Chapter 9: Odd Occurrences

by Karma

Arslan stared at the makeshift-fireplace, feeling completely useless. It was not that he couldn't go hunting with them; it was just that Darun didn't want to risk any accidental injury to him. Furthermore, Arslan was only skilled at a sword-- Narcasse suggested that he and Eram start training at the use of other weapons tomorrow. So, tomorrow he would start some basic lessons in archery, while Eram would learn some sword work.

The only other beings who were not likely to be trained in both were the members of the Ryudo family. It was discovered that they had little or no knowledge of either, although Hajime thought that it might be useful if they did. So they would also probably start some sort of training tomorrow as well.

But it's not as if they needed it. Clearly, the family was powerful, even without weapons.

Unlike me. Arslan watched the flames of the fire dance. After the initial hostility, the group members were now getting along fine. Currently, the camp was divided into three groups: the first was hunting for a large supply of food, the second was staying behind to defend their temporary camp, and the last was making things for the camp; like preparing the next meal. Though he knew that any of the three groups would say that his presence was welcome, he knew that he didn't really belong to any of them. He was the prince.

Oh well, I might as well learn something useful. He wandered over to the domestic group and went to see if he could lend a hand. Not that I would be able to help them if they needed it. Each group thinks that I'm completely useless in their respective group, and they're probably right. I was taught all sorts of things, but none of them are really applicable in this situation. Still...I might as well learn while I can. Then I won't be completely wasting my time.

The members of the camp group were Eram, Amaru, Matsuri, Alfreed, Guibu, and Melain, who wanted to be with his sister. Matsuri were concentrating on preparing the next meal, Alfreed was mending any torn cloth, Guibu was sharpening weapons, and Melain was making arrows. Eram and Amaru both played the roles of servant boys that fetched things that were needed, Eram fetched water and plants for Matsuri, Amaru dragged over a tree --much to the surprise of everyone else-- for Melain's arrows.

"Hello, Prince," Guibu greeted the approaching Arslan cheerfully, almost acting like his previous self. "Came to lend us a hand?"

Arslan smiled and took a seat near the minstrel. "I don't have a lot of experience," he admitted. "But I would like to learn anything useful."

"Well, I don't think that you can help me sharpen these weapons...if I let you and you cut yourself, Darun would have my hide. But you're welcome to watch."

The prince watched the minstrel with a faint smile. Although it was clear that Guibu still retained most of his musical memory, there was still some doubt of the extent of knowledge that he had in weaponry. No one said so much in his face; however, erring on the side of precaution, Darun had decided that it would still be safer for him to join the domestic group.

Well...they're wrong. He's handling the extra weapons rather well, and hasn't cut himself once. So he probably remembers most of his skills, in general. Narcasse wants to test his sword skills again tomorrow, but until then...well, in any case, I think that this proves that he still knows how to do most activities. Arslan listened half-heartedly while Guibu explained to him the basics of sharpening weapons without hurting yourself. I still don't understand what happened or why he lost his memory. Still...it's good to see him so cheerful. I haven't seen him this bright for a while. Before he almost died...

Quietly, Amaru joined their group. "Do you need anything, Guibu?"

"No... I think I have all that I need. Except maybe for someone else to keep Arslan company; I'm poor at it."

"That's not true," Arslan protested. "This is rather interesting."

"Yeah, right. About as fascinating as one of Darun's lectures on why Narcasse shouldn't have to share his horse, I'll bet." The redhead smiled merrily when Arslan gave a small laugh. He returned his attention to Amaru. "Come and join us, if none of the others need you right now."

Amaru sat down. "I don't think anyone needs my help right now," he rationalized. "And if they do, they'll call."

"That's the spirit. Unfortunately, I can't let you help me sharpen weapons either, because if anything happened to you, your brother's would each take a portion of my hide."

Amaru frowned. "But I can't get cut that easily."

"With sharp objects around, of course you can."

Amaru shook his head. "Look," he said stubbornly. And before the others could react, he picked up one of the swords that was lying around and cut the palm of his hand with it.

Immediately, Guibu grabbed the hilt of the sword away from the boy. "Be careful with that!" His eyes, however, widened in surprise when he looked at the hand of the youngest Ryudo.

There was not a single hint of blood, nor, for that matter, any sign of being cut at all.

Astonished, Guibu examined the sword, which he had recently sharpened. He gasped in surprise when he saw that the edge of the blade was duller than before.

Amaru smiled innocently.

Guibu pretended to be angrier than amazed. "Ah, now look! I'll have to sharpen this all over again!"

"Sorry..." The youngest dragon said, face fallen.

"I'm joking. Don't worry about it." Guibu gave the boy a look of respect. "You're a special person, aren't you?"

The black dragon beamed, his stormy eyes lighting up. "No more than Arslan," he said modestly.

"Well, Arslan IS the prince. I supposed there must be consequences of that," Guibu grinned at the person he spoke to, who smiled back.

Amaru frowned. "I don't mean that. I mean Arslan has powers too."

"He does?" Guibu looked that the prince in surprise.

"I do?" Arslan looked at the Ryudo in surprise.

Amaru looked at them both astonished. "You mean you didn't know?" He looked at Guibu, then at Arslan. "The reason Guibu lost his memory...is because of you."

"So, Aniki, what do you think?" Owaru asked Tsuzuku, giving him the same question that he had proposed a few days earlier.

The two Ryudo brothers were members of the hunting party, since it was decided that at least one Ryudo should be in each group so that they may all contact each other in case of an emergency. Given the nature of the boy's gift, Narcasse had suggested that two of the Ryudos would be as sufficient as at least 4 people in hunting, and therefore suggested that some of the other members of their group be put to other uses. Thus, the remainder of Arslan's party joined the defense group. Jaswont, naturally, was a member of the defense group so that he would be able to watch over Arslan. Being a priestess, although she appeared to have little qualms about killing humans, Farangis declined to join the hunting party. And being the only Ryudo left, Hajime was also a member of the defense party.

"I don't know what to think," Tsuzuku said honestly. "This place is not as hectic as Tokyo, since we have less daily responsibilities, but knowing that we might be helping a war is kind of stressful."

"True, but I think it's more fun than stressful. But anyway, that's not what I meant. I mean, what do you think of the people?"

"The people...?"

"What do you think of Arslan and Guibu?"

"Arslan...surprised me many times by acting in ways that I think are contrary to his nature. And Guibu..." Tsuzuku sighed. "I thought he was very pleasant company before, although with his memory gone now he seems like someone else. I can't do anything for him other than feel helpless." Why am I telling Owaru these stupid observations? His attention span is so short that I doubt he's really listening to me at all.

"Yeah...but there's something familiar about Arslan... Like a d�j� vu feeling, you know? Like we've met him before. Do you believe Amaru?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you believe Amaru? That we came here to meet him? I don't know what Hajime-aniki believes, but I know he's puzzled. Do you believe Amaru?"

Do I believe Amaru? That we were hurled from one dimension to the next to meet this young prince? Do I believe in fate? No. Yes. No. And yet, he could not shake the "d�j� vu" feeling that Owaru so described. I don't believe in fate...but... For no reason at all, Tsuzuku was reminded of when he was a little older than Owaru himself, about three years ago. He had hit a major depression then, and had tried repeatedly to kill himself. Due to the nature of his powers, he had failed during each attempt. And then...

And then, for no reason at all, he simply accepted the things that had been bothering him. And he had made more of an effort to reach out towards his brothers, and... Why am I even thinking about this now? Why am I remembering this now? Answer Owaru's question. Do I believe Amaru? The second eldest Ryudo brother ducked under a tree branch and answered. "I don't know."

"What do you mean?" The prince addressed the young dragon, feeling more disturbed by the younger boy than when he had been watching the Turan army slaughter civilians. He felt a kind of oncoming dread, as if he knew what the boy was talking about, but was in serious denial.

"Well, I'm assuming..." The black dragon smiled innocently. "But I asked Eram why Guibu had lost his memories and he told me what happened. And so, I knew it was you."

"Please explain yourself," said Guibu, no longer as friendly as he had been earlier.

Amaru frowned. "You were hurt, right? And then when Arslan was with you, you got better. It was the prince. There's no other explanation for it." He watched their reactions and then gave an exasperated sigh, as if he was the adult explaining and they were the children asking the annoying questions. "We have powers. Why shouldn't Prince Arslan?"

"Because I was born to the king and queen here?" Arslan asked skeptically.

The youngest Ryudo shook his head. "Hajime-niisan already explained it to you. We dream that we came from somewhere else. In my dreams, I've seen you. You also came from the Tenkai." He paused and then frowned.

Guibu sighed. The boy wasn't helping at all with his occasional hints and then his sudden encrypted messages. Well, it's as good of an excuse as any. I suppose we can't really call it a miracle gifted by one of the gods. He became aware of Amaru's acute stare and looked back at the boy uncertainly. "Yes?"

Amaru blinked and then stared at him for another few seconds before speaking. "You recognized both the prince and Tsuzuku-niisan by their other names, right? That's what Darun and Narcasse had said." At the slight nod of the minstrel, the boy continued. "I didn't realize it before, but you're from there too. Look at Arslan. Does he look at all familiar to you?"

As instructed, the minstrel took the opportunity to stare at the prince, who shifted uncomfortably from the attention. Yes, now I'm staring at the Prince of Palse, and I don't feel anything... His mind wandered, searching the few memories that he had. No...he does not look at all familiar... And suddenly, he could see Arslan, looking different and yet the same, dressed in rich blue, speaking... And the minstrel was overcome with a feeling that they had met before...

Shaken, he looked back at the enigmatic child, and tried to speak. No words came from his mouth, but Amaru nodded in response.

"Hisui."

And Guibu fell onto his knees, the images running through his mind.

"Hisui? What are you doing here?"

"Guibu?"

Someone was shaking him.

"Guibu!"

A voice getting louder, sounding familiar.

"Guibu!"

Prince Arslan.

"Guibu answer me! Can you hear me?"

"What's wrong? Guibu?" Alarm, concern, worry, frustration.

He opened his eyes and found that he had been kneeling, clutching his head as if he had been in pain. He turned and saw that the one who had been shaking him had been none other than Prince Arslan. When his violet eyes met those of blue, the prince smiled in relief.

"Guibu, are you all right? You clutched your head and would not speak to anyone."

"I didn't realize it before, but you're from there too."

"What's wrong?"

From where?

The minstrel blinked, forced himself to relax, and turned to eye Amaru, who was watching them both with keen interest. That had, undoubtedly, been the oddest occurrence to Guibu all week. Other than the near-death experience, of course.

"What," he said, when he finally found himself able to speak, "Was that?"

The Ryudo boy said nothing.

"Guibu?"

Slowly, the minstrel turned and looked at the prince with a growing sense of dread. Indeed, the boy prince looked familiar.

Why do I remember Prince Arslan as someone else while I lack the memories of who he is as Prince Arslan?

"Sorry for neglecting to speak to you, Your Highness. It was just that..." His voice trailed off as he realized that he did not know how to explain this feeling to Arslan, this dread, this recognition, this nostalgia, this insight.

"Are you all right?"

"I...think so..." He's the same person as Hoshiki, and yet he's not because Hoshiki no longer exists.

Confusion permeated his thoughts, overwhelming his mind and leaving room for little else. The minstrel watched Arslan blankly for a bit, then turned his attention back to Amaru.

"I think," Guibu said, as calmly as he could, "That someone needs to give an explanation."

"Please...water..." The old man crawled on the ground and clutched Hajime's foot. "Please..."

Hajime eyed him warily. Like Farangis and Jaswont, he was on "guard" duty, in the sense that he was supposed to keep watch over camp. Farangis and Jaswont were both a little distance away from him, so he supposed that he would have to take care of the person himself. Still...if there was one thing ingrained in Hajime's manners, it was to treat elders with respect. He even treated Kamakura no Gozen with respect, up until the moment when the bastard attacked his family.

The old man speaking to him had clearly seen better days. His robes were long and white, though they were now stained with dirt and grass. In one hand he clutched a golden staff, and the eldest Ryudo suspected that he had once been considered a very important person.

Still...it was shocking for Hajime to see an older person treated so terribly. Respect should come rightfully with age.

When the old man fainted, the blue dragon lifted him up and carried him towards camp.

"You said that you and your brothers came here to meet Prince Arslan. Any idea why?" Guibu asked, the only person in Arslan's group so far to take their story so seriously.

"Well, see, he's..." Amaru's words trailed off as he thought of what Hajime had told him. "He's...he's...just someone we were supposed to meet, that's all."

"And why are you supposed to meet him?" The minstrel asked impatiently, but not unkindly, trying to keep his feelings out of his voice. What's he trying to avoid telling us? He figured, however, that it would be easier to squeeze information out of the youngest Ryudo than out of the older ones.

Arslan watched the exchange silently. What changed Guibu's attitude towards Amaru so suddenly? He was very friendly earlier, but now he seems almost upset.

"Amaru," Arslan asked gently.

"Yes?"

"If I was the cause of Guibu's amnesia, then is there anything I can do about it?"

Amaru opened his mouth, about to answer, when suddenly he was distracted by another figure heading towards them. In a flash, he forgot instantly about Arslan and got up to greet his brother instead. "Niisan! What's wrong?"

Reluctantly, both Guibu and Arslan tore their gazes away from Amaru and looked upon the eldest Ryudo. The latter was carrying an old man, who, even though unconscious, was clutching a golden staff.

Guibu frowned. The man looked familiar, but he could not place a name to the face.

"I found him on the outskirts of camp. He seems to be suffering from dehydration."

Amaru left to fetch some water. Gently, Hajime placed the old man on the ground.

And Arslan could do nothing more than watch uneasily. Something about the old man was unnerving.

"Well, I think this has been a relatively successful venture," Narcasse said, eyeing Darun as the prince's champion tied the last furry body to his horse.

"Indeed, this should last us for another week or so." Their hunt had been very successful. The only problem that remained was finding a way to carry all the animal carcasses back to their camp. It looked like several trips would have to be taken in order to move all of the meat.

"More," Narcasse surmised. "It might even last us until we reach Port Giran. Doubtful, but still possible."

"And in less than half the time that it usual takes to hunt, as well as with less than half the people..." Darun and Narcasse both turned to watch the Ryudos brothers, who looked bored.

"So, are we done?" Owaru asked. "We have enough now, right? Can we go back now?" His voice whined as he looked around. "Hunting is no fun without Amaru," he complained.

Tsuzuku gave his brother a look to shut him up before looking back at Darun and Narcasse. I never realized it before, because I didn't really care... But I think there's something going on between those two. Oh well. None of my concern. "Should we head back now?"

The red dragon watched with growing irritation as the two exchanged looks with each other. What, were you surprised to see how quickly we can hunt? It's not hard... Isn't that why you asked for us rather than getting a bunch of your men? As another method of testing our power? Why are you so surprised then, if we met your expectations? Hajime told us to trust you, so we held nothing back while we hunted. So we hunted without weapons, using our hands and brains to capture animals and break their necks. And so now we have a large pile of dead animals that we'll be eating in the next few days. Wonderful. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and frowned. What's wrong with me? I feel so edgy...

It was all that thinking about Arslan and what they were doing here. He had thought about it the entire time while he was hunting, and it became frustrating because he still had not reached a conclusion.

"Well," said Narcasse. "Let's head back and get the others to help us carry all of this."

The old man revived a few minutes later, after being given water. He drank hungrily, and with Hajime's help, managed to sit up straight.

"Are you all right?"

"C-can you give me more water, boy?" He coughed once, and looked in Amaru's direction, as the younger boy approached him with another cup of water.

The youngest Ryudo handed him another small bowl, and then moved to sit before him. "What should we call you, grandpa?"

"Bodon."

"Bodon!" Arslan looked at the old man in surprise. Bodon, the priest? The one that's said to torture Palsians for not worshipping his god?

Bodon smiled and his eyes briefly flashed red.

Quickly, before anyone else could react, he slammed the end of his staff into Amaru's right eye, the force knocking the boy back several feet.

Hajime knocked Bodon down and ran over to his brother, who was screaming in pain.

Bodon laughed, his voice echoing and suddenly sounding deeper and more sinister than before. He pushed himself up straight and swiftly got back onto his feet. "You thought that you could escape the Gyuushu by coming here, didn't you, Seiryuu-ou?" He laughed once more. "You were wrong and your family will pay for your mistake."

AMARU!

Tsuzuku and Owaru simultaneously turned back and ran towards the campsite, dropping the deer carcasses and leaving behind a surprised Darun and Narcasse. Before them, a dark glow burst forth from the camp.

"Don't do it, Amaru!"

"Niisan...it hurts..."

In an instant, Hajime was at his brother's side. Quickly, he removed the staff that had still been sticking out of his brother's eye. He reached to touch his brother, but a dark glow burst forward from the child, surrounding him in power.

"NIISAN!"

"AMARU!"

The sky darkened with the appearance of clouds.

"Amaru! Don't!"

Another ripple of power exploded from the youngest dragon, striking down Guibu and Arslan with it. Guibu stumbled back in surprise; Arslan fell onto his back.

Bodon laughed some more.

"AMARU! DON'T TRANSFORM!!!"

Frantically, Hajime sought to block his brother's powers in a futile attempt to stop him from transforming. He knew, in that instant, that the appearance of the Black Dragon could destroy everyone and everything in the camp. This was not Tokyo, where buildings could be destroyed with little notice of consequences.

AMARU! DON'T!

Guibu tore his gaze away from the two brothers and struck the laughing priest with one of the swords he had been sharpening. Bodon stumbled from the blow but did not fall down. The minstrel attacked the priest once more, praying that the other members of their group must have noticed the commotion by now. The redhead hit the older man once more, forcing him onto his knees with his excellent sword skills. He didn't understand a single thing that was going on, but knew that this old man was an enemy and had to be dealt with. He could do little for Amaru and Hajime, but he could protect Arslan from this potential threat.

Without the staff, Bodon was weaponless, and Guibu was at an advantage. Deftly, he knocked the priest unconscious with the back of his sword and then tied the elderly limbs together with rope. The priest would be questioned later.

The minstrel then moved to Arslan's side and helped the prince back onto his feet. "Are you all right, Your Highness?"

"Yes..." Arslan watched the two brothers. Amaru was no longer visible, surrounded, instead, by dark light. Hajime stood in the path between them and his brother, his attention totally absorbed by his younger sibling. He was shouting something that Arslan could not quite understand, and did not bother to protect himself from the power that emanated before them.

"It's dangerous here. Let's move back a little." Guibu helped Arslan move back away from the two brothers and then, finally, turned his attention back to them.

Kokuryuu-ou, the Black Dragon King of the North.

The area surrounding Amaru exploded.

And as it began to rain, the Black Dragon appeared in the sky.

"What is THAT?" Alfreed shouted to her brother. As usual, Melain had no comment. Eram simply gaped in terror and awe.

In the dark sky, a magnificent black dragon swam against the rain. He glowed a slight green and moved gracefully, as if he knew he was being watched.

"Amaru!" Matsuri screamed. She got up and ran to find Hajime.

"Matsuri!"

She saw, as she had seen on the night he almost died, a dragon. She felt it first before anything else, felt the disturbance of the spirits in the air, felt the unnatural balance that seemed to hang there. And in the sky, there was a beautiful black dragon.

Farangis turned to the dark assassin beside her. "Let's hurry," she urged him. Jaswont needed no further command to carry out his actions.

"Let me guess..." said Narcasse to his lover. "THAT'S why they hurried so."

Darun nodded his head slightly. "If we leave the carcasses behind, we'll get back to camp quicker."

Arslan shivered, and hugged himself. He felt odd, and in his mind's eye, he saw strange things.

"You can't!" Kokuryuu-ou pleaded. He looked at his brothers. "We won't let him do that, will we?" he begged desperately.

Arslan blinked, and his strange vision evaporated quickly, like a dream. He hugged himself once more, and looked at the familiar black dragon in the sky with feeling that was a cross between awe and dread.

They finally arrived, but it was late, too late. Tsuzuku stared at his younger brother's other form and could feel him crying out in pain.

Instinctively, he and Owaru arrived by Hajime's side. Hajime, who now stood there calmly and looked weary.

"Hajime! Is that Amaru?" Matsuri asked. "What happened?"

"Yes, it's the fourth son of our house. Someone stabbed him in the eye. He wouldn't have died from it, but his body reacted out of his pain and his emotions."

"Aniki! Are you okay?"

Hajime nodded once. "I managed to contain enough of Amaru's power so that his transformation didn't destroy the camp. I couldn't prevent him from transforming, though."

"It's probably just as well," Tsuzuku reasoned, trying to reassure his older brother. Someone's going to pay for attacking my family... "His transformation will heal his eye, so he won't be blind. And I don't think it would have been wise to stop his transformation while he was in the middle of it." Stopping him while he was in the middle of it might have had more adverse effects on Amaru than stopping him after he's changed.

Hajime nodded, affirming Tsuzuku's silent thoughts. "That's what I thought as well. The minute I knew he was starting to transform, I concentrated, on minimizing the damage that resulted from it." He looked at Owaru. "Get some clothes for him. I'm going to turn him back."

"Niisan, is that wise?" Hajime-niisan already looks tired. Tsuzuku frowned.

"We have no choice. We can't leave him as a dragon, and we don't want to drown Arslan's men in this rain." As if he knew what he was thinking, Hajime nodded at Tsuzuku. "I'll be fine." He turned and pointed at Bodon, who was tied up and on the floor a little distance away. "We have to question him, so Tsuzuku, you watch him."

Tsuzuku nodded and moved to where the old man's unconscious body lay. It was then he noticed that they had an audience. Arslan and Guibu were the closest, and the other members of Arslan's party were scattered sporadically, their attention on the sky and the dragon in it.

He met Arslan's eyes and felt something that was a cross between shame and proud. This is who we really are, he wanted to say. And he felt a kind of gratification that this was revealed.

"Is there anything we can do to help Amaru?" Arslan asked, surprising Tsuzuku with the question. His warm eyes held concern for his younger brother, while his hair was wet with the rain.

Not an accusation. Not a horrified "you lied to us!" or "what the hell are you?" Not rejection. Not fear. None of the things the red dragon would've expected from a prince. Caught off guard by the question, Tsuzuku simply smiled. "No, Niisan's got it covered." He looked at Bodon, who was unconscious.

"He was shouting really odd things at your brother," Guibu explained, following the direction of his gaze. "So I tied him up in case you wanted to question him."

"What did he say?"

"Something about trying to escape and failing. He was addressing your brother and laughing really hard."

"He's a well-known priest," Arslan explained. "Or rather, notorious for capturing Palsians and torturing them for worshipping the wrong faith."

Guibu started. A faint memory returned, this time of his current life. Watching Bodon wheel by on a cart, torturing a man with his staff while shouting accusations. Shooting an arrow that killed the poor soul, and expecting a reward for it. That was how I met the Queen of Palse during the war, before her capture by the Lusitanians. Arslan's mother. His attention returned to the man on the ground. What is Bodon doing here?

Tsuzuku nodded and examined the unconscious male cautiously.

"He addressed your older brother as Seiryuu-ou," Guibu added helpfully.

"Ah." Who the hell is this guy?

"While his eyes were flashing red. It was very dramatic, you know, with the lightning in the background and all."

Tsuzuku gave the minstrel a sarcastic look. He realized, suddenly, that Arslan and Guibu were acting uncannily calm. As if they had seen dragons before. One glance in the direction of Arslan's men revealed that the feeling was not mutual throughout the rest of the camp; Arslan's people were all either shocked, panicking, or freaking out.

Except Arslan and Guibu.

Summoning his will and his power, Hajime, the eldest brother of the Ryudo family, threw a white ball of light at his younger brother. The Black Dragon roared in surprise.

Then, as it did several days earlier, the dragon's body began to crack.

There was a bright light, and when the dust cleared, the fourth son of the Ryudo family lay naked as the day he was born on the muddy ground.

Hajime fell to his knees while Matsuri caught him. Owaru ran over to dress his younger brother in an attempt to leave him his dignity.

The rain stopped.

"I think," said a dry, smooth voice, "That explanations are in order here."

Tsuzuku looked up and met the eyes of the prince's strategist. As usual, the strategist strove to appear calm, although he was clearly unnerved.

"What, you haven't ever seen a dragon in the sky before?" Guibu asked impudently. He received a dark look from the strategist's lover and shut up. "It's really not all THAT odd of an occurrence. The fair Lady Farangis, after all, said that she did..."

Instantly, he received Tsuzuku's steadfast attention. "What? When?"

"A few days ago. On the day of the battle. The one that I lost my memories in."

Which fits perfectly with when we all transformed for Matsuri. The red dragon sighed with relief. For a moment there, I was afraid that there were more of us out there. That would be weird.

"Back to what Narcasse was saying," said Darun, eyeing the minstrel unhappily. "Can someone please tell me why a dragon suddenly appeared over the camp?" His gaze fell on Bodon's face. "And what is the mad priest Bodon doing here?"

Tsuzuku ignored him and looked back in the direction of his older brother. Matsuri helped Hajime onto his feet, while Owaru carried the now-dressed Amaru. Good. Everyone's okay, he thought relieved. He returned his attention to his two newest problems: 1) explaining what just happened to Arslan and his men, and 2) dealing with the asshole on the ground that poked his brother's eye out.

Deciding that the latter was easier to deal with, he once again ignored the frustrated knight and poked Bodon's face with his foot. He actually felt like kicking the head off, but restrained himself for fear that Hajime would scold him for killing their prisoner.

"Please don't," Arslan pleaded, surprising the red dragon once more.

He's...really...nice. Briefly, Tsuzuku wondered if he was ever as nice as Arslan, or ever could be, given the poor prince's circumstances of such a horrible father. The answer was... No. And as annoying as super-weak-kind-hearted people were in movies, in real life, they were quite...admirable. That someone could be so strong as to still be kind to others, even after the treatment that he himself has been at the end of. He opened his mouth to speak, but an uglier, deeper voice interrupted him instead.

"So...Kouryuu-ou..." Bodon smiled from the ground, as if completely unaware of the situation he was in. "How did you enjoy seeing your brother's form again? The one that you were hunted for in Japan, the one that you were ashamed of all your life...?"

Infuriated, Tsuzuku resisted the irresistible urge to stomp on Bodon's head. He felt an arm on his own left, restraining and comforting at the same time. Startled, he looked to his left, and met Arslan's eyes.

The prince smiled at him before removing his arm, then crouching near Bodon, so as to be able to speak to him more clearly. "Why are you doing this? Is it because they don't worship the same god as you?"

Bodon laughed. "Before, I was always frustrated when I found disbelievers. Now, however, I have found a new god, one far more powerful and helpful than before. One that listened to my prayers for power, and answered me when I had my doubts."

Tsuzuku watched as the old man's eyes flashed red once. Twice. He's possessed! he realized.

Bodon's eyes left Tsuzuku's face to focus on Arslan's. They widened in surprise and recognition, and a hideously large smile spread upon his countenance.

"Well, this simply gets better and better. Not only do you bastard Ryuushu NOT escape from us, but you even lead us to him, whom we all assumed dead."

Instinctively, Tsuzuku pulled Arslan back a few feet, away from the mad man.

It was a wise decision, with good timing. Slowly, Bodon's head and body expanded. Suddenly, his face distorted to a furry, brown, his eyes filled red like blood, and the rope restraining him tore with the sudden expansion in his body. His clothes torn, horns appeared in his head, and before anyone else could react, his change ended with a large, ugly, bull-like monster in his place.

The monster stood up, the remnants of the rope falling off with him with no evidence that they had ever held the creature before them. He spoke once more, his harsh, deep, voice laced with dark laughter and joy.

"You thought that you could escape the Gyuushu by coming here, Ryuushu. But instead you lead us to the most valuable thing of all."

Chapter 8: Fortune's Gift

Chapter 10: Realizations

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