Chapter Ten

While he hurried to the nearest village for the garments and jewels - young women loved nice jewelry and clothing, so why could he not obtain it for HER? - he had momentarily been distracted by the sight of her as he unbound her and tossed her onto the bed which he and Hitomi once slept upon. This was no time to remember "fond memories"; he had to just do what he must for Han before they got down to business.

As he looked her over, he surmised she would be out for a good while, for he knew he delivered a good blow without fatality. She was no good to him dead. Although as he looked her over, forgetting that Yono was still beside him...

Han truly DID look like Hitomi. He frowned, frustrated beyond the boundaries that he still could not piece together why -

And damn Yono for intruding again! "Monty, staring at her will not get anything done." He growled at the smaller simian before venting his frustration for no apparent reason that he was aware of - and it involved reaching down and tearing off that infernal wedding dress of hers. He'd never done this before, but when he did, his attention was glued on the spot when he took in the sight of Han's prone form.

What had gotten INTO him?!

She wasn't voluptuous by any means, but he admitted she was pleasing to the eye, once again reminding him of Hitomi...and that was why he wanted so much to hate her. She looked too much like her...she put him in the position he was now in...but she also freed him from his tomb. He allowed himself to relax, without cracking literally. He felt the smile form on his face as he continued to gaze at her bare form, at the undergarments that outlined her subtle curves, without being too perverted. Everything about her was sheer perfection that he hadn't paid mind to in years. He admitted he chose a lovely mate.

He blinked. Wait...did he just say...?

It was too late now, he realized. He'd already spoken the words to himself, admitted it. Somehow he felt no fear or shame. And then he remembered he had work to do, and that was to go and gather any survival material for Han's sake, such as food and water. He would leave the task to Yono, going outside with the short monkey who snorted at him and waved him off, making him angry. He had no use of monkey ninjas in his current form, but this one was all he had with his new powers and the Han now in his grasp as he tried and failed the first time...and now succeeded.

"Stay in case she awakens," was all the monkey said before he began to shuffle forward, having spotted a good place to snatch any wild fruits in the area. They were not that far away from the base, but close enough to cold climate. Hitomi had been wise to obtain a good balance of residence. He frowned when he looked to the skies and noted how the clouds began to darken; it was going to rain soon.

He turned around when he heard objects being moved. Han had awoken. Grinning and showing his canines, he turned to walk in, expecting to find her in the exquisite clothes and jewels - but he was greeted with her still half-naked and glaring at him now, puffing and shoving aside the finery. "No way in hell I am wearing this! I don't care if we are somewhere cold, or where the hell we are, but screw you and whatever extravagance you think you can use on me!" Insolent child was testing his patience one too many times! Did she want more bruises than she had on her pretty little face? The one on her cheek formed a dark purple surrounded with a lighter shade of red, marring that oriental perfection...

Making a dent to his side was his way of calming himself down, and if it did make her jerk, she didn't show it.

"Suit yourself, Han, but you have only one option and not two," he told her icily. "Either you wear that or you are forced to contract hypothermia as I force you through the snowstorm outside within days - or even confined in here while I do the work myself." He grinned malevolently, seeing that he defeated her, for she continued to glare him upwards in the useless match, losing the choice in the matter. How was he going to ever break her of that stubbornness? "But either way, you will do as I say or I will snap your neck like I should have done the first time. Your time here will be as unpleasant as I make it...unless you are a good girl if you know what's good for you."

He got her there in her tracks. She turned her back to him then at the same time he did. He might be a stoned monkey man with no emotions left in him - or DID he? - but a gentleman ought to respect a lady's privacy now.

Some time later and after rustling of clothes, she snipped him. "There, happy?"

Oh, dear gods and all things simian - he knew he was going to lose his granite mind at the sight of her. The sari, her long hair loose and waving, her jewelry which he was pleased meshed perfect - except for one. "Where is that necklace?" he demanded, displeased she insulted him by not wearing the work of art he knew would bring out her perfection.

She sniffed. "I gave too much of myself up against my will, and that damned thing is too heavy and bothersome," she retorted. "Now, we can argue all day, so what do you want of me now, Monkey Kong?"

No one had called him names in years, but Monkey Kong? He uttered a guffaw of amusement. "Han, I have to admit, you test my patience...but you also amuse me." Then he remembered her question and satisfied her. "We will go as soon as the monkey himself returns. I may not live on food and water as you do, not any longer at least, but you need it for the journey ahead in the mountains."

And as predicted, Yono returned with an armful of native, local fruits such as apples and succulent pieces from the box myrtle. It took a fair amount of convincing to let her know he had no means to poison her, nor were these fruits naturally so. Just like he said, she was no good to him dead.

~o~

"...you test my patience...but you also amuse me..."

Was that what he also saw her as - a toy to play with? She didn't think he'd be capable of having "ideas" in his head, when he saw her in her undergarments and then in this dress. She made the decision to NOT wear the necklace because it was exactly as she said: heavy and bothersome. But that was not the only reason, and she kept it hidden beneath the shirt piece.

The black pearl from Crispin still remained over her heart.

She would never let this part of her husband, or even her wedding ring, be taken from her. If Monkey Fist noticed the last one, he said nothing or just plain didn't give a rat's ass. He didn't care a thing about her, only using her for himself. And whatever was out here, it would determine the fate of the world in the balance - and that meant she was his foil. She was a part of something she wanted nothing to do with.

How had her once happy and normal life become so...intense and forced because of this?

Sitting by the fire while she ate gave her plenty of time to think. It was bad enough to even be in the same room with Stoned Kong - but what could she also say about the shoulder-length monkey himself? The former Yono? Now that she thought of it, was HE the one who shot the yellow light towards her in her dreams?

"You have defeated he who has unearthed me. And now as agreed, he will find his destiny following the path of...the YONO...!"

"I remember words," she spoke softly to the monkey who sat before her with his legs crossed. Hana admitted that she didn't trust him any more than she trusted Monkey Fist who had gone off ahead of them instead, confident he would find the location of this stupid mystical icon because he was "unstoppable"; she wanted to snort. His overconfidence was his weakness. She might be overthinking it, but she didn't care. She was a scientist and thought through everything rationally; if she could tell granite from crystal, she would know this man of stone and ancient evil had a weak spot somewhere...and you just gotta find it.

The monkey looked her way after nibbling on a hard-ass apple - hard ass for him, but she enjoyed its forbidden sweetness that shouldn't exist in this world. "Mm?" For someone who was once the Dark Destroyer, it surprised her that he wasn't the one who rattled her like the one of stone did.

"I had dreams," Hana said softly, avoiding looking at him altogether and into the warm amber fires made by her hand instead of the bastard himself. She wanted to do this because she learned so on camping trips with the family as a kid. "I don't see anything but flashes of yellow, and voices. One was beckoning me to come so he could teach me in 'monkey evil' - and in the end, another said I defeated both him and the one who raised him..."

She was met with silence and tension, increasing with each second. She half-expected the monkey to respond to her, but Yono didn't seem to want to give her answers - or so she thought.

"You were a worthy rival, Han, and you proved superior despite your infancy and innocence. Innocence is loathed by darkness and hate; I spited you for everything you were...for reasons you cannot know..." A part of her snapped inside because she wanted to know why Yono hated Han so much, but respected her at the same time - and what she was told next took her off-guard and dropping the apple core into her lap. She quickly recovered and settled on tossing it into the fire before them.

"...but I was in fact counting on him to lose."

Hana was stunned. He - Yono wanted Monkey Fist to lose? So he could escape and have the power-hungry mortal replace him...?

Little did she know was that Monkey Fist heard every word they said.

~o~

"...I spited you for reasons you cannot know..."

"...you were a worthy rival..."

"I was counting on HIM to lose."

Above all: she remembered, if not directly from her conscious.

Everything was more than he could bear. He listened to everything with the scrolls in front of him, his back turned to the duo at the fire, doing everything he could not. In another life, he would gladly die of insomnia if he had to get the work done; now he was no longer afraid of anything...

...until he listened to everything, but ensured he kept up the act that they knew naught that he paid heed.

"Why would you wish that of him?" he heard Han ask, but he couldn't decipher if it was dismay or utter shock. Just blank emotionless.

Yono chuckled. "Monty Fiske was a fool, believing power was everything." He snapped internally so terribly he wanted to pick the monkey up and break his neck, but restrained himself. "So had I, long ago when the original Han - you are, in fact, the reincarnation in human form, child - failed to maintain the balance we shared. The original was too soft for her own good, and that was her downfall...but you and he..." There was no mistaking the nod in Monkey Fist's direction. "...are on the verge of being the next generation together...but it is foolish yet again. He is nothing like I am - but you, however, are far more capable than your ancestor ever was."

Far more capable than your ancestor ever was.

He did remember the small information he read in scanning the scroll just for the name of the counterpart of the Yono. He should have finished it all, never once suspecting the original Han in the legends had fought with its dark half, wondering why the original Yono himself had been casted down in the end - but the reason had been because he defeated his other half who kept him in line, he had to be banished to prevent mass destruction upon the world. It made him snarl to himself; he did not desire to be controlled by Han.

Han had yet to prove to him in combat, to see about this. She hadn't even tried to flee from him; she must have forgotten her infant strength, which was dissatisfying to say the least. Monkey Fist wanted to see her fight him - and then he would consider her being his equal partner and mate if they were going to rule this world together.

Turning around halfway now, as his means to tell them both his work was done, he found himself making eye contact with those wide ebony eyes of hers - and for a moment, he found himself looking at the baby Han, before he remembered this was a woman he took away on her wedding day, dressed her up close enough to her lineage, and she regarded him without a readable expression. No hate, no anger.

Just plain nothing. Maybe he broke her, maybe Yono had done so - but why could he not figure out a thing about her?

What more could he do about her? She was just his other half that he claimed, vital to his aid, and yet she was the most beautiful creature he encountered in a long time...

He'd have to find some time alone with Yono to discuss these unwanted feelings he never thought he was capable of.

For those who see this as unexpected fatherly feelings for a woman he has NO idea is his daughter, I had this come out of the blue from the back of my head that was bound to make everyone cringe as it did to me: he has feelings for her bordering on INCEST. Think of it as a form of the Oedipus complex. But don't worry, there will not be any direct sexual acts. Still, I am unnerved as you all are. (shivers) Please don't kill me.