I open my eyes to see a burnt out fire and Kuronue sprawled out on the other side of the fire pit. I yawn, my throat burning and raw. I go to rub it, but my arm is stuck, on what turns out to be Yoko's arms. One of his arms is locked around my waist, then the other under my neck and draped across to my shoulder. I sink back into his warmth, the cool cave floor suddenly offensive to touch. I clear my throat trying to settle the scratching and the hacking inside, but I know the only thing that will help is some water. But, with a nearly seven foot demon clinging to me, I know it is nearly impossible when he is asleep. Though he is just as impossible awake, I groan in my head, rolling my eyes. Running away from him and Kuronue would be just as impossible. Squirming out of Yoko's arms, snatching my stuff from Kuronue then fleeing in a place strange to me reeks of disaster, and I cannot help Mimi, Jazz, and Haku if I end up six feet under. As much as I would hate to admit it, I am going to need Yoko's help if I want to help them.
"Yoko," I start, rocking against his chest with my shoulder. Nothing. I rock harder, making his arm fall from around my shoulder. He stirs slightly his arm around my waist loosening. I squeeze out of his grasp and scramble to my feet, stretching and brushing the stones and pebbles out off my hair. I stroll over to the mouth of the cave and suck in the warm sun. From the looks of it, it was a light rain last night because most of the earth had been dried by the high afternoon sun. The spray from the waterfall keeps me cool as I stand, looking out along the spring. After a time I walk to the spring itself to wash my feet and take a drink. The soft pull of the current relaxes my feet as I soak them and wash them of all the dirt from the chase last night. Sitting on a dry rock, my arms are around my knees, my chin resting on them.
"Jak, what are you doing out here?" I hear as I glance to see Yoko, sleepy-eyed and bed-headed.
"Relaxing a tad bit," I answer with a slight yawn. Yoko walks over and sits on the bank next to me, his long fingers in his silver hair. "You look good with bed-head," I tease the fox as I reach for his ear. He smirks sidelong at me.
"Coming from you, that doesn't mean much," he says as he ruffles my hair again. I push him away playfully but he pushes my hand aside, a different kind of playful in his deep eyes. Oh great, I groan mentally, but Yoko backs off to wash his face. I quirk an eyebrow up at him, confused, but appreciate a moment to catch my breath from our rough housing. I look up at the sky through the thin blanket of leaves in the canopy. They seem to stretch the light as it beams visibly through the air. "Jak," Yoko starts and I look back to him. "Seeing that you have a fine set of throwing knives, I would only have to wonder why you have them," he offers. I stare at him a moment longer, then turn away, my eyes back on the leaves above. Silence builds a wall between us. I feel long fingers snake around my arm. Their grip tightens and I snap my eyes back at Yoko. "I asked you a question," he lowly says.
"Am I inclined to answer?" I retort, prying his fingers from me.
"I did save your life," he reminds me and I scoff, knowing it myself.
"After putting it in danger," I continue, not about to let him win.
"You know I wasn't only talking about the poison," he growls, his fingers now around my chin. I couldn't look away from him and it only made me want to more. I flick my chin out of his grasp and stand up, Yoko only a second behind me. "You owe me not only your life, but your freedom. All I am asking is about your weapons! Is there something deep and dark about you Jak? Because that's how you're making it seem!" he shouts, his eyes pouring into mine.
"Everything alright Yoko?" Kuronue calls to them, his eyes still slits from the drowsiness sitting on his eyelids.
"Kuronue has come to your rescue one too many times," he growls, his eyes dangerous. "We're leaving for town Kuronue. Stay here and watch over everything. We'll leave for home once we get back." Yoko grabs my elbow and drags me down the road forcefully.
"We don't even have shoes Yoko, Kuronue's not going to buy that," I growl trying to find a way to postpone alone time with Yoko. I have secrets for a reason and I'm not going to tell some fox demon who thinks he owns me and my freedom.
"He knows we're not going to town," Yoko remarks and I frown, my feet still trying to keep up with Yoko as he drags me away from the cave. After ten minutes into the forest, Yoko throws me in front of him against a tree. I feel the vines sliver around my wrist and joints, holstering me to the thick tree. Yoko sits on a chair of leaves and flowers, his eyes on my furious face. "We'll stay here until you tell me what your story is." I stare at him. How insufferable.
What feels like an eternity has passed and I am still stuck to this damn tree. The sun was starting to set before I take a deep breath.
"My father was a blacksmith," I start, gaining Yoko's attention. "He served under the last emperor of the western lands after being spared in a rebellion because of his skill. My father had fallen in love with one of the maidens in the castle. Then I came along. The prince of the house had his eyes set on me as we grew up. And when I told my father of the affection, he immediately made my throwing knives and taught me had to make them and use them. After the execution of my mother and father, I was alone and the prince had no one to stop him." I feel the scar on my hip itch and burn. I lift my eyes to Yoko's to see him intrigued. His tail was still and his ears perked, ready to hear more. I take another breath and continue.
"He wouldn't stop touching me when he would catch me in the courtyard, taking care of the gardens. Until the death of my parents, I was the groundskeeper because the gardens were below the prince's suite," I hiss. I blink away the tears from my eyes. "I picked up my father's duty. Until one day, everything changed. I had… been pushed too far. I burnt down my father's shop and the gardens and I had seduced and murdered the prince. By the time the king had dealt with the spreading fires, his son had been dead for an hour and I was long gone. I ran for days until I collapsed from exhaustion. I woke up in an infirmary and my bill had been paid by Miss Ryo. From that day until yesterday, I was there waiting for the day I would have my first customer, kill him, then escape once again. But I made friends, the closest thing to family I had again." The vines retract and I slide down the tree. I feel Yoko's eyes on me then hear his pedestal shift. His shadow grows and he sits next to me, his arms slivering around my waist, his head resting on mine.
I feel his breath on my ear, his fingers caressing my hips. With all the emotions flying around in my head, I couldn't find the energy to fight him. That was the first time I've thought about, let alone talked about why I was at the brothel. My mind was everywhere except in the present. Yoko pulls me closer to him, his hands cupping my side and hip. I feel his warmth against my right side and I turn into him. He kisses between my ears and nuzzles into my hair. I take in a deep breath and allow myself to relax. Though, it is considerably hard to do since I'm in the arms of someone who had bought my company less than a day ago.
"Now was that so hard?" Yoko jokes as he caresses my neck gently. I scoff, but don't move from his touch. This asshole was being nice for a change, might as well take advantage of that. "Is the kingdom still after you?" Yoko asks as his long fingers trail down my neck. Goosebumps rush to my arms and I shiver slightly. I shrug. "How do you not know?"
"I haven't seen them for months, that's how," I retort, the tone in his voice getting under my skin. Patronizing me, I'm not a child. I take a peek at Yoko to see his eyes bright and mischievous, though not the same animalistic tint as he had before. He's silent for a while, at least until he notices me staring at him, eyebrow quirked. "What're you planning Fox?"
"You'll find out in due time Jak," he purrs, his eyes beaming once again. He pulls my chest to his and steals a quick kiss. He starts to lean back and I put my arms down beside his head to catch myself has he pulls me with him. I end up straddling him, my short kimono riding up to my hips. His hands are immediately on my exposed thighs and I gasp, struggling against him. The ground under my hands softens and they sink in, only for the ground to cake back up, trapping my hands inside.
"Yoko, stop doing that!" I yell, grinding my forehead to his, growling. He grunts then head-butts me and I whimper from the headache I feel rattling behind my eyes. His hands slink around my neck and lower back and he pulls me closer, kissing me with more force this time. Roots wrap around behind my knee, keeping my pelvis to his. "How can you be horny after I told you I killed someone?" I argue, trying to buy time to think about how to escape my earthy shackles.
"It gets my blood pumping," he answers, his cool hands tracing up and down my body. He kisses me passionately, scratching the back of my thighs when I stop kissing back. Taking his time, he caresses his way to my butt and squeezes it, taking advantage of my gasp to slip his tongue to battle mine. And then, he suddenly stops. The earth releases me and I stand up immediately, Yoko standing and lifting his nose. "Kuronue's coming with your stuff," Yoko says as he walks towards the sunset. Before long we see Kuronue flying above us and he lands quickly, throwing me my knives and care-package. His arm is bleeding slightly with several cuts along it.
"Two elemental demons attacked about ten minutes ago; one fire and one darkness. Coming this way, and they're looking for blood," Kuronue rushes out as I fasten my throws into my kimono. I grab my bundle of things and take off, Yoko and Kuronue directly behind me.
"I thought there wasn't anyone after you Jak?" Yoko asks as we run.
"So did I Yoko," I call back to them. I jump over a trip wire setting it off with a stone. Yoko and Kuronue set off others as we run along. We start to hear voices around us, and I look to Yoko for directions.
"Kuronue and I will scout above; you stay here on the ground level." He steps closer to me and takes my chin in his nimble fingers. "If you try to run, we'll hunt you down Jak - you are mine," he growls intensely and I snarl in return. Yoko and Kuronue rise up to and beyond the canopy as I crouch, sneaking from tree to tree and scouting for more demons. A few minutes pass and I haven't heard form Yoko or Kuronue, let alone seen them. I stand up and I feel fire fly into my back. Yelling out, I jump and roll into a bush, grabbing a throwing knife from my kimono. I sneak carefully through the brush, my eyes scanning for a fire demon. I spot him, slowly walking out of cover and I flick the knife effortlessly to him. It hits him right between the eyes and he falls quickly to the ground. I run over and grab my throwing knife just in time to dodge a punch from the shadow demon. He vaporizes and reappears behind me, twisting my arm behind my back and grabbing another throwing knife to hold to my neck. Sometimes I really wished I was a demon.
"I assume you are Jaklyn," the demon hisses, the knife piercing my skin. I growl and thrash my arms, trying to throw him off of me. I manage to grasp the handle of another knife and I flick it to his thigh. He grunts, pushing me away. I feel the cool metal slide along my neck followed by a painful tingle guiding warm blood. The demon pulls the knife out of his thigh with a loud growl and throws both of the knives at me. I dodge the one and the other nicks my hip. I snarl at the demon, rushing at him with ferocity, tackling him into a tree my finertips digging into his throat and jaw. He gargles, flailing to free himself.
"Jak!" I hear Yoko yell and I glance over my shoulder to see the bat and the fox. Suddenly, I feel an intense pain in my stomach. I gasp and double over. The shadow demon twists the knife and pushes my momentarily paralyzed body. I crash to the ground, the impact deepening the wound. I gasp shallowly for air, each breath stinging. I hear a quick whip of air and a loud thump, followed by quickening footsteps.
"Jak, just hang on okay?" Kuronue coos as I feel his cool fingers on my forehead. I see Yoko's bright eyes squinting at me. I gasp more and more, my eyes drifting shut. Within a second I can smell roses and I feel a quick jerk of the knife followed by my scream. "Yoko, just calm down." Silence. Tears flow from my eyes and I whimper as someone applies pressure. Another pair of hands cups my face and I open my eyes to see Yoko's stern eyes pouring into mine.
"Yoko," I cough out, the emotion in his eyes scaring me. They looked offended and harsh.
"Shut up," he barks while his hands withdraw. Within a few minutes he has green slimy goo that he rubs over the deep wound. "Just lay there for a few minutes." I try and focus on the leaves above me, the dancing branches blending the greens dotting the sunset. The numbing sting passes after a minute and I close my eyes, taking deeper breaths trying to clear my spinning head.
"How are you feeling?" I hear Kuronue whisper and I open one eye to send him a sarcastic look. "From all the blood loss, you'll probably feel weak and lightheaded."
"If she would've just been careful instead of being careless and stupid," Yoko growls.
"Back off Fox," I retort, sitting up quickly. I ignore the sharp sting of my stomach and I stand, snatching my knives from the ground. I feel Yoko's long fingers wrap around my shoulder and I flinch. I turn to see green goo on Yoko's face, covering a long red line. Kuronue has the same gunk on his arms. "I never asked for you to help me or fight my battles."
"You inconsiderate, unthankful bitch," Yoko yells, pushing me against a tree. I see Kuronue give me a look of pity, but he turns his back to me. The green slime is on his wings. Guilt pulses through my veins, fueling the anger my eyes kindled. Yoko slams up against me as I try to get away from him. "If you want to die so quickly, you will never save anyone," he lowly says. My stomach stings with the truth and his violent gestures. Darkness clusters the edges of my vision as I begin to topple over. Yoko's firm arms catch me, leaning me against the tree. "Kuronue, take Jak to the nearest hotel while I get her some clothes." I'm swept off my feet and exchanged from the fox to the bat. Yoko takes off after handing me my things with a careless toss and Kuronue takes flight. Before my fear of heights consumes me, I feel exhaustion pulling me into its embrace.