่ฑใใจ่ฑใ
"Check it, Jack: twins, all alone. One for each of us, eh?"
"If they're from the shrine, they're off-limits."
"Nah, the robes are different."
"Then where're they from?"
"Do we care?"
"You don't."
"Hanaka, pay attention."
"Why~?"
"Because you have no sense of direction. You don't want to read the map, so listen."
"But those guys over there are talking about us. Maybe we'll even get some useful information from them โ anything as necessary, right?"
"I know, but they're not worth it, nor necessary. Try to ignore them." Hanaka started to pout at his brother's attempts at prudence. He knew Hanata wanted to throw them in a lake of lava, and he was holding back.
"Excuse us, ladies," one of the men started as the two approached, "but you seem lost." Neither man couldn't have been older than twenty โ probably worked in menial labor, given the muscles. "I'm Daniel; this is Jack." Jack gave a wave to the look-alikes, since Daniel seemed to want to do all the talking.
"We are," Hanata matter-of-factly answered. Opening the map in his hands, Hanata pointed to the palace of the Air King, before the brothers started muttering to each other in a foreign language.
ใAir?ใ
ใIt's only natural to go in order.ใ Hanata turned back to the men next to them. "Could you show us how to get here?"
"Good thing you're not in Byre's territory. It's not easy crossing opposite borders."
"Byre?" Hanaka asked, but before his twin could answer one of the men โ Jack โ did.
"He's the reigning Earth King. We're under Siya's rule here; he's probably the nicest of them, even though he's the Fire King. It'll only take a few hours to get to the border." Jack looked to be genuinely helpful, but Daniel was ogling Hanaka in his thoughts.
ใThe big one's a brainless lech,ใ Hanata told his brother.
ใPeople here are easy to figure out. You didn't even read his mind, did you?ใ
"Y'know," Daniel continued while he tried to surround Hanaka by himself, "it's a long way there. Even if the King's nice, the roads aren't always safe."
"We'll be okay. Thank you for the assistance." As Hanata turned to leave, Daniel grabbed at his shoulder.
"Hey, I'm trying to be niceโ"
ใ้บป็บใใ The muscled man quickly found himself unable to move, a piercing numbness immobilizing him.
"Th-the hell did you just do to me?" Daniel choked out.
ใ่ฑใใใ
ใใ๏ผใ
ใๆฎบใใใ
ใๅฝผใ๏ผ้่ฆใฏใใใพใใ๏ผใ Hanaka answered, pointing to Jack. The poor guy was petrified just seeing this โ this wasn't the elemental magic he knew. The twins didn't really want to do it, either; Jack was actually a pretty nice guy. Too bad he didn't matter.
ใใใใใ Hanata looked back at the man who grabbed him, finding a perverse rage in his eyes. If Daniel lived, he'd never let the twins get away with this, and no one wanted to imagine what he'd do to get back at them. This man thought the twins were frail. He didn't like that. To his brother, Hanata concluded, "Make it quick. People might be coming soon."
A sharp grin creased across Hanaka's curious expression. Giggling maniacally, Hanaka crossed his arms over each other, all vestiges of innocence now lost. Like a vicious hound unleashed, his limbs twitched before fleshy tumours violently ruptured, altering the composition of his arms. Bones cracking, his hands elongated and then sharpened into a set of deadly blades. With one final laugh that was more akin to a joyous howl, Hanaka leapt upon his stupefied prey.
I swear, Hanata thought, my brother got all the crazy.
"Hanata~, I'm done~!" The three-minutes-younger twin seemed way too cheerful for someone who'd just murdered two people, but then... when was Hanaka ever not joyful?
"Good. Clean yourself off and let's go before someone sees."
Grinning childishly, Hanaka nodded eagerly before pausing. His brows knitted in confusion as the sudden realisation hit him. Frowning, he turned to Hanata and asked, "Which way was it again?"
"I told you you had no sense of direction." Hanata opened the map yet again, showing his brother where they seemed to be and where they were headed. "We're somewhere in the Fire King's territory, so we should follow the road north."
"Okay! ... Which way's north again?"
With a disappointed sigh, Hanata pointed in the right direction. With a jovial gait, Hanaka did his best to lead the way.
Lush valleys, filled with a vibrant array of flowers, bushes and trees, marked the borderline to the Wind Kingdom. Observing the terrain from their vantage point, Hanaka surveyed the field ahead, attempting to discern the appropriate pathway. Directly below them was a meandering river, carved like a snake down the centre of the valley. Further east lay chiselled mountains, dipped in a weave of gray fog and topped off with snow. Spotting the sparkling towers between them, Hanaka smiled excitedly and tapped Hanata over the shoulder to unveil his discovery.
"There!" he beamed, puffing his chest out and proudly pointing into the distance. "Told you I'd find it!"
"Yeah... after getting lost ten times." Hanaka put on his pouty face again, but he knew it never worked on his brother, no matter how cute it was.
Sniffling at his unappreciated enthusiasm, Hanaka switched his expression to that of a pleading one. "Nevermind! We're almost there~, and I'm tired of walking!" he moaned, encouraging his brother to hasten the pace.
