Chapter 3: Stupid Arrow
Suri paused as the door to the old building that she and Rachel had nearly been killed in only a few hours before. Kaito looked at her quizzically. "You're not scared, are you?" he teased softly.
"No way!" she laughed a little too quickly. "Come on." she shoved the doors open and stepped inside with Kaito a step behind her. The crowd of Mahna was still there. They seemed to enjoy having competitions of who could let wounds fester the longest. The crowd looked up at the sound of the door.
"Well look who it is!" someone jeered. "It's the brat who needed daddy's help! Aw, who's this? Her boyfriend?" Suri glared angrily at the speaker.
"Where's that kid?" she demanded curtly. Someone shoved him forward. He still had the arrow in his arm, clearly having been competing in the 'festering wound' game.
"I'll get it." Kaito said cheerfully, walking forward quickly.
"Kaito!" Suri spat, alarmed.
"Yes, Ma'am?" he smiled back at her, stopping his movements.
"First, don't call me that, I hate that." she growled.
"It's what your father told us to call you when away from the clan. I'm not about to ignore his orders." Kaito responded.
"I don't care. Don't call me that. Second, do you know much about archery?" she inquired as if this were an everyday conversation, and they were not being stared at by ten pairs of hostile eyes.
"No, I'm afraid I don't. I'm not a warrior." he grinned.
"Then get back here. You'll damage the shaft and probably the arrow head. Now let me do it," she said, walking forward. She stopped next to him. "Kaito." she said very softly, making sure that the crowd of onlookers could not hear.
"Hmm?" he responded, looking at her from the corner of his eye. A smile still rested on his lips, but his eyes showed her he was serious and tense.
"If anything happens to me, get yourself out. That's an order." she muttered.
"But I took an oath to your f-"
"That's an order! Understand?" she interrupted fiercely.
"Understood." he said softly, giving a small nod of his head. She looked forward again, walking towards the man.
"Disarm yourself so we know that you will not be stupid." the man said flatly. She glared at him, but took her quiver off of her shoulder, tossing it back to Kaito who caught it with one hand. Again, she started towards the man. "I said disarm yourself." he hissed threateningly. Suri rolled her eyes, but lifted her foot, drawing the long dagger from her boot, and skidding it along the ground back to Kaito. She glowered at the man, and continued towards him. Walking up to him, she kept her eyes locked on his, ready for any sudden movements.
"Do not move." she said slowly, beginning to work the arrow out of his arm. Eventually, she freed it from its place in his arm.
"Suri!" Kaito's voice rang through the air too late. She cried out in startled pain as a sharp pain shot through her from the small of her back.
"I thought you'd want both of them back." a man laughed from beside her. Suri heard three long low whistles come from Kaito through her wavering hearing.
"No, I am not all right!" she snapped at the communicated question. Kaito appeared at her side as her knees buckled underneath her. Even through the hazing vision, she knew that he had not run over to her. He had physically appeared beside her out of will. "What did you..." she trailed off, startled. "I gave you... an order... Kaito Yurushi... get out!" she gasped, crying out in pain as he picked her off the ground.
"Sorry, Chief. As long as you're alive, that's one order I'm ignoring." he huffed, running for the exit. She saw the doors close behind them as she finally slipped into unconsciousness.