"Nice to see you again, Jean," Haruki said, chuckling softly when Fenrir bared his fangs at the summoner who just shrugged. "I'm not here to fight you, rather I'm giving you one last chance to change your mind."
"About what exactly?" I asked Haruki and when he grinned at me showing all of his teeth I paled, Raidou pulled a summoner tube from his pocket so fast I didn't even see the demon until it was standing between me and Haruki who sighed. "I'd never join you, not after you hurt Narumi and tried to kill me." I snapped at him, barely registering that Raidou had summoned two demons, Leanan Sidhe and Orthrus.
"That was a mistake, Jean but I've decided to make up for it by letting your boyfriend live but you have to join me. Otherwise…." He trailed off, running a finger across his throat and I narrowed my eyes already looking forward to wiping the smirk off his lips as Fenrir growled, brushing his fur against my leg before he darted towards Haruki only to have Kurama Tengu block the demon's path. Fenrir dodged but Tengu ignored him, darting towards me and I just barely brought my gun up in time to fire off a shot. The tengu moved so fast I could barely keep up, Fenrir rushing to my aid when I froze which Gouto had warned me about.
Raidou's third demon appeared in a flash of light, blocking Tengu who glared as Cu Chulainn appeared. As Cu Chulainn rushed towards Haruki's demon I swallowed, focusing on the summoner himself but another demon blocked my path leaving me facing Okuninushi the demon grinning at me. "Nice to meet you again." Okuninushi chuckled, taking a swing at my head and I jumped back firing off a shot that went wide and the demon laughed aiming its sword at my face. "That was the best you could do? Pathetic."
"Jean, command your demons!" Gouto shouted and I narrowed my eyes, quickly turning to Fenrir who had his jaw clamped onto Kurama Tengu's left arm stopping the demon from moving. Shaking my head I pulled out my summoning tubes and Haruki actually looked surprised as I whispered the words Gouto and Raidou had taught me, my demon appearing before me.
"Hells yeah! Let's kick some ass!" Ukobach yelled, not even giving me a chance to speak before he launched a Maragi at Haruki who barely dodged in time. The burst of flame singed the waist of his jacket and he turned to glare at me, commanding Kurama Tengu to stop fooling around and attack me instead. Once Kurama Tengu struck Fenrir with his arm the wolf opened his jaw, allowing Kurama Tengu to escape.
With one arm bleeding the demon growled and after raising his right arm he called out something. Immediately afterward he grinned at me as he and Okuninushi glowed briefly, leaving me confused though when Kurama Tengu struck Fenrir he sent the demon flying.
"Fenrir!" I called out, not paying attention which Okuninushi used to his advantage and I cried out as he struck me sending me tumbling into the floor. My gun ended up several feet away as I lay groaned but when I started to climb to my feet Okuninushi didn't let me and I screamed as his sword tore through the back of my jacket like I was wearing tissue paper shredding the skin underneath.
Almost sobbing with the sudden and intense pain I could barely keep my feet under me, panting as the demon raised his sword towards my head though before he could deliver the finishing blow he jerked as a pink light nearly struck his head his sword deflecting the blow.
I fell to my knees as Lilim appeared and the glare on her features would have been humorous had I not been in so much agony. "Stay away from my summoner!" She yelled, her hands raised in front of her and I blinked back tears as she darted towards me at the same time that Fenrir limped towards me. Even Ukobach run towards me, sending a Maragi spell towards Kurama Tengu who stared at the demons surrounding me.
"What are you waiting for?! Slay that summoner!" Haruki screamed at Okuninushi and Kurama Tengu who stared at Raidou the fourteenth the latter breathing a little faster with Orthrus and Cu Chulainn at his side.
"But master she's a nobody. Besides we're not supposed to kill people." Kurama Tengu argued and his summoner snarled, his eyes glowing with an unnatural light as he stepped towards his two demons. "Something's wrong with him."
"So I've noticed. Ever since that run-in with that demon, he's been making us murder people. Not sure I want to follow him anymore." Okuninushi agreed and as they stared at their master Haruki removed a revolver that looked very familiar from his jacket.
"If you won't obey my commands you two are useless to us," Haruki screamed at them and I blinked leaning on Fenrir who bared his teeth. When he aimed the gun at his demons they tensed confused that their summoner would choose to attack his allies but Raidou stepped in instead, firing a shot that struck Haruki's hand blasting the gun away before he had a chance to fire a single shot. Haruki screamed again this time in pain as the blast had taken away several of the fingers on his right hand and as he clutched the hand to his chest Okuninushi used the chance to strike his summoner with the butt of his sword.
Caught off guard Haruki jerked before he fell forward striking the floor beneath him with an audible crack. I winced before I remembered that this man had caused pain and misery to the city and as I started to head towards him, aiming for my revolver Raidou slowly shook his head at me noting with his lips pressed together with the trail of blood I was leaving. Wincing I leaned on Fenrir again as Lilim and Ukobach flew to my side all three demons watching me as I panted, the pain in my back making me see dark spots.
"Here, let me help." Raidou offered, directing Leanan Sidhe to heal me but the demon could barely stop the bleeding from my wounds.
"Sorry but I'm not at my best right now. That battle took it out of me." She apologized but I waved her off, still panting from the pain though I wasn't leaving a trail of blood anymore as I slipped off my jacket trying very hard not to scream as I wrapped it tightly around my back hoping that that would staunch the bleeding enough for me to make it back to the agency.
"We'll take it from here, Jean. You need to get back to Narumi and see about fixing that back of yours." Orthrus growled and I sighed, closing my eyes as Raidou headed for the unconscious summoner lying face-down on the floor. In too much pain to argue I let Fenrir lead me towards the teleporter that would bring us back to Tsukudo-Cho.
When our small group made it back to the agency, more or less in one piece, I sighed as Narumi stared at me from his desk a half-empty coffee cup sitting on the table the moment I stumbled into view. "Narumi, I'm fine." I managed to croak and he frowned moving to my side as my legs threatened to send me to the floor. With his help I made it to the couch and when I let out a breath, unable to stop a groan of pain Narumi's attention turned to my back and the makeshift bandage.
"What did that monster do?" Narumi breathed, not even waiting for me to answer before he unwrapped my jacket revealing the shredded shirt and the injury I'd suffered. "Jean, you need to stop fidgeting." He sighed noting that I had my teeth clenched together, tremors running through my body as he touched the blood still oozing from my wound.
"Can't...keep still. Hurts too much." I groaned, closing my eyes for a brief moment only to feel a hand at my left shoulder and I blinked Narumi's eyes on my face.
"Babe, do you think you can stay awake while I clean and dress your wound? You're going to need stitches to close this wound." Narumi warned, watching me with a frown as I tried to move only to hear me whimper and I swallowed, giving him a tiny nod. "That's my girl." He said, lightly touching my cheek before he disappeared for long enough to grab all the medical supplies he had. Once he managed to remove my shirt, the remains of it anyway, he sat behind me and he winced seeing the claw marks close up.
"Okay, I'm going to clean this mess up and make sure there's nothing trapped in your back. This is going to hurt I'm not going to lie but you're tough. Think you can deal with a little pain?" Narumi explained and I nodded, the detective not commenting on my shaking shoulders. Getting a sudden idea he grabbed a cloth and as I watched he folded it up, handing it to me. Getting a blank stare he sighed. "You might want to bite down on it." He added, indicating my back and when I shoved the cloth into my mouth he nodded, turning his attention back to my injuries.
Despite the cloth, Narumi grimaced every time he heard a muffled scream, his fingers gentle with a pair of tweezers but even that wasn't enough to keep me from jerking as he dug around in my back finding shredded pieces of my shirt still trapped in the wound. Eventually, he finished, gently patting the blood away as I bit down, even more, the room spinning as I struggled to stay conscious.
"Hang on, Jean. I just need to give you a few stitches to close it up." He warned and I swallowed, lifting my head in time for my boyfriend to see my face. "Hey, you'll be fine. I'm almost finished." He assured me not liking how quickly I was breathing or the color of my skin as I reached down clutching at the couch beneath us.
I hadn't even noticed I'd blacked out until I came to my senses lying on my stomach, a familiar face looking directly at mine. "There you are. You fainted on me just as I was putting the last stitch into that wound of yours. That wound of yours was pretty nasty so I had to cover it up with a lot of gauzes. Your shirt and bra were a total loss so you might want to keep wearing that blanket." Narumi whispered, indicating the blanket wrapped around my chest but as I tried to raise from the couch he shook his head.
"Hold on, babe. You need to sleep. You lost a lot of blood and you haven't eaten or drunk since you left with Raidou right?" He added, helping me lie on my left side, and when I let out a breath he gave me a weak smile.
"I...can't really remember when I last ate," I admitted and Narumi chuckled, giving my shoulder a pat before he headed for the kitchen leaving me alone. When Narumi returned with a bowl that had steam rising from it and a glass of water he found me sitting trying to reach around towards my back. Quickly setting down the bowl and cup on the table Narumi grasped my left hand, pulling it away and when I grimaced he sighed.
"You know those stitches are the only thing keeping your back closed, Jean. Now try and eat something okay? You need to keep your strength up." Narumi suggested and I rolled my eyes, taking the bowl from him after he gently pushed it into my waiting hands.
Finding a bowl of cooked ramen I grinned, grabbing the fork he offered me before I started to eat woofing it down with only a few pauses to drink my water and Narumi grinned.
"Steady, Jean. There's more if you want it. I thought you could use a good meal once you got back from beating up Haruki so I made extra." Narumi chuckled and I nodded, swallowing the mouthful I was eating before I held the bowl towards my boyfriend.
Once he brought back the saucepan he filled the bowl again and after a second helping, I set the bowl down, finishing my water before I yawned. Too tired to argue with him I lay on my stomach, my back still aching and as I closed my eyes I heard the sound of the front door slowly opening.
Time passed and when Narumi came to check on his patient he found me sitting with a grimace on my face, his lips curling into a smile as he strolled over in time to prevent me from reaching around to my back. "Jean, you need to leave it alone." Narumi scolded me and I rolled my eyes crossing my arms over my chest as he knelt beside me. "How are you feeling?"
"Itchy and frustrated that I'm not allowed to move from this spot," I complained and he grinned, lightly patting me on my shoulder. "Yes, I was listening to you and Raidou the other day. I wasn't really asleep."
"I thought so, Jean. Look if you're that uncomfortable you could sleep in my bed instead? Or I guess it's our bed now huh?" He teased, enjoying the faint brush that spread across my face.
"Are you really sure you want me in there? I'm not exactly at my best right now, Narumi." I told him with a sigh and he nodded, wrapping an arm around my shoulders taking a lot of care not to touch my wounded back. As I limped towards the bedroom we shared I leaned on Narumi's shoulder the detective taking as much time as I needed to make the short walk.
As I lay on my belly Narumi gave me a tiny smile, leaving the room for long enough to grab an extra blanket. When he returned he blinked, curious once he saw that I had slipped out of my pants. Now clad in just underpants and a blanket he raised an eyebrow at me hurrying over when I tried again to scratch my back. "If I wrap up your arms too, Jean will that make you leave your back alone?" Narumi joked, sitting beside me before he gave my left shoulder a light pat.
"It's just so itchy right now. But...thanks for looking after me." I muttered and that brought a grin to Narumi's face. "Never thought we'd take down Haruki even with my screw-up."
"Hey, you didn't screw up, Jean. Besides, even his demons think Haruki's a nutjob." Narumi answered and I snorted, feeling Narumi's lips on my forehead. "Now how about you get some sleep? If you need anything at all just let me know." He suggested and I nodded, lying on my stomach again which seemed to be the only position I could manage without making my back ache worse.