CHAPTER THREE
"Wake up!" Cat felt something jab at her side, and when she looked up she saw Tomo's face looking down on her.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
He pulled up her sleeve and began to unravel the cloth around her arm; "before everyone wakes up and we leave I need to put some more of this on you."
Catherine sat there and let him gently rub a white substance into her arm.
"Thank you," she said when he was done. He looked at her, and she had the sad expression again.
Tomo did his best to give her a small smile, "it was my pleasure to help you." And indeed it was. Despite all the cuts her skin was very smooth, and in truth, he really didn't need to rub the salve in, he just did it to feel her flesh.
She smiled back at him, and leaned forward and hugged him again, "thank you." Her breasts pushed up again his chest and he felt his face blush.
He stood up; "I need to put some more on before you go to bed tonight."
She nodded then asked, "what is it?"
"It's something I made on my own. When I was younger I got hurt a lot and didn't have money to buy anything, so I made my own solution that works better than what any store or market has."
"Did people hurt you when you were younger?" Her eyes looked at him with sorrow and pity, and he turned away.
"None of your damn business."
Catherine looked down, "I'm sorry," but Tomo just walked to where his things were and started putting things away.
Soon after everyone else started to wake, and they were all packing and talking.
"So Miaka, do you think that we were brought back here to defeat this evil?"
"Well yeah, think of it Yue, why else?"
"Well maybe there's something else, I mean, you never know."
Miaka shrugged, "if there is we'll find out."
"Do you think that when we go back to our time, that Cat will be able to come back to?"
Miaka stopped, "why not?"
Yue sighed, "well, whatever brought us here didn't want her to come, so now that she's here, will it let her leave?"
"I don't know Yue, I just don't."
Catherine pretended she didn't hear, but she did. What am I to do? I can' t stay here, I need to go back!
Tomo watched her from afar. She had a grave expression on her face as she rolled up the blankets and placed them in a bag. She seemed worried about something, but when Miaka approached to talk to her, she masked her concern with a smile and began to converse.
"Alright, the path in the forest is thin and dangerous. Nakago and I will be in the front. The two priestesses will be behind us, following them will be Tamahome and Soi, then the lady Catherine, and finally Tasuki, Tomo and Chichiri," Hotohori turned to everyone, "how does that sound?"
Everyone nodded and voiced their agreements.
Tomo smiled, he liked Tasuki and Chichiri, they were funny to watch, and they were the only ones that tried to befriend him, and they treated him like a long time friend.
The three were in the back conversing, when Catherine stopped all of a sudden.
"What's wrong?" Tasuki asked.
"Do you hear that? Something is drawing very near…" she closed her eyes, "something very large, and very angry."
"Everyone stop!" Chichiri yelled. Nakago and the rest came to the back of the group, "what's wrong?"
Tasuki pointed at Catherine whose eyes were still closed, "it's coming from there!" She pointed to the west.
Everyone drew out their weapons and waited.
"No one is coming," Tamahome said.
"Wait, I hear it now," Soi said as she moved into a battle stance.
"Everyone! Get down!" Nakago yelled as a giant spider jumped from the trees over the group.
"What is that?" Hotohori asked as he covered Yue's head.
The spider turned around, knocking several trees with its large body.
It slowly advanced towards the group; it's many eyes searching. As soon as it saw Catherine in jumped towards her, but Tomo grabbed Hotohori's sword and penetrated the large stomach that was above them.
"Everyone… run now… I can't hold the weight much longer…" Tomo said as the large spider twisted and turned in anger and pain.
They all got out from under the stomach, and Tomo used all of his strength to throw the spider to the ground without crushing himself, and as soon as the great beast hit the ground, it shattered into many little spiders that scurried away as fast as they could.
"Are you alright!" Hotohori ran to him.
"I'm fine. I'm sorry I took this," he gave his sword back to him.
"What about lady Catherine, is she alright?" They all turned to her, and she sat there wide-eyed for a minute.
"Y-you saved me!" She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, "you saved me! You're so brave and smart and courageous and wonderful and strong and cool and awesome and wonderful and brave and smart and wonderful!"
Tomo pushed her off, "that's enough!" He got up as fast as he could and wiped his clothes off, "what is everyone staring at? Are we going to the Dark Fens or not!"
Everyone turned around and started taking their places, and Tomo was at the very back, not speaking to anyone.
When they finally reached the closest town, it was already dark and they decided to stay at the inn.
"Listen, if that stupid monster didn't show up, we could have made it a couple miles farther," Tamahome complained.
"We would have stopped here anyway," Tasuki said.
Tamahome just crossed his arms and looked away.
Catherine had been silent the whole time, and when Tomo watched her he could tell she was deep in thought.
"Excuse me, miss, please, you're so beautiful, please, buy this ribbon from me so I can feed my family. It would look perfect in your hair," a middle-aged woman is rags came up to her and held out a blood-red ribbon in her face.
"I would, I really would, it's beautiful, but I don't have any money!"
"Please! Please! Just one coin! Please!"
Catherine looked around not knowing what to do, "listen, how about if you take this and sell it to someone else for lots of money," she took her necklace off, it was beautiful, it had a single diamond pendant, and handed it to the woman.
"Oh bless your heart! Bless your soul! Thank you so much! Thank you! Please, take the ribbon!" The woman ran off crying for joy.
"You shouldn't encourage begging," Nakago said.
"I don't encourage it, I just give help to those who ask it of me," she replied.
Nakago smirked, "you are quite the witty little one."
Catherine looked up at him, "me? No way! I'm not smart enough."
He frowned, "oh but you are, you just lack a clear self-vision."
She grimaced, "I don't want a clear self-vision, it's bad enough everyone else has to look at me, I don't need to see myself!"
"You will see one day," was all he said before they entered the inn.
"Sake all around!" Tasuki yelled at the bar-tender guy.
Chichiri rolled his eyes, "I should have guessed, ya know."
Everyone sat down at the table in the middle of the room. All the warriors did not want their backs to the door, so Catherine ended up sitting there.
"Look, if you feel uneasy, I'll switch you," Miaka offered.
Cat smiled up at her, "no need, I'm perfectly fine."
Tomo didn't sit down with them; he went straight to his room. Why couldn't he stand to look at her? She had put some of her hair up in the dark red ribbon and she looked so beautiful. He wanted to caress her hair and then her face and then her lips and then-he just wanted to touch all of her. He laid down on his bed, and stared at the ceiling. What he wouldn't give to have Catherine lying next to him, arms entwined with his.
But no, even if she would do that, she thought he was gay because of that stupid Soi. He wasn't, no, he wasn't, it was just that-he didn't want to think of it. He went to the basin of water near his bed and washed off all the paint, then stared at his reflection. He shrugged then turned back to the bed, where he laid back down and closed his eyes.
"Watch out!" He heard lady Yue's voice shout downstairs. He opened the door to his room and rushed to where everyone was standing. What he saw shocked him.
Catherine was sitting with her back to the door, and she was holding a dagger behind her. A man was standing in the frame of the doorway, his arm out as if he threw something.
Catherine stood up, "now, why would you want to throw this at me?"
The man in the doorway pulled out a short sword, "someone paid me to."
"Who would that be? I haven't been here for long, I could not have made enemies," she turned around to face him, her face an emotionless mask.
"Cat, be careful, just scoot back and the fighters will take care of him," Yue whispered.
"No. I want to know who wants me dead."
The man raised his sword and ran at her with a loud yell, she dodged him, and Tasuki ran forward and hit the man in the head, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.
"He's a terrible fighter," he said.
Catherine shook her head, "you shouldn't have done that, now I have to wait until he wakes up."
"Sorry I saved you."
"No, don't get me wrong here, I thank you very much for it, but my life is still in danger, especially since I don't know who want me dead."
"I see your point, but at least now we can tie him up so he wont try and attack you again," Tasuki said as he grabbed some rope and started wrapping it around the strange man.
There was no one else in the small room save for the man who ran the small bar and the innkeeper, who had fainted when the man attacked Cat.
Tomo turned around before anyone saw him.
"Nice of you to join us," Soi said.
"Well, it's been taken care of, so you don't need me," he started walking up the stairs.
"Hold on, turn around," she said.
"No," and he went upstairs into his room.
"I thought there was something different, I guess it was my imagination," she shrugged and stared at the man on the floor, "I can't wait 'til he wakes up, then at least we might know what's going on."
"Do you think he has anything to do with the evil force that has been plaguing the land?" Hotohori asked.
"We'll find out soon enough," Chichiri answered.
Cat yawned, "excuse me," she said, "I think I will go to bed now, anyone want this?" She held the dagger up.
"Maybe you should keep it, you know, for self-defense," Miaka suggested.
Cat let out a little giggle, "sure," and she walked upstairs to the room next to Tomo's.