The first thing Kale did when she got home was run to the restroom . She ran the water so hot it would burn someone. She ripped off her ruined kimono, leaving in her undergarments.
She slowly limped up to the sink, the adrenaline slowly fading away. Looked into the mirror and looked at herself. Her skin was pale and decorated with purple bruises and hickeys. But what really made her body tremble was the bite mark. Kale lifted her hand and gently touched the puncture wounds, caked in dried blood.
Mixed emotions swarmed around her like a swarm of bees buzzing in her ear. Anger, Guilt, and Sadness. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream. But there was no time for that. With her undergarments on the ground along with her kimono she went into the hot steaming bath. Grabbing a sponge she scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin turned red. She wanted to clean off that man from existence. His hands, his smell, his…
Kale scrubbed even harder. But what horrified her more were the bodies. Those poor women who were all so young and didn't get a taste of life yet. "Kale?" Kale jumped at the sound of her husband's voice which made her stop scrubbing altogether. 'No… when did he get back?!'
"Y-Yes my love?" She stuttered. She didn't know why but she could feel Haganezuka standing outside the door of the bathroom. "Are you alright?"
'No! I'm not alright! I'm filthy! My baby has been tainted!' Kale pressed her hand against her swollen belly. "Of course I'm alright? Why do you ask?" Haganezuka fidgeted with red dusting his face. Ever since that moment between them he felt really nervous and guilty around her. "Well…"
"Ow!"
"Kale are you alright?!" He grabbed the door handle but when he tried to open the door he found it locked. "I'm just fine! Silly me just slipped and fell while trying to get out of the tub." She faked giggled. But that didn't help Haganezuka anxiety. "It's probably because the water is so hot. There's so much steam!" Kale sighed, knowing the real reason why she fell. Yes she did trip trying to get out but only because the pain of her wounds hurt. The door rattled with her husband's constant pulling.
"Dear, you'll break the door if you do that." She scolded, while getting up off the floor. "Then you shouldn't have locked the door! Why did you lock the door anyway?!" Images of her attack went rolling into her head over and over again. "B-Because I was taking a bath!"
"So?!"
Kale blushed in embarrassment and rage. "So! I'm naked and wanted to get clean, that's why!"
"Huh?! You're not making any sense?! We saw each other naked many times and we even made love in the bath…" He stopped abruptly, making them both become totally embarrassed. Him saying that made her think of the times when Haganezuka touched her, caressed her, and… She took another look at her body and came to a conclusion. She unlocked the door quickly, the steam covering most of her body. Haganezuka jumped back from shock but before he could yell again Kale grabbed his shirt and dragged him inside. "What..!" Kale hugged him tightly. Her breasts squished his chest. "Ah! Ah!" His face burst into flames while his friend became… excited.
"Please… touch me." She whispered, hiding her face in his chest. "Make me forget…" she whimpered. Haganezuka gently grabbed her shoulders, confused on what she was asking and tried to push her away but she held on tighter. "Kale…" Tears poured down her face, her body trembled. "Please…" she begged.
Haganezuka slowly took off his mask and let it fall from his hand with a clatter. He patted the soft dresses of her head. "You sure? What about the baby?" He asked with concern. 'Now you care?' She thought bitterly. Kale knew that Haganezuka never wanted children and that he did not agree with her pregnancy, but…
She nodded her head and slowly palmed his little 'friend'. Haganezuka groaned in pleasure while Kale covered his eyes with her other hand. "But I will be in control." She whispered in his ear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They laid in bed back to back, not believing what happened. Kale stared at the wall in a daze. 'It did nothing.' Sure it gave her pleasure and yes it almost made her forget what happened but it left her feeling… empty. 'I just used him…' she covered her eyes as the tears came and she silently cried. Haganezuka felt even more guilty and ashamed. He let lust take over and had… amazing sex with his wife. He knew his wife was usually timid but tonight… She was an animal! He felt bad but… 'Thank you hormones!'
The next morning Haganezuka left the village to drop off the sword to the idiot or kill him first. So now Kale was left alone with her thoughts. She began to make tempura for herself with a cup of tea. Besides having terrible nausea she also had extreme hunger that came with her pregnancy.
'It's like I woke up from a bad dream.' She thought. After the food was made she sat down and looked at the food, suddenly losing her appetite. Kale didn't understand why, the vegetables and squid were cooked and battered to perfection and the rice seasoned and fluffy and the smell could make your mouth water. But why…? She hesitantly grabbed the chopsticks and gently grabbed a piece of tempora. Slowly she lifted it to her lips and placed it in her mouth. Kale chewed delicately but immediately wanted to throw up. 'It tastes awful!'
Covering her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting on the food, Kale looked down at the bitten tempora and saw that it's fully cooked. So she could rule that out but it felt like she was chewing rubber and the taste was like eating sand. Dry and flavourless. She quickly grabbed her tea and drank it down but immediately spit it back into the cup. It felt like she was drinking sludge. 'What is happening?!'
For the whole day Kale didn't dare eat anything, just drank water. She knew it was unhealthy and unsafe for the baby but for some reason she just couldn't keep anything down. 'Maybe I'm coming down with something?' Not only that she felt extremely hot and was drinking lots of water. 'Yup definitely coming down with something. Should probably head to the doctor.' So with that she dressed in her long white shirt, a tiki mask , red crop top, black sandals, and a small money pouch she left the safety of her home and went to the doctors.
Their home wasn't very far from the village but Kale always hated going down. Not only that the village is secret and no outsiders are not allowed here except for special circumstances, but Kale was an outsider and a foreigner. They always hated outsiders. Not only that but the sounds of hammer hitting steel and the smell of smoke and raw metal always made Kale have terrible migraines and nausea.
So with the sounds and smells and… glares? Kind of hard to tell if someone is glaring at you with those masks but anyway, once in the village Kale felt even more sick than before. 'God it's so hot…' Kale thought while fanning herself. She didn't know why but the sun felt hotter against her exposed skin.
Her vision began to blur and her legs felt weak. 'Oh I have to hurry.' But soon she can feel herself begin to fall from lack of energy. "Oh!" Kale braces for impact but feels hands holding her shoulders. "Oh dear, are you alright?" A sweet voice asked. Kale looked to her side and saw a fox mask staring at her. 'Huh? Huh?' She helped Kale keep steady, her black straight hair swaying in the wind. "It must be the heat huh?"
"W-What?"
"It's not good for the baby, you know?" Kale scowled but remained silent, since she was having difficulty breathing. The fox lady tsked. "Oh dear, let's get you out of this heat." Her voice sounded sweet but it sounded wrong for some reason. "Please, follow me." The fox lady guided Kale without much of a fight. But she was guiding her away from the village and since everyone was busy with their swords no one paid attention to Kale and the mysterious fox lady.
Kale can feel her consciousness slipping and she tried to stay awake but it was not easy. "Sleep my dear. You'll feel better soon." Without further persuasion Kale closed her eyes and let darkness take her.
Walking further down the road and away from the village another fox lady appeared out of nowhere and walked beside her while the other carried Kale on her back. She stared at Kale intently. "So this is the master's bride."
"Yes."
"Has Lord Muzan given him approval?" The fox lady remained silent, thinking carefully how she should answer that. "Not exactly, that's because he doesn't know." The other fox lady remained quiet and continued to walk while thinking… 'That sounds risky.' By noon Kale and the two fox ladies arrived at a natural hot spring. "I'll prepare the water. While you prepare… the food." She nodded and gently set Kale down against the rocks.
Her eyes glanced down at Kale's swelling belly and couldn't help a sliver of guilt enter her. She lifted her hand and placed it against her stomach. She felt the soft kicks of the unborn child against her hand. "I'm sorry little one."
"Kale… Kale~~?" She slowly opened her eyes and saw Haganezuka staring at her tenderly. She smiled and her eyes travelled down and noticed that he was shirtless. Kale blushed and couldn't help but stare at his abs. 'That's right we… did it.' She slowly reached out and touched his chest and went down, tracing his stomach.
He let out a groan and grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. Kale couldn't help but notice how rough his hands are compared to her soft ones. "If you keep doing that I won't keep my hands off you." He whispered. Kale blushed even harder and pulled her hand away and hid into the covers. "Huh?! Now you become bashful!" He bellowed. "Not so loud!" She whispered/yelled.
He quickly grabbed the blanket and pulled it off her, exposing Kale's naked body. Haganezuka sucked in a breath as he stared at his now beautiful wife. Kale quickly covered her chest and looked away, not able to handle his intense stare. The sunlight hit her body just right so that it made his heart grow weak. Slowly he lowered himself, hovering over her body as his hair covered their faces like a curtain. "There is no reason to be bashful." He gently grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. "You're my wife. My beautiful, hula dancing wife. No matter what you look like…" He gently kissed her forehead.
"I love you."
Kale can hear the gentle sway of water in the air. The scent of flowers rousing her to consuisness. "What?" Kale slowly opened her eyes and found she was in a place she didn't recognize. Sure from the steam from behind her was a natural hot spring but this one hot spring she never saw before. "Where am I?" She asked herself. "You're safe my lady." Kale jumped and looked over the rocks and mist and saw the same woman in a fox mask that helped her. Sadly she got up too quickly and felt a throbbing pain in her head. She groaned from the pain while cradling her head.
"You got up too fast." Kale looked up and saw the fox lady right in front of her. "Huh!? Where did you come from?! You were just over there?!!" Kale backed away from her but tripped on her own feet and began to fall. The other fox lady grasped her shoulders and held her steady. "Please don't over excite yourself, my lady." She said.
Kale looked up and saw the same fox lady. "Two?" The pain in her head throbbed even harder. "We better get you in the water quickly." Without a second to spare the two fox ladies stripped her of her clothes and tiki mask and carried her like she weighed nothing and placed her body gently into the water.
Kale felt her body relax against the warmth of the water and the smell of flowers and salt. The pain in her head began to lessen as well. She sighed in pleasure. "You were going through water withdrawal. We all go through it." The fox lady said while pouring more of the salt and flower mixture into the water.
"What do you mean?" Kale can feel someone lifting her hand from the water and messaging her arm but she didn't rip her arm away from the contact. Not that she really could, her body still felt weak and to be honest she kind of liked the attention. The fox lady moved to her shoulders and continued getting her tense muscles to relax. "Not important my lady. Just let us take care of you." Kale looked at the fox ladies more closely. They wore pure white kimonos which made their dark hair stand out but other than that nothing really stood out. They looked like completely normal girls.
Before Kale could refuse their help the fox lady gave her a cup with a strange liquid inside. "Drink this. It's a special medicine just for you." She hesitantly grabbed the cup and brought it up to her face. The medicine smelled sweet and had a thick gold color. She took a small sip and recoiled from the taste. It was very bitter. "Hehe, you're such a child." Kale blushed from the fox ladies' mockery but downed the rest of the medicine so she wouldn't be rude.
After drinking that bitter medicine, Kale can instantly feel the pain and fatigue wash away. "Amazing…" she mumbled. "Indeed, why don't you finish up and we will prepare a meal for you." The fox lady smiled. Kale only nodded when the foxes left her alone. Scooping up the water in her hands, Kale watched the liquid fall between her fingers in a gentle trickle.
'Water can be so pure and clear but…' The foxes giggled cruelly, raising a knife in the air. A poor defenseless, bound woman looked at the two in terror. "Please don't!" She screamed.
The water slowly turned crimson.
"Sorry but the baby needs feeding." In a swift motion the knife came down. 'It can easily be tainted.'
"NOOOO!"
Kale stepped out of the spring feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and found her clothes clean and ready for her. Once she got into her clothes the fox lady led her into a small patch of grass under a tree where a spread of food was laid out. "Oh! You really didn't have to do this. You have already done enough."
"Nonsense. Us wives need to stick together." Kale looked at her in confusion. "Are you also part of the sword village?" Kale asked while sitting down in front of the spread. The fox nodded while smirking under her mask. "Oh, it's weird that I never saw you around before." Kale looked around at the spread. Braised pork ribs, boiled tofu, and rice with a cup of green tea. For once Kale felt her appetite return and her mouth watered at the food.
"Don't worry about it. Just eat." She smiles under the mask. Grabbing the chopsticks she grabbed one of the rib meat and lifted it up to Kale's lips. Kale would have fainted from the sweet smell and without a moment's hesitation she opened her mouth and took a big bite of the meat. "Mmmm! It's delicious!"
"Yes…" The spread turned into multiple parts of human flesh. Heart, human ribs and blood. "Delicious."