(4) Bigger Than A Dune

DAY 43 IN ANARCHY, 200/200 MILES

9:12PM

   Kuro scratches his beard and says, "Who might you be?" Following with a nervous chuckle. "I'm Knok.. the leader of these jackasses that you slaughtered. They were weak and brainless, but I kinda liked 'em, you know? So I need you to do me a favor. DIE!" Knok slams the ground with his sledgehammer. The impact sends Kuro and Eraba flying back. He notices a little shack that was positioned a mile away and thinks to himself, "They're after Zone.. I'll just destroy it!" He swings his arm in a circular motion to get the throw going. He throws his sledgehammer and Eraba is quick to realize what's happening. Eraba throws his left foot forward and lunges at full speed. The sledgehammer has already traveled over half a mile after the throw a second ago. Eraba manages to reach it and slashes it back towards Knok.

SFX: SLAM, wind*

     "That katana you got, you're making great use of it! You may be fast and strong, but you're not at my level, and don't even compare to the Matriarch! If the katana isn't truly binded with your soul.... THEN THERE'S NO POINT!" Knok yells. Kuro's eyes widen, and before he can realize it, a giant palm approaches him from his right. Kuro gets sent flying and hits the massive invisible barrier that was adjacent to the shack. Eraba shouts, "KURO!" Kuro is knocked out and doesn't respond. "He sent him a whole mile with just a smack! How's this guy just the leader of some horde on the bottom layer? He's on a completely different level!" Eraba brushes off the thoughts and flies towards Knok. "GRRRAAAHHHH" Eraba screams. Knok laughs and yells, "Yes! Get mad at me! Come on! Cut me!!!" Eraba goes to slash Knok and out of nowhere a giant fist is coming towards his face. Eraba gets hit in the same direction as Kuro and the wall. The Shōhi shatters and Eraba is on the verge of passing out. As he drifts on and off, he hears bits of what Knok is saying.

SFX: Mystical, loud steps fading*

     "Yeah, they're not strong. They have a long way to go, I'm coming back now." "Where'd I leave them? They're at the wall right next to Zone's shack. They killed all those demons but they better hurry up before Zone attracts more."

DAY 44 IN ANARCHY, 1:39 AM

     Eraba wakes up in extreme pain. "Grraah!!" He lets out, after a sharp pain that followed sudden movement. Kuro wakes up after hearing Eraba's cry and they realize they're right next to Zone's shack. "Ain't there supposed to be wind? DID ZONE GET DESTROYED WHILE WE SLEPT?!" Eraba yells. Kuro chuckles and says, "Calm down, if that were the case we wouldn't be awake right now. Guess it figured out I'm his brother and it let us sleep. Zone has a soft spot for me and him, no idea why." Eraba smiles and says, "That's good. Wish a woman could feel that way about me." Kuro laughs and says, "Yeah, you're only 17, you got time" Eraba looks at Kuro in a sincere manner and says, "You're an old man without a love li-" Kuro cuts Eraba off after punching his head, "SHUT IT!!" Eraba follows with, "Ouch!! Sorry, sorry!" While having one hand up, and another rubbing his head. Kuro says, "Alright, let's go to Tojikomerareta Town. We'll hit up my sister's place tonight and then find my brother."

Eraba and Kuro go through Zone and then the door opens to the town. With their luck, they walked straight into a hotspring. The women's side.

     Eraba is looking at the handle of Shōhi and notices almost all of the blade is gone. "Hey, Kuro! Shōhi is broken!" Kuro responds with, "Ehhh eit's ohkayyy you hhaavee twooo ooothherrr weaponss." Eraba looks at Kuro and notices his nose is bleeding. He looks at what Kuro is looking at and sees women in the hotspring. Eraba screams and covers his eyes, getting the women's attention. The women scream in reaction while Kuro is pissed. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? NEVER SEEN A WOMAN BEFORE?!" He exclaims. Eraba replies, "IT'S JUST WRONG! BESIDES, WE GOT BIGGER PROBLEMS TO WORRY ABOUT, YOU OLD PERVERT!" They both calm down. Kuro says, "Oh yeah, Shōhi is broken? It's okay! My brother will help you find a fix." Eraba is slightly underwhelmed and responds with, "You know, you give your brother alot of praise. You sound kinda useless compared to him." Kuro punches Eraba and says, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. We're gonna go to Kei's place. She's my sister." Eraba thinks, "You already sound useless compared to your sister, too."

FIRST NIGHT IN TOJIKOMERARETA TOWN

2:10 AM

SFX: Knocking, door opens, yawn*

     "Kei, you should know as a woman not to open the door for strangers at night!" Kei yawns and says, "I could tell it was you from your spirit, dummy. Who's this?" Kei points at Eraba. Eraba throws up his hand and puts on a smile, "I'm Eraba. I'm stronger than him." Eraba says as he points at Kuro. Kuro punches Eraba and tells his sister that they need to be patched up.

Kei's Place

2:17 AM

     "Looks as organized as ev-" Kuro was about to say, as he got cut off due to a mean kick from Kei. Kei is a very caring person, and takes things very seriously. "How could you leave Tojikomerareta Town again!? Without telling me, at that! And then you come home all dirty and bloody with some random person!?" Kuro rubs his head and laughs. He says, "Too many weak people here. I went out there looking for stronger enemies. Didn't know that guy was gonna be THAT strong though. And hes not some ra-" Kei cuts him off, "Quiet!" Eraba chuckles and says, "I'm not a ra-" Kei cuts him off, "Quiet!"

Kei's living room

2:34 AM

     Kei sighs and gets them patched up. She sets up their futons and brings them some special green tea. "This tea will speed up and aid the recovery process." Kei states. Eraba and Kuro take a sip. They both spit it out. In unison they say, "This is horrible!" Kei holds back her anger and just encourages them to drink it. "Enjoy. I'm going to bed, you guys should too. I don't have any extra toothbrushes, sorry!" The 3 say their goodnights and all go to sleep.

The dream plays out again. From meeting the kid, beating the guys up, going to school, but this time, it's different. He opens the door to greet his grandfather, but walks into Anarchy as soon as he steps into the room. It switches to his last moments with his grandfather, when they were both first cursed to Anarchy. "Eraba, I'm glad I was able to raise you for the short time we were given. I'm closing in on my years and you've got a tough road ahead. I'm giving myself to you. I will always be apart of you and I will fight. 'Gebe Mich Dir'." His grandfather slowly fades away and then he remembers the loss he and Kuro took against Knok. The last 2 things he saw were his grandfather fading, and Kuro almost dead.

3:14 AM

Eraba gasps, and has deep breaths. He takes a look around and realizes he's in Kei's living room. He starts to tear up. He walks outside and sits there, looking down, holding an almost completely destroyed Shōhi. A few minutes later, Kei comes out and says, "What are you still doing awake? And outside at that.." Eraba doesn't show his face because he's embarrassed of the tears. "Just getting some air" He says gently. Kei replies with, "I have a little brother. I know when something is wrong. You can tell me." Eraba chuckles and moves his head up a little. He tells her about the dream and his voice gets a little shaky during the end, when he says, "I don't want to lose anyone else." Kei moves in closer and gives him a hug, she says, "We won't disappear." Eraba's eyes widen. She lets off a little chuckle before she gets up. "Your hair is just as long as mine, you know. Let's tie it up real quick." She gets a dark red hair tie and puts Eraba's hair in a ponytail. "Much better." She says. A peaceful silence filled the air before Eraba says, "Thank you." Kei smiles, and sheds a tear. She wipes it and says, "Yeah. Go to sleep now." As she walks off upstairs.

4:18 AM

     "Did you feel that?" The town leader says. His assistant replies with, "Feel what?" The town leader laughs and says, "Guess you weren't paying attention. A little less than three hours ago, I felt Kuro's presence and some random presence come into town. I didn't feel any hostility, but what could Kuro be doing out there, and bringing in strangers at that?" The town leader slams the table and yells, "ESPECIALLY AT HIS POSITION.. OF A DISTRICT PROTECTOR, AT THAT!!" The assistant flinches and says, "You think he's a traitor?" The town leader calms down and says, "If that person he brought with him emits even a speck of hostility to any of my citizens, I'll declare Kuro as a traitor and send the other protectors at him, his sister, and that person. If they rebel, then so be it. They just won't leave this place alive. Kuro knows the rule."

BIGGER THAN A DUNE // CHAPTER 4

Done.

About Kuro & Kei

Kuro is 5'9, and 24 years old with good muscle. He has dark purple, messy hair while wearing a newsboy cap. The cap has a pair of goggles on it. Kuro has black eyes and has an eyepatch over his left eye. His attire is a black tank-top with a black and white arm sleeve on his left arm, and his chains on his right. Over the tank-top he wears an open, dark purple and black hippari. His pants are black biker pants, with chains as the belt. His weapons are a kukri and his chain.

Kei is 5'6, and 28 with a small, frail build. She has dark green hair. Her hair goes down past her shoulders to the upper middle back. Her eyes are yellow. Her main attire is mainly pajamas, or whatever she finds comfortable. She has good knowledge in the medical department and making drinks, all the way from healing purposes, to alcohol. She works at a tavern. Her attire when at work is mainly just black turtle necks with a star necklace. She doesn't like standing out, but it's hard because of her hair. When going out in public she sometimes throws on a beanie. Kei is a very talented fighter. Her weapon is a double scythe but she's very talented with her fists and legs as well.