[JE] The Hills Are Alive (with the Sound of Magic) 3/6
Title: The Hills Are Alive (with the Sound of Magic) 3/6
Fandom: KAT-TUN
Pairing: Kame x Jin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, fantasy, fluff
Word count: 41,500
Disclaimer: Not mine, damnit
Summary: A renegade mage finds his quest goes in quite a different direction than planned when he winds up sharing a jail cell with an aspiring bard.
The Hills Are Alive (with the Sound of Magic) 3/6
Kame didn't realise how exhausted he'd been till he woke up the next morning, ravenous and wondering why it was so light outside.
"You let me sleep for eighteen hours?" he said to Jin, who had his face buried in a flannel in front of the mirror.
"You seemed to need it." Jin set the flannel down. "When I woke up yesterday afternoon, you looked so peaceful I thought it would be a pity to wake you up just to see my set. And then during my break I got sidetracked talking with some of the guys downstairs and didn't get a chance to see if you wanted to watch the second half-"
"I see where this is going."
Kame rolled out of bed, stretching out limbs that had had more rest in the last twenty-four hours than in the past week. He couldn't be mad at Jin for letting him sleep, even though he'd been looking forward to seeing the performance.
"Did it go well?"
"Mostly. There were a few technical problems, but nothing major," Jin said.
"Technical problems?"
"A couple of the lanterns died at the same time, a brawl started outside and drowned me out for a while, and when I climbed up on one of the tables to sing, it collapsed. It got me a few laughs, anyway."
He didn't seem any the worse for wear from the table incident, so Kame assumed he'd be okay to travel.
"Did you get enough sleep?"
"Not as much as some people, but enough. We're not going anywhere before we have breakfast, are we?"
"Not if I can help it," Kame vowed.
Within the hour, both men were dressed, fed and ready for travel, having refilled their water bottles and received a kind donation of fresh foodstuffs from the kitchen staff, who'd been most impressed by Jin's performance the previous night. Kame couldn't figure out why the cook kept winking at him and calling him a lucky man, but he wasn't about to turn down free food.
He did feel like a lucky man when a passing merchant offered them a lift to the next town, though. They crammed themselves into the back of the wagon, squeezing between chests filled with fabric, and Kame fought back the urge to buy material for a new wardrobe. He'd lost a lot during the devastation of Kimura's house; no point replacing everything when he didn't plan on sticking around to wear it. Not like he had anyone to dress up for on the road. With Jin swaddling himself up in bulky, shapeless clothing all the time, Kame didn't feel underdressed in the slightest.
Their driver took them straight into town and deposited them in the square, where they took a few minutes to stretch beside the fountain. Kame watched water pour from the open beak of the stone bird in the centre, trying to decide if it was ugly or beautiful. Jin sneaked up beside him.
"I saw you peeking at the silk. Tempted?"
"Not my colour," Kame said airily.
He didn't add that he thought Jin would look better in it. While they'd dressed, he'd caught a brief glimpse of the figure beneath all the layers: not painfully slender but far from chubby, with shapely legs and arms well-suited to carrying travel bags. Perhaps Jin thought dressing to emphasise his physical attributes would be unbecoming to a future bard?
"Well, it would make you look like a duck," Jin said.
Kame thumped him lightly in the ribs and marched off to read the signpost on the other side of the square.
Jin caught up with him in a flash, pretending to be winded. "You're stronger than you look, you know?" he panted.
"If that hurt, you're obviously weaker than you look."
Jin straightened up immediately.
"I'm not seeing a sign for the Mages' Guild," Kame said as he studied the signpost, which bore arrows for over a dozen other choice locations. "Maybe we can ask someone."
"Why do we need to find the Guildhall at all?" Jin asked, puzzled. "All you want to know is if the dragon came this way, right? We could ask anyone in town, as long as they were living here a couple of years ago."
"Nice thought, but non-mages can't tell me whether or not any magic was drained from spells. The dragon might not have passed directly over the town but if he was near enough, he could've stolen magic. A mage could tell me the direction of the pull."
"I feel so enlightened."
They had their pick of residents to ask. It was a little after noon, and people from all walks of life passed through the square. Mothers toting fat, happy babies on their hips. Schoolchildren enjoying their lunches in small groups. Workers popping out to the shops on their midday break.
Kame was about to approach a pair of young women sitting on the edge of the fountain when Jin caught his coat sleeve and tugged him in the other direction.
"Let's ask him," Jin suggested, pointing to a young, redhaired man strumming a guitar in front of a sweetshop. "He looks friendly."
"I'm not sure if that smile's supposed to welcome people or scare them off." From Kame's perspective, the busker's bright smile could be interpreted either way. Its intensity could not be denied, however. "All right, let's ask him."
This proved easier said than done; no sooner had they begun their approach than a herd of teenage girls appeared from around the corner to form a circle around the busker, all cooing "Ueda-sama!" and fanning themselves with large white fans bearing messages of love.
"Still want to ask him?" Kame said. "Because we might have to crossdress for him to notice us."
Jin shuddered. "He must be pretty well-known around here to have all those devoted fans. Maybe I should ask him for tips."
They ventured closer, seeking a path to see them through the fangirls, none of whom even responded to their presence. Kame tried to talk to one but almost got his eye poked out by a fan.
Hugging the side of the sweetshop got them close enough to pop up next to the busker just as he sang the final few words of a sweet, folksy song about flowers. He had a nasal singing voice - by no means unpleasant, but not, to Kame's ear, as pleasing as Jin's.
"Ueda-sama!" the girls screamed the moment their idol's fingers stilled on the guitar.
"He's good," Jin whispered to Kame. "Very good. But he's not busking. Look; he's not collecting money."
"This lot look more likely to throw themselves at him than money," Kame said. "Maybe he's some rich lord's son, doing this for fun?"
Ueda beamed up at them. "You'll have to whisper more softly if you don't want me to hear you."
Kame couldn't decide if having the full force of that blinding smile on him made him feel more like he'd just seen the sun for the first time after a long night of darkness - or the darkness was coming to get him.
"Sorry about that," Jin said, scratching his neck. "We just wanted to ask you something."
"I don't play private parties," Ueda said. "If you want to join the fanclub, though, I believe the girl in the leather corset handles the membership applications."
"I don't even want to know." Kame was starting to wish he'd asked the women by the fountain after all.
"Then what do you want to know?"
"I'm actually pretty curious about those last couple of chords-"
"Jin!"
At Kame's exasperation, Jin hastily returned to the point. "I mean, do you know where we can find the Mages' Guildhall?"
"In this town? You can't."
"Why not?" Kame looked nervously at the crowd of girls, who weren't happy to see Ueda's time being taken up by a couple of unworthy men. "Is it hidden?"
"If there were any mages left in town, they'd have a Guildhall, but they're all gone now."
It was on the tip of Kame's tongue to ask why, but Ueda pre-empted him, accompanying his own explanation on guitar.
"'Twas less than two years ere this day
We had a winged guest
With breath of fire and talons sharp
And strength that none could best.
A dragon, sure, this creature was
With scales black as night
His fierce eyes and pointed teeth
They gave us quite a fright."
Kame exchanged looks with Jin. It didn't matter if they couldn't find a mage to talk to - they didn't need one.
"But we won't be having magic here no more.
No, we won't be having magic here no more.
There'll be naught here to a dragon's taste
So he won't lay our town to waste
Now magic's against the law.
Once we had a Mages' Guild
Of men and women strong
They used their power recklessly
Be it for right or wrong.
All over town, their spells were found
We thought it would be fine
But not once did we e'er suspect
Our lives were on the line.
One night when all was quiet and still
The beast flew through the skies
Seeking tasty magic snacks
He took us by surprise."
Kame's pendant hung heavy around his neck, hidden by his shirt. He didn't think it would be a good idea to mention his Guild membership here. Long, warm fingers casually brushed his in reassurance; Jin understood that too. He started in surprise when Ueda suddenly switched to rap, delivering the next instalment of his tale in a brutal, rapid burst.
"With blazing eyes and fiery breath
He brought us pain; he brought us death
Magic was holding up our town
He drained us dry; our walls fell down
When he'd had his fill he went on his way
We're still picking up the pieces to this day"
No wonder Kame hadn't detected any wards - though they, at least, were non-corporeal. Using magic to hold physical structures together in the long-term was a tricky business and if these people had let their mages do all their construction work for them, the cost of a dragon's flying visit would've been staggeringly high.
"But we won't be having magic here no more.
No, we won't be having magic here no more.
There'll be naught here to a dragon's taste
So he won't lay our town to waste
Now magic's against the law.
Next day the mayor decreed it thus
A law that none could doubt:
'Magic only leads to harm
The mages must get out!'"
Fangirls applauded as Ueda finished, cutting his impromptu performance off sharp.
"And that's why you won't find a branch of the Mages' Guild here," he said. "Will that be a problem?"
Kame hoped he sounded suitably bored. "I figured maybe I could petition someone to get the winestains out of my shirt - the laundry can't seem to shift them - but I guess it can wait for another town."
"We're headed north," Jin added. "Which way did the dragon go? Because if other towns have done the same thing, my friend might as well buy a new shirt instead."
"I believe the dragon also went north, but as I wasn't here at the time, I can't tell you first-hand," Ueda said. "I think you'll be able to find somewhere to take care of your shirt, though. In my experience, most places don't rely on magic to build their houses."
"They'd be fools if they did," Kame said grimly; when Jin's fingers scraped by his again, he figured he'd better shut up and not draw more attention to himself than he could help. The crowd of fangirls looked lethal enough and he had no wish to see what the rest of the town could do to mages who couldn't take a hint.
Jin picked up the slack by commenting on Ueda's mini-rap and suggesting improvements, musician to musician, and somehow got started on a discussion about guitars that Kame couldn't follow to save his life. By the time the two concluded their talk, the girls had given up and moved on and Kame was in the sweetshop, trying to decide on a little something for the road. They certainly weren't going to hang around in this town.
"He seemed nice, even if he can't rap," Jin said, sticking his head inside the shop. "Can we get fudge?"
"Just a little bit. How do you feel about moving on?"
"Let me find a bathroom first and I'm good to go."
Jin ducked out to find the public convenience, leaving Kame to pay for a small bag of chocolate fudge. Horribly impractical, of course, but Jin's smile had been so gleeful when Kame had agreed to the fudge that its unsuitability as travel rations ceased to matter. It was important, Kame thought, to keep his companion in a good mood, given that they would be travelling together for another few days yet.
In his haste to exit the sweetshop, he caught his bootheel on the edge of the welcome mat and tripped out the door, landing awkwardly on the ground outside. He only just managed to get his hands out in time to save his nose from being smashed. The unforgiving ground left scrapes across his palms and dust on his clothes, and he groaned as he pulled himself up to his knees.
"The hospital's about three minutes to your left," Ueda said. He hadn't moved from his position, though he'd progressed as far as opening his guitar case. "If you need those hands looked a-"
"What?"
Kame didn't understand why Ueda had stopped dead until he followed the other man's gaze down to his chest...where his pendant had slipped out during the fall. The gold vine-wrapped heart stood out like a star in the night sky against his black coat.
He held Ueda's gaze in silence, daring him to say something. Surely the worst they could do would be escort him out of town? He hadn't used any magic, hadn't done anything that would attract the attention of a dragon - but then, with no mages left, how would they know that?
A full minute passed. Kame's chest tightened; Ueda reached a hand towards him, caught hold of the chain...and tucked the pendant carefully back where it belonged.
Jin returned just in time to witness this. "What the..."
Ueda gave them a mysterious smile. "I don't live here any more than you do, but this town gave me an interesting story. Good luck with the trials."
He grabbed his guitar and left before Jin could even close his mouth, which was still gaping.
"How..."
Kame shrugged. "You're a musician heading north, and the Bardic Guild trials are next week. Where else would you be going?"
"Maybe I'm taking a holiday and my guitar is my luggage?"
"And that makes me?"
"My devoted stalker?"
"I'm the one with the bag of fudge. You'll be stalking me."
Jin conceded that Kame might have a point. They took a few minutes for Kame to straighten himself up and wash his hands - fortunately, none of the scrapes had drawn blood - and then another few minutes because Jin insisted he needed a drink before he moved on, and what with one thing and another it was a good half-hour before they managed to leave. They didn't see Ueda again. Kame kept sneaking nervous peeks over his shoulder, checking for a lynch mob, but no one even looked their way.
Still, it was a relief to be back on the road, and Kame didn't allow himself to relax until they'd been walking for an hour.
"You can breathe again now," Jin said. "I don't think anyone's coming to stab you with a pitchfork. Not that I'd let them get you, anyway."
"You wouldn't, huh?"
"Nope." Jin smirked. "You've still got the fudge in your bag. I'm not handing that over to anyone."
Kame laughed and passed him the sweets.
They didn't have a lift this time, but the path stayed straight and true, leading them towards Sendai - or so Kame assumed, based on the signposts helpfully planted every mile along the road. There didn't seem to be much else out there except trees.
"I think Sendai's our next stop," Jin said. "I don't remember there being anything else nearby."
"Did you come this way before?"
"I was on my way south last time. When the Guild made the enormous mistake of turning me down as a trial candidate, I just kept going; made it as far as Kagoshima before I turned around to head back, with another dozen songs under my belt and a lot more memories than I started with."
"I don't suppose one of those memories includes the location of some shelter?" Kame pointed at the black clouds gathering on the horizon. "Because I think within an hour, we're going to get very wet - and not in a fun way, either."
Jin shot him a look of alarm and peered into the trees. "I wish I had my own wagon. With a retractable roof, and maybe some fuzzy dice, and a nice, comfy bed taking up most of the room in the back."
"Make the bed a bit smaller and you could probably squeeze a drumkit in there," Kame suggested.
Discussion about the interior of Jin's hypothetical wagon carried them off the road and into the woods in search of large trees for shelter. Kame tried to keep one eye on his feet, not wanting to fall flat on his face for the second time that day, and the other on the branches overhead, looking for anything thick enough to form a canopy. By the time they found a likely-looking spot, the wagon had a sunroof, a music box and a luxurious silk interior.
Kame flattened himself under an old oak tree where thick, heavy branches twisted overhead to block out both light and rain, just as the drizzle began. His bag, being completely waterproof, could stand to get a little damp. His hair, not so much. He yanked his coat hood over his head, pulling it as far down as possible to shield his eyes. Jin pressed close, shoulder to shoulder, his own hood covering half his face.
"Is yours waterproof?" Kame asked.
"Only as long as no one tips a bucket of water over my head."
The odds of that happening were slim to none, given that bar the occasional curious squirrel peeking out from the tree trunks, they were all alone.
"I don't suppose you know any magic to control the weather?" Jin said.
"If I make it stop raining here, somewhere in the world they'll have a six-month drought. It's not forbidden but it's not encouraged, either; weather's a tricky business."
Even so, Kame was tempted by the idea. The rain didn't look to be letting up any time soon; they could be stuck under the tree for hours. Though no stranger to spending a night on the road, he'd rather not be trying to sleep out in the cold, damp and dark - especially if Jin was going to make things worse by continually daydreaming about his hypothetical wagon.
They watched the rain splash leaves for a few minutes, and when Jin shivered Kame felt it too.
"I think the trees are thicker over there," Jin said suddenly. "Looks like we'd have more shelter from the wind, too. Want to make a dash for it?"
"I'm game."
The rising wind blew the rain sideways, rendering their tree more or less useless - they could hardly make matters worse by moving. Jin grabbed his bag and guitar case and bolted, but with only the one bag to manage Kame quickly outstripped him, dashing between the trees like a fox on the run, coat flying out behind. Gnarled roots protruded from the ground, half-hidden by sodden grass, intent on tripping them up; Kame jumped as Jin clutched him from behind to regain his balance.
"Careful!"
"Sorry," Jin muttered. "I stepped in a hole."
"It's okay." Kame wouldn't have minded except that Jin's guitar case had whacked him in the shoulder. "It might be drier here but the ground's lethal. Watch your step."
The uneven ground wasn't the only threat. It took standing under the tangled, interwoven branches for Kame to realise the trunks formed a circle - and he and Jin were right in the middle. As a mage, he felt wary in any circle he hadn't drawn himself, even if it was one formed by nature. Circles could keep things out - and keep things in.
Shadows surrounded them on all sides, weak daylight blocked entirely, and then the rain hit. Ice water blew through the trees at every angle, finding the gaps in their clothing and sneaking inside to slither cold trails down their skin. Each drop held the fury of a storm, of a weapon aimed to hurt.
"You had to say it was drier here, didn't you?" Jin dropped his baggage and wrapped his arms around himself, huddling close to one of the larger trees.
"Famous last words." Kame shielded his eyes with one hand while he tried to scan the area. There was definitely something weird about the weather. Storms weren't normally so...directed. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, if you don't count that I'm being beaten up by hailstones," Jin grumbled.
Kame was loathe to suggest moving further into the woods. Although they'd lost sight of the road, he still knew roughly how to find it again. He wasn't sure he could say the same if they went much deeper. Not that they were in a position to continue right now. The weather's persistent attacks drove them closer together, keeping them pinned against the tree.
He had to lean over, tug Jin's hood aside and speak right into his ear to make himself heard over the roaring wind, accidentally brushing his lips against the soft shell. "I don't think I can do much about the weather, but I can try make us a shield to keep the rain out!"
Jin remained oblivious, murmuring softly to himself while streams of water ran from his matted curls into his eyes and mouth. Kame hoped the other man wasn't having a fit. His knowledge of medical magic didn't extend beyond sealing a wound - the one time he'd tried to fix his own broken nose, he'd ended up with a lump his mentor had refused to remove.
Upon closer inspection Jin's murmurs proved to have both a tune and a quiet, steady rhythm. Another song, then. If it was supposed to keep their spirits up, Kame didn't think it was doing its job.
"...I'm dancing in water," Jin finished, then blinked. "Hey, you made the rain stop!"
"It hasn't stopped," Kame pointed out, "it just isn't hitting us anymore. What were you singing?"
"That? Ah, sometimes I sing to make myself feel better. The song's called 'Water Dance', but what's that go to do with anything?"
"It's got everything to do with it because I didn't do anything! Take a look around us."
Rain still poured steadily through the trees, soaking the surrounding area, yet not a drop of it touched either of them. It slid to the side, parting overhead as though Kame had raised an invisible shield. But he'd done nothing, though he felt tired enough, beaten down by the weather, to have attempted a great masterwork of magic. Jin's song, it had to be. First in the prison, then while busking, and now in the woods.
Jin shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere. None of them landed on Kame. "Now you've made us a magic umbrella, we could keep going?"
"I promise you, I didn't do anything. It's your singing, Jin. I don't know what it is, but it's not magic.
"That storm, on the other hand, is."
"Magic? The weather? What makes you think so?"
"It wasn't until we entered this circle. I can feel it now; the atmosphere's drained of magic and it's not me using it. I think someone's trying to keep us from wandering any further into the woods. Shall we find out why?"
"Um..."
"Of course if you're scared, we could just prop up this tree for another few hours..."
"I'm not scared." Jin snatched up his bags and glared defiantly at the darkness beyond the circle. "If some mage is out there playing tricks on us, maybe he's got a few dry towels."
He strode forward, forcing Kame to stick close if he didn't want to get wet. Jin's 'Water Dance' evidently allowed him to move through rain without being soaked; the same privilege was only granted to Kame if he remained in close proximity - something he found out the hard way.
Kame tried to muster up enough magic for a magelight, hoping to dispel the gloom, but even outside the ring of trees the atmosphere was depleted. The few flickers he produced lasted mere seconds. Still, the further they walked, the calmer the weather grew, till only a light drizzle remained and Kame knew the bad weather was all natural.
"I hope you remember how to get back to the road," Jin said.
"Maybe the owner of that cabin can tell us."
A small log cabin sat in the middle of a clearing, light shining from the windows and a young man standing at the open front door, watching them with cautious eyes. He didn't look dangerous - to Kame's way of thinking, no one who wore diamond-patterned argyle vests could possibly be dangerous - but didn't rush out to greet them with open arms, either.
"I've never seen a tengu in real life before!" Jin exclaimed, loud enough to reach the cabin.
"Hey!"
"I don't think he likes you making fun of his nose," Kame said. "Perhaps you'd better apologise before he sends more bad weather after us."
"You think this guy's our mystery mage?"
The stranger retreated inside the house, leaving the door wide open in invitation, and Kame grinned.
"Let's go find out."
Fandom: KAT-TUN
Pairing: Kame x Jin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, fantasy, fluff
Word count: 41,500
Disclaimer: Not mine, damnit
Summary: A renegade mage finds his quest goes in quite a different direction than planned when he winds up sharing a jail cell with an aspiring bard.
The Hills Are Alive (with the Sound of Magic) 3/6
Kame didn't realise how exhausted he'd been till he woke up the next morning, ravenous and wondering why it was so light outside.
"You let me sleep for eighteen hours?" he said to Jin, who had his face buried in a flannel in front of the mirror.
"You seemed to need it." Jin set the flannel down. "When I woke up yesterday afternoon, you looked so peaceful I thought it would be a pity to wake you up just to see my set. And then during my break I got sidetracked talking with some of the guys downstairs and didn't get a chance to see if you wanted to watch the second half-"
"I see where this is going."
Kame rolled out of bed, stretching out limbs that had had more rest in the last twenty-four hours than in the past week. He couldn't be mad at Jin for letting him sleep, even though he'd been looking forward to seeing the performance.
"Did it go well?"
"Mostly. There were a few technical problems, but nothing major," Jin said.
"Technical problems?"
"A couple of the lanterns died at the same time, a brawl started outside and drowned me out for a while, and when I climbed up on one of the tables to sing, it collapsed. It got me a few laughs, anyway."
He didn't seem any the worse for wear from the table incident, so Kame assumed he'd be okay to travel.
"Did you get enough sleep?"
"Not as much as some people, but enough. We're not going anywhere before we have breakfast, are we?"
"Not if I can help it," Kame vowed.
Within the hour, both men were dressed, fed and ready for travel, having refilled their water bottles and received a kind donation of fresh foodstuffs from the kitchen staff, who'd been most impressed by Jin's performance the previous night. Kame couldn't figure out why the cook kept winking at him and calling him a lucky man, but he wasn't about to turn down free food.
He did feel like a lucky man when a passing merchant offered them a lift to the next town, though. They crammed themselves into the back of the wagon, squeezing between chests filled with fabric, and Kame fought back the urge to buy material for a new wardrobe. He'd lost a lot during the devastation of Kimura's house; no point replacing everything when he didn't plan on sticking around to wear it. Not like he had anyone to dress up for on the road. With Jin swaddling himself up in bulky, shapeless clothing all the time, Kame didn't feel underdressed in the slightest.
Their driver took them straight into town and deposited them in the square, where they took a few minutes to stretch beside the fountain. Kame watched water pour from the open beak of the stone bird in the centre, trying to decide if it was ugly or beautiful. Jin sneaked up beside him.
"I saw you peeking at the silk. Tempted?"
"Not my colour," Kame said airily.
He didn't add that he thought Jin would look better in it. While they'd dressed, he'd caught a brief glimpse of the figure beneath all the layers: not painfully slender but far from chubby, with shapely legs and arms well-suited to carrying travel bags. Perhaps Jin thought dressing to emphasise his physical attributes would be unbecoming to a future bard?
"Well, it would make you look like a duck," Jin said.
Kame thumped him lightly in the ribs and marched off to read the signpost on the other side of the square.
Jin caught up with him in a flash, pretending to be winded. "You're stronger than you look, you know?" he panted.
"If that hurt, you're obviously weaker than you look."
Jin straightened up immediately.
"I'm not seeing a sign for the Mages' Guild," Kame said as he studied the signpost, which bore arrows for over a dozen other choice locations. "Maybe we can ask someone."
"Why do we need to find the Guildhall at all?" Jin asked, puzzled. "All you want to know is if the dragon came this way, right? We could ask anyone in town, as long as they were living here a couple of years ago."
"Nice thought, but non-mages can't tell me whether or not any magic was drained from spells. The dragon might not have passed directly over the town but if he was near enough, he could've stolen magic. A mage could tell me the direction of the pull."
"I feel so enlightened."
They had their pick of residents to ask. It was a little after noon, and people from all walks of life passed through the square. Mothers toting fat, happy babies on their hips. Schoolchildren enjoying their lunches in small groups. Workers popping out to the shops on their midday break.
Kame was about to approach a pair of young women sitting on the edge of the fountain when Jin caught his coat sleeve and tugged him in the other direction.
"Let's ask him," Jin suggested, pointing to a young, redhaired man strumming a guitar in front of a sweetshop. "He looks friendly."
"I'm not sure if that smile's supposed to welcome people or scare them off." From Kame's perspective, the busker's bright smile could be interpreted either way. Its intensity could not be denied, however. "All right, let's ask him."
This proved easier said than done; no sooner had they begun their approach than a herd of teenage girls appeared from around the corner to form a circle around the busker, all cooing "Ueda-sama!" and fanning themselves with large white fans bearing messages of love.
"Still want to ask him?" Kame said. "Because we might have to crossdress for him to notice us."
Jin shuddered. "He must be pretty well-known around here to have all those devoted fans. Maybe I should ask him for tips."
They ventured closer, seeking a path to see them through the fangirls, none of whom even responded to their presence. Kame tried to talk to one but almost got his eye poked out by a fan.
Hugging the side of the sweetshop got them close enough to pop up next to the busker just as he sang the final few words of a sweet, folksy song about flowers. He had a nasal singing voice - by no means unpleasant, but not, to Kame's ear, as pleasing as Jin's.
"Ueda-sama!" the girls screamed the moment their idol's fingers stilled on the guitar.
"He's good," Jin whispered to Kame. "Very good. But he's not busking. Look; he's not collecting money."
"This lot look more likely to throw themselves at him than money," Kame said. "Maybe he's some rich lord's son, doing this for fun?"
Ueda beamed up at them. "You'll have to whisper more softly if you don't want me to hear you."
Kame couldn't decide if having the full force of that blinding smile on him made him feel more like he'd just seen the sun for the first time after a long night of darkness - or the darkness was coming to get him.
"Sorry about that," Jin said, scratching his neck. "We just wanted to ask you something."
"I don't play private parties," Ueda said. "If you want to join the fanclub, though, I believe the girl in the leather corset handles the membership applications."
"I don't even want to know." Kame was starting to wish he'd asked the women by the fountain after all.
"Then what do you want to know?"
"I'm actually pretty curious about those last couple of chords-"
"Jin!"
At Kame's exasperation, Jin hastily returned to the point. "I mean, do you know where we can find the Mages' Guildhall?"
"In this town? You can't."
"Why not?" Kame looked nervously at the crowd of girls, who weren't happy to see Ueda's time being taken up by a couple of unworthy men. "Is it hidden?"
"If there were any mages left in town, they'd have a Guildhall, but they're all gone now."
It was on the tip of Kame's tongue to ask why, but Ueda pre-empted him, accompanying his own explanation on guitar.
"'Twas less than two years ere this day
We had a winged guest
With breath of fire and talons sharp
And strength that none could best.
A dragon, sure, this creature was
With scales black as night
His fierce eyes and pointed teeth
They gave us quite a fright."
Kame exchanged looks with Jin. It didn't matter if they couldn't find a mage to talk to - they didn't need one.
"But we won't be having magic here no more.
No, we won't be having magic here no more.
There'll be naught here to a dragon's taste
So he won't lay our town to waste
Now magic's against the law.
Once we had a Mages' Guild
Of men and women strong
They used their power recklessly
Be it for right or wrong.
All over town, their spells were found
We thought it would be fine
But not once did we e'er suspect
Our lives were on the line.
One night when all was quiet and still
The beast flew through the skies
Seeking tasty magic snacks
He took us by surprise."
Kame's pendant hung heavy around his neck, hidden by his shirt. He didn't think it would be a good idea to mention his Guild membership here. Long, warm fingers casually brushed his in reassurance; Jin understood that too. He started in surprise when Ueda suddenly switched to rap, delivering the next instalment of his tale in a brutal, rapid burst.
"With blazing eyes and fiery breath
He brought us pain; he brought us death
Magic was holding up our town
He drained us dry; our walls fell down
When he'd had his fill he went on his way
We're still picking up the pieces to this day"
No wonder Kame hadn't detected any wards - though they, at least, were non-corporeal. Using magic to hold physical structures together in the long-term was a tricky business and if these people had let their mages do all their construction work for them, the cost of a dragon's flying visit would've been staggeringly high.
"But we won't be having magic here no more.
No, we won't be having magic here no more.
There'll be naught here to a dragon's taste
So he won't lay our town to waste
Now magic's against the law.
Next day the mayor decreed it thus
A law that none could doubt:
'Magic only leads to harm
The mages must get out!'"
Fangirls applauded as Ueda finished, cutting his impromptu performance off sharp.
"And that's why you won't find a branch of the Mages' Guild here," he said. "Will that be a problem?"
Kame hoped he sounded suitably bored. "I figured maybe I could petition someone to get the winestains out of my shirt - the laundry can't seem to shift them - but I guess it can wait for another town."
"We're headed north," Jin added. "Which way did the dragon go? Because if other towns have done the same thing, my friend might as well buy a new shirt instead."
"I believe the dragon also went north, but as I wasn't here at the time, I can't tell you first-hand," Ueda said. "I think you'll be able to find somewhere to take care of your shirt, though. In my experience, most places don't rely on magic to build their houses."
"They'd be fools if they did," Kame said grimly; when Jin's fingers scraped by his again, he figured he'd better shut up and not draw more attention to himself than he could help. The crowd of fangirls looked lethal enough and he had no wish to see what the rest of the town could do to mages who couldn't take a hint.
Jin picked up the slack by commenting on Ueda's mini-rap and suggesting improvements, musician to musician, and somehow got started on a discussion about guitars that Kame couldn't follow to save his life. By the time the two concluded their talk, the girls had given up and moved on and Kame was in the sweetshop, trying to decide on a little something for the road. They certainly weren't going to hang around in this town.
"He seemed nice, even if he can't rap," Jin said, sticking his head inside the shop. "Can we get fudge?"
"Just a little bit. How do you feel about moving on?"
"Let me find a bathroom first and I'm good to go."
Jin ducked out to find the public convenience, leaving Kame to pay for a small bag of chocolate fudge. Horribly impractical, of course, but Jin's smile had been so gleeful when Kame had agreed to the fudge that its unsuitability as travel rations ceased to matter. It was important, Kame thought, to keep his companion in a good mood, given that they would be travelling together for another few days yet.
In his haste to exit the sweetshop, he caught his bootheel on the edge of the welcome mat and tripped out the door, landing awkwardly on the ground outside. He only just managed to get his hands out in time to save his nose from being smashed. The unforgiving ground left scrapes across his palms and dust on his clothes, and he groaned as he pulled himself up to his knees.
"The hospital's about three minutes to your left," Ueda said. He hadn't moved from his position, though he'd progressed as far as opening his guitar case. "If you need those hands looked a-"
"What?"
Kame didn't understand why Ueda had stopped dead until he followed the other man's gaze down to his chest...where his pendant had slipped out during the fall. The gold vine-wrapped heart stood out like a star in the night sky against his black coat.
He held Ueda's gaze in silence, daring him to say something. Surely the worst they could do would be escort him out of town? He hadn't used any magic, hadn't done anything that would attract the attention of a dragon - but then, with no mages left, how would they know that?
A full minute passed. Kame's chest tightened; Ueda reached a hand towards him, caught hold of the chain...and tucked the pendant carefully back where it belonged.
Jin returned just in time to witness this. "What the..."
Ueda gave them a mysterious smile. "I don't live here any more than you do, but this town gave me an interesting story. Good luck with the trials."
He grabbed his guitar and left before Jin could even close his mouth, which was still gaping.
"How..."
Kame shrugged. "You're a musician heading north, and the Bardic Guild trials are next week. Where else would you be going?"
"Maybe I'm taking a holiday and my guitar is my luggage?"
"And that makes me?"
"My devoted stalker?"
"I'm the one with the bag of fudge. You'll be stalking me."
Jin conceded that Kame might have a point. They took a few minutes for Kame to straighten himself up and wash his hands - fortunately, none of the scrapes had drawn blood - and then another few minutes because Jin insisted he needed a drink before he moved on, and what with one thing and another it was a good half-hour before they managed to leave. They didn't see Ueda again. Kame kept sneaking nervous peeks over his shoulder, checking for a lynch mob, but no one even looked their way.
Still, it was a relief to be back on the road, and Kame didn't allow himself to relax until they'd been walking for an hour.
"You can breathe again now," Jin said. "I don't think anyone's coming to stab you with a pitchfork. Not that I'd let them get you, anyway."
"You wouldn't, huh?"
"Nope." Jin smirked. "You've still got the fudge in your bag. I'm not handing that over to anyone."
Kame laughed and passed him the sweets.
They didn't have a lift this time, but the path stayed straight and true, leading them towards Sendai - or so Kame assumed, based on the signposts helpfully planted every mile along the road. There didn't seem to be much else out there except trees.
"I think Sendai's our next stop," Jin said. "I don't remember there being anything else nearby."
"Did you come this way before?"
"I was on my way south last time. When the Guild made the enormous mistake of turning me down as a trial candidate, I just kept going; made it as far as Kagoshima before I turned around to head back, with another dozen songs under my belt and a lot more memories than I started with."
"I don't suppose one of those memories includes the location of some shelter?" Kame pointed at the black clouds gathering on the horizon. "Because I think within an hour, we're going to get very wet - and not in a fun way, either."
Jin shot him a look of alarm and peered into the trees. "I wish I had my own wagon. With a retractable roof, and maybe some fuzzy dice, and a nice, comfy bed taking up most of the room in the back."
"Make the bed a bit smaller and you could probably squeeze a drumkit in there," Kame suggested.
Discussion about the interior of Jin's hypothetical wagon carried them off the road and into the woods in search of large trees for shelter. Kame tried to keep one eye on his feet, not wanting to fall flat on his face for the second time that day, and the other on the branches overhead, looking for anything thick enough to form a canopy. By the time they found a likely-looking spot, the wagon had a sunroof, a music box and a luxurious silk interior.
Kame flattened himself under an old oak tree where thick, heavy branches twisted overhead to block out both light and rain, just as the drizzle began. His bag, being completely waterproof, could stand to get a little damp. His hair, not so much. He yanked his coat hood over his head, pulling it as far down as possible to shield his eyes. Jin pressed close, shoulder to shoulder, his own hood covering half his face.
"Is yours waterproof?" Kame asked.
"Only as long as no one tips a bucket of water over my head."
The odds of that happening were slim to none, given that bar the occasional curious squirrel peeking out from the tree trunks, they were all alone.
"I don't suppose you know any magic to control the weather?" Jin said.
"If I make it stop raining here, somewhere in the world they'll have a six-month drought. It's not forbidden but it's not encouraged, either; weather's a tricky business."
Even so, Kame was tempted by the idea. The rain didn't look to be letting up any time soon; they could be stuck under the tree for hours. Though no stranger to spending a night on the road, he'd rather not be trying to sleep out in the cold, damp and dark - especially if Jin was going to make things worse by continually daydreaming about his hypothetical wagon.
They watched the rain splash leaves for a few minutes, and when Jin shivered Kame felt it too.
"I think the trees are thicker over there," Jin said suddenly. "Looks like we'd have more shelter from the wind, too. Want to make a dash for it?"
"I'm game."
The rising wind blew the rain sideways, rendering their tree more or less useless - they could hardly make matters worse by moving. Jin grabbed his bag and guitar case and bolted, but with only the one bag to manage Kame quickly outstripped him, dashing between the trees like a fox on the run, coat flying out behind. Gnarled roots protruded from the ground, half-hidden by sodden grass, intent on tripping them up; Kame jumped as Jin clutched him from behind to regain his balance.
"Careful!"
"Sorry," Jin muttered. "I stepped in a hole."
"It's okay." Kame wouldn't have minded except that Jin's guitar case had whacked him in the shoulder. "It might be drier here but the ground's lethal. Watch your step."
The uneven ground wasn't the only threat. It took standing under the tangled, interwoven branches for Kame to realise the trunks formed a circle - and he and Jin were right in the middle. As a mage, he felt wary in any circle he hadn't drawn himself, even if it was one formed by nature. Circles could keep things out - and keep things in.
Shadows surrounded them on all sides, weak daylight blocked entirely, and then the rain hit. Ice water blew through the trees at every angle, finding the gaps in their clothing and sneaking inside to slither cold trails down their skin. Each drop held the fury of a storm, of a weapon aimed to hurt.
"You had to say it was drier here, didn't you?" Jin dropped his baggage and wrapped his arms around himself, huddling close to one of the larger trees.
"Famous last words." Kame shielded his eyes with one hand while he tried to scan the area. There was definitely something weird about the weather. Storms weren't normally so...directed. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, if you don't count that I'm being beaten up by hailstones," Jin grumbled.
Kame was loathe to suggest moving further into the woods. Although they'd lost sight of the road, he still knew roughly how to find it again. He wasn't sure he could say the same if they went much deeper. Not that they were in a position to continue right now. The weather's persistent attacks drove them closer together, keeping them pinned against the tree.
He had to lean over, tug Jin's hood aside and speak right into his ear to make himself heard over the roaring wind, accidentally brushing his lips against the soft shell. "I don't think I can do much about the weather, but I can try make us a shield to keep the rain out!"
Jin remained oblivious, murmuring softly to himself while streams of water ran from his matted curls into his eyes and mouth. Kame hoped the other man wasn't having a fit. His knowledge of medical magic didn't extend beyond sealing a wound - the one time he'd tried to fix his own broken nose, he'd ended up with a lump his mentor had refused to remove.
Upon closer inspection Jin's murmurs proved to have both a tune and a quiet, steady rhythm. Another song, then. If it was supposed to keep their spirits up, Kame didn't think it was doing its job.
"...I'm dancing in water," Jin finished, then blinked. "Hey, you made the rain stop!"
"It hasn't stopped," Kame pointed out, "it just isn't hitting us anymore. What were you singing?"
"That? Ah, sometimes I sing to make myself feel better. The song's called 'Water Dance', but what's that go to do with anything?"
"It's got everything to do with it because I didn't do anything! Take a look around us."
Rain still poured steadily through the trees, soaking the surrounding area, yet not a drop of it touched either of them. It slid to the side, parting overhead as though Kame had raised an invisible shield. But he'd done nothing, though he felt tired enough, beaten down by the weather, to have attempted a great masterwork of magic. Jin's song, it had to be. First in the prison, then while busking, and now in the woods.
Jin shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere. None of them landed on Kame. "Now you've made us a magic umbrella, we could keep going?"
"I promise you, I didn't do anything. It's your singing, Jin. I don't know what it is, but it's not magic.
"That storm, on the other hand, is."
"Magic? The weather? What makes you think so?"
"It wasn't until we entered this circle. I can feel it now; the atmosphere's drained of magic and it's not me using it. I think someone's trying to keep us from wandering any further into the woods. Shall we find out why?"
"Um..."
"Of course if you're scared, we could just prop up this tree for another few hours..."
"I'm not scared." Jin snatched up his bags and glared defiantly at the darkness beyond the circle. "If some mage is out there playing tricks on us, maybe he's got a few dry towels."
He strode forward, forcing Kame to stick close if he didn't want to get wet. Jin's 'Water Dance' evidently allowed him to move through rain without being soaked; the same privilege was only granted to Kame if he remained in close proximity - something he found out the hard way.
Kame tried to muster up enough magic for a magelight, hoping to dispel the gloom, but even outside the ring of trees the atmosphere was depleted. The few flickers he produced lasted mere seconds. Still, the further they walked, the calmer the weather grew, till only a light drizzle remained and Kame knew the bad weather was all natural.
"I hope you remember how to get back to the road," Jin said.
"Maybe the owner of that cabin can tell us."
A small log cabin sat in the middle of a clearing, light shining from the windows and a young man standing at the open front door, watching them with cautious eyes. He didn't look dangerous - to Kame's way of thinking, no one who wore diamond-patterned argyle vests could possibly be dangerous - but didn't rush out to greet them with open arms, either.
"I've never seen a tengu in real life before!" Jin exclaimed, loud enough to reach the cabin.
"Hey!"
"I don't think he likes you making fun of his nose," Kame said. "Perhaps you'd better apologise before he sends more bad weather after us."
"You think this guy's our mystery mage?"
The stranger retreated inside the house, leaving the door wide open in invitation, and Kame grinned.
"Let's go find out."