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Chapter 21: Recovery
"No!"Anji shrieked, which was an unfamiliar sound coming from her. She was up and running in a heartbeat, leaving Flein sitting baffled in her seat.
"Wait! Anji!" she cried, jumping to her feet and pushing her way through the masses of cheering spectators. She chased after her friend into the dark stadium corridors, never letting her out of her sight.
"If I lose her now" Flein thought, running after Anji's fleeing form with all of her might. "We both could become lost in this place." Fortunately, the wolf demon was no challenge to keep up with, and the crowds of confused demon bystanders did nothing to deter Flein from her target. Just when she could see sunlight at the end of the corridor, it became obvious where her friend was headed.
The two burst out of the stadium and onto the grassy arena perimeter, Anji sprinting directly to the familiar fighting platform without stopping to catch her breath.
"Five . . . four . . ." Koto was counting slowly, almost as if begging for one of the scattered Team Kahojila members to stagger to their feet. The elder Toguro brother stood calmly beside her, his back facing Flein and Anji's breathless forms.
Flein bent forward, her hands on her knees, fighting for air. After a moment, she looked up to find Anji reaching the top half of her body over the concrete platform, straining to grasp the motionless arm of the black-haired wolf demon who had been flung near the edge.
"Wait . . " Flein gasped, resuming her run to Anji's side. She knew as well as anyone that the fight was over, but she had no doubt in her mind that the fearsome victor would enjoy killing off anyone who crossed his line of vision- especially those showing pity to his broken playthings.
"Two . . . one!" Koto finished with a flourish, while noticeably neglecting to touch the Toguro brother. "The winner of the entire match, and most likely the new record-holder of the fastest match ever, is the elder Toguro brother of Team Toguro! Ladies and gentlemen, you've just witnessed a fight for the history books!"
Anji had managed to grab a hold of her immobile companion, and was now hooking her short arms underneath the crooks of his arms. Flein had stopped a few feet away, unable to keep her eyes from straying to the elder Toguro brother, who was currently surveying his work with a satisfied smile.
"Don't look over here." Flein thought, unable to gather the courage to come closer and help her friend. "Please, don't look over here." She wished more than anything that he would stop basking in his victory and return to his teammates without a glance back.
With a considerable amount of effort, Anji dragged the wolf demon over the edge of the platform and onto the grass below, the man landing on the ground with a soft thud. The noise was practically inaudible over the exhilarated cheering of the audience members, yet somehow the Toguro brother's gray-haired head whipped around as soon as Joka had touched the dirt.
Flein's heart froze in her chest. Her teammate was still painstakingly pulling her friend across the grass by both arms, unaware that the demon's beady eyes were locked onto her. The effort was leaving a trail of dark blood on the ground.
"Well, well . . still alive after all that? A worthy accomplishment in itself." the elder Toguro sneered. In a moment of confusion and panic, Flein thought that perhaps the demon had mistaken Anji as a surviving member of Team Kahojila. But after another glance, she realized that Joka's chest was still slowly moving up and down- he was alive, but barely. One of the elder Toguro brother's fingers elongated a few inches in anticipation. "Perhaps I should just spare your little girlfriend the trouble and snuff out your life right now? I do hate incomplete work."
Anji gasped in shock and loosened her grip on Joka, letting the top half of his unconscious body fall limply to the ground.
"Well this is unexpected! It's just one surprise after another!" Koto exclaimed, seemingly grateful to fill in the currently large empty gap in the schedule. "Two members of Team Musakui, the victors of the last match, have appeared here in the arena once again!" The cheering soon transformed into raucous yelling as the two girls were finally noticed by the audience. Anji had stepped one timid leg over Joka, blocking his body from any harm the elder Toguro may cause. Her defiant gaze never left the stout demon's face, as if daring him to go through her.
Flein had never seen such bravery displayed by the quiet girl, even though she could see her body trembling. Without thinking and against her better judgment, the cat demon moved to stand beside her companion, blocking Joka's body as well. The elder Toguro's grin simply spread wider in response, as if amused by their vain attempt to protect his prey.
"This is it." Flein thought. "I've just made the dumbest decision of my life." She tried her best to muster up a dignified expression, though she couldn't stop her legs from quivering. There was something about the bushy-haired demon that chilled her to the bone. She wondered if she could unzip her bag and procure her sword in the time it would take for him to puncture her head with his fingernail.
Then, like a dream, the elder Toguro returned his hands behind his back and looked to the ground. "I could very well separate your pretty little heads from your bodies in an instant. But I'm much too curious about how well you'll fare in your next match. I'm sure it will be most . . entertaining." he said, the grin never leaving his face. With that, he turned around and headed toward his team on the opposite side of the arena. "You can keep your friend. He'll be dead soon anyway."
Across from him, Flein could see the hard stare of the younger Toguro brother, whose sunglasses hid almost all expression. She had no doubt that his older brother could feel the disapproving stare on his back as he threatened the two members of Team Musakui.
"It looks like these ladies claimed themselves a man without a fight!" Koto informed the audience, disappointment rising in her voice. "How boring!"
It was only until after the elder Toguro brother was halfway across the fighting platform that Flein saw a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye. A few feet away from where the demon was currently walking, one of the deceased members of Team Kahojila was faintly twitching. The blonde's fingers were moving almost reflexively, and upon closer inspection, his body seemed to be slightly quaking.
Flein blinked her eyes several times and squinted, believing it to be hallucinations. But then the young man's eyes slowly opened, looking around at his environment, before finally making contact with her own. She found herself staring back at this stranger in confusion.
"Oh God. He's not dead yet either." she finally realized. "He'll surely be killed if he's noticed." While she still had the blonde wolf demon's attention, she slowly shook her head with purpose, her eyes never leaving his. "Don't. Move." His dark brown eyes snapped shut in response, his body completely still.
"Can you help me?" A small, shaky voice interrupted Flein's thoughts, and she turned to see that Anji had managed to stand the unconscious Joka on his feet, the much shorter girl supporting him from under his shoulder. She was struggling under the weight, and the fact that she was still trembling from their close encounter with death didn't seem to be helping.
Flein wordlessly moved to support Joka on the other side, throwing his limp arm over her shoulders. He smelled like the fur of an animal who had just rolled in the dirt, along with dried blood. His shirt lay upon him in tattered remnants, and she could feel damp bare skin on her own.
Ignoring the savage insults thrown at them for what must have been the hundredth time that day, the two successfully carried Joka to the safe darkness of the stadium's hallways. Flein didn't dare look back- she didn't want to see if Team Toguro was still staring at them, nor did she want to see the uncertain fate of the other Team Kahojila survivor. She could only hope he would stay put until after the dangerous group had left. The young man had to fight for himself- Flein wasn't sure if voicing a word of this to Anji would cause the girl to run back another time.
Fortunately for their stamina, the girls quickly discovered an unoccupied locker room close to the arena entrance, and carefully lowered Joka onto a wide bench within. His breath was shaky and uneven, and his body still continued to drip blood onto the clean linoleum floor.
"Since that was such a short match, we have a long time until this locker room will probably be used by the next contestants." Flein said, sitting on the bench beside the one Joka was laying on and catching her breath. "But we can't keep him here forever." She wondered if she and Anji were able to slowly carry the wolf demon all the way to the hotel- even if they could, it wouldn't be a short trip.
Anji just stared at Joka's wounded form without speaking, examining and assessing the damage with a tense expression. Flein wondered if perhaps the elder Toguro brother's words- "He'll be dead soon anyway."- was plaguing her mind.
After a large and contemplative silence, uneven footsteps could be heard heading toward the doorway. "Go away." Flein thought earnestly, glaring at the closed door. She couldn't handle the idea of strangers coming in now- especially since she was sure over half the population of Hanging Neck Island wanted the two of them dead.
Despite Flein's unheard commands, the door swung open- only the figure behind it was a familiar one.
"Talik!" Anji gasped, shooting up from the bench she was sitting on and running to the blonde-haired wolf demon. Flein blinked in surprise as she recognized the young man who had been lying motionless on the fighting platform before.
"Anji! Why are you here?!" Talik responded in shock. He was holding a wounded arm close to his body, blood seeping from inbetween his fingers. One of his legs was soaked red underneath a torn pant leg.
"That doesn't matter right now! I should be asking you how you're alive!" Anji exclaimed.
"I was lucky . ." he began, looking down at his own injuries. "I don't think that guy knew it, but I was only grazed in some places. It looks a lot worse than it is . . None of my vital organs were hit. Something told me I should . . stay down and play dead." His eyes flickered knowingly to Flein, before turning back to Anji again. "I waited until intermission started, and then I ran here, tried to follow where you guys went."
"I'm so happy you're alive . . at least someone made it out okay . ." Anji sighed. Talik turned his attention to Joka, and approached him with an expression of concern.
"How is he?" he asked, looking over his wounds. Talik had a certain softness in his eyes, one in which someone could discern fairly easily that he was more emotional than physical. Flein was surprised he was picked to be part of the team that would save the Kahojila village- a goal that couldn't be met now.
"I . . . don't know . . " Anji said slowly, and Flein could tell she was on the verge of crying. She looked as though she wanted to say something more, but she most likely didn't trust herself to speak without a tear escaping.
"Hm. In that case," Talik began without looking at Anji, and held his hands slightly above the man below him as if contemplating which puncture hole to cover. "I can try to tend to his injuries."
"Really?!" Anji drew in her breath sharply, like she was able to breathe again for the first time. "But you should work on your own wounds first! You're still . . . bleeding . ." She stumbled over her last word, as if she were about to become ill. Flein hoped she wouldn't have another panic attack like she had at the Opening Ceremonies.
"I've already dishonored our village by not standing up and fighting when I could have." Talik said sternly, looking at Anji. "The least I can do is make sure one more survives."
"You would have died if you stood up and fought that demon." Flein said, and Talik and Anji turned to look at her as if noticing her there for the first time. "There's a difference between courage and stupidity. You had no chance of winning- it's better that you stayed down." Talik looked into her eyes for a moment without blinking, before turning his gaze to the floor in doubtful contemplation. "Also, I've already thought about helping Joka recover- we would need bandages and other supplies, and I don't know where they could be."
"Oh, we don't need any of that!" Anji smiled, before turning her head to Talik. "Joka sure is lucky that you're the one who happened to survive!" Talik returned her smile tentatively, and then looked at Flein as if he were withholding a fun secret from her.
"Come here and watch."
Flein stood up and moved closer to the wolf demons, as Talik looked over Joka's wounds again carefully. Finally, he removed a piece of tattered cloth from one of the dime-sized holes in Joka's body, and placed his palm directly upon it. An eerie blue light shone from underneath his hand, and Flein could feel warmth coming from it. After a few minutes, Talik removed his hand from Joka's bare chest. The severe wound that had been there just moments before now looked as though someone had simply stabbed a sharp pencil into the man in a fit of anger.
"That's about as much as I'll do for each one for now." Talik breathed. The perspiration on his face would reveal that the man had taken a jog around the stadium, yet he was still standing completely still. "It's enough to stop the bleeding. He'll survive."
"Oh, thank you, Talik!" Anji ran to her friend again, but this time she wrapped her arms around him tightly, unabashed. Talik looked away in embarrassment, and patted her head awkwardly a few times. Flein thought it was quite a strange reaction to a simple hug.
"It will take a while." Talik informed Anji when she released him from the unwanted embrace. "You probably don't have to stay here the entire time."
"I want to be here when he wakes up!" Anji said decisively, and planted her rear firmly on the top part of the bench Joka was laying on. She stared at his face below her, as if the man's eyes would open at any moment.
"But we still need to find another team member." Flein reminded the determined girl. Butterflies were swarming in her stomach as she thought of the possibility that Anji would devote all of her attention to her companions from now on, and not to Team Musakui. The butterflies flew around even faster when it occurred to her that Anji could simply return home after Joka recovered. She had found what she came to Hanging Neck Island for, and she had completed her goal- there was no reason for her to stay anymore.
"I don't want to leave him . ." Anji said, anxiety coating her voice. These were the words Flein was afraid to hear.
"You should go, Anji. Let me take care of this on my own." Talik said, now working on another one of Joka's wounds near his abdomen. Flein sighed in relief. At least there was one person on her side.
"Hmmm . . all right . ." Anji said hesitantly, and reluctantly stood up from her designated spot at the top of the bench. "But make sure you tend to yourself, too."
Talik nodded in response, and Anji returned to Flein's side, her eyes lingering on Joka's motionless form. Flein left the room quickly with Anji following closely behind. She didn't want her friend to get any second thoughts about staying. They headed to the outer area of the stadium, where numerous demons were loitering without any clear purpose. Flein was about to ask Anji why there were so many demons milling around now than before, when she remembered they were having a lengthy intermission.
"Maybe this intermission will easily help us find a new teammate." she said to her canine companion. Anji looked at the dirt in front of her feet without responding, her mind clearly on other matters. Flein shoved the stomach butterflies down before they could rise again, and struggled to break the silence. "I bet you're happy you found Joka."
"Yes!" Anji replied, finally looking up from her feet. "I'm really lucky. I know it seems like I'm being pretty reckless but . ." Flein guessed she was referring to the time in which she stepped in front of Joka, blocking him from harm. "Joka has really done a lot for me over the years, even though I didn't notice it at the time. I guess I'm just trying to pay it back in some way."
The emphasis the girl put on "years" piqued Flein's curiosity. "Exactly how many years have you known Joka?"
"Hmmm . ." Anji looked to the sky, one finger placed thoughtfully on her chin. "Maybe about . . 1,500 years? I know we met when I was around 200 . ."
Flein chuckled to herself. "You guys are young."
"Maybe we're young," Anji conceded after some hesitation. "But I feel like we've known each other for longer. I guess it's only because I know him so well that I knew to come here. He was acting pretty strange the day that he left for Hanging Neck Island . ."