Two Years Later
Luke : 12 years
Guy : 16 years
Natalia : 13 years
Kukiko : 14 years
"Guy! Guy! Is Master Van coming today? Is he?"
"Hahaha, come on Luke, calm down! Yeah he's coming today; it's a training day, remember?"
"Great! I can't wait!"
You sighed and shook your head in annoyance. "I hate kids..." you mumbled quietly. Guy turned his attention from Luke, who was jumping on the bed, to you. "What are you so upset about?" he asked.
You shook your head, "It seems in only two years our whole reasons for coming here have gone right down the drain. Are you really becoming that soft?"
Guy's eyes narrowed a bit, "Yuko, he's just a child. We can't do anything to hurt him. Besides, what kind of revenge would that be?"
"I am just getting tired of this life. This is exactly how it has been every single day the past couple of years, and I'm sick of it." You closed your eyes and covered your forehead with one of your hands. "Just forget it, I need some blood..."
Guy tilted his head to the side, looking back at you while trying to calm Luke. He grinned, "Want me to go out and catch you another pigeon?"
Shaking your head, you walked towards the door. "And leave me alone with this brat? Thanks for the offer, really, but I can handle myself. Besides, I'm a little sick of pigeons. Why can't there be anything better around here...?"
Guy chuckled to himself once you were out of the door, shutting it behind you. Luke stopped jumping and landed on his butt on the bed. "What were you talking about?" he asked. "Yuko looked really mad."
"No, she's just a little irritated is all," Guy responded, patting the young Luke on his head. "She gets like that all the time. She just needs some fresh air."
Luke nodded vigorously and smiled, "Yeah! I get it! Hey, when can I see Master Van? Is he here yet?"
"Nope, I'm afraid not," Guy frowned. "He'll be here soon though. Until then, wanna train with me instead?"
Luke smiled again and jumped off the bed, "Okay!"
You glanced around, now standing on one of the sides of the courtyard.
"Pigeon... Pigeon... Pigeon... Pigeon... Pigeon...! Pigeon! PIGEON!!"
You accidentally shouted the last part out of anger and quickly covered your mouth. You felt your pupils burn and heat up a bit, but then they cooled off as if nothing happened. Pere, the gardener, looked behind him where you were standing and waved.
You dropped your hand and grinned, walking next to him while sitting down on one of the benches.
"Looking for blood again, I see," Pere muttered. You nodded, "Yes, it's very troublesome. I'm getting very tired of drinking pigeon blood every day."
Pere laughed, "Yes, I understand. It would be almost the same as eating rice every day, every meal, for two years. It must be very hard on you. While we're on the subject, why do you need blood anyway?"
You shrugged, "About six years ago, me and Guy had to walk to Chesedonia for some business. I suppose I could say we got lost on the way there in the middle of the desert. We got surrounded and attacked by a pack of desert ligers. We managed to defeat all of them and I drank some of their blood so I wouldn't get dehydrated."
Old Pere tilted his head to the side a bit, "Wouldn't all that salt contained in your blood fonons dehydrate you quicker?"
You shook your head, "That's the reason Guy didn't drink any. I suppose I have an immunity against the dangers of salt, however silly that may sound. I wouldn't say I particularly need it... It's more like a drug that I am addicted to. I feel as if I will die if I don't drink enough. It has sort of become an energy fuel for me, I presume."
"Well," Pere started, "Just ask long as you don't drink human blood, I'm alright with it. I heard there are a few stray cats in Belkend if you're willing to make the trip."
"Are you kidding?" you sighed. "Belkend is a three day walk without stopping, and that is not including the Inista Marsh. Surely you have heard stories of the Behemoth that lives there."
"Of course I have. I was merely making a suggestion. But if you're not going there, I guess you can count on more pigeon blood."
Standing up, you gave a half wave to Pere and walked towards the center of the courtyard. You stood there and focused for about two minutes until you finally sensed the air above you change a bit. You crouched down and abruptly sprung yourself upwards in the air, clasping your jaw around something bigger than you thought it would be.
You lifted your hands up and gripped it by the back of the neck and one of its legs, landing on it a bit. Lifting your head from the fresh meat, your eyes widened in surprise. "A fox...?" you asked yourself. "From what I've heard, foxes don't fly..."
"Still fishing for pigeons, I see," a low voice behind you muttered. You could sense the smirk in the tone of voice. You grinned and stood up, holding the fox by the tail, and turned around. "Hello, brother," you greeted.
"Now, now," he said. "As long as we are in front of people, you are to call me by my name. Understood, Kuki?"
You growled under your breath, "As long as you call me by my new name."
He laughed, "Yes, Fuyuko."
"Thanks, Van," you grinned darkly. You grabbed the fox carcass by the neck and slung it into your arms. "Well, here to see Luke, I'm guessing? You know where he is."
Van nodded, but didn't take off just yet. He walked a little closer to you and put a hand on your shoulder. "Fuyuko, I wish to make a proposal," he mumbled under his breath so passersby couldn't hear.
You looked down at the fox, grinning uncontrollably and nodded for him to continue. Van smiled, "I wish for you to join the Oracle Knights with me, and become a God-General. There is nothing for you here. I will tell you my ideals if you agree to join me."
You pondered for a bit before Van took his hand off your shoulder. "I will give you some time to think on it. I will await your answer by the end of today." And with that, he left and went into the shelter of Luke's room.
You chuckled to yourself and grabbed the dead fox by the neck once again and dragged it towards the bench you were sitting at before, next to Pere.
Pere gave a half hearted smile before turning back to his plants. His face turned into a bit of a look of disgust once he heard the noise of crushing bones. You bit down quickly on the neck of the fox, some of the neck bones popping. Your overly large canine teeth quickly sunk in and you lifted them out so blood began dripping out.
You smiled to yourself and began sucking on the wound.
Pere shuddered a bit. "F-Fuyuko, I would appreciate it if you didn't do that around me. It sounds a bit..."
Parting your lips from the blood infested wound, you smirked. "Unnerving?" you finished. Pere nodded, "Y-Yes."
"Alright, alright," you nodded. You grabbed the fox once again by the skin of its neck and dragged indoors with you, following the hallway into your room. Ignoring the looks of disgust from the maids and soldiers, you opened a door and stalked inside the small room, closing the door behind you.
You laughed to yourself. "Now it's just you and me."
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"Aw, it's time for you to leave already, Master Van?" Luke complained.
Van smiled and nodded, patting the young boy on the head. "Yes, I am afraid so. But do not fret, I will be back soon to train you again. Until then, I will put my trust in Guy to teach you the rest you need to know for now."
Guy nodded, "Yeah, I'll be sure to. Uh, by the way, Van, have you seen Yuko anywhere? She left a little while ago lookin' for some pigeons and never came back."
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot," Van smirked. "I brought her a present. A very fresh present, if you will. She seemed very pleased."
Guy shuddered and his eyes widened in horror. "Oh, please don't go into details," he begged.
Van laughed and waved him off, walking to your room.
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"Asch, where is Fon Master Evenos?"
Young twelve year old Asch sighed in annoyance, "How am I supposed to know, Largo? Go look for him yourself if you really care."
Forty-three year old Largo tilted his head in confusion. "You are an Oracle Knight, are you not? As Oracle Knights, we have the duty of protecting the Fon Master. Why do you not follow your orders?"
"Just go away," Asch ordered. "I'm not in the mood for you. Besides, what's the pointing protecting Evenos if he's just going to die in three years? Grand Maestro Mohs told us that he had an incurable sickness, didn't he? If you asked for my opinion, I think we should just leave him alone and let him die how he pleases."
Largo looked down in pity. "It is a shame that such a kind-hearted young boy has come to think of it that way. I suppose you do have a point though. Dorian General Van Grants did tell us that he had everything under control, just as long as he had Fon Master Evenos' consent. What do you think he is planning?"
Asch shrugged angrily and shook his head. "Why do you keep asking me things I obviously don't know?" he complained. "Van never tells us anything. The only reason I look up to him is because he's a skilled fighter and treats me like a part of his family."
"I understand," Largo nodded. "Your life was stolen from you, was it not? That Luke child has taken everything from you."
"That's right," Asch scowled. "Sometimes I wish Van hadn't kidnapped me..."
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A knock at your door woke you abruptly from your slumber. You sat up and rubbed your eyes a bit, glancing over at the door.
"I'm coming in," Van's voice echoed from outside.
Before you could move or respond, the door opened with him walking inside. He shut it quietly behind him and walked over to your bed, sitting next to you.
You looked at Van between your partially closed eyes and groaned a bit. "Guy..." you muttered. "Since when did you look so old...? And what the hell did you do with your hair...?"
Bellowing laughter rang through your ears and woke you up a bit more. Van rubbed one of his eyes and smiled at you, "Still not a morning person, are you, little sister?"
You looked down at your blanket covered lap and nodded sleepily, "Huh... yeah... What do you need?"
"Remember my offer?" Van questioned. "If you agree to join the Oracle Knights and come with me to Daath, I will offer you a permanent position as a God-General. I lived on the complete opposite side of Hod than the one you lived on, along with our younger sister, Tear. I am distraught because of what they did to our home. Together, we will defeat the destroyers of Hod, and avenge our families and friends."
Silence followed after. You attempted to hold in a chuckle, but failed miserably.
"Brother," you started, more awake now. "Do you always say stupid things like that?"
Van grinned, "As long as it makes you smile, dearest. What do you think? Will you join me?"
You looked down at your hands for a while.
"What about Guy? We can't just leave him here, you know. He will end up figuring out where I have gone sooner or later."
"Guy no longer desires the destruction of whoever destroyed Hod because of his brotherly relationship with Luke. Do you really think that it would matter to Guy whether or not you stay? He has replaced you with a replica."
"Ah, so I was right..." you grinned darkly. "That really is not the real Luke Fon Fabre, is he? I knew something felt wrong from the day I came here. So, I suppose you were responsible for the kidnapping? Where has the real Luke gone?"
"To answer your first question, you thought right. 'Luke' is a mere replica, only two years old. Yes, I was the one responsible for the kidnapping. In order to create a replica of Luke, I needed him to physically be there. As for the real Luke..."
Van paused, prodding your interest. "...I will let you figure that out on your own if you decide to join me."
You placed a hand under your chin and crossed your other arm over your chest, now entering thinking mode. "Now the only question remaining is why you would want to replicate Luke Fon Fabre... But I am guessing you will give the information out as you please?"
Van nodded, "You know me very well, little sister. Have you made your decision?"
You glanced up at your ceiling for a bit, and then back at Van. "Yeah, I might just take you up on the offer, brother. Make sure Guy does not know of this. I do not want him looking for me, so if he does ask where I went one day when you are here to train the replica, tell him I went back to Malkuth to work under Emperor Peony."
"Back to Malkuth?" Van asked, only slightly surprised. You smirked and shrugged, getting out of bed, "I have a lot of explaining to do. I will tell you on the way to Daath. Do you have a warship that we can get there on?"
Nodding, Van stood and walked towards the door. "Yes. Along with a young girl that I think you will learn to love. I will be waiting in the hallway. Pack as much as you need."
Van opened the door and closed it as soon as he got out.
Grabbing some extra clothes, you threw them casually in a bag of sorts. On a few shelves, there were some Apple Jels and Orange Jels, one that healed physical weakness, and another that healed mental weakness. You gently took them and placed them in separate pouches in the bag.
You also put a loaf of bread inside along with the fox that now had half the blood it had when it was living. You barely were able to zip it up it was so full, but managed it in the end. You slung the bag around your shoulder and walked out the door to see Van waiting patiently. He smiled once he saw you.
"Ready?" he asked. You nodded, "Yes. Let's go."
