Enjoy.
Chapter 6: Earthrealm's Nomad
The night slowly taking over the sky, light getting darker by the minute, the man was standing in front of Mileena. He had his eyes closed, slowly inhaling for a good couple of seconds then exhaling it all, repeating the process several times while trying not to lose consciousness.
"Huh?-he opened his eyes looked up to the sky- rain?"
In what visible light was still present water started falling from the sky. The droplets hitting his face, forcing him to close his eyes again. The sound of the rainwater hitting the ground, Mileena and him were the only sounds audible, so calming and relaxing. It started with just a few drops but moments later it was pouring, slowly washing down all the blood he was covered in, leaving it on the ground. The cold rain over his heated body from the intensive fight with Mileena were relaxing his muscles.
"How long are you going to keep that cheap act of yours?"- The man turned his head, facing the body of Raven who was far away on the ground.
A few seconds later Raven got up, the soaked clothes, the extremely black hair over her face and the angry stare she had made her look very menacing, enough to petrify any person with weak will even at that distance, but of course, the man wasn't impressed at all. He had a bored expression on his face.
"For how long did you noticed?"- Raven asked.
"Since the beginning of the fight."
Raven's eyes widened a bit in shock.
"I've had enough battles to know when I'm facing someone who can fight. You're strong just like Mileena but you held back and used those useless, weak tricks. That's why I got rid of you first, so I could have fun with her. That strike wasn't enough to leave you unconscious but you decided to play dead like a coward."
Raven stopped looking at him and her eyes went over to Mileena's body, who was on the ground next to him. The next instant a black shadow engulfed her and she was gone. The man blinked when he saw that and Raven was instantly back, further away this time kneeling on one leg, holding Mileena in her arms.
"Ohhh? -he looked down next to him where Mileena was, only to see a pool of blood- excellent speed."- A smile forming on his face again.
"Finally decided to get serious?- he raised his sword, pointing at her- don't disappoint me now."
"I'm not interested in fighting a half dead man."- She replied not even looking at him, her eyes were focused on Mileena and her wounds.
"Huh? Who are you calling dead?"
"Her wounds are bad and this cold rain isn't helping either."- Raven began thinking to herself.
"Oi, you listening?"- The man kept asking seeing that he was being ignored.
"I have no bandages and in these conditions she won't survive for long. What should I do.?"
"Tch...what a waste -the man sheathed his sword and started to walk away- follow me."
Raven's attention immediately went to him after hearing those words.
"What?"- She asked in confusion.
"You're going to spend the night here in the rain?"- The man continued to walk away.
Raven wasn't sure what to do, she stood there thinking for a few seconds before saying:
"You wanted to kills us and now you expect me to simply follow you?"
"I have no interest in killing you, I was looking for someone to fight. I don't want her to die, not yet."- The man stopped as he said that, turning to face Raven.
"I want to fight her again."- He had that demonic smile on his face, looking at Mileena who was unconscious in Raven's arms.
Raven just stared at him angrily, she didn't like the idea of following him but there wasn't a choice, Mileena would die if they were to spend the night in the rain, this man was her best chance to save her. Raven didn't reply, she simply got up and silently followed behind him. A few minutes of walking she noticed that the man was stumbling from tree to tree, using them as support to not fall down.
"How isn't he dead yet?"- Raven thought to herself.
"Where are we going?, It looks like you're going to die soon and I don't have time to waste."- Raven spoke out her mind.
"HA, dead?. I refuse to die...if I die...I can't fight anymore. There's a cave not to far from here...I used it as shelter...for the few days I've been in this forest."- The man struggled to say.
They kept walking through the dark, rainy forest. Night was already on top of them and the heavy rain made it worse, they could barely see in front of them. Raven was using her body to try and protect Mileena from the cold rain, she had to gain time, even if it just meant a few seconds, that could help her odds of surviving. Finally after a few more minutes of walking they reached the edge of the forest, a big mountain was now in front of them though they couldn't see it clearly nor did they care, a large cave was carved in the mountain itself. The entrance was big, a giant black hole, that's what it looked like with the small visible light coming from the lightning strikes coming from the storm, without wasting another second they both went in. It was in complete darkness but the most important thing is that they were out of the rains reach. Raven sat down on the cold ground with Mileena in her hands, she hugged her tightly, noticing the weak breathing movements her body was making. She took Mileena's head and let it rest over her neck, feeling the warm breath of Mileena over her skin while slowly caressing the back of her head. Raven stood there doing it for minutes while catching her breath thinking about what to do next.
"Mileena, what am I doing?, you're the one that took everyth..."- Raven's whispers were interrupted.
Footsteps could be heard in the darkness of the cave, Raven's trail of thoughts stopped and focused on the sounds. She couldn't see a thing but she had to be prepared if the man decided to attack them. She closed her eyes and focused on the steps, having a visual idea in her head about his location. The steps were sloppy, he wasn't fully raising his feet, he was dragging them across the stone floor, probably because he was severely wounded. The steps stopped and now new sounds were present, something was being thrown on the floor, from what Raven could listen she made out that it was something of wood. A few moments of silence made Raven open her eyes, some faint sparks appeared in front of her, the man was using a rock against his sword to form sparks on the wood logs that were next to him. After a couple of more tries the man finally managed to get a small fire to ignite, slowly getting bigger, soon after the area around the fire was well warm and lit. He sat down with his back against the cave's wall next to the fire, stared at it in silence for a few minutes before slowly closing his eyes more and more, his head going backwards until it was resting on the wall.
Raven took Mileena and placed her on the ground near the fire, examining her wounds better now with light present. Her body was covered in lacerations which most of them weren't that deep, a normal person would be in deep trouble but Mileena should be able to withstand them.
"Except this one- Raven slowly whispered while tracing her fingers around the deep cut over her chest- this is the one that settled the fight."
She took off her bow and the quiver that were on her back, placing them on the ground. Quickly she put all her attention on Mileena, examining her condition. Luckily blood wasn't spurting out of the wound anymore, Raven took her hood off and squeezed the water out of it over the wound, cleaning it. She put it around Mileena and tied it, making sure to keep it tight and hopefully help in closing the wound. She let her back rest against the wall, taking Mileena's head and placing it on her lap. Raven's hand instinctively went over to Mileena and started running her fingers through her hair, playing delicately with it while watching the fire, trying to relax and get rid the thoughts of Mileena's death out of her mind. The warmth of the fire and the contact of Mileena's skin on her hand slowly calmed her, her eyes began to close slowly.
"Why am I doing this?."- Her last thought as she drifted off.
A dark shadow, with only its eyes distinguishable could be seen. Its eyes wide open and with a tilted head looking straight at Raven before stabbing her in the throat.
This startled her, breathing rapidly with sweat making its way from her forehead to her eyes, making her squint. Slowly calming down once she came to reality, she raised her hand to her face.
"Another one? Why are they getting worse?"- She mumbled to herself.
Her eyes went down to Mileena who was still sleeping. Her head was still on her lap, calmly breathing. From what it looked like it seemed that she was doing fine for now. Raven's hand went to Mileena's face, gently cupping it while slowly caressing her cheek with the back of her other hand. She kept doing this, contemplating the empress for a few moments. Her lips slowly curled upwards, a gentle smile was now on her face.
"I wish I could see your eyes empress."
Just after saying that the smile disappeared, leaving only a sad expression.
"Soon I'll have t-"
Her whispers where interrupted by some sounds coming from outside the cave. This put her on her guard, realizing that she and Mileena weren't alone last night. She started to look around in the cave, not seeing the man anywhere.
"Is it him?."- She whispered again, looking at the entrance.
Slowly grabbing Mileena's head and letting it rest on the ground she got up, taking the bow and quiver and equipped them on her back. She took out her daggers and cautiously walked outside to see what was the source of the noise. Raven walked out of the cave, squinting her eyes when she reached the outside, the intense beam of sunlight hitting her face, stopping a few seconds for her eyes to adjust at the bright daylight. She looked around and saw the man a few meters away swinging his sword at the air. She put her daggers away and started walking towards him.
"With the wounds he had and in just a few hours he's up like nothing happened? What a monster, he will be a problem."- Raven's thoughts roamed her head.
"I thought today I would throw your corpse away, seeing the wounds you had just a few hours ago."- Raven said, crossing her hands looking at him.
He stopped his swings and turned around, just noticing her.
"I was trying to test my muscles but swinging at the air is boring."- The man focused his attention on Raven.
"I guess you'll have to do for a workout-a big smile now on his face- why don't we have some fun."- He raised his sword pointing straight at her.
"I don't have time to waste playing with you."- Raven looked away, not intimidated by his threats.
"HA-HAHA, I'll take that as a yes."- He said with his sword already in motion now behind Raven.
The man sliced her in half instantly. Raven's body was split from the waist down, both pieces falling on the ground.
"Huh?"- He looked down, there was black smoke coming from the body parts where the cut was made.
"I'm hungry, I'm gonna go hunt."- Raven calmly said.
She was now where the man originally was, slowly walking away not bothering to look back. Soon after a black shadow surrounded her and she was gone. The man watched her disappear, leaving only a figure behind that quickly dissolved itself in the presence of the sunlight.
"Tch...how boring."- The man said looking down at the dissipating body parts of Raven's clone.
Mileena opened her eyes, instantly hit by the pain of her wound. Just like the beating of her heart, at constant intervals pain from the wound was traveling across her body, each time she was forced to hold her breath at the intensity of the pain. Her hand went to it, touching something that she didn't remember being there.
"Where am I?, a...cave? What is this?"- She asked herself, moving her head to look at it.
"Is this...Raven's hood?"- Her last memories flashed in her mind.
"Raven!...ughhh."- She grunted at the pain caused by the sudden movement trying to get up.
Clenching her teeth to withstand the pain she was in, she managed to get up. With one hand on the cave's wall, stabilizing herself and the other one on Raven's hood, pressing firmly against the wound trying to alleviate the pain that was constantly erupting from it since she woke up she started walking. Slowly, step by step she was making her way towards the outside. Once at the entrance of the cave Mileena looked at her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. The sky was clear though getting dark, night was upon her in a few hours most likely. She spotted a figure not to far from her, slowly walking towards it she only now noticed that it wasn't Raven, this made her stop on her tracks to try and examine it more thoroughly. She was about to say something when the figure turned around noticing her, probably because she was dragging her feet across the ground having barely enough strength to stand up. When Mileena saw who the figure was she almost fell flat on the ground if not for the instant adrenaline rush that her brain subconsciously released in her body, making her get into a stable stance. It was the man she last remembered before everything went dark, when she made eye contact with him her wound started to scream, she could feel it throb, sending waves of pain throughout her whole body at increasing speed each passing second. This made her lose stability and her vision started to blur out, Mileena knew she would pass out in the next few moments, she needed to act now. With the help of the adrenaline in her body she gathered enough strength to summon a sai in her hand and released it instantly. Even in her current condition she managed to flawlessly throw it at him, cutting the air with speed going straight to his heart.
"Huh?-he easily grabbed the sai before it touched him- what's this?"
"You're ready for round two?"- The man asked throwing it back at her.
The sai was flying towards her head at an extremely high speed but this didn't seem to faze Mileena at all, even though she couldn't dodge it in time she just stared at the man not paying attention to the weapon coming to pierce her. In a mere blink of an eye the sai was already almost touching her forehead but just before it made contact with her skin the sai's tip started glowing, quickly spreading to the whole weapon. In a fraction of a second the weapon lost all its physical form and was now just a figure of itself made out of bright pink particles that collided with her, like smoke hitting a solid object. There was no harm, instead it was a gentle caress on her face as the pink particles slowly faded away.
"HA-HAHA, interesting."- The man had the same smile and look in his eyes just like when they fought.
"Do you think my weapons dare to hurt me?."- She replied staring angrily at him.
"It was a good choice to let you live...let's fight Mileena."- The man went to grab his sword but stopped when he saw that she was losing her balance.
Mileena knelt down on one leg and with one hand on the ground, trying not to fall over, still keeping him on her field of view.
"Let me live?...why are you here?."- She asked.
"You haven't recover yet?...what a letdown, go back to sleep."- The man said with a bored tone.
"Where is Raven?"- She kept asking.
"That coward?, she said something about hunting food and ran out."
He started walking towards Mileena, seeing this she wanted to get up and prepare herself for the attack but there was no strength left in her. All she could do was look at him as he sat down next to her and laid on the grass, looking at the sky for a few moments before closing his eyes.
"Why is this man still here and why hasn't he attacked me yet?. I don't sense any intentions of killing from him."- More and more questions came to her mind.
"Tell me...ugh...what happened after our fight."- She sat down in a more comfortable position now that her adrenaline was starting to go away, bringing in the pain once more.
"Huh?, you're being noisy again."
"..."- She just looked at him in silence.
The next moment the man's hand was quickly coming towards Mileena's face, she didn't have the time or strength to reply to it. She instinctively closed her eyes, bracing for what was coming next. Feeling no pain she opened her eyes, the man was looking past her as his forearm was touching her face. She looked back to see what he was staring at.
"What's this?"
The man got up holding a dagger in his hands.
"Assassins, they've tracked us down again."- Mileena thought to herself.
"It's probably an assassin, be careful."- She said to him.
The man looked at the direction from where it came from and threw it back to the top of the trees.
"Damn, I almost had her, next time I won't-"- He was interrupted by his own dagger flying past him, cutting part of his cheek.
He fell down from the tree but managed to land on his feet on the ground.
"What was that?"- He tried to process what happened.
"Tch..."
The assassin quickly turned around hearing someone behind only to see a sword coming towards him. The slash easily split him, falling on the ground with a lifeless expression on his face as a pool of blood was starting to form around him.
"I hate cutting down weaklings."- He swung his sword at the air, ridding the blood from its edge.
Mileena looked at the forest, seeing him walking towards her. He lied down in the same place next to her and closed his eyes.
"I couldn't even test my muscles."- The man sighed
"Pitiful henchmen...if I had my strength back I would hunt down every single one of you dogs hiding."- Mileena growled looking at the forest.
"Who are they?"
The man snapped Mileena from her intense stare.
"Someone hired assassins to kill me."
"Sounds like something a coward would do, not interested."
"Exactly...when I find out who is behind all of this...I will make him regret it."- Her voice was low showing how angry she was.
The man still had his eyes closed, listening in silence.
"Why did you save me?"- Mileena asked confused by his actions earlier.
"Huh? I don't know, stop bothering me."
"That's not an answer."- Mileena's tone was getting angrier.
The man turned on the side with his back now facing Mileena.
"How dare you ignore me, just being so close to an earthrealmer makes me sick. When I get back to Outworld and kill Kotal I will destroy this miserable realm until nothing breathes. If you think you will be spared because you didn't kill me when you had the chance you're-"
"Shut up."- The man suddenly interrupted her.
"You can't even stand up and your talking about killing me? Quit screwing around and go to sleep, recover your strength so we can fight again."
Mileena was outraged, she couldn't believe it.
"How dare you, a miserable earthrealmer like you speak to me like that."- She mumbled to herself.
"Huh?, you're still talking?"- The man didn't hear her well, having his back on her.
Mileena stood there in silence for a few moments, trying to calm down.
"What happened after our fight?"- She asked him again.
The man decided to open his eyes and turn around to face her, he looked at her and saw a serious yet confused look on Mileena's face. He sighed and started telling her everything that happened.
On top of the huge trees in the forest, Raven was quickly jumping from tree to tree like a predator, scanning the ground for its prey. Equipped with her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other one she kept leaping from branch to branch, covering a lot more distance rather than walking on the ground. Something in the corner of her eyes caught her attention, and in mid air, she instinctively drew her bow and released the arrow which of course, found its way right into her prey, impaling a rabbit into the tree root where he was standing. Before landing on the next branch a shadow surrounded Raven, teleporting her on the ground instantly. She was standing in front of the rabbit, pulling the arrow out.
"I wonder if Mileena woke up, she was badly wounded but I don't expect her to be out for days."- Raven started thinking to herself.
Looking at the rabbit got Raven into a trance, memories of when she was young, learning how to hunt started taking control over her. The memories were getting stronger and stronger, taking her away from reality. All of this disappeared when a sudden noise made Raven get on her guard, her mind cleared up as her focused attention went on a distant bush.
"I heard you, there's no point in hiding."- Raven directed her voice towards the bush.
Seconds later a man with a dagger in hand came out, his face was covered by a mask concealing his identity. Raven just stared at him as he slowly started making his way towards her.
"You happy now?"
The man told Mileena everything that happened and before they knew it night was preset, she didn't notice it until now because she was paying very close attention to him.
"Huh?, its night already?"- The man asked looking around.
He got up and started walking towards the cave.
"Can you walk?"- He looked back at her.
"Who do you think I am?"- She hissed back at him.
Mileena struggled trying to get up but she would rather die before letting an earthrealmer help her. She managed to get up and slowly started walking, she was still in pain. She managed to ignore it trying to hear what happened after she passed out but now it struck her again. Once inside the cave, the man lit up a fire with the remaining wood left from last night and they both sat down next to it. Minutes of silence passed, both of them staring at the fire without saying anything, both lost in their minds.
"What is Raven doing?, is she okay?"- Mileena broke the silence.
"Awww, you're too kind, I don't deserve such words empress."- A familiar voice could be heard from the entrance of the cave.
Mileena turned her head towards the source after hearing that voice, a shadow figure was at the entrance slowly coming closer. As the figure came closer to the fire, it revealed who it was.
"Raven."
Mileena struggled to get up but was stopped and pushed back down by Raven who knelt in front of her.
"Dont push yourself, you need to rest."- Raven calmly said.
Hearing the soothing voice of Raven made Mileena immediately listen to her. They both locked eyes for what it seemed like hours, both loosing themselves into each others eyes, unable to look away.
"Were you worried about me?"- Raven was the first to say something.
"Tch...don't be foolish. Weak emotions such as worry is but a nuisance to someone like me."- Mileena broke their eye contact, drawing her stare at the fire.
"You know, empress..."- Raven gently grabbed Mileena's chin and lifted it, forcing her eyes to meet hers again.
"I sometimes wonder if there is a heart inside of you."- As she said that she moved her hand and placed it on the upper part of Mileena's left breast, trying to feel the beating of her heart.
Mileena was confused and didn't know how but the contact of Raven's hand over her skin, made the pain fade a bit, making it bearable to withstand.
"I feel something beating...or is it just my imagination, empress."
Raven slowly whispered to her, making sure to take a long pause after each couple of words and putting a different, a more seductive tone when addressing her title.
Raven's whispers were so soft and calming, almost inaudible to anyone but Mileena. The did not seem like that to her, Mileena could her Raven's whispers resonate throughout the whole cave, slowly making their way inside her ears. She was completely stunned, locked in Raven's gaze, unable to do anything but stare into those blue clear eyes of hers as they stared back at her. Mileena was confused, she couldn't look away nor move. Everything surrounding them started to blur out only Raven was clear in her vision, the pain from her wound stopped, she couldn't feel anything in her whole body but Raven's gentle and warm hand resting on her chest.
"What is...this beating empress?."- Raven continued to whisper.
Mileena could start to hear her own heart beating intensely, she didn't know why but the beatings were getting faster and faster. They were so loud that the sounds of her beating heart were the only thing she could hear now, the wood cracking as the fire burned them, the wind traveling through the crevices of the cave, nothing but her own beatings were audible. She could feel it pulsate against her chest so fast and hard as though it was going to burst out. She slowly opened her mouth underneath her mask, trying to formulate words.
"It is..."
"Hmmm?"- Raven purred at her.
"It it my hear-"
"So you're finally back?"- The man asked, seeing Raven back.
This interrupted everything and both their attention went over to him. Mileena was released from Raven's gaze and was now back to reality, the beats of her heart slowly calming down in speed and intensity. Her ears started to pick up the sounds around her and the pain was now back, forcing her to press her hand against the wound. Raven took her hand off Mileena and sat down next to her, facing the man.
"You're still here?"- Raven asked, looking at him seriously.
"Huh? What kind of question is that? I showed you this cave, why would I leave?"
"So you two met?"- Raven turned her head towards Mileena.
"I asked him to tell me what happened after our fight."
"I see, well now that we are all here- she looked at him again- why don't you tell us, who are you?"
"My name is Zaraki, Zaraki Kenpachi."
"Zaraki...what are you doing here?, in this forest."- Mileena asked him.
"I'm a nomad, I don't like to stay in one place. I just wonder around in search for strong people to fight."
"For what purpose?"- Raven asked confused.
"Purpose? I don't need a purpose to fight someone. The only time I feel alive is when I put my life on the edge, knowing that I might lose it. That feeling is what keeps me going, Its the only thing that I care for. In the beginning It was great, every battle I would see death in front of me, slowly feeling my life going toward it, towards nothingness, in the end it would always come back to me and I would always win. It was great, but... as I started to face death more and more I became stronger and stronger, the feeling started to go away and I couldn't find it again. In most of my battles I was so strong that my life was in no risk at all...until yesterday- he smiled, looking at Mileena- in our battle I felt that feeling again, you pushed me to the verge of death once more. I'm glad you didn't die, we have to fight again Mileena.
"On top of the assassins now this guy, you're great at making friends empress."
Raven got up and showed Mileena her prize.
"Are you hungry empress? You need to eat."
"You went hunting?, yes I am very hungry. Let's all eat, get some sleep and we can figure the rest in the morning."
"All?, you want to share our food with the person who almost killed you?"- Raven was confused.
"Raven, he...he saved me."
Saying those words caused Mileena more pain than the wound itself. As much as she hated it, there was no denying what happened.
"Saved you?, from who?"- There was concern in Raven's voice hearing what Mileena said.
"Assassins, they've found us again Raven."
Raven sighed and threw a rabbit at Zaraki.
"Consider this my thanks for helping Mileena."
A few minutes later the cave was in silence, apart from the popping sounds of the rabbit meat burning on the fire, all three of them were in silence looking at the fire, waiting for the meat to cook. Mileena was resting her head on Raven's shoulder and she rested hers on Mileena's head.
"Mileena?"- Raven whispered.
"Hm?, what is on your mind Raven?"
"What will happen once we find out who's after us and you get your throne back?"
"You're not my subordinate Raven, I don't even know why you are with me now. You are strong enough to survive on your own. You are free to go when you desire it."
"There wasn't much of a choice, from the dungeon up until here and even now we can't have a breathing time."
A few seconds of silence and they both thought about all that has happened until now.
"Why do you hate earthrealm so much Mileena?"
Mileena wasn't expecting that question, she was taken of guard.
"Earthrealm took my father from me, they killed him."
"Revenge, killing all of earthrealm won't bring back your father Mileena"
"I know, I try...not to think about it. I can't just let it go, they took something dear to me and I should just accept it?"
"You know what they say about people seeking blood?"
"What?"
"They usually find it."
The way those words left Raven mouth was different, they carried sadness in its tone which made Mileena raise her head to look at her, she wasn't surprised to see the same on her face. It was bothering her, every time Raven had that look made Mileena feel something inside of her that she couldn't explain or understand why she felt it.
"What is your story Raven?"
"Looks like the food is ready."
Raven ignored what Mileena asked and went to get the meat from the fire, it might have looked unintentional but Mileena knew that Raven heard her question. She wanted to know more about her but decided not to press further for now, she was really hungry and the smell of cooked rabbit meat got her attention. Now with food in their bellies everyone felt better, Mileena's pain wasn't as instense now.
"Here..."- Raven went to grab Mileena.
"What are you doing?"
Raven took Mileena's head and let it rest on her lap. She was confused and didn't know what to do she just looked at her without saying anything.
"What?, you don't like it?"
"..."- Mileena didn't reply, she just looked away.
"I thought so. Now rest, I'll protect you from nightmare this time."- Raven smiled at her.
"I wonder if I will have another one."- She thought behind the smile.
Raven's smile was something that could get Mileena to feel better at any time, though she didn't understand why or how is that even possible. Raven's hand went over to take off her mask but Mileena stopped her, looking towards Zaraki who was still eating.
"I understand."- Raven sighed.
She gently traced her fingers over her mask, where her lips were. This relaxed Mileena which made her close her eyes to try and get some sleep.
"This realm of yours...- Zaraki suddenly spoke out.
Mileena opened her eyes and both of them looked at him.
"...does it have strong people?"
Raven and Mileena looked at each other for a moment before looking at him again.
"People around here are weak, I'm sick of it. It's been a long time since I found someone as strong as you. If your realm has strong people...- He looked straight at them with a demonic smile on his face.
"...I'll tag along with you."
To be continued...
