Magic and Destiny: Fate

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Atsuschi woke with a start as she was splashed with water. Jolting, she sat up, looking around, and noticed someone had tripped, spilling a bucket of water.

The newcomer looked shocked, having tripped over Atsuschi's feet. Limbs sapped with fatigue from the amount of effort traveling through the portal had drained from her body. "Uhnnnn..." he groaned, trying to wake the limbs of the female child's body he possessed. The one, who tripped over him, apologized, trying to help him sit up.

"My apologies miss. I did not see you there."

"It is okay." He looked warily into the eyes of the newcomer. "Thank you for sitting me up. Do you have any water you managed not to spill because of me?" He asked with a dry voice.

"Yes," he said, pulling over the second bucket which only managed to slosh half of its contents over the floor during the incident. "Drink."

Atsuschi did as he was bid to do, and he took a long drink from the ladle in which he was offered. The water was cool, and clear. There must have been a river nearby, which would be perfect in the next several weeks or months of the recovery process that he would be forcing himself through in order to make sure that he was at full capacity before setting on his course for revenge.

"What year is it?" Atsuschi asked the man before him.

"The year is 1436, two decades after the fall of The Black Tyrant." That hit Atsuschi a little too deeply, for he was The Black Tyrant. So it was just eighteen years since he had been captured, and imprisoned in the amulet. This soul, seven hundred and eighteen years of incarceration, not able to move, no one to converse with.

"Thank you for your kindness. Do you have some place in which I can stay to recover?"

"Yes. If you don't mind monks, and a strict way of living, you can stay at the temple for as long as you need to recover."

"I would be most honored to see the halls of your monkhood, and to learn your ways. But I have traveled very far, and my limbs are weak. How far is this temple in which you are traveling?"

"The temple is just a short distance. These were the last two buckets of water that were needed. I have a cart in which to take everything back in big barrels. Let me refill the buckets, and I will take you to the temple in the cart. There is no need for us to walk there."

"Again, thank you. What is your name?"

"My name is Naoki. What is yours?"

"My name is Jane. Jane Adelle. Do you not have a last name?"

Naoki looked at Jane. "When we enter the monk hood, we give up our last names." He knew then, that it was very likely; he would be going back to the same temple in which he originally lived.

"Go. Get your water, and let us be on our way. The monks might be wondering where you are if you are away for too long." He said, closing his eyes, and resting his head against the wall. Eyes closed, in the shade of the building with some fresh and cool water in his stomach, the sleep came rather quickly.

Naoki checked for a pulse, to make sure that Jane was simply passed out, and nothing had actually happened to her. Once he was satisfied, he went back to the river, getting the last of the water that was needed for the day. He even made a couple of extra trips, since there was going to be another person in which to house at the temple.