*~A Bandit's Most Precious Treasure~*
Chapter 5: Denying Feelings
"Sir, the troops are ready. We shall strike on your command," an elite soldier said while looking around the shabby room. It was actually a tent, but since the room was so dark, it was hard to tell the difference. His voice was almost mechanical, as if he had rehearsed the single sentence over and over again.
"Good, good; than we shall strike early tomorrow morning. It would be too easily if we attacked them at night. I want to have some fun first. I want to hear them scream for mercy, and beg me to spare their filthy lives," retorted a chilly voice that turned the soldier's blood cold. He laughed evilly in the dark, as if no one else was in the tent with him.
The soldier departed silently trying not to catch is master's attention. But the man knew perfectly well what was going on. And before the warrior had exited through the entrance, he calmly said, "Please don't forget to close the door. And. . . don't screw up. I want that bandit's head."
The soldier started to tremble so hard that he thought that an earthquake was going on. But he managed to quiver out a hushed, "Ha. . . hai. . . sir." With that, he dashed out of the room and ran as far away from it as possible. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere in a trick forest, a man with red hair and a young girl were walking side by side but seemed not to know the existence of one another. They strode on slowly without exchanging a word or even swapping a glance at one another.
When they reached the stronghold, it was late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set.
When Kouji saw the self-conscious pair walking towards him, his eyebrows almost completed disappeared under his hair as he watched them approach.
They made quite any entrance, both of them were soaked to the bone and Ayomi was wearing a black-blue jacket that was much to big for her while Tasuki, having leant his clothes to the young girl, wore a see-through white shirt. They didn't seem too happy.
"Seems like you two had some fun without me. . . " he said in a teasing voice. Both of them blushed furiously at his remark. But neither one of them said a word.
"That's what I thought," the black haired bandit snickered while glancing from one blushing face to the other.
"C'mon," he said in an exasperated voice, while taking the flushing pair by the wrists and dragging them to a room where he told them both to change and join him for supper.
As he closed the door to the chamber where he had left them, Kouji sighed deeply and shook his head in mystification. He just didn't see how two people could "like" each other so much without doing anything about it. But one thing he certainly knew was that if he were in Genrou's shoes, he would do everything possible to kept the blue-eyed girl close to him.
"But than again, it IS Genrou that we're talking bout. And we all know how hopeless he is. . . " He shook his head some more in disappointment and slumped towards the kitchen; without knowing that he had forgotten a very important detail. He had left Genrou and Ayomi in the same room. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The room was dimly light due to the few sunrays able to pass between the small gaps of the closed curtains. But still, Ayomi could clearly discern the figure of the red headed bandit standing in front of her.
Neither of them had the time to say a word in objection as Kouji had hastily shoved both of them into the same room and closed the door. So here they were stuck in the same place, but wanting nothing more than to be as far away from each other's presence as possible after the embarrassing moment that had just happened earlier.
As Ayomi lifted her eyes to face the bandit, she couldn't help but stare at the red haired man in awe. He was so attractive that the girl couldn't help but grin as she admired him in silence. She had never really realized before how handsome he was. She had always thought that he was good-looking but in the dim light, she could perfectly discern his flawless features. From his high cheekbones to his beautifully carved nose and his strong jaw lines, he was everything that any girl could ever dream of. Not to mention his mouth. . . Ayomi recalled precisely the feel of his lips against hers. 'So sensual and full of emotion. . . '
The young girl tried to take her gaze off of him but found the task impossible to complete. Her eyes just kept wondering over his body. And since his white shirt was soaked through, the fabric hung onto the bandit's body, showing off all his fine lines and muscles. His shoulders and chest were broader than she had thought. And his abdomen seemed hard as iron. . .
While Ayomi was silently admiring him, the bandits did not stay thoughtless either. His heart raced in his chest urging him to act against his will. While his eyes were busy fixing her in contemplation. He wanted to smell the delicate scent of her raven hair that hung just below her shoulders and to lose himself in the endless blue of her sparkling eyes. He ran his gaze over her lips and wondered if he would ever get to taste them again. He hadn't quite figured out what they tasted like yet. Something wonderful, that he was sure of. . .
But before he was able to decipher their flavor, Tasuki suddenly zoomed back to reality. He shook his head violently to wave off his thoughts as he realized what he was doing. Silently, he cursed at himself for the sentimentality of his thoughts. Drooling over her was not going to help him forget about her.
"Um, sorry bout that. I don't think he meant ta put us in the same room on purpose," Tasuki said in attempt to cut his thoughts short. "I'll let ya change first. Call me back when you're done."
With that, he quickly stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. He let out a sigh of relief when the girl was finally out of his sight. It was quite nerve raking to stay in the same room as her. His eyes just didn't seem to want to obey him. They kept fixing her in admiration. Not to mention the thing beating in his chest. He had even less control over it than the rest of his body put together.
"What's happening ta me? Is Kouji right? Am I in love with her?" While he asked himself those questions, he remembered how little control he had over his body just a while ago. The bandit was quite sure that if he had stayed a little longer in that room with her, he would have lost total control over himself and would have probably done something he would come to regret.
"Genrou, wake up damit!!! Ya don't like girls remember?" he shouted to himself a couple of times while pacing the corridor, waiting for Ayomi to come out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While the red headed bandit was busy trying to convince himself that he was not meant to fall in love, the young girl that invaded his thoughts was in the meantime changing clothes and having some problems of her own.
'What just happened to me? I was almost drooling over him,' she thought as she took off the black jacket that Tasuki had lent her and began to strip herself of all her wet clothes.
"I have never felt anything like this before for anyone. Does this mean I'm in. . . love," she smirked as those words came to her lips. The young girl had never felt anything close to what she was experiencing right now. It was a weird sensation, every time she saw him, her heart would just melt and she would suddenly become speechless.
"I . . . I guess I am in love with. . . Tasuki," she said while a smile came to her lips. She was excited but confused at the same time.
"What do I do now? I guess I should tell him. . . one day." She bit her lip in hesitation. Ayomi had read enough teenage magazines to know that it couldn't hurt to tell him. "He might just probably like me too,' she thought with a smile. But the grin was quickly replaced with a frown.
"What am I thinking? He doesn't like girls and . . . and he certainly doesn't like me. Besides, I don't belong here. Mom must be worried about . . . " she immediately stopped the train of her thoughts before she was able to complete her sentence. Ayomi realized that she was lying to herself again. She knew perfectly well that her parents wouldn't really care if she decided to stay here for the rest of her life. . . Her heart suddenly gave a quick little beat as if to say that she should stay here.
The young lady put a hand over her heart to fell it beat, she knew quite well what it was tying to tell her; but she decided to ignore it as she hastily pulled out some clothes from a drawer and put them on without bothering about what she would look like in them. She had to stop thinking about these things, about him. She resolved to let fate lead the way. What will happen, will happen.
When Ayomi had finished putting on the spare set of clothing, she quickly stepped out of the room without bothering to look up as she opened the door. She was about to call back Tasuki but found that she was face to face with him. She had bumped into him without knowing his presence.
The bandit had somehow wondered back to the room where Ayomi was. And he had just stood there, in front of her door; waiting for something to happen. And unexpectedly, something did happen. A pretty girl that arrived to his chin came out of the room and bumped into him. She was wearing men's clothing that obviously was far too big for her.
The girl just stood there looking at the red head, not knowing what to do. 'Great, just when I want to stop thinking about him, what happens? I end up face to face with him ' she remarked miserably. She had somehow convinced herself that it would do no good to anyone if she let the feeling inside of her grow stronger and deeper. 'It would just cause more pain and confusion. . . '
"Gomen Tasuki, I didn't see you there," Ayomi said while slightly blushing. Even though she knew that it was best to avoid him, deep down, the young lady was quite happy to see the fiery bandit. "Well, I'll meet you at diner then," she added hastily and without waiting for him to answer, she walked away from him and headed to the kitchens without glancing back.
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As Ayomi arrived in the busy eating area, she quickly spotted Kouji sitting at the usual table taking down some sake.
"Tasuki wont be to happy when he finds out that you started without him again," she said mischievously as she took a seat beside him.
"Well, he'll just have to deal with it," the black haired man responded while taking down another cup. "Besides, can't have everything in life. You either get the pretty girl or the bottle of sake. And in his case, guess he chose the pretty girl. . . " Kouji said while glancing up at an embarrassed Ayomi. And smirked as he waited for a reaction from her part.
The girl tried to act as if she hadn't heard anything and avoided all eye contact, but the crimson color that flushed her cheeks soon gave her away.
Kouji laughed teasingly as he noticed Ayomi's sudden change of color. "Bwahahaha. . . you two are just so damn obvious that it's hard to believe that nothing has happened yet. . . "
"What do you mean by that?" Ayomi asked while giving him quizzical look.
"Yeah, what did ya mean by that? Kouji old pal," said Genrou as he walked towards them and sat down. It turned out that Kouji had said his last sentence so loud that the red haired bandit had heard him while coming down the hall.
The pair both gave him an inquiring look as they waited for the black- headed man to answer. But to their deception, Kouji started again to laugh uncontrollably.
Ayomi raised an eyebrow and decided to start eating. She wasn't quite sure if she even wanted to hear what Kouji had to say.
When Kouji had finally stopped guffawing, the only thing he said was, "I'll let ya guys figure that out yourselves. Besides, it's none of my business." Which left both of them eying him suspiciously and wondering if that this wasn't just one big joke.
The silence didn't last long though, because when Tasuki discovered that his friend had not only started before him, but had also finished the whole bottle; the last bottle of his favorite sake, an entertaining brawl started between both of them.
They ran all over the place, hitting, flame-throwing (in Tasuki's case), cursing. . . and all the 'normal' stuff you do when your pissed.
Ayomi was quite impressed by the wide range of vocabulary that both of them had. She had never even heard most of the words and was quite shocked that the bandits around her were cheering and supporting the fighting duo. She had to admit that it was quite funny seeing them both brawl.
After a while, when Genrou was satisfied with the damage that he had inflicted on Kouji, both of them finally settled down and began eating again. Kouji mumbled something about willing to change places with him anytime and that it was only fair that he got the sake.
The girl watched the pair in silence while laughing from time to time. It was a mystery to her how two people who spend their time beating the crap out of each other can be such good friends. 'Maybe its just their way of showing that they care. . . ' she thought with a yawn. The events of that day had finally caught up to her and she was getting quite sleepy.
"If you guys don't mind, I think I'm gonna go to bed." Ayomi said while getting up from where she sat and preparing to exit the room.
"Why, you don't feel well?" Tasuki asked her with concern. It 'was' quite early.
"No baka, I'm just tried. I did have to wake up pretty early to catch someone the last couple of days," she said as she eyed him teasingly. "Well, goodnight."
With that, the young lady excused herself and headed back to her (or rather Tasuki's) room, leaving the two bandits to their little drinking game.
"What was that all about? Did you do something stupid while I was gone?" Kouji asked his fang-toothed friend when Ayomi was out of ear sight.
"Nothing of your concern aho!" replied Genrou while pouring two cups of sake and handing one to Kouji. "All the good sake may be gone but that doesn't mean that there aren't any left. How bout it eh?" He grinned evilly.
"Your on!" With that, both of the bandits began taking down cups of sake, waiting of the other to fall down and declare defeat. . . but that usually never happened since they would both get so drunk that they became unable to kept count. But the two bandits never really bothered with details. To them, the drunker, the better. . .
And what about Ayomi? Well, she in the meantime, had fallen soundly asleep as soon as she had reached her bed, absorbed into the world of dreams. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, a sleepy blue eyed girl crawled reluctantly out from beneath her covers. She had been woken up by unidentified loud noises. And she was ready to kill the person responsible for it. As Ayomi opened her eyes to target the one who was making the racket, she was startled to discover that it wasn't Tasuki playing one of his little jokes. As a matter of fact, no one was in the room but her. The noise was coming from outside. It sounded like something serious was going on. She could hear men shouting in every direction and weapons crashing. And inside the chaos, she could discern someone shouting from time to time, "LEKKA SHINEN!!!"
'Oh my god, Tasuki!!! ' Her heart started to beat furiously as she became sick of fear for all of those men and her friends begin under attack. She hastily pulled on some clothes over her head and head out the door, down the corridor, until she was finally able to witness the scene before her eyes.
The screams of men and horses filled her ears and frightened her beyond belief. Ayomi was paralyzed as she saw men, one after the other, fall to the ground and scream in pain. She could only hope that they didn't leave a family behind them. Her vision started to blur as the confusion of fighting men grew more intense. She could no longer tell the difference between enemy and ally. Everyone was covered in blood. . .
After a minute of total confusion, she was able to discern Kouji lunging himself at two men dressed in black and slashing both of them with each of his twin daggers. They hit the ground a few seconds later, dead.
Ayomi trembled in fear at the thought of those men being one of her friends. Or worse, Tasuki. . . She had not seen him anywhere yet. The monster of her fears grew bigger by the second and her heart was racing so fast now that a heart attack was not far from happening. The young girl had never in her life witness anything close to his, it was so horrible that she had difficulty breathing. . .
'I probably wont be any use in battle but the least I can do I tend to the wounded. . . ' She cursed at herself for being a coward and not even being able to move a muscle while so many people were dying right before her.
A sudden image of Tasuki lying hurt on the ground flashed in her head. . .
She shut her eyes to shun away all the horrible images invading her mind.
But when she opened them again, her heart nearly stopped at the scene before her. It was a nightmare and no one seemed to have noticed anything except for her. . .
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A/N: Wai sorry for the crummy chapter. I kinda got a writers block and well. . . sigh~ this (pointing to the top) is the result. And I kind of rushed things too. . . maybe it's because I fell the pressure of school already (sobs quietly. . . ). Oh well, at least I think I'm gonna be able to write another chapter before I run out of time. . . with of course the help of your reviews (* hint * hint * nod * nod *). ^____^
Chapter 5: Denying Feelings
"Sir, the troops are ready. We shall strike on your command," an elite soldier said while looking around the shabby room. It was actually a tent, but since the room was so dark, it was hard to tell the difference. His voice was almost mechanical, as if he had rehearsed the single sentence over and over again.
"Good, good; than we shall strike early tomorrow morning. It would be too easily if we attacked them at night. I want to have some fun first. I want to hear them scream for mercy, and beg me to spare their filthy lives," retorted a chilly voice that turned the soldier's blood cold. He laughed evilly in the dark, as if no one else was in the tent with him.
The soldier departed silently trying not to catch is master's attention. But the man knew perfectly well what was going on. And before the warrior had exited through the entrance, he calmly said, "Please don't forget to close the door. And. . . don't screw up. I want that bandit's head."
The soldier started to tremble so hard that he thought that an earthquake was going on. But he managed to quiver out a hushed, "Ha. . . hai. . . sir." With that, he dashed out of the room and ran as far away from it as possible. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere in a trick forest, a man with red hair and a young girl were walking side by side but seemed not to know the existence of one another. They strode on slowly without exchanging a word or even swapping a glance at one another.
When they reached the stronghold, it was late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set.
When Kouji saw the self-conscious pair walking towards him, his eyebrows almost completed disappeared under his hair as he watched them approach.
They made quite any entrance, both of them were soaked to the bone and Ayomi was wearing a black-blue jacket that was much to big for her while Tasuki, having leant his clothes to the young girl, wore a see-through white shirt. They didn't seem too happy.
"Seems like you two had some fun without me. . . " he said in a teasing voice. Both of them blushed furiously at his remark. But neither one of them said a word.
"That's what I thought," the black haired bandit snickered while glancing from one blushing face to the other.
"C'mon," he said in an exasperated voice, while taking the flushing pair by the wrists and dragging them to a room where he told them both to change and join him for supper.
As he closed the door to the chamber where he had left them, Kouji sighed deeply and shook his head in mystification. He just didn't see how two people could "like" each other so much without doing anything about it. But one thing he certainly knew was that if he were in Genrou's shoes, he would do everything possible to kept the blue-eyed girl close to him.
"But than again, it IS Genrou that we're talking bout. And we all know how hopeless he is. . . " He shook his head some more in disappointment and slumped towards the kitchen; without knowing that he had forgotten a very important detail. He had left Genrou and Ayomi in the same room. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The room was dimly light due to the few sunrays able to pass between the small gaps of the closed curtains. But still, Ayomi could clearly discern the figure of the red headed bandit standing in front of her.
Neither of them had the time to say a word in objection as Kouji had hastily shoved both of them into the same room and closed the door. So here they were stuck in the same place, but wanting nothing more than to be as far away from each other's presence as possible after the embarrassing moment that had just happened earlier.
As Ayomi lifted her eyes to face the bandit, she couldn't help but stare at the red haired man in awe. He was so attractive that the girl couldn't help but grin as she admired him in silence. She had never really realized before how handsome he was. She had always thought that he was good-looking but in the dim light, she could perfectly discern his flawless features. From his high cheekbones to his beautifully carved nose and his strong jaw lines, he was everything that any girl could ever dream of. Not to mention his mouth. . . Ayomi recalled precisely the feel of his lips against hers. 'So sensual and full of emotion. . . '
The young girl tried to take her gaze off of him but found the task impossible to complete. Her eyes just kept wondering over his body. And since his white shirt was soaked through, the fabric hung onto the bandit's body, showing off all his fine lines and muscles. His shoulders and chest were broader than she had thought. And his abdomen seemed hard as iron. . .
While Ayomi was silently admiring him, the bandits did not stay thoughtless either. His heart raced in his chest urging him to act against his will. While his eyes were busy fixing her in contemplation. He wanted to smell the delicate scent of her raven hair that hung just below her shoulders and to lose himself in the endless blue of her sparkling eyes. He ran his gaze over her lips and wondered if he would ever get to taste them again. He hadn't quite figured out what they tasted like yet. Something wonderful, that he was sure of. . .
But before he was able to decipher their flavor, Tasuki suddenly zoomed back to reality. He shook his head violently to wave off his thoughts as he realized what he was doing. Silently, he cursed at himself for the sentimentality of his thoughts. Drooling over her was not going to help him forget about her.
"Um, sorry bout that. I don't think he meant ta put us in the same room on purpose," Tasuki said in attempt to cut his thoughts short. "I'll let ya change first. Call me back when you're done."
With that, he quickly stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. He let out a sigh of relief when the girl was finally out of his sight. It was quite nerve raking to stay in the same room as her. His eyes just didn't seem to want to obey him. They kept fixing her in admiration. Not to mention the thing beating in his chest. He had even less control over it than the rest of his body put together.
"What's happening ta me? Is Kouji right? Am I in love with her?" While he asked himself those questions, he remembered how little control he had over his body just a while ago. The bandit was quite sure that if he had stayed a little longer in that room with her, he would have lost total control over himself and would have probably done something he would come to regret.
"Genrou, wake up damit!!! Ya don't like girls remember?" he shouted to himself a couple of times while pacing the corridor, waiting for Ayomi to come out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While the red headed bandit was busy trying to convince himself that he was not meant to fall in love, the young girl that invaded his thoughts was in the meantime changing clothes and having some problems of her own.
'What just happened to me? I was almost drooling over him,' she thought as she took off the black jacket that Tasuki had lent her and began to strip herself of all her wet clothes.
"I have never felt anything like this before for anyone. Does this mean I'm in. . . love," she smirked as those words came to her lips. The young girl had never felt anything close to what she was experiencing right now. It was a weird sensation, every time she saw him, her heart would just melt and she would suddenly become speechless.
"I . . . I guess I am in love with. . . Tasuki," she said while a smile came to her lips. She was excited but confused at the same time.
"What do I do now? I guess I should tell him. . . one day." She bit her lip in hesitation. Ayomi had read enough teenage magazines to know that it couldn't hurt to tell him. "He might just probably like me too,' she thought with a smile. But the grin was quickly replaced with a frown.
"What am I thinking? He doesn't like girls and . . . and he certainly doesn't like me. Besides, I don't belong here. Mom must be worried about . . . " she immediately stopped the train of her thoughts before she was able to complete her sentence. Ayomi realized that she was lying to herself again. She knew perfectly well that her parents wouldn't really care if she decided to stay here for the rest of her life. . . Her heart suddenly gave a quick little beat as if to say that she should stay here.
The young lady put a hand over her heart to fell it beat, she knew quite well what it was tying to tell her; but she decided to ignore it as she hastily pulled out some clothes from a drawer and put them on without bothering about what she would look like in them. She had to stop thinking about these things, about him. She resolved to let fate lead the way. What will happen, will happen.
When Ayomi had finished putting on the spare set of clothing, she quickly stepped out of the room without bothering to look up as she opened the door. She was about to call back Tasuki but found that she was face to face with him. She had bumped into him without knowing his presence.
The bandit had somehow wondered back to the room where Ayomi was. And he had just stood there, in front of her door; waiting for something to happen. And unexpectedly, something did happen. A pretty girl that arrived to his chin came out of the room and bumped into him. She was wearing men's clothing that obviously was far too big for her.
The girl just stood there looking at the red head, not knowing what to do. 'Great, just when I want to stop thinking about him, what happens? I end up face to face with him ' she remarked miserably. She had somehow convinced herself that it would do no good to anyone if she let the feeling inside of her grow stronger and deeper. 'It would just cause more pain and confusion. . . '
"Gomen Tasuki, I didn't see you there," Ayomi said while slightly blushing. Even though she knew that it was best to avoid him, deep down, the young lady was quite happy to see the fiery bandit. "Well, I'll meet you at diner then," she added hastily and without waiting for him to answer, she walked away from him and headed to the kitchens without glancing back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Ayomi arrived in the busy eating area, she quickly spotted Kouji sitting at the usual table taking down some sake.
"Tasuki wont be to happy when he finds out that you started without him again," she said mischievously as she took a seat beside him.
"Well, he'll just have to deal with it," the black haired man responded while taking down another cup. "Besides, can't have everything in life. You either get the pretty girl or the bottle of sake. And in his case, guess he chose the pretty girl. . . " Kouji said while glancing up at an embarrassed Ayomi. And smirked as he waited for a reaction from her part.
The girl tried to act as if she hadn't heard anything and avoided all eye contact, but the crimson color that flushed her cheeks soon gave her away.
Kouji laughed teasingly as he noticed Ayomi's sudden change of color. "Bwahahaha. . . you two are just so damn obvious that it's hard to believe that nothing has happened yet. . . "
"What do you mean by that?" Ayomi asked while giving him quizzical look.
"Yeah, what did ya mean by that? Kouji old pal," said Genrou as he walked towards them and sat down. It turned out that Kouji had said his last sentence so loud that the red haired bandit had heard him while coming down the hall.
The pair both gave him an inquiring look as they waited for the black- headed man to answer. But to their deception, Kouji started again to laugh uncontrollably.
Ayomi raised an eyebrow and decided to start eating. She wasn't quite sure if she even wanted to hear what Kouji had to say.
When Kouji had finally stopped guffawing, the only thing he said was, "I'll let ya guys figure that out yourselves. Besides, it's none of my business." Which left both of them eying him suspiciously and wondering if that this wasn't just one big joke.
The silence didn't last long though, because when Tasuki discovered that his friend had not only started before him, but had also finished the whole bottle; the last bottle of his favorite sake, an entertaining brawl started between both of them.
They ran all over the place, hitting, flame-throwing (in Tasuki's case), cursing. . . and all the 'normal' stuff you do when your pissed.
Ayomi was quite impressed by the wide range of vocabulary that both of them had. She had never even heard most of the words and was quite shocked that the bandits around her were cheering and supporting the fighting duo. She had to admit that it was quite funny seeing them both brawl.
After a while, when Genrou was satisfied with the damage that he had inflicted on Kouji, both of them finally settled down and began eating again. Kouji mumbled something about willing to change places with him anytime and that it was only fair that he got the sake.
The girl watched the pair in silence while laughing from time to time. It was a mystery to her how two people who spend their time beating the crap out of each other can be such good friends. 'Maybe its just their way of showing that they care. . . ' she thought with a yawn. The events of that day had finally caught up to her and she was getting quite sleepy.
"If you guys don't mind, I think I'm gonna go to bed." Ayomi said while getting up from where she sat and preparing to exit the room.
"Why, you don't feel well?" Tasuki asked her with concern. It 'was' quite early.
"No baka, I'm just tried. I did have to wake up pretty early to catch someone the last couple of days," she said as she eyed him teasingly. "Well, goodnight."
With that, the young lady excused herself and headed back to her (or rather Tasuki's) room, leaving the two bandits to their little drinking game.
"What was that all about? Did you do something stupid while I was gone?" Kouji asked his fang-toothed friend when Ayomi was out of ear sight.
"Nothing of your concern aho!" replied Genrou while pouring two cups of sake and handing one to Kouji. "All the good sake may be gone but that doesn't mean that there aren't any left. How bout it eh?" He grinned evilly.
"Your on!" With that, both of the bandits began taking down cups of sake, waiting of the other to fall down and declare defeat. . . but that usually never happened since they would both get so drunk that they became unable to kept count. But the two bandits never really bothered with details. To them, the drunker, the better. . .
And what about Ayomi? Well, she in the meantime, had fallen soundly asleep as soon as she had reached her bed, absorbed into the world of dreams. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, a sleepy blue eyed girl crawled reluctantly out from beneath her covers. She had been woken up by unidentified loud noises. And she was ready to kill the person responsible for it. As Ayomi opened her eyes to target the one who was making the racket, she was startled to discover that it wasn't Tasuki playing one of his little jokes. As a matter of fact, no one was in the room but her. The noise was coming from outside. It sounded like something serious was going on. She could hear men shouting in every direction and weapons crashing. And inside the chaos, she could discern someone shouting from time to time, "LEKKA SHINEN!!!"
'Oh my god, Tasuki!!! ' Her heart started to beat furiously as she became sick of fear for all of those men and her friends begin under attack. She hastily pulled on some clothes over her head and head out the door, down the corridor, until she was finally able to witness the scene before her eyes.
The screams of men and horses filled her ears and frightened her beyond belief. Ayomi was paralyzed as she saw men, one after the other, fall to the ground and scream in pain. She could only hope that they didn't leave a family behind them. Her vision started to blur as the confusion of fighting men grew more intense. She could no longer tell the difference between enemy and ally. Everyone was covered in blood. . .
After a minute of total confusion, she was able to discern Kouji lunging himself at two men dressed in black and slashing both of them with each of his twin daggers. They hit the ground a few seconds later, dead.
Ayomi trembled in fear at the thought of those men being one of her friends. Or worse, Tasuki. . . She had not seen him anywhere yet. The monster of her fears grew bigger by the second and her heart was racing so fast now that a heart attack was not far from happening. The young girl had never in her life witness anything close to his, it was so horrible that she had difficulty breathing. . .
'I probably wont be any use in battle but the least I can do I tend to the wounded. . . ' She cursed at herself for being a coward and not even being able to move a muscle while so many people were dying right before her.
A sudden image of Tasuki lying hurt on the ground flashed in her head. . .
She shut her eyes to shun away all the horrible images invading her mind.
But when she opened them again, her heart nearly stopped at the scene before her. It was a nightmare and no one seemed to have noticed anything except for her. . .
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A/N: Wai sorry for the crummy chapter. I kinda got a writers block and well. . . sigh~ this (pointing to the top) is the result. And I kind of rushed things too. . . maybe it's because I fell the pressure of school already (sobs quietly. . . ). Oh well, at least I think I'm gonna be able to write another chapter before I run out of time. . . with of course the help of your reviews (* hint * hint * nod * nod *). ^____^