Bucktick was a village everyone liked. It was the sort of place you could visit when you needed to get away from the hassle that life enslaves us to. A small village, it was filled with nice farmers, kindly innkeepers, jovial shopkeepers, and a very pleasant mayor that kept you coming back. There was a lake with a stream that ran just far enough away from the village to protect it from flooding. The houses were all wooden and small, but so very friendly. Flowers dotted the roadside and the grass was always green. It rarely stormed, but it rained every afternoon, aiding the crops in their growth. And their crops were some of the best money could buy. In fact, they were famous for their potatoes, and the great Potato Fair, which came once a year and was like Christmas is to you or I. Yes, Bucktick, though quaint, was one of the nicest places you could live, and that is exactly why Daishi couldn't help but wonder why he felt so restless there.

Daishi was a farmboy. He'd always been a farmboy, as had all the men in his family before him. He was orphaned when he was only seven, his father and mother dying in a horrible brush fire. His grandparents, Kenji and Motoko became his guardians. He began to take care of the farm when he was ten, as Kenji was getting older and sicker and could no longer do hard labor. Motoko also taught him how to cook. She, too, was ill with another sickness, but it didn't affect her everyday, as Kenji's did. Some mornings she awoke and could not move from pain. Those days Daishi did all the farmwork, cooking, and the cleaning. He learned selflessness and how to multitask, but he did not learn bitterness. He loved and cared for his grandparents as though he were a father and they were his children. He was a good boy, and pleasant to look upon.

But he was not content. He dreamed of things...silly things, most in Bucktick would call them, but to Daishi they were splendid. Anytime he wasn't doing chores or farmwork he would go off to an oak tree on his grandparents' property. He would climb up into it and stare out at the sparkling lake, and there he would daydream for hours on end. He imagined himself a sword-weilding samurai, traveling the land and ridding it of thieves and murderers. He dreamed of going to the far off lands he had heard of; lands where there were strange creatures and people with wings! He pictured himself slaying dragons and freeing kingdoms of evil sorcerers... Daishi loved Bucktick very much, but his heart's truest desire was to leave the fair village in search of adventure and swashbuckling swordfights! But alas, he seemed destined to stay with his grandparents and be a farmer until he died, passing the buck along to his own son.

Marriage, was another thing Daishi feared. The maidens of Bucktick were all nice, but he felt no attraction toward them. He had never been very fond of any girl, aside from his grandmother. But then, he hadn't known any either. He hadn't known any boys, for that matter. He was so busy with farming and chores that he wasn't able to play with the other children often. But he didn't mind so much. Once, when he had been given some freetime and decided to join the boys and girls who were playing ball, he had been laughed at and ridiculed. They called him "orphan." The boys had called him a "momma's boy" because he was always cooking and cleaning for Motoko, while the girls had whispered amongst themselves about how short and stocky he was. Daishi had been but thirteen and gone home in tears. Whenever he started breakfast for his grandmother he couldn't help but hear their insults flying through his head. When he saw his reflection he looked away, thinking of how "short and stocky" he was, when in reality none of that was true.

But regardless of his lack of friends, Daishi still had his grandparents and that was all, so he loved them twice as much as a normal boy loves his grandparents. He took extra care in measuring ingredients when he was cooking and pushed harder than he should when he was plowing, for the farm and his family were all he had. All he would ever have, he often thought forlornly to himself.

But he wasn't bitter.

At any rate, Daishi's story began one warm night when he, now eighteen years of age, had finished his chores, served dinner, and made sure his grandparents were safely in their beds. He tiptoed from the house and climbed into his oak tree to look out at the lake, which was sparkling silver in the light of the pale moon. He leaned against one of the strong branches and sighed. As he began to daydream his eyes slipped shut and he fell into a blissful sleep. Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound and he awoke with a start. The lake wasn't silver anymore, it was dark so that one couldn't even tell it was a lake. The moon was gone, hidden by clouds. A red glow was behind Daishi, and screams and shouts could be heard, as well as the crackling of fire. He whirled quickly and with a surprised gasp, fell from his perch. The entire village was wreathed in flames! The villagers were running everywhere as wildmen dressed in fur chased them, grabbing women and raping them on the spot. These men set fire to the houses and all the crops... Daishi jumped up suddenly. "Ojiisan! Obaasan!" Daishi yelled, racing to his home.

It wasn't engulfed in flames just yet, but it was on fire. He burst through the door and pulled back the curtain that seperated his grandparents' living quarters from the rest of the house. "Ojiisan! Obaasan! Wake up! The house is on fire and the village is under attack!" He yelled, pulling their blankets off of them.

Kenji sat up almost immediately and understood the trouble without question. He pulled Motoko up and shook her around a couple of times. "Fire! We must leave!" He said before bursting into a gail of coughs.

Daishi's heart raced. He had to get his family away from the fires right way! He grabbed Kenji's hand with one of his and Motoko's with his other and practically dragged them from the house. "Hurry! To the lake!" He called, coughing and choking on smoke.

He brought them to the edge of the lake, where several more villagers already were. They sat down and drank from the cool, clean waters, feeling the liquid clean their throats of the smoke and soot. One of the men by the lake was the mayor and Daishi hurriedly approached him. "What's going on?" He asked, not stopping to think whether he was speaking politely or not.

The mayor wiped his forehead with a wet rag and let out a troubled sigh. "The wild men from the mountains...for some reason they've attacked us! I don't know why." He shook his head despairingly.

As night dwindled on more and more villagers came to the lake's edge. Some were injured and burned, others appeared unconscious or deceased. Finally the sun rose and the village was devoid of cries or noise of any kind. The troup of villagers made their way up from the lake and back to their beloved little town.

Bucktick was in ruins. Most of the buildings were burnt piles of rubble, and the rest were unstable. Their grass had been brought to ash and all the crops were destroyed. Farm animals, possessions, and all money was gone, stolen by the wicked wildmen. Some of the women and children were missing, too.

The townsfolk set to work, rebuilding right away. Several were buried, the death toll the highest in numerous deaths the village had ever seen. Daishi and his grandparents' found their house to be a pile of wood. Motoko burst into tears and clung to Kenji, while Daishi walked up to the only home he'd ever known. He found the portrait of his parents that had always stood over the mantel. It was charred and the faces on it had been damaged, perhaps never to be repaired. Tears threatened to leave the boy's eyes, but he kept them back. He had to be strong for his remaining family.

They found that their crops had been completely ruined and they had no money with which to buy food. As Daishi and Kenji began reconstruction of their home, Motoko gathered odd jobs around the village, trying to earn them enough money for at least Daishi to eat. She couldn't stand it if he went hungry. For almost a week they worked hard and finally got a small, one-roomed cabin erected. Kenji fell incredibly ill before they could build a door and was bedridden. Daishi refused his food and made his grandparents eat instead.

One morning he went out to his oak tree and felt a new wave of anger and sadness. It was completely charred, a black stick standing up high. Tears fell from his eyes and he kicked the tree, unwillingly causing it to fall over. It was dead, and if he didn't find some money soon his grandparents would be, too. He had to do something! All of a sudden the answer came to him. He dried his face and went back to the house, if you could call it that. His grandparents were sleeping peacefully so he packed as quietly as he could. He scribbled them a note and left it where he knew his grandmother would find it--on the dirty mat he slept on. The note read:

He situated his pack on his back and gave them one last fond glance before going silently from the house. "I'll make you a door when I get back, I promise," he whispered as he stepped onto the main village road.

The trek into the mountains turned out to be harder than Daishi thought it would be. At first it was lovely. He saw lots of woodland creatures and beautiful flowers and trees. The road was easy and the sun was a comforting warmth on his back. And then he got to the mountain pass itself. It was a steep incline with lots of small rocks that caused him to slip and fall, sometimes several feet back down the mountain. His first night camping at a greater elevation was quite cool and he found it hard to sleep on the many small rocks beneath him. The days and nights only grew colder as he hiked higher and higher. He began to see less animals and less vegitation, but he saw more and more evidence that he was coming closer to the territory of the wildmen--skeletons of men, barefooted footprints, and roughly hewn signs that said things like, "PRIVATE PROPERTY: Turn back if you wish to keep your skin!"

One morning the sky was very cloudy and grey and by eight o'clock it had begun to drizzle. As Daishi ate a cold and soggy lunch around noon the drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour. He discarded his food and continued on his way, freezing and soaked to the bone.

Just when he thought he was going to drown in the heavy amount of rain coming down, he found a camp tucked away in between two mountain peeks, a large tent erected to keep out the rain. His heart leapt. He had found the camp of the wildmen!

He hurried closer to their camp and found it as the sky began to darken. They were having a hearty get-together in the camp square, dancing around a huge bonfire, drunkenly singing and clanging mugs together. Daishi sneaked closer and saw that the wildmen were roasting people over the bonfire! He convlused and unvoluntarily vomitted. Unfortunately one of the nearby wildmen heard him and turned around. "Wha's that?" He said, coming closer to investigate.

Daishi tried to run away, but he tripped on something and fell flat on his face. Looking up, he found himself lying in a pile of bones, some of the skin still on them, as though someone had been chewing on them like chicken bones. He realized with revulsion what the bones probably belonged to and leaped up with a horrified scream. No sooner had he turned to run when he was grabbed roughly. He gasped in shock. One of the wildmen had him! "Oi, look! I found us another bite!" The man shouted through a slur.

"Throw 'im in with the other one! We'll get to 'im later!" Yelled a particularly ferocious-looking wildman.

The wildman went marching back toward the clearing. Off to the side, hidden somewhat in the shadows was a large, wooden cage. The wildman opened the door and threw Daishi inside. He went back to his company, laughing stupidly.

Daishi slumped against the back of the cage and put his face in his hands, sighing profusely. "I failed them...I failed. Now I'll be eaten!" He sobbed.

Someone smacked him upside the head and he looked up, startled. "Get ahold of yourself!" Spoke a boy standing above him.

"Who--who're you?" Daishi asked, sniffing.

The boy extended a hand and pulled Daishi to his feet. He had fiery red hair--so red in fact, that it looked orange. He had the looks of someone who has been out on his own for a very long time; someone who is tough and rebellious. He appeared to be around Daishi's age. "The name's Lida," he said, thrusting out his hand.

Daishi gingerly shook it. "Daishi."

"Stop crying, man!" Lida snapped, getting straight to the point. "Where there's a will, there's a way. And I'm very strong-willed."

Daishi believed it. "But...it seems so hopeless," he said with a sigh.

Lida smirked, his eyes sparkling. "Daishi, do you believe in fate?"

Daishi looked at him curiously, his eyes wide. "Well...yes. Yes, I suppose I do."

Lida's smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "Well, I thought of the perfect plan for escape, but then I realized it required two people and, since I was all alone, I thought I would have to abandon my plan. Just after thinking that the wildman threw you in here. Fate brought you here to save both our lives."

Daishi's mouth was slightly agape in wonder. "Wow! What is your plan?"

"Well, the lock for the door is easily unlocked, I noticed. It's merely a latch that bars the door from opening. I could easily reach between the bars and lift it up, but they put it high enough that I can't reach it. Now that you're here, I can stand on your shoulders and unlatch it. The wildmen are so drunk, they probably won't notice us if we slip away. We can head toward the caves. They won't follow us in there. They're afraid of the Nameless."

Daishi's eyes were still wide and he smiled. "Wow, that's a brilliant plan! You're a genius!"

Lida straightened up proudly, obviously flattered. "Why, thank you. Ready?"

Daishi nodded vigorously. He knelt and Lida climbed onto his shoulders. He held onto the bars. "I'm holding the bars. Hold onto them as well, to balance yourself. Now stand."

Daishi did as he was told, grabbing the bars and standing shakily, Lida a heavy weight on his shoulders. "Great job!" Lida encouraged as he reached between the bars. "Now stand...still..."

Daishi held tightly to Lida's legs, and leaned against the bars to keep himself from falling over backward. In a few seconds Lida let out a triumphant, "Aha!"

It was good timing, too. Daishi suddenly wobbled and with a strangled cry, fell over backward. Lida let out a small yelp as Daishi landed on him. Daishi's head hit Lida below the belt and it took all of the redhead's strong will to keep from yelling out in pain and frustration. Daishi sat up and whirled around, looking aghast. "I'm so sorry, Lida-san!"

Lida managed a half-smile and sat up as well. "It's okay," he said in a high-pitched voice. "Let's go."

Daishi helped Lida to his feet and they carefully opened the cage's door and slid out of it. Lida grabbed Daishi's wrist and ran silently in the direction opposite the bonfire. They raced through the small town until they reached the other mountain. A large, black hole stood in the center of it. Daishi halted, abruptly stopping Lida, who was still holding his arm. The latter was flung backward into Daishi. He let go of the other man and stared at him, looking almost furious. "What is wrong with you? Do you want to be eaten?"

Daishi shook his head. "No, of course not, but...what's in there? It looks...scary."

Lida raised an eyebrow. "Scary? Come on, where's your sense of adventure?"

Daishi felt as though he'd been slapped across the face. All his young life he'd dreamed of going on a grand adventure and now he was on one and too frightened to go any further! He marched boldly toward the cave. "Let's go, Lida!"

And so they entered the dark caves. Lida fashioned a torch from some dry grass, and a broken branch. He took a small flask out of his pocket, poured a tiny bit of its contents onto the grass, handed the torch to Daishi and ignited it by rubbing together two stones. The grass burst into flame and Daishi nearly dropped it in surprise. Lida took it from him. "Come."

They went a good way into the cave before Lida saw fit to stop and blow the fire out. "Why did you extinguish it? Now I can't see anything!" Daishi exclaimed, feeling an odd sort of anxiety.

Lida's voice came from very close to him, which comforted him somewhat. "We'll sleep here until morning and then carry on. I know I said the wildmen won't come into the caves, but if they're very hungry they might try to venture in after us. We're pretty far in, but I think if they saw a light they'd be somewhat braver and come this far. In the dark our chances for survival are higher."

His voice drifted away a little bit and Daishi tried to follow it. "You're very smart," he commmented, hoping to get Lida to talk again (though he knew it was the truth).

There was a soft chuckle to his left and somewhere lower than him, which he thought was odd, since he noticed right away that the other was taller than him. "Well thanks, Dai-kun. Living alone out in the--OUCH!"

Daishi's breath caught in his throat as he stepped on something and it moved suddenly. He let out a small squeak as he fell, and braced himself for the caverns' hard, cold impact, but it didn't come. Instead he felt something firm, but warm and comfortable. "Eh?" He questioned aloud.

"Get...off...me!" Lida grunted.

Daishi knew what he had landed on. He rolled over to the side and fell onto the hard, cold cavern floor. "Gomen, Lida-san!"

Lida stirred next to him. "It's okay...but don't call me Lida-san. No one's ever called me that in my life. Lida-kun is just fine."

"Oh, ok. Lida-kun."

Lida stirred once more and when he spoke his voice sounded a little more distant, like he'd rolled so that he wasn't facing Daishi anymore. "And don't blush so much. I can hear the blush in your voice."

Daishi reached up and touched his cheek. It was warm. That was odd, he thought to himself.

The two were quiet for some time before Daishi finally said, "Oyasumi, Lida-kun."

"Oyasumi..." Lida said sleepily.

And in time the two drifted off to sleep.

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Notes - And thus it starts. I hope you liked it so far. My hope is that it will get better and better. (^_^)V
Ne, the pictures are there to make it funner. *claps*