DarkEcoOttsel: Chapter three's here! Romance is in the air for this chapter! Read and review, people!

Untainted Souls 2: Confessions with A Bloody Paw

By: DarkEcoOttsel

Chapter Three

Shenzi turned back to Banzai once her clan had left. She looked hard at him and realized that his injuries were more than she thought. He probably had both external and internal injuries. His face was contorted in pain even though he was unconscious. Blood from a cut over his eye was streaming down his face and into his eyes.

Shenzi knew she had to get the blood out of his eyes, so she looked around for some greenery. It was a stupid thing to do since nothing grew in the caves. She sighed in frustration.

Man, I don't know how to take care of someone! Shenzi thought. I do know that I should try to stop his bleeding...but how?

She thought of something that she could do as a last resort. She tried to think of something else, but she came up with nothing. She knew how crucial time was so she decided on her last resort idea, although she was hesitant to do it.

Finally, she gingerly lowered her head down to Banzai's level and moved closer to his face. Shenzi felt her cheeks grow red, but she ignored it. She stopped moving closer, her nose almost touching Banzai's face. She gulped. Then she opened her mouth and began licking the blood from the cut away and out of his eyes.

Banzai winced and let out a small groan of pain. His eyes slowly opened and Shenzi backed off a bit.

"Uh, um, sorry," Shenzi stuttered. "I didn't mean to wake you...." She stopped, kind of embarrassed.

"It's alright," Banzai smiled weakly at her, raising his head up. He looked around. "Hey, where'd everyone else go?"

"Ed's taking the clan to the eastern border," Shenzi said, relaxing a bit.

"You left Ed in charge?" Banzai laughed a little. "We're never gonna see them again."

"Heh," Shenzi laughed a little as well. "Anyway, they're gonna wait for us there so you better hurry and get well."

"Huh," Banzai lowered his head back into his paws. His eyes began to close and he muttered, "Don't count...on it."

Shenzi sat up straight and said loudly, "Hey, Banzai, don't black out on me now!"

"I'm trying...." Banzai murmured. "But it hurts."

"What hurts?" Shenzi asked, concerned.

"Oh, everything," Banzai smirked. "I have a feeling that only one of us is going to leave here alive today."

"Don't say stupid things like that," Shenzi ordered. "With an attitude like that, you sure as hell will die."

Banzai chuckled as he closed his eyes. He winced visibly as he moved his front leg. A deep gash ran from his paw up to the middle of his leg.

Shenzi noticed it. She got up and began licking the wound tenderly, causing Banzai to open his eyes and raise his head up. Not because of pain, but because of shock.

Shenzi stopped and said quietly to him, "Am I hurting you?"

"No," Banzai answered after a pause. He noticed that Shenzi was injured as well: a cut running from her upper back down to her shoulder blade. He slowly moved closer and said, "You're hurt, too."

Shenzi felt him lick at the wound. It stung a little, but the pain vanished as a new emotion surfaced in Shenzi. It was something that she never felt before. It felt like tons of butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach and that her heart skipped a few beats.

Banzai stopped licking the wound and he turned to look at Shenzi. Shenzi stared back at him through her abnormally large eyes. They stared at each other for a few more seconds until Shenzi looked away, blushing.

"Um...er...well, you better get some rest, Banzai," Shenzi muttered. "I need you to get better soon so we can get outta here."

"Yeah," Banzai said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "G'night."

"Night."

Shenzi waited until she was sure Banzai was asleep. She put a paw to her chest and tried to steady her heart. What was this new feeling? She never felt like this before around Banzai. Just staring into his eyes made her feel like...like....

Shenzi shook her head rapidly and told herself no.

No. No way. ...I can't I?

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she sat back against a large rock. Shenzi was glad that her plan to kill Scar worked for the most part, but it never occurred to her that her friends would get hurt in the process. She felt extremely guilty about Banzai's injuries. Feeling her eyelids grow droopy, she let herself fall asleep.