Dependence

Smiling with contentment, Ayeka leaned up against her walking stick and beheld her work. It had taken them a terribly long time, but the house was now finally completed, and all damage done from the hurricane was fixed. It had taken the girls much longer than expected--after all, they had fought and quarreled most of the time. Sometimes the fight had even been settled by actual physical hand-to-hand combat; it was a wonder that nothing else had been destroyed.

It seemed as if every time the girls tried to be friends, something usually came between them, whether it was Ayeka's pride or bossy ways, or else Ryoko's smart mouth or obnoxious ways. The two had never been the best of comrades, and even in times of peace and harmony, they regarded each other with distaste and discord. Now that they lived in such close proximity to each other, however…

"Well, it certainly took us a long time, but we did it!" stated Ayeka. She smiled brightly, and puffed her chest out a little as she gazed over the cabin. Thankfully, Ryoko was not around to ruin her elated moment, although knowing the space pirate, she would be coming around at the most inopportune times.

Sighing, Ayeka decided that it would be a good time to walk around the beach. Making sure that she wore light clothes that protected all her body (for she was tan enough as it was), the princess of Jurai set about exploring the island.

Hardly three minutes after setting out, Ayeka heard the very familiar (and very disturbing) sound of Ryoko laughing. Groaning to herself, Ayeka just had to find out what was so humorous, so she quickened her pace and strolled towards the source. As she came closer, she screamed in horror as she saw Ryoko reading from her diary!

"MISS RYOKO!!!!" The ferocious shout was enough to make the pirate pause and look up from her reading. Still caught in a fit of giggling, Ryoko tried to hide her laugh as the princess stormed over. "Why, you inconsiderate prig!" spat Ayeka, grabbing her journal away sharply. "You lowlife! You scum!! How dare you read into my personal diary!! How DARE you!!"

"Okay, okay, yeesh! I'm sorry!" snorted Ryoko. Ayeka, however, would have none of it.

"Oh no, Miss Ryoko! Sorry will not get you out of this one! This time, you have stepped over the border! Why, the sheer nerve of invading my privacy! You monstrous backstabber! You worthless pile of fodder!! I cannot believe that you have done something so wretched! …Though why am I so surprised?! It's only the least to expect out of you, wretch!!"

"HEY, now, Missy!!" spat the pirate ferociously. "I said I was sorry!! Now drop the whole thing and make yourself useful!!"

"Make myself useful?!" Ayeka broke a nerve from screeching so loud, and her fury boiled over into insanity. Her face turned wild colors as she glared hotly at the rude woman before her. "How do you even have the gall to suggest such a thing?! Why, I ought to execute you on the spot, you wretch!"

"Not if I beat you to the punch!" screamed Ryoko. The wild woman suddenly leaped forward, and did something she had wanted to do for a long time; that is, she decked Ayeka. The princess fell back hard, and floundered on the sand for awhile. Groaning, the stubborn lady got to her feet and rubbed the place where Ryoko had struck.

"Hah!" cackled the pirate. "Now you really do look like a cow!! Hahahahahahah--" Ayeka fiercely interrupted Ryoko with a vicious punch of her own, and the woman crumbled backwards in a heap. The two ladies glared at each other, both of whom were very willing to kill the other.

"You know, Ayeka," said Ryoko darkly, "I thought that we were moving towards friendship awhile ago, but it seems as if we'll be hating each other forever."

"Friendship?! Friendship!!? HA!!!" Ayeka cackled herself, and laughed at Ryoko's words. "How could I ever be friends with an obnoxious, rude worm like you? Especially after what you did!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry!!" barked Ryoko. "If you don't wanna forgive me, fine, but you don't have to bite my head off!"

"Oh, but that's exactly what I plan to do!" snarled Ayeka. Ryoko growled, and the two women squared off to finally settle the long-standing score they had. Their hatred towards each other had reached a pinnacle; now, not even Nature could have prevented them from fighting. This was something they had to do.

Ryoko rushed forward, and met Ayeka's charge……

One hour passed.

Huffing and wheezing, both girls barely stood on the beach. Each one had beaten the other to a bloody pulp, but neither one seemed to have any kind of advantage. Ayeka's beautiful face was purple and red and black with wounds, and Ryoko had several scars across her own body. Their fists were nearly torn apart from so much punching and clawing, and they stank of fighting and bitterness and enmity.

The only good thing about the situation was that neither one had enough energy left over to continue fighting. Instead, they wordlessly called a cease-fire, and gave each other icy glares as they parted ways: Ryoko to the mountain, Ayeka to the cabin.

"Humph! The nerve of that devil!!" Ayeka snorted to herself as she sewed together clothes that had began to wear out. The recent gift of boxes and crates had given them a much larger wardrobe, but it still needed to be maintained in proper condition. Right now, Ayeka was fuming by sewing the clothes together, something that took delicacy and a steady hand.

She continued to cuss out Ryoko for the better part of an hour, until she finished her shirts and skirts. After piling out the stitched clothes, hunger struck and hard. Sighing, Ayeka stood to see what they had left in terms of food. There were eight chickens still left, though they were reserved for emergencies only. There was also the food that had been washed up in the crates, but that too was saved for special occasions. With the fruit temporarily gone, Ayeka sighed and reasoned that it was high time to go out hunting again.

She stepped outside of the cabin, and with the care she usually had, she slowly began to descend down the rocky stairway that led to the surface. It had been a wonderful idea to fashion the rocks as a makeshift staircase, but they were usually quite slippery and not the safest place to run down, especially in wet weather. After Ayeka's foot threatened to slip, she squealed and held on tight to the tree. Fortunately, she did not fall.

Upon arriving at the last four steps, however, her foot rolled on a loose twig and fell, and despite all her efforts, Ayeka could not keep her balance and quickly plummeted to the ground. With a WHUMP, her body slammed against the hard floor, and she whined out in pain. Although it had not been a long fall, and she was very much alive, Ayeka could not ignore the sudden flood of pain that suffocated her body. Her right leg, she noted, had taken the brunt of the fall.

With a wail, she tried to stand up, but found her leg to be of no use. Not only did it refuse to budge, but every time the rest of her body moved, great shockwaves of pain stabbed at her. Even crawling on the ground produced a fiery sensation, so Ayeka was forced to lie there on the ground, helpless and hopeless. She began to whine and moan, and secretly, she cried.

I cannot move my leg. I cannot move it at all! Not even the toes will wiggle! Oh, I will starve to death if I do not move! But even if I wiggle a finger, I start to hurt! OUCH!!! OWWWWW!!!! Ugh… what… what have I done to myself? I think I broke my leg! Of all the stupid, moronic, idiotic things for me to do! Oh, PLEASE don't let Ryoko see me this way! Please! I… I…

Ayeka moaned, and turned her eyes to the sky as a familiar chuckling sound came from above. To her fear and chagrin, Ryoko was slowly floating down towards her direction, an ecstatic and possibly even orgasmic look on her face. To say that she was overjoyed would have not even scratched the surface. Ayeka cried, and sank her face in the sand as she realized just how helpless she looked.

"Well, well, well," sang Ryoko. Her voice was slow, sweet, and very deliberate--almost as if to extend the princess' suffering. "What do we have here?"

"Don't you say a word, you fiend!" croaked Ayeka. Ryoko chuckled wickedly, and carefully walked over towards Ayeka's feet. Kneeling down, she gently poked the woman's right leg.

"YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!" Ryoko laughed out loud as the princess screamed in pain, and even rolled on the floor in a fierce fit of giggling. Ayeka was midway between crying and breathing fire as she saw Ryoko pound on the ground with her fists, and kick at the air with her feet.

"This is too good to be true!!!" chortled the spacer. "I can't believe it!! Out of all the people who'd be dumb enough to slip and break their legs, it'd have to be Ayeka!! Ohhhhh, this is just too divine!!"

"Shut up!" screamed Ayeka, tears of pain falling down her face. "Shut up!! It's not funny!" But Ryoko continued to laugh, and didn't stop smiling at all, even as she tried to compose herself. Finally, though, she did manage to exert some self-control, and wiped away a tear as she paced around the princess.

"So, you think me laughing at your pain isn't funny, huh?" she said. Ayeka growled out her response, but Ryoko kept her elated state the entire time. "Well, miss priss, may I remind you that you laughed at me when I was near death on those rocks? Huh?"

"Well, I--"

"And didn't you laugh when I was in great pain?"

"I, ahh--"

"And didn't you laugh almost every single time I hurt myself performing labor that you should have done yourself?"

"Well, uh--"

"Yes, Princess Ayeka! You deserve this! You're reaping everything you've sown! Now, sweet merciful justice is finally on my side!! Now I can finally show you what it truly means to be at the mercy of another person!!" With that, Ryoko bent down, and lifted Ayeka's chin with her hand. She brought the princess' face very close to hers, and gazed into her ruby eyes darkly.

"Now, Ayeka," hissed the woman, "you shall be in my debt." And with that, Ryoko grinned wickedly and pinched her rival's cheeks. She released her grip, and carelessly lifted the princess up on her back. Making sure that Ayeka felt completely helpless and dependent of her, Ryoko flew away into the house, and began administering her punishment on Ayeka.

For three whole days, Ryoko stood deaf outside of the cabin, slowly letting Ayeka rot away on the bed. The princess began to become emaciated during that time, and yelled out in no polite terms that she should be fed or else. She tried everything: screaming, yelling, threatening, pleading, bargaining, crying, even praying. But Ryoko was adamant as always; she would not even reveal herself. She would sit outside the door, cross her arms, and listen as Ayeka broke down.

Of course, Ryoko had no intention of leaving her there to die. Three days of starvation, thirst, and loneliness would be more than enough punishment. Ryoko wanted Ayeka to feel completely dependent on her (not that she hadn't been already), and the only way to do this was to make her suffer a little. If Ayeka learned anything, she would learn that her life now rested in Ryoko's hands.

So three days came and went. Ryoko gorged herself on food, water, and play, whilst leaving Ayeka to starve and thirst and while away in the emptiness of her room. After the third day passed, Ryoko quietly walked back into the room, and gazed down at Ayeka. Physically, she was even worse than before. Her leg had grown progressively more painful, and she had caught a sickness from lack of food and water.

Emotionally, she was a mess. Barely able to speak due to her condition, she could only whimper as her enemy stood over her. Ayeka's only defense, and only hope, was pity; everything now rested in Ryoko's hands. Both women now knew this, and as Ryoko walked back into the room, Ayeka whimpered gently.

"I think you've learned your lesson," spoke Ryoko. Ayeka sighed sadly, and barely managed to nod her head. "Good girl. Now I'm going to take care of you, but you have to remember that I do this because I feel merciful. If you snap at me, or if you start acting rude, or obnoxious, or bossy, then I can leave at any time. Do you understand?"

Ayeka nodded her head slowly.

"Good. Now, you won't be giving me any trouble, will you?" She shook her head no, and Ryoko nodded her head. "All right. Now hold still. I'm going to give you something to eat and drink first, then we'll see about that injury."

And so, Ryoko began to take care of Ayeka, and for the next few days the princess depended on her own worst enemy for her daily needs. Heaven help us all.