Chapter 12-Start of an Adventure

I wake up from the sun shining in my eyes as it rises from the east. White fluffy clouds dispersed through the blue sky. Lying on the cold hard dirt wasn’t as bad as I thought. I am neither sore nor tired. Because of our natural ability to regulate our body temperature we don’t need blankets. However I feel warmth on both sides of me. Lucarus is curled in a ball to my right with his back against me. He is snoring loudly. Aarushi somehow snuggled her head onto my chest and wrapped my arm around her during the night. She sleeps silently. Her beautiful sleeping face tempts me stay like this all day, but I must get ready to leave.

I take my arm off of Aarushi and start to sit up. Aarushi wakes up and lifts her head. She turns her face to me while rubbing sleep from her eyes. With a small yawn she speaks. “Yaawn this is a good dream.” Our faces already only a few inches from each other she leans in to kiss me.

The kiss is awkward at best. She half kisses my mouth half kisses my cheek. She holds it for about two seconds then pulls her head back. “That felt kind of real.” She blankly stares at me for a moment then her eyes slowly widen as her face becomes covered in shock. She sits up and away from me and screams. “What are you doing sleeping here like this?”

I pat the side of my mouth where she kissed me thinking of what to say but am luckily saved by Lucarus. He gets out of his ball and sits up rubbing the back of his head. “Why are you screaming? Don’t you remember last night you made us sleep with you under the stars?”

She looks back and forth between Lucarus and I and begins to blush. “I… No I don’t remember last night I just… What did you see just now?”

Confused by the question Lucarus continues to scratch his head. “What would I have seen?”

I add in “Yeah I didn’t see anything either, I was still sleeping tell you screamed.” I give her a quick wink.

Her cheeks become slightly less red and she gives a sigh of relief. “Whooo, that’s good. I thought you saw me kiss Deadra.” She gives a smile and wipes more sleep out of her eyes.

I cover my face with one hand in defeat after hearing her. I can’t believe she is such an air head!

Lucarus jumps up from the ground and grabs me by the shoulders. “What! She kissed you! Like on the cheek again or was it the lips this time? Dam it why do you always get the ladies!”

Aarushi drops her hand and gets wide eyes again as she realizes her mistake. I shake my head and try to explain. “She was half asleep. She muttered something about dreaming, I think she thought it was a dream. “

Lucarus looks up at Aarushi and asks “Do you usually dream about doing that with Deadra?”

Aarushi not knowing what to say stutters. “I umm.. I ugh umm I just…. Well sometimes… I don’t know.” She is wringing her hands together. Her mark is glowing pink, I assume it means embarrassment.

Feeling bad for her I interrupt. “So we should all split up and meet at the south gate in an hour. You should both gather some extra clothes and supplies. Make sure to say your good byes to your family we will be gone for many months possibly years.” I grab Lucarus’s shoulder. “And you my friend, I will find you a girl when we get to the next city, I promise!”

Lucarus nods silently then says “Thanks, I guess it’s about time I try to find someone huh.” He then walks away slightly disappointed.

“So Aarushi, would you like to talk at all?”

She walks over to me and gets her face close to mine. “Please don’t hate me.” She then steps forward and slams her head into my shoulder. “I know you were really mad at Cecelia when she kissed you… I’m sorry I thought I was dreaming.”

I wrap my arms around her and rub her back. “I’m not mad, for a girl your age things like this go through your head, I understand. I went through the same things. Even Lucarus is also thinking the same things. I just think you’re not old enough yet to do this kind of stuff. I hope you’re not mad at me or anything. Maybe when you get older we could date.” She is already fifteen years old but I still don’t feel comfortable dating someone so much younger than me even if in this world I am also fifteen.

 She pulls her head back and tilts it to the side.  She puts a finger to her lips. “Uuumm aren’t you only a few weeks older than me? Why are you talking like your so much older?”

Should I tell her I’m a reincarnated human? This was my third world I was reincarnated in?  Would she believe me if I told her? I don’t think now is the right time but I also can’t lie to her.

I clear my throat and then begin to explain. “Well I have my reasons for that, but it’s not important. Just for now I don’t think we should date, it would be bad if Lucarus got jealous.”

Aarushi puffs her cheeks out angrily. “When did I ever ask you to go out with me?” a frown forms across her face. “It was just an accident… don’t think so highly of yourself!” she pushes me off her and marches off a few feet then half turns around and shyly mutters “but if you change your mind I wouldn’t be mad.” She then walks back to her house.

I go back to my house to say my farewells to my family as well. When I get home I see my mother and dad eating in the dining room. My mother gets up and rushes over to give me a hug. “Deadra! Good morning, where did you end up last night?”

I hug her back “Good morning mom, Good morning dad. Aarushi had me sleep with her under the stars.”

My mother eyes me up and down momentarily. “Oh does this mean I might be having a grandchild soon?” She nudges me with her elbow laughing.

My father chuckles then says “haha my little boy is all grown up now huh? That Aarushi girl is a looker, good for you Deadra.”

Shaking off their accusations I tell them what happened. “Lucarus was their too. We just played around and watched the stars nothing like that happened. But I do have some news I would like to share. Can we all sit down?” I motion mother to come to the table and sit down. I sit across the rock table from my parents. I then make my announcement. “Lucarus, Aarushi and I will all be going to the town of Twin Trees to gain knowledge and strength. We plan to enter the arena and become gladiators.”

My dad gets up from the table and goes to his room without saying a word. My mother puts her hand on me and gives me a light smile. “You know it will take about six months to travel there right? Why don’t you just travel to one of the closer towns?”

“Do any of the closer towns have Arena’s?”

“No… Do you even have the things you need to travel?”

I nod my head and reply. “We have daggers to protect ourselves and water bags we can fill at the river. We are all prepared for this. The others are saying their goodbyes a well.”

My father returns from his room with a small brown leather bag and sets it on the table. “This is a loan. it should tide you over until you start making money from the arena. Use it to get food and buy lodging in an inn. If you follow the river you should be able to make it to Twin Trees in about six months. Make sure to come back to us one day.” He puts his hand on my shoulder “Remember we both love you and to take care. Also make sure to bring back a wife!”

I nod my head and grab the bag. There are about twenty silver coins inside. I look up and give my dad a big smile. “Thank you, both of you Thank you!”

My dad takes his hand off me and asks. “Do you know how money works yet? Ten coppers go into one silver and ten silver go into one gold. A piece of bread would be about one copper and a room at an inn will be anywhere from one silver to several gold depending on what place you stay at.”

I nod my head in confirmation. ”Thank you dad” I stand up and look back and forth between father and mother. “I love you guys!” I then give them both a hug and head out to the southern gate.

Lucarus and Aarushi are already at the front gate talking with the guards when I show up Aarushi sees me first and runs toward me with a diving hug. “You’re late silly!” crashing into me I have to take a back step as her momentum hits me.

Lucarus comes up and hits me on the back above my home made wolf pelt back pack. “Come on let’s get going.”

I let off a small laugh and pull him into Aarushi’s hug. “Get over here!” The three of us laughing is how our journey begins. I hope that is the same way it will end. I need to get stronger to prevent the things I saw from the dagger.

As we take a few steps out of the gate I look back at the village. I have spent the last fifteen years here. This is my home. I hope to come back here one day.

…

Night falls and we set up camp a couple yards from the river in a mall clearing. Soft beach like dirt covers the ground from floods in years past. We gather some wood and start a small fire. The fire is simple to start with our abilities. We do not use it for warmth like most would think but instead for cooking and something to look at as we rest. A rabbit is cooking next to the fire on a stick protruding from the ground. The three of us are sitting on the sand around the fire.

Aarushi stands up and says. “ummm I need to go ummm do something don’t follow me.” She then scurries off into the woods.

Lucarus sits across the fire from me staring into the flames. The bright orange fire reflects in his reddish brown eyes dancing through the night. “Hey Deadra can I ask you something?”

“Yeah of course.”

“Why did you use me as an excuse not to date Aarushi? She really likes you, and well I think you guys should date.”

I look up from the fire at him. His face is serious. “So it seems she told you? I’m sorry I used you as an excuse. I have my reasons for not dating her, I just can’t tell you right now.”

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“What is it that you can’t tell your best friend?” he crosses his arm and breaths out a sigh.

“It’s complicated. I promise you I will tell you one day, it’s just hard to explain and I need to find the right words. Also I have been thinking about it and well I still don’t know how I feel.”

“hmmph, well make sure to talk to Aarushi again, I know she seems happy but you know she doesn’t like to show her sadness.”

After that we silently stare at the fire for a little while before Aarushi shows up again. “Wow why is it so quite! We should be more happy!”

Lucarus stands up and announces “I’m going to take a piss.” Then he walks off into the forest.

I pat the dirt next to me commanding Aarushi to sit down. “Hey come over and sit.”

She follows my directions and sits next to me. She wraps her arms around her legs tucking them into her chest. She says “What’s up?”

I stay silent for a moment thinking. This morning I was in shock and couldn’t think clearly but now I have had the day to think. I do like her but I still have all these memories from a life I can barely remember. I can almost remember being in love from a past life. In fact I don’t even know how old I am mentally. I could have been anywhere from a teenage to over one hundred when I died the first time. She might be way too young for me. But in this life time I am the same age as her.

My emotions are all mixed up. I feel as though I am going through puberty all over again. Oh yeah I am going through puberty all over again. Even if I have past knowledge I still have emotions and feelings of a sixteen year old. I still do things on impulse with out thinking. All the experience in the world can be for not when you're emotionally unstable.

Maybe if I move things slowly it could work out. Also Lucarus doesn’t seem to mind. I open my mouth to talk but before I say a word Aarushi makes a small sniffle. I glance over at her and a tear drips from her chin. I grab her hand and stroke the top of it with my thumb. The words almost come out without thinking. Her crying face makes me want to protect her and love her. Seeing her like this makes me realize how I truly feel.

“So what would you say if I changed my mind from this morning?”

Aarushi grabs onto my hand then with her other hand she wipes her eyes. She sniffles once more then leans her head on my shoulder and says. “Jerk.”

I give off a slight chuckle. We sit in silence for a few moments then hear a cry from a distance away. “Deadra, Aarushi get ready a bear found me! I’m coming your way!”

Aarushi and I shoot up from the ground and turn towards Lucarus’s cries for help. I pull the silver dagger from its sheath. Seconds later I hear rustling from the trees then a bush shaking. Lucarus bursts from the bush yelling “Attack it now!” I launch a smoldering ball of fire at the green bush. The bush ignites immediately sending smoke into the air.

The bear charges out of the flaming bush with an ear splitting roar. It runs toward us as it prepares to lunge at Lucarus. I send another ball of fire at it. The bear swats at the ball knocking it to the ground with ease. It stands on its hind legs in front of me. It brings down its giant brown paws with all of its weight at my head. I roll to the side under his belly while slicing at its hind leg. The blade slides through its iron like hide and monstrous muscles with ease. After I finish my roll I stand up once more and slice at its stomach. The dagger cuts through him like butter. The resistance from the light weight blade is practically nothing.

The bear retreats back a few steps in pain while roaring at us. I do not step off but instead continue my charge. I ignite the blade with fire. It feels as if it was made to handle fire and somehow amplifies the strength I put into it.  He slashes at me with his paws but I side step and slit through his arms. The wound is amplified due to the flames engulfing the blade. I place my hand on its shoulder and set off an explosion. The blast jolts the bear to the side and he tumbles to the ground.

I unleash flames from my back while kicking of the ground accelerating me toward the fallen bear. I stab the dagger into his exposed under belly. Wrenching it inside of his stomach I unleash an explosion at the dagger’s tip. The bear’s stomach expands and then shrinks as a large bang is heard. Smoke pours out of his mouth as his head drops to the side. I pull my dagger from him and turn to the others.

“Are you guys alright?”

Lucarus nods his head. “You just took a bear out by yourself! That’s amazing! When did you get so strong?”

I shake my head. “No it’s the knife. It cut through him so easily and is extremely light. It is almost as if it was made for me. I would have failed if I still used the rock daggers we made.”

“Either way it’s still amazing! And doesn’t the dagger actually have your name on it?”

“Well yeah it does. I was wondering about that as well.” The dagger had Deadra carved into the case before I even picked it up. I shuffle it through my hands. The blade is still clean; not a drop of blood is on it. What are the mysteries behind this blade? Who made it, and why is my name on it?

Aarushi walks over to the bear and pokes its face. “Can I eat this? Lucarus can you help me cook it?”

Lucarus walks up and pulls out his rock dagger. “Yeah let’s clean it up and pack as much as we can into our bags as well. Bear meet is more delicious and higher protein then the rabbit.”

After we finish cooking and eat the bear I rub my belly with contentment while leaning back onto a rock I brought over. “That was amazing Lucarus, when did you become such a good cook?”

Lucarus cast his eyes down at the fire looking past it, almost like looking into the past itself. “Shortly after Suzaku’s test I started to cook since Cecelia wasn’t there anymore. I know it won’t be as good as hers but when I cook I remember the good times with her.”

The crackling of the fire covers the silence. Nobody says anything else for several minutes. Aarushi stands up and announces. “I am going to bed now, ummm Deadra if you want you can well ugh ju ugh never mind! Good night guys! See you in the morning!”

Lucarus looks in my direction and raises one eyebrow. “What was that about?”

I give off a small smile. “I decided to go out with her. Before you brought the bear over.”

Lucarus opens his eyes wide then looks over to Aarushi who made a small bed of leaves and is lying down. “So does that mean you two will start working on making a baby? Actually do you know how to make a baby? My parents told me about it a few years ago. You just…”

I cut him off “Please don’t say any more! I know how to do that, and no we are not going to do that! We are practically still children ourselves!”

Lucarus rolls his eyes before saying. “Hmph, well personally I would be begging for a chance to do something like that with her. I don’t get you sometimes, it’s almost like you’re an old man”

I give off a small smile and laugh. If only you knew how true that might be.

An agitated voice from behind me interjects into the conversation. “You guys know I can hear everything you’re saying right?”

Lucarus gives a worried expression “oh crap! Sorry Aarushi… ummm can we forget I said any of that?”

She sits up and makes a diabolical laugh. “Buahaha you mean the fact that you would beg to sleep with me? Oh I don’t think I can forget something like that.” She gives a small wink then lays back down.

Giving off my own smirk I say “haha, don’t worry man I will find you a girl when we get to the town.” I stand up and pat him on the shoulder. “I am going to bed now to.” I turn around and start walking toward Aarushi “Hey Aarushi can I join you, your bed looks comfy!”

A small squeak comes from Aarushi and she covers her mouth. Fighting with in herself she says. “No! errr I mean umm I don’t care.” I walk over and lay behind her wrapping my arm around her. I could really get used to having someone to sleep next to, it will make the nights less lonely.

Sleep over takes me quickly as my consciousness fades away.

The next day I wake up with Aarushi still in my arms. Her cute face lies on my chest. The smell of honey drifts up from her head. Her crimson hair covers her eyes and button nose. Her hair half matted to her face half scattered in every direction. I give a small laugh shaking my chest and accidentally jolting her awake. She sleepily rubs her eyes and looks at me as she raises her head. I give her a sweet smile and kiss her lips. They taste like a mix of honey and the bear meat from last night. She freezes in place unsure of what to do as her cheeks begin to turn red.

…

Six month months pass. Running into several more wolves and bears barely slows our traveling speed. Every night Aarushi sleeps close to me, but nothing more happens. Our team work, fighting and survival skills grow exponentially without the comfort and safety of our home.

Finally we arrive at the town of Twin Trees. A large red tree is tangled with an equally large white tree. Big red fruits shaped like fire grow from the branches. The white tree produces white cloud like flowers. Both trees tower hundreds of feet into the air. A small black bush is growing around the two trees with black round fruit growing from it. Buildings bigger than any others I have seen in this world surround the trees. A white coliseum is on the opposite edge of the town from us.