Cold Blooded

Kondou Village

warning: wee bit of blood this chapter

Hisaya, Chongyun, and Gisei woke early the next day and headed deeper into the island. They crossed over a small stretch of beach and traveled along a worn road. They came upon a small village, and a small gasp escaped from Saya's lips. She was practically shaking with excitement.

Gisei, on the other hand, seemed slightly distant. There was a nervous energy about him. He was scared, but Chongyun wasn't sure why.

They walked towards the village and immediately the villagers' heads turned. The laughter and talking stopped. Children stood still. Everything froze for that moment. Something was wrong, Gisei's anxiety began to spread into Chongyun.

"Hello, everyone!" Saya waved, not bothered by the silence. "It's me, Hisaya!"

An old woman stood up and looked at their small group. "We don't want you here, fatui scum."

Gisei flinched. Saya deflated. Chongyun took a step forward, his hand on the hilt of his claymore. One wrong move and it would be the three of them against the entire village.

"W- What?" Chongyun could hear the pain in Saya's voice. "But, it's me. It's just me, Hisaya. What's wrong?"

"Hahaha," A boy about the same age as them stepped out from behind the elderly woman, he placed a hand on her soldier. "Don't worry, Hisaya. Nothing is wrong, we just didn't plan on seeing you again."

He walked closer and stood before the three of them. Hisaya launched herself at him and gave him a huge hug.

"Oh, Baiko!" She released him and stepped back. "It's so good to see you again. I missed you so, so much."

Gisei tensed besides Chongyun. There was something off about the boy in front of them.

A boy and a girl joined Baiko. Saya greeted them both with hugs. "It's so nice to see everyone again," Saya said, smiling.

"Why don't you come with us, Saya?" Baiko said with a smile. "We can all go for a walk and catch. After all, it's been almost two years since we last saw you."

"Of course!," Saya said. Then turning to Chongyun and Gisei, "We're just gonna take a quick walk. I'll see you in a few, okay?"

Chongyun wanted to argue, he didn't trust these people, but Gisei placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Have fun, Hisaya," Gisei said with a small laugh. "We'll meet you at Chinju forest at noon."

"Okay. Thanks, guys," Saya waved, and then ran off with the villagers.

Gisei's grip tightened on Chongyun's shoulder. "Follow me," he muttered. He turned and walked out of the village.

They walked until they were out of the sight of villagers and Gisei broke into a frantic run. They came to a small forest. It wasn't Chinju forest, Gisei had said that was to the West, but they had definitely gone South.

"How well can you climb trees?" Gisei said, turning back to Chongyun. Not waiting for an answer, he climbed up the nearest tree as easily as he climbed the ropes on the ship.

Chongyun climbed up after but with considerably more effort. His claymore made it a bit hard to maneuver through the branches. Gisei leaped from tree to tree, but there was something slightly frantic about how he moved. There was a deep worry that radiated off of him.

Gisei suddenly stopped, he peered into a clearing through the leaves. He signaled for Chongyun to be quiet then pointed down into the clearing.

A moment later, Saya, Baiko, and the two others walked in. Hisaya danced into the clearing and spun in a circle. The others circled around her.

"Do you all remember how we used to play here?" Saya said with a small smile. She looked at the others and froze.

"I do," Baiko said, sneering. "You always played the villain, do you remember?"

"I was always the princess," said the other girl, the three began to close in like a pack of wolves. Gisei slipped his rifle off his back and started to take aim.

"Those were always great games," said the last boy. They were all right around Saya, there was nowhere for her to run.

"But today," Baiko looked right at Saya and grabbed her by the jaw. "We aren't playing."

Baiko pulled his arm back to take a swing, but before his hand could land, he was sprawled on the ground. Smoke drifted out of the nozzle of Gisei's rifle and the other two villagers cried out from below.

Gisei leaped down from the branches and walked up to the other two. Chongyun leaped down and pulled out his claymore. Saya stood frozen in place.

"Get out of here," Gisei said, the strange voice distortion making it much scarier. He towered over the others. "Don't ever touch her again."

"Y-Yes, sir" The boy stuttered. He and the girl turned and fled back to the village.

Gisei watched them go then rushed over to Saya. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?"

"Did you..." Saya's eyes were locked on Baiko. "Did you kill him?"

Gisei looked over at the bloody boy. "No," he said quietly. "I shot his wrist, he'll lose his hand, but that is more than he even deserves."

"Then why is he unconscious?"

"Shock, probably. He's fine," Gisei took Saya's hands into his own. "Are you okay?"

"I- " Saya looked at Baiko and then back up at Gisei. "I don't know."

Gisei held Saya closer to him, and she embraced him. She buried her face in the fur around his collar and began to cry. It was a silent sob that shook her whole body. The two of them stood together, a moment of just the two of them suspended from time.

Chongyun dug the toe of his boot into the dirt. He looked at the two and then at the blood pouring from Baiko's wrist. Chongyun pulled some bandages out of a bag at his side. He slowly wrapped it around and tightened it to stop the blood flow. Saya would probably be upset if he actually did die.

Saya released Gisei and took a step back. She wiped the tears off her cheeks with her sleeves and took a deep breath. "I'm okay," She whispered shakily.

"You sure?" Gisei caressed her cheek and whipped away a few tears. Not much of him could be seen, but his every move showed how much he cared.

"I'm sure," Saya took one last deep breath and smiled. "We're here to show Yun around, why don't we head somewhere else?"

~author's note~

I love Gisei, anyways Baiko is another original character. As always, thanks for reading. 

chapter art in game