It was dark outside when Kinnara finally woke up, her entire body aching. Just a few feet away from her was a fire that was crackling merrily, illuminating the small bit of the cave that she was laying in. Groaning, she struggled to sit up but pain stabbed through her shoulder and she promptly fell back onto the hard rock floor.
"Don't get up," a familiar voice chastised and she looked over weakly.
It was Tetsuo. He was leaning up against the side of the wall.
"Heh, you look like shit," Kinnara mumbled, looking over at the small blaze that covered the small cave in a deep golden light.
"Thanks, you don't look so nice yourself," he replied dryly.
Ignoring the pain that raced through her shoulder she propped herself up on her elbows, trying to find out how she got there. Then she saw it, sitting in the shadows, dressed in black… someone was there. Shaking it off, while her head screamed at her for doing so she sighed, and ignoring the burning pain in her shoulder she propped herself up on her elbows and looked around for the person she could have sworn she had just seen. Was it nothing more than her imagination?
"Are you alright, Tetsuo?" she asked, lazily looking over for a moment before regretting it sorely as her neck popped and cracked in protest.
"I'll be fine. It's nothing more than a broken leg and something shattered near my shoulder. I should make it. No external injuries or open wounds though," he replied, taking a staggering breath, like it hurt.
"Hn. We need to get moving."
Kinnara looked around for the source of the voice, and realized that it must be the dark shadow in the cave that she saw.
"Would that really be wise? I pretty sure I could make it out of here, but with broken bones… Tetsuo shouldn't be moved!" Kinnara snapped back, struggling to stand, and the shadow felt a bit of surprise seeing the tall young woman stand.
Though she was shaking slightly, and both of her legs ached, she told herself to ignore it. Her starved body cried out for food and rest and she was reminded that she hadn't eaten in a week.
"I can make it!" Tetsuo replied stubbornly, doing his best to stand but his leg gave out in less then a minute. Leaning up against a stalagmite (I think those are the ones on the floors of caves, right?) to steady himself he cursed his stupidity for a few moments.
"Stubborn idiot," Kinnara muttered, walking over to him, her pain barely noticeable as her face was stony and there as only a slight limp. Letting the demonic general lean up against her she sighed, looking around for that patch of darkness hiding in the shadows and called out to it, her voice bouncing around eerily.
"He can barely walk! Why can't we rest then?"
The shadow seemed to ponder it for a moment, and then replied.
"Humans are coming and I can't honestly keep saving you every time."
Typical. She hadn't even seen this guy and she already hated him.
"Fine…" she muttered, looking over at Tetsuo who was struggling to stand.
"I'll be fine," he replied stubbornly but the grimace on his face was far too much to stand.
"Follow me," the shadow replied coldly as the fire suddenly went out.
"Follow you? How do you follow a shadow through the darkness?" Kinnara asked impatiently, wincing as Tetsuo unwittingly dug his claw like fingers into the wound in her shoulder.
"Hn, frustrating," it muttered and suddenly there was a small ball of orange flames just between the shadow and Kinnara. It glowed just bright enough to let them see where they were walking though they still couldn't see who they were following. "Just follow that ball of fire."
"Great, we're blindly following you. I don't even know why I'm doing this… risking my life for the general of this ungodly war," Kinnara muttered under her breath as Tetsuo started to become heavier by the second, consciousness fading out of his mind.
Deep in the back of her mind, she knew why though. She was trying to save this man… because she held a last shred of hope that maybe he thought what she did. That maybe he could help stop this war that had torn her life apart.
"I'm so sorry," Tetsuo muttered feverishly through pain about thirty minutes later and suddenly he collapsed, her knees giving out. Thoroughly unconscious now, Kinnara had to stop, the general's weight finally causing her own knees to collapse too. Groaning to herself she quickly picked him up on her back, his face shoved up against her neck.
"Great… just great…" she muttered breathlessly as she gasped for her breath an watched as the small orb of fire, and her only light, disappeared into the darkness.
"For your sake and mine, lets hope that the tiny shadow returns," Kinnara muttered, hefting him higher up on her shoulders and slowly setting out.
After the third time her head collided with a stalactite Kinnara decided that this wasn't really something she should be doing. And that thing was carry a rather heavy guy on her back through a pitch black cave/tunnel system, and not to mention it was just stupid to do those things in virtually bare feet.
That's when she saw the small orb of light float towards her.
"What are you doing, lagging behind?" the cold voice asked her as she squinted into burning orange globe, trying the see the person's face.
"Forgive me, but the General passed out," Kinnara replied through gritted teeth, glaring into the light.
"So you slow down too?" it chastised, "Well than, hurry up!"
Mumbling dark curse words off into the nothingness that surrounded her, she shifted the demon general around her shoulders for a moment than set off, ignoring the deep gashes that were seemingly being sliced all over her body.
After what seemed like an eternity, light began to slice through the eerie gloom and finally they came to the exit. Blinking the dark dots from her vision she finally got a better look at the shadow.
It was extremely short, mainly considering the fact that Kinnara was amazingly tall. The lower half of his face was covered with black cloth, along with all of his hair, through what she could see was two bright crimson eyes that stared at her deviously. Wrapped around his slight form was a thick, heavy black cloak clasped with a thick, plain silver clasp.
"So the shadow has a face. Would you mind tell me how far we are from the demonic encampment?" Kinnara asked disdainfully, shifting Tetsuo slightly on her back.
"We're not far from there, follow me," it replied.
Groaning slightly, Tetsuo finally began to stir as they reached the middle of the thick forest that closed off the demonic encampment for the moment. That's when there was an odd feeling, as though the temperature around them raised quite a few degrees.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a voice called out to then.
Each word wrapped around them like hot wire, though it sounded oddly sensual. It made the hair on the back of Kinnara's neck stand on end.
"Who the hell are you?" Kinnara asked, completely annoyed already as Tetsuo slid down her back and decided to stand, leaning on her instead of simply laying.
"Me? My name is Pyra, and why do you have Tetsuo on your back, you filthy peasant," she sneered, walking into their light.
Her well curved form was covered in a tight black silk dress that was trimmed in thick red cord. A long slit raced up her long, tanned legs and rested on the tops of her flat black slippers adorned with large rubies. Long, thick waves of pure scarlet hair fell to her waist in large, soft waves, framing her delicate face.
"Peasant? Coming from you? The village Call Girl!" Kinnara spat back, making Pyra glare back at her with bright orange eyes, rimmed in black and red.
"Pyra, please leave us be and let us pass," Tetsuo warned weakly, one leg shaking horribly as it protested him standing on it.
"Oh Tetsuo! You poor thing, you're injured!" she cried out, rushing towards him when she stopped dead I her tracks as soon as she heard the gentle whisper of a sword being pulled from its sheath.
"Do not lay a hand on him," the small shadow threatened, glaring at Pyra with crimson eyes brimming with hatred.
"Oh? A petty little sword? I am the Ancient of Fire, watch me ruin this little plaything," she whispered, placing a hand on the blade, making it glow a deadly orange. But what surprised her most was the fact that the sword did not melt.
"Hn, a pathetic creature like you couldn't hope to melt this!" it's wielder spat, pulling it out of her grasp and slicing her palm in the process.
"General Pyra, please, leave him be," Tetsuo began weakly though she didn't hear. Furious and now in pain she stormed off, taking the steaming heat with her.
Sighing, Kinnara got ready to help Tetsuo walk again when they heard something walk through the forest and then, there it was. A monstrously tall stone creature standing stood in their way, looming over them all, even Kinnara, which was a feat all on its own.
"General Tetsuo?" it spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice, though it's baritone waver made Kinnara shiver slightly, as though the words were shaking her very soul.
"Hello, General Gollum," Tetsuo responded weakly, barely managing to raise his hand in greeting.
"You look horrible, miss, would you let me take him back to the camp?" he asked gently, moving towards Kinnara, who suddenly felt very small.
"I…" What were you supposed to say to that?
"On second thought, you should come to," Gollum added, eyeing her feet nervously.
In all truth, Kinnara hadn't realized just how bad her feet were though as he looked down he found himself slightly horrified.
Huge gashes ran up her feet and calves, blood still oozing from the wounds. He could just barely tell that a few bone were broken. Looking up at the tall lightning demon with sympathy he tried to move away from her so he wouldn't harm her anymore.
"I'm fine," she growled quietly, making a face as the large stone creature gently pulled Tetsuo away from her arms, making her slump slightly.
"General, may I take her to the encampment?" Gollum asked politely, which under better circumstances would have made Kinnara burst out in laughter, seeing a huge stone behemoth acting as docile as a kitten.
"Please," Tetsuo sighed, slumping into the large stone body, going limp as he was picked up and placed in the crook of an arm.
"Oh no you don't!" Kinnara warned, taking a step back and holding up a hand to fend off the approaching stone demon, looking around for the small shadow, it seemed it had abandoned her for the moment. Suddenly she felt the large hand of the General Gollum close around her waist and suddenly her aching feet left the blood soaked grass blades.
"C'mon, miss, you're coming with us."
"MY NAME IS KINNARA! AND PUT ME DOWN!" she cried out trying to struggle out of his grasp… but the blood loss hit her like a brick wall and she was out…
Sitting straight up in his bed, Kurama looked around, confused. Where was he again? Then he remember, this was Narue's house. That's where he is. Sighing, he looked around the oddly spooky house until something call out his name, causing him to start.
-thank you all of you for reading. Can't wait to put up the next chapter. Please let me know what you think, review. Cheerio.