Oooooookies... Fifth chapter up and running.
"O-oh… I-I'm sorry," Tsuyu apologized, rapidly moving her hand away.
"It's a-alright…" the bounty told her, his face turning tomato-red. "Where should we go now?"
"I don't know… Where do you think we should go?" Tsuyu wondered.
"I don't really have a mission in mind," Rufus admitted. "So I guess anywhere would be fine."
"I really want to go to what people call 'The Lands of the Gods'… Can we go there?" The sapphire-haired girl asked excitedly.
"Why do you wish to go there?" He responded testily, polishing his dual guns.
"I heard that the Altar of Judgment is really beautiful! It's full of ice and crystals and snow, so of course I want to go there~! Please, Rufus, can we go?" Tsuyu pleaded, giving him puppy-dog eyes.
"You're so funny, you know that?" Rufus told her, laughing at her puppy-dog eyes. "Alright, then we can go… But, you'll have to stop wearing the robe because people are looking at you weird. Here, these are the clothes we bought yesterday."
"But Rufus-"She began.
"No buts," He said flatly. "Now go change and shower."
Tsuyu pouted, but went to the washroom to change and shower. The bloodshot demon sat on the wrinkled bed and waited for his secretly loved one (not so secret now XD) to come out. After about twenty-five minutes, she came out, looking as gorgeous as ever. Her sapphire hair was loose and wet, perfect pearls of water droplets slowly cascading to the ground. Her double-tank top tightened around her body; merely emphasizing her chest as her black jean shorts rimmed her thigh. This time, she had shoes; but they were more of black ankle-high sneakers with neon green laces.
"Y-You're beautiful…" Rufus told her, gawking stupidly at the shy beauty.
"Thanks…" She smiled.
"Ahem, do you plan on being lovey-dovey in here? Please excuse yourselves and go," The healer directed, somewhat smiling. "Geez, couples these days… They just don't know when enough is enough…"
The two, embarrassed, headed out of the healer's place. Once they were out of there, Rufus was glad he wasn't the only one staring. But he was also worried about her safety.
"Rufus, you look like something's worrying you," Tsuyu stated, whirling in a circle. "Care to tell me what's the matter, hm~?"
"N-nothing…" He stuttered, then suddenly blurted. "Did I tell you that you're beautiful?"
"Silly, you told me that already!" She giggled, smacking his arm playfully.
"Ahahaha… I guess I forgot," Rufus laughed along nervously. "Are you hungry?"
"Yep~" She hummed, then blushed when her stomach growled. "Ehehe… What can we get to eat?"
"I bought some bread from earlier," Rufus offered, holding out a bag of bread. "Here, eat it and then we can travel to Xenia."
Happily, Tsuyu took the bread from Rufus' hand and carefully plopped them into her mouth. Even the way she eats looks heavenly the crimson-eyed demon sighed; not noticing her curious stare was fixated on him.
"You seem to be staring at me the whole time we're walking. Are you hungry?" The sapphire-haired girl asked, smiling.
"No, I'm—"The brunette was interrupted by his stomach's growl; which was the complete opposite of what he was going to say.
"You're such a liar," She laughed, then stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth. "Eat!"
This time, he stared at her, feeling dumbfounded at her happiness. Such a happy-go-lucky girl… Always so cheerful and happy no matter what… The complete opposite of me… I highly doubt she'll love me… Although I love her… Rufus thought as he looked at the girl walking ahead of him. Even if I told her I really loved her… Would she really want to be with a blood-thirsty demon like me?
Meanwhile, the girl happily skipping ahead of him was thinking the exact same thing. Oh, such a handsome male… He's so kind and friendly… I love him, but I'm afraid he won't return my feelings… We barely know each other, though… But then again, I love him…
"Well, we're going to the village near Gorgos' Dungeon," The brunette announced, and then turned to the girl. "Is there anything you wanted to get or do before we leave?"
"No, I don't think so," Tsuyu said as she took the first few steps out of the village. "Ah… It's so refreshing…"
"You're a lover of nature, aren't you?" Rufus chuckled, following right after the sapphire-haired girl.
"Yes, I am," She agreed. "Don't you just love it? The leaves and grass swaying from side to side in unison with the blowing wind and the sun shining down brightly… But during rainy times, it's also very peaceful. They heavy rain beating down repeatedly on all living organisms and soaking them all… Not just that, but the plants will grow to be even more beautiful than they already are… isn't that just peaceful?"
Personally, Rufus didn't really care for nature or pay attention to it. The only times he pay attention was when he had no food or water, but was starving and thirsty. That was when he had to look around and observe his surroundings. Often, he would pick some fruits, skin a rabbit, gut a fish, and look for a source of water. Since that was all he ever did, the bloodshot demon was stumped and puzzled for finding a response to the female nature-lover's question.
"To be honest, I never really paid attention about nature," Rufus confessed, telling her about his tales while she listened attentively.
"Oh… I see," She stated sympathetically when he had finished talking. "Well, you really have to experience nature to understand. Maybe I can show you sometime, hehe!"
Rufus smiled, gazing intently at Tsuyu- who continued walking ahead.
"How can you be so care-free? I mean, you never look like you're ever worried about something," The brunette asked out of the blue. "You're so happy all of the time."
"Well… I might not be happy, but I'm always smiling because I don't want people to know I'm depressed and make them sad with me… But really, I don't want them to pay too much attention to me. They all have their own problems, so I would only get in the way," The sapphire-haired female responded mysteriously, sighing at the refreshing air. "Why do you ask, Rufus?"
"I suppose it's because I'm such a depressed being and I see you so happy all the time… I wonder what keeps you so happy. The bounty-hunter shrugged
"I see… Well, people from all over look at me weird when I'm so happy and they scorn and look down at me… But that doesn't sadden me… Not one bit~!" Tsuyu smiled, then quickly turned away and continued walking.
I think I hit a nerve Rufus thought, slightly flinching at the thought. I don't think she was so happy to bring up those memories… I should apologize to her…
…Why did he have to bring it up? She questioned mentally. I'm not upset… He's innocent… He didn't know anything about my past… It was all a coincident… Yes, all a coincident…
The rest of the walk was quiet, except for the chirping of birds and rustling in the tall grass. All of a sudden, a dog jumped out of the bush. It was petite and white with azure stripes on its tail. Emerald gems were embroidered on its forehead with a large piece right in the center of it.
"Ohh..! It's so adorable!" Tsuyu gushed, scooping it up in her arms. "Aw… It's so soft, too~!"
"Do you want to keep him?" The brunette asked, stroking the dog's ears gently.
"Ohh, would you really let me?" Tsuyu replied, giggling.
"Anything you wish, I'll grant," Rufus told her.
"You're so sweet!" The sapphire-haired girl exclaimed, tightly giving the male demon an embrace.
He turned completely red; even redder than his maroon outfit. Rufus just stood there, blushing, sweating, and heating up. Eventually, she noticed how his body was suddenly getting warmer, so she let go of him.
"Ah, sorry~" She grinned sheepishly.
"Oh, wait a minute… I know this breed… It's a Kaze'Doggeh…" The brunette stated, patting it. "But if you want to keep him, we'll have to feed him…"
"Don't worry about food. I can let him have my edible gems."
"All right," He grinned as he led the way.
As Tsuyu began walking after Rufus, Kaze'Doggeh began to whimper. They both stopped and turned around, walking back to the silver dog.
"What's wrong..?" The male demon questioned.
"I think he's injured," The cobalt-haired girl accounted. "Oh, I think he sprained his leg. Rufus, can you do me a favor?"
"Sure," He said.
"I need you to get me some fresh water. That is all," She directed gently as he obliged.
Tsuyu immediately observed the pup to see how badly injured it was. Rufus, on the other hand, went to get some water. He headed to the nearby river and returned with a canteen of fresh water. Immediately, the sapphire-haired girl took out a piece of cloth and dipped it into the water; dabbing the injury gently. Kaze'Doggeh whimpered as she did so, but Rufus wondered how anyone could be so gentle. Once she touched the pup's injury, it immediately healed. Tsuyu smiled and stood up.
"Good as new!" She chirped, smiling. "Now you're good to go."
"Didn't you want to keep him?" Rufus immediately inquired.
"Yes, I do, but I figured he didn't want to be kept as a pet, so I've decided to let him go," Tsuyu explained, then raised her eyebrows. "Unless you want to keep him."
"I'm fine with whatever," The bounty hunter shrugged. "Come on, let's go. It's already noon."
"Alright," The re-borned goddess agreed, following the male demon.
As they walked on, they heard a bark; followed by a series of paw-steps. The Kaze'Doggeh they had once helped was pouncing over to the cobalt-haired female and rubbing his red against her leg.
"I think he wants to come with us," Rufus suggested, looking amused at the pup.
"Yes, I think so too," Tsuyu agreed. "Do you want to come with us?"
The male dog nodded furiously and barked happily. Both smiled and welcomed it with them.
"But what should we name him?" Tsuyu asked.
"How about… Kusa?" The bounty hunter offered.
"Yes, that would be great!" She smiled.
With that, the two companions- along with their pet- walked into the horizon, their silhouettes slowly disappearing after their figures.
Sigh... I wonder what I should write for the next chapter... Care to give me some opinions? It would be greatly accepted (even criticism). Thank you~! ^-^
