Tsuki ✔️COMPLETE

Chapter 21: The Midlands

By tomorrow they would reach the fork in the road and Hiiro would be heading west without them. The last few days had gone too fast, no matter how slow at times they had seemed. They would restock at Indra's family home, and then it would be around seven to ten more days before they reached the thick of the mountains.

No amount of sight seeing could ease the gnawing anxiety that once they were alone in the mountains, they may find nothing of use at all. If they became stranded, they could miss their connection with Gaku in a month's time and he would have to keep the Disaster for a while longer. That thought stressed her out. He would wait a week for her, she was confident, but much longer could be dangerous for him.

Remembering their run in with Captain Pangea made her shaky. Those rats with their beady red eyes. Overall, she did not consider herself afraid of rats, but those ones were different. They had a human's malice behind them, controlling them.

"How's things?" Hiiro asked, helping Rubi pull up the tent pegs.

"A bit flat." she admitted. "I'm not looking forward to you leaving tomorrow."

"I understand." he replied. "But you're doing something important for Mimi. You care about her a lot."

"I do." she agreed. "She deserves to know where she came from."

She sighed involuntarily.

"And you're going back to where we came from. I can't say I'm not worried. Ubaba might be more upset than happy to see you. Even his well meaning plans for us never exactly happened. And we're Collectors."

"He's our father." Hiiro assured her. "He loves us. Unconditional love conquers all."

Rubi circled Juda around to pack his saddlebags and fix on his nose bag, filled with oats to keep him happy. She looked to Kagemaru, who had become more attached to Fiore over the past few days, talking to him quietly while he brushed his coat. Every morning and every night.

The new pain medicine had finally kicked it, though so early it was hard to tell if it was better than the last. It hit sooner, but seemed to fade faster too. Walking so much sent a definable whoosh through her, making her a little light headed and giddy. It was kind of nice. Like being a little drunk.

That day they made good headway. Clear, smooth roads at a slight incline and amicable weather almost doubled the distance they expected to travel. But it meant the turnoff was soon. Rubi made a point to hover around Hiiro for as long as she could, enjoying his company while she had him.

Sama darted about, possibly a little smitten with Hiiro's willingness to let her climb all over him and swing from his arms like a tree. He and Kai each took one of her hands and swung her between them, making her kick up her legs and laugh wildly. Gods, she really was just a child.

For the first time in days, Rubi also saw Kai's demon. Despite his eerie blue colouring, he faded into the snowy landscape with surprising ease. It was the eyes she saw first. Those opaque red pools and black diamond shard pupils. Kai said he was patrolling their parameters for danger.

The mules seemed to sense him, their ears and eyes picking up something in the trees even before Rubi had seen him. Even Juda was uneasy when he was close. Animals could sense things humans could not. Maybe they sensed the potential danger lurking in the woodlands, like a predator stalking for prey. Rubi was grateful for his protection.

As they set up their camp that night once more, Take'Ichi was startled by a damaged tree branch breaking. He yelped as the wood cracked and with a puff, he vanished, leaving behind a smaller, softer looking version of himself. The panic had not passed and as the new Take'Ichi stumbled away from the sound, her now loose and heavy snow trousers slid down her legs, tripping her and sending her splayed into the bushes on the roadside.