Chapter Five – Zhi
Kage had set off on his own again. After sensing his potential stability here faltering, it was only prudent to start making a ruckus in the lair. The humans were obviously just paid muscle used by Oberon's human alter ego to facilitate whatever they were doing here, but Kage almost felt bad for them when he could knock them around like dolls, despite the fact that each was proclaimed as an elite fighter in China. The goonish creatures Kage had faced during his little test were far more powerful, but even they had been nothing more than a superficial exposition of what his Ryuugan could do. True, the little time he had spent here had kept him on edge and he was the at the pinnacle of his form when under such pressure, but the very idea that these few fools could to stand a chance against the chosen soldiers of Serenity's light made Kage feel almost sorry for them. Almost. After all, he himself had tried and failed miserably. The idea of them trying to defeat that meatball head or her protectors made Kage stifle a laugh and he shoved open the door to the room heartily. Oberon, he considered, was a much different case.
Since parting with Andromeda, and with an almost uncharacteristic consideration on his part, Kage had decided to gain some much needed information about the aliens that had graciously brought him to their lair. Of course, he did this in the manner that most befit him – knocking heads and bending arms. He knew it was only a matter of time before Oberon completely abandoned his interest in him and found the truth in those images, so he was acting in anticipation for the drawn-out battle that loomed ahead. Yet, among all of the information he had gathered about the operation here and the five figures that stayed conveniently domestic to the human population, a new whiff of information had come to him about something Oberon possessed that, if the rumors were true, was the key to his success against Serenity. Such a thing provided Kage with an opportunity to sabotage Oberon's plans to bring danger to Tokyo.
For that purpose, Kage now opened the door that led to this grand invention. Even for his Ryuugan, it took a moment to adjust to the dark light and see the utter emptiness of the room. There was nothing there, save the darkness that swallowed every drop of light and the dust that was burning inside of Kage's nose. It was obviously and old room, yet the door eased open with a certainty that betrayed its frequent usage and the metal around the frame had been scarred and dulled with use. Still, for someone who viewed the world through mystic eyes, the room was a tomb, empty and stale. It confused him, this grand weapon that was apparently an empty room. He had just about turned to dismiss it as true rumor when he heard it; the slight whimpering of a fearful voice suppressed out of terror and the shifting of metal on metal. Nothing was more unnerving to Kage than the fact that he had not seen an aura or some kind of indication of a person within the dark bowels of the room, the kind of aura present on all livings things. No, this figure completely eluded the Ryuugan, causing Kage to suspect that whatever it was, it could not be human. It had to be their weapon.
He was rather curious as to what type of creature evaded his sight so and stepped further into the room, hearing the creature shifting more as he did - shifting away from him. Swinging silent and slow was a long chain from the ceiling. It taunted Kage with its lethargic swaying back and forth and, for a moment, he followed the chain with his eyes, somehow content in that moment to admire the lazy existence of a chain. Back and forth it moved, never seeking more than to constantly return over the same traveled path over and over. What an existence, he thought. After his moment had passed, Kage gripped the taunting chain tightly and yanked down, the sound of scraping metal marking change as the room was flooded with sunlight through shutters in the ceiling. The burst momentarily stung his eyes even through his sunglasses and it causing him to avert his gaze and shield the light with his hand. After the initial shock of light invading darkness, he looked back to the creature that had captured his attention and was instantly in awe of what he saw.
She was a young girl, no older than sixteen by Kage's estimate. Her hands were bound together with some kind of metal cable, which was in turn attached to another long cable that hung from the ceiling. He could guess that her arms could be raised above her head in such a manner, making the mood of the room and actions that transpired here all the more repugnant to him. The fact that she was dressed in nothing more than a torn, battered old T-shirt caused a tremor to force its way through Kage's closed fist, even if his face showed nothing more than apathy, a bland showing of just how blunted he had become in his years of darkness. The way the girl pulled down at the bottom of the shirt to cover herself only supported his theories and Kage suddenly felt a new desire to beat the hell out of Oberon and the others. Kage had seen death and gore at a level that would drive most mad with grief, yet it was the innocence lost of a young girl that caused a ringing anger to rise in him; a throbbing fury coupled with flashes of another young girl whose life was stolen away far too young. It resounded soundly within him.
With the light cast low over this girl's face, he could see the bruises and cuts over her body attesting to a long sentence of brutality and pain, though he did admire the fact that many of the injuries were on her knuckles and feet. "At least she doesn't give up without a fight," he said to himself quietly and shifted the keys in his hand to mimic the sounds of her slowly shifting chains.
The new sound of metal was the sound of freedom before her. The girl could hardly believe that this new figure had just walked in and dropped the keys before her, offering her freedom with no catch or demand. Without moving her head, she looked up at this would-be savior and pressed her lips together, biting back the intense hatred at the image of her typical visitor. His dark sunglasses; that smug expression; it almost made her cry she was so angry, but instead she slowly moved her hands onto the keys and slid them to her, the sound of metal scraping across the floor deafening.
Then, there was no sound but the wind outside the shutters and the minute passing of a Death's Headed Sphinx. The dust passing through the light appeared much like a great slice through the dark shadows, illuminating her completely and only the very outline of her savior. For the moment, it was all they shared - this wedge of gold in black. An eternity passed before Kage snorted impatiently and ran his hand through his hair, obviously annoyed that she was still kneeling there like a trembling little girl, dismissing the fact that she was exactly that. "Man, are you gonna escape or what? Do I have to draw you a dia..." Kage began casually but was quickly cut of by the shuddering sound of the girl's howling start.
It startled him, this girl's abrupt scream, but the next thing Kage heard was the sound of his own breath lurching out of him as her heel had smashed into his chest, blowing the air out of his lungs with such a force that he swore he could taste the metallic sting of blood and reeled into the hard wall behind him. Soon after, this girl was in such a fit of rage that her attacks seemed hardly organized, but rather a lashing animal trying to find a moment of hope for that genuine. It took Kage a moment to recover from the first barrage, but soon his instincts had kicked back in and he was evading her strikes with a foray of expletives on his lips. "What the hell are you doing!"
"I won't play these perverted games of yours! You made the mistake of letting these chains off and now you have to pay for it!" she hollered back, focusing her attacks now as her rage tapered off slightly.
"Perverted games! What the hell are you talking about?" he roared and slapped away her kicks amidst the flustering anger he felt as well. Did she think he was letting her flee so he could get off on catching her and the ensuing struggle? Did she think he was some kind of sexual deviant? Had he not been so busy fighting, he might have really been angry at the insinuation, but currently, he was too busy fending off her furious attack.
Her fighting style was anything but, for all she could manage in her tempest was tears and overwrought anger, all flowing through her burning eyes and clenched teeth. Kage had already seen past her mood and was effortlessly knocking aside her attacks, flicking his hands through the air casually to avert her punches and kicks. It only made her even angrier and less able to attack him. From her form and balance, he was able to judge that she was trained in some form of martial art, but her emotional hurricane of crying and whimpering proved that she was far too unstable at the moment to remember it. All she wanted to do was hurt him, and that meant her attacks were meaningless. He did, however, make note of a unique characteristic of her assault that went otherwise silently into his memory. With a smirk on his lips, he watched her pathetic display of grief and began parrying her force with a single hand, perhaps only to show that she was making no progress in her pursuit to cause him pain.
Seeing how smugly he was defending, the girl felt a new wave of anger and forced another surge of hatred to build up behind her movements, though she would not have a single moment to let that hatred vent. Even with her arms held in front of her to block the kick, the full force of the strike sent her flying back into the wall, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall to her knees in exhaustion. Being chained up for so long had weakened her and sapped the strength from her muscles, but she was also overwhelmed by her opponent's strength. Her eyes rose up just in time to see his stance, that bizarre and beautiful stance and his foot setting down softly to the ground after the powerful kick. Her eyes widened. She recognized the style and that move that had knocked her away. She instantly knew it, for she only knew one other person that could perform it with the power she had just seen. Whoever this young man was, he was not like the others that had entered the room for her. He was something different. In fact, she would have fully embraced his title of savior if she could have believed that this young man was the successor to her grandfather's martial art. However, since she knew without a doubt that her grandfather had no such pupil, this person's ability to use that style was a great surprise to her. It threw her into chaos as questions filled her mind. However, one thing was for sure - he had stopped humoring her unleashed anger and stunned her with a single, fluid kick.
"So," Kage snorted roughly and fixed the band of his sunglasses, "are you done or do you wanna dance some more?" All pity aside, Kage didn't care if she had been born with only one breast, for the moment she attacked him, she became an opponent and Kage treated all opponents the same. This chivalry of letting her fury prevail only lived so long within him. His nature wouldn't allow her any more time to recover.
"Who are you?" the girl wheezed as she struggled to stand, her muscles burning at the sudden burst of activity and impact of his kick. Her hands were shaking in a mix of anger and exhaustion, but she wouldn't show her weakness to him. She wouldn't give him that pleasure. Finally, she was able to get a good look at him, through eyes unclouded by fury, and decided that he was indeed not like the others. Something about him actually made her feel safer than she had been in the past six months, but that didn't show in her burning eyes.
Kage snorted again, crossing his arms over his chest at the very idea of kicking first and talking second. The hypocrisy was not apparent to him and he simply threw his weight to the side in a cool stance. "I'm the guy that just saved your sorry ass," he replied. As hard as it was for her to accept it, that was the truth and he saw the running of doubt through her jaded eyes and the way her brow rose and fell with each consideration of his authenticity. As thin as his philanthropy had become, he saw little use in lingering further. He had saved her. Due to her obvious training, he gauged that she had a fair chance of escaping, should she steer clear of Oberon or the others. Parting with a snort of impatience, he promptly turned without another word and continued his expedition into the lair, feeling somewhat satisfied that he had done something good for a change.
However, before he could even exit the room, a shrill protest from the girl caught his attention. "Wait!" she cried, causing him to stop and turn his head. In the same place, she stood, her hands still clenched together in fear and anticipation, as if she fully expected another fight from him. Despite her abrupt protest, she know stood silent and bit her bottom lip, casting her eyes downward in a fit of self-loathing due to her unsure thoughts. Dare she trust him? Was he really different from those terrible people that had kidnapped her? For the moment, she didn't know, and this hesitation caused her to linger in silence and hope.
"The name's Kage. You got a name, or should I just call you 'ingrate'?" he said dryly, snapping her expression and making him look at her. By now he was facing her again, appearing quite put off by her, but sustaining the only bit of humanity she had experienced in a long while. Really, he hadn't planned on making any friends in his wandering through the complex, but the fact that this girl was obviously shadowed by this place and her situation was one that Kage despised, forced him to believe that his meeting her in a place like this could not have been mere chance, but rather some kind of purpose of grand design or folly. There was also the fact that she still did not have substance to his Ryuugan, which intrigued him. The girl pressed her lips together in a mixture of worry and anger at the nickname, and although feeling a little more than guilty for attacking him outright, she bit back all words and simply stared at him with uncertain eyes. This, of course, annoyed him even more and sighed out a burst of exasperated air. "Listen, you brat, I really ain't gonna wait all day. It's a helluva lot easier just leaving you here, but I'm being a nice guy for once. You got a name or not?" he said, displaying his usual flare for getting right to the point.
The girl was hesitant, her eyes filled with fear and suspicion. However, there was something about this young man that made her feel safe, despite his rough demeanor and gruff warnings. Against all warnings learned well within the past six months, she dipped her head slightly and spoke in a voice flowing meekly from her throat. "Zhi," she answered.
The answer satisfied him for the moment, and he threw another snort at her. "Huh, easier to say than 'ingrate' so looks like Zhi it is. You've got two options then: first, you can come with me and I'll make sure you get out of here; second, I leave your ass here and, believe me, here ain't a place you're gonna wanna be at soon," Kage said as he stood straight and starting walking towards her, his footsteps echoing in the room with the finality of her decision. She winced at every step, reminding him just how difficult it must have been for her to be in this situation, but his options were meant to expedite their departure from this place, not fan another conflict. And, as a rule, Kage would always be Kage. "There ain't no middle ground. You come with me or you sink. Which is it?"
Zhi still felt like her back was against the wall, even though she stood in the middle of the room. His approach had sent her hands up in front of her to fend away some potential assault even though she did not remember doing it; a sad reminder that the things she had endured for the past six months would never allow herself to be the same young girl she was as she picked flowers in the country with her grandfather. Whether she liked it or not, she had to take care of herself and, in this case, that meant trusting this young man in the dark sunglasses with the task of helping her escape. There was nothing particularly trustworthy in his appearance, for he truly looked like one of the bad people that had been constantly trying to ruin her as her hands lay tied and twisted in chains. Yet, there was something in his voice that soothed her, some far and distant thing that told her of some equally tragic reign of cruelty in his life. For that fact alone, she felt there was no other choice but to trust this person that had been the first to show genuine concern for her since coming to this hell.
Standing straight and letting her arms down for the first time in six failings of the moon, she nodded her consent to him and would allow this young man the task of setting her free. It was the leap of faith that her grandfather had always preached to her, though she simply saw it as the fastest way to leave the awful place.
"Yah, well, let's see if we can find you some clothes first," Kage said with a bit of a weary voice as he tried to present himself as best as he could in the face of her ruffled T-shirt that had worked itself onto her hips in their battle. As tough he played himself to be, he was still a young man and, coincidently, one that had not been that experienced in the realm of a young girl's skin. His world being destroyed after years of lying in rubble did that to him. War did that to him. Still, it was almost charming the way he turned and scratched at the back of his head uncomfortably. He had found love the hard way, and his entire exodus to China was for his unsure heartbeat, but he still fought himself over the sight of her long, bare legs. Being a guy was tough.
Instantly, Zhi was pulling the shirt down and flailing her free arm at him, her voice shrieking through the dank air of the room in shrills of pure and absolute femininity. Utterly embarrassed that he had seen those parts of her body, there was nothing more she could do to combat the burning across her face than to ward away his eyes with her hand and squeal in embarrassment. "Kyaaa! Don't look, don't look!" she wailed.
The outburst made Kage cross his arms over his chest and bury his chin in his chest, his brows dropping and twitching at the instantaneous regression of a broken girl to shy prude. "What the hell…"
"Would you hurry up already? You're not going to a damn fashion show," Kage grumbled as Zhi was busy putting on the clothes from one of the guards. Having lifted the possessions from yet another victim of Kage's brutality, he cast his eyes skyward and sighed softly with the thoughts to that girl. He had promised to try and behave, but it seemed that more and more he was falling into his old habits. "I think I can omit this little part of my story when I get back," he mused into the air. It seemed there was a growing number of things he would omit from his tale, causing him to gruffly laugh to himself and scratch his neck.
Suddenly, one of the guards' helmets came whizzing from inside of the room and smacked him in the head, then landed on the ground next to him with a spinning thud. Kage whipped around in a fury that would seem to engulf the entire world in its wake, his brow twitching and his jaw clenched. She had actually thrown it at him! This kind of gratitude was unheard of, and he seethed at the insult. "The hell!" he howled but his anger somewhat faded as Zhi strolled from the dark room with her hands clenched in new determination and an impish smirk on her lips.
The young girl had discarded the shirt that had been her only defense against the monster's eyes, instead putting on the guard's black undershirt that was entirely too small even for her, for it was tight over her chest and yet offered no coverage of her midriff. This undershirt reminded Kage that she was indeed a girl, for it pulled her chest up snugly to her in excellent round breasts and revealed the bare curves and corners of a young girl's stomach and lower back. She also had slipped into the pair of faded khaki pants that were too big for her, but a quick use of a length of the same cable that had bound her kept them around her waist. He inwardly wondered how she could have such a smirk while keeping something tied to her trauma, but left her to her own devices. She also had pulled her long, unkempt black hair back behind her head, leaving long strands to still play at the top of her back where the shirt left her skin bare.
Above all else, Kage marveled at the smooth caramel eyes that she now flashed brilliantly, eyes that had been drowned in darkness for six months and no had a chance to shine even in the dimly lit hallway outside her cell. Her eyes were very impressive, which was saying a lot coming from him since his eyes were unique throughout the world. The clothes were obviously neglected, her hair was stringy and unwashed for who knew how long, and the fact that the shirt was too small and the pants were too big was almost comical to him, yet, overall, he couldn't avoid the fact that she was a very attractive young girl. It was a shame that she had fallen into such a jaded situation. But these simple changes made her appear as if a new person, with the greatest factor in the change the determined look on her face.
That look fell broken as she impishly stuck her tongue out at Kage for his remark, pleased with herself about the aim with the helmet. In the end, she acted very much like a young girl untouched by the evils of the world, even though he had witnessed firsthand her traumatic encounter. "A little girl from Japan once came through my home village and taught me a good word. I think it suits you well. Baka," she said and flashed her tongue at him, this time imitating the young girl she had met and pulled at the bottom eyelid of one of her eyes also. It was all just superficial revenge for him calling her an ingrate.
Kage's blood was boiling in an instant and he considered his shaking fist and the forcible silence it would bring to this surprisingly high-spirited captive. "You little brat..." he snarled more to himself than to her, but before anything could come of it the hallway began to flash with red lights and the distant alarm told them both that they were now in the hot seat. Zhi was instantly appearing more agitated and looking around quickly, though he couldn't blame her. She feared being put back in the cell. She feared being in that prison once more. As Kage calmly watched her from behind his sunglasses, a strangely intense feeling came over him, a feeling that had eluded him for the past five years. He wanted to help her. He wanted this simply because the person Kage once was, that young boy that was lost by the brutal death of his sister, felt the pull of duty to use what talents he had to make others' lives better. Somehow feeling this made him feel closer not only to his beloved Mika, but also closer to her. Yes, that person understood more than anyone the act of serving the world in spite of the consequences. Just by feeling this way, he felt a thousand miles closer to Tokyo. It made him smile lightly and speak idly into the air, "Shit, I guess ol' Obi isn't humoring me anymore – probably recognized the picture. Gonna be a fight today."
Zhi had been watching him for a moment, watching his mind wander in the most desperate of times. What was he thinking about? Why did he smile like that? This young man was something of a mystery to her, for they had only just met and everything about him seemed to be a contradiction. He was rough and a bit callous, yet he was making it a personal quest to help her from her dire situation. The way he spoke, even for her level of Japanese, coupled with his appearance made her question just how trustworthy he could be, yet it was that voice that caused her to feel safe and trust that he would follow through to the end in his desire to save her. He was young, but seemed so very old – aged even. His way of speaking had many antiquated words and sayings, but he also spoke like a street thug. All of this made her stare at him intently, her young heart beating at the vision in her eyes. Time seemed to slow as young hearts pondered the love that bit so intensely.
Kage looked down at her, his face oblivious and his mystic eyes blinking at her expression. What was she looking at? She couldn't see his eyes, could she? Maybe he had something in his nose? "What?" he asked, idly scratching his nose in a sly attempt to jar her object of interest away.
The fact that she had been staring at him was lost on her, but having been confronted about it, she suddenly felt very hot across her cheeks and waved a wild hand at him, her girlish nature coming back to her in slowly gaining waves. "Iya, nothing! I was just...uhm...it's nothing!" she cried as she turned away from, to deny him the sight of her blushing cheeks. Something was wrong with her! This was the first time she had ever acted this way, yet she couldn't seem to stop herself either. Idly poking her two index fingers together, Zhi pressed her lips as she forcibly willed her cheeks to stop burning. She didn't know why they were anyway! Maybe it was the fact that Zhi had never really been with anyone her own age before, including any boys, or because she had been alone for so long in the cell, but her heart seemed to beat out of control when she looked at him, like it was something so wrong to steal a peek. Even though she had initially been infuriated by his appearance, she thought he was very dashing, even without seeing his eyes. Her grandfather had always taught her that you could know a person just by looking into their eyes, for the eyes were the window into the inner sanctuary of that person. Since Kage wore his sunglasses even inside the dimly lit hallway, she was denied a true look into his soul. Still, she was finding it hard to fight her heartbeat when she looked at him. Inwardly, she imagined that he had very beautiful eyes.
"So, are you gonna move your ass or what? These red lights ain't for the dinner special, you know," Kage said sharply as he jerked a thumb to the exit, trying to get the point across that they had to go.
Spinning around to face him, she still had a tinge of red across her cheeks, which was thankfully drown out by the flashing lights and the level of light in the hallway. "I know that! I'm ready to go when you..." she started but was cut off when she looked over his shoulder and saw two more guards come speeding around the corner. They both had long bamboo staffs with very vicious blades at the end, obviously meant to thrash any opponent in seconds. Seeing them rushing in such a fury and not having much experience in fighting for her life, a wave of fear flooded Zhi's veins and her bottom lip quivered, her voice not even able to squeak out a warning to Kage. Instead, she simply froze and feared that dark place that had swallowed her for the stay of her captivity. Death was a fearsome beast to a young girl fresh in her freedom. It was a genuine tug on her soul that froze her body and betrayed her desire to avoid relinquishing her newfound liberty.
It only took two flashes; two pulses of red began and ended her newfound fear. In the first flash, she saw Kage's body wrench around and send a fanning kick right past the first guard's head and into the second guard, his leg passing the first guard's blade by mere centimeters but moving without hesitation or flaw. She could hear the impact of his boot against the woman's head and the dull thud of consciousness being robbed from a living person. At first, she had felt another wave of fear surge as Kage had obviously left her open for the assault from the first guard, yet she quickly noticed that his orbiting hand had gripped the first guard's visor and helmet at the same time, his body resetting at the end of his kick and his shoulders winding up against the weight and inertia of the guard. Then, everything became dark. The period between flashes seemed to last forever and Zhi's sharp inhalation caused her voice to squeak slightly. In that gloom, she heard the second guard cry out and the sound of something being shattered into many pieces.
When the red light filled the hallway, a duality of relief and horror came over her. Both guards were now lying motionless on the floor, the first guard propped up against the wall where Kage had left him. The helmet that had once promised protection was how nothing but shards in his lap, though judging by the massive dent in the wall above his head, it obviously saved his life. Kage was brushing his hands off against his pants and mumbling some random jargon, but seemed put off when he saw Zhi's expression. "What? Were you scared because of those two lilies?" he asked and grinned at the humor of it. But Zhi's eyes were wide for many reasons.
He's vicious when he fights, she thought. She knew that those two guards were trying to harm them but now they were both lying in pain and blood due to their effort of futility, like running into the side of a mountain at full speed to try and break through. Plus, he subdued them both in such short strokes and she could believe that he could help her escape the five figures that had effortlessly swept aside her entire village's fighters. In any case, it was quickly becoming clear that this person was not like anyone she had ever met before. That thought made her feel easy in his care, but also more prone to her rapid heartbeat. There was nothing more consuming that a person that conquered your vision. "Let's go. If anything else comes, big brother Kage will take care of you," he said, giving her a quick thumbs up to assure her of their success.
That thought made Zhi's fears forgotten. The feeling that someone would actually be there for her made an unusual feeling come over her – to comfort her. She had been alone for so long that it almost felt fake, but it was a feeling that made her feel so wonderful that she didn't want to let it go. So, instead, she held up a confident fist and grinned widely, happy at the thought of being able to pay back those that had kept her locked away in that cell for so long and pressed her week after week about the location of her grandfather. It had been all she could do to avoid the lustful advances or the ruthlessly painful torture sessions, but now that she had an ally to join, she felt that she could easily escape those that had hurt, humiliated and otherwise robbed her of the time she wished to spend with her ailing grandfather. Her chest swelling with pride over never revealing where her grandfather was to these people, she now wanted nothing more than to see the daylight and go far away from this place - to go back to her home and her grandfather.
But above all else, she followed after him out of the longing to keep this feeling that was growing inside of her; the feeling of having someone to believe in. "Okay!" she cheered, displacing herself from the gloomy, musky atmosphere of Oberon's lair. For this feeling, she would follow him freely, ignoring all doubt and hesitation. This feeling made her feel strong and capable, as if his strength leaked into her.
She didn't want to give that up for anything.