(This is the thread where I would post my Isekai Fantasy fanfic, Rising of The Martial Hero, with Agate Hoshino being the protagonist. Feel free to check it out)
It was a nice Spring afternoon day in Toronto, Canada. A certain girl with short brown hair and green eyes, was seen walking towards home alongside her friends. She was wearing a black fedora hat with a white band, white collared shirt with green ribbon, a dark-blue longer skirt ending just below her knees, dark-blue blazer, black long socks and brown shoes. She was around 18 years old, and was carrying a backpack on her back.
"Hey Agate, don't you think that went a bit too far during this Taekwondo session?" one of the friends, a girl with blue eyes and red hair asked.
"Sorry, I got a bit too carried away..." Agate, the short-haired girl responded. "I had to deal with a bully earlier this day, and I got some steam left."
"Honestly, its great that you stand up against bullies and such, but in times even you have to realize when to slow down and stop..."
"Maybe..." Agate shrugged.
Ever since from the age of 17, after she was through her delinquent/rebellious phase, Agate was taking martial arts lessons to get her tendency of being pissed off under control, but she still had some problems of doing so.
"Alright, this is where we part. Have a nice weekend, Agate." the girl told her after they reached a crossroad.
"Same to you, Sammy!" Agate bid her friends farewell and walked to cross the road. What she didn't realize, however, that a truck, whose driver fell asleep briefly, was speeding towards her. When the girl stopped and saw the truck, it was seemingly too late. Then suddenly a golden light surrounded Agate and she vanished into thin air.
Chapter 1: Unceremonious Arrival
The scene then shifted to a completely new scenery, a big palace with huge towers. Inside the throne room, a man with a regal outfit, including a golden crown and a long red cape, was overlooking an event, where an another older man, wearing a large purple wizard's hat and robes, lifted his scepter into the air and conjured a magic circle while chanting a spell using an unknown langauge. There were other men present, all wearing full-body steel armor and carrying swords by their side. Then there was a flash, and a human figure materialized from the magic circle, it was actually none other, than Agate.
"The spell was a success!" the man with the wizard's robe said. "I have summoned our next champion, my king."
"I hope this one will be more effective than the previous one which got killed by a bunch of goblins." the man with the regal outfit, the king responded. "Captain, bring forth the Analytic Orb."
"Yes, his Majesty." a man with short blonde hair and goatee said, he was wearing full armor and a red cape. Soon, he returned with item which looked like a blue crystal orb.
The king then stepped forward to the still unconcious girl and held the orb close, ten waited as if expecting something to happen. However, nothing.
"This girl has no Magic Power whatsoever!" he yelled. "You failed again, Court Mage!"
"Please give me one more chance!" the mage pleaded. "Next time, for sure..."
"This will be your last chance! Better not disappoint me..." the king said, when suddenly he saw the girl stirring. She was regaining conciousness.
"Where am I...?" she opened her eyes as she looked around. The men wearing armor all drew their swords as they surrounded her.
"What should we do with her?" the captain asked.
"Just throw her into the dungeon, I will figure out what should we do with her later."
"Roger! Men, capture her!" he nodded and ordered the guards to get her.
"Hey!" Agate immediately snapped out of her confusion and stood up. One of the guards ran at her with his sword, but the girl dodged the sword strike and punched him into the face, knocking him down with one strike. Some others tried to get her, but Agate kicked one into the gut, punched a second on the chest, and tripped a third one with a low sweep of her leg.
"Whats up with her?!" one of the guards yelled as he felt some fear, seeing the others getting felled by the summoned girl. Meanwhile from the side, an another man, older than the rest, was watching the unfolding chaos, seemingly intrigued by the girl. He had blue eyes, long blonde hair, a moustache and wore armor with a blue cape.
"You guys are pathetic.." the captain said and walked up to the girl. Agate turned to him and attempted a punch, but he caught her fist. "Let me show how its done."
The captain then twisted the girl around in mid-air, before slamming her into the ground and pinned her down with one of his feet, pointing his sword at her.
"Shall I execute her on the spot so she won't cause any more trouble?" he asked the king.
The king was about to say something, when the other man stepped forward:
"You shouldn't kill her, she is just a girl. I think we should just throw her out, I don't think she would survive long outside."
"General Friede!" the captain exclaimed. "But didn't you see how easily she was beating up my men?"
"Because they have slacked off, thats all." General Friede said. "Plus as I said, I don't think she has a chance of surviving outside. She doesn't have magic and her 'just punch myself out of trouble attitude' won't lead her far."
"You are indeed on to something, like always..."
"Thanks for your wise opinion as always, General Friede." the king said. "Guards, throw her out."
"You bastards..." Agate gritted her teeth as they tied her hands. The captain himself was the one one being to lead her outside the castle.
"Consider yourself lucky that we didn't chop your head off on the first opportunity." he told as he pushed her out of the gates.
"Hey, it was you guys who wanted get me, before I could ask anything!!" Agate snapped back.
"Thats not your concern." the captain cut the ropes on Agate's hands before throwing her out. "Don't come close to the castle ever again!"
With that the gates were shut, leaving the confused Agate outside alone. The girl stood up and looked around. It was nothing like the city of Toronto, she was in a town which looked more medieval with the wooden and stone houses.
"Just where am I and what they were talking about? Magic? Thats absurd... " she murmured as she walked away from the castle.
Agate was walking across the medieval-looking town, currently at the marketplace. Scents from all kinds of delicious food was coming from every direction, from the stalls of different merchants. This caused the girl's stomach to rumble.
"Man, I am hungry..." she placed her right hand onto her stomach and groaned in frustration.. "But I can't steal... yet I don't have any money... maybe this is what that guy meant that I won't survive here for long..."
Agate then decided to leave the market and walked into one of the narrow pathways to find some time alone to think what to do next and maybe to figure out where exactly she was. Suddenly, she heard a scream. The short-haired girl perked up and ran into the direction the scream was coming from.
"Someone is in trouble..."
As she was running, she soon found the source: a young-looking woman with shorter stature, dark-brown hair with a reddish tint tied into a bun and golden eyes, was harassed by two bandits. The woman was wearing a dark-blue kimono with pink flower patterns and a purple sash, wooden sandals, white socks, a light green and pink haori coat and an Asian-style cone hat. She was seized by two bandits: a lanky taller one with an eyepatch, and a shorter stout one with a leather hat.
"Give us all the money you have!" the lanky bandit demanded.
"I will never give up the money I received from finally joining the Pharmacist's Guild." the woman responded
"Then I guess we have no choice but to kill you." the stout one was ready to stab with a dagger as the lanky one restrained their target.
All of a sudden, Agate rushed through the corridor and used a jump kick to hit the short bandit into the face hard. Using the confusion to her advantage, the woman stomped on the taller bandit's leg.
"AH! That hurts!" he jumped back, releasing the woman and rushed to his mate.
"Darn, that was a hard kick..." the shorter bandit stood back up, touching his jaw. "Who dares to play hero?" he glared at Agate.
"Hey, look! What a fancy outfit! I bet she is filthy rich." the taller one made a comment on Agate's outfit.
"I am not rich, just a girl who doesn't like injustice! How dare you to attack this innocent?!" Agate responded, pointing at them.
The two bandits looked at each other, then laughed:
"Hahaha, you must be a foreign to not have any idea about the law of this land." the stout one said.
"Or rather, we don't play by any rules." the lanky added. "Easy money, easy prey."
"Tch, I hate that..." Agate gritted her teeth, being pissed at the bandits.
"Well, enough of the talk, lets see if you are really that rich your clothes suggest!" the tall bandit drew a short sword and tried to slash Agate. However, the short-haired girl managed catch his arm and using the momentum, she slammed him into the ground.
"AH!" the bandit grunted as he stood back up. "You little...!"
He tried to stab her, but Agate ducked under him and landed an uppercut on his jaw. The bandit let out a grunt as he fell down, unconcious. The kimono-wearing woman just watched with awe.
However, the short bandit held his right hand out and shot a fireball at Agate. The short-haired girl's eyes went open in shock as she barely managed to avoid it.
"What... was that?!"
"Heh, you must have come from a really faraway land if you are shocked by a simple magic fireball!" the short bandit laughed. "You are really toast!"
He casted an another fireball at Agate, when the other woman suddenly stepped in front of her.
"Spirit Barrier!!" she held her own hands forward and manifested a teal-colored circular energy shield, blocking the fireball.
"WHA...?!!" both the bandit and Agate were shocked.
"Now its your chance!" the woman yelled to the short-haired girl.
"O... okay!" Agate shook her head to snap out and leaped at the stout bandit, striking him with a roundhouse kick. The rogue crashed into a wall and was immediately knocked out. The short-haired girl panted, mostly because the fight drained her already low stamina due to her hunger.
"Thank you so much." the woman walked to her.
"Umm... no problem. Any good people would have done it in my place..." Agate smiled a bit awkwardly. Then her stomach let out a loud rumble.
"Oh, you seem to be hungry. Here, you can have this." the kimono-clad woman reached into her bag and took out a bag of riceballs. "Think of it, as a token of graditude."
"Thanks..." Agate accepted the riceballs and immediately began to eat. "So delicious!" she then turned to the woman while eating. "Maybe you can help me. Can you tell me where exactly am I?"
"Well..." the woman seemed to quickly put the dots together. "You are in the royal city of Daphne."
"Daphne?!" Agate was confused. She had never heard a city named that before.
"It seems you are an Outworlder. In that case, please come with me. I will explain everything you need to know." the woman grabbed Agate's hand and began to lead her to a certain direction
."Huh, Outworlder?! What do you mean?" Agate was still too confused, so she let the woman to lead her.
"I will just say, you are in an another world. As for me, you can trust me. My name is Wakumi Aokawa, travelling herbalist." the kimono-clad female introduced herself as they were running to a certain building.
Agate followed her, greatly baffled on what was going on. Outworlder? Another world? Little did she know that this encounter with this woman named Wakumi was a beginning of an adventure that would change her life forever.
It was a nice Spring afternoon day in Toronto, Canada. A certain girl with short brown hair and green eyes, was seen walking towards home alongside her friends. She was wearing a black fedora hat with a white band, white collared shirt with green ribbon, a dark-blue longer skirt ending just below her knees, dark-blue blazer, black long socks and brown shoes. She was around 18 years old, and was carrying a backpack on her back.
"Hey Agate, don't you think that went a bit too far during this Taekwondo session?" one of the friends, a girl with blue eyes and red hair asked.
"Sorry, I got a bit too carried away..." Agate, the short-haired girl responded. "I had to deal with a bully earlier this day, and I got some steam left."
"Honestly, its great that you stand up against bullies and such, but in times even you have to realize when to slow down and stop..."
"Maybe..." Agate shrugged.
Ever since from the age of 17, after she was through her delinquent/rebellious phase, Agate was taking martial arts lessons to get her tendency of being pissed off under control, but she still had some problems of doing so.
"Alright, this is where we part. Have a nice weekend, Agate." the girl told her after they reached a crossroad.
"Same to you, Sammy!" Agate bid her friends farewell and walked to cross the road. What she didn't realize, however, that a truck, whose driver fell asleep briefly, was speeding towards her. When the girl stopped and saw the truck, it was seemingly too late. Then suddenly a golden light surrounded Agate and she vanished into thin air.
Chapter 1: Unceremonious Arrival
The scene then shifted to a completely new scenery, a big palace with huge towers. Inside the throne room, a man with a regal outfit, including a golden crown and a long red cape, was overlooking an event, where an another older man, wearing a large purple wizard's hat and robes, lifted his scepter into the air and conjured a magic circle while chanting a spell using an unknown langauge. There were other men present, all wearing full-body steel armor and carrying swords by their side. Then there was a flash, and a human figure materialized from the magic circle, it was actually none other, than Agate.
"The spell was a success!" the man with the wizard's robe said. "I have summoned our next champion, my king."
"I hope this one will be more effective than the previous one which got killed by a bunch of goblins." the man with the regal outfit, the king responded. "Captain, bring forth the Analytic Orb."
"Yes, his Majesty." a man with short blonde hair and goatee said, he was wearing full armor and a red cape. Soon, he returned with item which looked like a blue crystal orb.
The king then stepped forward to the still unconcious girl and held the orb close, ten waited as if expecting something to happen. However, nothing.
"This girl has no Magic Power whatsoever!" he yelled. "You failed again, Court Mage!"
"Please give me one more chance!" the mage pleaded. "Next time, for sure..."
"This will be your last chance! Better not disappoint me..." the king said, when suddenly he saw the girl stirring. She was regaining conciousness.
"Where am I...?" she opened her eyes as she looked around. The men wearing armor all drew their swords as they surrounded her.
"What should we do with her?" the captain asked.
"Just throw her into the dungeon, I will figure out what should we do with her later."
"Roger! Men, capture her!" he nodded and ordered the guards to get her.
"Hey!" Agate immediately snapped out of her confusion and stood up. One of the guards ran at her with his sword, but the girl dodged the sword strike and punched him into the face, knocking him down with one strike. Some others tried to get her, but Agate kicked one into the gut, punched a second on the chest, and tripped a third one with a low sweep of her leg.
"Whats up with her?!" one of the guards yelled as he felt some fear, seeing the others getting felled by the summoned girl. Meanwhile from the side, an another man, older than the rest, was watching the unfolding chaos, seemingly intrigued by the girl. He had blue eyes, long blonde hair, a moustache and wore armor with a blue cape.
"You guys are pathetic.." the captain said and walked up to the girl. Agate turned to him and attempted a punch, but he caught her fist. "Let me show how its done."
The captain then twisted the girl around in mid-air, before slamming her into the ground and pinned her down with one of his feet, pointing his sword at her.
"Shall I execute her on the spot so she won't cause any more trouble?" he asked the king.
The king was about to say something, when the other man stepped forward:
"You shouldn't kill her, she is just a girl. I think we should just throw her out, I don't think she would survive long outside."
"General Friede!" the captain exclaimed. "But didn't you see how easily she was beating up my men?"
"Because they have slacked off, thats all." General Friede said. "Plus as I said, I don't think she has a chance of surviving outside. She doesn't have magic and her 'just punch myself out of trouble attitude' won't lead her far."
"You are indeed on to something, like always..."
"Thanks for your wise opinion as always, General Friede." the king said. "Guards, throw her out."
"You bastards..." Agate gritted her teeth as they tied her hands. The captain himself was the one one being to lead her outside the castle.
"Consider yourself lucky that we didn't chop your head off on the first opportunity." he told as he pushed her out of the gates.
"Hey, it was you guys who wanted get me, before I could ask anything!!" Agate snapped back.
"Thats not your concern." the captain cut the ropes on Agate's hands before throwing her out. "Don't come close to the castle ever again!"
With that the gates were shut, leaving the confused Agate outside alone. The girl stood up and looked around. It was nothing like the city of Toronto, she was in a town which looked more medieval with the wooden and stone houses.
"Just where am I and what they were talking about? Magic? Thats absurd... " she murmured as she walked away from the castle.
Agate was walking across the medieval-looking town, currently at the marketplace. Scents from all kinds of delicious food was coming from every direction, from the stalls of different merchants. This caused the girl's stomach to rumble.
"Man, I am hungry..." she placed her right hand onto her stomach and groaned in frustration.. "But I can't steal... yet I don't have any money... maybe this is what that guy meant that I won't survive here for long..."
Agate then decided to leave the market and walked into one of the narrow pathways to find some time alone to think what to do next and maybe to figure out where exactly she was. Suddenly, she heard a scream. The short-haired girl perked up and ran into the direction the scream was coming from.
"Someone is in trouble..."
As she was running, she soon found the source: a young-looking woman with shorter stature, dark-brown hair with a reddish tint tied into a bun and golden eyes, was harassed by two bandits. The woman was wearing a dark-blue kimono with pink flower patterns and a purple sash, wooden sandals, white socks, a light green and pink haori coat and an Asian-style cone hat. She was seized by two bandits: a lanky taller one with an eyepatch, and a shorter stout one with a leather hat.
"Give us all the money you have!" the lanky bandit demanded.
"I will never give up the money I received from finally joining the Pharmacist's Guild." the woman responded
"Then I guess we have no choice but to kill you." the stout one was ready to stab with a dagger as the lanky one restrained their target.
All of a sudden, Agate rushed through the corridor and used a jump kick to hit the short bandit into the face hard. Using the confusion to her advantage, the woman stomped on the taller bandit's leg.
"AH! That hurts!" he jumped back, releasing the woman and rushed to his mate.
"Darn, that was a hard kick..." the shorter bandit stood back up, touching his jaw. "Who dares to play hero?" he glared at Agate.
"Hey, look! What a fancy outfit! I bet she is filthy rich." the taller one made a comment on Agate's outfit.
"I am not rich, just a girl who doesn't like injustice! How dare you to attack this innocent?!" Agate responded, pointing at them.
The two bandits looked at each other, then laughed:
"Hahaha, you must be a foreign to not have any idea about the law of this land." the stout one said.
"Or rather, we don't play by any rules." the lanky added. "Easy money, easy prey."
"Tch, I hate that..." Agate gritted her teeth, being pissed at the bandits.
"Well, enough of the talk, lets see if you are really that rich your clothes suggest!" the tall bandit drew a short sword and tried to slash Agate. However, the short-haired girl managed catch his arm and using the momentum, she slammed him into the ground.
"AH!" the bandit grunted as he stood back up. "You little...!"
He tried to stab her, but Agate ducked under him and landed an uppercut on his jaw. The bandit let out a grunt as he fell down, unconcious. The kimono-wearing woman just watched with awe.
However, the short bandit held his right hand out and shot a fireball at Agate. The short-haired girl's eyes went open in shock as she barely managed to avoid it.
"What... was that?!"
"Heh, you must have come from a really faraway land if you are shocked by a simple magic fireball!" the short bandit laughed. "You are really toast!"
He casted an another fireball at Agate, when the other woman suddenly stepped in front of her.
"Spirit Barrier!!" she held her own hands forward and manifested a teal-colored circular energy shield, blocking the fireball.
"WHA...?!!" both the bandit and Agate were shocked.
"Now its your chance!" the woman yelled to the short-haired girl.
"O... okay!" Agate shook her head to snap out and leaped at the stout bandit, striking him with a roundhouse kick. The rogue crashed into a wall and was immediately knocked out. The short-haired girl panted, mostly because the fight drained her already low stamina due to her hunger.
"Thank you so much." the woman walked to her.
"Umm... no problem. Any good people would have done it in my place..." Agate smiled a bit awkwardly. Then her stomach let out a loud rumble.
"Oh, you seem to be hungry. Here, you can have this." the kimono-clad woman reached into her bag and took out a bag of riceballs. "Think of it, as a token of graditude."
"Thanks..." Agate accepted the riceballs and immediately began to eat. "So delicious!" she then turned to the woman while eating. "Maybe you can help me. Can you tell me where exactly am I?"
"Well..." the woman seemed to quickly put the dots together. "You are in the royal city of Daphne."
"Daphne?!" Agate was confused. She had never heard a city named that before.
"It seems you are an Outworlder. In that case, please come with me. I will explain everything you need to know." the woman grabbed Agate's hand and began to lead her to a certain direction
."Huh, Outworlder?! What do you mean?" Agate was still too confused, so she let the woman to lead her.
"I will just say, you are in an another world. As for me, you can trust me. My name is Wakumi Aokawa, travelling herbalist." the kimono-clad female introduced herself as they were running to a certain building.
Agate followed her, greatly baffled on what was going on. Outworlder? Another world? Little did she know that this encounter with this woman named Wakumi was a beginning of an adventure that would change her life forever.
Agate was still following Wakumi as the latter was holding her hand, dragging her to somewhere. Today was an extremely confusing day for our heroine: at first she was crossing the street, where she was almost hit by a runaway truck; then suddenly transported to an another location which was a throne room with the armored guards throwing her out; then finally wandering this strange place where magic supposedly exists and her saving this kimono-clad woman who claimed that she was an Outworlder or whatever that means.
Soon, Wakumi stopped in front of a large building.
"Here we are." she said. "My friend is awaiting us in this tavern."
"Your friend?" Agate asked.
"Yes, you will like her, she is a nice girl."
Wakumi then led Agate inside, where the latter looked around. A lot of people were present, several of whom wore armor, capes or having swords. Like as if she was really back in medieval times. Some of those people were also looking back, seemingly intrigued by the newly arrived guests.
"Wakumi-san, here!" a cheerful voice then could be heard. A young-looking female with black hair and blue eyes was seen waving towards them. She was also wearing a traditional shrine maiden outfit: white kimono top, red hakama skirt, long white socks and wooden sandals. What was intriguing, however, that she had a pair huge bells on her head seemingly tied with red ribbons, and a pair of much smaller ones on the longer bangs of hair framing her face.
"Hey Sango!" Wakumi waved back. "Sorry for being late, I ran into trouble with a couple of bandits, but this one had saved me." she looked at Agate.
"It wasn't a big deal..." the short-haired girl sported an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her head.
"Wow, what a nice outfit you have, I like your hat!" Sango jumped up-and-down with joy, with her bells jingling from every movement, then did a welcoming bow. "Nice to meet you, my name is Sango, Wakumi's companion."
"Agate Hoshino, its my pleasure." Agate bowed back.
"Alright girls, lets sit down, we have a lot of discuss." Wakumi clapped with her hands. "I am sure our Agate friend would like to know more about the new world she has just fallen into."
"New world?!" our heroine asked with utter confusion.
Chapter 2: New World
Moments later, the trio were sitting at the table, with Agate facing Wakumi and Sango, who were sitting together at the opposing side.
"Alright, here is the deal." Wakumi took on a serious expression, looking at Agate. "You have been whisked away from your original homeworld by the order of the king of this nation."
"Huh? What, why?" the short-haired female was still confused.
"To serve them as their champion. It is a widespread custom among kingdoms to summon Outworlders, who tend to gain powerful abilities when arriving in this world. The kingdoms then would use them to try and get advantage over other kingdoms."
"I thought it was banned..." Sango remarked.
"Only by us in the East. Here in the West its still a common practice. But that is no question its highly unethical, the kings or even the Outworlders themselves may abuse their power. Also, if the summoned Outworlder does not meet their expectations, like if ending up not gaining any power at all, they would just discard them, like what happened to our friend here."
Agate became more baffled when she heard all of this. Sounded like really messed up stuff for her. However, there was one important question:
"Is there any way for me to get home?" she asked.
"This kind of Summoning Magic is very complex, only a select few is able to use it." Wakumi looked at Agate directly in the eyes. "Only the one who summoned you here may know the answer..."
"Alright, then its simple. I have to find that mage guy who did this and beat the answer out of him..." Agate bumped her fists together.
"Wait, its not..." Sango tried to warn her, but the short-haired girl suddenly stood up and stormed out of the tavern.
"Agate, wait!!" Wakumi attempted to stop her, but no avail.
"This seems to be trouble..."
"Yeah..."
...
Agate was seen running across the city, heading towards castle. She knew that the Court Mage must be there, the one who sent her here. Even though she remember of the Captain's warning to not get close to the castle again, Agate didn't care. At this moment, she wanted to go home more than anything.
Soon, she managed to reach the outer walls, then stopped. Looking around, she attempted to find the easiest way to sneak in. Agate walked a few meters forward, with eyes on the wall, she was so focused on it, that she didn't notice the person right in front her and ended up bumped into him:
"AH!"
"Hey, what are you doing here?! The close quarters of the castle are off limits to commoners." a deep male voice said.
Agate looked up and was baffled what she saw. The person the had bumped into was a tall, lizard-like humanoid with teal-colored scales and piercing green eyes with slit pupils. He was wearing long pants with a belt and had a spiky shoulder-pad on his right shoulder, but otherwise he left his upper torso bare. He was also very tall, with his height of more than two meters, he towered above the short-haired human girl.
"Just don't stand in my way!" Agate said, standing up. "I will find my way in!"
"I see you are the Outworlder, whom the Captain threw out earlier today. Get lost before you get into any more trouble." the lizardman said in matter-of-factly.
"If you don't want, then I will force you!" Agate launched a punch at the lizardman, but he just casually blocked it using his right forearm.
"The likes of yours are leagues below me." he said in a casual tone and he grabbed Agate's arm and threw her backwards. He then saw the girl managing to recover by landing on her feet, sliding back, then charging again.
"I won't stop until I reach that wizard guy and have him to send me back home!" Agate said while jumping into the air and landing a kick on the lizardman's chest. However, the reptile just did one step backwards, otherwise seemed unfazed.
"Foolish girl, casual blows won't penetrate these hard scales."
Agate's eyes went big as the lizardman struck her with a casual palm strike, sending her flying. She rolled on the ground and held her chest in pain. Was this lizard creature... just this strong?
"He is... indeed strong..." she panted. "But I have to overcome him... in order to get home..."
Agate stood up, and dashed at the lizardman with a battlecry, launching a barrage of hits. However, her opponent managed block or endure all of her strikes using his powerful physique and his scaly skin.
"You are too predictable." he said, attempting a punch. Agate, however, slid on the ground to get behind the lizard, trying to strike from an another direction. Her opponent then landed a hard blow by swinging his tail at her, sending her flying again. "Remember that, a lizardman has no blind spots."
Agate slowly stood back up, panting while holding her side, where the tail struck. It was bruised, but she still wanted to continue.
"I... I..."
"I suggest you to retreat before you could hurt even more badly." the lizardman said.
"Not... until... I GET HOME!!" Agate screamed, getting a sudden adrenaline rush. The reptilian's eyes went big for a moment, when Agate suddenly was in front of him, striking with a flip kick upwards. The kick landed on the lizardman's jaw, actually sending him backwards. He landed on the ground on all fours, with one hand on his jaw.
"Now, THAT was a strong kick. I guess I have to go a bit more serious on you." he said as he stood back up, holding out his right hand. Suddenly, the claws on it elongated, shocking Agate. The lizardman then dashed towards the girl, swiping at her with his claws. Agate attempted to jump back, but the claws tore into her blazer jacket, only missing her belly with mere inches. Still, a resulting shockwave sent Agate flying, causing her to crash into the ground. She looked at her torn jacket, sweating. If that claw swipe landed, she would have been killed right on the spot! The short-haired girl had no idea that this world housed such dangerous creatures.
The lizardman looked at her, half-expecting her to get up and try to continue, but Agate wasn't moving. She was still in shock on what happened.
"Agate!" suddenly Wakumi's voice was heard.
"I guess my role ends here for now." the lizardman turned to leave, but briefly turned his head back. "So Agate, was it? Then remember my name, I am Gigabite."
After saying these words, he left. Agate slowly sat up, while muttering the name:
"Giga...bite..."
Then both Wakumi and Sango were shown running up to her, both of the looked worried.
"Agate, I am so glad you are in one piece..." Wakumi said. "Listen, you can't just run off to the castle. The guards would have killed you!"
"Yeah, just look at your jacket!" Sango added.
"Yeah, based on the few injuries I can see, she had a bout against a strong opponent who went easy on her."
"Gigabite..." Agate said as she stood up. "He was powerful.. to think he went easy on me..."
"Hey Agate, I think we should leave the city." Wakumi said. "In the meantime, you can join us. I promise you I will help to find a way for you to get home."
"Really?" Agate turned to her.
"Yes. Think of it as my way of paying back your deed of protecting me from those bandits."
"Yay, its travel time again!" Sango exclaimed cheerfully. "I will assure, you won't be bored with us, Agate-san!"
"Thank a lot... both of you." Agate said with a slight smile.
"But at first, you need those injuried to be patched up and also some new clothes." Wakumi said. "You would need something that makes you less conspicuous."
Later the Sun was shown setting, as Wakumi and Sango were seen awaiting Agate in front of the tavern. The short-haired girl showed up, running up to them as she was wearing her new outfit: While she was still keeping her hat, her white collared shirt with the green bow, and her dark-blue skirt, she had now also a green cloak, a chestplate, metal armguards, armored boots and blue fingerless gloves.
"Sorry I kep you two waiting." she said. "How do I look?"
"Like a real adventurer!" Sango gave her a thumbs-up.
"Keeping the hat though?" Wakumi asked.
"Yes, got any problem with it?" Agate asked, while pulling her hat into her head more with both hands. "This hat is very important to me!"
"Its a bit conspicous, but I digress..." the kimomo-clad female sighs, then turns towards the setting Sun. "So, ready to go?"
"Yeah." the short-haired girl nodded.
"You bet!" Sango added with a smile.
With that, the trio began to walk towards the sunset. As they were walking, Agate looked at Wakumi and Sango. While getting home was still a concern to her, she felt strangely concent. Maybe because she got some new friends that care for her. One thing was sure: a big adventure was awaiting for her in this new world.
...
Back at the castle, Gigabite was walking under the wall, when a familiar voice addressed him:
"So, how did it go?"
"Just as you predicted, General Friede. She needed a bit of pressure to persuade her to leave." the lizardman responded while looking up to the wall, addressing the man who was standing atop the wall, none other than General Friede, who was looking towards the sunset, with his long blonde hair and cape billowing in the wind.
"Good. It would have been a shame to lose her this early on." he said with a small smile.
"Just why have you decided to spare her and let her go, General Friede?" Gigabite asked.
"I have a feeling there is more to her, than being a simple magicless Outworlder. Lets just say old friend, she is a rough diamond waiting to be polished." Friede answered.
"I see, you are cryptic as always." the lizardman remarked. "Sometimes, even I don't have a clue what are you planning, General."
Friede just nodded with a smile as he looked at the sunset again, towards the road, where the trio of females were walking towards their new adventure.
Soon, Wakumi stopped in front of a large building.
"Here we are." she said. "My friend is awaiting us in this tavern."
"Your friend?" Agate asked.
"Yes, you will like her, she is a nice girl."
Wakumi then led Agate inside, where the latter looked around. A lot of people were present, several of whom wore armor, capes or having swords. Like as if she was really back in medieval times. Some of those people were also looking back, seemingly intrigued by the newly arrived guests.
"Wakumi-san, here!" a cheerful voice then could be heard. A young-looking female with black hair and blue eyes was seen waving towards them. She was also wearing a traditional shrine maiden outfit: white kimono top, red hakama skirt, long white socks and wooden sandals. What was intriguing, however, that she had a pair huge bells on her head seemingly tied with red ribbons, and a pair of much smaller ones on the longer bangs of hair framing her face.
"Hey Sango!" Wakumi waved back. "Sorry for being late, I ran into trouble with a couple of bandits, but this one had saved me." she looked at Agate.
"It wasn't a big deal..." the short-haired girl sported an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her head.
"Wow, what a nice outfit you have, I like your hat!" Sango jumped up-and-down with joy, with her bells jingling from every movement, then did a welcoming bow. "Nice to meet you, my name is Sango, Wakumi's companion."
"Agate Hoshino, its my pleasure." Agate bowed back.
"Alright girls, lets sit down, we have a lot of discuss." Wakumi clapped with her hands. "I am sure our Agate friend would like to know more about the new world she has just fallen into."
"New world?!" our heroine asked with utter confusion.
Chapter 2: New World
Moments later, the trio were sitting at the table, with Agate facing Wakumi and Sango, who were sitting together at the opposing side.
"Alright, here is the deal." Wakumi took on a serious expression, looking at Agate. "You have been whisked away from your original homeworld by the order of the king of this nation."
"Huh? What, why?" the short-haired female was still confused.
"To serve them as their champion. It is a widespread custom among kingdoms to summon Outworlders, who tend to gain powerful abilities when arriving in this world. The kingdoms then would use them to try and get advantage over other kingdoms."
"I thought it was banned..." Sango remarked.
"Only by us in the East. Here in the West its still a common practice. But that is no question its highly unethical, the kings or even the Outworlders themselves may abuse their power. Also, if the summoned Outworlder does not meet their expectations, like if ending up not gaining any power at all, they would just discard them, like what happened to our friend here."
Agate became more baffled when she heard all of this. Sounded like really messed up stuff for her. However, there was one important question:
"Is there any way for me to get home?" she asked.
"This kind of Summoning Magic is very complex, only a select few is able to use it." Wakumi looked at Agate directly in the eyes. "Only the one who summoned you here may know the answer..."
"Alright, then its simple. I have to find that mage guy who did this and beat the answer out of him..." Agate bumped her fists together.
"Wait, its not..." Sango tried to warn her, but the short-haired girl suddenly stood up and stormed out of the tavern.
"Agate, wait!!" Wakumi attempted to stop her, but no avail.
"This seems to be trouble..."
"Yeah..."
...
Agate was seen running across the city, heading towards castle. She knew that the Court Mage must be there, the one who sent her here. Even though she remember of the Captain's warning to not get close to the castle again, Agate didn't care. At this moment, she wanted to go home more than anything.
Soon, she managed to reach the outer walls, then stopped. Looking around, she attempted to find the easiest way to sneak in. Agate walked a few meters forward, with eyes on the wall, she was so focused on it, that she didn't notice the person right in front her and ended up bumped into him:
"AH!"
"Hey, what are you doing here?! The close quarters of the castle are off limits to commoners." a deep male voice said.
Agate looked up and was baffled what she saw. The person the had bumped into was a tall, lizard-like humanoid with teal-colored scales and piercing green eyes with slit pupils. He was wearing long pants with a belt and had a spiky shoulder-pad on his right shoulder, but otherwise he left his upper torso bare. He was also very tall, with his height of more than two meters, he towered above the short-haired human girl.
"Just don't stand in my way!" Agate said, standing up. "I will find my way in!"
"I see you are the Outworlder, whom the Captain threw out earlier today. Get lost before you get into any more trouble." the lizardman said in matter-of-factly.
"If you don't want, then I will force you!" Agate launched a punch at the lizardman, but he just casually blocked it using his right forearm.
"The likes of yours are leagues below me." he said in a casual tone and he grabbed Agate's arm and threw her backwards. He then saw the girl managing to recover by landing on her feet, sliding back, then charging again.
"I won't stop until I reach that wizard guy and have him to send me back home!" Agate said while jumping into the air and landing a kick on the lizardman's chest. However, the reptile just did one step backwards, otherwise seemed unfazed.
"Foolish girl, casual blows won't penetrate these hard scales."
Agate's eyes went big as the lizardman struck her with a casual palm strike, sending her flying. She rolled on the ground and held her chest in pain. Was this lizard creature... just this strong?
"He is... indeed strong..." she panted. "But I have to overcome him... in order to get home..."
Agate stood up, and dashed at the lizardman with a battlecry, launching a barrage of hits. However, her opponent managed block or endure all of her strikes using his powerful physique and his scaly skin.
"You are too predictable." he said, attempting a punch. Agate, however, slid on the ground to get behind the lizard, trying to strike from an another direction. Her opponent then landed a hard blow by swinging his tail at her, sending her flying again. "Remember that, a lizardman has no blind spots."
Agate slowly stood back up, panting while holding her side, where the tail struck. It was bruised, but she still wanted to continue.
"I... I..."
"I suggest you to retreat before you could hurt even more badly." the lizardman said.
"Not... until... I GET HOME!!" Agate screamed, getting a sudden adrenaline rush. The reptilian's eyes went big for a moment, when Agate suddenly was in front of him, striking with a flip kick upwards. The kick landed on the lizardman's jaw, actually sending him backwards. He landed on the ground on all fours, with one hand on his jaw.
"Now, THAT was a strong kick. I guess I have to go a bit more serious on you." he said as he stood back up, holding out his right hand. Suddenly, the claws on it elongated, shocking Agate. The lizardman then dashed towards the girl, swiping at her with his claws. Agate attempted to jump back, but the claws tore into her blazer jacket, only missing her belly with mere inches. Still, a resulting shockwave sent Agate flying, causing her to crash into the ground. She looked at her torn jacket, sweating. If that claw swipe landed, she would have been killed right on the spot! The short-haired girl had no idea that this world housed such dangerous creatures.
The lizardman looked at her, half-expecting her to get up and try to continue, but Agate wasn't moving. She was still in shock on what happened.
"Agate!" suddenly Wakumi's voice was heard.
"I guess my role ends here for now." the lizardman turned to leave, but briefly turned his head back. "So Agate, was it? Then remember my name, I am Gigabite."
After saying these words, he left. Agate slowly sat up, while muttering the name:
"Giga...bite..."
Then both Wakumi and Sango were shown running up to her, both of the looked worried.
"Agate, I am so glad you are in one piece..." Wakumi said. "Listen, you can't just run off to the castle. The guards would have killed you!"
"Yeah, just look at your jacket!" Sango added.
"Yeah, based on the few injuries I can see, she had a bout against a strong opponent who went easy on her."
"Gigabite..." Agate said as she stood up. "He was powerful.. to think he went easy on me..."
"Hey Agate, I think we should leave the city." Wakumi said. "In the meantime, you can join us. I promise you I will help to find a way for you to get home."
"Really?" Agate turned to her.
"Yes. Think of it as my way of paying back your deed of protecting me from those bandits."
"Yay, its travel time again!" Sango exclaimed cheerfully. "I will assure, you won't be bored with us, Agate-san!"
"Thank a lot... both of you." Agate said with a slight smile.
"But at first, you need those injuried to be patched up and also some new clothes." Wakumi said. "You would need something that makes you less conspicuous."
Later the Sun was shown setting, as Wakumi and Sango were seen awaiting Agate in front of the tavern. The short-haired girl showed up, running up to them as she was wearing her new outfit: While she was still keeping her hat, her white collared shirt with the green bow, and her dark-blue skirt, she had now also a green cloak, a chestplate, metal armguards, armored boots and blue fingerless gloves.
"Sorry I kep you two waiting." she said. "How do I look?"
"Like a real adventurer!" Sango gave her a thumbs-up.
"Keeping the hat though?" Wakumi asked.
"Yes, got any problem with it?" Agate asked, while pulling her hat into her head more with both hands. "This hat is very important to me!"
"Its a bit conspicous, but I digress..." the kimomo-clad female sighs, then turns towards the setting Sun. "So, ready to go?"
"Yeah." the short-haired girl nodded.
"You bet!" Sango added with a smile.
With that, the trio began to walk towards the sunset. As they were walking, Agate looked at Wakumi and Sango. While getting home was still a concern to her, she felt strangely concent. Maybe because she got some new friends that care for her. One thing was sure: a big adventure was awaiting for her in this new world.
...
Back at the castle, Gigabite was walking under the wall, when a familiar voice addressed him:
"So, how did it go?"
"Just as you predicted, General Friede. She needed a bit of pressure to persuade her to leave." the lizardman responded while looking up to the wall, addressing the man who was standing atop the wall, none other than General Friede, who was looking towards the sunset, with his long blonde hair and cape billowing in the wind.
"Good. It would have been a shame to lose her this early on." he said with a small smile.
"Just why have you decided to spare her and let her go, General Friede?" Gigabite asked.
"I have a feeling there is more to her, than being a simple magicless Outworlder. Lets just say old friend, she is a rough diamond waiting to be polished." Friede answered.
"I see, you are cryptic as always." the lizardman remarked. "Sometimes, even I don't have a clue what are you planning, General."
Friede just nodded with a smile as he looked at the sunset again, towards the road, where the trio of females were walking towards their new adventure.
It has been a day since Agate and her new companions, Wakumi and Sango left the city. The trio was now walking on a path across a green forest. The Sun was shining down in places through the canopy and songbirds were chirping among the branches.
"I am hungry..." Agate held her stomach as it was heard rumbling quite loudly.
"Alright, lets take a break and set up camp." Wakumi responded as they walked out of the forest, with a big lake in front of them.
"Whoah, this is pretty" Sango exclaimed, looking at the brilliant blue of the water.
"Well, this lake is pretty popular with travelers, especially that you can find a lot of fish here."
"So, does that mean we are going to fish?" Agate asked.
"Yep!" Wakumi took out three fishing rods from her bag.
"Whoah, how do these rods fit into her bag?!" the short-haired girl asked, surprised that her kimono-clad companion just casually pulled out three complete fishing rods out of her apparently smaller bag.
"Wakumi-san's bag is special." Sango explained. "It can store a lot of items within its magic space, no matter the size. You can't put in living things though..."
"Still, its very impressive..." Agate turned to take a look at the lake again.
Chapter 3: Yokai Companions
A bit later, the trio was seen fishing using their rods at the bank of the lake. Among the three, Wakumi managed to catch the most fish, while Agate only managed to hook one or two.
"Say, why is that you are catching a lot of fish?"
"Well, I use a special bait made from special herbs." Wakumi replied with pride. "It has a smell, that fish can't resist."
"Trust me, you don't want to smell it, it stinks like hell..." Sango added.
"But still, its popular with fish..." the herbalist shrugged and returned her attenion to the water.
Next, it was Sango who caught a larger fish. As for Agate, she was still waiting for her catch, using a simple earthworm.
"Dang, its boring..." she complained with a sigh.
"You have to be patient. A big fish always takes its time to show up." Wakumi said. "Hey, speaking of large fish, do you know about the Lord of the Lake?"
"The Lord of the Lake?"
"Yes, legend has it, that this lake is also a home of a giant catfish that can swallow up a human with ease. It is said that it was never caught, and whoever attempted to catch it, because fish food instead." the herbalist explained.
"Oh wow, that sounds a bit disturbing..." Sango responded with an awkward smile.
Suddenly, something began to tug on Agate's rod, almost pulling the girl into the water.
"Whoah! That's surely a big one!" Agate exclaimed as she tried to pull back, but the fish proved to be just as strong, if stronger. It jumped out of the water, showing that it was an extraordinarily large catfish, about 3 metres long.
"No way..." Wakumi gasped. "Its..."
"Don't just stand there, help me!" Agate yelled.
Wakumi and Sango both held onto Agate, as the three attempted to pull the on the catfish.
"Darn, either its you are lucky or you are screwed... this is certainly the Lord of the Lake!" the herbalist remarked.
"And its strong, no matter the legend..." Sango added.
Even with their combined strenght, the trio struggled against the giant fish. It suddenly did a big yank on the rod, causing Agate, who was holding onto her rod firmly, to have sent flying into the water, while the other two fell back. The short-haired girl even let the rod go in the process, but was how thrashing about in the water.
"Help!" she attempted to try and stay afloat. "I... can't swim!"
"Agate!" Wakumi yelled.
The herbalist looked at the water, seeing her friend thrashing on the surface.
"Just calm down, I am coming!"
"But Wakumi..." Sango grabbed his shoulder.
"I have to do it, even it means she gets to see my true form." Wakumi responded and jumped into the water.
In the water, Agate suddenly felt something to tug on her right leg. On instinct, she just managed to take a big gulp of air before being pulled underwater. The giant catfish was below her, biting into her leg, clearly attempting to drown her. Agate did a kick downward with her left leg, but the fish still held into her firmly. Just then, an another creature emerged from the water and used a stick to prod the catfish on the gills, forcing it to release Agate. The short-haired girl's eyes went big from shock. The creature was a female humanoid, with human head and arms, but was encased in a turtle shell with a darker green carapace and lighter green plastron. Her legs were covered with dark-green scales, with webbed toes and blunt claws, also having a fan-like tail resembling seaweed. Her face was also eerily familiar, just with short horns on her forehead. The turtle-like female them pushed Agate back to the surface.
"AAAH!" she short-haired girl took a deep breath of air as she surfaced. Then she felt herself being lifted up a bit more, as the turtle-like female surfaced just next to her, with Agate finding herself clutching into her dorsal shell.
"Man, I have never meant to reveal this, but I guess I had no choice." she turned her head towards Agate, revealing a certain herbalist.
"Wa... Wakumi?!"
"Yes, its me. Now, hold on tight into my back, we are going ashore." Wakumi said.
Agate nodded as the herbalist began to swim towards the shore, when they heard Sango's yell:
"The Lord of the Lake! Its coming again!"
Agate looked back and saw the giant catfish, now on the surface, chasing after them.
"I guess its pissed..." the short-haired girl said.
"Or its just really stubborn..." Wakumi added as she increased her swimming speed to try to get away from the fish.
They almost reached the shore, when the Lord of the Lake decided to change tactics and jumped high into the air, clearly attempting to crash into them.
"IS THIS FISH CRAZY??!" Agate exclaimed in shock.
"Divine Spell: RAIJIN SHOCK!!" suddenly a paper talisman was thrown across the air, sticking onto the catfish before it could fall down onto our heroes, and released a large amount of electricity. It stopped the fish' momentum and sent it back into the water. Both Wakumi and Agate observed this, with the latter reacting in shock. Then she turned to Sango, revealing that it was her who threw the talisman.
"You are a life-saver, Sango." Wakumi said with a smile.
"Geez, you are sometimes so reckless..." Sango responded with a shrug.
"Thank you... both of you..." Agate said, with her clothes being all wet, the looked at Wakumi. "Just what the heck... are you...?"
"Lets dry up and I tell everything." the herbalist caught her breath, while Sango went to make fire. Unbeknowst do them, a shadowy figure was watching them from the bushes.
...
Hours later, the Sun was shown setting as the trio was preparing to have dinner. They have fried all the fish they had caught by the campfire. Wakumi was shown to be back into her human form, while Agate was drying her clothes by the fire, wearing Wakumi's haori coat so she won't catch a cold.
"So Wakumi, can you tell what kind of creature you are exactly?" she asked, being intrigued about her companion's turtle-like form.
"Well, I am actually a Yokai, a Honengame to be exact." Wakumi responded.
"Whoah... so they exist in this world? They are just legends in mine." the short-haired girl remarked.
"Pretty much!" Sango joined to conversation. "In fact, I am a Yokai too, a Suzuhiko-Hime. That's why I have the bells on my head."
"I really thought they were just weird hair decorations..." Agate said, impressed. After seeing a real-life lizardman, a giant human-eating catfish and a turtle woman, a bell girl didn't seem that farfetched.
"But please, don't tell anyone." the herbalist continued. "Yokai are not present on this part of the world, they are only native on the Eastern lands of Nippon, where me and Sango are coming from."
"More specifically, from the Island of Hanajima!" Sango added.
"Yeah. But even there, our kinds are rarely seen, and there are people on this world who..."
"WAHOOO!!" Before Wakumi could finish her sentence, a stout, bulky figure jumped out of the nearby bushed. It was still a head taller than a human, bulky frame and stout figure. A male humanoid pig-like creature, basically looking like a cross between a wild boar and a man. He was wearing brown pants and leather armor.
"Who.. is that?!" Agate asked in surprise.
"An orc..." Wakumi responded.
"Hey, you!" the orc pointed at Wakumi.
"Me?" the herbalist was caught off-guard.
"Yes. I know we just met, but its love at first sight..." the orc then took out a flower and presented it to Wakumi. "Please marry me and be the mother of my children!"
"EEEEH!!?" all three girls were beyond shocked by this.
"But... I don't even know your name..." Wakumi shuttered with a totally red face.
"Well, then let me to introduce my self. My name is Gandu, the Champion of Mud!" the orc let out a snort and posed, showing off his impressive arm muscles. "So, will you marry me, Miss Wakumi?"
"Wait, how do you know my name?" the herbalist asked in more shock.
"Its obvious the guy was stalking us and overheard our conversation..." Sango said with an annoyed look on her face.
"Then... sorry to break it to you, but you are not my type..." Wakumi said, still feeling embarrassed.
"WHAAAA...?!" Gandu felt crestfallen from the rejection, but then suddely he began to snort, with steam coming out of his nostrils. "If you don't want, then I will make you!"
He attempted to run at Wakumi, but Agate was quick to react. She jumped at Gandu and struck him hard with a kick directly into the face.
"No one forces my friend to do something she doesn't want to!"
The orc stood back up and glared at Agate, who had a similarly angry expression.
"Are you challenging me, human?!" he snorted at the short-haired girl. The two was glaring at each other, ready to fight, until...
"Divine Spell: KAGUTSUCHI FLAME!!"
Sango threw three paper palismans towards Gandu, which merged into one big fireball and hit the orc, setting him on fire.
"AAAAAH! Hot, hot, hot, HOT!!" the pig-like creature was running around in a comedic fashion engulfed in flames.
"Roasted pig anyone?" Sango snickered with a grin on her face.
Still aflame, Gandu jumped into the lake to set the fire out. When he stood back up in the water, he was comically charred black.
"I... will get you back for this one, you hear me?! No one makes joke about the mighty Gandu!" he yelled in embarrassement.
However, as if being humbled by a couple of girls wasn't enough, suddenly the Lord of the Lake jumped out of the water behind him, attempting to get the orc. Being intimidated by the aquatic beast, Gandu ran away letting out a shriek. All three girls were laughing at the comical scene.
"And there he goes..." Sango said, with her hands on her hips.
"But seriously, did that guy really wanted to marry you Wakumi? Just out of the blue like that?" Agate remarked.
"I hate these type of guys..." Wakumi sat back down, clearly tired of the events happened today.
"Alright, lets have dinner and rest up. We still have a long way in front of us."
"I agree." the human girl also sat back down.
Afterwards, the dinner was largely uneventful. Wakumi quickly fell asleep, since having to deal with the Lord of the Lake and Gandu's unwanted affection tired her out. As for Agate, she looked up at the sky, then at Wakumi and Sango. She felt thankful for the herbalist that she saved her from a certain demise, and also felt glad she managed to pay back by defending her from the orc, even if she was a Yokai. As for Sango, who would have known that this normally nice and cheerful girl is actually having quite a powerful ability with these paper talismans, which allowed her to play a role in dealing with both the fish and the orc. And she is a Yokai too to boot. Agate laid back down, wondering what kind of adventures could await her with such special travelling companions like these.
To be continued...
"I am hungry..." Agate held her stomach as it was heard rumbling quite loudly.
"Alright, lets take a break and set up camp." Wakumi responded as they walked out of the forest, with a big lake in front of them.
"Whoah, this is pretty" Sango exclaimed, looking at the brilliant blue of the water.
"Well, this lake is pretty popular with travelers, especially that you can find a lot of fish here."
"So, does that mean we are going to fish?" Agate asked.
"Yep!" Wakumi took out three fishing rods from her bag.
"Whoah, how do these rods fit into her bag?!" the short-haired girl asked, surprised that her kimono-clad companion just casually pulled out three complete fishing rods out of her apparently smaller bag.
"Wakumi-san's bag is special." Sango explained. "It can store a lot of items within its magic space, no matter the size. You can't put in living things though..."
"Still, its very impressive..." Agate turned to take a look at the lake again.
Chapter 3: Yokai Companions
A bit later, the trio was seen fishing using their rods at the bank of the lake. Among the three, Wakumi managed to catch the most fish, while Agate only managed to hook one or two.
"Say, why is that you are catching a lot of fish?"
"Well, I use a special bait made from special herbs." Wakumi replied with pride. "It has a smell, that fish can't resist."
"Trust me, you don't want to smell it, it stinks like hell..." Sango added.
"But still, its popular with fish..." the herbalist shrugged and returned her attenion to the water.
Next, it was Sango who caught a larger fish. As for Agate, she was still waiting for her catch, using a simple earthworm.
"Dang, its boring..." she complained with a sigh.
"You have to be patient. A big fish always takes its time to show up." Wakumi said. "Hey, speaking of large fish, do you know about the Lord of the Lake?"
"The Lord of the Lake?"
"Yes, legend has it, that this lake is also a home of a giant catfish that can swallow up a human with ease. It is said that it was never caught, and whoever attempted to catch it, because fish food instead." the herbalist explained.
"Oh wow, that sounds a bit disturbing..." Sango responded with an awkward smile.
Suddenly, something began to tug on Agate's rod, almost pulling the girl into the water.
"Whoah! That's surely a big one!" Agate exclaimed as she tried to pull back, but the fish proved to be just as strong, if stronger. It jumped out of the water, showing that it was an extraordinarily large catfish, about 3 metres long.
"No way..." Wakumi gasped. "Its..."
"Don't just stand there, help me!" Agate yelled.
Wakumi and Sango both held onto Agate, as the three attempted to pull the on the catfish.
"Darn, either its you are lucky or you are screwed... this is certainly the Lord of the Lake!" the herbalist remarked.
"And its strong, no matter the legend..." Sango added.
Even with their combined strenght, the trio struggled against the giant fish. It suddenly did a big yank on the rod, causing Agate, who was holding onto her rod firmly, to have sent flying into the water, while the other two fell back. The short-haired girl even let the rod go in the process, but was how thrashing about in the water.
"Help!" she attempted to try and stay afloat. "I... can't swim!"
"Agate!" Wakumi yelled.
The herbalist looked at the water, seeing her friend thrashing on the surface.
"Just calm down, I am coming!"
"But Wakumi..." Sango grabbed his shoulder.
"I have to do it, even it means she gets to see my true form." Wakumi responded and jumped into the water.
In the water, Agate suddenly felt something to tug on her right leg. On instinct, she just managed to take a big gulp of air before being pulled underwater. The giant catfish was below her, biting into her leg, clearly attempting to drown her. Agate did a kick downward with her left leg, but the fish still held into her firmly. Just then, an another creature emerged from the water and used a stick to prod the catfish on the gills, forcing it to release Agate. The short-haired girl's eyes went big from shock. The creature was a female humanoid, with human head and arms, but was encased in a turtle shell with a darker green carapace and lighter green plastron. Her legs were covered with dark-green scales, with webbed toes and blunt claws, also having a fan-like tail resembling seaweed. Her face was also eerily familiar, just with short horns on her forehead. The turtle-like female them pushed Agate back to the surface.
"AAAH!" she short-haired girl took a deep breath of air as she surfaced. Then she felt herself being lifted up a bit more, as the turtle-like female surfaced just next to her, with Agate finding herself clutching into her dorsal shell.
"Man, I have never meant to reveal this, but I guess I had no choice." she turned her head towards Agate, revealing a certain herbalist.
"Wa... Wakumi?!"
"Yes, its me. Now, hold on tight into my back, we are going ashore." Wakumi said.
Agate nodded as the herbalist began to swim towards the shore, when they heard Sango's yell:
"The Lord of the Lake! Its coming again!"
Agate looked back and saw the giant catfish, now on the surface, chasing after them.
"I guess its pissed..." the short-haired girl said.
"Or its just really stubborn..." Wakumi added as she increased her swimming speed to try to get away from the fish.
They almost reached the shore, when the Lord of the Lake decided to change tactics and jumped high into the air, clearly attempting to crash into them.
"IS THIS FISH CRAZY??!" Agate exclaimed in shock.
"Divine Spell: RAIJIN SHOCK!!" suddenly a paper talisman was thrown across the air, sticking onto the catfish before it could fall down onto our heroes, and released a large amount of electricity. It stopped the fish' momentum and sent it back into the water. Both Wakumi and Agate observed this, with the latter reacting in shock. Then she turned to Sango, revealing that it was her who threw the talisman.
"You are a life-saver, Sango." Wakumi said with a smile.
"Geez, you are sometimes so reckless..." Sango responded with a shrug.
"Thank you... both of you..." Agate said, with her clothes being all wet, the looked at Wakumi. "Just what the heck... are you...?"
"Lets dry up and I tell everything." the herbalist caught her breath, while Sango went to make fire. Unbeknowst do them, a shadowy figure was watching them from the bushes.
...
Hours later, the Sun was shown setting as the trio was preparing to have dinner. They have fried all the fish they had caught by the campfire. Wakumi was shown to be back into her human form, while Agate was drying her clothes by the fire, wearing Wakumi's haori coat so she won't catch a cold.
"So Wakumi, can you tell what kind of creature you are exactly?" she asked, being intrigued about her companion's turtle-like form.
"Well, I am actually a Yokai, a Honengame to be exact." Wakumi responded.
"Whoah... so they exist in this world? They are just legends in mine." the short-haired girl remarked.
"Pretty much!" Sango joined to conversation. "In fact, I am a Yokai too, a Suzuhiko-Hime. That's why I have the bells on my head."
"I really thought they were just weird hair decorations..." Agate said, impressed. After seeing a real-life lizardman, a giant human-eating catfish and a turtle woman, a bell girl didn't seem that farfetched.
"But please, don't tell anyone." the herbalist continued. "Yokai are not present on this part of the world, they are only native on the Eastern lands of Nippon, where me and Sango are coming from."
"More specifically, from the Island of Hanajima!" Sango added.
"Yeah. But even there, our kinds are rarely seen, and there are people on this world who..."
"WAHOOO!!" Before Wakumi could finish her sentence, a stout, bulky figure jumped out of the nearby bushed. It was still a head taller than a human, bulky frame and stout figure. A male humanoid pig-like creature, basically looking like a cross between a wild boar and a man. He was wearing brown pants and leather armor.
"Who.. is that?!" Agate asked in surprise.
"An orc..." Wakumi responded.
"Hey, you!" the orc pointed at Wakumi.
"Me?" the herbalist was caught off-guard.
"Yes. I know we just met, but its love at first sight..." the orc then took out a flower and presented it to Wakumi. "Please marry me and be the mother of my children!"
"EEEEH!!?" all three girls were beyond shocked by this.
"But... I don't even know your name..." Wakumi shuttered with a totally red face.
"Well, then let me to introduce my self. My name is Gandu, the Champion of Mud!" the orc let out a snort and posed, showing off his impressive arm muscles. "So, will you marry me, Miss Wakumi?"
"Wait, how do you know my name?" the herbalist asked in more shock.
"Its obvious the guy was stalking us and overheard our conversation..." Sango said with an annoyed look on her face.
"Then... sorry to break it to you, but you are not my type..." Wakumi said, still feeling embarrassed.
"WHAAAA...?!" Gandu felt crestfallen from the rejection, but then suddely he began to snort, with steam coming out of his nostrils. "If you don't want, then I will make you!"
He attempted to run at Wakumi, but Agate was quick to react. She jumped at Gandu and struck him hard with a kick directly into the face.
"No one forces my friend to do something she doesn't want to!"
The orc stood back up and glared at Agate, who had a similarly angry expression.
"Are you challenging me, human?!" he snorted at the short-haired girl. The two was glaring at each other, ready to fight, until...
"Divine Spell: KAGUTSUCHI FLAME!!"
Sango threw three paper palismans towards Gandu, which merged into one big fireball and hit the orc, setting him on fire.
"AAAAAH! Hot, hot, hot, HOT!!" the pig-like creature was running around in a comedic fashion engulfed in flames.
"Roasted pig anyone?" Sango snickered with a grin on her face.
Still aflame, Gandu jumped into the lake to set the fire out. When he stood back up in the water, he was comically charred black.
"I... will get you back for this one, you hear me?! No one makes joke about the mighty Gandu!" he yelled in embarrassement.
However, as if being humbled by a couple of girls wasn't enough, suddenly the Lord of the Lake jumped out of the water behind him, attempting to get the orc. Being intimidated by the aquatic beast, Gandu ran away letting out a shriek. All three girls were laughing at the comical scene.
"And there he goes..." Sango said, with her hands on her hips.
"But seriously, did that guy really wanted to marry you Wakumi? Just out of the blue like that?" Agate remarked.
"I hate these type of guys..." Wakumi sat back down, clearly tired of the events happened today.
"Alright, lets have dinner and rest up. We still have a long way in front of us."
"I agree." the human girl also sat back down.
Afterwards, the dinner was largely uneventful. Wakumi quickly fell asleep, since having to deal with the Lord of the Lake and Gandu's unwanted affection tired her out. As for Agate, she looked up at the sky, then at Wakumi and Sango. She felt thankful for the herbalist that she saved her from a certain demise, and also felt glad she managed to pay back by defending her from the orc, even if she was a Yokai. As for Sango, who would have known that this normally nice and cheerful girl is actually having quite a powerful ability with these paper talismans, which allowed her to play a role in dealing with both the fish and the orc. And she is a Yokai too to boot. Agate laid back down, wondering what kind of adventures could await her with such special travelling companions like these.
To be continued...
After their adventure by the lake, Agate and her companions continued their journey across the forest. Soon, they reached the part where the trees became less frequent and slowly gave their way into some more open areas. Agate was looking around, marvelling at the scenery as they were walking on the road. Suddenly, the bush farther by the road in front of of them began to move.
"Huh?" Agate stopped. "Is it that annoying orc again?"
"Not this time." Wakumi said.
The herbalist was right. A feather-clad animal stepped out of the bushes, somewhat resembling a flightless bird, bit is wasn't. A long snout filled with sharp teeth, claws on the arms and feet (with one sickle-like on the second toe), as well as a long tail - it was a dinosaur. Light green feathers were covering most of its body, while longer dark green feathers were seen on its arms, tail, across the spine and a crest on its head. However, the face, legs and the hands were covered with orange-brown scales instead.
"A Lophoraptor..." Sango muttered.
"Yeah, and if one is present... the others are not too far." the herbalist added.
Then as if on cue, an another one stepped out of the bushes, this one was larger, with its head crest, tail- and arm feathers had blue colors towards the tips. It looked at the trio, then let out a snort, as the other one crossed the road, followed by more smaller ones.
"Are they... dinosaurs?" Agate asked. "I thought these were gone extinct... at least in my world."
"Yes, they are. These are called Lophoraptor, the one with the blue feathers is a male, must be the alpha of the pack. The other one is its mate, and their offspring. They live in family packs." Wakumi explained, still in a quiet tone. "If we leave them alone, they don't attack normally. Just wait until they leave..."
"Oh..." the short-haired girl looked back at the animals. The male Lophoraptor kept an eye on them until the last pack member had crossed the road, then he followed suit as well. Agate couldn't believe that she could encounter a dinosaur in flesh.
Chapter 4: Blue
After the encounter with the dinosaur pack, the group resumed the way down the road. Agate was still wondering about their presence, and Wakumi was more than happy to answer.
"You see, dinosaurs as a whole are still present in this world, though there aren't many of them."
"Why is that?" Agate asked.
"They mostly live in remote areas, because most of them came conflict with people in the past. Lophoraptor are one of the few that still can be found around this area."
"Yet, they are also in danger, because of poaching." Sango added."Its due to their pretty feathers, as well as their young are sold in the pet trade, since they can be tamed."
"Darn, this is horrible..." the short-haired girl gasped. She had no idea that hunting and illegal trade is a problem even in a fantasy setting.
As they continued their walk, suddenly they heard loud growling and yelling. It came from the side left to the road.
"What are these noises?" Agate asked.
"Something is in trouble!" Wakumi exclaimed and ran off to the direction of the voices.
"Wait for us!" Sango and Agate were quick to follow.
The trio ran past some bushes, until they found where the voices came from. There was a big hole on the ground by one of the larger trees, but the biggest surprise awaited inside it: a male Lophoraptor was trapped in the hole and attempted to climb out, but couldn't as it was also visibly injured on his right leg. Wakumi let out a big gasp:
"No way! A poacher's trap hole! We have to help this poor animal."
"But if the poachers are still nearby.." Sango was cautious.
Agate approached the hole and looked down, seeing the Lophoraptor. Upon noticing her, the dinosaur became aggressive and let out an angry yell.
"Don't get too close, Agate." the herbalist told her friend. "Sango, put it asleep."
"Okay." the Suzuhiko-hime nodded and summoned a paper talisman. "Sleep Spell!"
She threw it at the dinosaur, with the talisman sticking into its forehead, putting to sleep instantly.
"Wow..." Agate was impressed.
Wakumi then cautiously descended into the hole.
"Agate, there must be a rope in my bag. I will tie one end around the animal, you tie the other end around that tree. Then pull with all of your might! I would help by pushing it from here." she said.
"Roger!" the short-haired girl went to Wakumi's bag and reached into it, pulling the rope out. It was actually quite long. She let one end into the hole, while Sango tied the other end around the tree. As for Wakumi, she checked the dinosaur for injuries: there was a larger gash on its right leg, and its left arm appeared to be injured as well, maybe from falling into the hole. The herbalist then tied the rope around animal, firmly but cautiously in order to not cause any more harm to it.
"Now, pull!" she yelled.
Both Agate and Sango began to pull with full strenght, but the animal was quite heavy. Wakumi also helped by trying to lift the dinosaur from below. Luckily, being a Yokai meant she was stronger than a normal human. With the three of them working together, they managed to get the Lophoraptor out of the hole. With the dinosaur out, its size was apparent: 3 and half meter long, it was a male subadult Lophoraptor.
"Finally..." Agate panted, catching her breath as she looked at the now freed animal.
"Good work you two." Wakumi climbed out of the hole, using the same rope.
"So what do we do with it?" Sango asked.
"I will treat its injuries." the herbalist replied. "We can't just leave it here. Lets set up camp."
"But what if the poachers return..."
"Then, we will teach them a lesson or two..." Agate bumped her fists together, while Sango rolled her eyes:
"I figured..."
Later, as the Sun was going down the horizon, the three females were setting up camp. Wakumi was examining the sleeping dinosaur further, treating its leg injury with her herbal medicines. Sango put the firewood together and lit up the campfire with her Kagutsuchi Flame spell.
"Agate, the bandages please." the herbalist asked.
"Yes." the short-haired girl brought the bandages, with Wakumi used to bandage the animal's injured leg.
"Luckily, the arm is in a better shape, it will heal in no time, but the leg needs some rest..." Wakumi remarked. "Probably a few days for full healing."
"Wow, this is the first time I see you using your profession. You are very good." Agate complimented.
"Wakumi-san is one of the best in her forte." Sango said. "Back on Hanajima, she is the best!"
"But I still have a lot to learn, this is why I joined the Pharmacist's Guild on the first place. Now, lets wait until the dinosaur wakes up."
"Wait, won't it be aggressive again?" the short-haired girl asked.
"Lophoraptor are intelligent creatures, they can sense if others are hostile to them. Thats why that pack we encountered earlier left without any issue with us. We didn't provoke them, so they left in peace. This guy, however, was in a panicked state when we found it. Though I am sure that putting it asleep helped it to calm down somewhat." Wakumi said.
Later the night came, and both Agate and Sango were sleeping. Wakumi, on the other hand, was standing guard, in case the poacher would return or would they get any other uninvited guests. The herbalist was eating the roasted fish they got by the lake. The scent of the meat reached the dinosaur's nostrils, causing it to slowly wake up. The animal looked around: it was farther away from the fire, with Wakumi next to it. It attempted to stand up, but felt the pain in its right leg.
"Hey, please take it easy." Wakumi said, noticing the animal waking up. The dinosaur let out a growl towards her, but the herbalist picked up a roasted fish and threw it in front of the animal. "Don't have to worry, we won't hurt you. Eat this up, you still need to recover your strenght."
She even took out a flask of medicine, which emitted a soothing scent, calming the dinosaur down. It sat back down and gulped up the fish immediately, before looking at the kimono-clad female again.
"I know you are still shaken by falling into that trap." Wakumi said. "But you can trust us, you are in good hands."
While still keeping her distance from the dinosaur, the herbalist took out an another fish and gave it to the animal, which ate it almost immediately, showing that it grew increasingly hungry, while being trapped in the hole. Wakumi couldn't help without a bright smile.
"You indeed have a good appetite, don't you?"
The dinosaur looked at Wakumi and saw her genuine smile, with the desire to help behind it. Herbalist and dinosaur remained eyes locked for a moment, then after eating a third fish, the animal placed its head under its right arm, and fell asleep like a bird would. Wakumi found that really cute.
"Sleep well, you would need it."
Luckily, the night went by without any accidens. Agate was the first one to wake up. She stood up and stretched her arms, noticing that Wakumi was still up.
"Morning Wakumi."
"Good morning..." the herbalist yawned, visibly sleepy.
"Hey, get some sleep. I will look after our dinosaur friend. I hope it didn't cause any trouble."
"Luckily it was cooperative, and cute in its own way." Wakumi replied with a smile, while looking at the still-sleeping dinosaur.
"Glad to hear that." Agate responded with a small smile. She was relieved that the animal didn't cause any trouble.
Then suddenly the Lophoraptor opened its eyes and perked his head up, looking towards a certain direction. This caught the attention of both girls.
"Is something up?" Wakumi asked.
As a response, the dinosaur began to growl, but not at them. Instead, it did towards the direction they were looking at. Three figures were standing there, two humans and a bigger humanoid creature with green skin and a muscular body. The humans were carrying musket guns, while the taller green one had a warhammer.
"So this is where our dinosaur was gone!" one of the humans stepped forward, a man with tattoos on his face and long brown hair, wearing a khaki-colored top and long pants.
"If you guys thought you can escape with our bounty, you are mistaken." the second human said. She was a female with dark skin and black curly hair, wearing an outfit consisting of a crop-top and a miniskirt with the same colors as the man's, leaving her midriff bare. As for the big guy, he wore only short pants.
"The poachers..." Wakumi narrowed her eyes.
"Can I clobber them?" the muscular creature asked the tattooed man, who appeared to be their boss.
"What is that big greenskin?" Agate asked, referring to the big one.
"A troll..." the herbalist replied. "Immensely strong, but very stupid."
"Who did you call stupid?" the troll was visibly triggered by the comment, but the boss held out his hand:
"Calm down." he then looked at the two girls. "Now, hand over that dinosaur."
"Not happening." Wakumi stated calmly. "This dinosaur is under my care. I am not letting anything to happen with it."
"Hey, have you even realize how outmatched you are?" the woman smirked, pointing her gun at them.
Agate took a look at the trio, and began to sweat. She could have attacked them, but the guns and the troll made her uneasy, especially if he is as strong as Gigabite was. Wakumi was nervous as well, but she wanted to protect the dinosaur.
"Then I would die rather than give up my patient!" the herbalist then stated as she stepped forward, then with a quick movement, she revealed a blue folding fan from her right hand, as if she was ready to fight. The fan had the same pink flower pattern as her kimono.
"As you wish..." the boss said. "Fire!!"
Both him and the woman began to shot from their muskets, but Wakumi held out her left hand and blocked the bullets with her Spirit Barrier.
"Darn!" the woman exclaimed.
"Agate, now! These muskets take time to reload!" Wakumi exclaimed.
"Okay!" This was what Agate was waiting for. She sprinted forward and punched the woman on the face hard, who was caught off-guard by this.
"You... will pay for this!" the boss took out a short sword and thrusted it at Wakumi, who blocked with her closed fan.
"This is my special war fan." the herbalist said, revealing that the edge and the outer coating of her fan was made out of metal. "It is more then capable to match with your blade."
"You little..." the tattooed man gritted his teeth. "Conga, smash her!"
"CONGA, SMASH!!" the troll stepped behind Wakumi and attempted to slam his hammer down at her, when suddenly some paper talismans hit him, exploding on contact and stunned him momentarily.
"Just leave the big guy to me!" Sango jumped next to her friend, apparently having woken up by the ruckus.
"I have faith in you." Wakumi nodded to her bestie.
"Alright, lets dance!" Sango faced the troll.
Meanwhile Agate was fighting the woman, who took out a whip and struck hard. The short-haired girl used her right arm to parry, but the whip coiled around her arm.
"Now I got you!" the woman smirked. "Now you learn not to mess with the great Domina!"
Electricity began to surge through the whip, shocking Agate.
"AAAAH!" she screamed in pain.
"Agate!" Wakumi exclaimed, as she herself was locking blades with the boss.
"This is... nothing..." Agate muttered.
"You still have strenght left? Very well!" Domina then attempted use the whip to swing Agate around, but the short-haired girl planted her feet and resisted the pull. "Why are you protecting the dinosaur?! Its obvious you have no chance against us!"
"I trust in Wakumi, because she is my friend. If she wants to save this dinosaur, then I have no problem with it. I have problem with you guys who want to sell this innocent animal for money!" Agate exclaimed as she clenched her left fist and yanked her right arm back, pulling Domina towards herself.
"WAAAAH!" Domina was shocked on being pulled in by her opponent. Agate then used her left fist to punch the female poacher hard into the gut, aided by the momentum of pulling from the whip. Domina let out one last yelp as she fell down unconcious. As for Agate herself, she was panting and fell down to one knee.
At the same time, Sango was dancing circles around Conga, literally. The troll swung his hammer again and again, but the bell girl dodged them with ease using her elegant dance-like movements.
"Stop bouncing around!" Conga demanded as he swung his hammer again.
"Sorry, this is my fighting style!" Sango avoided yet again with a spinning jump. "Talisman Bomber!!"
Still in mid-air, she summoned several paper talismans into her hands and threw them at the troll. All of them hit and exploded on contact, though Conga was barely stopped.
"Tis' is just a scratch!" the troll reared back, ready to strike with his hammer again.
"Then how about this? Divine Spell: FUJIN BREATH!" Sango summoned a paper talisman in her right hand, between her index and middle fingers and pointed it at Conga, releasing a big tornado. As the troll attempted the swing his hammer down, the whirlwind caused him to release the hammer as the weapon was propelled upwards.
"Where is... my hammer?" Conga looked at his hands confused.
"Up there!"
"Huh?" the troll looked up as the hammer fell down struck his head hard, causing him to fall down and knocked out.
"I guess beware of falling hammers!" Sango joked.
"No, Domina, Conga!" the boss was shocked to see his subordinates being defeated.
"Take this as a lesson, never threaten a doctor's patients!" Wakumi swung her fan at him, but the boss dodged with a sidestep and kicked the herbalist on the legs, causing her to fall down.
"I should say almost the same thing, but for me, never stand between a hunter and his prey!" the male poacher pointed his blade at Wakumi's throat. He was ready to deliver the finishing blow, when suddenly he heard a growling voice behind him. It was none other, than the dinosaur that our heroes rescued. The animal bit into the boss' rear, who yelped in pain and managed to yank himself free, but on the expense of his own pants.
"I guess even the hunter can become the hunted." Wakumi remarked as she stood up.
"We... aren't finished yet! Me, Don Armando, always gets his prey!" the boss yelled back, while trying to cover his backside.
"Well, we have different opinion on that." the herbalist folded her arms, as Agate and Sango both joined her, alongside the dinosaur who was growling and ready to pounce. Realizing that he is outmatched, Don Armando had no choice but to flee. He took out a smoke bomb and detonated it, quickly disappearing before the smoke cleared.
"Darn, he escaped!" Agate was coughing from the smoke.
"Well, at least this guy is alright." Wakumi turned to the dinosaur. "And it seems my medicine is taking effect, he can stand and walk without problem."
"But you said the healing process of her leg would last for a few days." Sango brought it up.
"Yeah, thats true..." the herbalist was about to say something, when suddenly the dinosaur approached her and began to nuzzle to her face. "Hey, that tickles!"
"Whoah..." Agate gasped. "Since when did it become this affectionate?"
"It seems the dinosaur took a liking at you, Wakumi-san." Sango smiled.
"Wow... you..." Wakumi looked into the dinosaur's eyes. "You... would like to come with me?"
The animal just let out a grunt and pushed its nose to Wakumi, who returned the affection by rubbing the snout.
"I think thats a yes." Sango remarked.
"Well then, welcome to the team, Blue." the herbalist smiled.
"Blue?" Agate asked.
"Yes, thats his name beginning from today." Wakumi said, when suddenly she collapsed to the ground. Luckily, the dinosaur managed to use its head to catch her fall.
"Now them, get some rest Wakumi-san. You always overexert yourself when it comes to your patients." the bell girl said with a relieved sigh. She then led Wakumi to their campsite, so the herbalist could rest up properly.
"You know, Wakumi always surprises me." the short-haired girl remarked, telling to the dinosaur. "Besides, I think your name fits you, because of the pretty blue colors on your plumage."
She then attempted to pet Blue, but the Lophoraptor pulled his head away slightly, while letting out a guttural growl.
"Hey, you don't have to be this grumpy, I know you still have to get used to us..." the short-haired girl sighed and also walked back to the camp, with Blue following.
And with that, Wakumi's new friend, Blue the Lophoraptor has joined the group, but what will his addition bring into the team's dynamic? Stay tuned as they continue their journey.
To be continued...
"Huh?" Agate stopped. "Is it that annoying orc again?"
"Not this time." Wakumi said.
The herbalist was right. A feather-clad animal stepped out of the bushes, somewhat resembling a flightless bird, bit is wasn't. A long snout filled with sharp teeth, claws on the arms and feet (with one sickle-like on the second toe), as well as a long tail - it was a dinosaur. Light green feathers were covering most of its body, while longer dark green feathers were seen on its arms, tail, across the spine and a crest on its head. However, the face, legs and the hands were covered with orange-brown scales instead.
"A Lophoraptor..." Sango muttered.
"Yeah, and if one is present... the others are not too far." the herbalist added.
Then as if on cue, an another one stepped out of the bushes, this one was larger, with its head crest, tail- and arm feathers had blue colors towards the tips. It looked at the trio, then let out a snort, as the other one crossed the road, followed by more smaller ones.
"Are they... dinosaurs?" Agate asked. "I thought these were gone extinct... at least in my world."
"Yes, they are. These are called Lophoraptor, the one with the blue feathers is a male, must be the alpha of the pack. The other one is its mate, and their offspring. They live in family packs." Wakumi explained, still in a quiet tone. "If we leave them alone, they don't attack normally. Just wait until they leave..."
"Oh..." the short-haired girl looked back at the animals. The male Lophoraptor kept an eye on them until the last pack member had crossed the road, then he followed suit as well. Agate couldn't believe that she could encounter a dinosaur in flesh.
Chapter 4: Blue
After the encounter with the dinosaur pack, the group resumed the way down the road. Agate was still wondering about their presence, and Wakumi was more than happy to answer.
"You see, dinosaurs as a whole are still present in this world, though there aren't many of them."
"Why is that?" Agate asked.
"They mostly live in remote areas, because most of them came conflict with people in the past. Lophoraptor are one of the few that still can be found around this area."
"Yet, they are also in danger, because of poaching." Sango added."Its due to their pretty feathers, as well as their young are sold in the pet trade, since they can be tamed."
"Darn, this is horrible..." the short-haired girl gasped. She had no idea that hunting and illegal trade is a problem even in a fantasy setting.
As they continued their walk, suddenly they heard loud growling and yelling. It came from the side left to the road.
"What are these noises?" Agate asked.
"Something is in trouble!" Wakumi exclaimed and ran off to the direction of the voices.
"Wait for us!" Sango and Agate were quick to follow.
The trio ran past some bushes, until they found where the voices came from. There was a big hole on the ground by one of the larger trees, but the biggest surprise awaited inside it: a male Lophoraptor was trapped in the hole and attempted to climb out, but couldn't as it was also visibly injured on his right leg. Wakumi let out a big gasp:
"No way! A poacher's trap hole! We have to help this poor animal."
"But if the poachers are still nearby.." Sango was cautious.
Agate approached the hole and looked down, seeing the Lophoraptor. Upon noticing her, the dinosaur became aggressive and let out an angry yell.
"Don't get too close, Agate." the herbalist told her friend. "Sango, put it asleep."
"Okay." the Suzuhiko-hime nodded and summoned a paper talisman. "Sleep Spell!"
She threw it at the dinosaur, with the talisman sticking into its forehead, putting to sleep instantly.
"Wow..." Agate was impressed.
Wakumi then cautiously descended into the hole.
"Agate, there must be a rope in my bag. I will tie one end around the animal, you tie the other end around that tree. Then pull with all of your might! I would help by pushing it from here." she said.
"Roger!" the short-haired girl went to Wakumi's bag and reached into it, pulling the rope out. It was actually quite long. She let one end into the hole, while Sango tied the other end around the tree. As for Wakumi, she checked the dinosaur for injuries: there was a larger gash on its right leg, and its left arm appeared to be injured as well, maybe from falling into the hole. The herbalist then tied the rope around animal, firmly but cautiously in order to not cause any more harm to it.
"Now, pull!" she yelled.
Both Agate and Sango began to pull with full strenght, but the animal was quite heavy. Wakumi also helped by trying to lift the dinosaur from below. Luckily, being a Yokai meant she was stronger than a normal human. With the three of them working together, they managed to get the Lophoraptor out of the hole. With the dinosaur out, its size was apparent: 3 and half meter long, it was a male subadult Lophoraptor.
"Finally..." Agate panted, catching her breath as she looked at the now freed animal.
"Good work you two." Wakumi climbed out of the hole, using the same rope.
"So what do we do with it?" Sango asked.
"I will treat its injuries." the herbalist replied. "We can't just leave it here. Lets set up camp."
"But what if the poachers return..."
"Then, we will teach them a lesson or two..." Agate bumped her fists together, while Sango rolled her eyes:
"I figured..."
Later, as the Sun was going down the horizon, the three females were setting up camp. Wakumi was examining the sleeping dinosaur further, treating its leg injury with her herbal medicines. Sango put the firewood together and lit up the campfire with her Kagutsuchi Flame spell.
"Agate, the bandages please." the herbalist asked.
"Yes." the short-haired girl brought the bandages, with Wakumi used to bandage the animal's injured leg.
"Luckily, the arm is in a better shape, it will heal in no time, but the leg needs some rest..." Wakumi remarked. "Probably a few days for full healing."
"Wow, this is the first time I see you using your profession. You are very good." Agate complimented.
"Wakumi-san is one of the best in her forte." Sango said. "Back on Hanajima, she is the best!"
"But I still have a lot to learn, this is why I joined the Pharmacist's Guild on the first place. Now, lets wait until the dinosaur wakes up."
"Wait, won't it be aggressive again?" the short-haired girl asked.
"Lophoraptor are intelligent creatures, they can sense if others are hostile to them. Thats why that pack we encountered earlier left without any issue with us. We didn't provoke them, so they left in peace. This guy, however, was in a panicked state when we found it. Though I am sure that putting it asleep helped it to calm down somewhat." Wakumi said.
Later the night came, and both Agate and Sango were sleeping. Wakumi, on the other hand, was standing guard, in case the poacher would return or would they get any other uninvited guests. The herbalist was eating the roasted fish they got by the lake. The scent of the meat reached the dinosaur's nostrils, causing it to slowly wake up. The animal looked around: it was farther away from the fire, with Wakumi next to it. It attempted to stand up, but felt the pain in its right leg.
"Hey, please take it easy." Wakumi said, noticing the animal waking up. The dinosaur let out a growl towards her, but the herbalist picked up a roasted fish and threw it in front of the animal. "Don't have to worry, we won't hurt you. Eat this up, you still need to recover your strenght."
She even took out a flask of medicine, which emitted a soothing scent, calming the dinosaur down. It sat back down and gulped up the fish immediately, before looking at the kimono-clad female again.
"I know you are still shaken by falling into that trap." Wakumi said. "But you can trust us, you are in good hands."
While still keeping her distance from the dinosaur, the herbalist took out an another fish and gave it to the animal, which ate it almost immediately, showing that it grew increasingly hungry, while being trapped in the hole. Wakumi couldn't help without a bright smile.
"You indeed have a good appetite, don't you?"
The dinosaur looked at Wakumi and saw her genuine smile, with the desire to help behind it. Herbalist and dinosaur remained eyes locked for a moment, then after eating a third fish, the animal placed its head under its right arm, and fell asleep like a bird would. Wakumi found that really cute.
"Sleep well, you would need it."
Luckily, the night went by without any accidens. Agate was the first one to wake up. She stood up and stretched her arms, noticing that Wakumi was still up.
"Morning Wakumi."
"Good morning..." the herbalist yawned, visibly sleepy.
"Hey, get some sleep. I will look after our dinosaur friend. I hope it didn't cause any trouble."
"Luckily it was cooperative, and cute in its own way." Wakumi replied with a smile, while looking at the still-sleeping dinosaur.
"Glad to hear that." Agate responded with a small smile. She was relieved that the animal didn't cause any trouble.
Then suddenly the Lophoraptor opened its eyes and perked his head up, looking towards a certain direction. This caught the attention of both girls.
"Is something up?" Wakumi asked.
As a response, the dinosaur began to growl, but not at them. Instead, it did towards the direction they were looking at. Three figures were standing there, two humans and a bigger humanoid creature with green skin and a muscular body. The humans were carrying musket guns, while the taller green one had a warhammer.
"So this is where our dinosaur was gone!" one of the humans stepped forward, a man with tattoos on his face and long brown hair, wearing a khaki-colored top and long pants.
"If you guys thought you can escape with our bounty, you are mistaken." the second human said. She was a female with dark skin and black curly hair, wearing an outfit consisting of a crop-top and a miniskirt with the same colors as the man's, leaving her midriff bare. As for the big guy, he wore only short pants.
"The poachers..." Wakumi narrowed her eyes.
"Can I clobber them?" the muscular creature asked the tattooed man, who appeared to be their boss.
"What is that big greenskin?" Agate asked, referring to the big one.
"A troll..." the herbalist replied. "Immensely strong, but very stupid."
"Who did you call stupid?" the troll was visibly triggered by the comment, but the boss held out his hand:
"Calm down." he then looked at the two girls. "Now, hand over that dinosaur."
"Not happening." Wakumi stated calmly. "This dinosaur is under my care. I am not letting anything to happen with it."
"Hey, have you even realize how outmatched you are?" the woman smirked, pointing her gun at them.
Agate took a look at the trio, and began to sweat. She could have attacked them, but the guns and the troll made her uneasy, especially if he is as strong as Gigabite was. Wakumi was nervous as well, but she wanted to protect the dinosaur.
"Then I would die rather than give up my patient!" the herbalist then stated as she stepped forward, then with a quick movement, she revealed a blue folding fan from her right hand, as if she was ready to fight. The fan had the same pink flower pattern as her kimono.
"As you wish..." the boss said. "Fire!!"
Both him and the woman began to shot from their muskets, but Wakumi held out her left hand and blocked the bullets with her Spirit Barrier.
"Darn!" the woman exclaimed.
"Agate, now! These muskets take time to reload!" Wakumi exclaimed.
"Okay!" This was what Agate was waiting for. She sprinted forward and punched the woman on the face hard, who was caught off-guard by this.
"You... will pay for this!" the boss took out a short sword and thrusted it at Wakumi, who blocked with her closed fan.
"This is my special war fan." the herbalist said, revealing that the edge and the outer coating of her fan was made out of metal. "It is more then capable to match with your blade."
"You little..." the tattooed man gritted his teeth. "Conga, smash her!"
"CONGA, SMASH!!" the troll stepped behind Wakumi and attempted to slam his hammer down at her, when suddenly some paper talismans hit him, exploding on contact and stunned him momentarily.
"Just leave the big guy to me!" Sango jumped next to her friend, apparently having woken up by the ruckus.
"I have faith in you." Wakumi nodded to her bestie.
"Alright, lets dance!" Sango faced the troll.
Meanwhile Agate was fighting the woman, who took out a whip and struck hard. The short-haired girl used her right arm to parry, but the whip coiled around her arm.
"Now I got you!" the woman smirked. "Now you learn not to mess with the great Domina!"
Electricity began to surge through the whip, shocking Agate.
"AAAAH!" she screamed in pain.
"Agate!" Wakumi exclaimed, as she herself was locking blades with the boss.
"This is... nothing..." Agate muttered.
"You still have strenght left? Very well!" Domina then attempted use the whip to swing Agate around, but the short-haired girl planted her feet and resisted the pull. "Why are you protecting the dinosaur?! Its obvious you have no chance against us!"
"I trust in Wakumi, because she is my friend. If she wants to save this dinosaur, then I have no problem with it. I have problem with you guys who want to sell this innocent animal for money!" Agate exclaimed as she clenched her left fist and yanked her right arm back, pulling Domina towards herself.
"WAAAAH!" Domina was shocked on being pulled in by her opponent. Agate then used her left fist to punch the female poacher hard into the gut, aided by the momentum of pulling from the whip. Domina let out one last yelp as she fell down unconcious. As for Agate herself, she was panting and fell down to one knee.
At the same time, Sango was dancing circles around Conga, literally. The troll swung his hammer again and again, but the bell girl dodged them with ease using her elegant dance-like movements.
"Stop bouncing around!" Conga demanded as he swung his hammer again.
"Sorry, this is my fighting style!" Sango avoided yet again with a spinning jump. "Talisman Bomber!!"
Still in mid-air, she summoned several paper talismans into her hands and threw them at the troll. All of them hit and exploded on contact, though Conga was barely stopped.
"Tis' is just a scratch!" the troll reared back, ready to strike with his hammer again.
"Then how about this? Divine Spell: FUJIN BREATH!" Sango summoned a paper talisman in her right hand, between her index and middle fingers and pointed it at Conga, releasing a big tornado. As the troll attempted the swing his hammer down, the whirlwind caused him to release the hammer as the weapon was propelled upwards.
"Where is... my hammer?" Conga looked at his hands confused.
"Up there!"
"Huh?" the troll looked up as the hammer fell down struck his head hard, causing him to fall down and knocked out.
"I guess beware of falling hammers!" Sango joked.
"No, Domina, Conga!" the boss was shocked to see his subordinates being defeated.
"Take this as a lesson, never threaten a doctor's patients!" Wakumi swung her fan at him, but the boss dodged with a sidestep and kicked the herbalist on the legs, causing her to fall down.
"I should say almost the same thing, but for me, never stand between a hunter and his prey!" the male poacher pointed his blade at Wakumi's throat. He was ready to deliver the finishing blow, when suddenly he heard a growling voice behind him. It was none other, than the dinosaur that our heroes rescued. The animal bit into the boss' rear, who yelped in pain and managed to yank himself free, but on the expense of his own pants.
"I guess even the hunter can become the hunted." Wakumi remarked as she stood up.
"We... aren't finished yet! Me, Don Armando, always gets his prey!" the boss yelled back, while trying to cover his backside.
"Well, we have different opinion on that." the herbalist folded her arms, as Agate and Sango both joined her, alongside the dinosaur who was growling and ready to pounce. Realizing that he is outmatched, Don Armando had no choice but to flee. He took out a smoke bomb and detonated it, quickly disappearing before the smoke cleared.
"Darn, he escaped!" Agate was coughing from the smoke.
"Well, at least this guy is alright." Wakumi turned to the dinosaur. "And it seems my medicine is taking effect, he can stand and walk without problem."
"But you said the healing process of her leg would last for a few days." Sango brought it up.
"Yeah, thats true..." the herbalist was about to say something, when suddenly the dinosaur approached her and began to nuzzle to her face. "Hey, that tickles!"
"Whoah..." Agate gasped. "Since when did it become this affectionate?"
"It seems the dinosaur took a liking at you, Wakumi-san." Sango smiled.
"Wow... you..." Wakumi looked into the dinosaur's eyes. "You... would like to come with me?"
The animal just let out a grunt and pushed its nose to Wakumi, who returned the affection by rubbing the snout.
"I think thats a yes." Sango remarked.
"Well then, welcome to the team, Blue." the herbalist smiled.
"Blue?" Agate asked.
"Yes, thats his name beginning from today." Wakumi said, when suddenly she collapsed to the ground. Luckily, the dinosaur managed to use its head to catch her fall.
"Now them, get some rest Wakumi-san. You always overexert yourself when it comes to your patients." the bell girl said with a relieved sigh. She then led Wakumi to their campsite, so the herbalist could rest up properly.
"You know, Wakumi always surprises me." the short-haired girl remarked, telling to the dinosaur. "Besides, I think your name fits you, because of the pretty blue colors on your plumage."
She then attempted to pet Blue, but the Lophoraptor pulled his head away slightly, while letting out a guttural growl.
"Hey, you don't have to be this grumpy, I know you still have to get used to us..." the short-haired girl sighed and also walked back to the camp, with Blue following.
And with that, Wakumi's new friend, Blue the Lophoraptor has joined the group, but what will his addition bring into the team's dynamic? Stay tuned as they continue their journey.
To be continued...
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