Just A Kid

Chapter 18

"Araile? Araile! Snap out of it!" Shinrai said in an annoyed tone, and Araile blinked as she snapped out of a daydream and back to reality.

"Sorry Shinrai, I was just thinking," she murmured as she took out her katana, and got into a fighting stance.

Araile and Shinrai practised sparing with their katanas for about an hour when her mind started wondering again. In her mind's eye, she could see fire billowing out of a window and heard someone screaming.

White-hot pain shot through her head suddenly, causing her to cry out. She dropped the katana and clutched her head with both hands. The katana hit the grass with a sharp 'clang'. She dropped to her knees; a slight ringing sound resonating within her ears. She could dimly hear Shinrai calling out her name, and feeling a hand being put on her shoulder. As the minutes passed the pain slowly faded away, leaving Araile breathless as sweat rolled down her cheek.

"You were thinking about it again, weren't you?" Shinrai said gently as he sat down beside his friend.

Araile glanced at him and heavily sat down, raising a shaking hand to wipe away the sweat.

"It's not my fault. I can't help it," she sighed.

Shinrai sat still for a couple minutes. He finally stood up after being in deep thought.

"Wait here. I'll get Kazoku to lend me some ointment," he stated as he ran off, causing Araile to let out a groan.

That ointment always smelled really funny and tasted disgusting. She stood up and looked to where Shinrai was, and began walking around the training grounds.

'Why do I always think about that certain place? It's like a distant memory, but yet...I can't exactly remember what that memory was about. Is it a memory? Why does my head always hurt every time I think about it?' she thought to herself as she wandered further and further among the trees.

Araile finally stopped when she reached an old oak tree; the long branches reaching out to the sky to collect the sun's rays.

"Hello, my friend" she said quietly as she touched the rough bark.

Araile came to this particular tree when she wanted to think, relax, or if she just wanted a peaceful place to sleep. She jumped onto one of the lower branches and sat down. She leaned against the trunk as the wind blew, making some of the branches sway back and forth and the leaves flutter. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, as a fat fuzzy bumble bee buzzed past her hanging tail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A bird's sharp twittering woke Araile from her peaceful slumber, and her eyes snapped open as a bead of sweat rolled down her face. Breathing hard, Araile looked around and yelped in surprise when her eyes spotted someone stood in front of her. The figure stared down at her, and she gave a low growl. A hood covered the majority of the figure's face.

"Who are you? What do you want?" she growled, getting up.

The stranger pushed the hood back, showing their face. The stranger was a man, probably as old as Seishin.

Araile blinked when she looked at his facial features.

His eyes.

His gold eyes seemed to bore into her, and Araile's stomach twisted in nervousness. It was as if this man was looking into her soul. She hesitated before she spoke again.

"What do you want?" she said again, louder this time.

The man continued to gaze at her, making the nine year old shift uncomfortably.

"Araile, it's been a long time," the man spoke, his voice deep and smooth.

"How do you know my name? And what do you mean, 'it's been a long time'?" Araile asked.

The man blinked slowly and took a step towards the girl. She growled and took a step back, her back hitting against the tree trunk.

"Don't you remember me?" the man said as he now stood in front of Araile, his gold eyes still boring into her.

Araile tried and failed to suppress a shiver. The man then reached out with his hand and faintly outlined her facial features as Araile stood still in fear: her eyes, her nose, her mouth and even her pointed ears. Araile's heart pounded furiously in her ears.

"S-stop!" she stuttered as she tried to jump down from her branch.

"You look so much like mother," he murmured as he took a step back, finally taking his eyes off the girl.

"W-what?" she breathed, frozen to her spot as her eyes widened.

"You look like mother," he repeated.

"M-mother?" Araile stuttered.

"While I took after father," the man sighed, looking at Araile again.

'This is crazy! This man is crazy! Who is he?' she thought.

"Who are you!" Araile said, feeling slightly braver as her hands pressed against the tree's trunk.

The man stared at the nine year old, his coat blowing slightly in a breeze.

"It's been a long time, sister," he said simply.

Her heart skipped a beat as he said this, and time seemed to freeze in place.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered, heart beating fast.

The man sighed and rubbed his temples.

"So they haven't told you," he said, as if it was a pity.

"Told me what?!" Araile shouted, shaking slightly.

The man sighed again, pushing a hand through his black hair.

"Never mind," he said, causing Araile to growl.

Araile suddenly heard her name being called, and her eyes darted underneath the giant old oak tree to see Meiyo standing there. She quickly looked back in front of her, but gasped in surprise. The man had disappeared! Araile blinked a couple times, just to make sure he had in fact disappeared.

Yup. Not there.

"Araile! Come on!" Meiyo called again.

Araile jumped down from the branch she was on, and landed in front of her friend.

"Sorry, Meiyo," she said a bit sheepishly.

"That's okay!" Meiyo chirped.

"Just be glad that it wasn't Taiyo who came. Believe me, you don't wanna know what he does," Meiyo added, her voice getting lower and lower to add a scary effect, while her hands started clawing at the air.

The two looked at each other as a minute of awkward silence went by, but burst out laughing.