Chapter 7 - Hana and Touji

    “Excuse me!” I yelled to whoever was there. The whispers ceased immediately. “It would be better for you if you stepped out from there,” I continued. There was a hesitated shuffling from behind the bushes, and I saw a foot poke out. Then, the whole body of the young black haired boy followed. He was probably only nine, dressed in a shirt and dirty shorts along with some sandals..

    A small girl with brown hair followed. She looked around eight, dressed in a cute but dirty blue skirt and gray shirt, wearing her own worn-down sandals. I felt my gaze soften at the sight, and I motioned for them to come over to my place. The boy smiled and the girl took his hand. They both raced over to me happy as can be. I smiled at them, and the two sat down.

    “Hello there,” I said.

    “Hi!” The children said in unison. As I looked closer at them, I noticed they were almost twins!

    “What are your names?” I asked. They looked at me for a moment.

    “I’m Hanako, but you can call me Hana! And this is Touji!” the girl named Hanako told me, pointing at her and Touji. “What’s your name?” she asked with her black pools of eyes, full of curiosity.

    “Me?” I asked playfully pointing to myself. Hanako nodded. “I’m…,” I hesitated. ‘What should I do?!…,’ I thought. After thinking it over, I came to a decision.

    “I’m Yuki!” I said happily. Hana’s face lit up.

    “Do you like to go and see kami-sama too?!” she asked enthusiastically. I nodded with a smile. “Want to go with me and Touji-nii to see kami-sama today?” I tapped my finger on my chin playfully.

    “Well, my clothes are hanging here to dry. Plus, I’m waiting for someone,” I told her, Hana looked crestfallen.

    “Will you be here tomorrow?” she asked.

    “I don’t know. Me and the person I’m waiting for are traveling around everywhere,” I told her. Hana had a sad face. “Hmmmm… but maybe when the person I’m traveling with gets back, we can all go look at kami-sama!” I told her.

    “Yay!” Touji and Hana cheered in unison. Just then Shika-san stepped into our area. He looked shocked when he noticed the two children. Shika-san looked at me questioningly and I smiled. It seemed to reassure him because he walked over to me, Hana, and Touji.

    “Hello,” Shika-san greeted them hesitantly.

    “Hi! Are you the one traveling with Yuki-nee?” Hana asked. Awww, how nice. She thinks of me as a big sister! Kawaii! (cute) Shika-san nodded, setting down a bag hopefully filled with food.

    “Yay! Will you come to see kami-sama with us? PLEASE?!” she begged. Shika-san was startled but agreed, placing our things high in the tree. When everything was secure high enough to his liking, our group of four started to walk through the woods.

    “Yuki…” Shika-san called quietly. “Who are they?”

    “They are Hana and Touji, who accidentally found our campsite. Is there a problem?” I asked.

    “No, its just that the girl seems to have become attached to you. We cant have anyone tagging along. Especially if they have parents,” Shika-san told me. I nodded.

    I had become a little ticked at Shika-san, talking about such a dark subject in the middle of our happy walk! “Shika-san, I know what you mean. Lets just have a little fun today!” I told him. He sighed. Hana and Touji were standing ten feet in front, waiting for us. I jogged to them and we talked and laughed until the end of our walk, Shika-san trailing from behind.

    After a few hours, most likely around 7:00 pm, for the sun was setting, we ended our walk. “Okay guys, this has to be goodbye,” I told Hana and Touji. Hana became sad, so did Touji. “Aw, don’t be sad. It was fun, right?” I asked.

    “Yea…” Hana whispered. Suddenly, she burst into tears. “I d-don’t want t-to go!” she exclaimed. I bent down and hugged her. Hana cried for a few minutes more before stopping.

    “Its alright, Hana-chan,” I told her softly in attempt to make her feel better. Touji hugged Hana as she started to cry again. “I’m sure your mom and dad are waiting for you at home right now,” I continued. It didn’t work, and Hana just cried harder.

    Meanwhile, lets check in with Shika-san who just stood there watching like a heartless, EMOTIONLESS-- well, he stood there looking dumbfounded. A few times it appeared he was going to say something comforting to Hana, but he didn’t.

    “Speaking of which, where are your mom and dad?” I asked, pulling away. This question had racked my mind ever since I first saw them. I mean, why would someone leave two children outside to wander into the forest?!

    “Mom-(hic)ma, and d-(hic)daddy died,” Hana said through hiccups. I looked questioningly at Touji, who nodded “yes”. They had lost their parents too. Okay, so only my mom died, but ever since then it seemed as though dad had died with her, only living on the outside. This was when he started to rule with such coldness.

    I looked at Shika-san, my eyes pleading to let the two stay. 
   
    “Yuki, I need to talk to you,” Shika-san told me sternly. “Alone,” he ordered. I reluctantly pulled away from the two kids and followed him to the other side of the clearing where they could not hear us.

    “We had an agreement. You showed me that you understood; we cant have any more people, let alone children!” Shika-san told me. It kind of felt like Shika-san was acting like Father when he would order me around. I cant really explain it, but right then, I despised Shika-san.

    “They have no parents! Are we supposed to just LEAVE them?!” I argued. I would not hold anything back, I didn’t regret arguing with Shika-san, he had to understand. “They have nowhere to go! I cant let that pass, especially if I have to rule this very country one day!”

    Shika-san looked completely shocked that I had talked back to him in such a way, I never yelled at anyone unless they had SEVERELY ticked me off(which was rare enough, I’m quite patient).

    “Yuki, we cant, I don’t know if the place we are to live in will accept them. Me and mom only arranged for me and you,” Shika-san replied. At this, I was at a loss of what to say.

    “Please…,” I pleaded one last time. I stared at Shika-san; I saw his eyes falter with what seemed as guilt, but it was only for a second. It was silence for at least three minutes before Shika-san spoke.

    “We’ll see how far we can get them…,” Shika-san said in a barely audible whisper. I could feel my eyes light up with happiness. I jumped at him and gave him a hug before going back over to the two orphans. I think I saw a tinge of pink gracing his cheeks in the moonlight, but I cant be sure.

    “Hey…,” I called to them, at Hana’s side yet again. Both of the children looked at me. “Were going to the mountains. You can come with us if you want,” I told them.

    Hana hugged me, Touji hugging my leg. “Arigato, Yuki-nee!” Hana exclaimed. I stood up with her still in my arms and looked thankfully at Shika-san. I saw a smile flash, but it disappeared just as soon as it came.

    Hana and Touji detached themselves from me and bear-hugged a startled Shika-san. He was frozen for a moment, but then gave in. Shika-san pulled away a few seconds after-- much to the displeasure of the two children.

    “But you need to earn your stay!” he told them, trying to sound stern. Hana and Touji nodded and saluted him in a playful way. I laughed and began to help Shika-san retrieve our things from the tree.

    Shika-san started to cook a something over the fire, along with apples. While the thing was cooking over the fire, Shika-san pulled out a blanket from the bag he had brought earlier. So when everyone went to bed, me and Hana shared a blanket, while Shika-san and Touji shared the new one.

    I’m not mad at Shika-san anymore. It would appear he does have a heart as well as emotions. Jeez, the amount of things I have to repay Shika-san and Kohiko for sure are building up.

A/N: Yes, you hate me for not updating in forever, dont you???

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