'I should have gone back to the castle for help, I should have gone back to the castle for help,' Takashi kept thinking to himself as he jogged through the forest, trying to find Hikari. She was so stupid for running. He was so stupid for pissing her off in a way that made her run off. Stupid, half- stupid... whatever.
He felt like he had been jogging for hours, stopping briefly here and there to look and listen for her. He felt like he finally got lucky when he spotted a bush that was all broken up to hell on one side. The branches broken off were fresh by the look and touch of them. Hikari had to be somewhere around here. He silently prayed to the Great Mother that the wolf outlaws were not either. They made Lady Nanashi nervous, which made Lord Hiei cautious in turn. And everyone else.
He called out Hikari's name softly, hoping that she would hear him, come to her senses, and follow him back to the castle. He swore to himself when his call was met with a natural forest silence.
He jogged in the direction opposite of where the bush's branches were broken, hoping for some sign of her. He halted abruptly, feeling his stomach to turn stone when he heard her not only scream, but scream out his name.
"Great Mother," he growled out, running towards the sound of her screaming.
He halted abruptly when he saw her in a clearing, surrounding by the wolf outlaws and being held by the hair by one of the men. She had to be a special kind of stupid to only find the wolf gang her parent were weary of, but also to get captured by them when she had drained all her spirit energy training earlier. He was half tempted to kick her ass if was not for the fact that now he had to save her stupid ass.
"Drop her," he called over to the leader as he took aim at him with his spirit energy bow and arrow. He did not know what would happen if he had to shoot him. It sure as hell did not seem like the leader would just let her go without a care.
"Shoot him!" Hikari screamed at him. She looked rough and tumbled, worse for wear. He wondered what happened to her since she ran away from him.
'Calm as still water,' he thought to himself. If he lost his cool, there was no telling what the wolf outlaws would do to her or to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a rusty knife laying on the ground by the leader's feet. He wondered whose knife that was. He hoped it was Hikari's.
"You won't do it," the leader challenged, pulling Hikari closer to him. The air had a rancid tang to it after he flapped his jaws.
Takashi stilled his breathing and spread his feet wider apart. If he did nothing, the leader would likely do something to her. Yet he was not tempted to take on all of the outlaws at once. If he missed his shots, it was bad news.
"Damn it," Takashi whispered.
Before anyone had a chance to inhale, Takashi took aim and shot the man closest to the leader and Hikari. He tried not to let the success of striking the man down with a shot through the eye show on his face. Now was not a time to show pride. Now was a time to end this stalemate before it escalated into a fight.
Unfortunately, that was not what the leader wanted. The leader escalated the matter. First, he growled over at Takashi, and then he widened his jaws, moved them over Hikari's neck and shoulder, and snapped his jaws shut.
It seemed to take her a breath or two to realize what had happened. She screamed out a haunting wail that seemed to echo throughout the forest.
"Son of a bitch," Takashi cursed, not sure what to do next.
Luckily his training with his father kicked in. Training to aim fast and shoot fast. He remembered those training days with his bow and arrow. Aim, shoot. Aim, shoot. Aim, shoot. Faster, faster, faster. If Takashi did not do it fast enough, his father would punch or kick him, telling him he was too slow and another enemy got to him first. If the only thing he was good at was shooting arrows, then he had to be one of the best at it. He could hardly fight worth a damn any other way. At least, that was what his father had said.
Instinct and training blended together as one. He aimed and shot, aimed and shot. First, he hit the leader right in the eye. Then three of the four others near them in the same manner. The fourth and last one rush him though. Takashi missed the first shot at him, and the second. The wolf outlaw member was nearly on top of him when he let off a wild shot with no aim.
Fortune was with him that the wild shot buried itself in the wolf gang member's stomach, making him stagger and halt. He had a chance for a second shot and he took it. Takashi took another shot and buried an arrow deep within the center of his enemy's skull.
He shook away his bow and arrow once the last wolf outlaw member dropped. He looked over at Hikari, her lower body covered up by the leader's dead body. He ran over to her and helped get the dead body off of her.
"You shouldn't have run away," he growled down at her. Then he turned and looked at her. Her right shoulder was on the ground and her left shoulder and arm hung limply to her body.
Her shoulder and neck where red and bleeding, heavily. Both front and back. A bite mark next to her neck seemed like it was almost leaking. She would not last long by herself with these wounds. The sharp, salty scent of her blood permeated the air.
He went over to her, intending to pull her to her feet and march, or at least, carry her to the nearest healer. Her brother, at the castle. She wince pitifully when he tried to haul her up to her feet. The wound was serious...
"Fuck," he swore once more.
"I need a healer... Izo or Asa... the healer from the village," she begged. She had that right.
He needed to get her to a healer before she passed out or lost much more blood. He needed to do so immediately. He felt his temper flourish as he growled menacingly. He went over to the leader, stomping on his face until he heard a crack. He then ripped the sleeve off the corpse and went over to Hikari. She looked pale and frightened as he knelt down beside her. He bound it tightly as he could around her neck and shoulder. She whimpered as he did so, but he did not let up. She still was going to need a healer.
Takashi thought fast. She would not be able to move fast. She could not be left behind either. Yet he could not run very fast carrying her. He would have to carry her, but it would be better for her if someone heard her screaming and came running. They were closer to the castle than the village, so they needed to head there.
He straightened up, ordering her, "you scream loudly and don't ever stop while were moving. It'll likely bring your mother, father, or brother down on us."
"Why...?" she asked pitifully.
He reached down, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. He started running towards the castle at the fastest sprint he could manage. She screamed a little bit, but it was not enough. Her family needed to hear her.
She was indeed heavier than he expected her to be. Must be all that muscle she had. All the training she had been put through in her life must be the reason why. He ran as fast as he could, near breathless, why she screamed and cried as much as she could. Proof that she was still alive and really wanted to live. He was unsure whether or not she realized how serious her wounds were.
All her screaming paid off. When Takashi felt like he could hardly run anymore, he heard the sound of two others approaching from the direction of the castle. He knew they were close. He was about ready to drop her heavy weight when her brother and father emerged from the woods in front of them.
"Oh, thank goodness," Takashi panted, setting the whinging Hikari down on the ground on her back. Her brother said nothing, but rushed over to where she lay. "She was attacked-"
His words were cut off abruptly when her father, Lord Hiei, punch him across the jaw, jarring his head, neck, and mouth. Takashi hardly had a chance to say anything else. Hiei's fist caught him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. His fists seemed to rain down from the clouds, making Takashi stagger and sink to his knees smartly. Hiei was not holding back, making Takashi suddenly fearful when heard the sound of steel scraping loudly by his ear.
"Stop! You can't kill him!" Izo called over to Hiei.
"Finish healing your sister," Hiei responded. His sword was in his right hand. His knuckles were white around the hilt. "What did you do to her?" he questioned Takashi in a bone chilling voice.
"I didn't do anything!" Takashi shouted hoarsely. "It wasn't me!" Hiei grabbed him half way down the length of Takashi's hair. "It wasn't me! I didn't harm her!" His head was still yanked back sharply. Then he felt the kiss of cold steel slide across his neck at the bottom. "I'm not at fault!" He cracked out as he fell forward onto his hands and knees. He did not have to look up to know Hiei held most of his braid in hand. He could also smell its acrid scent as it burned in Hiei's hand.
He hardly fought back when he was shoved down onto his stomach. "If she dies, you die, coward. Don't you dare moved an inch until she's healed, either."
Takashi felt his face redden and eyes sting. If this was the thanks he got for rescuing her, he should have just left her to the wolf outlaws. Or rather just taken her to the village that was farther away.
"Father," Izo called over to him. Hiei turned to look over at the two of them. "I'm almost finished healing her, but she's still not out of the woods."
Hiei turned away from Takashi like he was no longer there. "Why?" he said, kneeling down next. "What happened?" he growled out.
From his spot on the ground, Takashi saw Hikari was still crying, but more with quiet whimpers than screaming now. "I... he..." she started, but did not finish when she succumbed to blubbering. Takashi dared not to move or say anything.
"Something bit her, with a large mouth. Long snout," Izo inferred. "Her wounds were lines of bite marks and cracked bones along her shoulder. The smell off the wound was off, almost sickening, so she's going to need medicine in case of an infection."
Hiei seethed a whistle through his teeth. "Why didn't you wash the wound out first."
Izo looked at him incredulous. "With what water? With what soap? She would loose too much blood before I got the chance to find anything like that."
Hiei snarled. He picked up the whimpering Hikari under her shoulders and knees and stood up like she weighed nothing. "I'll get her to the castle. You get Asa and get her to us immediately."
Hiei said nothing else. He did not even bother to look in Takashi's direction as he sprinted away at blinding speed.
The second Hiei was out of sight, Izo was on him, yanking Takashi up to a standing position. That was impressive considering Takashi was taller than he was. "What happened?" He shoved him against the nearest tree for good measure.
Takashi rushed out,"she ran away from me and ended up captured by the wolf outlaws. I saved her but she got bit by the leader."
Izo grabbed him by the front of the shirt and shoved him towards the direction of the village. "You're coming with me to the village," he decided.
Takashi did not know what to do or say, so he blindly obeyed. He started stumbling along in the direction of the village even with his legs feeling like jelly. It was a bit of shock to his system when he felt a chilled wind blow over him from behind. Then he felt a hand grab him by the back of the shirt and haul him up. Izo had his large, long ice dragon out and was riding it. It looked bigger than the time he rode it in the Demon King Tournament up to save Takashi's father, Hayate. Izo set him in front of him on his ice dragon on his stomach over the length of its back. It was like laying down on a block of moving ice. The instant Izo let go, Takashi felt himself slipping. Izo growled wordlessly behind him and then half helped, half man handled him into a straddling position around the ice dragon beneath him. Takashi leaned down, gripping with both his arms and legs as tightly as he could manage. He looked down, seeing the ground through the semi-transparent state as the ice dragon flew across the tree tops. Takashi had not even realized they were in the sky until then. He closed his eyes tightly and held on for dear life.
Before hardly anytime seemed to pass, they reached the village, right in front of the village healer's home. "Asa!" Izo shouted as he slipped off the ice dragon. Takashi noticed the ice dragon stayed in existence, but Izo kept his left hand firmly planted on its side. He probably could not let go, even if he wanted to.
The wolf healer opened the front door of her shop in a flurry. "What happened?" she rushed out.
"Hikari's been bitten. Badly. One of the wolf outlaws bit her. I healed her, but we didn't have time to wash the wound," Izo said quickly. He spoke so fast, Takashi could barely make out what he was saying.
Asa said nothing, but turned and ran back into her house without bothering to shut the door. She came back out in less than a minute with a large satchel dangling from one shoulder. Izo gave her a boost up his ice dragon, following right behind her. She sat directly behind Takashi and Izo sat directly behind her.
"What happened to you?" she asked Takashi, who was shivering slightly now. "The wolf outlaws?" she asked, voice dripping with grave concern.
"No," he grumbled, glancing behind his shoulder at the older woman. She was not exactly old, but was old enough to be Lady Nanashi's mother. "I killed them before they had a chance to touch me. His lordship happened to me." He turned his back to her, not wanting to discuss anymore.
They were flying now, and with dizzying speed towards the castle. Takashi tried closing his eyes, but that made him nauseous. He reopened his eyes, jumping as he felt a cool, dry hand come to the back of his neck. He did not look back, even as he felt the calm, fluttery feeling of being healed coursing through his body. Asa was healing him, without him even asking her to.
He thought about Hikari and her wounds, which were much more serious than his own. "Save your energy for Hikari," he said, muscles growing tense.
"Izo already healed her," Asa told him. "I was one of the ones who trained him. She won't need healing from me after him, but she will need medicine in case of any blood infection. She's prone to them. She nearly died once when she was a child."
Takashi felt his throat go tight and dry. They were almost to the castle anyway. She was going to get medicine and she was going to be fine, he willed.