The Hawk

The King of Fire

Haru opened slowly her eyes, looking straight at the ceiling. She was relieved and felt at ease as if she was in her own home.

'Oh my God, what a dream,' she sighed, trying to get up and hissed. She realized her every movement hurts.

'What the hell?' she mumbled, looking at bandages covering her right arm and chest, left ankle, and left wrist. She had bruises almost everywhere. Thank God there wasn't any mirror in the room as she would be afraid of looking at her own face right now.

Memories hit her. A hot wave caught her breath, and she put her hand on her chest. Once again she felt anger, fear, and pain. She remembered people lying on the ground, killed by an unknown force. Haru looked at her hand. Was it even possible?

Trying to collect her thoughts, she sat up and looked for her clothes. It seemed somebody took her dirty and torn clothing. 'Probably to throw it away,' she chuckled in her thoughts, completely disoriented. She was so lost that the only thing she could do now was to laugh. Her gaze fell on neatly folded clothing next to her bedding. She reached out and gave it a closer look.

'Now, how do you do that...' she wondered how to put it on, as she realized it was something between a dress and robe. It also had an additional piece of clothing, probably to put is around the waist. Or maybe to cover hair? How on earth could she know how to do it?

She managed to get up and put the clothing more or less logically on her body. Surely the person, who chose her clothes thought of the comfort of her bruised body. Meanwhile, Haru was thinking of any kind of a plan. She needed to go out and check what exactly happened. She needed to look for Daichi and Risa. They couldn't be far, could they? It would be also good to know where she was and who treated her wounds.

She assumed she might be in quite a favorable position since she was bandaged and given some clothes, and not abandoned in the middle of nowhere or, hm, killed. It was far from feeling safe, but she didn't have much to complain about either.

Haru managed to slide the door open and step into the corridor. She was still hobbling a little, but the pain in the ankle was incomparably lesser than yesterday. Come to think of it, Haru wasn't even sure if all of it happened yesterday. Actually, she could be asleep for a few days, couldn't she?

It was quiet in the empty corridor. Haru's posture spoke more of being cautious than shy. As she was the black sheep of her family, she had to learn quickly that being shy brings no good. Nakajima Haru was convinced she had to fight with all her force to be herself and do what she believes in. No, she wasn't as good as her brother - a perfect son, currently probably winning another prize in the piano contest. The day Haru stated that she wants to change her surname to her father's family name was like a slap for her mother.

She stepped out to the courtyard, wobbling a little and covering her eyes from the sun. She spotted first people, pleasant flowers, and smelled something nice, probably coming from the kitchen or dining room. Then she heard a sudden noise of something breaking on the ground, followed by some rattling. A plainly dressed woman stared at Haru in shock, as she dropped a trace with soup just a second ago.

'For Yakeru's sake, milady! What you are doing here?' she screamed and rushed towards Haru, immediately grabbing her by her clothes and covering tightly her robes, which were showing her bandaged chest. Haru looked at her with total incomprehension. The woman's voice focused some more pairs of eyes on them.

'You need to rest, milady. Get back to your room please,' pleaded the woman and pointing in the direction Haru came from. Haru didn't understand a word but understood the gesture. She covered her with her arms but didn't make any move. She couldn't possibly go back to the room when there were so many things she needed to find out right now. Haru decided to shake her head in disapproval.

'What is going on there?' boomed a manly voice from behind and both women froze. Haru immediately turned around, still keeping her hands close. She faced a quite strapping man, with a stern expression. He was watching her closely, and as he made a step forward, she immediately jumped back, raising her fists.

The man raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

'After using Yukiko's power, this is how she's defending herself?' thought the man, who clearly was a warrior. Though Haru didn't know it yet, he was the king's right hand, the one who put her on the horse and ordered to treat her wounds, just before the king was back with the prisoners.

'Oh my, look who finally got up! Hello, milady,' exclaimed another man, whose facial features were far more delicate. He was approaching them with had a handful of some papers, and a quill stuck behind his ear. His heartwarming smile took Haru's attention for a short while.

'What a beautiful, but a little broken, shivering bird,' commented another one, almost appearing out of nowhere. He, on the other hand, looked suspicious to Haru. His aura and smile whispered that you really don't want to ask any questions, because you don't want to know the real answers. Haru narrowed her eyes, analyzing this uncanny group of people. They would comprise quite a funny bunch if she wasn't so much on guard.

'I have absolutely no idea what are you all talking about.' said Haru in English looking confused and cautious at the same time. They froze, not understanding a word she said.

'That makes things even more interesting,' the third man smiled mockingly and turned away, not looking at her anymore.

'That would be more difficult than expected,' whispered the first warrior, gazing at the disappearing man with disapproval.

'Yeah... I'd better inform lord Matsuo,' nodded the second one and quickly ran away.

'Come on, time to eat something. You cannot visit our lord with an empty stomach,' said the first warrior, bending to reach the dropped spoon. Her belly growled. He chuckled and extended his hand to offer Haru support, but she didn't even glance at him. She might have lost this battle of getting out of here, but she will surely try it once again. Seeing her proud attempts to go back to her room unaided, he just shook his head.

'Hayashi Reo,' he pointed his finger at his chest and introduced himself. She didn't respond, pretending to look straight ahead, but Reo knew she is cautiously observing his every move.

'Keijiro could be right. That makes things even more interesting,' he thought, glancing at the maid and nodding. She immediately took her things and went back to prepare something warm to eat.

***

Matsuo Kasai rarely lost his patience. He was intelligent enough to wait, plan, and attack according to the meticulous strategy. However, he mostly looked terrifying, as if he could burst with fire any minute - and this wasn't far from the truth. His eyes were dark and distant. But strangely, if asked, most of his people wouldn't hesitate to give their lives for him.

And this excellent leader was now bored to his limits. The screams quieted down, as he exited the cell, toweling off his hands from something red. He didn't manage to learn anything, he didn't know already. Probably it was time to call Keijiro. Lord Matsuo didn't pry to know Keijiro's shady methods as long as they were successful. And mostly they turn out to be painfully successful.

'My lord, I am deeply sorry to disturb you,' said a man, entering the dungeons. He now kept his quill in his hand, instead of keeping it stuck behind the ear.

'Nonsense, Yuuta,' snapped the king. 'What is it?'

'She's awake, my lord,' whispered the warrior. Either the thought of her was that intimidating, or he didn't want the prisoners to hear the details. The king gazed at him with a blink of interest in his eyes.

It was true the Hawks of Ice disappeared shortly after the war began, and Kasai didn't think they would show up again in such an unusual way. He wanted to see her. See her tattoos that looked just like his, and maybe, just maybe once again feel the comfortably chilling sensation he felt when he caught her. The sensation, which could relieve the fire burning in his veins. Though he wasn't now sure what exactly would happen if the Hawk of Fire directly touched the Hawk of Ice.

'She should rest for now. I don't want her to wobble or faint during the appointment,' said Kasai flippantly and took his steps out of dungeons.

***

The maid rubbed tiny droplets of sweat from her forehead. The lady, as she called Haru, was impossible. She either tried to sneak out at night or run away when they were strolling around the castle to show her around. This time she was told to dress Haru up for a council with the king Matsuo.

Haru, on the other hand, was trying to find her old clothes, as she wasn't used to wearing 'girly ones'. She tried to gather as many pieces of information as possible, which was frustrating and difficult as she didn't know the language. She didn't mean to make the maid's life harder, and once in a while she felt sorry for her, but she had her own priorities.

'Well, you look gorgeous milady,' said the maid, making some adjustments with the satin sash around her waist. Haru felt her heart sink. For a few days, she couldn't achieve anything and this Hayashi guy had an eye on her. He appeared immediately when she tried to go somewhere on her own. As if he had a naughty milady radar in his head. She even started to call him 'nanny' in her thoughts. Haru sighed, and the maid frowned.

'No sighing milady, you should be polite to lord Matsuo. He saved your life,' Haru felt scolded, though she wasn't sure what for, and that annoyed her. The maid rushed Haru out of the room, where Reo was waiting. He was playing with her jack-knife.

'Hey, that's mine!' pointed Haru accusingly. Hayashi laughed. Finally, he managed to make her say something, even if it was an accusation in a foreign language.

'I'll give it back to you after the council,' he promised, hiding the knife into his pocket. Haru's cheeks went red from anger, and she turned around furious. He quickly jogged to her, knowing she even doesn't know where to go.

He led her to the huge council room. It was full of beautiful lanterns, which created an exotic and mysterious aura. Paintings on the wall resembled Japanese style, though the figures on them looked even more foreign. She observed the motives of some kind of huge bird here and there. The room was full of people - mostly warriors, and Haru recognized a few faces, maids, and some kind of merchants, all of them talking to each other about matters that seemed important for them.

Reo led her into the room and they took their place near the platform in the middle of the rear wall. Haru's gaze locked on the seating placed on the platform. It had to be a place for someone important. She suddenly felt sick, as if she was waiting for her teacher. No, not for the teacher. As if she was waiting for a person of far greater power. Power, she doesn't comprehend. She was nervous. She was to meet her destiny.

Suddenly the main door opened and she saw him. The king. The lord. The warrior. They looked at each other for a split of a second, and then he made his way to reach his place, not bothering to pay attention to her. She clenched her jaw, though she wasn't aware what angered her that much. The man sitting now on his throne was totally different than the image she remembered from that dangerous night. Though she was sure it was him. She was able to calm her anger when she realized his lack of curiosity could be her chance to get out of the palace in a few day's time. If he wasn't interested in her, she could just disappear, right? Little did she know he was closely observing her every move.