This chapter rated M for suggestive content and torture.
A/N: What's up my readers? Your scribe is back, baby! A lot has happened these past few months. I have been living in my new apartment for 6 months, have been trained for yet another new job, and got injured at work doing that same job and have been off for two weeks, having nearly broken my index finger and injured the soft tissue in it. Plus, it was my right hand. I have to say, my hat's off to left handed people. How you survive in this right handed world is beyond me. I am also, for the first time, sick of this Minnesota winter. It is the 4th hardest winter in our recorded history, and we are running out of places for the snowplows to put the excess snow. If you think Texas has it bad because their state closes down if just an inch falls, try living in a state where it can snow 8 inches in one night. And people still have to go to work the next day, or in my case night. Although the worst thing is of course the temperature. -20 with a -30 wind chill factor? God, or whoever, give us a break. Please, turn back the sun and give us green trees and blue skies again. Anyway, it's good to be back. I still don't have net access at the new place yet, so don't expect consistent updates. And I fixed mistakes in every single chapter. I thought you guys were supposed to let me know about any mistakes I missed? Oh well.
Now then, this chapter is going to feature some things that could be considered M. You'll know them when you read So, naturally I am rating this chapter M. Don't like it? Don't read it. I don't own Negima! Shout out to Kailor Aurelius as the inspiration for the story. And without further ado…
Let us begin…
Chapter 6
Uuugh…What happened? I feel like someone sucked all the energy out of me, and then ran me over with a million 6 hooved horses.
"Glad to see you're awake." A voice came from off to the left. Setsuna moaned again, then forced her heavy lidded eyes to open. Turning her head, she saw fiery red hair. For an instant, she thought it was that dog girl Asuna, but upon taking another look, she found it to be one of the information girls she was introduced to earlier.
"Umm…Who are you again?" The red head pretended to take offense, but when Setsuna didn't buy it, she smiled at her again.
"Name's Asakura Kazumi. I'm the one with the ghostly girlfriend, remember? Speaking of which, feel free to appear any time Sayo." Immediately, a disturbance formed next to her, and a few seconds later Sayo's ghostly visage appeared. She smiled and waved at Setsuna, until her girlfriend ambushed her; sweeping her into her arms and plopping her on her lap, arms crossing possessively around an eerily glowing waist. Sayo let out a little squeak of protest, but was soon silenced with a rather passionate kiss. A good thirty seconds later Sayo regained enough of her senses to pull back and look at her grinning lover reproachfully.
"Kazumi! You shouldn't do such things in front of new people. It's embarrassing. I mean look, she's turning redder than your hair in a tomato garden!" The cheeky girl did as her girlfriend said and glanced back at Setsuna, who did indeed bear a striking resemblance to the juicy red fruit. Kazumi gave her a halfhearted look of apology.
"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist this sexy little thing here." Kazumi punctuated her statement by leaning forward and laying kisses on Sayo's neck. The ghost moaned in response, leaning back to enjoy her love's teasing. Setsuna groaned at all of this, closing her eyes in an attempt to return to blissful unconsciousness.
"Oh, please! Someone just kill me." She muttered softly. A chuckle came to her.
"Sorry chickadee, but some people already tried that and it didn't work too well, did it? Speaking of which, my first question for the interview is this: how did you do that?" A piece of parchment and writing utensil seemed to appear out of thin air into the reporter's hands. She eagerly stared at the crow, who said nothing. Undaunted by the lack of response, the cat continued. "I mean, you beat Evangeline like she was nothing! That never happens. Not to mention you totally destroyed the training room. It took Eva a week to fix the thing, and-"
"Wait, did you say a week?" Setsuna interrupted, attempting a change of subject.
"Yes, she did." Sayo answered. "Setsuna, you've been out for 2 weeks. The princess began to think that you would never wake up. Your injuries were pretty bad, but that final attack was what worried her. Eva said most people shouldn't be able to survive such a massive drain to their chi. So, as Kazumi said, how did you do it?" Both girls looked expectantly at the crow. Setsuna sighed and decided that there was nothing for it, but to tell the truth.
"I don't know." She stated. Kazumi and Sayo looked at her skeptically. "I didn't even know I was capable of an attack like that. So, how should I know how I did what I did?" The ghost and her girl visibly deflated at this news. But you can't keep a good Kazumi down. The red headed firebomb quickly zoomed on to her next question.
"Ok, well then how about you tell me about you? In this order: First name, last name, age, birthday, sexual orientation, life story. And…GO!" And so she waited.
Silence met pure, unbridled enthusiasm. Two bitter enemies, staring each other down in their own way. And silence was winning, so the newshound released her secret weapon. Borrowed princess Konoka secret technique: Puppy dog eyes! However, there was one thing neither Kazumi, nor Sayo had taken into account. Setsuna's very own secret technique: Super question stopping stubbornness! With this technique, the user can easily avoid any unwanted questions by providing equally unwanted answers.
"Very well. In this order: you already know it, nunyabusiness, younger than you, no idea, and wouldn't you like to know times two? There. I've answered your questions. Now, get out of my room and let me sleep." With that, Setsuna slowly turned on her side facing the wall. Kazumi's face now matched the red of her hair, and she was about to grab the grouchy girl's shoulder when the door to the room opened. The rattling of a tray could be heard as the princess herself entered, with what could be assumed as Setsuna's breakfast carried in her hands. Konoka paused briefly to take in the scene, before a frown made its way onto her face.
"Kazumi! Don't tell me she woke up just so she could face your endless barrage of questions? Couldn't this wait until she's better?"
"No, it can't. Right now she can't just get up and leave the room. That makes this the perfect time to drag some answers from her. Please, Konoka? I just need a little more time and I know I can get her to crack." Kazumi received a glare that sent shivers even up Setsuna's spine. And she couldn't even see it! "Fine! I'll ask her another time. But don't think you're rid of me yet, Setsuna! I'll be back!" Kazumi stood up and stomped out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her. Sayo, having been ignored throughout this exchange, looked at the door, then at Konoka. The glare was still in place, but its focus swiftly moved onto the ghost. Sayo gave a squeak of alarm, mouse ears making a short appearance, before she swooshed to the door, and through it.
Sensing the annoyance had passed, Setsuna carefully turned onto her back and regarded the princess stoically. Konoka placed the tray of food on the small wooden table and walked over to the crow. She helped her up into a sitting position, propping her up as best she could with the few pillows available. After Setsuna was situated, Konoka turned and brought the tray over, setting it neatly on the hanyou's lap. Upon the removal of the lid, the smell of soup wafted into Setsuna's nose, and her stomach grumbled loudly in response. The princess giggled at this, causing Setsuna to blush heavily, before picking up her spoon. Her grip was severely unsteady, and the utensil hadn't even made it into the bowl before it was dropped. Setsuna cursed loudly, but before she could attempt it again, a soft hand reached over, picking up the spoon and dipping it into the bowl. Retrieving a decent sized scoop of soup, it hovered up towards the hanyou's mouth, patiently awaiting entrance. Setsuna frowned at it, but one look at the princess' insistent face and she knew that resistance was futile. Grudgingly, she opened her mouth, allowing the hand to guide the spoon smoothly inside. This activity went on for a good many minutes until the soup was gone and Setsuna was full. The princess helped her lay back down.
"I'm so glad you're ok. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. Why don't you get some more rest and I'll come check on you later on, okay?" Setsuna just nodded. She was caught quite off-guard when a pair of lips descended upon her forehead. Blushing once more, she hadn't even gotten a chance to stammer a response to the kiss before Konoka had taken the tray from her lap and retreated out the door. Setsuna stared at the door for several minutes, in shock at what had just happened.
Why did she do that? Grr…This princess doesn't make sense! Why does she care about a stupid hanyou? Does she-? Could she, maybe..? Ahh, this is just too much! Screw it, I'm going back to sleep.
And she did. Several hours passed. Then suddenly, Setsuna got the feeling that she wasn't alone. Cautiously, she barely opened one eye, scanning the room slowly. At first, she saw nothing. But on her second sweep, something moved in the shadows. She immediately closed her eye again, feigning sleep. She felt a hand on her face, moving to caress her cheek before boldly making its way down. It lightly traced her neck, before trailing dangerously close to her chest. Setsuna's body tensed at this, traitorously giving her away. The owner of the wandering hand chuckled deeply. Setsuna recognized that foxy voice.
"Good to see you awake, my cute little birdie-dono." Kaede's oily smooth voice oozed through the crow's ears. Knowing the jig was up, Setsuna's eyes snapped open. She attempted to get away from the fox, only to meet with the wall her bed was against. Seizing the opportunity, Kaede moved from the chair she'd been sitting in to the small amount of space available on the bed. Setsuna put a hand up in an attempt to push her away, but Kaede grabbed it and the other hand that tried to help its twin. Forcing both the appendages down to Setsuna's sides, she then maneuvered the girl down onto her back and straddled her legs. "Now, now. Stop struggling. I won't bite…hard."
"Get off me! What are you doing? I thought you loved Mana!" Panic began to seep into Setsuna's voice.
"Oh, I do love Mana. More than life itself. But you see, fox demons, whether they are full, or half-blood, go through a phase where they feel the need… to breed," Setsuna's eyes widened in fear at these words. Kaede felt strangely turned on by this fear, and continued. "Normally, a vixen's mate would satisfy their needs, but lately Mana has been neglectful of her duties. Too focused on how to get rid of you, she keeps telling me to ignore the feelings, but she just doesn't understand. Wolves don't go through this phase. The lust is like a never-ending thirst that must be quenched. And I intend to do so." Kaede forced Setsuna's hands above her head and transferred them both into her left. Her now unoccupied hand crept into the unbuttoned shirt the crow was wearing. Setsuna gasped as she felt a squeeze.
"Please, don't do this…" She begged. Kaede grinned at her whimper.
"Don't worry my sweet. It won't hurt. If anything, it'll feel good. In fact, you'll be begging me not to stop. Mana can attest to that. Now then…" Kaede's hand began to massage roughly as she claimed Setsuna's mouth in a lustful kiss. Her hand then began to move lower towards the loose shorts Setsuna wore, when the door suddenly burst open. Kaede didn't stop; at least not until a tanned arm ripped her wandering hand away, twisting it behind the fox's back so that she would turn to look at her attacker. Mana glared at her, betrayal and hurt could be seen behind the anger burning in her eyes.
"How could you?" Mana breathed, as something else glistened within her gaze. Kaede glared back.
"What did you expect? I need this. And you're certainly not giving it to me, so I have to take it when I can. Now either step up to your responsibility as my mate, or leave us be!" With that, Kaede wrenched her arm free and began to turn back towards Setsuna, when she was stopped yet again. This time, by Mana sweeping her off her feet.
"Fine. If this is what you need, you shall have it. But it will be with me, and nobody else, ever! And especially not with her!" Mana sharply nodded her head in the crow's direction. Her ears and tail appeared and she gave a fierce bark/growl towards the shorter girl, before she swiftly exited the room, slamming the door shut with force enough to cause the sparse furniture to tremble. Setsuna released the breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding.
Holy shit that was close. I can't believe I'm thinking this, but thank the gods for Mana! If she hadn't barged in, I would've… Setsuna shivered at the thought. She then curled into a ball and lay there in slight shock at what could have happened, trembling. She was still like that when another person entered her room, appearing seemingly out of thin air. Evangeline looked down at her disdainfully, before clearing her throat to announce her presence. The crow showed no sign that she'd heard, but the vamp began to speak anyway.
"Well, well, well…You know, for someone who doesn't believe they should exist you have an awfully strong will to live. It should have been quite impossible for you to have survived such a drain in your energy, yet here you are. Why do you think that is?" Eva asked in a sickly sweet voice.
"I-I don't know." Setsuna stuttered weakly, still in shock. Evangeline's hands balled into fists at this answer. She was getting quite sick of hearing it.
"Seriously? You're still trying to sell me that bullshit? You hide your power level from me, melt my seals like ice under a burning sun, proceed to seriously injure myself and two others with a display of power never before seen by anyone, and still expect me to believe that you have no idea how you did it?" Her rage was mounting at the arrogance of this pathetic little hanyou. Who did she think she's dealing with? Evangeline's gaze took on a predatory gleam. "I'm afraid I simply cannot accept your answer. Now then, since I can sense that the little princess is, at this very moment, on her way to check on you, I must insist that we take our conversation to a more 'private' room." Before Setsuna could gather herself enough to voice her protest her vision went black as both girls were sucked into a dark vortex conjured by the vampire. Konoka opened the door just in time to see the spectacle, but was powerless now to do anything, but wait for Eva to bring the crow back.
Setsuna slowly regained consciousness, but she seriously wished she hadn't. She found herself chained hand and foot to a wall a good two feet off the ground. She thrashed around, desperate to free herself, but the manacles only bit deeper into her skin; blood beginning to drip down onto the moldy stonework floor. After a few frenzied minutes, the crow realized her struggles were useless, ceasing her movements to just hang there like a piece of meat on a hook. And she waited…
Minutes passed, and Setsuna began to wonder what was taking the vampire so long. It was obvious she was awake, her violent struggles earlier had assured everyone within hearing distance knew that. So where was she? Setsuna decided to take a better look around, but was rewarded with limited information on her location. The scant light offered only about twenty feet of visibility, and within that scope there was little of interest. A thick chain hung from the ceiling off to her right with manacles at the end. A low stone table lay off to her left, stained a dull crimson by the congealed blood of its former occupants. And straight ahead of her, beyond the darkness, was a small slit of light, just above the floor that she assumed was the space beneath the door. It was this that she kept her eye on, as she waited…
Minutes turned to hours, and hours to days. Until she was weak from hunger, and dizzy from thirst. A thick, swollen tongue reached out to try and dampen chapped and cracked lips, only to retreat at the bitter taste of blood. She began to wonder if Evangeline was just going to leave her there to starve; even though that made no sense.
She's not gonna do that. She'll never get the answers to her questions if she does. Not that she'd get them anyway. How am I supposed to tell her what she wants to know if I don't know it? Just face it Setsuna, you're screwed. You survived a life on the run, slavery, a three-on-one fight, and a near rape, just to be brought down by a crazy midget vampire who thinks you're some sort of key to limitless power, or something. Why else would she leave you here to starve if she didn't think you could miraculously pull through it? Well, sorry to disappoint you Eva, but I'm just a mortal, poor excuse for a hanyou, and you'll just have to deal with it.
Setsuna's eyes closed as she thought this, but they quickly reopened in shock as a bucket of cold water splashed across her face. She coughed and spluttered violently before focusing her gaze on the figure that had appeared in the room.
"Wakey, wakey little crow. It's time for a little woman-to-woman talk, so talk. You know what I want, so be a good little bird and give it to me, and I'll return you to your life under the care of your precious princess. However, should you choose to deny me the information I seek, I will make your stay here worse…much worse. So, what's it gonna be?" Evangeline eyed her expectantly. She obviously thought she'd get what she wanted, and Setsuna would have gladly given it to her; if she had it. Sighing deeply, Setsuna gave the only answer she could.
"I want to tell you. Truly, I do, but I don't know! Please, you have to believe me, I really don't know! I would tell you in a heartbeat if I knew, but I don't. Please, just let me go." Setsuna's gaze took on the most pleading look she could muster. Eva's gaze grew hard.
"Pity." That was all she said before she raised her hand, claws extending from her fingertips as she chanted. "Lic lac la lac lilac…" A heavy feeling stole over Setsuna's body, before she passed out.
Eva strolled over to the limp body held up by the chains. Her hand gripped the girl's chin and she tilted the face up to get a better look at her prey. She had to admit…the girl was attractive. Strong, angular features, perfectly arched brows, beautifully shaped nose, and a small cute mouth framed with silky, ebony strands complemented her pale complexion. But Eva wasn't interested in that outer beauty. No, she wanted the secrets contained within, and she was going to get them. By any means necessary. She lowered her hand from the girl's chin allowing it to drop.
SLAP! Eva struck the girl's cheek sharply, causing the porcelain skin to turn an angry red. She struck the crow repeatedly, alternating sides of her face. Beginning to get bored, she curled her hand into a fist, aiming straight at the defenseless girl's jaw. An audible crack was heard, and a thin stream of blood began trickling out of the side of her mouth. Blows began raining down on her, breaking bones and bruising pale skin. But the beaten girl never woke, nor uttered a single grunt of discomfort. For that same spell that had allowed Tsubasa to set her wing so many weeks before, was now the cause for all the agony she would endure when she awoke.
Feeling that she had wrung all the pain she could out of the crow in this position, Eva snapped her fingers, causing the shackles that held her prisoner to release, dropping the girl unceremoniously to the floor. Using magic, she levitated the girl to the chain that hung from the ceiling, securing her wrists in the manacles before walking to one of the walls Setsuna's limited vision hadn't allowed her to see. Various instruments of torture were hung all along the wall. In Eva's many years of life she'd managed to amass quite the collection. From machetes with the power to hack off limbs, to a cat o' nine tails designed to lacerate skin and cause intense pain, she had all the toys a professional torturer could want, and more. Running her fingers idly down smooth blades and tightly braided leather, she stopped her hand on a particularly wicked looking knout with small metal hooks intertwined within the braids.
"Well now, this looks like it will be fun. Whaddya say, crow?" The dangling hanyou remained as silent as the grave. Hearing no sound of protest, the mage disengaged the vicious device from the wall and gave it a sharp snap, ending in a thunderous crack that would have deafened the crow were she conscious. "First things first," Eva walked behind her victim, fingertips again turning to claws as she swiped, ripping the girl's shirt and exposing the alabaster skin beneath, still marred with the lines from the last time leather met flesh. "Y'know, I heard somewhere that chicks dig scars. I guess I'll be the judge of that when I watch Konoka's reaction to the mangled mess I'll be handing back to her. Let's begin, shall we?" With those words and a sinister grin Evangeline snapped her whip, embedding the metal hooks deep within Setsuna's unprotected back. With a grunt of effort, the mage swiftly jerked her arm back, dislodging the hooks, now baited with chunks of hanyou meat. Blood began pouring from the wounds, quickly forming a puddle on the floor that grew ever larger with each savage lash of the tightly braided leather.
When Eva was finally finished, Setsuna's back looked like raw hamburger. Her skin came in three colors: blood red, deep blue, or an ugly greenish purple. After the whipping, Eva had placed the crow onto the stained stone table. She observed the state the helpless girl was in, and noticed that her hands and feet seemed to be the only body parts injury free. Now as a professional tormentor with a very well-known reputation on the line, she simply couldn't leave it at that. So, with meticulous care, she proceeded to break each finger and toe, one by one. They were now all pointed at awkward angles. Eva was content to leave them like that, until she remembered the bird's regenerative powers. Knowing that the princess would be quite angry if the bird came to any permanent harm, Evangeline sighed in annoyance, and proceeded to set each and every broken bone, given some solace by the fact that the girl would also feel the pain of the set bones times three when she finally awoke from the spell. Once she was done with her tasks, Eva left the girl to lie on the table, bound and broken. She'd gone much further with this torture than many of the others she'd performed, but was quite satisfied that no one within her recorded history has ever withstood that much pain, and not spilled every secret they'd ever had.
Boy, was she in for a surprise…
Konoka began pacing within Setsuna's empty room. Had this been anything like the other times Eva had kidnapped one of her charges, the girl would have been brought back ages ago. It had already been 2 hours. The magical space Eva had more than likely brought her to would have made that seem like 10 days, which should have been plenty of time to interrogate someone, in Konoka's opinion. But for some reason, Setsuna was different. Much about the girl was still a mystery. Come to think of it, Konoka didn't know much beyond her name, species, and a few of her powers. Konoka frowned at this realization.
Well, it's not like I can help it. There's only been one day so far that Setsuna's been out of bed the whole time she's been with us. I haven't really had time to learn anything about her, let alone gain her trust. The way the others have been treating her, she's more unreachable than ever. Even if she did allow me to feed her. That was sooo cute…Ah! What am I thinking? Oh, I wish Evangeline would bring her back…
As if the dark dwarf had answered her wish a dark vortex opened in the ceiling, and Setsuna's bloody body dropped out of it, and onto the floor. Eva levitated through the black hole as well, coming to rest lightly on her feet. She stared down a glaring Konoka, seemingly unfazed at the murderous look in those usually perky eyes.
"So?" Konoka demanded harshly, spitting the question out. Eva continued to regard her without emotion.
"She didn't know anything." Was all she said, before fading into nothingness. Konoka continued to glare at the spot Evangeline had stood in for a few more seconds, before swiftly making her way over to the girl lying still on the floor…
And that's a wrap! So, how was that for a triumphant return? Now, I had not planned to write a torture scene, it's just what decided to come from my fingers. And we finally find out what was up with Kaede. Hopefully Mana will curb her sexual appetite. At least, for Setsuna's sake. Now I've already started the next chapter, which was actually going to be this chapter, until I decided to postpone it for a bit. Hell, I might even write another chapter to go after this one and before the one I've already partially written! But anyway, REVIEW, PLEASE! I greatly appreciate all the reviews so far, but this story has a ways to go and I can't do it alone. I need to keep being reminded that people actually read, and like my stuff. And even if you don't like it, feel free to flame me. Bring it on! I can take it! (Probably not) Peace out, readers!
