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Sunlight Raye - Part THREE |
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“Hey Kuto,” said a voice, “Wake up.”
“Ugh,” grunted Raye.
“Wake up,” said the voice.
“No,” said Raye and she kicked at the voice.
“Ow!” said the voice, “Kuto wake up!” Raye opened her eyes.
“Naro?” asked Raye, “What?” She looked around she was in the infirmary. She had fallen asleep and it was light out. He was holding her foot so she would not kick him.
“Finally.”
“What?”
“There’s someone who wants to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“Because you saved the rebellion.”
“Oh right,” said Raye and she sat up, “That.” Her arm felt like it had broken into a thousand pieces.
“Yeah, that,” said Naro and Raye flexed her hand, “You okay?”
“Yeah.” It felt worse than ever before or at least it should. She knew that, yet it did not seem all of that bad. She pushed it to the back of her mind.
“You sure?” asked Naro.
“Yeah,” said Raye, “You said someone wanted to talk to me. Who?”
“That would be me,” said a man as he walked into the infirmary tent. He was strong and large. He had many muscles and was clearly strong. He was extremely tan and had brown hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in the robes of a General. Raye’s chin dropped at the sight of him, she knew him. He was General Juto Hinaka; he was her hero, her idol. She was so focused on him that she didn’t realize another man. He was less muscular than Hinaka but he was clearly fast on his feet. He was pale and also had brown hair and brown eyes.
“Oh my god,” said Raye, “You’re General Juto Hinaka, sir.” She bowed her head.
“Do I know you?” asked Hinaka.
“No but I know you,” said Raye, “I heard all about you back in Shano, sir.” She could not believe she was in the presence of General Juto Hinaka.
“You’re from Shano?”
“Yes sir.”
“Old or New Shano?”
“Old Shano, sir.” Old Shano was the center of Shano and the more dangerous.
“Where in Old Shano?”
“Hujako District, sir.” That was the worst part of Old Shano.
“Were you in a gang?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you have a job?”
“Yes, sir. At a shop called Mashu Mechanics, sir. Mr. Mashu always said I got a gift for explosives, sir.”
“Did you work as anything else?” Raye jerked and looked at him, he knew.
“Fighter-for-hire, sir.” Everyone gaped at her, fighter-for-hires were considered worse than criminals.
“What?”
“I earned a living.”
“But-,” started Naro but Hinaka held up a hand.
“Did you go to school?”
“Yes, sir,” said Raye.
“Don’t bow,” said Hinaka as he put a finger under her chin and lifted her head, “Let me look at you.” He let go and Raye could not move.
“I probably look like a complete mess,” thought Raye, she hated meeting her hero in her current condition.
“Very good,” said Hinaka.
“Thank you, sir,” said Raye, “I think.”
“The Rebel Army and I would like to thank you for your extreme bravery in the face of overwhelming odds,” said Hinaka, “And I am here to grant you a Bravery Class Award.” He held a small medal out to her.
“Holy s**t,” said Raye and they all looked at her, “Sorry, sir.” She took it and held it delicately. She put it around her neck and stared at it. If only her dad could see her now.
“Don’t call me sir,” said Hinaka.
“Yes, s-,” said Raye, barely stopping herself, “Okay.” Hinaka looked at the man standing next to him.
“Come in,” said the other man and Jaso, Kalan and Huja walked in, “In case you did not know, my name is Lieutenant Calik Jaserard and I am in charge of this training camp. Normally on the first day we divide the new recruits into five men squads. But seeing as how you five works so well together, I figure you can be are first squad. That is, if that’s okay with you.” Raye looked at her comrades and they all nodded.
“It’s cool with us,” said Raye.
“Good,” said Jaserard, “Now all you have to do is pick your team leader.”
“Him,” said Jaso, Huja, Kalan and Naro in unison as they pointed to Raye.
“Kuto, do you want to be the leader?” asked Jaserard.
“Whatever,” said Raye indifferently and she shrugged, something was wrong.
“Way to act honored,” said Naro.
“What?” asked Raye, she did not feel good.
“You get a medal and you’re speechless,” said Naro, “But you’re named our leader of our squad and nothing. Will you at least say something?”
“Ow,” said Raye.
“Ow?” asked Huja and Raye fell over. It had come from nowhere. The pain in her arm had returned, stronger than ever.
“Kuto!” yelled Naro as he caught her. She screamed, it hurt so much, like it was on fire. She saw a bucket of water and got up. She rushed over to it and shoved her arm in it as fast as she could. She felt relief until she looked down; her arm was giving off steam.
“Oh, well, that can’t be good,” said Raye in a strangely calm voice.
“Of course it’s not good,” said Hinaka, “Show me your arm.” She pulled up her sleeve and Naro unwrapped her bandages.
“Oh s**t, it’s grown,” said Raye and it had. The scar had branched out and three of the branches wrapped itself around her wrist and arm. They looked like veins only slightly thicker and green.
“Nasty,” said Kalan, “That’s just disgusting.”
“If I could use my arm, I’d strangle you,” said Raye.
“Wow,” said Jaso, “What’s that?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” said Raye.
“I know,” said Hinaka.
“What is it? What’s happening to me?” asked Raye.
“I’ve only seen it once before,” said Hinaka.
“What?” asked Raye.
“I don’t know how to say this,” said Hinaka, “But you’re turning into a demon.”
“What?” asked Raye weakly as she sat back down, “Is there a cure?”
“I’m not sure,” said Hinaka, “The last guy I saw with it was taken away, away to find I cure.” He added that part quickly but she was too focused on the word “away” to notice. “Away” was a strong word, one that she didn’t like at that moment.
“Away?” asked Raye.
“Of his own accord,” said Hinaka.
“What’s going to happen to me?” asked Raye.
“You’re still a new recruit,” said Hinaka, “And you are nothing like this other guy. He was a little bit weird.”
“Who was he?” asked Raye.
“His name was Gaksu Tani,” said Hinaka and Raye fell over again. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, her father. She had something wrong with her and the only other person that had gone through the same thing had been her father.
“Are you okay?” asked Naro as they all reached for her as struggled to get upright. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen over from shock.
“Oh my god,” said Raye, “You don’t mean Gaksu Tani of Shano do you? Very tall with deep blue eyes and light brown hair? He was married but his wife died a long time ago and he had a kid back in Shano, a little girl?”
“Yes,” said Hinaka, “He was on my squad. Did you know him?” Of course she’d known him, he was her dad. But she couldn’t tell him that. She just sat back down on her little stool and gripped it tight so she wouldn’t fall again.
“Yes,” said Raye, “Is that how he died?”
“Died?” asked Hinaka, “He isn’t dead. The last I heard about him was that a month or so ago he started working undercover at Darak’s Castle as a spy for us. Who told you that he died?”
“An officer of the Rebel Army,” said Raye. She stood up in shock. At least this time she hadn’t fallen over. Although her footing was bad at best and she felt like fall over again fairly soon. He’d just said that her father was alive.
“Which officer?” asked Hinaka.
“I gotta go,” said Raye dully.
“Where?” asked Naro.
“Anywhere that isn’t here,” said Raye and she ran out the tent as fast as she could.
Raye ran as fast as she could, she was not thinking about a destination. She just wanted to run. She was turning into a demon. Her father had turned into a demon. Her father was alive. It was just too much for her to take in at once. She ran into the forest and collapsed onto a tree. She felt very cold and so confused. She didn’t understand how this could be happening to her. She didn’t know how to deal with all of this. So she threw a tantrum. She could remember the last time she threw a tantrum like it was yesterday because it was also the last day she had ever cried; for even now she was just screaming at nothing and not crying. The last tantrum had been on the day she had been told that her father had died in the war. Only now she knew her father was not dead after all and she was going through something that he had gone through. He had just abandoned her.
“You b*****d!” screamed Raye. She did not know it but her new squad had followed her into the forest. She went into a rant of cursing that amazed her team. She was just so angry. She had grown up in the most deadly city in the world and on the streets. She had barely survived. He should have stayed with her. She felt so stupid too; she had kept that promise all of those years. It had been so hard but she had thought her father was a hero. She had had to prove that she was just as good as he was. Little had she known, she had already proved she was so much better than him just by trying. She just kept screaming the word “b*****d” over and over.
“What b*****d?” asked Huja.
“Probably the demon who cut his arm and did this to him,” said Naro, “I would not be to fond of the thing if it did it to me.”
“Got that right,” said Jaso.
“You b*****d,” said Raye, “You’re still alive, you god-damned b*****d.”
“Still alive?” asked Huja.
“Is he talking about that Tani guy?” asked Jaso.
“Who else?” asked Kalan, “You heard him. He thought that guy was dead.”
“What’s so special about Gaksu Tani?” asked Naro.
“I think you should ask him,” said Kalan as he nudged him.
“Why me?” asked Naro.
“I got a feeling that if you ask him, he is less likely to punch you in the face,” said Kalan, “Just a feeling though.”
“So comforting,” said Naro.
“b*****d!” screamed Raye.
“Extremely comforting,” said Naro and he walked over to Raye. She was so confused that she did not see Naro approach her. He tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around as though she was expecting a fight. Naro grabbed her wrist and then as though to pull herself free, she pulled her arms up close to her chest.
“He’s alive,” said Raye solemnly and she felt herself fall to the ground. Naro knelt down too, he was still holding on to her wrists.
“Who?” asked Naro.
“Gaksu Tani,” said Raye, “How can he not be dead? They told us he was dead. Why would they lie to us?”
“Who is Gaksu Tani?”
“He was my-.” She stopped. She could not tell Naro the truth.
“Your what?”
“My best friend, her father,” said Raye, she was talking about herself, “Her mother died giving birth to her. So when I guess this happened to him, he sent someone to tell his daughter that he was dead.”
“Why?”
“He was too scared to go home. You don’t know his daughter. She grew up on the streets, she wouldn’t take help from anyone. She was strong but her father left her all alone because he was scared. It’s not fair she shouldn’t have grown up that way, she deserved a father brave enough to come home.” Naro looked Raye in the face.
“Are you crying?”
“No,” said Raye indignantly and she stood up, ripping her hands from his grasp, “I don’t cry, not ever.”
“Kuto?” He was worried, he was not sure why, but he was worried all the same.
“Gaksu Tani is b*****d,” said Raye and she slammed her fist into a tree. There was a sudden pause. She felt something strange.
“What the?” He stared at her arm. It had not just hit the tree, it was in the tree. She had punched straight through it.
“Should I turn my head?”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Okay,” said Raye as she stared straightforward, right into his eyes. She could not help but notice how lovely they were and their eyes connected. He turned away to look at her arm again. She felt Naro pull on her arm. He tugged hard on her arm and they both fell over. He fell on top of her and then she started laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Absolutely nothing,” said Raye but she kept laughing and eventually Naro joined in too. There was nothing funny; she was just tired and happy. Her father had abandoned her but she was having the time of her life. Raye went back and fell asleep in her tent. She felt great, despite the fact she was turning into a monster. She was already a half demon so it was not a big deal to her. Both of her grandfathers had been demons, which meant that both her parents had been half demons too and her as well. That was where her power of telepathy came from. She was going to start training tomorrow. She was not sure what next for her but she could not wait for it. Naro walked her back to her tent.
“Sleep tight strange new guy,” said Naro.
“Okay,” said Raye and he left.
“Oh I almost forgot,” said Naro as he popped his head back in. He tossed something at her head. She caught it with amazing reflexes. She looked at it.
“Socks?” He smiled and left.
The first day of training was nothing and she excelled even with an injured arm. The rest of the recruits were split into five men squads. Then they were forced through a test to see which squad was the best. Hers of course was the best in the end. She, Huja and Naro were not only the only skilled fighters but the other teams were afraid of her. Who would want to go up against the man with the demon arm and who had taken down an evil army of hellish monsters? Plus Huja was creepy to be around. The best thing they had going for them was that after their ordeal they had bonded, especially her and Naro.
They were preparing to leave on their first mission when Lt. Jaserard came up to them. He stopped them to talk. He pulled out his clipboard and Raye got the sense that she was soon going to want to shove that clipboard down his throat. This was not going to be good news.
“It has come to my attention that your team has yet to pass the written examination,” said Jaserard.
“Exam?” asked Naro.
“Written?” asked Raye.
“Yes,” said Jaserard, “As you well know there are a few catches for new soldiers. To become a true rebel soldier you must first pass three tests, a physical, an oral and a written. Your squad has passed two of the tree.”
“Wait,” said Raye, “I don’t remember taking any exams.”
“Well when you fought those demons,” said Jaserard, “It counted as your physical examination and your orals were given to you under cover.”
“Huh?” asked Raye as she thought.
“That’s right,” said Jaserard, “By the way I have a message from a Private Shindo. He apologizes for trying to sneak up on you and he wants you to know that he doesn’t blame you for the broken ribs.”
“Oh, right, sorry about that,” said Raye. She remembered him. It had happened just last week. This strange man had come up to her and asked her a bunch of stupid questions about bombs. At which point she had then preceded to kick him in the stomach because he was annoying her; unfortunately she had done it a little harder than she had meant to. Her demonic powers were growing due to the scar. She had apologized, sort of.
“Also,” said Jaserard, “From his reports I can only gather that you have a disturbing amount of expertise on bombs.”
“Maybe,” said Raye and she put a hand behind her head, “But-.”
“Each oral examination is designed to best represent the knowledge of every prospective soldier. Whether it pertain to bombs,” said Jaserard with another look in her direction, “Plants, food, historical military tactics or creepy interest in demonic anatomy.” He looked at Huja for the very last one.
“Demonic Anatomy?” asked Raye with a strange look at Huja.
“Don’t ask,” said Huja.
“Fine,” said Raye, “I’m not sure that I want to know.”
“Now,” said Jaserard, “Back to the written examination. It is over the Code Book you received on your first day.”
“Uh oh,” said Raye.
“Did you read it?” said Naro.
“Maybe,” said Raye.
“I have an extra copy for you,” said Jaserard and he took a copy off of his board.
“Thanks,” said Raye as she took it.
“The test is one hour,” said Jaserard and Raye hurried of her tent. Her team slowly dispersed afterwards.
“This should be a piece of cake,” said Kalan.
“I don’t know,” said Huja, “Kuto seemed pretty worried.”
“That’s just because he hadn’t looked at the code book yet,” said Jaso, “He really shouldn’t leave that stuff up till the last moment.”
“Besides,” said Naro, “You’ve seen him, he can repeat anything anyone says or does. He has a pretty much perfect memory.”
“Yeah,” said Huja, “We should review it ourselves.” They split up returned to their tents. Huja’s tent just happened to be right next to Raye’s and when he sat down he heard something strange coming from her tent.
“Cud, cood, codee, CODE! Zaroo, Zeer, Zeero, Zero! When a eninime, when an eneeme, enemy attacks from beelow the gurond, ground,” said Raye slowly, “Damn it! Code Zero: When and eneeme, enemy attacks from beelow the ground you moost, must.”
“Oh crap,” said Huja, “This could be a problem.” Huja got up and walked over to her tent. He could still hear her. She was struggling to read. He walked into her tent.
“Huja!” yelled Raye he was staring at her.
“Do you know how to read?” asked Huja. Raye technically did know how to read. When she was little and her father had still been around he had tried to teach her. But he had not known how to read beyond her current level. The teachers at school had never bothered to teach their students how to read. They never really taught anything. It wasn’t until the last two years or so that anyone had even bothered to try to teach her. Kuto had been trying as hard as he could to teach her how to read but it was hard and learning made her angry. So they had not gotten very far yet. Enari, who was half her age, could read far better than she could.
“Technically, sorta,” said Raye.
“Sorta?”
“I can read a little bit.”
“Oh.”
“HEY! It’s not like I’m stupid or something. It’s just that no one would ever bother to teach a street punk like me how to read, especially me if you knew me. I mean it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I even tried. But it’s hard okay?”
“Okay,” said Huja, “I understand.”
“Huh?” asked Raye.
“Well a child’s brain is like a sponge. They can learn things a lot easier and faster than adults can. Because once we get older learning things becomes harder.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“But you can read?” asked Raye, she felt like such a moron.
“Well, yeah,” said Huja and Raye hung her head.
“Why am I such a freak? Why am I always so different? Why can’t I just be normal for a change?” thought Raye.
“It should be easy for you,” said Huja, “You have a photographic memory.”
“For when people say things yeah,” said Raye, “But reading is completely different. I can’t remember it if I don’t understand it to begin with.”
“I guess that makes sense,” said Huja, “You know I could teach you.”
“Huh?”
“If you wanted, I could teach you.”
“Really? You mean it?”
“Sure, when you pass the test.”
“But-.”
“What we’re going to do is, I’m going to read it to you so you can remember it.”
“But how can I-?”
“Do you know which letters go with which sounds?”
“Yeah, I was taught that much.”
“Good,” said Huja, “Then you can try to spell out what I say on the test.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go back to my tent,” said Huja and he led her over there. Raye had never his tent before. It was much darker than her tent. It looked as if Jaso had sewn in a darker layer fabric on over the regular fabric. It was filled with many books and weapons. Kit stared at the books, she could not read anything in or on them but they fascinated her. Huja saw her staring at them and smiled.
“What?” asked Raye.
“Let’s start, shall we?” asked Huja and he picked up his book and they both sat down. Raye opened her book and looked over at his.
“Where do-?”
“Right here,” said Huja and he pointed to a spot on her page, “Try and follow along. Code Zero, when an enemy attacks from below the ground you must…” His voice trailed off and Raye stared at her page, catching up every time he said a familiar word. It took the whole hour but they finished the whole book. They went to the tent where they were going to take the test.
“I can do this right?” asked Raye.
“You’ll be fine,” said Huja, “Just stay focused and sound out the words.”
“Right.”
“Good luck.” They entered the tent and sat down. The test began and Raye nearly forgot Huja’s advice in her panic. People started turning in their tests and Raye was barely through with the first page. Huja turned his test in and gave her and encouraging look. She took a deep breath and refocused. By the time she had finished everyone else had gone for dinner and the test moderator was giving her dirty looks.
“Go,” said the moderator and she ran out of the tent. She was surprised to see her squad waiting for her right outside. They looked worried and angry. She swallowed hard and stared at them.
“Took your sweet time didn’t you?” asked Kalan. She took a step back.
“Um,” said Raye.
“Leave him be,” said Huja and she stared at him thankfully.
“What’s up Manto?” asked Naro.
“Um,” said Raye.
“I said leave him be,” said Huja.
“Seriously, how could it possible take that long?”
“Um,” said Raye.
“Let it go,” said Huja.
“No, Huja, its fine,” said Raye, “Besides, they probably would have figured it out sooner or later.”
“But-?” asked Huja.
“What is it?” asked Jaso.
“There was a slight problem with my test,” said Raye.
“Private Manto,” said Jaserard from behind her. She jerked and turned around. He was waving her over and he did not look happy. She looked down at the ground and went over to him. They entered the tent and sat down.
“Yes sir?” asked Raye.
“Your test.”
“Is there a problem, sir?”
“Of course, what’s with these answers?”
“Aren’t they right, sir?”
“Maybe.”
“Sir?”
“Where’d you learn to spell?”
“I didn’t, sir.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t exactly, uh, know how, um, to read, sir.”
“Well, you could have fooled me.”
“Sir?”
“Despite spelling pretty much every single word on the exam wrong you answered all of the questions correctly.”
“Really, sir?”
“Yes, may I ask how?”
“Huja read the code book to me, sir.”
“And you can remember anything anyone says?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, I’ll let you pass.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“On one condition.”
“Sir?”
“Someone’s going to have to teach you how to read.”
“Huja already promised he would sir, as soon as I passed the test.”
“Well you may go.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Raye and she was walked out, “YES!” Lt. Jaserard smiled. He could practically see his new soldier jumping in the air.
“What was it?” asked Huja.
“I passed, oh yeah.”
“I knew you could.”
“Now you have to keep your promise.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now, you promised.”
“But I’m hungry.”
“You promised!” A bunch of men shot their heads out of the tent.
“After dinner.” She looked like she was going to punch him, or scream at him. Huja was not sure which. In the end she swallowed hard and regained her composure.
“Fine.” They turned around walked to the tent as the men jumped back inside.
“Hey, you two! What’s going on?” asked Jaso.
“What was the problem with the test?” asked Naro.
“Do you have test anxiety or something?” asked Kalan.
“No, I just don’t know how to read is all, Huja promised to teach me if I passed.”
“What?” They chased after her. She was smiling. Huja did fulfill his promise and begin giving Raye reading lessons everyday after training. Raye found it easier to learn from Huja than from Kuto. She picked it up very fast and after less than a few months only needed a few vocabulary lessons.
Their first mission was not really a mission at all. They had to go fishing. They reported to the assignment tent and when they got the mission Raye and her friends got very angry.
“Fishing?” asked Raye.
“We need food,” said Jaserard.
“But - fishing?”
“Don’t argue or I’ll put you on bathroom duty.”
“Fine,” said Raye and they left. They were handed fishing poles and buckets when they got out.
“Ah!” yelled Huja, “This is so stupid.” They walked away from the camp and stopped on a bridge over a large creek.
“It’s so pretty,” said Raye before she could stop herself.
“What?” asked Huja but she was staring at the water with a strange intensity. She had never seen a body of water, not ever a river or a stream, before. The only flowing water she saw was either in the sewers or the bathroom. And the sewer water was anything but clean. Shano was extremely polluted and had no nearby water supply. She had heard that there used to be a large river but the city had used that up. Not all of the water it had was delivered from. It was nothing like this water. It was so clean. She put her pole down and lay down on her stomach. She put her hand in the water; it was cool.
“Don’t do that,” yelled Naro and she took her hand out as fast as she could.
“What?”
“You’ll scare away the fish.”
“Oh.”
“Haven’t you ever been fishing before?”
“Never,” said Raye, “There is not water in Shano. Our supply comes from other villages. I’ve never even seen natural water.” She smiled as she looked at it again. Naro found himself smiling as well.
“Do you know how to fish?”
“No idea what so ever,” said Raye, still gleaming.
“Here I’ll teach you.” He picked up her rod and pushed towards the railing. He put it in her hands and stood right up against her back. He wrapped his arms around her and started gleaming himself.
“Like this?” asked Raye as she gripped the pole.
“Right, now put you finger here, good. Now pull it back and you’re going to swing it forward really fast and release, got it?”
“I think so.” He pulled her arms back.
“Go ahead.” She did exactly like he told her but the hook got caught on his shirt. She smiled and laughed, her smile could melt him. She turned around and leaned in close so she could reach behind him. She removed the hook.
“Sorry.”
“That’ll happen, you just released too soon is all.” He grabbed her hands again and guided her through the motions. This time she got it in the water.
“Is that good?”
“Much better, try again, try not shoot so far,” said Naro and they did it again.
“How’s that?”
“Perfect,” said Naro. He left and dealt with his pole. They stood there in silence until Jaso started humming a marching song. They all knew it so eventually they all joined in. That was until Raye screamed.
“Ah! My pole’s moving! What do I do? What do I do?” asked Raye.
“Pull!” yelled the group as Naro dropped his pole and ran over to her. He grabbed her arms from behind again and they started to pull. A fish came flying out of the creek and started splashing water on them. Raye squealed as Naro held the fish out to her before he dumped into the bucket, laughing.
“You’re such a girl,” said Naro and she hit him on the shoulder, “My pole!” His pole promptly fell into the creek. He reached for it and missed. Raye turned around sharply and run as fast as she could to the other side of the bridge. She flipped high into the air over the railing. She grabbed the railing with her hands and she fell over.
“Kuto!” screamed Naro but he heard nothing.
“Pole,” said Raye and she held it up and the looked over the edge. She was dangling by her knees on the lower support. She was not even wet.
“Wow, how did you-?”
“Take it,” said Raye and he did. She grabbed the support and flew off. She dandled for less than a moment before she went flying again. She landed on her feet in a less than perfect balance on the railing.
“Show off,” said Huja and he tapped her jokingly. She let out a yelp and waved her arms around to keep her balance, to now use. She fell over backwards into the creek and the rushed over to look at her. She stood up, soaking wet and slightly angry.
“Perfect,” said Raye.
“Sorry,” said Huja and held out a hand to help her up. She grabbed it and pulled him in after her. Everyone laughed. Huja climbed back up but Raye stayed there and caught the fish with her hands. This was much easier for her. After collecting as much fish as they could carry they returned to the mess tent, where Jaserard was waiting for them. He stared at Raye, who was still sopping wet.
“Private Manto, you’re soaking wet.”
“Yep,” said Ray and she shook her head like a dog and water flew everywhere.
“Hey!” yelled the other guys as they shielded themselves. She just let out a laugh.
A few weeks later Raye learned something very strange about men. It started during practice. She and Naro were sparing on their own. They were the best fighters at the camp. Naro was getting very good, very fast. He was catching up to Raye. He tripped her and she fell over. He stood over her and then she rolled sharply, sending him to the ground. He fell on top of her and they started rolling down the hill. They wrapped their arms around each other. When they stopped rolling Naro was on top of her.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” said Naro, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” said Raye, “You?”
“Fine,” said Naro and they paused. There was a strange look in Naro’s eyes. It made Raye nervous. Naro leaned in, he wasn’t sure why. Raye pulled away before either of them could find out what was going on.
“I, I, ah, I, um, I gotta go,” said Raye and she left. She was not sure was might have happened but it kind of look like Naro was going to-, no not Naro. She ran into Jaso on her way back to camp.
“Hey Kuto,” said Jaso, “Did you just come from sparing with Naro?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Raye as they walked to camp.
“Why?” asked Jaso, “Did something happen? Did Naro finally beat you?”
“Like that’s ever going to happen,” said Raye.
“So, what happened?” asked Jaso.
“I’m not sure,” said Raye, “This may seem strange but I think Naro tried to-.”
“Tried to what?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Just tell me.”
“I think he might have tried to kiss me.”
“Did he?”
“No, I ran. Why would anyone want to kiss me?”
“Because you’re you.”
“What?”
“If he had kissed you, I guess a lot of guys would be jealous.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you’re pretty,” said Jaso and Raye nearly tripped over, “Everyone’s talking about you. Your looks are the topic of the camp. You even have a fan club.” He was right. They were the most annoying group of people in all of Gaselu. They called themselves the Kuto Club. If anyone one was going to figure out her secret it was them. They spent all of their free time obsessing over her for god only knows why. It was disturbing, they were guys who were supposed to think that she was a he. She didn’t know that anyone but the club was talking about her.
“About me?”
“They want to go out with you.”
“But we’re all guys.”
“Well this is a completely enclosed environment, and it’s full of youthful and vital energy…and no girls whatsoever. A young boy’s got to do what he can to release that pent up that energy.”
“What?”
“Kuto, do you know about birds?”
“No.”
“There is thing with guys, in Katesh we call it the bird paradox.”
“Bird paradox?”
“If you separate the male and female birds and place them in separate cages, the female remain indifferent to the change…but the males, eventually begin chasing after each other. Gender doesn’t matter when there’s no choice.”
“How come?”
“Look at you, so sweet and innocent, it’s adorable, really.”
“Huh? Just tell me why gender doesn’t matter.”
“Because boys are horny,” said Jaso and Raye fell over, “We have it tough here. I mean, where are going to meet girls living in the middle of nowhere…surrounded by boys? So are going out with Naro?”
“What! No!”
“Why not? Naro looks like you type?”
“My type?” asked Raye, she was not even sure if she had a type.
“Strong and good fighter.”
“Jaso are you gay?”
“Yep, and I was before I came to the camp.” Raye thought about it.
“You like Huja don’t you?” asked Raye and Jaso tripped this time.
“You very observant aren’t you?”
“I have my moments.”
“But you tend to be clueless most of the time.”
“Exactly,” said Raye and they stopped, they were next to her tent, “See you later.”
“Later,” said Jaso and they parted. Raye laid down on her bed.
“Man, guys are strange,” thought Raye. Then she felt a sudden pain her eyes. She fell off her bed and screamed. Jaso came running in and saw her on the floor.
“Kuto,” said Jaso and Raye sat up. She placed a hand over her eyes.
“Ow,” said Raye.
“What just happened?” asked Jaso and Raye moved her hand, “Wow.”
“What?” asked Raye and Jaso looked around for a reflective surface.
“Here, look,” said Jaso and she did. What she saw shocked her very much.
“My eyes are green,” said Raye.
“Yeah,” said Jaso.
“MAIL CALL!” yelled a voice. They both jumped up. Mail call came twice a month; it was when the soldiers received letters from their homes. Raye never got anything and she really didn’t see the point in going. She went only because it was mandatory. They all filed into the tent and she heard people murmuring behind her. She caught a few words, “eyes,” and “green.”
“Yes!” yelled Raye just as Jaserard stepped up, “My eyes are green! Get over it!”
“Private Manto,” said Jaserard.
“Sorry, sir,” said Raye.
“You should be,” said Jaserard, “Your package is on top.”
“Mine?” asked Raye.
“Yes,” said Jaserard, “From some girl named Raye Tani.” It was Kuto.
“Raye,” said Raye loudly and she jumped on stage happily. She took her letter and looked at it happily. She turned to walk away.
“Your package.”
“Package?” asked Raye and she turned around to see Jaserard holding out a box.
“Take it.” She grabbed it and smelled it.
“She made me cookies,” said Raye with a big smile on her face. Of course by “she” she meant Mrs. Manto. Kuto was about as good a cook as she was, which meant that he was a really bad cook and she would never put anything he mad in her mouth. She ran to her tent and opened Kuto’s letter.
Dear Kuto,
How’s it going? Hope you’re still alive, just joking. How come you haven’t written like you promised to? Everything’s fine back here. We miss you a bunch and Enari being a wimp nowadays. We all miss you back here, especially me. Oh yeah, Hala finally bought her own café; it’s called Hala’s Hut. You better check it out first thing when you come back or she’s going to hurt you. I hope you got the cookies fine and you better keep up with the verb lessons I started with you. Oh, and come home soon, will ya? Shano just isn’t the same without you here. For one thing nothing every explodes anymore. I haven’t had to run for my life in months.
~Raye
P.S. The quiet is actually beginning to freak me out
Raye smiled as she read the letter over and over again. She went over to Huja’s tent and he gave her a piece of paper and a pen. She returned to her tent, her letter had moved over to her desk. Her stalkers at work.
Dear Raye,
I miss you guys too. I can’t wait to see Hala’s Hut. Everything’s going fine. One of my teammates, Huja, finished teaching me how to read and spell. Can’t you tell I’ve gotten a lot better? Tell Enari to cheer up and that I’ll be home soon. You had better being keeping up with the training I taught you. I’m top of class out here and oh yeah. Apparently I have a fan club full of stalker-prone, extremely horny guys. Over all I pretty much loving being here. Tell everyone I’ll write again soon, I promise.
Guess what! I got to meet General Hinaka. In person! Can you believe that? He gave me an award. Who would’ve thought that I end up here. A street thug getting awards from a famous General? He was totally cool by the way, I nearly fainted when I saw him. But I did end up fainting. I have some bad news. I was attacked on my way to the camp. My arm was sliced open by a demonic blade. I am becoming a full on demon. So far all I have is a nasty scar and green eyes. I’m little stronger than I used to be and I love the cookies.
~Kuto
P.S. Dad is alive and he’s still in the army. What should I do?
Raye folded the paper up and put it in an envelope. She laid down and listened to the other soldiers talk. She was surprised to here a group standing outside of her tent; they were talking about her, her stalkers.
“Man, this is such a drag,” said one of them.
“I had such high hopes for us.”
“He was going to end up with me anyways.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Besides, who could have thought he was straight?”
“Yeah, I mean he has the whole thing with Huja.”
“Yeah, what are they doing in that tent every day anyway?”
“And they way he acts around Naro, you just know there something going on there.” Raye almost choked on nothing.
“And what was Jaso doing in our Kuto’s tent before mail call?”
“Our Kuto?” thought Raye.
“It was all for nothing, he’s got a girl back home.”
“Well he shouldn’t have led us on like that.”
“Who led who on?” thought Raye.
“I heard him talking to Naro about Raye, he called her his best friend but it almost seemed like he was going to say something else.”
“They’re engaged.” They started to cry.
“Engaged? Where do they get this s**t?” thought Raye.
“You know what, I bet he likes both guys and girls.”
“Maybe, or maybe Raye is really a guy pretending to be a girl so that Kuto doesn’t seem gay.”
“Surprisingly close,” thought Raye.
“But then he’d still be taken.”
“He’s been away from Raye and Shano for a long time. Training’s been going on for five months already.” He was right. She suddenly missed Shano and her friends very much, especially Kuto. She went back to her letter and added these words:
P.S.S. I think that I might be homesick. I want to see everyone again very soon. I hope I’ll get to.
“So we still we have a chance with him?”
“No way in hell,” thought Raye. They all started cheering.
“Yeah!” they yelled. Raye hung her head, how come no one treated her like this when she was Raye but as soon as she turns into Kuto and suddenly she has a fan club. What did she do to deserve and bunch of horny stalkers? She was a good person. She had never committed any crimes other than cross-dressing, theft and blowing things up.
A couple of days later Raye had an encounter that would have no significance to a normal person. But it reminded Raye of something she had almost forgotten. It was after the dinner meal one night when Kalan followed her out of the mess hall tent.
“I’ve never seen someone so small eat so much,” said Kalan.
“Ha-ha,” said Raye sarcastically, “What’s up?”
“That was amazing.”
“What was?”
“I’ve never seen anyone eat so much in one sitting.”
“What? I was just hungry.”
“But I’ve never even eat that much.”
“So?”
“How can you put away so much and still be so scrawny?”
“I’m not scrawny. I’m lithe, thank you.”
“Sure, whatever.”
“You don’t know what ‘lithe’ means so do you?”
“Maybe. So what does it mean?”
“Lithe, it means like lean.” Huja had taught her that word.
“Lean means scrawny.”
“Whatever, what’s up?”
“Nothing, just bored. Hey what’s that?” He pointed to her neck.
“Nothing,” said Raye as she tucked her necklace down her shirt.
“Come on what is it?”
“Just a necklace.”
“What so special about it?”
“Drop it.”
“Not possible. I get easily obsessed. Tell me.”
“It was my mom’s,” said Raye as she pulled it back out and looked at it.
“Did she give it to you when you left for the war?”
“No. She died a long time ago. I don’t even remember her. This is all I have left of her. I never take it off.” She tucked it back inside her shirt.
“Oh.”
“Our secret right?”
“Sure,” said Kalan and they walked into her tent, “Don’t you ever clean this?”
“Shut up,” said Raye, so she was a slob. Kalan continued to look around.
“What’s with the back of your tent?” asked Kalan. It had a hole in it, which she had attempted to fix, which had only created more holes.
“What? I fixed it,” said Raye and she looked at it. It looked bad; she had tried to sew it back up, but had been completely unsuccessful. It was shabby and had large holes.
“Do you know what ‘fixed’ means?” asked Kalan, “What happened?”
“It’s your fault.”
“How’s that?”
“I had to do it for you.”
“What?”
“The first day we met, when the demons attacked.”
“Oh yeah, well that’s just pathetic.”
“You could do better?”
“Maybe, but Jaso definitely can.”
“You think?”
“Sure, I’ll go get him.” Kalan left and Raye delved deep into her own thoughts. She pulled out her mother’s locket and stared at it.
“Mom?” asked Raye to herself, “Are you watching me? Are you proud or ashamed of what I’ve done? What were you like? Do you miss me like I miss you?” Then suddenly the locket opened. Raye shot up and looked at it. She saw her parents, but only for a moment. It changed to show a picture of herself and Naro. She realized that the locket was magical and shut it. She had a feeling that she knew what it meant. She let out a whimper of confusion and looked at herself. She had grown in the few months she had been there and it was getting harder to hide her breasts. Soon she might have to get a new plan, but she had no idea of what that would be.
Jaso and Kalan came back a few seconds later. Jaso was carrying a small sewing kit. It took Raye a moment to figure what it was because she had never seen one before. Jaso went straight to the back of the tent. He began to sew. Raye was surprised that he, a man, could sew when she, a girl, could not.
“All done,” said Jaso.
“Thanks,” said Raye.
“Anytime,” said Jaso.
“I owe you one,” said Raye.
“It was nothing,” said Jaso, “See you later.”
“See you,” said Raye, “Later Kalan.”
“Later,” said Kalan and they left.
 Zegwarian310 · Sat Aug 04, 2007 @ 04:49pm · 0 Comments |
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