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Chapter 3 – Black Dranzer
If how she felt earlier was uncomfortable it was a huge understatement to how she was feeling now. She had never been so mortified in her life! Tyson and Kai had come sprinting back at her yelp only to find her naked and sprawled across the rocky ground. There was no way she would be able to look either of the two men in the eye ever again, her mind declared ruefully, as she tended to the cuts and scraps with the herbs she had picked on that fateful night. Yep, she was unquestionably going to suppress that memory for the rest of her life and the next five lives after that.
Sitting down on the cool grass to join Tyson and Kai at the fire, with there respected beasts beside them; she fixed her gaze on the dancing flames letting out a long breath she didn't realise she had been holding which rippled through the tense air. Deciding to end the awkwardness amongst the three of them, she took in a deep breath for courage and broke the silence. "Kai?" she tested, calling out his name in a soft tone. Turning his head towards her she noticed for the first time the four blue triangles that graced his cheeks causing her to stare at them somewhat rudely. She didn't get the chance to ponder what they were when his intense crimson eyes met hers for the first time since the incident causing her to look away and blush in embarrassment of having such a handsome man seen her undressed and the fact he had caught her staring at his cheeks.
"I'm all ears," he stated, his arms crossed over his chest in impatience staring at her in an intimidating manner. His body language clearly saying that she was to tell her story first, which Tyson didn't fail to pick up on.
"Oh no Hiwatari, you spill the beans first." Tyson directed raising his voice pointing his index finger at Kai accusingly.
"I don't think so moron. I already told her about the mark so it's her turn to talk." Kai spat, glaring at him in detest.
"Big whoop, she has the same mark as you." He stated sarcastically, gesturing with his hands. "Why don't you tell us something of value like who's after her?"
"BEGA," he replied shortly.
"What?" Tyson demanded both confused and slightly taken back that Kai had answered his question. According to his knowledge 'BEGA' was not a word.
"BEGA are the ones after her," he clarified with subtle pauses between his words as if he was addressing a three year old.
"I've never even heard of an army called BEGA," Hilary said confused, her eyes still on the flames.
"Me neither," said Tyson with a tone of arrogance.
"You wouldn't have they're a strictly secret organisation though I am somewhat perplexed that who've never heard of them Granger." Kai taunted with an air of superiority.
"Why's that? I don't associate with criminals like you," Tyson bit back.
"Your brother is one of there top officers," he informed with a satisfied smirk.
"What, Hiro? Why the hell is he in some secret organisation?"
"So your brother is in the army that's out to get me?" Hilary asked eyeing Tyson with slight suspicion. It would be just her luck if it turned out that her 'saviour' who she was beginning to trust was part of this army and was leading her back into the arms of the enemy.
"I wouldn't have a clue. I haven't seen him since…" Tyson trailed off. Whatever was playing through his mind must have been extremely important as it sobered his annoyance with Kai immediately.
"Since what?" Hilary pressed further, her aura reeking curiosity.
"Since four years ago." He answered sketchily. "Anyway, how do you know he's joined BETA or whatever it is?" He asked Kai, changing the subject.
"I have my sources," was Kai's simple answer.
"I'll bet you do." Tyson replied through narrowed eyes. He paused momentarily before he spoke again, this time in a business like tone albeit slightly weary. "Alright Hiwatari what do you want?" He asked, running a frustrated hand through his bangs.
"Who says I want something?" Kai challenged.
"As much as you try to make yourself unreadable, I know you too well Hiwatari." Tyson responded in a serious tone that was so unlike his character. It sounded at least ten years older than his age, forcing Hilary to wonder if Tyson was wiser than he had previously let on.
"The girl," Kai stated, indicating with a stylish nod of his head to Hilary which made her blink. "You give me her and I'll make it worth your while."
"Pardon?" Hilary stuttered in disbelief not trusting her ears.
"And what exactly 'is' that?" Tyson insisted annoyed that he was treating Hilary like some sort of object that could be traded and that whatever Kai was prepared to trade for her would be something he would want and want badly.
"Information," Kai responded, never one to give something away.
"Excuse me, Kai Hiwatari! I'm not some object that you can just trade for on a whim; I'm a living, breathing human being! If you want a lover that bad I suggest you go find some courtesan!" Hilary yelled indignantly, no longer sitting down.
"I don't want a lover, especially not you" He stated conceitedly.
"Well I don't want you either!" she argued back, temper flaring. "Besides didn't we agree on both exchanging our information?" Hilary reminded heatedly.
"You stated it, I never agreed to it." Kai said coolly causing Hilary to make a strangled sound between a yell and a sob.
"Alright then answer me five questions, I trust you are a man of honesty, and I'll tell you all I know, deal?" she stipulated after a tense pause stretching out her hand for him to shake it in accordance.
Thinking it over quickly Kai realised with a satisfied smirk that there would be no way she'd ask anything significant that he couldn't reveal and if by some slim chance she did, he'd just lie straight through his teeth. "Deal," he agreed after a moment, shaking her significantly smaller hand. Hilary took a moment or two to word her questions so that they'd be no loop holes.
"Are you allied or in any way associated with BEGA?" Hilary began.
"No," he replied keeping his response short and simple.
"Are BEGA responsible for branding this mark on my back?"
"No,"
"Do you know who did?"
"My grandfather,"
"Voltaire?" Tyson checked. Again Kai blatantly ignored him.
"Your grandfather did this to me?" she asked a little shocked.
"Yes,"
"So what does this mark and your grandfather got to do with BEGA wanting me?"
"I thought you said you knew,"
"I have a pretty good idea but I don't know how they know," she stated.
"Know what?" Kai asked in a low, probing tone, his eyes intense and commanding making Hilary feel extremely small. Hilary felt the anxious knot in her stomach tighten. She had used up her five questions and it was her turn to spill, much to her dismay. The inviting thought to lie flashed through her head however she lacked the time and inspiration to do it well.
Letting out a long sigh, she started. "I can sense Dranzer, Dragoon and probably anything else like that."
"You can what?" Tyson asked incredulously, his bottom jaw was dropped in shock and eyebrows raised to his hairline. Kai who was usually expressionless had a lesser more reserved look of shock.
"I can sense their energy or aura or something." She explained, having difficulty finding the words to describe it. "Earlier on I could sense Dranzer up on the mountain and that's how I knew it was there."
"But that's unheard of!" Tyson affirmed in disbelief. Kai however was convinced more easily. So that was how she discovered his presence almost instantaneously.
"Well it's heard of now," Kai stated coolly then turning his attention back to Hilary. "You're right though I don't think BEGA knows about that."
"Then why are they after me? Why did they have to slaughter my entire village to get to me?" she asked almost desperately, her cracked words getting softer with each syllable in a gradual decrescendo. The events of yesterday and this evening were taking a serious toll on her body emotionally and she was just about ready to break down and let it out in a way that females are renowned for. Kai had apparently noticed her change in persona too, as he had become a touch softer towards her. The ice that had existed in his eyes previously had now unfrozen. Tyson had too calmed down his amazement in Hilary's previously unheard of gift and was unusually quiet, leaving the three in an awkward silence apart from Hilary's odd sniffs from trying not to cry.
It had been an extremely long and interesting day for Kai Hiwatari. Absolutely nothing had gone according to plan today with anything and everything happening. He had arrived in the town of Morioka early this morning for some new arrows as his supply had been dwindling, only to be nearly spotted by Tala Ivanov, Ian Nikolaev and Bryan Kysnetsov, three soldiers from his old army he had betrayed. He had heard the familiar cocky voice that could have only belonged to Ivanov and hid himself swiftly in an unused (thanks to the newness of the morning) women's section bathing house. Ironically, he had discovered that both Ivanov and Kysnetsov had entered the bath house despite the early hour and utilized the male's section on the opposite side of the wall he was leaning on. Then to his luck they began to talk about the rumours of some army, who they were assuming were BEGA due to the style of the attack, decimating a peaceful village to the north. Kai knew then only reason BEGA would attack such a serene village on such a scale would because they had finally found her, the key to 'The Darkness'. Then once the coast was clear, he bolted back to where he had hid Dranzer in the some thick wood and started his flight northwards towards this village, arrows long forgotten.
He could never have predicted however, Dragoon accompanied by Granger and a passenger flying over him when he had stopped for lunch. He hadn't seen Granger since he had left Bakuten all those years ago and was deadly curious as to why he was so far north from his home with a lady no less, flying as if there was no tomorrow. He had trailed them until into the late afternoon at a considerable distance that was out of his eye sight but not out of Dranzer's hawk-like eyes. It was then when he was preparing to sneak closer to Granger to spy on him did he come across the brunette in the hot spring with that mark on her back. The mark changed absolutely everything. He never thought he would stumble across her accidentally and in the care of his nemesis. With her being protected by Granger there was little chance of getting her on her own much less taking her away with him. As much as he would like to kid himself, Granger was anything but weak. He was brash, stubborn and quick-tempered, for sure, but definitely not weak. It was this realisation that made him realise that he'd need to get Granger on his side, much to his dismay, if he wanted any chance of possessing the girl.
"I'll start right from the beginning. Have you heard of the legend of 'The Darkness' before?" Kai began his tone slightly softer than before, his attention directed on Hilary.
"No," she answered weakly, her eyes on the ground trying to blink away the tears that threatened to fall.
"Supposedly a millennium ago, beasts such as Dranzer and Dragoon frequented the earth in vast numbers. In fact that's were most of the world's gods were derived from. Have you heard of the phoenixes, Feng and Huang?"
"Yeah, Feng is the male phoenix that represents yang and solar and Huang is the female phoenix that represents yin and lunar." Hilary answered rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.
"Right," he confirmed, slightly impressed she knew. "Well they gave birth to twin phoenixes however one was born of pure evil. It was so evil that Feng and Huang refused to name it, as naming it would be a sign of affection. It came to be known as Black Dranzer as its twin was named Dranzer and its heart was black. It is also known as 'The Darkness'. Its power and extent of its evil was so tremendous that it was sealed in a stone by the descendants of the Shijin also known as the four guardians of the compass. One of these guardians is Dranzer who is a descendant of the legendary Suzaku. Rumour has it that if it were to be ever set free from its rocky prison that the world would be enveloped in darkness hence its name 'The Darkness'.
My grandfather desired to be the strongest man on Earth and wanted the power of Black Dranzer more than anything else. With the aid of a man called Boris Balkov who possessed similar desires he discovered the location of its prison. All he needed then was the key which according to legend, was a child born in the year of the new millennium with an exceptional gift. So he kidnapped every child he could find born in that year with a special talent and branded them with that mark. However a secret priory guarding Black Dranzer found out about his plans and rescued many of the children and hid them before he got to work out which one was the key.
With the children he still had he entrusted them to Balkov who made an army out of them training them into some of the most powerful fighters ever to have graced this earth. However this army fell apart and formed a new army when they were old enough to comprehend that they were being used as tools to help some old man's desire.
You're one of those branded children and more importantly, I believe you may be the key to freeing Black Dranzer."
"Me?" she squeaked.
"Yes, you." Kai confirmed.
"But I'm just you're common, average girl." Hilary reasoned hastily, seriously doubting Kai's statement.
"I don't call sensing spirits common." Tyson stated who despite his fragmented relationship with Kai believed his every word.
"Then how come I don't remember being kidnapped or branded or thinking I've meet Kai before?" she rationalised.
"You were quite young when it happened so you might not have remembered what happened or you could have just suppressed the memory." Kai answered.
"So are you positive it's me? I'm this 'key'?" she asked, sobering up to the idea that she was some special 'key'.
"Ninety-nine percent," Kai confirmed. "There is a slight chance it could be another girl but I sincerely doubt it."
"Why?"
"You can sense spirits, a gift that would fit into the legend perfectly and then there's the fact that BEGA went to such violent extremes to attempt to attain you." He reasoned.
"So BEGA is going to hunt me down until they find me and then they are going to use me to unlock this evil bird which I don't even know how to unlock and then evil will take after the world and we're all doomed, right?" she verified simply with the slightest hint of hysterics in her voice.
"That pretty much sums it up." Kai replied and then to both his and Tyson's shock she started laughing.
"Great," she laughed bitterly. "Just terrific and I thought I was just having an extremely bad day."
And so Tyson's theory was confirmed, he had stumbled across the most emotional female on the planet. One second she was crying, the next laughing, the next probably delirious. Then again she did have a rough last two days; her whole village had been wiped out except for her. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much it could impact a person. She must feel so alone and scared and yet so angry and vengeful. Still her emotional range was the scariest thing he had ever come across. Should he comfort her or give her space?
He was saved from figuring out his dilemma when Hilary calmed down slightly and asked somewhat erratically, "So what does this all mean? Do I have to go into hiding?"
"I would recommend so for the time being," Kai advised calmly totally contrasting Hilary's mood. "We don't know what exactly BEGA wants with you
"Well Hilary and I were going back to my home town so I suppose she can hide out there for awhile." Tyson stated, looking Kai squarely in the eye waiting for him to challenge him.
"Only on one condition, that I come with you," he insisted.
"I would rather it be any other way," Tyson retorted, unpleased, from how he saw it once a traitor always a traitor.
"And I'd rather not have a secret organisation after me," Hilary stated tiredly. "But until we figure out their motives you two will just have to kiss and make up. It would be impossible for just one to keep a constant look out for BEGA."
Logically, Tyson knew that this was the best course of action to take in order to protect Hilary from BEGA. However, what he was also worried about was protecting Hilary from Kai. He couldn't identify just what goal his nemesis was trying to achieve but he figured that for the time being BEGA was a greater threat than Kai. Besides it would be amusing to see his Grandpa rattle Kai.
"Fine then, but you're sleeping outside Hiwatari." Tyson stated reluctantly, crossing his arms.
"Whatever," replied Kai shortly and he also crossed his arms.
"Sounds like we have a plan then," Hilary pronounced, concluding the obvious.
"We'll leave at sunrise," Kai announced as he stood up and then stated focusing his attention on Tyson. "Make sure you don't sleep in."
"Whatever," replied Tyson shortly, mimicking Kai's previous reply.
Hilary sighed deeply. Somehow she got the feeling that this two were going to cause her to age prematurely.