Seto's free hand grips the back of my shirt and yanks. With his left hand around my throat and my body pressed into the ground, there's nothing I can do except blubber incoherently and try to relieve the agony of wood stabbing into my abdomen.

The fabric rips when Seto is unable to pull it over my head. His fingers release material and instead harshly attack the flesh at my sides with rough groping. They run over old scars and unmarred spots just the same.

"No-o," I sob into the leaves. Not again.

Oh, God, please not again.

"See, this un?" He pinches the skin over my hip between calloused fingers. I wince and try to shift away, but I can't move more than an inch, even then the movement digs wood into my skin and stones scrape against my cheek. "This un is my favourite." His weight shifts and the pressure in my stomach decreases. I feel him settle on the backs of my thighs. Any small relief I felt at the shift is instantly washed away by bleak fear. "Ya cried real loud when I made this un," He pinches the skin harder and I cry out, fingers groping against the ground desperately.

I can almost feel the bite of steel to my skin again; I can feel the sharp stabbing pain. I relive as the blunt gagged blade saws through my flesh, warm blood trickling down and staining the hem of my pants. I hear Hanamiya laughing, Haizaki crinkling a packet of chips as Seto breathes crudely in my ear.

"Gonna take me like a good bitch 'gain, aintcha?" His hold on my throat tightens and I whimper, lips gaping and tears streaking from my eyes. The hand at my side sinks and fiddles with the line of my pants.

Don't touch me! Stop it! All that emerges is a strangled choke.

Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-

Hot breath fans over my spine a moment before lips descend, teeth catching at the flesh of my shoulder. I jerk and try to scream past the grip of his hand, thrashing to get away, not caring that the palms of my hands are taking the brunt of my panic. "Fighin' now are ya?"

I squeeze my eyes shut, gritting my teeth and struggling against the sobs shaking my chest.

Please please please pleasepleaseplease…

Seto's fingers curl into the fabric and yank it an inch down. "Yer friend is dead 'ready, aint going to help you, baby,"

Sei…

My struggles cease for a moment, the ground before me blurred with the water in my eyes, but all I see is Sei standing firmly in place with a branch clutched in his hand as Hara advances with a blade. My head spins with this image, breath freezing in my lungs as I imagine that knife in my friend's side.

Sei…dead…

Seto laughs, a strained, humourless sound. "That got you still, hah? Pretty sure Kazuya carved 'im up real pretty for you too."

A wild anguished cry rips from my throat and I try bucking the man off, he slips from my thighs but his hold on my throat tautens. A moment later, before I can take advantage of the release, his knee slams down between my shoulder blades.

I scream.

"Fucking stupid!" he roars, spittle landing on my face from his odd position. The second hand finding its way around my throat, squeezing. "Don't make me angry, bitch." The pressure of his hands increases and I struggle vainly for some air.

"Don't make me angry, bitch,"

A second later Seto is ripped from atop me. The release of pressure has me gasping in breath and I roll over, away from the wooden torture device. My hands come up fluttering around my throat and stomach at intervals. Damage assessment complete and breath slowly returning, I scamper up and crawl behind a thick tree trunk, allowing my back to press to the rough bark.

Out of the corner of my eye, behind the tree I see a flash of red. In all honesty, I'm so happy to see Sei is alive that I don't care when Seto screeches, I don't even bat an eyelash when the man stumbles back and Sei's on him like white on rice. I'm not sure what the Level 10 is doing to the Level 4, but whatever it is, it's working, I figure. The elder man falls to the ground without a sound only feet away from me, flat on his face as I had been earlier.

A hand settles on my shoulder, "Kouki," I jump at least a foot in the air and lurch to the side.

Sei's face seems to crumble when I face him, breath bated. I stare for a moment, heart once again beating a little too fast for comfort.

"Kouki," Hesitantly he retracts the hand that's hanging in the air between us. "Are you hurt?"

My lips move silently and I blink, looking down at myself. My top is torn and covered in dirt, my pants faring no better, but what looks the worst is probably the least damaged. Pencil-tip rocks cling to the palms of my hands; I brush them off along my thigh. There'll be bruising on my neck come evening and most of my exposed skin is covered in scrapes, but it's nothing serious, nothing along the lines of what Sei is asking. Slowly, I shake my head, curling my fingers against my palms before spreading them out again. "I'm fine, he…he didn't do much."

"Good," he sighs, lowering his head into his palms. "That's good."

"Sei?" I call quietly, he lifts his head, eyes guarded and lips pressed into a thin line. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he stresses, the corners of his lips pulling in incredulous mirth, "Let's get back home, okay? I'm sure you could use a shower and new clothes."

"Yeah," He doesn't offer his hand to help me up and I don't blame him, I'm grateful actually. I don't know if I could accept his touch right now.

Once up, I eye Seto's still body cautiously.

"He's still alive," Sei speaks up and I look to him in surprise, "Against my better judgement." His sour expression melts into something different, something I can't place. "He'll pay for what he did here,"

Solemnly I nod, licking my dry lips with an equally dry tongue. "Thank you,"

Sei nods once, short and quick. He whips out his phone and barks a few words into the receiver, almost angry in his tone. But when he puts the thing away again, his eyes are warm and comforting, safe. "We're going back to the meadow, it's the only place clear enough for the helicopter to land."