Kingdoms (kaimaki fantasy AU)

Chapter 6: Quick Fight

The following scenes are inspired by the 1998 film "Ever After"

Kaito almost didn't know how Maki was moving so efficiently. He and Maki had barely stopped all day. They only stopped to eat and rest for about 5-10 minutes. Kaito was pretty sure that his feet was starting to blister, which started to slow him down. Maki just kept on walking like she was made of stone, not being able to feel how sore her feet were. She is an assassin, so she must have done things like this a thousand times before if she is moving so nonchalantly. She kept on moving while Kaito was starting to struggle a little. She didn't seem to notice him struggling.

Another thing that bothered Kaito as well, was the fact that Maki refused to open up. He asked her a couple of questions and said random things such as "bet you can't wait to go home" or "today sure is a nice day" and other stuff, to try to spark up a conversation. However, Maki shot down everything he said with silence and walking further ahead of him, leaving him to try to catch his breath by not speaking. She was stubborn. Two can play at that game, Kaito was stubborn too. He didn't like giving up, so maybe when they stop for a break again he can try again.

Maki didn't stop with her walking. She ignored Kaito starting to struggle behind her. She was quite tempted to knock him out so she wouldn't have to deal with him any longer. She knew that he was going to slow her down as she glanced up at the sky. It was late afternoon, slowly fading into the evening. Maki glanced around before stopping at a tree and turning to Kaito as he caught up to her.

"Put your hands together. Interlock your fingers. Palms up." She instructed without hesitating as she slipped off her rucksack.

"Like this?" Kaito asked as he did as he was told. He got his answer when Maki suddenly put her foot on it. She immediately hoisted herself onto his shoulders before jumping up to the lowest branch she could reach. "Whoa! Okay! Next time, please warn me before you do that." Maki ignored Kaito, proceeding to ascend higher into the tree. She watched her step, making sure that the branches would hold her weight before she pulled herself onto them. She needed a better feeling of her bearings. If night fell and she and Kaito hadn't found any form of shelter, they'll be completely exposed to all dangers. As Maki peeked over the tree canopy, she looked all around her. So far all she could see were just trees. In the far distance, she thought that she could see the tiny dot that was Kaito's village. There was an even smaller dark dot that indicated that it was the capital. Apart from that, there was nothing else but trees. This doesn't look good.

Maki suddenly heard something. It sounded like shouting but she couldn't make out anything clear. She descended a little so she could have more of an idea as to what's happening. When she looked down, she rolled her eyes.

What has the idiot done now?

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Kaito tapped his foot a little impatiently as he waited for Maki to come down. She only went up moments ago and disappeared into the canopy. He knows that she's getting more of a sense as to where they were. However, they will lose daylight soon. Hopefully, there was something not too far away and they can rent a room at an inn for the night. Maybe they could get a map that they need too because they can't just wander around aimlessly until the guards catch them. Wanting to give his feet more of a rest, Kaito sat down, leaning back against the tree. As he waited, his mind wandered back to Shuichi and Kaede. He had a feeling that they were okay, but he can't know that for certain. He wished that there was a safe way to communicate with them to know if they were unharmed. If they got hurt because of him protecting Maki, then he'll never forgive himself. If the guards hadn't arrived when they did, Kaito would've preferred it if he and Maki were able to hide for the day until it was safe to sneak her out of the village. However, bad timing meant that it was too risky at that moment.