The hour they had been given to relax had passed and they were both sent back into the desert. Once again Evangeline saw fit to throw them into yet another different part of the endless desert. Evangeline knew that they would survive here as she had specifically chosen the only oasis in the desert as the nearby landmark. It was her gift to them to make it only slightly easier.
Setsuna noticed that Evangeline had placed them in possibly the best location but couldn't figure out why. There had to be some evil machination behind doing this. Setsuna had more than enough reason to suspect Evangeline of doing something evil. Her fears were unfounded though when Konoka came back from inspecting the oasis. Everything there was untouched by Evangeline's magic.
By now Setsuna had figured out how to build shelter is the sand with relative ease and had done so by the time Konoka came back from gathering what food and water they would need for the three days they would be spending there. It was still only midday of the first day there and they had gotten everything they would need. It was true what Evangeline had said. They were cooperating like a proper couple should. Evangeline's lesson all along had been to teach self reliance first and then to teach reliance on those you loved. It all seemed so simple now to Setsuna who had come to the realization of that fact.
The two spent the vast majority of the day in relative relaxation. They took turns gathering water but it was during the times when they were just sitting around the shelter in each other's arms that they shared stories of the childhood years they had spent apart. Setsuna told stories of being trained at the Shinmei Ryu School and Konoka told of her somewhat mundane years of elementary school. They went on with the stories until they got to the years that they had started at Mahora Academy together. They both just smiled when they got to that point. They went on with remembering the events of the year before until the sun went down.
They spent most of the night pleasuring each other. It was a few hours later when Setsuna lay awake with Konoka in her arms. It seemed to her that they had gotten friskier since Evangeline put them together by themselves. What was now at the very least a once a day occurrence had been up until that point a once every other day thing. Setsuna didn't think about it too much but she knew that their drive for sexual activity would either die down a bit or it would increase a little more and stay there. She hoped it would be the latter. With those thought going through her head she fell asleep.
Sunrise found them at it again. They had both woken up before sunrise and since it there was still snow on the ground Konoka had suggested they just stay inside and play around a little. So not too long after Konoka had suggested this they were both playing with each other. An hour later they were outside eating breakfast which consisted of fruit and a few lizards. The second day passed without much really happening until later in the day.
That was when all hell broke loose. A sandstorm kicked up and swept toward the girls without much warning Setsuna yelled to Konoka upon seeing the incoming storm. "Konoka, hurry! We need to get into the shelter! I've never seen a sandstorm this bad before!" They both rushed into the shelter just in time. The sandstorm hit with the force of a hurricane. Setsuna hurried to put up a barrier and then had Konoka pile sand behind it to protect them. Inside the shelter they both looked at each other. They had no idea how long this was going to last.
After what had seemed like forever the sound of the storm had died entirely. Without wasting too much time they both started to dig their way out. They had been buried underneath a small mountain of sand. It was midday on the third and last day of their time in the desert by the time they had dug their way out. Setsuna looked around for any sign of life but found none. The oasis they had been next too had been buried underneath the shifting sands. Evangeline was standing nearby searching for them.
"I had thought you had been killed by the storm. I had no idea it was going to be that bad. IN any case however you are going to be coming with me as soon as you get a quick bit of rest. The Boya and the others have been searching for you since the storm stopped over five hours ago. You got lucky. I will come back for you in one hour." Evangeline said with a look of slight concern on her face. The storm had completely changed the look of the area of desert they were in. Setsuna had been right to suspect something would go amiss.
For the next hour the two slept uneasily. The sound of the winds from the storm haunted their dreams. It was only after a little while that they finally found a thought that was safe and secure. They thought of each other as they slept soundly. Eventually they were woken up by Evangeline who quietly said. "Time to go Setsuna Sakurazaki. As I had promised it is not combat training but rather something else entirely. You will see but since it is only midday on your third day in the desert I will allow you to sleep until tomorrow morning. I can't have you in any way tired for what I have in store for you."
Setsuna smiled and carried the sleeping Konoka in her arms as Evangeline transported them to the castle. They were shown to their own quarters for the night by Chachamaru and there they both slept peacefully in each other's arms. Evangeline watched them for a moment and spoke quietly to herself. "I finally think she's ready for my final challenge. I know she'll do better than I could ever hope. It seems I can still learn things even now. Still I wonder how she'll react to it. This will be unlike anything she has ever had to deal with."
(Well it's almost here. The climax of it all. What is Evangeline's Challenge? Will Setsuna pass? I promise it's coming soon. Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews. Enjoy.)
Shinobi of the Onyx Sands
