literature

Carvings: Chapter II

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Chapter 2

Izumi woke. After his long night, he had slept almost until noon! Oh well, he reasoned, he was moving on today, last night’s events were behind him and…
“HOLY -!”
He never did finish that phrase. The girl from last night had been sitting on a tree root nearby, waiting for him to waken. When he had, she had taken full advantage of his vulnerable posture and launched herself from her perch in order to tackle him in a massive bear hug.
“Ger-rof!” he managed to mumble out. Then, using his arms and legs, he pried her off, and forcibly projected her across the clearing.
She landed on her rump, and, with amazing dexterity, was back on her feet in moments. Out of instinct, Izumi grabbed his bow from its hiding place and nocked an arrow, drawing the string taunt.
The girl stopped, hands up in defeat. He had her in a place where she would answer any of his questions.
“Why did you follow me?” he demanded.
She started to move towards her zither, which she had left when she jumped him, but Izumi tightened the bowstring. Its stretching made a very clear warning, and she stopped, fear burning brightly in her eyes.
“Answer me!” What did she want from him? He just wanted to be alone!
She tried to move again, and this time he fired a warning shot just inches to the right of her head, sinking solidly into the tree behind her. He quickly nocked another arrow, and held it at ready.
This lasted for about ten to fifteen minutes. By this time, Izumi’s arms were tired from holding the arrow in place for so long, and his nerves were frayed.
“This is getting us nowhere!” he finally sighed, exasperated. “Why won’t you answer me?”
   It was the girl’s turn to be exasperated now. She puffed out her cheeks as air whuffed out of her delicate nose. She stomped her feet impatiently and acknowledged her zither, indicating that she wasn’t talking until she got her instrument.
Izumi weighed his options carefully. She obviously wanted it for something. Did she have a weapon therein? That made no sense, or she would have used it last night. Was she going to make a run for it? No, no good. She wouldn’t have followed him this far had she wanted to get away from him. His mind seethed, contemplating carefully, and then settled.
He motioned quickly with the tip of his arrow, and she obligingly crab-walked towards her objective. Her eyes flickered nervously from his face, to the arrow, to the zither and back several times until he nodded in the affirmative. She then slowly picked up the instrument, and proceeded to reach inside.
Izumi stretched the bow taunt again, warningly. He didn’t want any trouble. Stupid women, why did they always cause so much trouble?  

Riku was trying not to get herself shot. This guy was hypersensitive to say the least. She waved him down, trying to appear disarming. She stretched her arm back down into the hollow of the zither.

Izumi watched as she pulled a piece of… something out of her instrument. Then she flipped the zither over, to expose a piece of slate, worn with use. Kneeling smoothly she scribbled quickly and held her handiwork up to show him.
In surprisingly beautiful handwriting she had spoken what she apparently could not say. “First,” she had written, “I followed you so that I could thank you, and second, I am mute, and therefore, I cannot answer you,” and almost as an afterthought, she had written a very small, “idiot.”
Izumi laughed, more of a chuckle really, relaxing his bow. “And just how do you plan to do that?”
She rubbed the lead off the board and wrote again, “I’m not sure just yet.”
“Then what do you mean, ‘you’re here to thank me’?” Before she could answer, he held up his hand, “Just quit, alright? Just quit. You’re welcome, is that what you want?”
“No, I’ve come to repay you.”
“I don’t want to be repaid.”
“I’m obligated to do so.”
Izumi shook his head and pushed the hood of his cloak back slightly from his brow, though not far enough to see his face. “I don’t think so.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Really?”
“I will repay you. That’s why I’m coming with you.”  
Izumi did a double take, “Wait, you’re joking, right?” The girl shook her head and looked him dead in the eye. “Oh, oh no no no no no! You are not coming with me!”
“Yes I am!”
“No! The wilderness is no place for a person like you!”
“Neither was the bar.”
“And look where that little escapade got you!”
“In your debt.”
“Ugh, you’re stubborn, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m Riku.”

Riku could see his blood pressure rising as veins stood out in his forehead. Oh yeah, that lead to her next question, “What’s your name?”
He was silent for a good thirty seconds before sullenly murmuring, “ Izumi.”
Riku pondered this for a moment, “Can I call you ‘Zuzu’ for short?”

Zuzu?! What kind of idiotic name was that?! Izumi froze in place, fixing a death glare at the ground. This girl, this Riku person, had gone beyond being merely annoying. She was now positively infuriating! But, trying to keep himself from boiling over, Izumi swallowed his rage, and asked, “ Why would you ask something like that?”
“It’s easier to write.”
Izumi sighed, “ I’m not your protector.”
“Normally I can hold my own.”
“I’m not going to give you food.”
“I’ve been on my own for almost five years now.”
He was running out of arguments. “ I’m a hermit.”
“I know.”
“I’m leaving this area today.”
“I’d figured.”
Izumi slumped slightly. He knew he was defeated. He drew a breath, “Alright then, but I’m not gonna slow down for you.”
“I didn’t plan on it.”

Riku watched her ‘Zuzu’ sigh and turn away. He was going to be really fun to mess with.
She remembered the first time that she had set off on her own. She’d stayed near small towns mainly, but she had some experience under her belt about wilderness survival. She’d make it. Of that, Riku was absolutely sure.
…Darn. Her cloak and money were back at the inn.

Izumi decided to let Riku follow him for a little while. After all, sooner or later she would get hungry, or cold, or start to miss the company of a human voice, or something of the like. Then she would forget all about him and leave so that he could get on with his life.
His step lightened at the thought. A week at most, and then he would be a free man again. Even better, he realized, he was practically free already. After all, he’d told her that he had no intention of taking care of her, so, what was he worrying about?
He loved heading south this time of year. It was warmer there, and it extended his autumn. Those days he loved most of gold and crimson leaves, ripe fruit, and fat rabbits. The rivers seemed cleaner, and the air purer. He breathed in deeply, catching the scent of pine, moss and fresh earth. Mmm… one of the little perks of living here.

Which way were they going? Riku had never bothered to check with directions. She knew that, if she walked in one direction long enough, she would reach a village eventually. Then she would play in the town square, a street corner, or an inn. Now, though, she was going to follow this guy until such an opportunity presented itself when she could help him.
As she watched him walk, she noticed that his movements were slightly uneven. He passed really closely to objects on his right, though he clearly avoided those on his left. A few times she observed his hand actually brush against brambles, or scrape by tree trunks.
She tugged on his cloak, curious, and he paused, turning his head slightly. “What?”
She struggled, trying to word her question carefully, but in the end, it couldn’t be helped. It ended up being, “Zuzu, why do you walk so funny?”
“Walk funny? Whaddaya mean by…” a look of realization dawned on his face. “Oh! You mean this?” holding up his right hand and forearm, which was scarred and bruised from years of wear. Riku gasped slightly, not being able to tear her eyes away from the horrid, yet strangely beautiful sight.
A sharp thunderous sound startled her. She lifted her eyes up from his arm and looked into his face. He was laughing hardily, and trying not to keel over from the look of it.
She glared at him as his laughter subsided. Was he making fun of her? She soured slightly, trying so suppress any urge to hurt him. He had pulled off his hood to the point that she could see his hair.
“You know, nobody really asks me that,” he turned to her, rubbing the back of his head, eyes shut, brows knit slightly together. And with that, he looked her in the eye for the first time.  

Riku’s reaction was not what Izumi had expected. Instead of rearing in terror, or gasping in disgust, she grabbed his face firmly at the jaw, and forcibly turned his head to get a better look.
“Ow,” was his only reaction before she had whipped her zither off her back and written quickly upon it.
“Your pupil’s white!”
“I can’t see out of that eye,” he explained.
“What happened?” her eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
“It’s always been like that,” he turned away, massaging his jaw. That woman had a strong grip!
The slate popped up in front of his face, “But then, how are you an archer? Shouldn’t you have terrible depth perception?”
“Yeah, but hey, I get what good I can, and I don’t question it,” he stepped around Riku, “Questions just lead to trouble.”

Apparently Zuzu didn’t like questions. Oh well, she reasoned as she replaced her zither, she’d get her answers in due time. She often had that effect on people…

They rested once beside a clear brook before moving on. Riku went and laid down next to it, hand trailing in the current. Izumi, after taking a drink from the fresh, clean water, leaned against a tall oak tree and slid down, his hard back unaffected by the rough bark. He inhaled and sighed, closing his eyes, sunlight warm on his brow.
SPLAT! Something wet, cold and slimy hit his face. He jerked, sputtering. A large bass flopped in his lap. He whipped his haed around, just in time to receive another fish to the face. He staggered to his feet, sputtering and blinking fish slime out of his vision.
He bent over an picked up the bass by the tail. Riku, who had gotten up, picked up a wooden switch and, with a whistling smack, swatted his wrist. He dropped the fish, which she deftly caught. She then walked aways, picked up the other fish, and trundled back to the bank of the river with her catch.
Izumi rubbed his eyes and followed, wondering. As he looked on, Riku made a small fire and spiked her fishes on two sharp sticks, placing them to roast over the fire.
Riku caught his stare and, picking up her zither, wrote, “The fire’s open, but you have to catch your own fish.”
Izumi’s stomach rumbled. Oh yeah, during the morning’s excitement, he had forgotten to eat. He sighed and stripped out of his shoes, his cloak, and finally his pants. With that done, he waded out into the water.

Riku would have laughed. So THAT was the reason that he wore a loincloth over his pants. She sauntered over and took a look as Izumi was fishing, just for curiosity’s sake. They were whole, with not tears where there shouldn’t be. After a while, she gave up. Apparently, he just wasn’t comfortable without it.
She looked at Izumi, splashing around in the water and shook her head. He was never going to catch a fish that way. She turned back to her fishes and heard Zuzu splash to shore.
“Riku?”
She inclined her head slightly to show that she was listening.
He visibly flinched before asking, in a rather hurried manner, “Howdidyoucatchyourfish?” His words ran together, but she understood. She took another quick look at her fish, and then got up and led poor Izumi back to the river.

Izumi watched as Riku laid down, and promptly fell asleep, hand trailing in the water. What was she trying to pull?
Riku suddenly twitched, just barely discernable by human eyes, and flipped her arm up out of the water. SMACK! Another fish, only this time lower, and more painful.
Riku gasped as he fell to the ground, trying to suppress all sounds that were rising in his throat. She reached for his arm, but he held up his hand and groaned slightly. He really didn’t want to talk just now. The fish, now free, flopped back into the river.

What do you do for a man who’s in that much pain? Riku figured, there’s not much you can do. She looked on as he hunched over. A dribble of blood started dripping off of his lower lip. Ouch, she winced, realizing that he was trying not to cry out… darn, there goes my fish.

Izumi finally straightened, his pain receding. WHACK! Riku smacked him upside the head.
“Ow! Wha’d I do?”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. He glanced around and found no fish.
“Oh, sorry about that,” he murmured. He shook his head, and laid down by the river. “Like this?” he questioned, letting his arm relax in the water. Riku looked him over, and nodded in approval. She then hurried back to the fire. Her fish were done.
So, what now? Izumi laid there. The water above his hands stirred, but he thought nothing of it. Something started nibbling on his fingers, and he waggled them a little bit, trying to lure the fish to them.
Apparently it was a little too tantalizing for some fish. Something bit down hard on his fingers, and this one had teeth. Izumi let out a cry of shock and pulled his hand out of the water, inspecting his fingers. His middle and index fingers were attached, but dripping blood. The rest were fine. He looked at the back of his hand and found two long, black leeches clinging there. Fantastic.

Riku looked up at the sound. She saw Zuzu’s mutilated fingers and the leeches. Poor guy. She picked up her fish, and carried them over.

Izumi looked up as Riku approached cautiously.  She was holding two freshly roasted fish. He looked away, unable to meet her eyes.
“Tch. What? Come to gloat?”
Riku sat down next to him, and offered him a fish. He looked at the fish, and then at Riku. Then, he grasped the stick with his left hand, unsure. She pushed it into his hand, and got up. He looked into her face and she smiled and nodded.
His stomach felt like he had swallowed a whirlpool. Her smiling face made him look into himself, and he only found guilt there. She was giving him what wasn’t his to own. This hadn’t ever bugged him before. So why was it bothering him now?

Riku watched Izumi quietly. Was there something wrong? Why wasn’t he eating? Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She had no intention of gloating, and she really just wanted to help him as much as possible. Apparently, however, she hadn’t been doing a very good job of that.
She eyed his hand. She was no doctor, but Riku could plainly see that it needed something. She swept acrossed the bank, and grabbed her zither.
When she returned, Izumi smiled weakly. “I don’t think music’s gonna help.”
Riku knelt down beside him and fished around in the hollow of her instrument, finally pulling out some strips of cotton. She then pinned his right forearm between her knees and  got to work.

As Izumi looked on, Riku was contemplating over just how to handle his hand. All he could really think of was how many objects it was possible to store in her zither before it sounded out of tune.

Riku looked over the hand carefully. The first order of buisiness would have to be the leeches… er… leech, she corrected herself. One of the parasites had grown fat on blood, released its grip on Izumi’s hand, and slithered back into the river.
Riku steeled herself, trying not to think  of just how slimy this was going to be. She hated leeches with a passion, but this had to be done. Gritting her teeth, Riku grabbed its tail and pulled. It didn’t come off. She tried several times, but the results were the same.
She was just about to give up when a small knife flickered into her view. Riku looked up at Izumi and ducked her head slightly before taking it firmly in her grasp.
She pried the leech off and then took some of the water out of the river to rinse Zuzu’s fingers. After a quick inspection she found, much to her relief, that they were still firmly attached. She bound the fingers  lightly with cotton, and released his hand.

Izumi watched, mildly fascinated. Riku was really doing all that could be done under the circumstances, but it was her face that drew him in.  He nearly laughed at the disgust that she showed towards the leech. The way she was so serious and concentrated, it made her look like a little child. He smiled slightly, then flinched as she tightened the cloth a little in order to speed healing.
When she released his hand, he brought it closer to himself, and inspected her work. He turned his hand over, flexing his fingers slightly.
“Thanks,” he murmured.
The now-somewhat-familiar scribbling sound insued, “No problem, but your fish is getting cold.”
He chuckled slightly, standing. “We can warm it back up on the fire. Come on!” He leaned down and offered his hand, but Riku had hidden her face behind her zither. He could only see her ears, which were burning pink for some reason. Only then did he note her slate.
“Please put some pants on!”
Oh, that would be and issue.  He replaced his clothes and tapped her on the shoulder. She peeked out from behind the instrument to make sure that it was safe, and then beamed brightly up at him. She took the offered hand, and stood. They walked back to the waiting fire, side by side.
Please don't forget, Riku is mute. Everything that Izumi responds to is written on her slate.

Enjoy! ^-^
© 2009 - 2024 crazyshiro
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vito-toni-costello's avatar
This Riku is a very interesting character. Deep, mysterious and unpredictable. And she reminds me of Amy Rose. Who I am awesome fencing as.
I like the story as well.