Undying Love – The Prey and the Predator
Author's Notes: So sorry I didn't get this up before I had started school. I actually had the whole chapter written and finished about two hours before school started, but I haven't had the time to edit it until now. Anyways… read and review, and I hope you enjoy!
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Blue-aqua eyes widen as he saw the powerful, black claws, swiftly sweeping towards his head. Immediately, with lightning speed, Raisuke dropped to the floor, just barely avoiding those claws beheading him. However, the shed was not so lucky…
Right when the pointy claws had made contact with the shed, all that could be seen was the wild dispersal of sharp woodchips. Various pieces of ruined and gashed wood flew everywhere, hitting the adjacent walls, the dusty floor, and Raisuke's skin. It was just luck that the Drayk had not destroyed the entire wall down.
Meanwhile, fearful brown eyes were searching for blue ones, before both pairs of eyes met. Chihiro stared in concern, as the genuine expression in her eyes has silently asked Raisuke if he was fine. Raisuke nodded, and Chihiro let out a small and relieved sigh, thankful that he had not been fatally wounded from the unexpected attack.
Soon enough, a loud crunching sound rang vibrated all over the room, as the pair turned to glance at the winged creature approaching. Meanwhile, the dragon's cold eyes peered at the fallen river spirit on the floor; it was ready to attack again.
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"What do you mean the bathhouse got attacked by a Drayk?!" inquired Yu-Baaba, while the four of them, including the messenger and her two apprentices, were rushing back towards the elders' abode. "Drayks only live on the coldest of habitats, on the grand peaks of the Resurgi Mountains! My bathhouse is certainly nowhere near a suitable Drayk breeding ground! Are the elders absolutely sure that the attacker is Drayk?"
"The elders have accurate confirmation that the creature is indeed, a Drayk. Earlier today, the elders sent a representative to check on the progress of the preparations for the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival. There are strong claims from our representative that he spotted a Drayk striking at two of your bathhouse apprentices…" replied the messenger.
Yu-Baaba looked perplexed. "Two of my bathhouse apprentices?" repeated the troubled, bathhouse mistress, confused. "I only have three bathhouse apprentices, and two of them are currently with me…"
All of a sudden, Haku gained an unfortunate understanding; he hoped that what he feared had not come true. "What did these two apprentices look like?" asked Haku, frowning.
"One of them was male, with short, blond hair… and the other one was female, with long, chestnut hair."
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Once Raisuke heard the sound of footsteps behind him, his breath became shallow. He didn't have to look behind him to know that Crimson was a foot away…
Raisuke clearly noticed the hopelessness and concern in Chihiro's chestnut eyes, before he began to pick himself off of the floor. He was going to make a run for it; he was going to lead Crimson away from the shed.
'Hikaru… you've gotten too far, this time…' the blond thought, before making his daring escape.
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Crunch… crunch… crunch… all that Raisuke could hear was the sound of the twigs breaking under his feet, and from behind him. After Raisuke had distanced himself from Chihiro, and had headed towards the thick forest near the bathhouse, the predatory Drayk had followed him close on his trail. It seemed to be fully unaware that the brunette was hiding under the wooden floor of the shed. So far… part one of Raisuke's emergency plan had worked; he was able to lure Crimson away from Chihiro. Now, he needed to find a way to annihilate the cold-blooded creature.
A few seconds later, Raisuke stopped dead short… after noticing something very wrong. He couldn't hear footsteps behind him… there were many things wrong with this situation. There were no indications that Crimson was still making an effort to pursue him…
Soon enough, Raisuke felt a warm breath grace his shoulders. The trapped river spirit closed his eyes and frowned, his own breath hitched in his throat. He was careless, having let down his guard during those precious seconds of confusion, a few moments before. And so, because of his mistake… Raisuke was now left in a most fatal predicament.
Unfortunately, before Raisuke could formulate a plan, the fearsome dragon had slashed right in Raisuke's direction. With lightning-speed reflexes, the blond dived to the floor, watching as familiar claws sliced the air above him.
Whoosh! Raisuke immediately rolled over to the right, barely missing the pointed tip of the tail, which had been targeting his heart. Whoosh! Whoosh! The unfortunate bathhouse apprentice quickly rolled to the left, and then rolled to right, dodging both of the Drayk's next attacks. Raisuke took a second to catch his breath, before attempting to avoid the long series of vicious attacks that were to follow.
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'Damn... this hurts like hell …' Raisuke thought sourly to himself, applying pressure to the bleeding wound on his side. Raisuke was swift for a river spirit, but even he had his limits. Raisuke had lost track of how long he'd been in the forest, trying to cheat death, as Crimson stopped at nothing to bring Raisuke down.
After a few steps, Raisuke came to an important decision. Running away was getting him nowhere. 'I can't keep on running… especially with these injuries. I won't last if I keep on losing blood at this rate…' the blond said to himself.
And with that… Raisuke stopped dead in his tracks… to face himself head-to-head with Crimson, ready to make his stand.