Part 2:
Camp, Night 1
Camp, Night 1
We started walking away from the village and I began thinking about some of the things that had happened before I left. I wonder if Jem told Misto that I was leaving already. Should I have told him myself? He’s probably going to give me heck when we get back.
I groaned as I leaned against the wall in my room. I still wasn’t liking the idea of Kimpa coming. It just doesn’t feel right. Oh well, I can’t change it.
I pulled out my backpack from underneath my desk and began pulling clothes out of my dresser and putting them into my bag.
Yuki jumped down from the window sill and walked over to me and rubbed his head against my neck. I giggled and softly pushed him out of the way.
“Not right now, Yuki. I’m busy,” I said to him.
I began putting more clothes and supplies in my bag and then he jumped into it! I giggled again,
“Yuki, you can’t come with me. It’d be too dangerous for you.” I picked him up and placed him on my bed. He walked around behind me and I thought he was leaving the room, so I got back to work.
There was a knock down stairs. Jemima opened it and said happily,
“Hi Hina!”
“Hi, hi Jemima!” Hina replied. “Is Zelda here?”
“Yeah, she’s upstairs packing,” Jem said.
“Can I go up to her?” Hina asked.
“Of course, go ahead,” Jem replied.
“Thanks!” Hina exclaimed and began ascending the stairs.
Step, step, step, I heard every step Hina took up the short flight of stairs. I heard her get to the top and stop.
“Ahhh!” she screamed. “Zelda why is there a naked boy in your room?!”
“Boy? What naked boy?!” I asked confused and turned around. As I did I saw a pale cat boy looking back at me and grinning as his tail swished behind him. Hina slumped to the ground at the top of the stairs and covered her eyes.
“Hee, hee, humans are so funny,” the boy laughed.
“What the-?!!” I asked as I covered my own. “W-who are you?! And why the heck are you naked?!”
“Hm?” he asked and tilted his head to the side. “You don’t recognize me, Zelda-nii?”
“...Yuki?” I asked.
“That’s it, nii-chan!” he exclaimed.
“How many times have I told you, if you’re calling me “sister” it’s nee-chan?” I said.
“I know. Nii-chan sounds better, and I like calling you brother for some reason,” Yuki said. “Kurt calls you freund.”
“That’s different,” I said.
“How?” Yuki replied.
“I-I-I don’t know! Put clothes on!” I shouted. “I should have some really baggy jeans in my bottom drawer.”
“Nii-chan, I expected that from a human, but not you,” Yuki said as I heard the drawer slide out.
I waited a moment as I heard the denim pull against Yuki’s legs.
“Okay, they’re on,” he said.
I moved my hands, opened my eyes, and looked at Yuki for the first time ever in this form.
“Hina, it’s safe,” I told her.
“I heard,” she replied turning towards us.
Yuki’s ears and tail stayed the same, as expected. His skin was kind of pale and he had white hair with a section of black bangs in the middle of his forehead. He was slender, but had some build to him too.
“In love, nii-chan?” Yuki grinned smugly as he sat “Indian style” with his hands on his ankles and his tail swishing behind him happily.
“No, I just never saw you this way before,” I explained.
“I was joking,” he said laughing a bit to himself.
Hina stood and walked into the room.
“Wooow, Yuki! I didn’t know you could look like that too!” Hina exclaimed after looking at Yuki.
“Hina-chan!” Yuki replied and put his arms around her shoulders and rubbed happily against her face. She smiled warmly as he turned toward her and licked her cheek. Hina looked a little shocked at first then seemed to realize it was only Yuki and he had done that plenty of times before in his full cat form. I smiled as I watched them both.
“So do you have another mission with nii-chan, Hina-chan?” Yuki asked happily.
Hina blinked at first, clearly not used to his voice, then smiled and said, “Yup!”
“That sounds fun!” Yuki said letting go of Hina and putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans and grinning. “Going off to different places with nii-chan, Isai-san, and Flare-san.”
“It is!” Hina exclaimed. “And this time Kimpa’s going with too!”
“Kimpa-kun?” Yuki asked then blinked a few times. Hina nodded. Yuki closed his eyes and thought deeply a moment then continued while putting his hand under his chin, “But he doesn’t use a headband too, does he?”
Hina looked at Yuki confused. It makes sense that Yuki has some trouble getting his words right sometimes. After all, things are different when you’re speaking in cat then they are in human.
“He means that Kimpa’s not a ninja,” I said.
“Oh!” Hina said. “Right, he’s not. He’s just being our guide.”
“Guide? ...He’s being a book?” Yuki asked confused.
Hina giggled, “No.” She shook her head. “He’s showing us the way to our mission.”
“Hmm..., oh! Like a tour!” Yuki exclaimed.
“Right!” Hina nodded. She then turned to me. “Are you ready, Zelda? Isai and sensei are probably already waiting.”
“Yeah,” I said then glanced down at my bag. “Oh wait! I’ve got to go get something from the bathroom first!” I dashed out into the hall and went into the bathroom.
“Ok, I’ll wait downstairs,” Hina said then began going down.
I grabbed my medical kit from the bathroom cupboard and went back into my room and placed it into my bag. Yuki was no where in sight, so I assumed he went down stairs.
“Hm, that’s funny,” I said to myself. “I don’t remember closing my bag.” I shrugged and put the medical kit in the front pocket and put the bag on my back.
“Hm, feels heavier then usual,” I thought as I went down stairs.
“We’ll stop here for the night,” Flare sensei said with his hands resting on his backpack straps.
“Yes sir!” Hina, Isai, and I saluted as Kimpa just nodded.
Flare sensei began walking through the brush on the side of the road so we could sleep off to the side away from danger. We all set down our bags in a small clearing and sat down.
I decided to take first watch and Sensei, Hina, and Isai laid down to go to sleep. But Kimpa stayed up.
“Kimpa, go to sleep. I can handle this. You’ll need your rest for tomorrow,” I said.
“Princess...” he said softly avoiding eye contact.
“Hm?” I asked.
“We’ll be coming up on a small town tomorrow. I think you should hide your ears and use a different name while we’re there,” he said staring at the ground seeming distracted. Now that I think of it, he’s seemed distant the whole time we’ve been walking. He was always staring at the sky or looking at the ground and not talking much. Not that he’s a blabbermouth like Misto, but still, he usually talks more then that.
“Why?” I asked curiously.
“It’s just a suggestion, Princess. Good night,” he said and turned away from me and laid down on his sleeping bag.
*(Next Part 3: Home. See ya!)*
