Chapter 12:
The fire crackled…
Raxiel sighed. Her arms were getting sore, and the gravel beneath her back was starting to chisel away at her. She laid her head on the wall, trying to forget the tension in her arms.
"I might not have any arms if I don't get myself out of here quick," she thought.
After having looked for something to help her escape, she realized it was futile, seeing that every sharp or long or – well, any type of object was too far away.
Except for the bowl…
Raxiel laughed to herself. "Yes, a bowl is going to save me…"
As she started to reach for the object, suddenly she heard the yells of men who sounded like they were being tortured.
Her eyes widened…
She swallowed harshly…
Adrenaline rushed through her body, making her restless to reach the bowl.
More screams were heard, but this time, they sounded closer.
"Oh, come on! Stupid bowl!" she yelled out loud. She was getting quite frustrated. Her fingers could slightly touch the bowl, but when she tried to grasp it, the bowl would slide away, making this a game Raxiel wished would be over.
Footsteps…
"Dang it! Their coming!" she thought as she looked up desperately to see a shadow forming.
Her hand snatched the bowl coincidentally.
As she stood up straight, she soon saw a black figure inside the cave with her.
Her eyes widened…
The figure slowly started to approach her, stepping over the fire, which afterwards, was no longer burning.
As the silhouette came closer, Raxiel could pick out a few details on his face. From what it looked like to her, it appeared to be a man with a tall yet masculine structure. His eyes appeared red, and his face had no expression.
"From the looks of it, I am more than dead…" she thought in despair.
She quickly snapped herself out of her mesmerization. As he took another step, she threw the bowl at him hard, trying to stop him, but all the man did was shift his position as the bowl passed him. Raxiel's eyes widened even more.
He finally stopped where he was only a few inches away from her. Raxiel could almost sense curiosity in his face. The seconds that seemed like hours were making her lose her composure as the man stared at her closely in the darkness.
"Name yourself, kunoichi," the man said, startling Raxiel.
"I'm no kunoichi! Where'd you get a dumb idea like that?" she snapped defensively.
The man sensed her nervousness. "Your aim is that of a powerful ninja. I apologize –"
"No, you don't," Raxiel snapped.
A perfectly arched eyebrow rose from the man's face. "You catch on quickly, but you still haven't answered my question," he said unemotionally.
"Why do you care about who I am if you're just going to kill me?" Raxiel asked. She was getting more livid by the minute from staring at the man.
She shouldn't have said that…
In the blink of an eye, the man had pushed Raxiel back into the wall harshly and was holding her throat. He lifted her up a few inches, and Raxiel let out an unusual moan.
"Since when have I gotten so weak?" she thought to herself, feeling blood trickle down her back.
Silence fell over them as they both stared into each other's eyes.
"It's Raxiel…" she said calmly. The man smirked slightly.
Pride…
Raxiel had finally had enough. She spat at the man, making the man's smirk quickly fade into an unemotional face again. The saliva now running down his cheek soon turned red. Raxiel's eyes widened. "Who the hell are you?" she whispered to him angrily.
"Hmm… You don't know?"
"Should I?"
The man eased his grip on her, slowly lowering her to the ground. As he did, Raxiel's cuts in her back began to slice open even more. She bit her lip, not to make any more noise to show weakness.
The man saw blood trickle down her face from her lip, and he knew she was in pain.
He wiped the red saliva from his face…
He took out a knife…
Raxiel felt her arms begin to relax as she… lowered them to her sides?
"Wait, you're releasing me?" she asked in shock as he walked away towards the dim fire, putting the knife where he'd gotten it.
"No, but tomorrow, you're more than obliged to get lost. There is just one thing I will ask of you."
"… Go ahead."
The man glared at her. "You mention to no one that you saw me. If you do, I will kill you."
Raxiel's eyes widened. "What's with this guy?" she asked herself, the fire beginning to rise again.
"Okay, I promise, but wouldn't it be a lot more convenient to you if you just killed me?"
The man looked away towards the entrance of the cave. "You remind me of someone…"
Kunoichi…
"Who was she?" she asked openly.
The man heard her footsteps and looked back over to Raxiel. She was moving towards the huge boulder that was by the fire. "It's none of your business," he snapped.
Raxiel sat down nonchalantly. "Oh, sorry," she said carelessly.
The man shifted his gaze back towards the entrance. "Orochimaru is still out there. He'll be coming back to the village soon."
Raxiel took her focus off the fire and onto the man again. "Orochimaru? Who's that?"
"The one who kidnapped you; the leader of the Sound Village."
Raxiel grunted. "Some leader he is."
"Watch your tongue. You don't even know who he is," he said coldly.
"Okay, fine," she replied back to him just as coldly as he had. A long silence fell between the two. The enigma soon ended up sitting down by the fire opposite to where Raxiel was sitting. The man was closely examining her as she was looking behind her to see what her back looked like. She sighed heavily and looked back at the man who quickly shifted his eyes down to the fire.
"You wouldn't happen to have anything like a bandage lying around in your back pocket, would you?" she asked sadly.
"I might have set you free, but don't think I'm going to help you. You're on your own," he said unemotionally.
Raxiel snapped back at him, "Well then, you saving me was all done in vain!"
The man shot her a cold stare.
"It's a yes or no question and action, or are you just a dunce like that Orochimaru guy?" Raxiel angrily said, staring at him as much as he was at her. The staring continued for a few minutes until Raxiel gave up. She looked down and sighed while whispering the word "dunce" very quietly.
The enigma stared at her again with curiosity. Finally, he stood up and slowly approached her. Raxiel saw a shadow hovering over her and quickly looked up seeing the enigma hovering above her. She gave him a confused glance.
Just as she about to say something, the man gave her orders, "Shut up, and be still."
As he sat down behind her, Raxiel couldn't help but tense up, making the slices in her back being to bleed even more.
"You're going to have to loosen up if you want them healed," the man said quietly.
"Well, sorry, but this isn't really a relaxing place to be at when you've got a killer behind you. Can't you just give me a bandage and I'll wrap my own wounds?"
"No, and I told you to shut up. Just relax; this will only take a minute," he said coldly.
Raxiel tried to forget the murderer behind her; she tried to pretend it was someone she knew.
But when that hand touched her…
That rough, calloused hand…
Raxiel closed her eyes and bit her tongue so she wouldn't lash out at him. As his hand underneath her shirt moved up and down her bloody back, Raxiel could make out that he was really only caressing it.
Slowly she counted the seconds…
Nine… Ten…
She felt her back begin to feel cold due to the blood evaporating from her back.
Seventeen… Eighteen…
What used to be scrapes, cuts, and gashes, turned into tiny bruises. His hand touched every one of the wounds.
Thirty-three… Thirty-four…
His breath touched her neck… then her ear…
One, two, skip a few… um… Sixty!
"That's enough!" Raxiel said, trying to sound calm, but her voice came through shaky. The man stopped his caressing. He slowly took his hand out from beneath and moved away towards where he was first sitting. Slowly he leaned up against the wall of the cave.
"Full moon…"
"Huh?" Raxiel glanced at where he was looking to see a full moon almost covered up by stormy clouds.
Stormy clouds…
Rain…!
Raxiel finally realized that it was raining outside.
A smile covered her face…
As Raxiel made her way towards the exit, the man's eyes quickly glanced at her. "You'll leave tomorrow," he stated.
"I know. I'm just going to rinse off in the rain." Raxiel quickly glanced at the man to see curiosity in his eyes. "Who is he?" she thought as she walked out into the rain. Raxiel sensed his eyes on her. The more soaked she became, the more blood and grunge fell off her. Raxiel closed her eyes to take in the wonderful feeling.
But somehow, that feeling was soon lost…
Someone was watching her…
"He's still watching me!" she thought to herself. She quickly glanced over at him. He had never moved; he just stood there, examining her with a blank face.
She finally couldn't stand it anymore and turned her whole body so she was facing his direction. "Is something wrong?" she asked impatiently.
"…Amaya."
"What?"
"Night rain."
"Well, yeah."
"All's well tonight."
"Oohh…"
Raxiel turned around and made an awkward face that no one could see. "Whoever he is, he certainly doesn't have a lot on his mind," she thought, oblivious to what he had really meant.
She looked back at him again. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Just making sure you don't leave," he murmured.
"I promised you I wouldn't leave, and I keep my promises. Besides, why would I leave? I don't even know where I'm at, and it's pitch black," Raxiel said innocently.
The man smirked slightly. "Some kunoichi have the ability to see perfectly when it's dark outside."
Raxiel knew he had said that to throw her off edge.
"Alright," she thought, "I'll play his little game. Maybe I can get some answers out of him."
Raxiel picked up her swords that were leaning against the outside of the cave. As sarcastically as she could, she began to speak to the man, "My dear sir, it seems that you are quite right. With these weapons of mine, I have the ability to see into the future and to see even in the darkest of places."
The man's smirk turned into slight allurement. "Really?"
Raxiel smirked. "Yes, it is quite true. I can even tell what kind of a person you are and who you are."
"Well then, tell me, and I'll say if you are correct or not."
Raxiel sensed she was getting into a dangerous position. She quickly glanced into his eyes to see if she could make something of him. "Well, anyone can tell by your evil grin that you're naturally a renegade. A strong, powerful renegade, am I not correct by this?"
The man took a few steps towards her. "Go on."
Raxiel quickly examined his body structure. She smirked, having an idea in her head. "Do you have a sibling?"
The man stopped walking. "That's a question."
"It's either you have a sibling, or you have a pet that's very close to you," she said, knowing her luck was starting to run out.
"A brother, perhaps. Where'd you get that from?"
"You've got a brotherly likeness about you; plus, I can see you've got a few scars on you that look like you used to train together."
"How do you know they're not battle wounds?" the man asked, knowing she had just eased herself into a trap.
Once again, Raxiel put on her sarcastic voice. "Oh, you're too proficient to even get a scratch by another warrior."
The man continued towards Raxiel. "I suppose you could tell me my name then."
"No, my powers are dead now. I'll have to recharge," Raxiel said quickly. Soon the man was out in the rain next to Raxiel, "That's too bad, since you really just lied to me."
"I wouldn't call it lying. Sarcasm is more like it," Raxiel stated nonchalantly.
"Hmm… I see…"
"I'm not going to get any answers unless I keep playing this game," she thought. Continuing the game, Raxiel took a step closer to the man. "And what's a powerful person like you doing here in this disheveled place?"
Suddenly, Raxiel's eyes widened as she felt him grab her arm tightly. "I've come to collect something," he replied.
Raxiel soon regained her composure. "And it's in the mountains?" She was done with his game. This time, it was time to be serious. She'd gone too far, and she knew it.
But the man wasn't finished with his game. Knowing Raxiel was quitting the game gave him a stronger urge to play it even more. "I'm afraid not. It'll be a while before I can obtain it. I need more information."
"So that means you're stuck here in these mountains?" she asked, noticing his grip was tightening and his body slowly inching its way towards her.
"We'll see…" he said to her seductively.
Raxiel did not like where this was going. She finally submitted to defeat and shifted her gaze downwards. "I'm finished rinsing off. Excuse me," she said, jerking away so she could be released. The man let go of her with an unemotional expression. She slowly walked back into the cave.
Suddenly, the man began to speak to her, "Kunoichi, if you can see in the dark, why not leave now?"
Raxiel looked back at him. "That would be breaking a promise I made."
The man turned to face her. His loose black hair began to blow in the wind, making him look omnipotent.
And that's just how Raxiel felt about him…
And she hated it…
Raxiel slowly sat down in the same spot she had been beforehand. The enigma also slowly made his way back into the cave. As he passed her, he spoke to her saying only one word, "Itachi."
Raxiel looked up at him, flabbergasted by what he had just said. Not taking his eyes off her, he leaned onto the cave's curved wall and spoke again, "My name: Uchiha, Itachi."
Raxiel's eyes brightened in understanding. She nodded, showing him she understood.
Itachi soon shifted his gaze back to the fire. "You've never heard the name?"
"No. Never. Then again, don't be surprised about it."
"How so?"
Raxiel sighed, her eyes showing drowsiness. "It's a long story…"
"We've got all of two hours before the sun comes up," he said, urging her to tell her story.
Raxiel gazed at him again. Itachi stared her down until Raxiel finally gave in again, too tired to argue about it. "Alright, you asked for it. I… I'm not originally from this world. I'm from a different world far away. I was sent here as one of the experiments to see if we could reach other worlds like this."
Raxiel noticed his face was still unemotional.
"You seem very interested about my life," she said sarcastically. "Why don't we just drop it and get some sleep. A few hours won't hurt, eh?"
Still no response…
"Gee! No one in this world knows how to hold a conversation," she thought to herself as she started to get up and walk towards the wall of the cave.
As she sat down and leaned her back against the wall trying to get herself to sleep, Itachi watched her, thinking that she was joking. He began to speak to her again, "What world is it that you are from then?" he asked openly.
Raxiel opened her eyes and glanced at him. She sighed in depression from not having gotten even a minute of sleep. "If I remembered, I would tell you, but I don't. My memories of the world were erased, and –"
Suddenly, a voice was heard. Raxiel's eyes widened. Itachi quickly glanced towards the entrance. "It's Kisame," he said abruptly.
Raxiel glanced at Itachi curiously, "You mean you have a friend?"
"An ally, you mean," he said quickly. The sun was beginning to rise, making the road somewhat visible. "If he sees you, he will kill you."
"But couldn't you explain –"
"No, my orders were to kill everyone in sight. I have already failed at that. You must leave now; head for the village," Itachi said in an almost tense voice.
"I don't know how to –"
"Just follow the road to the north. It'll bring you close to the village, and you should have no trouble from there."
Raxiel nodded and quickly got up. She started to make her way towards the road when her arm was quickly grasped again. She looked back and glanced at Itachi.
"Make sure no one sees where you are coming from, or they might get suspicious." His grip tightened on her arm. "…We'll meet again."
He swiftly let go of her, and Raxiel nodded. Quickly, she took off running towards the north road.
Itachi's eyes followed her until she was out of sight…
Disappeared…
