Seventeen Years of Waiting (Closed)

[Mana]

Mana was walking alone in a dirt road toward the ruin of Ostia, woods in both sides. She didn't have reason to go there, actually, the young swordwoman just followed the wind because she lost direction. While walking, Mana thought about a few days ago. She couldn't remember clearly, it felt like a fog covering her brain. The last thing she remembered was that she told Aaron and Xavier that she needed some fresh air and then went outside. Then...somehow...she woke up in the morning, but not in Varia's house or garden. The Sacaen myrmidon found herself lying on a tree branch deep inside the forest. She tried to get back to the house but she accidentally took a wrong turn in a fork.

"Alright...Where am I now? I hope I will find something soon..." Mana had given up, she would let the wind guide her path instead of trying to go back to the house. But it was probably a good thing, the events in the house and the time of walking alone had provided her with a chance to rethink about a matter, going back to home, Sacae. She had realized that she had been running away from reality, which was not good, the past would always haunt her if she didn't face it with brave heart. But, it would take a long time before she reached the vast plain of Sacae.

"Hmm...?" Mana stopped and looked back, she was sure she just heard something. Soon, a faint noise came from the east. She closed her eyes and tried to listen. "Is it a scream? No, it's more like a yell." Curious, Mana tried to look for the source.

[Mana]

Mana walked casually toward the source of the sound. After a few seconds, she finally arrived in a slope near a river where she saw a man still training with sword, not far from him was a brown tent and a sleeping wolf. As a fellow sword user, Mana could understand that his movement was sharp, he didn't make any mistakes, every swing promised an instant death for they who were unprepared. The myrmidon just stood here watching the man, she was fascinated by his skill.

"Come here." The man suddenly stopped and said something. At first, Mana was bewildered by his words. Was he speaking to her? "Yes, you..." Like he could read her mind, the man spoke again as he stabbed his sword to the ground and began wiping his sweats. "Okay..." She moved toward him with confused look. But the man didn't say anything even after she stood before him, he only stared at her. "What do you want from me?" she asked the man, feeling bored for waiting him to speak. "That's my line...You were staring at me? Why?" he said with head still covered with towel, hiding his face .Now Mana had understood, it seemed the man saw her watching him and felt uncomfortable. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. I was too fascinated by your swordplay." "Ooh..." he muttered.

The man finished wiping the sweats in his face, he removed the towel and looked at Mana. Now Mana could see his face, a mature face of an older man, his right eye was blind and his expression showed his strong personality. When their eyes met, he suddenly bolted forward and grabbed her shoulders. Mana was surprised and angry at the same time, but then his next word stopped her from hitting him.

"Kayla?" The strange man said Mana mother's name.

[Mana]

There was a silence, both was lost in their own thoughts. Mana was wondering why this man knew her mother and looked at her with those warm but sad eyes. The man, whose name still not known, mistook the myrmidon as Kayla, her mother, they had same hair color and same face.

"Yo-You know my mother?" Mana asked. Her question brought the man to reality, he knew that Kayla was dead, this girl wasn't her. "Wait...Mother?" The man felt his strength leaving his legs, this was something unexpected. "Kayla is...your mother?" That was unbelievable, did it really happen? In this vast continent, he finally met someone he had been looking for. "Yes, I am Mana, her daughter. Who are you anyway?" The man didn't know how to answer such simple question. The truth was he wanted to tell her everything, but it would be too fast for them to accept the fact. "I...I am your..." He wasn't sure how to say it. "...your mother's friend."

This man's name was Tora, and he was Mana's father. For some reason, he had been living alone apart from her wife and daughter. Mana didn't know that her father was alive, she was told that her father died in a battle with bandits. Kayla would tell her daughter about the truth when Mana's age had reached 17 years old, when the girl was old enough to hear the truth. It was for her sake, the girl didn't need to know that her father was an assassin whose hands was covered with blood, even blood of innocent people. Unfortunately, Kayla was dead before she could tell Mana. Mana and Tora stared at each other. Their meeting today was a fate, since the bandit attack that eradicated Hawkeye tribe and killed Kayla Mana had been adventuring through the continent while Tora was trying to find her whereabout at the same time.

Tora hugged Mana, making the myrmidon blushed and confused. "Hey!!! What are you...Huh?" Mana was about to slap him when she felt his tears on her neck. "Is he crying?" The Sacaen swordwoman wondered what caused this, she even let the man hug her despite her embarassment.

[Mana]

Mana couldn't describe this weird feeling, this man arms felt so big and gave sense of security, but what she felt most was the warmness as he contunued to hug her. The mymidon didn't feel embarassed anymore, she couldn't. There was no logical explanation regarding this situation she could think here. What secret this man had? Why was he crying? Moreover, his hand touched a wrong place while hugging her! "I can't feel angry. Weird..."

"Sorry..." His voice sounded trembled as he gradually loosened his hug and took a few step away from her. Mana rubbed her cheek as this awkward atmosphere continued to fill the air, she seemed unsure how to react for what just happened. Normally, a slap and a kick to his groin would be suffice. She failed to notice that the man went toward his tent, to the campfire where four fishes were impaled by wooden stick and burnt in the fire. The sleeping wolf opened his eyes lazily and glanced at his master, and then to the girl, before yawning and going to sleep again. "You want fish? Here, have some." Mana heard him calling and turned toward him, that time her stomach suddenly started growling. "I...Sure..." she said. Mana still couldn't get rid of this strange and awkward atmosphere, it was not like her.

Mana walked toward the campfire then she sat on a stone. The girl felt attracted to the silver wolf who was still sleeping soundly, his fur was pretty, it looked warm and fluffy as well. The man gave her a grilled fish without saying a word, just nodding when she reluctantly took it from his bigger hand. "So..." Mana finally found her ability to speak again. "Can you tell me who are you? Are you really mother's friend?" Mana herself was surprised when he claimed to be her mother's friend, but Tora was even more surprised that he couldn't speak the truth. The assassin still had mixed feeling raging inside his chest, maybe he just wasn't ready for this.

"I am not, I mean...I am...well." Tora couldn't find the right words, this was sudden and complicated, after all. He could feel the girl's stare at his face, those clear and innocent big eyes looking at him, this made him even more confused. He then cleared his throat and grabbed a bottle, gulping the whiskey inside it until the last drop. "It's a long story. Can you stay here for a while? I want to tell you many thing..."

"Yes. I am not in hurry or anything. Also, I am curious about the fact that you knew my mother," she answered.

Tora, the Assassin.

[Mana]

"Good...Now, what should I tell you?" It wasn't as easy as he expected, everything was all too sudden for him. And, would Mana believe his words? The girl always thought that her father was a honorable warrior that died in a battle with bandits, not a dirty assassin. In his hands , many lives were lost. He spent his years running away from the secret order which never gave up to find him, in those years he had done many dirty jobs to keep living. How would he tell Mana about that? Of course it would be easier if Kayla was present to help him explain it, she had unique ability to convince people easily. "You know it isn't easy..."

"Just tell me..." she said, Mana was impatient. Tora looked up and met those big eyes which still staring at him, waiting for him to speak. He exhaled and closed his eyes, not sure how to begin. Well, he had to do it anyway. This chance wouldn't come again if he let it go. "I...I am your..."

Suddenly an arrow flew toward him, piercing through the wind toward his open back, aiming at where his heart was. It seemed this arrow would find its target easily and end his life but the white wolf sensed the danger and leapt, catching the arrow between its fangs. The two warriors reacted quickly by drawing their swords and taking battle stance. "Who? Come out of your hiding place, coward!" Mana was the first one to shout, she looked angry for the attacker. Mana was a warrior who believed that a battle should be fair and square, attacking someone from behind was violating the honor of a warrior. Tora glanced at her when he heard her angry roar. "Don't tell me...that she even has Kayla's temper. Great! It seems she is an exact copy of you, my love."

"Yasha..." Tora called the white wolf as he turned around and grabbed Mana's hand. "We must leave this place." He then bolted forward with a great speed, even Mana who had confidence in her speed was struggling to keep up with his pace. The wolf ran behind them. "Eh!!! Why are we running away?" she yelled.

[Mana]

"Stop! Hey!" Mana was trying to release herself from the grip but Tora was stronger than her, and because they ran with full speed made it even more difficult for her. She had to balance her speed with the assassin to avoid getting tripped by her own legs. "I said STOP!" She yelled again as they began to enter a forest, it wasn't easy to run between these trees but Tora led her as they moved swiftly while avoiding the branches. Whoops! Unfortunately a branch almost hit Mana, it grazed only her hair though.

"Sorry, little girl. But I can't get you involved in this," Tora whispered with soft fatherly tone. The myrmidon couldnt hear it because the wind and the sound of their footsteps hid his voice. When they had already gone deep enough into the forest, Tora stopped and looked back, and then caught Mana who failed to brake in time. "What are y...?" Tora's hand covered her mouth before Mana could finish her sentence. Mana looked up to his eyes, his left eye stared at something far away. "Stay here...Yasha! You must watch her!" He ran to the direction they came from after saying that, leaving the wolf behind to guard her daughter. "Damn it! Why he came to me when I was going to tell her everything?" Now, the cold assassin showed his enormous anger as he went to meet the attacker.

"You must explain this!" Mana yelled. She was about to follow Tora when Yasha leapt toward her and pushed her down to the ground. The white wolf was a smart one, he pinned Mana's arms to the ground with his feet to stop her from resisting. "Let me go, freak wolf!"

[Mana]

Another arrow came toward the assassin, Tora easily deflected it to the side with a diagonal lash. He drew his Killing Edge and continued forward, holding the deadly weapon tightly in his right hand. Some dirty thugs appeared from behind the trees, they pointed their bloodlust weapons toward the lone assassin. But they weren't the person Tora was waiting for, he knew that they were only that man's toys. He had a persistent bounty hunter who had always been chasing him since he left his guild. Although he had outsmart this hunter several times, Tora always failed to kill this man. "Come out! This time I won't let you escape!" His shout startled the thugs. "Come on! Show your stupid face!" Tora continued his taunt but the bounty hunter didn't come out. Was he hiding?

"Wait!!! Don't tell me!" Tora looked behind toward the direction where she left Mana, he should have realized this sooner. That man never faced him directly, only using many sinister and cheap tricks. Mana was here, that hunter might have seen her. Damn it. Gritting her teeth, the assassin looked at his surrounding, the thugs had surrounded him, cutting his way out. It didn't matter, this weaklings wouldn't be able too stop him. But it would take time...

----------

Yasha growled, the wolf sensed something. His nose twitched and his eyes narrowed. Mana, who saw this chance, used her legs to throw the wolf to the side with a kick. Being distracted, Yasha had to accept the fact that he was just thown away. Then, she pushed herself to get up. "Don't play around. What's going on?" she asked the wolf angrily as she rest her hand on her waist. She forgot that wolves couldn't talk.

Sound of clattering chains was heard, someone was coming. The myrmidon turned to see who it was, if it was Tora, she would scold him. But what she saw was a man wearing dark blue robe. He looked mid thirty. This man was taller than Tora but thinner, and his skin was pale white. Mana watched him walking toward her, she did't know how dangerous this man was. "Who are you?" she asked.

The mysterious man smirked before answering her question. "I am Trek. Tora's friend," he said, smiling. Somehow, that smile looked creepy. "I saw you with him before. May I ask what your connection with him? Are you his friend?" Trek tried to find more information about her, this girl might be worth as a hostage. He had never seen his prey crying like that, this girl might be someone important for him.

"Who knows? I just met him and suddenly he acted strangely. Dragging me into this forest all of sudden," she replied. Mana remembered if that man also cried when he hugged her, she wondered why. Shrugging, she looked again at him and said, "If you are his friend then I want you to tell him that I am leaving." Although she said that, Mana still had to retrieve her bag which she had left near Tora's tent.

"Well, maybe I should ask him myself." Suddenly, his expression changed. At that instant, he threw something, it seemed he just threw a projectile weapon but Mana couldn't tell what it was because the thing moved too fast. Although she wasn't ready when Trek attacked, the Sacaen girl managed to roll to the side, dodging whatever that man threw at her. It hit the tree behind her, causing a loud crushing sound and leaving a hole in the trunk. Trek looked somewhat surprised, he didn't think that his opponent was very agile.

"Why did you attack me?" Mana got up to her feet and drew her blade.

[Mana]

Mana didn't notice at first because she had to dodge the fast attack. When she had found her focus and regained her composure, the myrmidon recognized what just attacked her. A long chain went through Trek's long sleeve, it looked light despite being made from iron. "Uuh, chain again..." Mana remembered the fight in Laus inn where she faced an enemy who used chain as weapon. That time she had to accept a defeat. "That's a dangerous weapon. I should to be careful," she thought as she took a battle stance.

"You are faster than I thought." The man raised his sleeves, showing the chains that wrapped around his left arm. Judging by the length, he probably wrapped it around his body too. He then stepped forward, Mana stepped back as the response. "Hey...Hey...Don't be afraid of me..." Afraid, that word hurt Mana's pride. The myrmidon was trained with Sacaen's pride as a warrior since she was born. Although Mana could be considered as a decent warrior at her age, she was easy to be provoked by taunts.

"Shut up..." A roar echoed throughout the forest as the Sacen swordwoman charged. Holding her sword with right hand, Mana prepared to do a wide diagonal slash. "You are too open!" she shouted. It seemed she would easily strike the man with her blade but this fight wasn't that easy. Trek suddenly pulled his weapon with a great strength, the chain parted with the tree and went toward Mana. Having mastered this unusual weapon, Trek could easily change the course to aim at the girl from behind.

Mana was lucky the chain missed her, it only grazed her thigh, ripping her skirt and leaving a wound. It then hit a nearby tree. "Oh, it seems my weapon is not suited for a battle in forest. These trees are annoying..." Trek chuckled. The girl was surprised, she didn't see it coming. Her life was saved by luck. She stopped running and touched her thigh, feeling pain in the new wound and the warmness of her own blood with her fingers. "How? He can move the chain like a part of his body."[/i] Although she got injured, it made her return to her sense. Mana realized that this opponent was really strong, she had to be careful with her choice of movement. Also, her fighting spirit grew stronger when she faced a strong opponent.

"That time, I could only watch Yaen duel the big guy..." she muttered to herself, looking down. Trek noticed that the girl was acting strange, he flinched his chain toward himself and caught the edge with his right hand. "Why...Did you piss your pant, little girl?" he said. But this time Mana didn't respond to his taunt, instead she then swung her sword to the side and glared at Trek. "No, I am just excited. Finally I can see he result of my training," she announced confidently.

"Funny...Let we see...Are you a brave or a fool?" Trek spoke with a condescending tone as he stepped forward, clattering sound following his steps. Mana bolted toward him too. "Here I come!"

[Mana]

Sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest, Tora was battling against the thugs who was attacking him without mercy. They swarmed him like ants, but with fighting capability of a lion. They turned better and stronger that he expected, even if he was still much better than each ones of them, fighting this many people wasn't easy. "Uh, I can't waste time here, he is probably heading to her place now. Or worse, he has already found her. Damn it!"

Trek was always cunning, he relied on his dirty tricks and cruel methods to deal with his prey. Tora knew him very well because he ever worked with him once when he was still with the guild. But the assassin didn't expect to have himself being found here, he was sure he had left some decoys in the last town and hid his trail. "It seems I had underestimated him," he thought as he cut a thug's arm.

The thug screamed as his hand got separated from his body, but Tora showed no mercy, he sent a killing blow by stabbing his stomatch. As he pulled his blade and watched the body fall to the ground, Tora counted how many enemies left. "Six, seven, eight...Great!" So far he had killed four men. He was breathing heavily, this fighting had made him tired. Still, his determination to save Mana gave him unbelievable strength.

Tora was readying his sword when he saw a shadow coming from the distance. He recognized it. A white wolf ran toward him, the thugs noticed the wolf as well. "Yasha! Damn it!" The white furs was colored with red, with blood. "So I was right! Oh Father Sky! Please protect my daughter."

----------------------------------------

Another sound of a tree being crushed, this tree was where Mana leaned against. The chain stuck on the tree, only two centimeters away from her neck. The girl eyes were filled with fear, she looked at her hand which holding a sword, which was almost broken. The next blow would shatter the metal into pieces.

There was several small cuts on her body. The chain had ripped the skin in her left shoulder, her wrist was wounded too after she tried to block an attack with her sword. Mana wasn't sure what she should do next, this man was stronger than anyone she had met.

"Am I really this weak? Or because he is too strong?" Mana couldn't help but wondering why she wasn't able to cut the distance between them. The myrmidon hadn't landed a single blow in this fight because he always stopped her from getting too close. Mana was sure that she would prevail if she could drag this man into close combat, but it seemed Trek wouldn't allow her to do it. His chain always moved like a snake, not giving her chance to use her sword to attack.

"How about you just give up, little girl...You are way too young to face me in combat," Trek said. His words burnt the anger inside the girl's heart. He put a mocking expression as he walked to approach the girl.

[Mana]

Mana took few steps to her left, holding her sword tightly. Trek was going to attack again soon, probably. He didn't seem wanting to kill her, in fact, Trek enjoyed this game. But whatever his intention was, it wouldn't be good, Mana knew it. It wasn't the first time she felt fear and helpless, but she wasn't going to back down from this fight. She was still young and inexperienced, she was stupid enough to challenge death to protect her pride.

"Now!" she shouted, mostly to give herself some courage. The myrmidon charged boldly toward the man who probably had anticipated her movement. "You must learn when you need to give up!" Trek laughed as he whipped his chain horizontally toward her legs. His goal was to disable her movement. The chain sliced the wind, making some rotten leafs on the ground flying. Mana was prepared for this, she leapt to the air and watched the chain passed below her. Her timing was perfect, but she was just lucky actually. And another luck came, the chain hit another tree and circled it. Trek tried to free his weapon, but he couldn't. At the same time, he watched Mana coming toward him. "Huh, Tora probably had thought about this possibility when he decided to run to the forest. Smart as always..." Trek jumped backward to dodge Mana's sword, the girl's attack only hit empty air. But this time the momentum was hers, she continued with a strong dash and swung her sword toward his abdomen. Although she was fast, her opponent was even faster. Trek used his metal gloves to stop her attack, parrying the sword to the side. At this quick moment, Mana heard a loud crack sound and watched her sword broken. This damaged her mentally and stopped her movement for temporary. "It can't be!"

While she was still in shock after losing her sword, a strong hand gripped her neck and choked her. Mana desperately tried to get some air into her lungs, she gasped and tried to breath. "Not bad, but you are just an amateur," Trek said.

[Mana]

"Aa...Aach...Aa..." Her voice had a glimpse of suffering as the girl kept her mouth open to get air as much as possible into her lungs. But although she desperately tried to grasp the air through those trembling lips, the man's hand was on her neck, strongly pushing her windpipe into its limit. Her legs was trying to find the ground, swaying back and forth. Trek smirked as he raised her with one hand, staring at her expression, watching the girl endure the pain for not be able to breath. Mana was trying to free herself, but her hands didn't have enough power.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you...for now. That traitor seems to hold some affection toward you. I wonder if he is actualy into a young girl like you." Trek gave his opponent no mercy, he added some power to his fingers. He wanted to make her faint. Mana felt the rising pressure on her windpipe, causing her tears come out and her face becoming pale. "Oou...Aa..." Her conciousness was blacking out, her brain didn't receive enough air to keep doing its job properly. "Pathetic..." Mana cursed herself for being weak. She wasn't a strong warrior she always dreamed of, she wasn't there yet.

But before she fainted, something happened. The ground was shaking, weak at first, but then it got stronger. A sound of eruption came from the west, where the ruined city of Ostia was left by its destroyer. Really,,,what had just happened to that poor city, again? "What the???" Trek turned around to see what happened. The sky in the west was covered with black clouds. Judging by the direction and the distance, it probably came from Ostia. "Wow, who did that to the dead city? Surely not a blacksmith," He laughed at his own comment. However, he couldn't laugh after another earthquake followed, a stronger one this time. The villain then lost his footing and got distracted, his grip was getting weaker.

A moment, only a moment when the air got access into her lungs again, her mind became clearer. Mana thanked Father Sky and Mother Earth as she breathed, she never knew that breathing would taste so nice. The myrmidon felt refreshed and found her strength back. Although still dizzy, she managed to send a kick to Trek's stomach. Now, it was his turn to feel the air knocked out of his lungs. Both then fell to the ground, Mana was finally free. The girl coughed as she held her neck, she hadn't fully recovered from the lack of air which almost made her fainted.

"Ouugh...Damn girl..." Mana heard his opponent cursing. His voice reminded her that she wasn't safe yet. What happened then was spontaneous, Mana grabbed her broken sword and rushed toward Trek, who was lying on the ground with a hand on his stomach. Weird, she wondered why she didn't choose to wait or run, maybe it was her instinct, her determination, or her spirit, who knows. But one thing, she realized that she was charging toward her opponent with a broken blade in his right hand, despite her sight was blurry and her body was screaming, pleading her to stop her action. Of course Trek didn't anticipate this. He smiled, it had been a long time since he had a stubborn opponent like her. The villain managed to keep his cool and lauched a counterattack. He drew a dagger which was hidden inside his sleeve and waited for her to come closer. "Tell me your name, girl!" he shouted as he readied his dagger.

Mana watched Trek welcomed her with a dagger in his hand. "I am Mana of Sacae!" That was the last words she shouted before her body finally giving in to tiredness, but not before the two exchanged blows. She didn't fall before stabbing Trek on his chest, and his dagger only scratched her left cheek. "You had a good footwork girl," Trek muttered, blood coming out of his lips. His dagger fell off. He missed at the last second because he looked at Mana's eyes. Hers gave similar feeling, a bravery and determination Tora always had in his eyes. That caused him to lose his focus and miss. Mana could have won but, unfortunately, her blade had lost its half so it couldn't pierce too deep. It wasn't a deep wound.

"That was fun..." he remarked as he watched the girl slumping onto her knees. Smirking, he watched the unconscious Mana with interest. "With enough training, she would be a top assassin in five years...Am I right, Tora?" he said as he looked back, smirking. There was an angry warrior and his white wolf coming at great speed. Trek sighed, he should have known that those thugs wouldn't be enough. He wondered if he had chose wrong strategy, he would have won if he and his thugs attacked Tora together. But somehow he was glad, this girl had given him a good time.

"I lose...But I think I have learnt something." He turned at Mana, who was lying unconcious on the ground now, and smirked. "This girl, huh?" Trek took a last look at her before running away, he wouldn't risk his life by facing Tora in a duel. The villain headed to the deeper part of the forest. "Until we meet again, Mana of Sacae..."

"Mana!" Tora crouched and took his daughter into his arms. He was glad when he saw her still breathing. He forgot about his own wounds because of the joy for seeing his daughter again. He only cursed why he couldn't see through Trek's ploy. Yasha snarled weakly beside him, its teeth still had the blood of those thugs.

[Mana]

(Timeskip to tomorrow)

Mana sat near the window of a room, looking at the street down there. She could barely remember what happened to her in the last moment before she fainted yesterday. She recalled the sensation of her blade connect with its target, but nothing else. As she turned and took a glance at her room, she eyed the bed which she just used and her bags on the table. This place was a room in an inn. The myrmidon wondered why and how she was here.

Her battle with Trek couldn't be a dream, the proof was the wounds left in her body. And who was that strange man who hugged her? Where was he? He claimed he knew her mother, if it was true Mana wanted to ask him some questions. "Everything is so weird. My brain can't take this," she grumbled. According to the innkeeper's story, Tora brought her unconscious self to this inn, where was located in a small village in Lycia-Etruria border. He left her in the inn after paying for her room expense, also her breakfast and lunch. "Why did he do it?" She questioned. Something was weird about him, Mana still remembered him looking at her softly. Also, she could vaguely remember the warm sensation throbbing through her body when Tora was carrying her. She didn't hate it, in fact, she liked it. It felt nice, but she couldn't explain it well.

Mana hoped to meet him again. But she wouldn't wait for him to come back, if he would come back. Mana was sure that they would meet again. The wind would guide her path into him when the time came. And she wouldn't let him disappear next time, at least not before he answered all her questions. Having decided what she would do next, the Sacaen swordwoman grabbed her bags, checking its inside before leaving the room. Mana stared at her broken blade as she walked, sighing.

"Ah, you are leaving?" The innkeeper called Mana when she descended the stairs. Mana nodded and smiled. "Yes, thank you for everything." The innkeeper wished her luck as the girl headed for the exit. "Good bye," she said. He watched her leave the building with a gentle smile.

After he was sure that she had left, the innkeeper turned to a hooded man hiding in the corner. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. The hooded man didn't answer and continued staring at the door.

End of Thread