Chapter Twenty-Four:
Denden cursed as she scratched her calf on a nearby bush. “Stupid branch, getting in my way.”
“Are we almost there?” Hirari asked Minna.
Minna concentrated and looked around. “Almost there…I think.”
“Great,” Hirari grumbled. “I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.
Minna halted. “Now we got left. Or is it right?” Hirari and Denden cast despairing looks at each other as Minna paced between the two paths muttering to herself. Then, Minna jumped quickly and ran to the right shouting back to the others, “It’s this way!” Hirari and Denden were about to follow when they heard her cry out in alarm and then there was a loud thud. They rushed out after her to find her lying on top of a man.
“Who are you?” asked Denden as she helped Minna up.
The man sat up and felt the back of his head gingerly. “What hit me?” he asked, and his eyes lit up on Minna. Jumping to his feet, he strode up to her and grabbed both of her hands. “Are you alright, miss?” he asked, concerned, and she nodded her head speechless. “Are you sure? You’re not injured? Because I could always kiss it better.” He leaned forward closer to the stunned Minna, only to find two daggers conveniently placed at his throat by Hirari and Denden. “Or not…” he continued, stepping back quickly.
“That’s better,” Hirari said. “Now...who are you and what are you doing here?”
The man glanced at all of them and seeing that they meant business, answered promptly. “My name is Sho and I’m returning from visiting my sister who was having a baby.” He grinned exuberantly. “I’m an uncle!”
“Congratulations!” Minna exclaimed. “That’s so awesome!” She turned to see the other girls shake their heads and sigh. “What?”
“Why is she so much like the twins?” Hirari asked Denden.
“I don’t know…maybe they’re contagious.”
“But we’ve never been affected, and we’ve been with them our entire lives.”
“Maybe we’re immune.”
As Hirari and Denden continued their conversation, Sho sidled up to Minna. “Speaking of babies…” he said.
“Yes?” Minna asked curiously.
“How about you and I…” He got no further as Hirari and Denden stopped their conversation in mid sentence and glared at him. “Or not…” he gulped.
Denden went up to Sho. “You seem to know this area well. How about you help us find a herb?”
Sho looked at her. “What’s its properties?” Denden described the herb that they needed and he nodded in understanding. “It’s right ahead…I’ll show you.” As they rounded a nearby hill, the girls and Sho found a wide field with brilliant green herbs with tiny pink flowers. Crying in excitement, the girls knelt down and began to pick the herbs. As they were gathering the plants, Sho whispered to Minna, “We’ll continue where we left off earlier.” She started and blushed.
“I’m sure you say that to every girl you meet,” she said.
He turned seriously to her. “Nope. I’ve only said it once in my life, and that was 5 minutes ago.” As he looked at her, he had never seen a more breathtaking girl before, and his heart was telling him that she was the one. They stared at each other, getting mesmerized in each other’s eyes, until…
“Ahem.” Hirari was standing behind them with an armful of herbs, and Denden was approaching. Sho got up nervously, hoping not to get on their bad sides. “So…where to?”
“You’re not coming with us,” Hirari stated. Minna gave a little squeak of protest.
However, Sho had other plans in mind. “I don’t think so,” he said, firmly taking the herbs from both surprised girls and Minna. “I’ll be coming with you to make sure you reach your destination safely.”
Hirari opened her mouth to protest but met Minna’s pleading eyes. “Fine,” she said and began to head back.
As the girls headed back, they were seen by Mabo, Takeshi, and Junichi. Having missed what hap happened between the girls and Sho, they misinterpreted the situation. “They’ve caught Sho!” Junichi exclaimed, panicked. “What do we do?”
“Nothing,” said Takeshi. “Mabo, go back to the palace and inform Sakamoto and the rest that they have taken Sho as hostage. Junichi and I will follow them and find where they’re located.”
“Sounds good,” Mabo said and quickly headed back to the palace. As he ran to spread the news, he thought, “Finally…we’ll finally get some answers.” And Minna, Hirari, and Denden, unaware that they were being followed, headed towards the cave with Sho, hoping that Aka would still be alive by the time they got back.
![[image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/zaza_tk87/masa.jpg){kind=link}