The Jade City

Chapter 25: The Cave

A/N: This is a double update, so if you didn't read chapter 24 yet I'd recommend doing that first. 

Harumi's POV

Watching the sunrise while floating on a raft in the middle of nowhere was a lot more relaxing than I ever would've thought. The Ninja had all woken up in time to see this, since nobody could really sleep while on an uneven and bumpy wooden raft. I didn't know how they were even able to, especially since everyone except Cole was sitting. Nya and Jay had leaned back-to-back against each other and Morro had sat with his head hung over his lap. Zane had spent most of the night fidgeting with a small piece of wood that was sticking out of the boards. How it had kept him entertained for so long was a mystery to me.

The first few shades of twilight began brightening up the sky, and I could detect a faint silver line at the horizon. The moon had set maybe an hour or two ago, so the only light after that had come from the twinkling stars. Cole rubbed his eyes with a yawn, and from the dark circles around them I could tell he hadn't slept well. We had let him lie down so that he could take care of his injuries, but a good night's rest was rare these days. I watched as the sky gradually took on lighter shades of blue. The stars faded away into the light, though they were still visible in the west.

Slowly but surely, the sun began peeking out of the water. The area around it turned a shade of orange, which slowly blended into yellow, then blue, and as my eyes traveled farther away from the source of light the horizon turned a shade of dark red. The few clouds that floated about looked as if they were dipped in bright yellow-orange paint. I reached into the gently rippling water, now a mix of blues ranging from light to dark and oranges.

A soft breeze tossed my hair back, and I Iooked around at the Ninja, whose faces had all been illuminated by the sun's light. My eyes met Morro's from across the raft, which had a golden glow as a result of the sunrise. His eyelashes looked almost transparent as a result of the sun's rays. He met my gaze, and the corners of his mouth twitched upward as he brushed his black hair out of his face. Somehow this journey hadn't turned it lank and greasy as it had mine. There was also a faint scar on his cheek made more prominent by the sun's rays that I'd never noticed before. I smiled back.

When the sun had fully risen, we took a minute or two to simply sit and appreciate the scenery. Then Nya began pushing the raft forward with her powers, and chatter filled the air once again.

For a while nothing really happened except that Morro lost control again, and this time it lasted for over two minutes. I started to get worried. Not only were his outbursts more and more frequent, they lasted longer too. From the obvious strain visible on his face during the fit, I could tell he tried to fight, but it was too strong.

Frustration was clearly written in Morro's eyes afterwards, and I wanted to go over and squeeze his hand and tell him it was alright, but the outburst only made the others more determined to keep us as far away from each other as possible. I found myself staring at him, hoping Morro would be able to understand the silent message I was conveying, but he avoided my gaze. Sighing, I turned back to picking at the loose threads on my shirt.

"Stop," Zane said suddenly, holding up his hand to Nya.

She immediately stopped spurting water and watched the Master of Ice with interest as he crouched on the edge of the raft and squinted into the distance. I followed his gaze and narrowed my eyes. And then I saw it.

There were glistening silver things in the water in front of us, and at first I couldn't make out what they were until they rose higher above the water. Spears. More were coming, and soon we found ourselves surrounded. In a flash, Morro pulled out his twin katanas, which were wrapped with his other weapons in his rope, and prepared for battle.