Chapter 9: The Fear
A few moments after Cye left, Yukari wished him back. She shivered, pulling her blanket around her tightly. A scent caught her attention. Musky...but clean, almost a pure smell, like water. She nestled into the smell of Cye's half of the blanket and finally drifted back to sleep against the tree.
From the shadows, Sehkmet watched this with a slight smirk. The girl was afraid of getting too close too Torrent...? Strange child, he thought. We'll see how she fairs against my snakes though...we will see how frightened you can become, my dear...
Yukari awoke in a cold sweat, her head pounding. She rubbed her forehead, calming herself. What was going on? She couldn't focus. One of her memories came into her mind and she let out a sharp gasp of pain seeing it. Father... It was still eariler, close to sun rise though. The sky was turning everything a light blue. She shivered, hugging her knees to her chest under the blanket, refusing to turn to look at the memory. Why had she been so mean last night...? Cye was trying to be nice and she was being a complete ass. She tugged on a new pair of pants form her bag, seeing her others were bloody from yesterdays fights. As she was putting a leg in her jeans she heard a hiss, but tugged on her jeans quickly, falling flat on her back.
"Crud..." She groaned, about to sit up when the rattle stopped her. A rattlesnake, in this cold weather...? It was at her side, dangerously close to her. She gulped.
"My snake's can feel your fear, little girl! Don't let them see it or they may strike!" Sekhmet stepped over her, looking down with a smirk before he knelt, acting as though he would remove the snake but grabbed her wrists inside, pinning her. The position mad fear and panic grip her. She kicked, crying out for him to get off. The snake bit and she winced, feeling the venom in her viens. Sehkmet held her still.
"Fear will only get you killed in a battle, girl. To learn to fight you must control that fear, not let anyone or anything see it..."
Yukari's muscles tensed and she gasped, as the poison burned through her.
"Do you understand, Yukari?"
She cried, hot tears running out of the corners of her eyes. Sehkmet looked at her and smirked. "Most people would have passed out by now...you are strong..." He released her and handed her a water bottle. "Drink it..."
She groaned, but was too weak to argue. He forced her to drink the liquid and she passed out. When she awoke again it was late in the morning, maybe 10 or so. Her side was sore where the snke had bit her, but the venom had left her body. The liquid must have been an anti dote, she figured.She took a painful breathe and sat up. She was in the same spot as where she had passed out. Sehkmet hadn't even tried to shade her under a tree. After a moment or two she stood, dusting herself off. Her panst were loose from not being buttoned. For a moment painc struck her.
"I didn't harm you, girl. You've had that discomfort once before and I don't wish to cause you it..." Sehkmet was sitting against a tree, watching her, a snake on his wrist.
"You don't know anything, Sekhmet..." She hissed.
"Why do you deny what was done to you? It happened, it's in the past, but you still let it eat at you..."
"I was weak then...I don't like knowing that..." She sat down against another tree.
"Why did you not tell someone, like your parents?"
"What would they have done, go fight the Dynasty on my honor? Yeah right...My mother was never home...I hardly ever even see her anymore, and my dad...they killed him after they broke me..."
"Broke you...?" Sehkmet was getting curious now.
"They beat me sensless...atleast that's what I remember in my dreams...they took everything I had dear...my father, my innocence...my brother in a way too..."
"Don't think that...They can not take away any of that from you...not through death, not trough armor, and not trough torture and...rape..." He said the word subtly, but she still flinched. "Do not let them frighten you...when you're scared, you are weak...then those Dynasty bastards will get in your head..."
Yukari nodded, looking away from him. His words meant nothing. That subject always made her sick and scared her. Sehkmet saw her shaking and shook his head. It would take more than his words and tactics to drive the skiddishness out of her. Six years of damage to a girl with a stone cold heart could hardly be undone in 5 hours. Cye would have to help her through this also, he realized.
She heard another rattle and shut her eyes, bracing herself for Sekhmet to come at her. She couldn't fight anymore, it was drained from her. He saw this and called off the snake and it slithered off to the shadows. "Come...Anubis can have you know...we will continue your training later..."
He pulled her to feet and pushed her until she walked by herself. Anubis was meditating near a waterfall when they found him. "Anubis!" Sehkmet called as the exwarlord of cruelty opened his teal eyes.
"She's yours now...I'll take my turn with her another time..." Sekhmet walked off. Anubis eyed him, then the girl.
"I suppose you'll need alittle while to rest after the snake bite..." He shook his head. "Take a nap...I'm going to finish meditating..." He shut his eyes agian. Yukari studied him for a moment then sat down infront of him, giving him about 2 feet of space between them. He opened his eyes, raising a brow. "What are you doing?"
"Watching...I want to learn as much as possible. I don't want to be afraid anymore..." She whispered, not trusting the forest with her secrets. Anubis nodded.
"Sit like I am...good. Now I'm going to enter your thoughts...I want to see what you're afraid of...all of it...Open up to me, don't hide anything..."
She gulped, nodding as she shut her eyes.
"Match your breathing to mine...stop shaking...Don't jerk, this may hurt..."
There was a brief silence then she gasped, clenching her fists as he severed the barriers around her thoughts.
"Good, keep insync with my breathing..." Anubis instructed. There was another jolt of pain as another barrier fell. Then Anubis stopped. He had one more wall to go, this would be hardest for her, he knew. "Brace yourself..."
She screamed , pursing her lips to control her pain. Anubis looked around. He was submersed in her thoughts, all the gates down. There were few good images in her memory. Pictures seemed to be themed here. Most were of her and her father or ones of Rowen and her, but fewer as the two got older. He sighed and found what he was looking for. The one memory that hurt her so badly. It played and he watched. He had expected what he saw. Typical Dynasty behavior, but when he saw the girl's attacker he snapped out of her meditated mind. Hiten...That's what he meant in having already claimed her.
A cold chill rippled up her spine as Anubis left her thoughts. "Yukari...it was that man that attacked you...?"
She nodded, opening her eyes. She saw spots for a moment. Anubis shook his head, but when she asked what was wrong he asked her if he could go into her mind once more. She agreed and once in, Anubis found the memory he wanted. Fire was in the girls heart. She was angry and afraid for her life. Her father had been killed before her eyes and she knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill her either. A voice made him turn. He was kneeling in Talp's throne room again. The girl was in the center of the four warlords square on her knees in wrist shackles.
"CHILD!" The voice was Talpa's. It made Anubis cringe. "YOU HAVE BEEN STRIPED OF YOU OF THE VIRTUE OF PRIDE! FROM HERE ON YOU WILL NOT BE KNOWN AS THAT, BUT OF THE VIRTUE OF HUMBLENESS!"
Yukari cried on the ground silently but looked up. "You may change her virtue with your nether powers...but her spirit will not be easily broken..." Her eyes were dark, shadowed. The Ancient was using her as a medium to speak to them even then.
"WE WILL SEE, MONK! ANUBIS!"
"Yes, master?"
Anubis turned to see himself bow.
"TAKE HER TO THE NETHER SPIRITS. BREAK HER SPIRIT AND SHATTER HER MIND. I WANT HER PLAGUED WITH THE MEMORIES...SO SHE DOES NOT FORGET THE POWER THE DYNASTY HAS..."
He watched as his former self grabbed the child by the hair, pulling her out of the throne room.
"DAIS!"
"Yes, master?" Dais sneered.
"THAT MONK PROTECTS THIS CHILD WITH SPECIAL CARE...I FEAR SHE WILL BECOME A HAZARD HERE...TAKE HER TO HER REALM WHEN THIS IS OVER...HITEN WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HER..."
Dais nodded, bowing then disappeared.
"Master...this child is a threat to the Dynasty?" Kale asked. Anubis smirked at this. Difiance...
"SHE IS NOT AS BIG A THREAT AS THE RONIN ARMORS, BUT WITH THEM SHE COULD BE..."
"What do you mean, master?" Sehkmet hissed.
"DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF IN THESE MATTERS. SIMPLY DO AS TOLD!!!"
The image faded to the dungeon, the girl had been beat senseless, but Sekhmet was the one who suggestion defying Talpa.
"Talpa said himself she's not a threat unless with the other armors. What are the chances an English child will end up in Japan in 5 years?" He hissed.
Kale nodded. "There's hardly any..."
"Then it is agreed...Dais, let her keep those memories of this day...It could be more fun than simply tearing her mind apart..."
The vision ended in flames. Flames? Rage. Something knocked him back into his mortal body and he blinked. Yukari pulled back her fist as she ran. She had seen the vision too. He sighed. Talpa's brainwashing had erased her from his memory. No wonder she felt she knew me... He cursed himself and got up, going after her.
Yukari collapsed on the floor of the woods, her hands holding her up, her lungs burning. Hot tears rolled and she felt coldness surround her. No...her subarmor flashed and she felt the weight of the armor around her. She pushed herself up but couldn't stand. Why can't I stand in the armor? It made no sense.
"You're wondering why the armor does not let you stand...?" A familiar voice chilled her. No. Not here...not now... She looked up, seeing the armored figure infront of her.
Hiten smirked. "Hello again, Yukari Hashiba..."
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Yukari is about to face her greatest fear. She's pinned herself and Hiten has appeared! What will happen? Will she survive?? And what makes her so dangerous that Talpa wanted her virtue blocked?? Find out in the next chapter! The Foolishness that is Pride!
A few moments after Cye left, Yukari wished him back. She shivered, pulling her blanket around her tightly. A scent caught her attention. Musky...but clean, almost a pure smell, like water. She nestled into the smell of Cye's half of the blanket and finally drifted back to sleep against the tree.
From the shadows, Sehkmet watched this with a slight smirk. The girl was afraid of getting too close too Torrent...? Strange child, he thought. We'll see how she fairs against my snakes though...we will see how frightened you can become, my dear...
Yukari awoke in a cold sweat, her head pounding. She rubbed her forehead, calming herself. What was going on? She couldn't focus. One of her memories came into her mind and she let out a sharp gasp of pain seeing it. Father... It was still eariler, close to sun rise though. The sky was turning everything a light blue. She shivered, hugging her knees to her chest under the blanket, refusing to turn to look at the memory. Why had she been so mean last night...? Cye was trying to be nice and she was being a complete ass. She tugged on a new pair of pants form her bag, seeing her others were bloody from yesterdays fights. As she was putting a leg in her jeans she heard a hiss, but tugged on her jeans quickly, falling flat on her back.
"Crud..." She groaned, about to sit up when the rattle stopped her. A rattlesnake, in this cold weather...? It was at her side, dangerously close to her. She gulped.
"My snake's can feel your fear, little girl! Don't let them see it or they may strike!" Sekhmet stepped over her, looking down with a smirk before he knelt, acting as though he would remove the snake but grabbed her wrists inside, pinning her. The position mad fear and panic grip her. She kicked, crying out for him to get off. The snake bit and she winced, feeling the venom in her viens. Sehkmet held her still.
"Fear will only get you killed in a battle, girl. To learn to fight you must control that fear, not let anyone or anything see it..."
Yukari's muscles tensed and she gasped, as the poison burned through her.
"Do you understand, Yukari?"
She cried, hot tears running out of the corners of her eyes. Sehkmet looked at her and smirked. "Most people would have passed out by now...you are strong..." He released her and handed her a water bottle. "Drink it..."
She groaned, but was too weak to argue. He forced her to drink the liquid and she passed out. When she awoke again it was late in the morning, maybe 10 or so. Her side was sore where the snke had bit her, but the venom had left her body. The liquid must have been an anti dote, she figured.She took a painful breathe and sat up. She was in the same spot as where she had passed out. Sehkmet hadn't even tried to shade her under a tree. After a moment or two she stood, dusting herself off. Her panst were loose from not being buttoned. For a moment painc struck her.
"I didn't harm you, girl. You've had that discomfort once before and I don't wish to cause you it..." Sehkmet was sitting against a tree, watching her, a snake on his wrist.
"You don't know anything, Sekhmet..." She hissed.
"Why do you deny what was done to you? It happened, it's in the past, but you still let it eat at you..."
"I was weak then...I don't like knowing that..." She sat down against another tree.
"Why did you not tell someone, like your parents?"
"What would they have done, go fight the Dynasty on my honor? Yeah right...My mother was never home...I hardly ever even see her anymore, and my dad...they killed him after they broke me..."
"Broke you...?" Sehkmet was getting curious now.
"They beat me sensless...atleast that's what I remember in my dreams...they took everything I had dear...my father, my innocence...my brother in a way too..."
"Don't think that...They can not take away any of that from you...not through death, not trough armor, and not trough torture and...rape..." He said the word subtly, but she still flinched. "Do not let them frighten you...when you're scared, you are weak...then those Dynasty bastards will get in your head..."
Yukari nodded, looking away from him. His words meant nothing. That subject always made her sick and scared her. Sehkmet saw her shaking and shook his head. It would take more than his words and tactics to drive the skiddishness out of her. Six years of damage to a girl with a stone cold heart could hardly be undone in 5 hours. Cye would have to help her through this also, he realized.
She heard another rattle and shut her eyes, bracing herself for Sekhmet to come at her. She couldn't fight anymore, it was drained from her. He saw this and called off the snake and it slithered off to the shadows. "Come...Anubis can have you know...we will continue your training later..."
He pulled her to feet and pushed her until she walked by herself. Anubis was meditating near a waterfall when they found him. "Anubis!" Sehkmet called as the exwarlord of cruelty opened his teal eyes.
"She's yours now...I'll take my turn with her another time..." Sekhmet walked off. Anubis eyed him, then the girl.
"I suppose you'll need alittle while to rest after the snake bite..." He shook his head. "Take a nap...I'm going to finish meditating..." He shut his eyes agian. Yukari studied him for a moment then sat down infront of him, giving him about 2 feet of space between them. He opened his eyes, raising a brow. "What are you doing?"
"Watching...I want to learn as much as possible. I don't want to be afraid anymore..." She whispered, not trusting the forest with her secrets. Anubis nodded.
"Sit like I am...good. Now I'm going to enter your thoughts...I want to see what you're afraid of...all of it...Open up to me, don't hide anything..."
She gulped, nodding as she shut her eyes.
"Match your breathing to mine...stop shaking...Don't jerk, this may hurt..."
There was a brief silence then she gasped, clenching her fists as he severed the barriers around her thoughts.
"Good, keep insync with my breathing..." Anubis instructed. There was another jolt of pain as another barrier fell. Then Anubis stopped. He had one more wall to go, this would be hardest for her, he knew. "Brace yourself..."
She screamed , pursing her lips to control her pain. Anubis looked around. He was submersed in her thoughts, all the gates down. There were few good images in her memory. Pictures seemed to be themed here. Most were of her and her father or ones of Rowen and her, but fewer as the two got older. He sighed and found what he was looking for. The one memory that hurt her so badly. It played and he watched. He had expected what he saw. Typical Dynasty behavior, but when he saw the girl's attacker he snapped out of her meditated mind. Hiten...That's what he meant in having already claimed her.
A cold chill rippled up her spine as Anubis left her thoughts. "Yukari...it was that man that attacked you...?"
She nodded, opening her eyes. She saw spots for a moment. Anubis shook his head, but when she asked what was wrong he asked her if he could go into her mind once more. She agreed and once in, Anubis found the memory he wanted. Fire was in the girls heart. She was angry and afraid for her life. Her father had been killed before her eyes and she knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill her either. A voice made him turn. He was kneeling in Talp's throne room again. The girl was in the center of the four warlords square on her knees in wrist shackles.
"CHILD!" The voice was Talpa's. It made Anubis cringe. "YOU HAVE BEEN STRIPED OF YOU OF THE VIRTUE OF PRIDE! FROM HERE ON YOU WILL NOT BE KNOWN AS THAT, BUT OF THE VIRTUE OF HUMBLENESS!"
Yukari cried on the ground silently but looked up. "You may change her virtue with your nether powers...but her spirit will not be easily broken..." Her eyes were dark, shadowed. The Ancient was using her as a medium to speak to them even then.
"WE WILL SEE, MONK! ANUBIS!"
"Yes, master?"
Anubis turned to see himself bow.
"TAKE HER TO THE NETHER SPIRITS. BREAK HER SPIRIT AND SHATTER HER MIND. I WANT HER PLAGUED WITH THE MEMORIES...SO SHE DOES NOT FORGET THE POWER THE DYNASTY HAS..."
He watched as his former self grabbed the child by the hair, pulling her out of the throne room.
"DAIS!"
"Yes, master?" Dais sneered.
"THAT MONK PROTECTS THIS CHILD WITH SPECIAL CARE...I FEAR SHE WILL BECOME A HAZARD HERE...TAKE HER TO HER REALM WHEN THIS IS OVER...HITEN WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HER..."
Dais nodded, bowing then disappeared.
"Master...this child is a threat to the Dynasty?" Kale asked. Anubis smirked at this. Difiance...
"SHE IS NOT AS BIG A THREAT AS THE RONIN ARMORS, BUT WITH THEM SHE COULD BE..."
"What do you mean, master?" Sehkmet hissed.
"DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF IN THESE MATTERS. SIMPLY DO AS TOLD!!!"
The image faded to the dungeon, the girl had been beat senseless, but Sekhmet was the one who suggestion defying Talpa.
"Talpa said himself she's not a threat unless with the other armors. What are the chances an English child will end up in Japan in 5 years?" He hissed.
Kale nodded. "There's hardly any..."
"Then it is agreed...Dais, let her keep those memories of this day...It could be more fun than simply tearing her mind apart..."
The vision ended in flames. Flames? Rage. Something knocked him back into his mortal body and he blinked. Yukari pulled back her fist as she ran. She had seen the vision too. He sighed. Talpa's brainwashing had erased her from his memory. No wonder she felt she knew me... He cursed himself and got up, going after her.
Yukari collapsed on the floor of the woods, her hands holding her up, her lungs burning. Hot tears rolled and she felt coldness surround her. No...her subarmor flashed and she felt the weight of the armor around her. She pushed herself up but couldn't stand. Why can't I stand in the armor? It made no sense.
"You're wondering why the armor does not let you stand...?" A familiar voice chilled her. No. Not here...not now... She looked up, seeing the armored figure infront of her.
Hiten smirked. "Hello again, Yukari Hashiba..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yukari is about to face her greatest fear. She's pinned herself and Hiten has appeared! What will happen? Will she survive?? And what makes her so dangerous that Talpa wanted her virtue blocked?? Find out in the next chapter! The Foolishness that is Pride!