Four Steps For Success [Closed]

The sun was high in the sky and it felt like it was concentrating strongly on Shinpachi's back. It was as if it wanted some sort of revenge and was making sure to make him miserable on his trip! The poor drained man walked along, his arms hanging loosely as he slouched heavily over. The fact that he was standing and still, somehow, able to continue walking was surprising. His stomach growled loudly, feeling as if it was going to cave in on itself. The low rumble sent a sharp pain up his gut and to his throat. The man needed something to eat and badly, but he had no money to spend. And then suddenly, he felt like the sun increased it's heat and Shinpachi's frustration hit it's peak.

"Agh!!!" he shouted loudly and turned toward the overbearing fire demon that shined so strongly down on him, "Why do you do this!? Go away you evil fire devil!!" As if it was going to do anything, Shinpachi picked up a rock and tossed it toward the sun. Before it even hit ground, the over tired man fell. Now laying on his back, his skin scrapped lightly against the dirty road. Not caring who may be passing him by, he laid there in the sun breathing heavily. His stomach roared loudly again, sending that same familiar pain up his gut and to his throat. "Mmmmmmm." he whined, holding his stomach again, "I know, I know. I'm hungry, but I don't have any foooood." Shinpachi rolled over on his stomach and looked down the dirt road, wondering exactly how far the next town was.

As the sun relentlessly beat Shinpachi into a sweat, the man laid there in his fatigued state. The dirt was colder than the still air. As he lay there, he could hear someone approaching, but didn't bother moving. They did not seem hostile in their movements. He decided it was best to play dead anyway, but that didn't work either! He felt a foot hit at his side and opened on eye. He turned his attention up toward a green haired woman, but was in the oddest position. One eye was under her skirt, the other was looking directly up at her. He froze, his eyes wide in shock. They were plaid red with black, very cute, and feminine. He couldn't help but stare; he was a man after all! But this was wrong.

The green haired woman tossed a roll onto his chest and he instinctively caught it. His face quickly tomatoed and he rolled away from her in a panic. Sitting up, he put his hands over his head hoping that he wasn't going to get hit, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to look! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Realizing he had the roll in his hand, he brought it into his sights and blinked a couple times. A moment later, that roll was gone. He chewed a couple times and swallowed that thing practically whole and without taking any time at all. "Thank you so much!" he said as he felt the bread hit the pit of his stomach, "I don't have any money, otherwise I would have bought some food before now."

"I'm Shinpachi, by the way." he stood up and stepped over to the woman with a giant smile on his face and a hand held out, "You're nice for helpin' me out, ya know? Thank ya! So what's a pretty woman like yourself doing out here? Ya headin' into a town or somethin'? Nothin' in that direction for a long, long, long time. You sure you want to go that way? Might not be too safe." He pointed back the direction she seemed to be going, which happened to be where he had come from.

"Aila, huh? Nice name." Shinpachi's energetic and friendly demeanor was something that often caught the eye of most people. He was usually able to make friends and earn people's trust with it. He was a trustworthy man, strong, and loyal. Anyone who met him understood it and agreed, but this woman was different. Shinpachi kept up his friendly demeanor because that was who he was, but when he was near her there was something very off. He almost felt like something was trying to make him feel depressed. He didn't like it at all and when he looked into those crimson colored eyes, he could tell she didn't either. There was a heavy sadness that weighed this woman down; he could tell. When he first sensed and realized it was there, he felt his own heart sink.

"Hm..." was his first reply when she spoke of itenerary. He hadn't heard anyone really use that word, but he could guess what it meant. She wasn't very nice, was she? He was trying to be friendly and kind, but he could tell she was pushing him away. The woman just began walking away. As he did, he felt the need to reach out to her, but actually hesitated. It was like something changed him for a moment. It was a flash of white and red and the devastating rumble of shaking earth. He turned away from the woman and walked in the opposite direction down the path. He felt a cold sweat coming on, but at the same time his stomach started to hurt again. It wasn't him being hungry, no. It was him feeling guilty about turning away from a woman that looked so sad.

He stopped and turned back. She was gone. He had fallen into his own thoughts for a few minutes. Shinpachi sighed and shook his head harshly. "Agh! What am I doing?!" Shinpachi began running back in the woman's direction and was off to find her. He had to thank her some how, right? Walking away when she was kind enough to give him food was not the way Shinpachi usually acted. As he ran along, he felt this strange shiver slither up his spine. He stopped for a moment and looked around. A small breeze suddenly picked up, cooling his skin enough to feel comfortable. The fiery devil in the sky wasn't bothering him. A good or bad omen? He didn't know. "Shit..." his energetic demeanor lessened and he started after her again, increasing his pace to find her quickly.

"Agh... Where'd she go?" Shinpachi asked himself. There had been a fork in the road back there, so thoughts of him going the wrong direction passed through his mind. He scratched the back of his head and looked left to right a couple times, wondering if he should turn back the other direction. "That scream..." Shinpachi looked back down the path he had chosen to take. He had just heard a feminine scream coming from not too far ahead. It had to be her! Shinpachi picked up the pace, knowing the woman must have needed help if she screamed like that. "Aila!?" he came to the newly broken bridge and looked downward. She had fallen, he knew it. He looked down river and could barely see the shine of red and green appearing and disappearing under the harsh rapids.

"No, no, no!" Shinpachi ran along the cliff side as fast as he could. The river was rushing downwards, the mountain they were on began turning into a steep hill which allowed him to move faster, though he had to be careful not to trip. Shinpachi kept a good eye on her, but it was difficult when dodging the terrain. He lept over a log, weaved in and out of a few trees, and almost fell in when certain parts of the ground almost gave way under him. "Damn it!" he cursed at himself, his heart beginning to race when he realized that the woman might really drown if he didn't hurry his ass up. He decided this terrain was just too much and hopped off the side of the cliff. Shinpachi didn't hit the water though. Instead, the earth of the cliff came out and created a path he could follow.

"Hold on..." he thought to himself as she was able to grab onto a rock. With how slippery those things were after being worn down by the water, holding onto them might have been a little more than difficult. As he ran, he caught sight of what looked like the end of the line too. The water became rougher as it reached it's edge. The fall was coming. Luckily, Shinpachi was close enough to get her now. All he needed was some sort of plan that would work without him falling in right after her.

To get to Aila, Shinpachi created a bridge made of stone and dirt. It was compacted together quickly and reached out just over her. He made it high enough that other debris from the river shouldn't have been able to reach it to easily. Unfortunately, he was wrong and it made it difficult to easily rescue her. He could hear an incoming log crashing onto previous rocks as the rushing river sent it flying in their direction. He needed to get her out of there now. He lowered himself, laying down on the quickly made bridge and reached out for her. If he had moved any further, the two of them would both have fallen in. "Come on, reach!" he said quickly, his tone worried for both of their survival. "Almost there!" he said as there hands got closer, but they couldn't reach.

"Damn it!" He said angrily and looked back toward the log. At that moment, he heard the bridge he created to get to her begin to crack and felt the earth beneath him shift. When he looked back toward her, she was holding out some strange umbrella thing that looked rather flimsy. She told him to grab it and he didn't hesitate. He grabbed the parasol tighly, feeling a few of the thin pieces of wood break beneath his hand. He pulled her up with all of his strength, feeling the bridge beginning to give way even more. His strength was luckily quite high, so when he pulled on her, she practically glided up from the water and into his arms. Shinpachi wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her bridal style, and keeping her stable as the log slammed into the already crumbling bridge.

"Agh..." he struggled to regain his footing, but was able to as part of the bridge broke off from under his foot. He ran along the bridge as it was breaking, all of the dirt and rock falling into the rampaging river below. As they came to the end, Shinpachi jumped onto the stable side of the cliff and landed on one knee. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Standing up, keeping the woman he practically felt was weightless in his arms as he looked over the side of the cliff. "Close one..." he said calmly and stepped back away from the edge. Once they were a safe distance from danger, Shinpachi looked to Aila and gave a soft smile. The smile was much different than before; it was soft and a lot less goofy than the one she saw when the two met. Also, he did not let her down.

"How badly are you hurt?" Shinpachi asked in a soothing tone. When he wasn't hyper, his voice was lower, deep, and much more mature. He didn't even ask about if she was okay; he knew she was not. She was hurt and would likely need medical attention. "Before you ask, no..." he said as he walked the two of them toward a path he could see through the trees, "I won't let you down, yet. I'd rather you not hurt yourself more because you wanted to walk..." As they came to the road, Shinpachi decided it would be best to follow the direction of the river, so he went down the path toward Bayfalls. "Once we find a town or somewhere to rest... I'll look for a doctor..." he told her as they came to a sign that pointed them in the right direction, "For now, please... Just rest yourself."

She fell asleep. Shinpachi noticed this quickly. Her body relaxed in his arms and her breathing calmed. He could only smile. He walked along the worn dirt path until he finally came to Bayfalls. Although it was called a village, it was large, prosperous, and more like a town. The town sat at the base of a three hundred foot tall cliff, right off the edge of the lake that the waterfall fell into. Some of the town was built into the side of the cliff, but most of it was built on the flat ground surrounding the water. The buildings are made of stone and wood. The people of Bayfalls are strong and hard workers. This place is known for it's master craftsman and carpenters. As Shinpachi made it into the village, the first thing he decided to do was ask for directions toward the inn; whatever one he'd be able to afford.

He arrived and gave up the last pieces of silver he had to get a room; there was a bathroom with a small shower and one bed. It was all the poor guy could afford and that meant he didn't have any money for food! As he stepped into the room, the innkeeper being kind and quiet enough to lead him there without waking the sleeping woman, he gently laid her down on the bed and requested a doctor or healer after explaining the waterfall incident. The innkeeper nodded and left, leaving Shinpachi and Aila there to wait. He covered her up to keep her warm and sat on the floor next to the bed. He faced her and watched for a bit, not knowing what else to do, but soon felt he was falling asleep. He tried to stay awake, but failed and his body leaned forward until his head met the side of the mattress and he fell asleep. His body slouched forward and his face mushed into the side of the mattress.

And yes, after a few minutes of sleep, Shinpachi would begin to snore...