Chapter 1 : The Long Ride

“Ni-chan.” The teenage , vermillion haired girl said as she gazed across the carriage cabin at the young man who was now asleep--mouth wide agape.

“Ni-chan.” She repeated as she leaned forward, her long fox ears glinting from the sunlight filtering into the cabin. She drew close to him, biting her lip slightly as she breathed in deeply. Her nostrils flared as the scent of her elder brother wafted over. Her sense of smell was so impeccable that she could even smell a tinge of salt within his sweat.

She lingered for a few moments, inspecting his face up close before she finally drew centimeters close to his ear and whispered in a cute, breathy voice.

“Ren-san, redacted redacted redacted.”

“PL-EA-SE.” she said, accentuating imaginary syllables within the final word.

“Huh!? What? What’s going on Ryoko?” Ren awoke with a start, an unmistakable trail of saliva dribbling from the corner of his mouth. The young girl also noticed the perverted look on his face as she leaned back against her set.

“Pervert.” She whispered as she folded her arms, turning to gaze out of the nearby carriage window.

“What? I’m lost.” The young man known as Ren replied innocently.

“It’s not my fault...I like what I like…” He whispered under his breath.

Ryoko’s ears twitched slightly as she heard his words, her fist tightening.

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Outside of the carriage in the driver’s seat the coach driver sighed to herself. The summer heat was particularly sapping today. Her only solace was that the trip was almost over and soon she’d be able to rest at the tavern. She allowed the gentle breeze rolling over the carriage to catch her golden blonde hair, nibbling against her neck as she felt the coolness overcome her. Her sleeveless, plaid cloth shirt was little more than a barrier to comfort at this point. She contemplated taking it off, if it weren’t for the two people in the carriage.

*That might make an awkward scene…* She thought to herself, before contemplating, *Although, the kid definitely was a cutie.*

A smile appeared on her face as she thought back to the way the young boy blushed upon seeing her cleavage.

*Maybe I’ll play with him a little bit when we arrive.* She removed one of her hands from the reins and ran her finger tips down along her collar bone, pulling her shirt aside to reveal redacted RedActed Re-Dacted as she thought about the trap she’d lay.

Then she heard a strange muffled sound which snapped her mind back to reality.

“What the hell was that?” She whispered as she looked around.

Inside the carriage Ren was rubbing the top of his head, an expression of pain apparent on his face.

“Hmmph.” The girl known as Ryoko said as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

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“Excuse me, young man.”

Ren heard a rapping against the wooden door of the carriage soon after it came to a halt.

“Yes. One second.” He answered as he gathered his things. The ride to the village of Trudid was much longer than he would have liked and he was glad to be free of the confines of the carriage.

Ryoko cut her eyes at the door, a look of aggravation taking hold of her face. However it was only momentary, she forced her expression to a more pleasant one as she heard the carriage latch come undone.

The door opened as Ren gathered up his things, a few books he’d read to pass the time. He winced slightly, his throbbing somewhat as he grumbled to himself.

*Stupid Ryoko. Always hitting me.* Ren thought as he shoved his books into a small dimensional portal in his waist pack. He cut his eyes over at the girl who was currently adjusting her expression as she gazed upon him.

*That’s not going to work. Your eyes still show you’re a psycho!* Ren thought defiantly, feeling confident in the fact that she couldn’t read his mind. Yet, a dangerous flash of violence from Ryoko’s eyes made Ren reconsider his private thoughts entirely.

A beautiful blond woman in her early twenties opened the door, the midday sun flooding into the wooden compartment as she did so. Ren couldn’t help but be drawn to the sight of her, after all he had something of a thing for more mature ladies.

Her skin was beautifully tanned, no doubt due to her profession as a carriage driver. She was fit, dressed in clothing appropriate for the climate as well. Blue jean shorts and a sleeveless plaid shirt which was tied at her abdomen. Since it was a particularly hot day outside Ren took special note of the sweat dripping down around her midriff, bosom and glistening along her face.

Ren’s eyes teetered precariously as he struggled to gaze upon her green eyes rather than the excessive amount of cleavage bursting from her shirt. Seeing this the woman chuckled to herself, smiling gently at the thought of being admired.

*I knew it. He’s hypnotized.* She thought to herself as she completely ignored the glare shooting daggers which came from the other carriage seat.

*Maybe in 10 years little girl.* The driver thought as she smiled at Ren, adding a subtle wink just to further annoy Ryoko.

Soon both passengers stepped out of the carriage and were greeted with the sight of their destination, the village of Trudid. He already knew there wouldn’t be much to see from a town at the edge of nowhere, still even this surprised him. A small town consisting of less than twenty homes, various farm fields against the mountain backdrop. Apparently he’d been dropped on “main street” which consisted of 8 log cabin style homes which doubled as shops, all equidistant and adjacent to one another along a continuous strip of road which trailed off into the distance.

“The edge of nowhere.” He remarked as he gazed into the distance, taking note of the mountain not far from the town. He glanced at the young red haired woman next to him, searching her face for some sort of opinion. In the end he gathered that she felt the same for the most part- less than thrilled at the change of scenery.

“Ahem.” The blonde said, clearing her throat loudly and intentionally.

“Oh, sorry.” Ren said as he chuckled to himself. He reached into a coin purse at his waist and pulled out two gold coins which he gave to the carriage driver.

“The extra one is a tip. Thanks.” He added.

“By the way, I’m Barbra. I’ll be in town for a bit longer so if you need something don’t hesitate to ask.” Barbra said, summoning her most flirtatious manner. She mostly did it to get a reaction from Ryoko. By contrast Ryoko was too busy melting under the midday sun, after all she was wearing a very beautiful layered dress with lace frills near the bottom. It complimented the color of her hair -- red, white and black in various places.

“For sure.” Ren replied with a smile before taking his sister’s hand and walking off into the distance. The black tips of her ears twitched slightly, her long puffy tail perking up somewhat as she allowed herself to be led by the hand.

“I still don’t understand why it had to be here. We have a home in the city you know. Master would have let us stay as long as we wanted.” Ryoko said, her fox-ears drooping somewhat as she walked along with Ren.

“Because, this was the only place I could buy myself with our inheritance. Besides, it’ll be fun. You’ll see Ryoko.”

To this the young girl simply “hmph”ed and continued walking as the two began their first steps towards a new life.