There was an awful thud, followed by a pained grunt from Yumi as she fell to the ground. A man- the one that Taiko had seen in the canyon below and had pegged as their leader- was behind her, his sword held to show that he'd struck her in the back of her head with the hilt.
"Yumi!" shouted Taiko, stepping back to prepare a spell. Chiyo had the same idea, but the man was too close, and he grabbed the staff and ripped it out of her hands.
"Hey!" yelled Miyoshi. She latched onto the staff with both hands, and with a better position than he had was able to steal it back. Before she could toss it to Chiyo the man with whom Taiko had just been speaking tackled her. She smashed him in the face with the staff, dropping him, but two more men had been given the time to get back into the fight, and that was more than Miyoshi could handle. They threw her to the ground and fell on top of her, pinning Miyoshi and pressing her face in the dirt.
Taiko had to dodge an assailant of her own, scrambling back to get enough space to twirl her arms and ready her magic.
"Stop!" shouted the army's leader.
He had Chiyo in his grip, twisting her arm behind her back while holding his own around her neck. He jerked on her arm, making her scream.
"Stop that!" yelled Taiko, "You're hurting her!"
"Of course I am. One move out of you I don't like and I'll break her arm. You're going to let my men tie you up, understand? Your friend will be less use to me crippled, but I don't plan on letting any of you get away."
Three more men were up, and one of them was carrying a bundle of rope toward Taiko. She couldn't let him hurt Chiyo, but she had a feeling that surrendering to him was a bad idea, especially when there was nobody left to rescue them.
"Hold on-" she said, backing away slowly. "Tell me what you want with us."
"You won't like the answer," he said, twisting Chiyo's arm again and making her cry out in pain.
"Stop it you monster!" said Miyoshi, still struggling vainly against the two men that had her held to the ground.
"Quiet!" said one of them, twisting her arm as well.
The men were almost upon Taiko. She couldn't let them grab her, but there was nothing she could do with Chiyo and Miyoshi being held hostage. She took another step back, and realized that she was near the ledge.
One of the men lunged for her, latching onto her wrist. She jerked away, not thinking, and lost her balance. Taiko tumbled over the ledge. There was just enough slope to prevent it from being a straight drop, but she still felt the wind knocked out of her as she rolled and slid down to the river below.
Water enveloped her. The river was deep enough and the flow fast enough to send her spinning and rob her of her sense of direction. Her breath was already slight, and she had no idea where the surface was. Taiko only had one chance- she forced herself to be calm enough to focus on a spell. She flung her arms out, then circled them in again and balled her fists. Then she crossed them, one vertical and one horizontal, while pointing out with two fingers.
"Fish's breath!" she said, or rather bubbled, with the last of her air. Nobody would have understood the words, but it didn't matter. The magic flowed into her chest and her lungs stopped feeling like they were going to implode. Holding her breath suddenly became effortless, and it would stay that way until her magic wore off.
Taiko, no longer panicking, oriented herself with the direction of the current. The men were doubtlessly waiting for her to surface, and she'd already cast an enchantment on herself that would be useless in fighting them. It would last a long time, too- she'd put most of her magic into it. Taiko needed time to think and plan if she was going to save her friends. For now, she swam, letting the river take her out of their reach.
Her thoughts turned to the man in charge- presumably the 'Lord Akio' mentioned by the other man. What did he want? He seemed to want them as prisoners, even though he had no idea who they were. He didn't even want to talk to find out. There was something strange and sinister lurking behind the whole thing, some unmentionable reason why four young women would be valuable captives that Taiko knew but didn't want to think about.
She had to save her friends. She was very, very sure about it, even if she wasn't sure why.
Yumi's head was killing her, and no part of her body wanted to move. Something was tugging on her. She wished it would stop, but it kept intruding on her, demanding her attention more and more. She tugged back and found that something was holding her arms. Memories started to come back to her, and she suddenly realized that she was in trouble.
She opened her eyes to see a pair of boots. She was on the ground, the side of her face pressed into the dirt. Her arms were folded behind her, and she could feel the pressure where rope was tied around her forearms. She immediately tried to slip them free, but two pairs of hands were on her, and she was in a poor position to wrestle with them.
"Hey!" she said, raising her head as much as she could to see what was going on, "Get your hands off me before I break them!"
She turned her head to the other side and got some answers that she didn't want. Chiyo and Miyoshi were kneeling on the ground, and obviously not because that wanted to be there. Both of them were tied up, a complex sort of harness made out of rope wound tightly around their chests and arms. The harness seemed to pay special attention to their breasts, pinching them between bands of rope that ran above and below them and cinched in between.
They were both awake and staring back at her, their eyes worried and sad. They were trying to call out to her, but a thick cloth was wedged between their teeth and tied around their heads, gagging them. They struggled as well, but their arms were fixed tightly in place and their squirming was useless. A rope was tied around both their necks, leashing them together with only a couple feet of space allowed in between them, and a man was holding it to keep them down on their knees.
Yumi flushed with anger. They weren't just tied up to be held as prisoners- this was more than that. This was stricter, harsher, and more humiliating than it needed to be. For a moment, she thought of Ikumi, and wondered if these men had something to do with that senseless abuse as well.
"Pick her up," said the man whose feet she was at.
The two men obeyed, pulling her onto her knees and holding her there by her arms. She could see him now. He was tall and stern, and she had to admit to herself that he was rather handsome.
"Who are you?" he asked. "You and your friends are obviously far too skilled to be in that pathetic slob of a mayor's service."
"We're not in anyone's service, you son of a bitch. Where do you get off demanding things from after attacking Umai for no reason and forcing everyone to march off with your army?"
He slapped her. His hand swung and hit her right across the face. Yumi had taken much harder hits before, but this stung more than a fist to the gut. It was an insult as much as it was supposed to hurt, only possible because she was held on her knees where she couldn't block or dodge. The casualness of it shocked her- his expression was unchanged, as if it were nothing more than a gesture.
"Your friends were just as mouthy in their own way. If I don't hear anything useful out of you soon then I will personally make sure that your first night of slavery is as lavishly unpleasant as possible."
"Slavery? You can't- you're mad!"
He slapped her again. She was more ready for it this time, but his hand still struck across her cheek just as true.
Another hand moved across her chest, pulling rope with it. They were doing the same thing to her as they'd done to Chiyo and Miyoshi, and when she tried to resist the man standing in front of her grabbed her hair to help hold her still. Seeing it on her friends was strange enough, but the feeling of her breasts being squeezed between two sets of windings was uncomfortable in a way she hadn't expected. She felt herself blushing all over her body, humiliated like she'd never been before.
The men kept working, cinching parts of the harness and adding knots. The rope constricting around her chest grew tighter and tighter, taking more and more
of her freedom of movement away until her arms were completely immobile, and even breathing made the rope press into her skin.
"I'm tired of getting your nonsense answers and stupid admonishments, as if you're the ones in position to pass judgment. I am Lord Akio. You should know what that name means."
"I don't know anything about you, 'Lord Akio'. Just that you're an obnoxious bully who's hurting my friends."
"That's impossible. There's no way a village like Umai could exist so close to my realm, keeping itself a secret no less, without knowing anything about the man who rules over this region."
"Well I guess you're just not as important as you think you are. I should be asking you how you've never heard of Umai- we've never hidden ourselves from anyone."
"You should be showing me some respect and not damning yourself any further. Gag her. By tomorrow morning they'll be much more willing to answer me honestly."
"Where's Taiko?" demanded Yumi.
"The other one? With the pink hair? Is that her name? My soldiers will hunt her down in plenty of time for her to join you in my dungeon."
Yumi opened her mouth to curse at him again, and instead tasted cloth. It went in deep and was tugged deeper as it was tied in place. The only hand on her now was at the back of her neck, but it was enough. She struggled against the ropes, but nothing would give in the slightest. Even when she was still they pressed hard into her flesh and put constant pressure on her body where they touched. Her fingers searched for knots or loose bits of rope to tug on, but found nothing. The twisted position her arms were in was already starting to ache.
She couldn't believe how impossibly secure it was. Yumi was strong, but every kind of way that she tried to move was pulling directly against some part of the harness. Nothing had been allowed to slide around or have any slack in it. She was completely powerless to free herself, or even to find a position where the ropes weren't hurting her and pinching sensitive areas.
The men pulled her to her feet and put her on her knees again behind Miyoshi. The leash was continued to fit around her neck while her ankles were bound, although not directly together.
"Captain Yushin," said her captor, speaking to the man who Yumi had at spearpoint earlier. He was kneeling as well, although voluntarily in a pose that showed genuine respect.
"You've done well in spotting these women and bringing them to me. However, your failure to actually capture them was disgraceful. You were lucky that I was able to scale the cliff face in time."
"Yes, my Lord," said the man. "I offer you a thousand apologies."
"I want more than that. Because of your sloppiness, one of them has escaped. Join your men in tracking her down. If you succeed, then I might allow you to have a night with her after I take my due. If you fail, then I'll give your rank to your sergeant, and you'll never be allowed to touch any of them."
"Yes, Lord Akio," he said.
"Go."
The man obeyed.
Lord Akio came back to her. She looked up at him to see a predatory expression on his face.
"Even if you won't talk, your bodies will be more than enough to make this a worthwhile distraction. You're quite beautiful, all four of you. Especially bound and on your knees. You'll need some training- especially you- but that will be my pleasure to give."
Yumi didn't understand what he meant, but she had a sick feeling about it. The way he looked at her made her angry, but it also made her feel weirdly nervous. Or was it anxious? It was like he was seeing her naked. The strangest part of all was that everything he did to make her hate him also made him- something else. It was like when she was watching Haru dance at the festival. She was developing a fascination for a man who she wanted to beat the life out of.
"Get them moving," said Lord Akio, "I want to be back at Taiyo before nightfall."
Yumi and her friends were hauled to their feet and shoved into motion. She nearly fell, the rope between her legs cutting her stride awkwardly short. She wanted to refuse, to give her captors trouble just for the sake of it, but she would have dragged Chiyo and Miyoshi down with her. She swallowed her anger and marched, having to shuffle along quickly to keep pace with the soldiers.
She told herself that a chance to escape would come. They couldn't keep her tied up this tightly forever.
Taiko broke the surface, tasting air for the first time since she'd gone under. Her spell was nowhere near expiring, but her arms and legs were tired from so much swimming, and she was sure that she'd left the soldiers far behind.
She shook the water out of her eyes before looking around to see where she was. The river was running through a forest now, although not one like she'd ever been in. She drifted over to the river bank and pulled herself onto solid ground, grabbing the roots of a tree and heaving herself up.
The air in the forest was surprising cool, and it made her shiver while she tried to wring out her clothes. She wished she could stop to build a fire to dry them out, but even if she was ahead of the soldiers, they might eventually come this way. She would have to bear it until she found a real hiding place.
She turned her attention again to her surroundings. She couldn't see the sky. About half of the trees in the forest were of regular heights, but the other half were enormous. Their tops disappeared upwards, blending into a canopy that was too far above to make out distinctly. The light that made it through was dim and diffuse, leaving the forest with neither brightness nor shadows.
The air was still, disturbed neither by breeze nor sound. Even the river refused to babble. Being a forest was something most of them did. This one merely was. It was as if the spirits had abandoned it, leaving its heart to decay. Taiko put the strangeness out of her mind and started walking.
The ground was relatively flat and free from underbrush, making it easy to move. She had no idea where she should be going; with so few distinctive features in the forest she could easily get lost. What she really needed was to find out where the villagers- and her friends- were being taken, but following the river back the way she came would be too dangerous while her escape was still fresh.
Taiko's uncertainty disappeared when a noise reached her through the gloom of the forest. At first it was just a high-pitched barking, but as she drew closer she heard a man cursing angrily. She hid behind one of the trees and peered around the side, keeping as quiet as she could.
It was one of the same soldiers who had attacked Umai. Or at least he belonged to the same group, judging by his uniform. He was embroiled in a struggled with a beautiful red fox, the poor thing's leg caught in a snare. He was trying to get a hold of it, but the fox was snapping desperately at him, and from the way his hand was bleeding it had already taught him to be cautious. The fox snarled and tried to bite at the line gripping his leg, but the man reached for him and he had to stop to fend him off.
Taiko didn't know why the man wanted to capture the fox, but she'd learned enough today to know who she was siding with. She reached out to the trap, sensing what it wanted. Traps were things of treachery. It was happy to have the fox, for now, but it could be made to betray its master. She moved entirely behind the tree and formed her spell, stepping out to finish it.
"Catch him!" she said, and immediately the man's attention snapped to her.
It was his mistake. The snare slipped from the fox's leg, and when the soldier reached for his knife he found it caught around his wrist. The fox, now free, lunged at the man's legs. The soldier yelled in freight, kicking at the animal while he drew his knife with his left hand. The fox was too fast, latching onto his ankle, his teeth sinking in even through the thick leather of his boot.
"Damn it!" he yelled, cutting the snare to free his hand. He swiped the knife at the fox, but it dodged easily. "I'll skin you alive you little shit!"
Taiko struck another pose and aimed her magic at the fox.
"Gale's force!"
The fox darted forward to snap at the soldier again, but this time he found himself infused with a might rush of energy. He slam
med into the soldier's stomach and threw him back into a nearby tree.
The soldier stumbled, fell, picked himself up, and ran. He was fast, considering his limp. Taiko chuckled to herself, pleased with the sight. The fox didn't seem to know if it wanted to pursue or not. Its leg was hurt, and now that it was no longer in a fight for its life, it started to show. Taiko rushed over while the fox was still snarling in the direction of the soldier and scooped it up, hoping it would recognize her as a friend.
"We need to hurry out of here," she said, breaking into a run, "He might have friends nearby, and I don't think we can fight them all."
"Who are you?" asked the fox.
Taiko stopped in her tracks, and held the fox out to get a better look at it.
"You can talk?"
"Of course I can," he said, looking confused. "I mean, you talked to me. What kind of sense would that make if I couldn't understand you?"
"I, uh..."
Taiko heard shouting in the distance. It was a different voice than the soldier's. She put the fox down and formed her prayer symbols, touching the fox's leg to heal it.
"Come on, we'll talk later!"
Taiko started running again, and the fox followed. She wished her fish's breath spell would wear off so that she could enchant herself with his speed as the two of them fled a cruel and mysterious enemy.
Miyoshi's feet hurt. They were far from the only thing. They'd been on a forced march for hours now, and they were easily the most miserable hours she'd ever lived. Her legs were cramping from having to walk while hobbled, her jaw hurt from being stretched open by her gag, and her chest and arms were sore where the ropes pressed against her body. She would have given anything to rest for a moment, but every minute or so she was prodded to keep up her pace.
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