The Jade City

Chapter 9: The Forest, Part I

<<Content and trigger warning. Details in the bold text at the end of the chapter because I don't want to spoil>>

Harumi's POV

I stared off into empty space, horrified. Slowly, I revolved on the spot and turned to face the others. My head instantly exploded with pain, but before I could even register with it, it was gone.

Suddenly, a branch swooped down and slashed across Kai's shirt, leaving a tattered piece of cloth, a vicious gash in his chest, and blood. Lots and lots of blood shot out of his chest, and he staggered backwards, the dark red liquid staining the little of what was left of his shirt. Kai backed up against another thick tree branch behind him that had appeared out of nowhere. It punched him hard on the backside, sending him lying facedown on the ground. Another branch came flying out and smacked Jay from behind. He lurched forward and fell over on top of Kai, who was losing consciousness and blood very quickly. I drew out the small dagger from my belt and feeling stupid, stuck it back in. It was no match for tree branches that size.

When I looked back up, swirls of colors were flying through the air. My first thought was magic, then with a jolt, I realized that they were actually the Ninja's bodies. I worried for Lloyd, since his wound from the battle with the zombies still hadn't healed yet. Specks of sticky, dark red liquid landed on my face. I could no longer hear any screams. Then I noticed how the branches went out of their way to avoid hitting me. They would come swooping out of the air towards me, and before I managed to duck, changed direction. I wasn't the only one, though. One more person managed to stay unharmed, using the branches as a boost to leap into the trees. A streak of green mixed in his jet black hair told me it was Morro. He drew a sword and, with surprising force, chopped off the branches slightly smaller in diameter.

I narrowed my eyes. Morro. He was making it way too obvious that he was the Shadow Knight. Maybe he thought that the Ninja wouldn't notice because they were being thrown around. But why'd he let me know? Unless... unless he wanted me to. He'd get rid of the Ninja with his branches... How stupid, I thought. The flaw in this plan was so obvious that I would never have thought anyone would ever make such a mistake. As if chopping the branches would redeem him in any way. But then... who would the Ninja be more likely to trust? What if they thought I was the bad person? I needed to prove myself as someone worthy of being a hero. Being a weak and helpless princess didn't save any lives. If anything, she'd only let everyone down.

I took out the dagger again and turned to the nearest tree, sticking it into the wood. Then I started climbing, scraping my knee every once in a while. Twice I paused, wondering whether I should check to see if I was all right. I stopped myself both times. Minor injuries were nothing compared to what the Ninja were experiencing. If I wasted precious time whining over some little scratches, while everyone else risked their lives, how selfish would I be? Not long after, I'd climbed to the top.

There, I had a clear view of what was going on. The Ninja looked like little puppets that the trees were playing catch with. I noticed how all of the attacking branches were bare, and didn't ever strike with the tip, except when that one branch had attacked Kai, who was still getting thrown around, and probably the source of the blood.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Morro leaping lightly from tree to tree, throwing puffs of wind in every direction. I glared at him, but decided not to do anything. For now.

Just as I wondered what to do next, the branch on which I was standing shook a little. I threw my arms around the tree trunk and spun around, hair whipping my face, to see Morro crouching on the very branch I was standing on. He wasn't looking at me though. I scooted away from him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, the distaste clear in my voice.

Morro didn't answer. Instead, he lifted his arms with a look of concentration on his face. I watched as the Ninja were blown up by his wind, away from the branches. He then sent them over the trees, to the outside of the forest, where the branches couldn't reach them.