Earthbound: Champions of the Future

Chapter Fourty One

~ Gaius Rucker's POV ~

Feeling something pressing against my throat, I opened my eyes and waited for my vision to clear up. When I had at least partially woken up, I could see just what was going on.

Needless to say, I wasn't expecting a little kid pointing a sword at my throat.

"Oh," I began. "Is it legal for you to be doing that?"

"Wh-Who are you?" The girl asked, completely ignoring my question. "Wh-Why are you in my house?"

"Oh, this is your place." I realized. "Sorry. It wasn't my idea to take a nap in here. Blame the green fairy."

"Green fairy?" The girl repeated.

I nodded. "Yeah, but enough about that. You hungry? I know I am."

The girl watched as I dug around through my pockets. Eventually, I found two croissants and pulled them out, offering one to her. "You look hungry," I said when she looked confused. "They're not poisoned, I promise. Look, I'll even try mine first."

I took a bite of my own croissant, trying to hold back my smile at the sweetness of the food. "See? Perfectly harmless. Go on, eat up."

The girl blinked before grinning and happily biting into her food, completely disregarding the dangerous weapon she had been holding moments before. "You're really nice, mister." She said. "Sorry for what I did to you earlier."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It could've been much worse. What's your name, kiddo?"

"I'm Akuro!" She introduced. "What about you?"

"Gaius," I replied. I glanced around, noting the empty room. "If I recall correctly, I had at least four other individuals in this room. Any idea where they went or did they just flat out forget about me?"

"I don't really know," Akuro shrugged, finishing off the last of the food I'd given her. "But Kireina got really mad when she found them here and started to attack them."

"A-Attack?" I repeated. "Sheesh, I really must be a heavy sleeper..."

Akuro nodded and glanced at the floor, scraping one of her boots against the wooden floor. "I don't want Kireina to fight them. All of them are my friends, but if I say anything, Kireina might get mad at me..."

"Is this Kireina a friend of yours?" I asked, brushing a hand through my hair in an attempt to tame it.

"Yeah." Akuro nodded. "She's like a sister to me, really. When I lost my real big sister, Kireina became like another big sister."

"If you're that close to her, then I think she'll listen to what you have to say." I told her. "Even if she's aggresive or stubborn or whatever... I have the feeling you'll be able to get through to her."

"Really?" Akuro gasped. "I can save my friends?"

I nodded. "Yep."

Akuro grinned before wrapping her arms around me in a hug. "Thanks, Mr. Gaius! Come on, let's go! Quickly!"

Akuro grabbed my hand, her katana being tightly gripped in her other hand, and I allowed myself to be dragged away to wherever we were going. I just hoped I made the right choice; if this Kireina chick was as overprotective as Akuro let on, then it might have been my head on the chopping block next.

~ ~ ~

"Uh, Akuro?" I began. "Care to give me a reason why I'm being dragged into a dark and rather dangerous looking cave?"