Chapter 2: Mid-Autumn Night's Giggle

"So you're, gonna teach me, the true meaning of the word fear huh?" bellowed the pompous thug. "I don't think you realize who you're dealing with."

"My sentiments exactly." said the red haired boy as he donned a fighting stance. Banthus just held his gut as he started to laugh. "Bruce!"

"Yes sir!" replied his right hand man.

"Go teach this punk why it's best to mind his own business." Said Banthus as his mouth produced a cocky smile as his henchman made his way to the boy.

"Sorry kid, nothing personal." said Bruce as he began throwing punches at the boy.

"Same to you" replied the boy dodged the first attack. I watched in amazement as the boy nimbly dodged each of the thug's punches. His constant evasion was wearing on the thug's nerves as his punches grew wilder and wilder. I watched as the boy spotted an opening and swiftly connected his foot in the thugs gut.

Bruce sputtered as he gasped for air and held his stomach. I watched in amazement as the boy with the mask rammed his left fist into the thugs gut, stunning him again. He immediately followed up with his right fist. When it connected with the thug's jaw, a magical flame exploded repeatedly like a firecracker, caused multiple hit and burns.

"Yaaaarhh!" screamed the thug as he rolled around on the floor trying to put the flames out. The flames finally stopped as the thug lost consciousness. The boy dusted off his hands as he loomed over the thug confidently. "By the way buddy, when I said it wasn't personal too... I lied."

I looked over at Banthus who was just seething with rage. "Don't just stand there you lazy bastard, go and get that punk!" The other thug gave a quick scared glance at Banthus before yelling and charging at the boy. I watched as the thug pulled out a knife while charging the boy.

'Holy crap! He pulled out a knife!?' I thought to myself I watched the event unfold in front of me. 'Please be careful whoever you are…'

But just as before the boy seemed unfazed by the situation as he tackled and rolled over the thug, planting him on the ground. As they were on the ground, the boy thrust his palm into the thug's chest and flipped off of his chest like a springboard.

What's that? I thought as I saw to what looked to be a rune on the chest of the fallen thug he just launched himself off of. When he landed he snapped his fingers as the rune detonated on the thug's chest causing him to bounce from the blast and land in a groaning heap on the floor. "And then there was one..."said the boy as he walked over to Banthus.

"That's it you little bastard!" shouted Banthus as he unsheathed his large curved sword. "Time to die!" And with that, he lunged forward with his blade raised. "Look out!" I tried to warn the boy, but gag reduced everything to muffled pleas. I watched as the boy evaded the massive swipes of Banthus's blade. "Stand and perish!" He shouted as he kept missing the boy. "Not today!" The boy replied as he dodge rolled one of his swipes and rolled past Banthus, tapping his calf with a rune before returning to his feet.

"Hey, what did you- owww!" Yelled Banthus as the rune on his calf detonated. He stumbled as he rested his weight on his sword to hold himself up. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that to take me out!"

"So it seems..." replied the boy as withdrew his sword and aimed it at the thug. They stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity. Then without warning, Banthus shouted loudly as he tried to bring down his massive blade onto the crown of the red haired boy's head. However, the boy ducked back behind his sword just as the strike connected with his sword and with a quick slash, he countered the blow, staggering Banthus. Bewildered from the counter, Banthus jumped back and regained his composure. "You know what, maybe I've been going about this the wrong way..." Banthus said smugly. "What are you getting at?" questioned the red haired boy. "What I'm saying..." started Banthus as he turned his back to the boy and began to walk off. "Is that, I should've just followed my gut and killed your little girlfriend here from the get go!"

Did he just say the word kill!?

No sooner had I finished my thought I watched as he ran full speed at me. I screamed as I watched the beast barreled towards me. I could see the edge of his blade gleam as he raised it. Over his head as he ran. I screamed one more muffled plea as I shut my eyes and prepared for the pain of impact.

"WIND BLADE!"

-SHHHHHHNK-

I opened my eyes to see a glowing magic sword again, this time stained with the blood of the monster in front of me. I seemed to have materialized out of thin air as well. I shivered since this was the first time I ever saw something like this; blood, spilling out of the edges of the blade; Banthus's face wrenched in pain as he tried to pull the blade out.

"D-damn… you…you…s-stupid girl…" sputtered Banthus as he struggled to stand up. "Don't blame her for your actions." said the boy as he waved his hand, causing the magic blade to disappear. "Aaahhhrrgh!" cried Banthus as he grabbed his wound and fell backwards panting heavily. "You forced my hand with that cowardly tactic of yours and now you have to pay the price…" said the boy as he reattached his sword to his waist. "The wound I gave you, though it's a little messy, isn't really fatal unless it goes untreated. Hopefully the police get here in time..." smirked the boy as he walked on over to me. I could hear Banthus mumbling curses as before for he finally gave in to the pain and had gotten quiet.

I sat there as I tried to process the events that just unfolded in front of me. He...did it. He really did it. I thought to myself as he walked over to me. I'm saved! I began to tear up out of pure happiness as I smiled under the gag. The boy caught wind of my tears welling up as he got closer. "Oh crap, are you ok?" He said in a concerned tone as hurried over to me. "I'm sorry I took so long to deal with those thugs."

"Mmm mmm." I said as I smiled and shook my head no. I watched him eye me over as he examined the rope work. "Wow...that's pretty tight huh?" said the boy as he tugged on some chords around my chest. I blushed as his tug made the ropes hug my breasts, making them tingle. Flustered, I closed my eyes and nodded in response to his question. I then felt another tingle in my chest as I had my eyes closed. I opened my eyes to see my rescuer's face as red his hair. "A-a-aaah, I'm sorry!" he stammered as he kept tugging his finger at the coil. I looked down to find out that he had managed to get his finger stuck in between the rope and my breast. How the hell... did he manage...to... "Mmmm..." I mewed as I let out a soft moan thru my gag.

Oh...my...god...did he just hear that just now? I asked myself in my head. I looked up to have my eyes and his locked together, his face now brighter red than his hair. Aaaaah! He did hear that! Why the hell did I moan like that!? Those thoughts and more raced thru my head as we stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The only thing I could feel was my heart beating rapidly. "Ah, g-got it." He stammered as he pulled his hand out from my chest. In his hand he had a loose end to the knot. "W-well let's get you out of these shall we?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded yes as he began tugging and pulling the knot binding my chest. I let out another soft moan as some of his efforts hugged my chest even more. "Almost...got...it...there!" He said as I felt a release around my chest. "Now we have a little wiggle room." chuckled the boy as he pulled off the coils of rope from under my breast. "Ok lean forward so that I can take that thing off you."

"Mhm~" I giggled as I nodded yes and leaned forward, bending my head over so he can get the knot. Hehe I was beginning to wonder when he was gonna take this thing off-

I was cut off from my train of thought when his chest was touching my forehead as he leaned in as well. My body tingled and my face got hot again as I felt his touch behind my neck as he parted my hair with his hands looking for the knot to my gag. Ooooh, I'm probably all red again. Why are you doing this Aisha?! It's just him touching you? Wait a minute... I'm touching him too! Aaack! All these thoughts and more raced thru my head as my face got bright red and little swirls replaced my eyes. "Grrr." I heard the boy growl.

"This knot is really tight." He said as he inched closer to me. Aaack, he's getting closer! Oh my god what do I do!? What do I do!? I panicked as my heart was racing. I barely knew how to "talk" to boys, let alone touch them. That was always something Rena was better at doing. And with this here it's more along the lines of a hug than anything. Although... his chest is kind of warm...and nice...and...aaack! How'd that get in there? These crazy thoughts...You don't even know him you silly girl...

"There we go!" Said the boy as he finally undid the knot and the pressure locking up my mouth was free. I let out a sigh of relief as he pulled out my balled up ribbon they used to stuff my mouth. I gasped as I took in some long deep breaths to fill up my lungs. Man, it felt good to get that thing off my mouth. "Pant, thank you...thank you so much ... for saving me." I said to him in between breaths. "No problem." He responded as he smiled at me. "I was happy to do it~." His smile...it was a nice one. It made me feel at ease with all of the craziness tonight. I layed my head on the back of the chair as I rested my eyes. I felt the boy walk around behind me and began to untie the rest of my upper body. Slowly I felt the coils around my upper chest fall down to the ground.

"Aaah~" I said as I let out another sigh of relief.
"Hehe, it feels good doesn't it?" chuckled the boy as he kneeled and began working on my wrists. "So who are you anyways?" I asked him. "Isn't it more polite to give your name first when asking someone one their name?" Chuckled the boy as he undid the final knot around my wrists. I shook my arms to get some feeling back into them as I brought them to my lap. "I-I just wanted to know the name of my rescuer that's all." I replied as I rubbed my aching wrists. "But if you insist that I go first then my name is Aisha."

"Well that's a pretty name." He said with a smile. "I like it~"
"T-thank you~" I replied back as he walked back in front of me and kneeled down to work on my feet. "So now that I told you my name, will you tell me yours? I asked him sweetly as a looked down at him work. "Oh um right. My name is El- ah- I mean I-I don't have a name!" He stammered out while looking away. "Don't have a name?" I replied cynically as my eyes narrowed towards him. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you don't have a name mask boy?"
"Yes, yes I do" he replied as playfully he stuck his tongue out at me.

Grrrr, what's this guy's deal? I just want to know his name, not his social security number! "Hmph. Fine, be that way Mr. Mask."

"Mr. Mask?" He responded in a confused tone.

"Well yeah, I don't have anything else to call you, no thanks to you." I reiterated. The look on his face screamed discontent but I, for the first time in a while, was actually having fun.

"Well if that's the case then I think my name should be the Red Mask." He suggested.

"Hahaha" I laughed. "The Red Mask? That's kind of tacky, don't you think?"

"Well I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas?"He replied. I laughed again as I watched him pout.

"Oh all right then" I replied. "Now let's see..." Hehe I can't believe I'm having this conversation.~ Ok then let's see. So he wears a mask...which is red...just like his hair is red. Although... I paused my thoughts as I took another look at his hair again. His hair...it isn't simply just red... it's kind of fiery... "like a crimson flame..." I said slowly.

"Huh?" I heard him question me as he undid the final knot on my ankles. "A crimson what?" He said as he stood up, outstretching his hand and gesturing for me to take it. "A crimson mask~" I answer him as I take his hand and stand up.

"A crimson mask?" He asked bewilderingly. "Yes~" I replied. "The crimson mask...Mhm, that's what I'll call you." I giggled. He pouted at first but then that pout turned to laughter as thought of his new name. His laughter proved to be contagious as I retraced the actuality of what just happened, I too began to laugh out loudly. Honestly, the thought of it, a masked crusader who doesn't know his own name, gets one from the person he rescued? It was priceless. After a few more minutes of laughing, we calmed down a bit. "You know it's kind of funny Crimson." I said as I hugged myself.

"Hmm? What?" He asked.

"I was actually supposed to be on a blind date thing tonight... but after all of this, surprisingly...I'm having a lot more fun." I said as I closed my eyes and smiled. I began to feel stiff from all the time I spent bound. I out stretched my arms as I stood up on my toes as I stretched my weary body. Mmmm, this feels so goo- "Aaack!?" I shouted as my legs gave out and collapsed forward.

"Whoa, easy there!" Crimson exclaimed as he quickly moved in to catch me. My face turned bright red again as I managed to land on his chest of all things.

"Th-thank you…" I replied as I tried to hide my face from his. "Well I know that you've been sitting this whole time, but maybe you should take a seat again? Crimson proposed. "I think all of the adrenaline from tonight is beginning to wear off."

"Well… I am a little tired now that you mention it." I replied. And with that being said, Crimson helped my back to my chair. "So by the way, where are we...and how did you find me?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Well I was supposed check out a lead I got and-"

"A lead?" I asked as I cut him off. "Are you a cop?" I watched as his smile faded. "It would be better for you not to be involved Aisha." He said as he looked away. Puzzled, I gave him a "deer in the headlights" look. "Not get involved?" I replied. "Involved in what?"

"I said don't get involved!" He snapped back at me. I was taken aback by the sudden change of tone. "I'm sorry, but it's for your own good Aisha." He said. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

I stared at Crimson for a little bit as his eyes portrayed his resolve to not tell me anything. I let out a sigh as I decided to let it go. "So I guess after stumbling onto my dilemma, you followed me and here we are now, is that about right?" After giving up the pursuit on what his occupation is, Crimson's demeanor changed back to his earlier light hearted self.

"Yup, that's correct Aisha."

"So um…where exactly is here again?" I asked Crimson as I looked out the window. "I wasn't exactly awake for my little ride."

"Well…" started Crimson. "I tailed them all the way out of downtown. We're actually a few miles off from Memorial Bridge, near Elder Academy, give or take a mile or two."

"So you mean to tell me that I went down town, only to get kidnapped, and then brought all the way back home where I started from?" I asked as the irony of the situation smacked me in the face.

"Well, with all that being said, yeah~" chuckled Crimson. I didn't have any other words for this so I just face palmed while he continued to chuckle. "Man, is it just me or is it cold in here?" I said as I yawned in my chair. 'Whoa…I'm starting to get really tired…' I thought to myself as I yawned. It was getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open. I began to shiver as the night chill began to get colder.

"Hey, are you cold Aisha?" Crimson asked as he looked over at me. I looked back at him with a confused look as he seemed perfectly fine which was odd because he was wearing fewer clothes than me and it was almost winter time. "How are you not cold?" I asked Crimson while I was rubbing my arms trying to warm up. "I mean you're wearing a vest of all things. And it doesn't even cover up your stomach."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that~" smirked Crimson. "I'm a Rune Slayer, and I specialize in fire magic." He said as he wore a smile on his face.

'A Rune Slayer... isn't that a rare breed of magic knight who somehow incorporated the use of runes into their magic and swordsmanship? I thought they were few and far in between. The only one I know of that's around today is Penensio, one of the Red Knights… but he resides in Hamel…' I thought to myself.

I was awakened from my thoughts as Crimsons hand burst into a small flame, illuminating the area around us. "Oh wow…" I responded in awestruck of the sight. Crimson just chuckled at my reply. "Well yeah. Because of my affinity for fire magic, my body heat is a little higher than normal people, especially around my stomach" he said while rubbing his tummy. "When I just started learning magic I burnt up so many shirts that I ended up just wearing half shirts to save money on my clothing~"

'I guess he's telling the truth there. I feel warmer already.' I thought to myself as I watched the flame dance. "Damn police… what's taking them so long?" complained Crimson as he snapped his fingers and a small rune appeared in the palm of his hand. Intrigued, I watched as he clapped his hands together and out poofed a small red blanket. "What the?" I shouted. Where'd that come from?"

"I summoned it from my closet at home, using a summoning rune" he responded. "Pretty neat huh?" He said as he wrapped it around me. I blushed as he wrapped it around me. It was nice and toasty too, as if it just came out of the dryer. "Wow… this is so warm Crimson" I told him as I snuggled inside the blanket. "Thank you so much, this really hits the spot~"

"Hehe, you're welcome Aisha." He responded while scratching his crimson hair.

I closed my eyes as my body enjoyed the warmth of his blanket. I felt my body get weaker as I let its warmth envelope me as more fatigue set it. 'Wow...this feels so good' I thought to myself as I sat there in bliss. 'It's almost as if he's hugging...me?' I was perplexed at the random thought invading my mind again. 'Is this what it feels like to hug a boy? Its feels so safe...and warm.~' I felt my cheeks get hot as I gave in to the feeling and relaxed even more.

"..sha. Aisha?" I heard my name being called. "Are you ok?" I struggled to open my eyes to see Crimson looked down at me smiling. "I take it you like my blanket?"

"Mmmhmm." I replied as I nodded weakly. I heard him chuckle and I felt him pet my head. "Well I guess you can go ahead and keep that then." He said while he continued to pet me. I wanted to say I wasn't an animal, but I was too weak to do anything about it, not to mention that it was rather enjoyable. No wonder Angkor liked it.

"Well it looks like the cops are here now..." I heard him say as I began to hear a faint sound of sirens. "Well... you take care of yourself Aisha. Don't go investigating shady stuff again ok?"

"Mmhmm~" I replied as I nodded weakly before I peacefully faded off into dreamland.

I let out a sigh and smiled as Aisha finally fell asleep. 'Poor girl...all of the fatigue finally caught up to her.' I blushed a bit as watched her sleeping peacefully in the chair. I watched as her purple bangs caressed her cheek as they rested on the blanket I gave her. 'It's a shame that this happened to you Aisha...you're so beautiful...' I thought to myself as I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"You...and your -cough- little girlfriend...better watch your…-cough- backs..."

I turned around to see that bastard I beat up managed to regain consciousness. "Is that so..."I replied slowly with an under tone of malice in my voice. I slowly walked over to Banthus as I looked him dead in the eye. "Now you listen here..." I said as I placed my foot on the wound I'd inflicted on him. "The only reason you're alive to spout this bullshit, is because I didn't want her to have to witness the sight of me incinerating you." I said over the wailing pleas of the thug. I wrenched and pressed my foot into his wound causing him to cry out louder. "So then...if what you say is true, and if Aisha so much as even stubs her toe..."I continued to speak as I made my point; my body slowly began emitting flames."I will find you, and then you will cease to exist. Do I make myself clear!?"I demanded before I kicked him in his head, knocking him out again. I took a step back as I radiated my phoenix aura. 'Great... I did it again...I lost control… I'm gonna get an earful again when I give my report...'

"Halt! Elder village police! We have the place the surrounded!" I heard come from outside. 'Well that's my queue.' I thought to myself as I quickly threw some runes in the air, using them as footing to jump back out the ceiling I jumped in from. I looked back down the hole as I saw the infantry team make their way to Aisha and the unconscious thugs. "All right! We have the target here and three unconscious men with weapons. I assume that these must be the kidnappers mentioned in the briefing. It's a little weird that the target is in a blanket since she was kidnapped of all things but she checks out, not traps. One of these thugs seems to be severely wounded. Get the paramedics in here pronto! We need to get them to the hospital ASAP!"

Once they got Aisha into the ambulance, I stopped watching them and lied down on the roof, looking up at the moon. 'The Crimson Mask huh?' I smiled and rested my eyes knowing that Aisha was safe and sound now.

End of Chapter~

Digi: and with that chapter 2 is done

Elsword: I hope it's not another book again...

Digi: I hope not, it tried to avoid that this time.

Elsword: That's what you always say. And yet here we are with another book.

Digi: Well I just can't help myself when my creative juices get flowing. And besides I owe my fans a nice decent chunk of story to hold them over.

Aisha: Yay, I'm saved.

Rena: And you also got some lovey dovey time

Aisha:~blushes~

Rena: too bad you didn't get a kiss tho.

Aisha: yeah q~q

Digi: But you did get a kiss

Elsword: Yeah!

Eve: But she was asleep so it doesn't count.

Aisha: Yeah! Q~Q

Digi: Well, I'll work on that then. And to all my fans and reviewers thank you all very much. It really does mean a lot to have people support you and ask for more. And with that see you all next time. Get ready for Sander in NA people!