CHAPTER FOUR: WARMING UP AND COOLING DOWN
Kaze woke slowly, feeling extremely warm. Dim light illuminated the living room, and she realized she was on the couch. A fire blazed in the wood-burning stove, and several blankets were tucked around her. There were so many blankets, she couldn't have moved if she'd wanted to.
'How did I get here? Did Neko get me out? How was I found? Who knew?' she wondered, feeling light-headed and ultimately drained. Her eyelids were heavy, but she urged herself to stay awake.
"Kaze? Yeh awake?" came a male, Irish-accented voice. One she only barely knew.
"You...You're the one guy...Jin..." the girl muttered, her voice weak and painful.
"Aye. Here, drink this. Neko said it'll help yer throat." the wind master said, putting a hand beneath her shoulders and sitting her up. The girl cringed in agony, no doubt sore from her introductions with the boulders and swirling waters that had held her captive for who knows how long. Kaze felt a straw-like object slide into her mouth, and she weakly sucked hot tea from the cup. After a few minutes, Jin carefully laid her back down, setting the empty cup on the table. Afterwords, he disappeared up the stairs.
For a few moments there was only the soft sounds of the fire crackling, the clocks ticking time slowly away, and faint rustlings as Jin rummaged through the closet upstairs. He came back down after a few minutes, carrying a small bundle Kaze instantly recognized to be her clothing, bandages, and other medical supplies. The girl's mind back-tracked when she thought about the clothing.
'Wait. Why does he have my clothing? Where's Neko? Why is he helping me? Why isn't Neko helping?' she pondered, before noticing Jin was removing the blankets. As the last one slid off her body, Kaze realized with a nasty shock that she was almost completely undressed. Her shirt and pants had been removed, and her undergarments were all that garbed her. Panicking, she tried to move away. But Jin placed his hands at her throat. Kaze expected him to strangle her. But then he began massaging her neck, making her even sleepier than before.
'Wha-what's he doing to me? Where is Neko? Why is she letting him do this? Why is she allowing this to happen? I-I don't even really know this guy.' she thought, before the overpowering trance of sleep captured her, dragging her slowly into a distant time and place.
NIGHTMARE:
As she woke, darkness flooded her already dimmed vision. A pressure on her back and cold slabs of metal about her wrists reminded the girl where she was, even though her sight wouldn't allow her to see it. A damp, cold chill on her body and the choking, horrid scent of blood, vomit and rotting flesh confirmed it with expert discomfort. Heavy footsteps and clanking chains filled the air with a dreaded sound of fear, and screams echoed throughout the towering building Kaze could've sworn was the true equivalent of hell.
Rough hands seized her by the shoulders, and smaller, quicker hands undid her shackles. Kaze's eyes opened wide; this could only mean one thing. And she'd be damned if she allowed that to occur.
The man behind her grunted in agony as Kaze did the only thing she could think to do. As he cupped his hands over the injured area, releasing her bruised shoulders, the girl ran towards Neko's chamber. And the nearest exit.
Thundering down the halls of the Demon Slave Trade's confined, hulking building, Kaze began wondering. Wondering how the hell she'd get Neko freed. Asking herself how they could escape. This wasn't day-care; not by a long shot. Entranced by thought, she failed to notice the staircase, and tumbled less than gracefully into the wall at the bottom. Rubbing her nose where it had collided with the cold, mildew-coated brick wall, she regained her feet and resumed frantically running to her friend's hell-hole.
Three more collisions with walls, two encounters with the dusty, earthen floor, and six staircases later, Kaze arrived at her first destination. She knew it because of the change in temperature. It was colder here, about 26 degrees. Stepping quietly towards the door, Kaze whispered.
"Neko...Neko...Neko?"
A small whimper told Kaze what was wrong. And that was all it took for Kaze to blast the steel door down with a gust of wind and jump in flailing like a wildcat.
Upon Neko, straddling her hips, was a young male demon. He was naked, sweating and large, while the poor girl was crushed beneath him. The only thing that helped Neko's situation was the fact that she was still dressed. Miserable, but dressed.
A quick slice to the throat and the demon was dead, and the two girls were rushing out the building. They'd tried to escape multiple times before, and so they knew where to hide and where not to even go. And finally, they were out.
Outside, a cold, fierce wind blew strong and unrelenting. Snow clouded their vision, and cold stung them to the bones. In front of them was a small hill, and upon that hill were two figures...
END NIGHTMARE
Kaze shot forward, forcing herself into a sitting position and instantly aggravating her wounds. Her body was coated with a cold sweat, and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She was still on the couch near the fire, and blankets were piled at the end. As she calmed down, closing her widened, hazel eyes, she lifted a hand and placed it at the base of her neck. The familiar chain and Celtic pendent she'd worn for most of her life greeted her fingertips, assuring her she was still together with her element. For her Celtic cross wasn't an everyday cross. No. Hers was special.
Her trembling fingers traced the cool metal, petting the wings and sword attached to her one-of-a-kind Celtic cross. The same details were traced by larger, rougher hands on her back, and the girl snapped out of her slight trance to see who was touching her. She was greeted by silver eyes and calm words.
"Bad dream, eh?" asked a demon male with white hair. Kaze knew him instantly from past experiences.
"Kasumi..." Kaze sighed, looking about to see Neko, Touya, Taki, Kanaria and Jin huddled near her. The white-haired demon stroking her back regained Kaze's attention by placing a hand under her chin and tilting her head, exposing her scarred neck. A knew injury wound itself down her neck, criss-crossing with others.
"...Jin, was it? Come here." Kasumi ordered, examining the wounds Kaze had sustained and coaxing her to remain sitting. The wind master slowly obeyed, and sat beside the doctor.
"All right. Hold this," Kasumi said, handing Jin a hot towel, "and place it on her back where the rock pierced through. I'll see what the damage is to her leg."
"Her leg? What happened to it?" Kanaria asked. The doctor studied the limb in question, then looked up at the group. He glanced at the leg, then to Kaze (who looked quite confused), and finally, he squeezed it. Hard.
Kaze howled in pain as waves of agony traveled from the ankle the doctor had touched to her hip, and tried to clutch the injured area. However, Kasumi wouldn't allow her.
As the ailing girl squirmed, attempting to rid herself of the irritation to her wounded leg, Kasumi held her still. It wasn't an easy task, and it made Jin's job of clearing the blood from the thrashing girl just that much harder. Taki and Touya, though worried, allowed a few giggles to escape as they watched the wind master struggling to hold a much younger girl still. And an injured one at that. However, they became quiet and serious again as the doctor silently showed that he wished to speak.
"Clearly, you need to stay off of this leg until it heals. Which will also allow you time to heal your other wounds." he said sternly, binding the troublesome leg tightly.
"Aye. Some things I've seen, but never a load of injuries like these, lass." Jin nodded, wiping the old blood from Kaze's back gently and applying bandages. He kept tugging at part of her outfit, which made her wonder...
"Luckily Kasumi was home. Jin did good, but your wounds are very bad." Taki stated, drawing her attention back to the main topic. Kanaria stood beside her, glaring at the disabled girl on the couch.
"And fortunately Jin and Touya were able to save you, Kaze." Neko added, sitting next to the ice master. Touya and Neko both looked worried.
Kaze, not enjoying all the unwanted attention, focused on another matter again...
'What did Jin dress me in?' she pondered, daring to look at the attire she now wore. Sure, she wore tank tops...but halter-tops? And a skirt? She didn't know she had such items. But at least they were black.
"All right...One final order, Kaze. Stay in bed, do not move more than you have to. Minimal movement. Jin, I want you to make sure that she follows those, got it?" Kasumi mumbled, looking the two directly in the eyes. They nodded, though the girl was more hesitant.
"Good."