I sat down on the porch of the house exhausted. I dropped to my side and laid down on my side, my hair fell into my face as I put my head on my arms. Hana came over to me, book in hand.
"We still have more work to be done," she reminded me, sitting near my head, her feet dangling over the side of the porch.
I sighed, but sat back up. "Alright. What are we going to do now?"
"We still have another chapter to learn from the book," she replied, opening up the book to the fourth chapter.
I groaned. "Will I ever be able to learn any fighting moves?" When she gave me a curious look, I quickly continued. "I mean, it seems that Hyaku has enemies, and I know there is going to be another attack on the house at some point in the future. I want to be able to fight back, even a little. I don't want to have to be protected."
Hana nodded, thinking for a moment. "It's not the usual priestess way, but then, you aren't the usual priestess, now are you?" I gave her a small smile. "I would not be the best teacher for hand to hand combat, or sword fighting, or any of the like. Hyaku or Koori would be much better suited for that."
I nodded. I'd like to learn from Hyaku. He seemed much stronger than Koori. But, koori might be easier on me and wouldn't torment me as much. I was too small and tiny to really put up much of a fight either way, but if I could just learn a few moves, anything to give me some kind of edge over a demon would be great.
"I shall talk to the two of them later tonight. Only after you go through this chapter with me," she negotiated. I had no choice.
~.~
I practically crawled into my room, dropping onto the bed. Sighing, I knew I needed a bath, but I didn't want to get up. Taking a deep breath, I got up and grabbed a spare set of clothes and walked over to Hyaku's room. He'd need to tell me where the bath was.
Right before I knocked, I could hear voices from inside. Something about Hyaku's brother coming. Hyaku didn't seem to want him here. I frowned; why wouldn't one want to see a sibling when given the choice? I'd do anything to see my baby sister one more time.
I didn't want to get caught eavesdropping, so I quickly knocked on the door. The voices stopped talking and Koori opened the door. "Oh, hey Kiana. I was just leaving, so you'll get Hyaku all to yourself," he smiled before pushing passed me and disappearing down the hallway.
I frowned. All to myself? Like I cared. "What do you want?" Hyaku asked from his perch at his desk.
"I need a bath, and I didn't know where I went," I replied with a shrug.
He sighed, getting up and brushing by me. "This way," he replied.
I nodded and followed silently behind him for several moments. Finally, I looked up, "Why don't you want to see your brother?"
"It's none of your business. Just drop it," he warned me. I could tell it was a sore subject for him. But, I wasn't about to let it go that easily.
"I mean, you're taking for granted that you even have a sibling," I told him honestly.
"You don't know anything. Just stay out of it," he was a little more than agitated now. I sighed knowing there wasn't much I could say if he was unwilling to listen or talk to me. He stopped in front of a door. "This is the bath."
"Oh, thanks," I said, opening the door. Before going in, I looked back at Hyaku. "I don't expect you to tell me every detail of your life. But, if I'm supposed to help you with this curse, or whatever, you'll have to tell me some day about you." With that, I slipped inside, shutting the door behind me.
