Barza patted his chest with pride."I am indeed the Cho--"
"--We"re from Invictus."
The young silver-haired girl had looked up, following the voice. Using his spear, Bucket had vaulted over the Gann, landing beside the two. He adjusted his recovered log on his shoulders with his offhand and offered Barza with a friendly smile. "Hey, Lone."
Barza gave a helpless smile at being interrupted.
Bucket glanced over and was surprised to see a girl had appeared. He examined the girl with great interest. "Who are you? What guild are you from?"
"Oh, hi! My name is Taree-- me and my brother are from the Ivory Judge sect, and we--"
A fourth person landed on the ground, creating a swirl of golden leaves. Amongst the swirl, a young, blonde boy was on both knees, both arms upwards as he held onto a longbow. The youth"s age was somewhere between Barza"s and Bucket"s. Though he had some height, he looked incredibly weak.
"Hold on there, Mister! I"ll need a moment to discuss some things with my sis! --Nice to meet"cha by the way."
Barza and Bucket waved. "Hi." "Hey."
As the brother-sister pair moved off to discuss something in private, Barza pulled Bucket aside.
"Okay, listen up, little brother. This is my chance. I"ve always wanted to be the Chosen One, okay?"
Bucket looked up at Barza, his eyes wide with confusion.
"Chosen for what? Every time you I get "chosen" by Boss Tycon, I have to clean something or feed the horses."
"It"s not that kind of Chosen. It"s the Chosen in stories, where we can save a hidden kingdom and we"ll get a whole bunch of treasure and pretty women."
Bucket looked past Barza, to the orange-robed girl and her brother.
"Aren"t you a little old for Taree? ...And I thought that short-haired girl was your girlfriend?"
"Sorina? No. Argh! No! Boss has ruined my chances with her!"
"Then was Miss Seldin your girlfriend?"
Barza"s face paled and he felt his knees threatening to collapse. He had thought his first night visit by a beautiful woman would be a dream to remember for the rest of his life. He didn"t realize that it was a nightmare of pain and suffering. He didn"t remember much of it, besides Seldin"s terrible strength and her unforgiving fists.
Barza s.h.i.+vered as he dispelled those thoughts.
"ANYROAD, don"t mess this up for me... And let me do the talking, okay?"
"Um, alright, Lone."
Bucket nodded and looked back to Taree and her brother in the distance. Barza sensed Bucket"s worry, and he couldn"t help but feel a tinge of guilt for acting so selfishly. Bucket"s been nothing but helpful and he couldn"t have defeated the Gann so easily on his own.
"Hey, Bucket. I"ll make it up to you."
Bucket shrugged with a grin as he replied, "Nah. I"ll do it because you"re my brother."
As the two b.u.mped fists, Barza"s heart was surging with pride.
…
Taree crossed her arms, annoyed. "Okay, Tommy. What"s the big idea?"
Tamaki showed his sister his open palms, trying to keep her calm, "Okay, Coach. Hear me out!"
Taree smiled, her eyelid twitching, "Make it quick. We"re still being chased by Yos.h.i.+o and his mooks."
"Okay, just hear me out!"
"You said that already."
"What if… We ask the Chosen One to help us?"
"I was already gonna do that."
"Okay, but what were you gonna offer?"
Taree opened her mouth to answer, but found that she hadn"t thought that far.
"But… He"s the Chosen One? The Chosen One just… helps, right?"
Tamaki gave a wide grin, "Ah, see? Now you"re ready to hear me out."
Her brother had a point. The younger girl nodded in excitement, waiting for her brother to continue. "Okay, what"s the plan?"
"What if we… Offer your hand in marriage?"
The girl stood up straight, her excitement lost. "That"s a dumb idea. I hate it."
"WAIT! Now hold on!"
"Let"s just go turn ourselves into Yos.h.i.+o."
Taree turned to begin walking. Tamaki grabbed her wrist and struggled with all his might to keep his sister from leaving.
"Dear brother, you"re trying awfully hard to get rid of your lovely younger sister," Taree said, emotionlessly.
"Coach! No! Wait! Maybe I was a little hasty!"
Taree dragged her brother a couple of yalms before stopping. Taree was the most outstanding martial artist in her generation in the Ivory Judge sect. She had recently attained mastery of the Stone Fist, reaching 1st-Circle by Outer World standards. At her 11 years of age, she could defeat everyone twice her age in contests of strength, with the exception of Hisato.
"We"ll ask for the Chosen One"s help. But even if we don"t get it, the Ivory Judge sect did not raise two cowards!"
Tamaki swallowed his disappointment with a gulp.
"alright, Coach. But let me try. You know I"m a little better at this talking thing than you are."
"Okay, fine. But if you try to sell me to the Chosen One, you"re out."
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"Don"t worry, Coach. I got it."
...
"Sir, we found the girl."
One of the warriors in dark clothing reported to a handsome teenager in dark hair. Yos.h.i.+o sneered. He swept his dark hair out of his eyes and clenched his fist in anger.
"How dare that b.i.t.c.h flee and hide like a RAT! What cowardice! She won"t even face her destiny like a MAN!"
Yos.h.i.+o punched a nearby tree in anger, leaving a fist-sized crack in the ancient wood.
"I"ve been by that girl"s side for years. And not once has she acknowledged my attempts to woo her. I"ll make her pay before returning her broken body to Young Master Hisato."
The older warrior s.h.i.+fted his weight uneasily. Even though he was a few years older than the man he was reporting to, Yos.h.i.+o was cruel and physically powerful, second in talent only to Taree. Even though the warrior wasn"t pleased hunting down the greatest talent in the Ivory Judge sect, he could only do as the Muto family commanded.
"Sir, there"s been a complication."
Yos.h.i.+o narrowed his eyes, "What did you say?"
"The girl and her brother have made contact with Outsiders."
Yos.h.i.+o swept a hand, flaring his robe aggressively.
"Che! So the Kimura family had this hidden trump card! No matter. We are of the Muto family! If the Kimura family"s coin can entreat the a.s.sistance of Outsiders, we will purchase their loyalty at double the cost!"