Warnings: implications of rape and attempted rape this chapter
Kishaba Himiko had lived a good life at nearly thirty-eight years old, but one would be forgiven for thinking she was younger than that. As a girl she grew up in the countryside of Japan born to a family of ranchers, back then it was a simpler time with the only surrounding area for miles being fields, forest, and rivers. Often, she would play with her brothers down by the creek a good distance behind the house it was there that she met Kei a boy whom lived in a house a few dozen yards away on the opposite side of the water. The two of them stuck together from then on through thick and thin as the best of friends the two both sharing a love for animals, Kei specifically always tried to catch the tadpoles or crawfish and take them home. Kishaba shared his interest in animals but bared a preference for ones with vertebrae, particularly mammals like the cows that her family owned, she would often try the same trick of bringing animals into her house but suffered more backlash from her mother and father given it was a thousand-pound cow rather than a tiny tadpole.
They grew from children to adult's inseparable, each from the other both keeping the childhood love for the creatures of earth, Kei and Kishaba or KK as the two referred to themselves, would move to Tokyo after they both graduated from university and open a pet shop in Ginza, the two marrying soon after, they usually did well financially though times could get rough given the expense of keeping the animals fed and sheltered, still this was something the two both loved doing and would not stop. A few years after they wed the two were blessed with a beautiful baby boy whom Kishaba named Ren, both parents adored their little boy going above and beyond to provide a good upbringing for the child. It would seem that Ren would inherit the family's passion for animals, and when he got big enough Kishaba would allow her son to help around the family business such as cleaning cages, feeding the birds or lizards, and on his "break" time you could usually find the child taking the puppies and kittens out of their cages and playing with them.
It would break Kishaba's heart every time she found him doing so, she'd always have to scold her son much like her mother before her telling Ren that he cannot grow too attached the animals or else he'd be sad when they'd eventually get adopted. But Ren was stubborn and would still name, and then play with the puppies and kittens, growing close to an Akita he'd name Haru. But just a few months after this friendship developed, Haru would be adopted by a family and Ren would cry, beg, and plead for the puppy to not be taken away from him, Ren that day learned a lesson that his mother and father would know all too well. Loss, and with loss came heartbreak, and with heartbreak would come sadness, but eventually be it a few days, months, or years one would be able to move on. Ren after a few days seemed to be alright at least in Kishaba's and Kei's eyes, his eighth birthday was coming up and Kei was insisting upon getting Ren a puppy that could live at their home, even though the house the family lived in was rather cramped.
It was on her child's birthday Kishaba would make the worst decision of her life; she took her son to the nearby supermarket while Kei got an eight-week-old Akita puppy from the shop and took it to their home. Kishaba had never felt so content in this moment of her life, thankful for her husband, her son, and she watched her little boy run ahead happily. But just as she called him back something appeared in Ginza square, a massive gate like structure just popped into existence a few hundred feet away. Kishaba had no idea what she was looking at but quickly grabbed her son and ran with him as something made the crowd of people gathered around it begin to scream and stampede away from the gate and towards them trying to get away, Ren cried asking his mother who ran trying to avoid being trampled why she looked so scared, she was about to respond but just for a split second Kishaba looked behind herself.
People were being skewered and run down by men riding horses, and carrying swords and spears in what one could only describe as some sort of medieval reenactment gone too far. Desperate to not be trampled by the crowd she turned into an alleyway but as Kishaba neared the end of it, she gasped as a man dressed in armor rode by only five feet from the two. Without even thinking and acting on motherly instinct Kishaba threw her boy into the dumpster that they stood by out of harm's way, but the man thankfully did not notice them. Looking back into the dumpster Ren cried but she hushed him and told him he needed to be quiet, Ren nodded and closed his mouth tight, she took a step back to make sure none of the medieval men marching or riding besides the alley would see her. However Kishaba's worst fear came true as a few men marching looked to their left and seemed to notice her, in an instant with some remaining adrenaline, Kishaba ran forward fist raised and connecting to the helmet of a fat large one, excruciating pain radiated almost immediately from her wrist and knuckles as the fat man stared down at her a surprised expression on his face as if questioning this woman if she'd just tried to hit him, he raised his fist and Kishaba closed her eyes, hoping that Ren would not be found.
That was how she'd come to this world, Kishaba awoke tied up in some cage, sitting up with blurry eyes and a massive headache it took her a moment to realize she was in the back of some sort of carriage or wagon, the outside of which was blocked by a dark tarp. Kishaba tried in vain to pull the ropes that bound her wrist off but they were just too tight for her to get out of, she was interrupted when someone entered the back of the carriage. It was dark so Kishaba could barely make out the large figure that slowly approached her, she tried to talk asking where she was but her voice trailed off when the figure got close enough for her to recognize the same fat man from earlier. He wore a sadistic smile on his face as Kishaba screamed in fear, he opened the cage door and dragged her out of it, what happened next is a story much too awful and inhuman for one's ears. When he was done with her, the fat man left the tent laughing while she lay beaten and broken both in the mind and body in the cage.
This had been her life for the last two months, Kishaba was taken to some sort of camp where twelve other men including the fat one inhabited. It was a near daily occurrence for the fat man to force himself upon her, the only help she had to stay sane were the thoughts of both Kei and Ren that she kept with her. Today the men had gone out of the camp wielding swords and spears, this meant that they would not feed her the usual dried bread and dirty water she usually got. But it also came as a blessing given that the fat man would usually want to go and get drunk or sleep when they all came back, she used to try and use this opportunity to find a way to escape, however the men had come back one day right in the middle of when she was trying to use a pointy stick she'd found to pick the lock on the outside of the cage. The fat man was so angry that he'd beaten her for the next several hours to near death with a whip, and so now she was much too afraid to ever attempt another escape, every time she saw an opportunity Kishaba would freeze or not take it out of the overwhelming terror she felt thinking about the fat man getting mad at her again.
It was as she shifted her wounded legs that she heard the familiar sticks and leaves crashing then crunching which symbolized the groups return, only this time a new voice was heard. Screaming in the oh so familiar language she could not understand was what sounded like a young teen boy, she looked over and saw their leader the tall lanky man step out first and with the fat man behind him. Kishaba's eyes went wide as she saw tied up much like her, a young boy who couldn't be older than eighteen being dragged by the scruff of the neck by the fat man. The boy yelled angrily, wildly swinging his arms in a attempt to strike his captor who only laughed at his attempts, she backed away the furthest the cage would allow her as the two reached it, the fat man opened the cage and threw the boy in.
Hector let out a hate filled roar at the fatass, wanting to rip his teeth out and shove them into his thick neck, before he could attempt an escape Nero was quick to lock the cage. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU" Hector roared, Nero only smiled as he re-locked it "sure you will, sure boy" he laughed at Hector's attempts to grab him through the cage. "Haha! don't worry we'll have our fun later" Nero smiled giddily finishing locking the cage and Hector began rattling the bars in frustration trying to open it with no such success. Nero walked away laughing a good distance to a campfire as Hector caught his breath from all the yelling he did, seeing his surroundings around the camp revealed to him a row of tents which he guessed they all slept in, alongside another cage this one much larger Hector saw a wyvern currently sleeping, A wyvern? shit. Turning back Hector saw the strange looking woman again, she was just about bone thin with black frizzy hair, pale sickly skin, and black eyes that looked to him and away every couple of seconds. From what Hector could guess she was probably mid-aged, and once a very beautiful woman, but her beauty had been tarnished by bruises and lacerations that lined her barely dressed body.
Hector sat down barely able to stretch his legs in the tiny cage, the woman glanced over to him a curious expression on her face. He stared back trying to imagine what her origin could be, she wasn't a westerner nor an imperial, she definitely wasn't a demi-human, and she-wait...no. Hector's eyes went wide as he thought back to the men in green when he was hiding in the mud, Hector remembered how they looked with pale skin and darker hair. How in Hardy's taint did they capture one of these fuckers? Hector thought as he stared her in the eyes, "femina" he whispered not wanting the bandits to hear. She stared at him but did not respond "heus ibi" Hector whispered slightly louder, this time she blinked and stared at him finally she spoke "Nani?" her voice was soft and quiet almost like a child's in contrast to her older looking appearance.
He stared dumbfounded at what she just said, what in the world is a nanny? Hector thought to himself but still he tried to communicate, "Audi nos licet fugere opus est? Auxilium tuum opus est et opus meum" Hector needed to coax her into escaping, it would be a mutual benefit for two heads to work together rather than one. But once more she stared at him from her fetal position with a blank look seeming to not understand a word he was saying, she doesn't know Saderan...dammit! Hector sat back against the cage, angry at his situation. He then thought of both Dimitry and Danielia, at least they would be able to warn Italica in his absence. What? you can't think that way you have to get out of here, "I know but if we die at least they can get to Italica" Hector mumbled out loud, we cannot die we survived for a reason, you idiot now think of a way to get out of here!" "I'm trying alright? It's not exactly easy when your captors are sitting only twenty steps from you" he raised his voice slightly towards his mind.
"What the hell are you saying over there red? Don't try and mess with the woman if ya do I'll beat ya legs till you can't walk" Nero yelled over from the campfire, sitting with all the other twelve of them. Some looked over to see Hector's reaction to the threat, he was about to compare Nero to a pregnant cow however his mind spoke first, don't! If you make him mad he might hurt us. Hector stopped himself short of the first word and kept his mouth shut as all the men laughed over by the camp at his silence, yeah just you wait you fucks, when Hector looked back from the camp the otherworld woman was looking at him, her face scrunched into confusion. "Quid?" Hector whispered making sure none of the others could hear, she just stared blankly at him "nani?" a question, that was a question, she'd said nanny before so that could mean she was asking him "what?" But he couldn't capitalize on that.
He thought for a moment, and then another, and soon the sun appeared to be going down, Hector still had not thought of any sort of solution. Worry was beginning to set in as he just couldn't think of anything to either escape from the cage or communicate with this otherworlder. He sat back rubbing his forehead and mad at it all, why did he deserve this? First his parents die, then he has to fight a battle that only saw death and destruction for he then his comrades, of course then he spends nearly seven days running from the scene and bears witness to the return of the flame dragon, and finally just when hope seemed to be creeping back to him in the form of a pretty girl and her boorish father Hector was taken to be some fat traitorous piece of shit's toy. It was comical how awful he had it at the moment, but he certainly wasn't laughing, his thoughts were interrupted by the woman speaking again to his right. "Oi" quickly Hector turned his head making sure the men were still drinking, most had disappeared into their tents for an early rest while the only two remaining were Nero and the tall lanky one.
When he turned back Hector saw her point a bony index finger to herself "Kishaba" she whispered, it took Hector a moment but soon he got it, doing the same he thumbed towards himself "Hector" he said clear but softly. Kishaba stared for a moment and then pointed towards him and then towards herself, again it took him a moment but he realized she was asking if he was like her, Hector shook his head and whispered his answer "nay" then pointed around the area and to himself "Sadera, Falmart, imperia" Hector pointed over towards the tents "traditor" her eyes lit up slightly as if she finally understood "english?" she whispered quickly. "Engrish?" Hector turned back "quid est engrish?" Kishaba frowned and sighed, he did the same, both were frustrated over the fact they could not communicate. It's funny how things work out huh? You feared these people for the last week so much that you without hesitation threw yourself into the mud to hide from them, but instead of anger you feel pity for this one, "Be silent" Hector mumbled.
Reminds you of ma doesn't she? Look at her all sickly, weak, and thin I bet you even thought it was her for a moment, didn't you? "I. Said. Be. Silent." Hector's voice grew louder, Kishaba looked over at him with concern in her eyes which confused him, all he was doing was speaking to his head. "Hector?" her whisper came out again surprising him momentarily, he almost said yes then realized that would be a mistake and instead nodded his head forward. She pointed her bony finger once more towards Nero who still sat by the fire laughing along at something with the lanky one, it appeared like Kishaba was asking him if he'd been taken by Nero, Hector understood and nodded his head. The womans dark eyes went wide, the fear in them apparent, she began shaking her head no which only made Hector call her sanity into question. He looked back to the men by the fire making sure that they weren't paying attention, luckily the two both seemed rather drunk slurring their words and almost falling back or forward from where they sat.
Arms came around his shoulders from behind and he was pulled back slightly, going off instinct he grasped the skinny arms and turned back ready to beat in the head of...the woman? Her eyes were filled with tears as he let go of her, she began whispering "no, no, no" as she shook her head and again she outstretched her arms. Hector didn't have a way of dodging given the cage was so short, he felt odd as her arms went around his shoulders and to his back, not in any attempt to harm him, it was more like a hug. Here he was sat with what should be his mortal enemy embracing him like a mother would her child, her words "no, no, no" kept repeating over and over as she looked up to him the tears now running down her pale cheeks and chin. A wave of overwhelming sadness and grief came over him as Hector felt himself being immediately reminded of his mother in her dying days, slowly and hesitating Hector returned the hug patting her back gently as she wept. Suddenly he felt his eyes begin to burn and the familiar knot re-appearing in his throat down to his chest, but his mind spoke first men do not cry, find a way to escape fool you're running out of time.
He was right as much as Hector hated to admit it, sighing he then put his hands on the womans shoulders gently but firm and pushed her back. "mitescere... mitescere" he whispered, she was crying her eyes out and looked scared out of her wits, but she wasn't looking to his face, instead she looked over his shoulder, turning Hector saw Nero's drunk form hanging over the cage, leering at Hector and the woman. "Time for our first night of fun little man" Hector's eyes grew wide in fear knowing exactly what this cow wanted, "get the fuck away" Hector growled. Nero opened the cage door, "oh you'll learn boy" he was pushed to the side and he saw Kishaba putting her arms up in a weak attempt to stop him, Nero just stared her down with a hate filled look and she tried to stand her ground, but ultimately backed away into the cage. "Good girl, now you red come on" Hector noticed now the gladius he held in his hand and looked back to the fat bastard who was smiling with sadism. He grabbed Hector and drug him again closing the cage behind him, Nero stuck the blade against Hector's back and led him to a large tent, looking around quickly trying to find it Hector spotted his bow towering over a few others on a rack by a few quivers full of arrows that lay on a table next to the rack itself.
Hector was pushed inside the tent his arms still bound in front of him as Nero followed in, he told Hector to stop and held the gladius to his throat while fiddling with his pants with the other hand. "We aren't doing this you son of a bitch" Hector snapped, Nero just chuckled again as he dropped his pants, "suck it" Nero demanded "no" Hector growled. The blade was pushed against the skin of his neck slowly cutting into him, "what was that?" Nero said raising his voice, "I'll bite it off" Hector said quickly, "you even mention doin that again and I cut ya you little shit" Hector shook his head. "You do that, and I'll still bite down, soon as something dies it bites down and the teeth won't open for anything" Hector said smugly, he'd known about this from having to put down livestock when the time came for it back when he lived on the farm. Nero stared angrily at him and then threw the gladius to the side which Hector took note of, Nero then pushed him hard and forced Hector to the ground.
Hector looked to the side even in the darkness he saw that the gladius was only a few feet away, Nero grabbed his back and turned him over. Hector now desperately knew he needed to get the gladius, Nero laughed as Hector felt his pants being pulled down, Grab the sword! Cut him! Slash him! Quick! it was as Hector felt something hard touch him that he was able to inch himself enough to grab the gladius. "You're lookin just like a lady b-" but before Nero could stick anything within him Hector swung the blade blindly behind himself, he felt the sword tug into something, and Nero remove his hands off his lower back. Hector tugged the blade back and scurried to his feet and as he turned Hector saw Nero clutching his arm a look of shock and surprise on his face, blood was slowly trickling from the stab wound.
Nero's fat face turned to a angry complete shade of crimson red, for a moment Hector nearly forgot he was the one with the weapon, but it was as Nero yelled "y-you!" and reached for him that Hector acted. In one swift motion almost robotic like Hector slashed below the fat man's reach and right across his belly, Nero blinked and then peered down stupidly at the neat deep cut across his stomach, blood pouring out onto his lower naked half, the innards bulging out of it. Nero took a finger trying to poke them back in, but they kept bulging out, blood now dripped onto the floor of the tent as Nero made a funny noise in his throat and toppled forward.
Notes: fat bastard is dead, now for the other eleven, for some reason the site wasn't working last week so I thought for a moment I'd have to move over to archive of our own, but now it's back up so yippie. Also, I'm putting warnings on my chapters now as you hopefully saw above.
translations for what Hector was saying
Quid=what?
mitescere=calm yourself
heus ibi=hey you
Audi nos licet fugere opus est? Auxilium tuum opus est et opus meum=help me and we can get away together
Hopefully this is right because I used google translate and if you guys have any critiques, please let me know I need to become a better writer