calm down, Somai,” Rei said, trying to sound calm herself, but traces of pain could still be heard in her voice. “The others will come get us out as soon as they can. Until then, I suggest you sit and calm down. If you breathe too heavily the air will start getting thin.”
Daichi turned around and looked at Rei. “Are you all right? You sound like you’re in pain.”
“Why do you want to know?” Rei asked crossly.
“Well, there’s no point of us trying to kill each another at the moment. We’re both trapped so we may as well help each other,” Daichi said. “Now, what’s wrong?”
“I think I broke my arm.”
Daichi walked over to Rei and knelt down in front of her. Rei was sitting against the back of the cave, clutching her left arm. “Is it your left arm?” Daichi asked in a tone that surprised Rei. It sounded like he was actually concerned.
“Um, yes.”
Daichi took off his gloves and gently loosened Rei’s death-grip on her arm. He carefully felt her arm and watched Rei’s facial expressions as he did so. When she flinched, he asked, “Did that hurt?”
Rei nodded.
“Try moving your fingers for me.” He watched Rei’s fingers, but they didn’t move.
“They won’t move.”
“So I see.” Daichi stood up and began searching the ground for something.
“What are you looking for?”
“I’m trying to see if two strong sticks followed us in here,” Daichi explained. “This would be so much easier if I had a light.”
Rei mumbled an incantation and an orb of light appeared in her hand, lighting up the entire cave, “Would this work?”
Daichi nodded and quickly found two sticks that would make a decent splint. He sized them up against Rei’s arm to make sure they were the right size. He broke a little off the end of one before he was satisfied. “Now I need something to tie this to your arm.”
“You can use this,” Rei said, holding out her right arm. “Just tear the sleeve into strips.”
“Are you sure?”
Rei nodded. “This is an old shirt, anyway.”
Daichi reluctantly put his hand on Rei’s shoulder and ripped off her sleeve. He tore it into wide strips and carefully tied the splints to Rei’s arm. He noticed something black on Rei’s half-exposed shoulder and asked, “What’s that?”
“What’s what?”
“That black thing on your shoulder.” Daichi reached out and moved the fabric away slightly. “It that a tattoo?!” he asked. There was a head of a black Chinese dragon tattooed on her shoulder. And it looked like a pretty big tattoo…
“Yes and no,” Rei said. She looked at Daichi’s face and laughed. “You look surprised.”
“I just…Well…”
“I don’t strike you as someone who would have a tattoo?” Rei supplied.
“No, you don’t.”
“But your little brother has a tattoo, too, right?”
“Yeah. A falcon. How did you know that?”
“Ichiro is the head of my clan’s Intelligence Department. Being his sister, I was able to get a hold of your file. I thought I’d read up on your brother while I was at it.”
“He’s the head of the entire department?!” Daichi exclaimed. He knew how large the Nerio Clan was and that the Intelligence Department was amongst the largest of the clan’s many departments. “But he’s so young!”
“Don’t underestimate Ichi-chan*! He may be young, but he’s a very talented sorcerer!”
“Ichi-chan?”
“Whoops! He asked me not to call him that anymore!” Rei said, blushing slightly. “I used to call him that when we were kids.”
“Daichi raised an eyebrow and moved to sit next to Rei. “Why do you two have Japanese names if you’re Italian?”
“Our mother was Japanese,” Rei explained.
“Was?”
“She died when I was seven. She’d been sick for awhile. We moved to the Japanese estate because it’s in the country. Dad thought the country air would help. She got better for a time, but after she gave birth to my brother her health got worse.”
“I’m sorry,” Daichi said quietly.
“It’s fine.”
“Um…” Daichi wracked his brain for another topic. “When I asked you if that was a tattoo, you said, ‘Yes and no.’ What did you mean?”
“It’s not technically a tattoo. It’s something called a binding point. In theory, it’s what binds guardians to their partners. I say theory because some discoveries have recently been made that challenge it.”
“Like what?”
“An invisible, untouchable chain that goes from the heart of the partner to where the guardian’s heart would be.”
Daichi was confused. “Would be?”
“Guardians don’t have hearts. Their blood circulates on its own.”
“That’s…strange. I wonder what it feels like.”
“Kuro says it’s uncomfortable at first, but you get used to it after awhile.”
“Weird,” Daichi said. “But anyway, back to binding points?”
“Right.” Rei took a moment to gather her thoughts before she continued. “Everyone who has a guardian has a binding point and each binding point is different in at least some small way. Size varies depending on the guardian’s class. The binding points of Defenders, Attackers, and Ultimas have to be large enough to contain their souls when they are not summoned, but most people keep their guardians out at all times. Healers can not be dismissed, so their binding points tend to be small. The binding points also appear on the guardians, except when they’re in their animal form, that is.”
Daichi couldn’t help but wonder if that was everything, but Rei seemed to be finished. “Sounds complicated.”
Rei shrugged. “It makes more sense when you have a guardian,” she said. “Now it’s my turn to ask questions.”
“We were taking turns?”
Rei ignored Daichi’s comment and continued. “You and Kiba-san** seem nice. Why are you two demon slayers?”
Daichi scowled. “Demon slayers are not all cruel and heartless. We exist to protect humans from demons.”
“I still don’t like you.”
“You’ve made that obvious.”
The two were silent for a few minutes when Rei finally said, “Well, I guess you’re not too bad. For a demon slayer, I mean.”
“Thanks. You’re not all that bad yourself, considering you’re a Nerio.” Daichi thought for a moment before asking, “Why don’t our clans get along?”
Rei gave him a surprised look. “You don’t know?”
Daichi shook his head.
“I thought it was obvious.”
“Not for me. Mind sharing?”
“Our clans view non-human beings differently. We see them as people, you see them as creatures.”
“But they are.”
“My point is proven. We also use magic, and your clan isn’t too fond of magic users. Plus, we don’t support demon slayers and nearly all your clan’s members are or were demon slayers.”
Daichi studied Rei’s face for a moment then asked, “Your dislike of demon slayers seems to go back further than it just being your clan’s dislike of us. Do you have a personal problem with us?”
Rei looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “It’s not me; it’s Kuro. A demon slayer murdered his wife and ten-year-old daughter shortly before he died. He’s still mourning them.”
“Demons mourn their dead?”
“Not all of them, but some do. The cross earrings that he wears are for them.”
“He must have loved them,” Daichi said quietly.
“They were his life.”
There was another silence between them, and this one lasted longer than the last. Eventually, Daichi asked, “What’s it like, having a demon bound to you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“How come?”
“I have nothing to compare it to, so I can’t describe it.” Rei looked at Daichi’s disappointed expression and laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“You, Rei said, still laughing.
“I’m afraid I don’t see the joke.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Again, they were silent for a few minutes. Daichi looked over at Rei and was about to try and start up another conversation when he saw something reddish on her forehead. “Um, there’s something on your forehead.”
Rei touched her forehead and her hand came away with blood on her fingers. “Kuro must’ve gotten hit,” she said simply.
“Could you ask him what’s going on? I’d like to know.”
“I’ve been talking to him. He says that the fight is nearly over. They’re going to come get us as soon as they can,” Rei said.
“What caused the shock wave?”
“Those demons we killed at first we part distraction, part sacrifice. A poison in their blood was used to cast a spell to make the remaining demons stronger. They made the shock wave to test their strength.”
“I should’ve known!” Daichi grumbled. “I’ve encountered that spell before! Twice!”
“It’s fine. No one was badly hurt.”
“You broke your arm,” Daichi pointed out.
“You have a point,” Rei chuckled.
Daichi raised his eyebrow. “You’re laughing about breaking your arm?”
Rei shrugged. “I’ve had worse. Oh! Stella Mare’s putting her plan into action.”
“Which reminds me, how does she plan on luring the fire demons into the water?” Daichi asked.
“She’s a siren,” Rei said simply.
“That makes sense.” Daichi had never actually seen a siren, but he’d read Homer’s Odyssey. He knew what they could do. “Those demons don’t stand a chance.”
Rei smiled. “No, they don’t.”
* * *
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*Ichi is short for Ichiro and -chan is a Japanese honorific used for girls and young boys.
**Kiba is Bakar's last name and -san is the Japanese equivalent of Mr. or Mrs. Rei called him "Mr. Kiba."
 Kyokiri · Sun Jan 20, 2008 @ 01:11am · 3 Comments |
