Forgotten But Not Lost

5

"You think it's done yet?" Itsukushima idly wondered as they listened to the soft crackle of the fat from the meat skewers they had around their campfire.
"

The skewers are done, but I think we should let the soup soak in the broth for a little longer. Shirou replied, checking on their meal.
Usually a Hunter Trainee would be taken outside the city walls on their final two days of lessons, after five long days of training with the bow and machete. During this time, they would be shown how to track animals, identify edible plant life and natural bug repellents, as well as set up temporary camping sites. However, after a thirty-minute demonstration of Shirou's skills with a bow and melee weapon on the first day, Itsukushima had simply shrugged his shoulders and suggested a more extended camping trip.
They each took one of the skewers of meat from the fire and moved to the edge of the included space they used as a camping site, placing the kebabs on the ground and giving a prayer to the Goddess Eldritch, thanking her for protecting them on the hunt. They always made offerings to Eldritch, though the type or quantity never really matter. The food was symbolic anyways, Eldritch didn't want to eat it, she just enjoyed the fact that she was in their thoughts.
Shirou actually kind of liked the Goddess Eldritch, who reminded him of an overly pleased house cat that demanded everyone's attention, though he would never dare tell her that. Eldritch often visited Hunters in their dreams, taking on the form of a giant white wolf. While she was a very kind individual, Shirou had been shocked the first time it happened, and embarrassed when she asked him about why there were so many weapons in his dreams. Even though he had only walked around the city for a single day, he had picked up just shy of a thousand of them to add to the narrow beach in his mind.
She was curious about it, but not so curious as to forget to demand that Shirou demonstrate his faithfulness to her in the form of belly rubs and scratching that one spot behind her ear. Itsukushima had been right when he had said that Eldritch was a lot more laid back and friendly than Lumiaris, the god worshipped by the Priests and Paladins. She had no strict prayers or oaths that must be followed. So long as you recognized yourself as being a part of her pack, that was good enough for her. All Hunters were her children, and like a doting mother, she loved them.
Returning to the campfire, the two started to eat their meals. "Shirou, someday you are going to make a woman very very happy." Itsukushima said as he bit into the meat. "I expect grandchildren, and lots of them."
Shirou had found himself enjoying cooking with the natural spices and grains that grew in the forest. He knew that the plant life was different then where he had come from, so his cooking wasn't perfect and still required much experimentation, but the simple act of cooking made him feel happy. He did however, wish that he had a real kitchen instead of just a simple campfire to work with.
"Please stop saying that Sensei. It wasn't funny six days ago. It isn't funny now." Shirou said as he took his own skewer and took a bite. He needed to find a way to grind up the spices better. It was too chunky in some spots, making some bites too different from the others. While he would say that the food was passable, it was only barely.
Checking on the soup again, Shirou looked around the campsite that they had been living in for the last seven days. There was a small sack with the loot they had gathered while hunting the mud goblins in the forest, the entire contents of which was probably only worth around one silver, as well as a few pelts from the animals they had hunted for their food, fifteen of them in total. There were a few smaller rabbits and wild mirumi furs, a type of animal that looks like a small flat faced tiger and was about the size of a bobcat, Itsukushima said that there were domesticated breeds of these animals that were similar to large house cats, but the wild ones tended to be rather aggressive. There were also two deer hides and one skin from an animal that they called a horned mane dog which had the misfortune of having tried to make the two Hunters it's dinner, not realizing where it lay on the food chain.
The deer hides Itsukushima had showed him how to properly sick and tan, a process that had taken a good two days, but had resulted in some good hard leather. The rest of them they had just skinned and cleaned. The skins were soft, so he would keep them to use as blankets and pillows. As for the leather, he and Itsukushima had tried to figure out how to make bracers and caps out of the stuff. They mostly failed, only producing a single usable bracer, but it had been fun to try and Shirou would only really need one for his archery anyways, in order to protect his arm from being lashed by the bow string.
It wasn't like they could have sold the stuff, since the Tanning Guild would have had their hides if they tried.
It just gave Shirou the slightest bit of an itch, knowing that he had used goblin brain matter in order to oil the skin during the tanning process. He wasn't sure why it had to be goblin brains, since they already had the deer's brains on hand, but Itsukushima had insisted they use goblin brains.
"Hard to believe it's been seven days." Shirou said, judging that the soup had been cooking for long enough and raising if from the fire to cool. He brought out the small tin bowls and scooped out some of the soup for each of them.
"I guess. It's been a long time since I last camped out for this long." Itsukushima admitted, taking the bowl from Shirou. "You might be the most talented student the guild has ever seen. I just wish I could actually teach you something useful."
"You've taught me more than enough. The entire reason I decided on the Hunter's Guild was because I didn't think I could learn anymore about weapon combat. It was tracking and survival I needed." Shirou said. Off in the distance, the sunset behind the trees.
"It's officially been seven days. Congratulations on your graduation. You're an official Hunter now." Itsukushima said. "I know there isn't much I can teach you, but don't be a stranger. If you ever want to drop by the Guild Hall for a visit, I'd be happy to have you."
"I'll be sure to." Shirou said smiling a bit to himself, letting himself feel the last glows of happiness. Tomorrow, he would have to face the music for having joined the Hunter's Guild. Rin would almost definitely chew his ass off.
Oh well, it was worth it.
Rin stood outside of the barracks in the part of the city which would normally be called the slums. They had all agreed to meet there after their training, giving them a chance to drop off any extra baggage they might have before they when on their first 'mission', for lack of a better term. Not that many of them would have extra items. Rin sure didn't. All she had were the clothes on her back, her staff and the clothes she had first shown up with at the tower as spares.
She was dressed in the worn and patched together second-hand dress that was given to her upon completing her training with the Mage's Guild. The black short dress was a little loose around the chest, making her feel a little bit self-conscious, but hopefully no one would notice. She wouldn't spend the money needed to replace or resize it, not until she was sure that she had already gotten everything she needed to insure her own and the rest of the groups survival. Necessity had to come before comfort.
She didn't wear the witch's hat. While it might have been nice to shield your eyes from the sun, it provided zero strategic value, and would limit her field of vision. Plus, while it looked cute on Megumin, there was an age limit to its cuteness, and Rin felt she had passed that line.
Rin had been more than just successful in her Mage Training. She had completed the normal seven-day hazing experience in three days without breaking a sweat and had spent the rest of the time learning as many low rank spells as she could afford. She had managed to learn five different low-level spells in those four days, and would have learned more and more powerful spells, if money hadn't been a concern.
The mentor she had been assigned to, the Wizard Sarai, said that she had been more than just talented and that she was a rare genius when it came to magic. This was partly due to her ability to use any kind of magic regardless of element.
While most mages only had a strong connection to one or two elements, limiting what spells they could learn, Rin had been able to easily learn all of the elements. Not only that, but she had an extraordinary amount of endurance and was able to cast far more spells before depleting her magic supply than any other trainee they had ever seen.
Megumin had also apparently done well while she had been practicing and had found time to learn a second spell before they left the Guild. She had seemed extremely excited about it, but had refused to tell Rin what it was, saying she wanted it to be a surprise. Normally Rin wouldn't have let it slide, but seeing the little girl skipping around in her witch's hat with a cape fluttering behind her, she decided to just let the child have her have her fun.
Yukari, the third girl to join the Mage's Guild, hadn't found the time for extra training but had voiced that she would be sure to return to learn more magic as soon as she found the time.
This situation was an unforeseen consequence to having distributed that money in the beginning, in that those talented enough to have pressed through their training quickly or bought equipment that would help them, and who would be the most likely to leave the others behind, would also be the ones who would be the most hurting for money at the moment. Meaning the ones who would be pressured to break off from the group if they couldn't bring in enough money to support a large group.
Rin cursed the world for its unforeseen consequences. The money that was supposed to have been to help the group as a whole survive was now going to be a sticking point with them.
Well, if people did try to break off, then it couldn't be helped. She would just have to stay behind in order to take care of the others… which would mean she herself wouldn't have the money and resources needed to start trying to look into the magic that brought them into this world…
DAMMIT! Why did it always have to come back to the money!? It wasn't just the root of all evil, it was also the root of all the pain in her ass!
"Rin, is that you?" Another girl said, dragging Rin out of her thoughts. The girl had walked straight up in front of Rin, but she hadn't recognized her until she had spoken.
"Sara?" Rin replied, more than a little surprised. More than just a change from the baggy clothes she had been in into the hard leather armor given to Paladin Recruits, Sara's hair had been cut down into a bowl cut and her glasses were missing. She actually looked a lot prettier without her thick glasses. "I hardly recognized you."
"Y…yes. I know." Sara said, flushing with embarrassment. "The Master of Arms who was in charge of my training said that longer hair can get you into trouble and made me cut it short, and I broke my glasses during training."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Rin said politely. "Other than that, did the training go well?"
Sara's bottom lip trembled before she let out a small squeaking reply. "No…"
"Sara, what's the matter." Rin asked as the girl started to tear up.
"I… I'm sorry. I just… The Master of Arms was always yelling at me. He was constantly saying that… that I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn." Sara said, trying to wipe away her tears. "I couldn't help it. I'm far-sighted, so after I broke my glasses, it just became so hard to see what was happening right in front of me, so I couldn't tell where I was supposed to swing my sword."
Rin's heart sank. Sara was far-sighted. Meaning that now they had a Paladin who was basically blind once the enemies got too close to her. As she was now, she would be almost completely dead weight to the party, and if the others found out about it, it could cause even more problems.
They would need to get Sara some new glasses… which would take money. Probably a lot of it. Even the more wealthy buildings in the city didn't have glass windows, so glass was probably expensive, and without ways of judging the exact shape to make the lens to fix her sight, they would probably have to go through multiple trials to find something that worked.
OH GOD! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SO EXPENSIVE TO BE A GOOD PERSON!
Even though she was screaming on the inside, Rin maintained her calm outward demeanor as she offered Sara her support.
"Hey, its alright." Rin said patting Sara on the small of her back. "We'll just have to find a way to get you some new glasses. Until then, we figure out a way to work around this. How good are you with your shield?"
"I'm… I'm okay with it." Sara admitted through her sniffles.
"Alright then, we'll keep you towards the rearguard and you can help shield the backline in case anyone gets through the vanguard." Rin said as she continued to pat the girl's back.
"Thank you, Rin. You're a good friend." Sara said. Her words almost made Rin pause.
Friend. For some reason it felt weird to be called that. Almost as though Rin wasn't used to having friends. Why would that be? She had a perfectly charming personality and was good at pleasing people. So why would she have found it hard to make friends in her previous life?
"Wow, looks like we weren't the only ones who had a hard time of it during training." Yui said as she joined the group, followed by the three boys who had joined the Warrior's Guild. Yui had been the despair girl who had grabbed onto Shirou's arm back during that first morning. She had joined the Priests guild, along with another girl, Niko.
After looking around again, Rin spotted Niko drifting around behind the three boys. She was shorter and flatter than even Rin, with short cropped bright green hair and slightly darker skin. Both her and Yui were dressed in the white and blue priest robs that were given out to trainees. Which surprisingly good shape compared to the stuff that the others were wearing. There were stitches in places were the clothes had been mended, but they lacked the large patches the others had.
"Were we the last one's to arrive?" Riku asked, as the guy walked forward. Tall as ever, standing at around six foot two. His chainmail had gasp in places were the previous owner was no doubt stabbed but was still probably better protection that what most of the rest of them were wearing. While the other two wore helmets, he didn't.
Rin guessed this was because helmets didn't actually come free with entry, and while the others had bought the helmets for the protection against the single deadly hit to the head, Riku had more than likely managed to complete his training fast enough to be able to have enough time for something extra and had thus not had the money for a helmet.
"No, Shirou and Itsuki haven't showed up yet." Rin said with a slight shake of the head. Aoi, the girl who joined the Thief's Guild, was inside the barracks already and looking around. "Speaking of which, Sara, have you seen Shirou? Wasn't he supposed to have joined the Paladin's Guild with you."
"Ah… Actually… the thing is." Sara started to stammer.
Before she could get her words out, Itsuki arrived on the scene. "Hope you all haven't been waiting on me too long." The smug boy said as he walked towards them, a two-hand sword strapped to his hip and a skull necklace around his neck.
The group just stared at him for a few seconds before someone spoke. "Itsuki, what's with that sword, and where's your bow?" Touma said as he looked the boy up and down.
"Well, I figured that the Hunter's guild wouldn't be a very good use for my talents, so instead I joined the Dread Knight's Guild." Itsuki said, pointing towards the skull necklace.
"You… idiot!" Riku shouted at him. "You were supposed to have become a Hunter so that we could have another scout on our team! What were you thinking!?" The larger boy would have stepped forward to try to throttle the kid, but Rin lifted an arm to stop him. She might not have been big enough to stop him, but he hadn't really needed all the much persuading to stop.
Rin only gave a sigh of disappointment. Honestly, compared to Sara's near blindness, this was hardly more than a hiccup on the road to success. While the idiot would be stuck as a Dread Knight, they could still just get one of the other boys to change from Warrior to Hunter after they got enough money… money… money… *groan*
"But I am a scout. Dread Knights are capable of summoning demons who can tell us when enemies are nearby." Itsuki said smugly.
"Huh, is that true?" Yui asked, looking surprised.
"Partially." Rin admitted. "Dread Knights can only summon their demons at night, due to the influence of the Light God weakening them during the day. They can overcome this weakness by collecting enough vises, but it would take hundreds of them before he could summon a demon during the middle of the day, which is when we will be working." Rin said with a sigh. "Plus, the key word he said when describing the demon's ability to alert him is the word 'can'. The demon itself gets to decide whether or not to provide assistance. And since the demon serves a god of death more than the Dread Knight, it would more than likely just lead us straight into the enemies rather than away from danger, so I wouldn't call it a scout."
"Itsuki, you idiot." Yui said, giving her own sigh, ticking the boy off.
"Doesn't matter. A Dread Knight is a perfectly capable frontline fighter, so he will still be able to help the party in fights. We will just have to do with only one scout for now." Rin said with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Not quite." They all turned around to see Shirou standing there, four small sack bags thrown over one shoulder and a bow and quiver over the other. At his waist was both the sword he had gotten from Bri as well as an old machete. He was dressed in a brown tunic with dark pants and on his right arm was a leather bracer. He stood there, looking at them, or at Rin, with a nerves smile. "I spotted Itsuki when he was going to the Dread Knight's Guild, so I switched to the Hunters Guild so that we would still have a hunter in our group."
Rin blinked at him, her jaw falling open. Her arms started to shake slightly. "You… you… MORON!" She shouted at him, surprising the rest of the group. "Out of all the people, why did it have to be you!?"
"H…hey. What's the problem, we needed a Hunter and now we have one, right? We still got plenty of front line fighters left." Touma said, giving Shirou a nerves glance.
Actually, several of them were giving Shirou sidelong looks. They still remembered how Shirou had nearly killed commander faggot, and while that had made them all desperate to be on Shirou's team, it had also made them rather scared of him. He had show an unusual willingness to kill people.
Rin could logically agree that she should have been more frightened about the kinds of things that Shirou could do to her with that sword, but she just wasn't. Honestly, she couldn't find it in her to be afraid of him. Whenever she looked at him she could only feel either proud of herself or a sense of tired annoyance.
Rin took a deep breath, trying to regain herself before she lost face before continuing. "It would have been a good thing if it had been anyone else. But it was extremely important that Shirou become a Paladin." Rin said with a sigh. "While Warriors are good at handling enemies with number, Paladin's excel at one on one combat with more powerful enemies. With their defensive skills and blessings, they can better avoid and absorb attacks from stronger enemies much better than Warriors, and they possess a skill that greatly increases the cutting power of their weapons, letting them cut through tougher enemies. They are almost mandatory if you want to reliably handle large armored enemies. And if someone as skilled as Shirou became a Paladin then our group would be well set up to handle elite monsters."
"Well… he could still change Guilds later, right? It isn't like we are going to be fighting elite enemies right away." Riku suggested.
"No, he can't." Yui said, shaking her head. "The Priest and Paladin Guilds don't accept anyone who has had a God other than Lumiaris. Since the Hunters all worship the White Goddess, that means they can't join."
"Shirou, you idiot." Rin groaned weakly. "I wanted a Saber and ended up with an Archer instead."
Suddenly, both her and Shirou froze. Something about what she had said felt familiar though she couldn't place it. Just like before, she found the words and thoughts slipping away from her. Disappearing like mist even as she tried to grab at the.
Oh well, it wasn't like they were really anything impor…
NO! She wouldn't just give it up. They meant something. But what was it. Come on Rin, think. Archer and… Archer and…
She had already forgotten one of the words, and she could feel the other one slipping through her fingers. She tried to cling to it and not let it go.
Archer. Archer. Archer.
"Rin, are you alright?" Sara said, bringing Rin back to reality.
"Yes I'm fine." Rin said, trying to keep herself looking calm. "Just dealing with a minor headache here." She added, throwing Shirou a look before sighing. "There isn't anything we can do about it now. I just hope that you are good with that bow, Archer." She said, putting a bit of force behind the final word.
Shirou flinched. "Archer?" He said, raising an eyebrow.
"If you want to be a Hunter so bad, then that will be your new nickname. Archer. Got a problem with it?" Rin asked, giving a not so innocent smile. Archer. It would be her way of making sure she never forgot. Archer. Every time she looked at Shirou and every time she spoke to him, it would remind her of what she was trying to do. Archer.
She would not forget.
Shirou frowned. It was more of a frown to show that he was thinking rather than a frown at Rin herself. "Actually, being called that pisses me off a little for some reason."
"Well Archer, you should have thought of that before you became a Hunter, because how you're stuck with it." Rin said smugly.
"You really are a witch." Shirou replied with a short sigh.
Rin's mouth twitched into a smile, though she didn't really understand why. "Alright, we've spent enough time just talking here. There are four people per room here. So I've already reserved three rooms."
"Huh, wait, doesn't that mean that one of us guys gets to stay in a room with three girls?" Itsuki said, his face twisting into a grin.
"What, no way!" Yui shouted indignantly. "Girls and guys can't room together!"
"If we make enough money today to make us feel comfortable about our situation, then we will rent another room tonight. Otherwise we won't waste the money. Besides, it isn't like where are going to be sleeping in the same bed, or naked or something. So it isn't a big deal." Rin said with a shrug. "If you don't want to sleep in a room with a guy in it, that's fine. One of the rooms will be all girls anyways."
"It really isn't very appropriate, but I suppose it is necessity. We need to focus on conserving our resources as much as possible." Shirou said, scratching his chin.
Rin looked over the boys before her eyes settled on Shirou. "Well Archer, it looks like you are going to be sleeping with the girls tonight."
Shirou blinked in surprise. "Why me?" He said, more puzzled than offended.
"Because you are the only one who isn't visibly horny at the idea." She said, pointing towards the other four boys who were squirming around a bit with flushes on their faces.
"Ah, I see." Shirou said with a sigh, before any of the other boys could argue the point. "I'll just go put my stuff away then." He said, starting to walk towards the barracks before stopping. "By the way, one of these sacks is full of leftover pemmican from my hunting exercises, if anyone's hungry."
Niko, who had been in a dazed state throughout everything that had been said suddenly shot up. "Food!" She shouted, quickly taking the indicated bag away from Shirou and starting to eat the dried meat which was covered in some sort of dried berry paste that stuck to the fat of the meat.
It actually did smell pretty good.
The day was not going well, and Rin had no reason to believe it would get any better.
She would just have to do her best to make sure everyone survived.
For those of you who have been asking, I'm going to get an editor eventually. I'm just waiting until after I start my next medication trial.
Until then I want to pump out as much as I can before my interest in the world comes crashing down again.