For Your Love
By: Kristall
A/N: I will now refer to Shan Feng as just Shan. Same person though!
Chapter 4: Newly Mortal
The same day that Tasuki wound up with a daughter, Shan finally woke up after going through the process of becoming mortal. She moaned as she squeezed her eyelids together and curled up. Then she opened her eyes. She was in a forest. Next to her were a change of clothes, a bag, some other necessities, and a note. She picked up the note and began to read.
By the time you read this, you will be on your own. I kept you as long as I could, but unless they are here to train, mortals are not allowed to remain on my mountain for a long time, as you already know. Just know that you are near Mt. Reikaku, where Tasuki resides. You must find your own place here, child. Farewell and good fortune to you. P.S. I've made you twenty years old.
Shan put the supplies into her bag and started walking down the path. She felt dizzy, and had to watch her footing as she walked along. She knew that the dizziness would wear off, but she had to move. She wished she could just walk up to the mountain hideout and ask for Tasuki, but she knew that wouldn't work. Somehow, she had to get herself into the mountain by invitation. She smiled to herself. Well, if you think about it, getting captured and taken somewhere is like a somewhat more forceful invitation. She looked up to see how much further she had to go. As it turned out, she didn't have to take another step. A hand came from behind her and covered her mouth, while the other grabbed her waist. She froze on the spot. "Hey Kouji, did ya catch somethin'?" She turned her face to the speaker. It was a man she didn't recognize.
"Just a little somethin' to entertain me for a while." He spoke to her next. "Now I don't wanna hear any screamin', ok? You keep quiet, and I'll treat you decently. Promise not to scream?" She nodded. The lack of air was starting to make her feel faint. Suddenly, the hand covering her mouth let go. She sagged a bit in his arms, breathing heavily. She looked up at him and saw that he was a little concerned. She smiled and then tried to step away from him. She felt a little uncomfortable with the way he was holding her. Kouji just grinned and held her even closer. "Nah-uh. You should know better than that. After all, I found you. Since I found you, I get to keep you as long as I want." He laughed seeing the fear in her eyes. The other man had long since disappeared. "Hey, I promised I wouldn't do anythin' to ya. But, I'm not gonna let you wander out here alone anymore. I'm not the only guy out here, and most aren't as decent as me." Shan finally nodded to indicate she would trust him.
They walked in the opposite direction that she had been traveling in. Shan kept on looking at him, wondering what he was planning to do to her. For all his talk of decency, he was a man, and she was a woman. Kouji just looked ahead. Man, this is gonna be harder than I thought. She's pretty good lookin', and I am a guy after all. But if she's gonna trust me I gotta stay in control. He sighed. This was not going to be easy, especially in the outfit she had on. While it wasn't skin tight, it did reveal the curves of her body. She was also shorter than him, and he could easily overpower her if he wanted to. He didn't know about her powers, but she would not have used them if he did attack her anyway. He sighed again and decided to get her into some more conservative clothing when they got to the hideout.
Just as they were about to step out of the trees, he laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him in confusion. "Nothin' personal, but we can't go out lookin' like this. It has to look like you tried to get away, but I managed to catch you. If we showed up walking side by side, they'd know you aren't a normal prisoner." He grinned as he moved towards her. "It'll also be easier for me to protect you if you do as I say."
"What do I need to do?" Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned in closer. He was grinning wickedly at this point.
"Struggle as hard as you can, but don't run away if you get loose. After we're all good and rumpled up, I'm gonna sling you over my shoulder. Oh yeah, and you'll be tied up, still squirming, and trying to get loose, but not hard. Understand?" She nodded and then he kissed her. She gasped and pushed him away. Kouji just grabbed her and tried again, holding onto her. They wrestled for a few minutes until Kouji suddenly tripped her. Before she could get up, he was on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Her breath caught in her throat again. Kouji hesitated, as if he wanted to do more, but then he roughly grabbed her hands. Pulling out some rope, he proceeded to tie her hands together. Then before she knew it, he had her over his shoulder and walked out of the trees.
Remembering his instructions, she tried to wriggle off of his shoulder, but he was holding her tightly enough that even if she had struggled hard, she wouldn't have escaped. Kouji, for his part, tried not to think about the fact that her breasts were pressed against his back. He waved at the guards, who grinned back. "Got a prize I see. Are ya sharing?"
"Nope, sorry. This time you'll have to get your own prize." The other two laughed and turned back to their duty. Kouji walked to his room, exchanging jokes and comments with other bandits who were in the halls. He opened the door, walked inside, and shut the door behind him. Finally, he walked over to the bed and set her down on it. She jumped as he untied her hands and then sat down next to her. "What's your name, missy? You should know mine by now, so it's only fair I get to know yours."
"My name's Shan." He looked her over, and this time she noticed. She flinched, and tried to move away, but he just flipped her on the bed. She could barely breathe, and just as Kouji kissed her, she realized how strong he was. "W-Wh-What are you doing?!" Kouji had grabbed her wrists and held them to either side of her head. He kissed her again and let go of one wrist. He started to stroke her waist when he heard the sound of footsteps outside the door. He sat up, but the footsteps continued on. However, by the time he had turned back to Shan, she was not on the bed, but against the wall staring at him. He sighed, realizing that he had just destroyed much of the trust she had had in him.
He stood up, causing her to shrink away from him, but he only went over to the chest and pulled out some sheets. Silently, he walked over to the futon and made up another bed. He stood back and gestured for her to choose one. She chose the bed, and he walked over to the futon. Her eyes did not leave him the entire time. He started to pull off his boots when he caught her expression. He sighed, and kicked himself. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just couldn't help it." Shan looked at him, obviously wondering what had happened to make him loose control like that. Kouji gave her a rueful grin. "I'm a guy, just like any other. Normally, I can control my feelings, but there are times when you can't control what you feel. This was one of those times."
To his surprise, Shan smiled at him. "I know what you mean, about not being able to control your feelings. I know it all too well." She stood up and offered her hand. "Tell you what. I'll forget what you did, if you'll not press me about what I mean." She could see him considering the offer. If he accepted, a potentially painful topic for her would be avoided, at least for the time being. If he decided to press her though, he could loose her trust in him entirely. His mind was made up.
"Deal." They shook on it, and suddenly, a baby started to cry. Shan ran out the door, looking for the baby, while Kouji ran out after her to keep the guys off of her. Somehow, they made it to the kitchens, where Tasuki was watching the baby hopelessly while it bawled on the floor. An older woman was busy mixing together something for the baby to eat, since the baby couldn't have any real food yet, just liquids. Shan took one look at the situation, walked over, and picked up the baby. The crying stopped at once, and the relieved bandits looked up to see who their unexpected savior was. Tasuki grinned sheepishly.
"Thanks fer gettin' the kid quiet. I don't know how to do this sort of thing." Shan smiled at him and then went back to cooing at the baby. The baby made happy sounding noises back. "By the way, how'd you get in here?" Shan sweatdropped but Kouji stepped in for her, saving her from having to answer.
"I picked her up on the late raid. Didn't know she'd be helpful with the kid though. Perhaps you'd like to keep her, you know, to let you get some sleep?" Tasuki nodded at his friend, and then turned to see how she'd react. She was staring at him as if she had seen a ghost. The woman gestured for the baby, and Shan handed her over. Then, without a word, she fled the kitchens. Tasuki told Kouji to stay behind. Then he followed Shan out the door.
The race ended at the top of the hideout. Shan was breathing heavily when she heard Tasuki coming up behind her. He sat down next to her, causing her to gasp and pull away from him. He sighed. "I just wanted to ask ya why ya looked at me like that. We haven't even met."
"I'm sorry; it's just that I…I once knew someone who looked like you. What's your name?"
"Genrou, but some people call me Tasuki. Am I the one you thought of?"
"No, it was someone else. I'm sorry; you just startled me, that's all."
"Did this guy hurt you in some way?"
"No. I don't want to go into it, if you don't mind." She changed the subject quickly.
"Where's the baby's mother?"
"Dead, along with the father. I just adopted her today; it was the father's dying wish. She's named Huan Chan."
"Pretty name. Speaking of names, my name is Shan."
"Shan what?"
"Just Shan." She stood up. "We should probably go back inside. They might be looking for us." Tasuki agreed and stood up as well. They went back to the kitchens, to find that the baby was asleep. Tasuki watched as Shan took the baby, and then led her to a room. "There's a door that opens from this room to mine. If you need anything, give me a holler." She thanked him, and went inside. There was a fire in the fireplace, and a small cradle close to the large bed. What she didn't know was that Tasuki had given her his room, and taken the adjoining one for his own. He knew that it was a small sacrifice for the child.
The next day, Tasuki woke up to find it was nearly midday. He groaned to himself when he realized that the baby was probably starving and got out of bed to find that the baby's crib was missing. Did I miss something here? Then memories started to come back. Kouji had brought in a new girl. She had agreed to help care for the baby to give him a break. He had been exhausted last night after spending most of the afternoon trying to figure out why the baby wouldn't stop crying, and had fallen asleep almost immediately after laying down. He grinned to himself. The guys had probably let him sleep in on purpose.
He wondered how the baby was doing with the new girl. He then realized that he needed to go to his room to change. He tapped on the door softly, just in case. A quiet "come in" told him that he could enter, but the baby was napping. He eased the door open and shut before he saw the room's occupants. He couldn't help but smile at the scene before him. Shan was sitting in a rocking chair, holding the baby, while the baby had fisted one hand in Shan's dress. He looked at Shan expectantly.
"She ate a good breakfast this morning." Shan told him quietly. "She got fussy afterwards, so I brought her back here and rocked her to sleep. I hope we didn't wake you." Tasuki shook his head.
"No, I woke up on my own. I need to change though." He grinned as Shan hastily stood up, trying to not wake the baby while she was at it. He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "There's no rush. I can wait until you set her down, or you could close your eyes." He smirked at the last bit.
Shan blushed. "I think I can put her down now. I don't really want to be here while you're changing." She walked over to the crib and set the baby down. She would have left then, but strong arms hugged her from behind before she could move away from the crib. Tasuki rested his head on her shoulder.
"Thanks for helping out. Babies take more effort than I thought." Shan nodded as he released her, and she left the room. Tasuki was left standing beside the crib, a puzzled look on his face. Why did she seem so familiar to him?
several months later
Shan sighed as she yet again picked up the baby's spoon. The woman had left after a month of teaching Tasuki and herself how to properly care for a baby. The baby, thankfully, was now eight months old and able to eat solid foods. She had two teeth, and they had all learned to keep their fingers away from Huan's mouth. Tasuki smiled at the sight of Shan feeding the baby. She is going to be a great mother someday. He shook his head, and was surprised at his feelings on the matter. Why'd I want to even THINK about her havin' kids. They'd probably all be brats. Well, maybe not if they were mine as well, but…AHH! Why'd I think THAT?! Tasuki abruptly got up and said he needed to check on something. Shan looked up puzzled. Tasuki had been doing that a lot lately, and it was only when she was taking care of the baby.
Kouji, on the other hand, was amused. Shan had told him she had been banished from her home because she had fallen in love with the wrong man. He wondered who she had fallen in love with. It's got to be one of us. She hasn't tried to leave at all since I brought her here. It would be hilarious if it were Tasuki. Speaking of Tasuki, I wonder if he's realized he's falling in love with her? Kouji shook with silent mirth, and went after his friend. It was time to do a bit of digging.
