No One Stands Alone

Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

  "Where do you want to go now, Chinatsu?"

  A little girl, with her silver hair in twin braids running down her back, looked up at the man who spoke. "Mako, I wanna go to the Land of Iron!"

  "Chinatsu, I've told you that it's always cold and snowing there. You don't like the cold, right?" Makoto knelt down to be eye-level with the little girl, giving her a warm smile.

  "I wanna go! I wanna go!"

  "Chinatsu," he tried again. "You won't—"

  She furiously shook her head with her cheeks puffed out childishly. "Niisan always wanted to go! If he could go, I can go!" Her voice cracked slightly at the end, and tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

  "Honey," Makoto cooed, wiping away the glistening tears that threatened to spill over. A few managed to roll down her cheeks despite his effort. "Katsuo wanted to be a samurai, that's why he made it his goal to go to the Land of Iron."

  Chinatsu sniffed, trying to put on a brave face for the sake of her brother's memory. An idea wormed into the man's mind, and a gentle smile curved his lips. "Oh, I know. Why don't we go to the Land of Fire?"

  She sniffed again, rubbing her cheeks until they were dry and red. "Why?"

  "It's nice and warm there. I'm sure you'll like it," the man promised. Chinatsu's golden gaze peered up at him hopefully, her eyes slightly puffy. "Really?"

  "Yes—" Makoto was cut off by the sound of the girl's stomach growling.

  The silver haired girl blinked, and her sadden expression completely disappeared. "Mako, I'm hungry!"

  He couldn't help but chuckle at her small attention span. "Chinatsu, you just had a meal."

  A pout made its way on her face. "Yea, but I'm still hungry!"

  When pitted against that look, Makoto always crumbled. "Alright, alright. Just don't cause a big scene like last time, okay?"

  "Okay," she agreed with a smile.

  That expression quickly changed from innocent to blood-thirsty in the blink of an eye. Spreading her arms out, Chinatsu began to twirl in circles, spinning and twisting away from him. Her kimono swirled around her, and the wind carried her giggles across the field.

  Makoto always admired how strong she was despite her young age, and he let a smile on his face as he watched her transform.

  Feathered wings sprouted from her back. They were light gray in color, and quickly began to beat to lift the little girl off the ground. Her features sharpened to give her an appearance of an elf found in fairy tales. Silver-gray feathers and plumes accented her face to gave her an exotic look.

  Chinatsu lifted her face up to the sky, and breathed in the scents around her as her wings kept her afloat. Her eyes were closed, and the sun bathed her in a light that made her look angelic. Suddenly, her gold eyes snapped open and her pupils narrowed into slits as the scent of humans reached her nose.