Kiari peaked through the window near her sofa.
She didn't know why, but she had this unnerving feeling ever since she woke up. It was evening now, though they had already stopped for the break and continued moving.
She could tell that Kouen was feeling the same, he wasn't reading any of scrolls and had his eyes on the windows as well. Something was up but they didn't know what.
For Kouen, it felt as though they were being followed, yet there was nothing that prompted that when he investigated. He already ordered the guards to be on high alert, so things shouldn't be too bad.
They weren't that surprised, it was sort of bound to happen. Their trip had been suspiciously peaceful, though it'd be great if it could stay that way so they could get to the port, which was only a day away now.
Puckering her lips, Kiari sat back down, crossing her arms. She was hoping nothing would happen, and if something did happen, she wouldn't have to use her magic, at least not in front of everyone.
She looked up to Kouen, he held a serious expression, it was actually quite scary, but throughout the days Kiari had spent with him, she'd come to realize that that was pretty natural of him.
With a small gulp, she decided to distract herself by starting a conversation. "Kouen, what are you going to do when we get to the port?" She asked with a soft voice, kicking her feet back and forth.
He glanced at her, releasing the tension he had. "First, we have to get more supplies. After that's done, we'll start heading to the military camp."
"Oh, how long will that take?"
"Only a few days."
"Hm, what are you going to be doing there?" She asked innocently, having a smile. Kouen stayed silent, giving her a blank stare. So she has no idea... Hm...
He cleared his throat, looking away. "Your yukata's sliding off."
"Eh?" She looked down, seeing that one of the sleeves to her white yukata had indeed slid off and exposed her upper chest. Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing any shirt under since it was getting hot.
Her face turned red as she started to process everything.
"Eek! I'm so sorry!"
~
The next day, it was once again early morning. They had finally reached the port last night, and rested in of the nice inns. Fortunately, there was no bandit attack.
Kiari was outside next to the docks with her father that had gone on the ship to make sure everything was alright for departure.
She was changed back into her cheongsam, no longer trusting the yukata.
Sighing she looked around, she had hoped she'd see Kouen but there was no sign of him.
As she was looking, she spotted a small Dango shop that instantly had her walking to it. She had already eaten, but a small snack shouldn't hurt.
She pulled out a small red bag she had, taking out some silver coins. She smiled, her birthday had earned her a lot of money.
"Hello! How much does your Dango cost?" She asked, having a glittering smile as she looked up to the slim man inside the food cart. He was quick to attend to her.
Handing him the money, she snatched the Dango from his hands. "Thanks!" With a gleeful smile, she started to munch away.
Though after she ate the first one and was about to grab the next, she started to feel dizzy.
She froze, widening her eyes, as she looked behind her. The vender had disappeared, being replaced with a large man who she could only assume to be the bandit they had been expecting.
She gulped as she started to wobble, her fear becoming evident in her eyes. "Dad..."
A decade of minutes had passed, Satori was barely starting to get off the ship to get Kiari. He was pretty confident with her being safe since there were people everywhere, specifically guards patrolling.
Humming he looked to the spot where Kiari had been left, confused to not see her there he started to look around.
"Master Satori, there's a message for you." One of the men loading the ship came running up to him with a letter in his hands.
Arching his eyebrow, he took the letter, getting a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Skeptically, he opened it.
His bangs hid his expression as he started to read it.
"Um, Satori sir?" The guy who had given him the letter scratched the back of his head. "Who gave you this letter?" Satori spoke, lifting his head up. His face was dark and painted with upcoming anger.
"Well, they just left on a large ship ten minutes ago."
"Get the ship ready to sail."
"Wait- But we still need-" He froze, staring at Satori and his threatening gaze with fear.
Meanwhile, Kouen was already heading to his next destination. He was reading a scroll until he was stopped when the ride halted.
Suddenly a soldier opened the door. "Master Kouen, sorry for the pause, but we just received some news that might concern you."
He had a glare, setting his scroll down. "What?"
The soldier sweatdropped, "One of the guards on Mr. Satori's ship just sent us a letter saying that the girl that had been traveling with you before has just been kidnapped. They're asking for reinforcements." He finished, reading off the letter with a bland expression.
Kouen's eyes were wide as he took the letter in his hands. Are these kidnappers the ones who we were expecting to attack us? Hm, should I do something? Although she's a magician, I doubt she has any tricks worthy of getting her out of that situation.
"Tch." He looked back to the soldier who was waiting for him to give the orders to proceed.
"Get two horses ready, you and I are going to head back to the port. Tell the rest to set up camp here." He demanded, surprising the guard. "Wait, m-me?"
"Did I stutter?" His eyes narrowed down at the soldier, making him squeak. "N-no! I'll get it done now!"
Two hours passed before Kouen and his one-man army made it back to the port. The ship had already departed and was miles away from the docks.
"Get a boat ready, it doesn't matter the price." He instructed, glancing back to the guard who immediately jumped off his horse and dashed away to find a boat.
Sighing, he got off his horse too, silently thanking the animal for going so fast.
He stared at the ship, it'd take a while to catch up, but that was alright.
~
Kiari fluttered her eyes open, looking up to the blurry wooden ceiling. Her eyes twitched, she was about to go rub them when she found out her hands were tied by a rope behind her back.
She gasped, suddenly recalling everything that happened. Strange men kidnapped her. All the fear came back like a slap to the face as she started to panic inside her head.
What... What do I do?! Her heartbeat quickened, making her breath shorten and grasp for more. She felt she was about to cry as she saw how dark it was when she looked around her.
What do I do?! She thought again, trying to wiggle out of her restraint when she felt the rope around her ankles too.
Her face paled as her tears started to slowly fall down her face. I'm scared...
Going on to her side she pulled up her knees to try and make them fit through her arms. No... I'm not that flexible! Panting, she felt her need for water. I can't use magic in this situation...
Taking a deep and long breath she tried to slowly calm down.
It took a minute but she fixed her thoughts, focusing now on where she was.
Seeing as how the floor with tipping side to side, and the sound of waves hitting the walls. she assumed she was on a ship, maybe the storage room as she spotted the random boxes and objects in the small room she was in.
So... Now it was all about, what was going to happen?
Is it the type of kidnapping where all they ask for is money, or are they going to sell her...? Her eyes widened at her last thought, imagining herself as a slave.
Although she had been told of the possibility of getting kidnapped, she never took it seriously.
It's alright, I'll find a way out...
Closing her eyes she started to fake sleep. Perhaps they'd come and check up on her soon if so, she might be able to catch them off guard. Though, she still had to come up with what'd she do after that. After all, she was a tiny girl surrounded by what'd she assume to be experienced kidnappers.
She froze as footsteps started coming near her. With a deep inhale she prepared herself.
The door creaked open, shutting quickly as the person walked in. Thankfully it seemed to only be one.
She heard a small clack beside her face, possibly a plate of food.
As the person turned her back to her, she peaked her eyes open.
It was a tall and slim woman with short black hair, and a tattoo that traveled all around her body, she couldn't tell if they were connected, or just looked the same. Though what really caught her eye was the small knife in her hand.
Gulping, she thought about her plan again. Maybe I could get that knife... But she looks so strong... I might not be able to...
She slowly and silently sat up, a hard action but she managed. But... This might be the only chance I get! With that final thought, she used her knees to force her to jump and land on her feet, which she was able to do, though she only had a few seconds to retrieve that knife.
The girl started to turn, but Kiari went for it, opening her mouth and thrusting herself onto the woman.
She tried to grab the knife with her teeth, which she would've gotten if it weren't for the fact that the woman before her was quick. She slapped her hard, making her fall painfully on a bunch of boxes.
Her eyes widened as she realized her plan had failed. She looked up seeing the woman chuckle and place her hand on her hip. "Maybe if you weren't tied up you would've managed to get my knife." She smirked, grabbing her small weapon that fell on the ground.
Kiari's face paled as the woman started to walk up to her, twirling the knife in her hands.
"Haha, look at your face, there's fear written all over it! Heh, what were you planning to even do with this knife? Stab me or something and then try to get off the boat? I don't know about you, but that seems a little too risky for a small girl like you." She taunted, pointing the knife at Kiari's chin.
"..." Her lips twitched unable to say anything as she stared at the glinting knife. The woman sighed, bringing her hand back to her hip. "Too bad. I can't ruin you cute little face. By the way, aren't you curious about what we're going to do with you? I'm sure you're more than a little intrigued, no?" With another chuckle. she grabbed Kiari's messy hair, lifting her up and throwing her on the clear floor, making her groan in pain.
She sighed, taking a seat on one of the boxes. "Perhaps your too scared to say anything... Well luckily, I'd love to see your face when I tell you, so, here's our little plan for you." Kiari stared at her with a terrified look. Her mouth started to twitch as she felt the stinging pain in her cheek from the slap.
"You see, originally we had been planning to simply hold you hostage until we got our money, but after taking a good look at you, we decided to add to our plan. With those red eyes and cute face, you could fetch a fine price as a slave. But no worries, perhaps you'll be able to see your father again when he gives us the money. Of course, that is if he does." She had a sickening smile to add with her words.
Kiari wanted to cry but was able to hold it in again, instead gritting her teeth. "Why would you do that...?" She muttered, her eyes being hidden by her hair.
"Eh? Well that's a question." She stood up, crouching next to Kiari and grabbing her hair again, lifting up her face.
"You know... Maybe it'd be alright if you had a few scars, to remind you of how your new life started." She chuckled again, a new cacophony to Kiari's ears.
She gulped once more as the lady took out her knife, dragging the back of it down her cheek. It was cold and had an odd smell to it.
She started panting as she prepared herself for the worst.
Desperately she shut her eyes.
Just as she was felt the knife about to wound her, the sound of it hitting the floor came instead, along with a surprised gasp. A second later she felt a liquid splatter on her body.
Her breathing stopped as she started to open her eyes, seeing a puddle of red on the floor before her. Her eyes instantly widened as she saw the woman had been decapitated.
Gasping, she looked up with a horrified expression, she wanted to scream but no sound came out.
In front of her stood a boy with blood painting his body almost everywhere, his piercing red eyes staring down at her. She started gaping as she realized who it was.
"K-Kouen...?!"