Genre(s): Adventure, Romance, Humor, Action,...
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own G.I JOE and its characters, they belong to their rightful owner(s), the wonderful people who form the childhood of hundreds and give imagination to thousands. Thank you all for your efforts. I only own my humble story and my characters.
Warning(s): Might have OOC, considering we can't get our hands on the comics or find many useful links (dramatically wipe tears). Also, Canon x OC alerted, be warned.
Pairing(s): Snake Eyes / Scarlett ; Storm Shadow / OC ; Lifeline / OC (minor)
Summary:
COBRA is not the only predator. There's a storm coming, and sailing with the winds are greater threats than one could simply imagine. And when the storm comes, they're all but tiny, vulnerable ants...
But then again, in the end, one single ant can change a lot of thing.
Prologue:
Before Bad News Come
The dark-haired man was still fast asleep when the sky started to shift. Which was a good thing. I didn't want his delirium to take over after so many events, especially when his wounds were just burnt. All the weapons had been tucked away, but I know better than to strip him naked of armory. It would scratch not only his narcissistic ego but my neck as well. I played careful this time and put his swords between his legs and my knees, their hilts turned away from him. In the worst scenario, I could at least buy myself a few seconds that guarantee the intact of my skin and veins. I doubt he could ever move half as fast as I do, being in such a state, but who knows. Storm Shadow has always been an unpredictably fatal man.
It's not long before the pats of rain drops and soft creaks of winds forced their way through window gaps reached. I turned at a window high above and admired the silver lights reflected by the rain. It must be dark by now.
Rain. Night rain. What nostalgia. I chuckled at the wandering thought and rested my head back on the wall. It felt cool and damped on my shoulders; probably because of the rain. I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythmical drops before a slight movement drew my attention. I cautiously stole a glance of his face. Despite the frown that deepened between his fine eyebrows, he seemed sound and remained unstirred by the motions of the weather. I heaved a relieved sigh.
Chugged down a mouthful of rice wine, I unwrapped the bandages on my fingers and examined my hands. They were doing good, even though a piece of ice would work miracle at the moment. The burns weren't all that bad so I left them as they were and checked my ribs. A sudden throb prevented me from actually doing anything I had in mind. Even if I hadn't had seven broken bones, my bruised lungs would have done a fine job ruining me badly. And then there're the headaches. I couldn't figure out how or when had it become the most irritating thing above all, but wine and nose-pinching apparently didn't do the trick.
"...Sensei."
The jerking and quaking of muscles followed his mumble indicated he was having some kind of bad dream. I realized I was half-crawling to his side the moment his breath started to jam.
"Hey, Storm. Wake up." I carefully took his hand, not daring to go any further. I switched to Japanese and whispered in a soft, calming tone after receiving no visible responds. "Arashikage, just calm down. Hey."
Without any warning, Storm Shadow's eyes flashed open and his fingers locked on my wrist tightly. The look on his face was wild and I myself was too familiar with that look. It was a look of a lost person who's yet to wake up from their nightmares. "No!" I screamed, but it was too late.
I only saw a flash of white before it hit me and I was thrown down the ground. There wasn't even time to cry over little pain as he was towering me by the second heart beat. His forearm grinded tightly on my throat and his other arm efficiently kept both my arms and shoulders in place on the floor, his acute, intense glare inches from my face. I groaned, but the sheer force he put in forbade me from even swallowing. I fought not to struggle as that would even fuel his outburst more.
"Storm!" I cried but he didn't seem to hear me. He only saw what his delirious dream had laid out in front of him. "Storm Shadow!"
My head started to spin as black dots began appearing in my vision. I kicked the air in desperate attempt to free myself then noticed his knees were framing on the sides of my hip, leaving my legs unrestrained. If he were in his right mind or truly had intention to kill me, Storm Shadow would realize what a fatal mistake that was. I gathered my strength and every bits of will left, curled my legs bellow his stomach and delivered a blunt kick that's enough to send him back. The moment he let loose, I rolled onto him and framed him the way he previously did with his legs under my knees, however much less force was put in as well as killing intent. His hand broke free from my grasp easily and flew to my neck, all five fingers curled around my neck viciously as he clenched his teeth in a growl.
"Damn it, Arashikage." I snarled and pounded his shoulder, "Snap out of it! We don't have time for this!"
Apparently recognized his own name, Storm Shadow slowly blinked and his hand slid slowly down my arm. I immediately sucked in breathes, grateful even if the fusty-smelled air left a strange bitter taste at the end of my tongue. My muscles were screaming but I remained where I was, not letting go until the wildness in his eyes completely faded and his body relented underneath. Only then I rolled over, lying in a pose similar to him and gasped heavily.
After a moment, Storm Shadow brushed a hand down his face and wiped away the cold sweats on his forehead. "What happened?"
"We got intimate." I drily mocked, quirking him a judgmental eyebrow. Regardless, I pulled myself up and ran a hand over his forehead. "Fever." I concluded, guided him back against the wall. Storm Shadow went along with me without complaints for once and rested his head back. "Headaches." He declared and I gave him an understanding nod. We silently proceeded to check each other's wounds. His didn't seem to worsen, and the kick I threw moments before only seemed to leave a minor bruise. Storm Shadow tucked my hair back to examine the gash on my temple then got the compresses and soaked them with wine to clean the wound.
"How are the burns?" He asked, gestured at my fingers. "Better." I stated, tried sitting still while he treat the gash.
Storm Shadow appeared to take notice of my ribs as he gripped them tightly when I refused to let him check my torso injury. "God damned it!" I hissed, shrugged off his hands with a fierce jerk. "You." Finally I spat, having regained enough strength to steer a glare at the young man. He didn't spend time waiting for my reaction but instead had forced me down in his previous spot since God knows when. He unsubtly rolled my shirts up and the sudden loss of clothes made me shudder; it has got chillier than I thought.
"It takes some time." I sighed, gave up in trying to sit up or even protest. "It seems." Said he then planted himself in my previous spot. The young man patted my legs in a 'go to sleep' motion then pulled the bottle of rice wine in his lap, drinking while massaging his head. "I can't." I admitted after a while. When he turned and look at me I simply added, "Adrenaline." but remained lying as he passed me the bottle. I took delicate sips this time.
"You could have run." He asked quietly, "Why didn't you?"
I closed my eyes as memories crept back. Sounds, thoughts, screams, nothing stayed whole as I reached out for them. I wished I could at least feel something about that. "I made a gambled turn when I was lost, I think."
"What's the plan now?" Noticed the swords I put between us, Storm Shadow pulled it into his lap and rested it on his shoulder. "Well?"
"We stay for a few days. Then move." I ran through the mental list of safe houses I've got in the area. Most became COBRA's properties after I turned in, so those were technically hanging death traps I'd rather not touching. I could contact a few karimas[1] in the city, but those who have a sensible head and a healthy sense of self-protection would give us a very wide berth- if they weren't the ones who're sent to collect our cold corpses. Then again, it's not like I know a lot of sane people. "I know a woman we can go to, an old employer. Crafty, but good with promises. She owes me some small favors back then."
Sort of, I added mentally and heaved a small sigh.
"You always make things sound lots less complicated than they truly are." He commented ambivalently, chucking.
"What great recognition, thank you." I muttered while adjusting my position so that I didn't put too much pressure on either side. Storm Shadow nudged me in the leg again and eased his head on his shoulder, his eyes shut quietly. I sighed but did the same even though I knew sleeps wouldn't come that easy.
My mind swirled with thoughts and questions as I listened to his even breaths, feeling restless despite my obvious exhaustion. I knew if I wanted any rest that night, I must at least set things straight in my head. Breathed in deeply and slowly to calm myself, I started looking through my memories and reaching out for whatever bits and pieces I could recall. Before I could put out this fire in my chest, I must first find the spark that started it all.
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