Light of the Dragon's Eye

Chapter Thirteen

AKIRA'S POV

My eyes snap open immediately. It's still dark, around midnight, but that's the perfect time for me. I have to leave after all. And I can't let anyone see me, not even the villagers. Yamato and Elder Shiro already know what's going to happen, even if they don't know when. By the time they get the news in the morning, I'll be long gone.

I have some business to take care of, anyway.

On a side note, Eclipse finally found me, thankfully not arriving at the palace. Apparently, she spotted Ren and was hungry, so she waited to find him and saw me. Yes, I can understand my pet hawk. If people talk to their dogs in baby voices, knowing they won't understand whatever the dog says, why is it weird that I can speak to my bird when I know I'll receive an answer?

I don't know where Ren is right now. Probably off raiding the kitchens in town. Hopefully he'll come back in time to come with me. But I have to get going.

I stealthily scale down the walls of the building, while getting a glimpse through the window of the room that used to be mine. Kai is sleeping on his side with a light snore, and a tiny ball of fur appears to be pummeling his back. Ren? The small fox turns around and spots me, its expression lighting up. I hold out my hand and he scrambles onto my shoulder, nestling against me. Eclipse is high in the sky, on the lookout for restless villagers.

I finally hit the ground softly, and make my way towards the weapons shop a couple yards away. I climb in through a window on the lower floor, and carefully choose what I'll need to take with me. Bow and arrows...already have a dagger...but maybe another would be good. I grab a small, sword from the shelf and slip it into my boot, so that I at least have one concealed weapon. I don't leave just yet, though. I'm not a thief, so I leave a small bag with 1,000 ling on the counter. (Ling is the currency, both plural & singular) It's a small price to pay, considering the trouble I caused the shop's owner the last time I was here. After seeing my skills, everyone wanted to fight me, so they 'borrowed' some weapons from here, and I destroyed every last one. Granted, maybe waiting five years to pay him back is a while, but better late than never. Right?

I sling the quiver of arrows over my head so that it goes over cloak, and drop my bow in it as well. I shoulder my spear and leave, with Ren sleeping against my spear shaft.

Before I leave, I have one more stop to make. A small house on the edge of town, with lilies and daisies growing around it. With one poor little girl living there. Her name is Izumi.

I slip inside, into her room. She sleeps peacefully, but her small features twist with pain. "Mommy...Daddy hurt..Mommy..." I frown, and gently stroke her light blonde hair. Her expression softens, and I continue to stroke her hair. A memory flashes through my head.

Wow! Kiwa-chan is so sthwong an' cool!! I wanna grow to be like Kiwa-chan someday!!

I sigh, and gently press my lips against her forehead. "You keep dreaming Izu, and find another thing to wish for. Don't grow to be like me," I murmur. I reach into the bag of supplies I gathered (and payed for, by the way) and pull out a small feather, dark brown streaked with gold, one of Eclipse's. Red-tailed hawk feathers symbolize bravery, and Izumi has plenty of that. She deserves to let everyone know. I set it down on the bedside table, a parting gift, and finally leave.

In a few minutes, I've reached the village gate, where Abi & Zen stand watch. I mentally curse. I was counting on their laziness to allow me an easy escape, but the one night I need it, they have to be awake. Well, taking them out without too much noise will be easy.

I sneak up behind the two, and swing the butt of my weapon at their heads. Not too hard, just enough to knock them out. Unfortunately, as soon as it hits Zen's head, knocking him out, Abi blocks it with his short sword. My eyes widen. His reflexes have improved.

He stares at me uncomprehendingly, and whispers, "I have no idea what you're doing, Kira, but nothing you say is going to-" I cut him off by leaning in and blowing in his ear. His entire face goes slack and red. "Going down..." he faints.

I smirk at them. "You guys are such dorks..." I whisper, and then make to leave. Suddenly, a voice calls out softly. "Where do you think you're going, Akira?"

I turn to see a pair of furious green eyes.

KAI'S POV

I'm enraged. Seething, livid, infuriated, you name it. What was she doing?!?!?

No matter how angry I am, I grit my teeth and keep it level. "Akira," I speak slowly. "What are you doing?" She looks surprised. "How did you find me?" I smile humorlessly. "That little rat on your shoulder kept punching me in the back after you went onto the roof. It didn't hurt, but it was kind of like a massage, so I just didn't do anything and fell asleep. A few hours later, I don't feel any tiny fists pounding into my shoulder blades, so I figured that something was up. So I look out the window and what do I see?" I step closer so that she can hear the rage in my words. "A little tiger girl running away. So, I'll ask you again. Where. Are. You. Going?"

She stares at me for a moment, then grins coldly. "Away, Your Majesty. You see,  I don't have the time, patience, or quite frankly, the kindness to coddle little princesses and look after a little boy and his brother. So, I'm leaving." My fists clench and I feel the urge to punch a wall. "So you don't care about what happens to Ichiro? To me?" She taps her chin in mock thought. "Hmmm...ah, hang on..........nope. Never did care, and I don't plan on starting now. Anymore questions?"

I gape at her, astounded at how easily these horrific words flowed from her mouth, disgusted by how serene her face was, how much truth filled those sparkling silver eyes of hers. I start to lose my patience. "If you never cared in the least, why did you protect us all those years? Why'd you bring us here?" Akira just sighs. "I took the job of protecting you because it gave me a place to stay. As long as you were alive, I'd have food to eat and a roof over my head. And now, since you can't provide me with either, I'm leaving. I brought you here as a sort of farewell act if you will. You guys can live out your lives in peace, or you could go and try to win your kingdom back. I really don't care what you do."

"What if I don't let you leave?" I ask angrily, blocking her way out of the village. She blinks, then smirks. Suddenly, I feel something cold and sharp against my neck. "Then I kill you, leave you somewhere where no one could find you, and be on my way," she says slowly, holding her knife against my throat. My eyes widen. "You wouldn't dare," I say quietly. She presses the blade into my neck. "Wanna bet?"

I feel the cool metal break my skin, and step away from her. "Fine. Leave." She smiles, sheathes her dagger, and walks past me. "Goodbye, Prince Kai."

She's leaving. She's leaving.

What am I doing?

"Akira! Wait!" I spin around to stop her, to convince her to stay.

But all that's left is the scent of cinnamon lingering in the cool night air.

1. When Eclipse met up with Akira finally, she gave Akira a sort of 'knowing' look. Akira was all like, "The heck's wrong with my hawk?" But Eclipse just 'smiled' knowingly (can hawks smile?) and nudged Akira in the ribs with her wing, like wink wink nudge nudge. Akira finally caught on, and threatened to pluck all of the hawk's feathers out, one at a time. Eclipse didn't do anything else, and flew off. When she came back and they decided to leave, as Akira slid down the wall, she could've sworn that she saw a K + A in a heart scratched onto the brick. Those scratches looked suspiciously like talon marks...

2. When Eclipse saw that her lunch - oh, my bad, I mean Ren - had become Akira's new travelling companion, she was furious. No, seething. No, wait - actually, if you want all the proper adjectives, use the ones listed above when Kai was mad, they work in this scenario. Ren, on the other hand, was delighted that he had protection from his longtime enemy's master, and took this opportunity to show off a little. He danced tauntingly on Akira's shoulder, yipped out insults in animalese, and even turned around and smacked his rear while sticking his tongue out at the hawk. Eventually, Akira was annoyed and made him walk on the ground behind her. You can bet that Eclipse had the time of her life getting back at Ren after that.

3. Before Kai had woken up to find Akira, he was having a very strange dream. In it, he was 10 feet tall, extremely ripped, and was beating the heck out of Yamato, who was crying anime tears and screaming for his mommy. Oh, and Akira was sitting nearby, watching with hearts for eyes. Go figure.