Knight In The Moonlight's Shadow
Chapter Two: Lake and Forest
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
Ryu couldn't sleep well this night. His tortured conscience was depriving him from his rest and causing him nightmares, from which he woke up several times, finding himself sweaty and tangled up in his sheets.
He once again looked at the clock in the twilight of the morning. It was five o'clock. There was no point in going back to sleep now; Anna would barge in their room and wake them up with a merciless roar any moment now, ready to hand them their daily six-hour training session of Hell. Ryu had gotten used to it a long time ago, so he wasn't the one who would whine about getting up early and getting his ass worked off. He stood up from his bed, picked up his clothes and went to the bathroom.
The cold water washed away the sweat from his body. It cooled him off and took away the tension from his muscles, but his head was still burning with the painful thoughts that were coursing through his brain.
It was his fault. He tried to deny it to himself at first, but there was no point in doing that anymore. His carelessness had pinned her to the crutches for an indefinite amount of time and during that period she wasn't going to fight… but there was a fight coming up very soon. Shortly before having dinner with the others, Ryu had checked up who the Lily Five were fighting against next. Their opponents happened to be a team of two men and a girl, all three of them with ominous pasts, significant Furyoku amounts and extraordinary spirit guardians. Silver informed him that there were rumors about this trio that they used to be allies with Hao, but split up from him before he went to capture the Great Spirits. If those hearsays were true, then the Lily Five would be facing a very formidable opponent. This ill news further contributed to Ryu's bad mood and taciturnity for the whole evening. Neither Yoh, nor Faust dared speak to him. They knew that their encouragement and comforting words wouldn't cheer him up. His innocent, kind nature was not a secret to anyone, so they knew how hard Ryu was taking this. The man's inner struggle was more than evident; a stranger who had never seen Ryu before could come to the conclusion that there was something really bothering him just by looking at his face. Lyserg was sitting with the rest of the group for dinner and even his presence wasn't enough to bring Ryu out of his melancholic pensiveness. The brawny man ate almost nothing of his dinner and went to bed earlier than the others.
"I'm so pathetic." He thought gloomily. Ryu turned the taps off and reached out for the towel. He went out of the bathroom and continued to dry himself with another towel. While doing so, he realized that the hands of the clock were showing 6:15. He was surprised that he had spent all that time in the shower. Somehow, he left about that, too.
"Should I go apologize again?" He pondered.
He glanced through the window. The ginger sun was snooping over the horizon and shining over the slumbering Patch Village with its crimson, new-born sunrays. For some reason, that saddened Ryu even more.
"Another day has just begun… and here I am…"
He put on his clothes and stood up. Ryu looked at his hair. It was still damp from the shower, hanging completely unrestrained from all sides of his head. He glanced at the bottle of hair-gel standing next to the mirror on a small clothes-press. The man didn't feel like putting gel on today. Ryu picked up his wooden sword and quietly strode down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone up. The door creaked as he cautiously closed it behind him.
He strode down the sleepy streets of Patch. The merchants had not yet opened their stores and there was hardly anyone wandering around this early in the morning. Ryu walked pass rows and rows of lodgings, occupied by shamans of various nationalities. The exterior of every Patch accommodation resembled the traditional architecture of the Patch tribesmen and the only way to distinguish one from another was by the height of the building or the number of windows in it. However, now that the whole village was packed with shamans from all over the world, one could see traces of different of cultures scattered on each lodging. Amulets, weapons, runes, hieroglyphs, carpets, clothes, even flags and texts in various languages could be seen through the windows and decorating the entrances of the lodgings. This colorful diversity was making Ryu's eyes hurt. The idea of multiethnic and multicultural presence was stressed even harder at noon, when participants and tourists from all around the globe strode in every direction, some even dressed in their traditional attire, chatting, arguing and laughing in their own mother tongue. The clamor of undistinguishable voices in all sorts of languages was an amazing experience one had to go through.
For Ryu, on the other hand, this was only the source of a major headache.
He kept walking, going deeper into the village and approaching the large village square. The buildings were becoming more florid, with some changes in their architecture that contained Western elements. These buildings stood out among the other lodgings with their natural Patch style like a black sheep in a white herd. They were new 'experiments' that innovators among the Patch people had reconstructed, attempting to bring a more welcoming atmosphere to the numerous shamans inhabiting the village, a large portion of them hailing from Western Europe. A hovering building projected above all others, resembling a Gothic tower. The imposing effect of the dark structure was ruined, though, by the stone totem-like eagle head that was carved out on the roof of the building. Alas, the outcome only spoke of the Patch architects' lack of experience and artistic skills.
Ryu was slowly walking away from the village square, seeing more and more people appearing on the streets with every passing minute. As he moved to the other corner of Patch, the crowd in the streets was increasing, the village was slowly awakening from its sleep, leaving its accommodations and engaging in its everyday activities and constant bustle. The man was separating himself from all the noise, heading towards the woods that surrounded the village. As he drew closer, he felt the air growing moist with the forest dew still covering the grass and the leaves of the threes. It smelled of virgin purity that only forests, untrodden by human feet and untouched by a man's hand. He climbed the hummock, covered with a thick carpet of wild grass, and entered the forest. Soon he was lost from sight among the dark wall of trees.
Ryu walked silently through the grove. The hovering trees were concealing most of the firmament, but there were spots were sunlight was able to pierce through the branches and caress the moist soil. Mushrooms and wild flowers sprouted between the roots of the high pine trees. Birds were singing their morning greetings between each other from every corner of the forest. The noctural animals were retreating to their dens for a daylong sleep while the other inhabitants of the forests were beginning to awaken. This untamed forest was flooding Ryu's senses with amazing feelings he could only experience while standing in hallowed spots such as this one. He could never get enough of it.
No matter how many times, Nature always astonished him with her beauty.
He drew a deep breath, savouring the intoxicating smell of the forest. He felt his lungs inflating with the fresh air, his chest heaved, then exhaled, feeling how a great burned exited his body with that expiration. Ryu strolled among the trees, completely confident in the direction he was going in. For several minutes he walked pass trees and bushes, through the unbeaten path between the trees, when he finally made it.
The lake.
It was a large lake in a perfect, oval-shaped form, filled with crystal-clear water. The surface was completely smooth; there was not a single wave running across the water, turning the lake into a mirror that reflected every detail of the real world. The rays of the sun painted the mere golden with crimson shades. The shore was covered with pebbles and river rocks that surrounded the lake and dived in its waters. Ryu could see every single rock covering the bottom of the lake. It was a magnificent picture, a masterpiece intangible by the hand of any human artists. Only Nature had the power to paint something so beautiful that could stop the breath in utter reverence and fill the soul to the brim with tranquility and peace, all at the same time. It was the image of the place Ryu had been dreaming of for so many years: the Best Place.
Ryu sat down on the grassy shore and gazed at the flat, pure surface that reflected the world above it. He placed his sword on the ground and leaned his arms on his knees.
With his head supported on his arms, his gaze drifted across the tranquil waters of the lake, then dived into the water, exploring every inch of the bottom. As his eyes moved further and further away from the shore, he started losing the bottom out of his sight. Darkness was shrouding the depth of the forest lake, its still waters hinting of obscure secrets and unexplored space which Ryu could only dream of.
What was at the bottom of that lake? He had asked himself that question every time he sat on this grassy shore and stared into the lake. It felt like ages since he last came to this place, but his inner disturbance was motiveless; this locus of natural perfection had not changed one bit since he last laid eyes on it. And the bottom of the lake was still so enchantingly enigmatic.
An ethereal green-skinned man with a pair of katanas strapped around his waist appeared behind Ryu. Without thinking much about it, Tokagero spoke out loud, breaking the unearthly silence of the forest.
"Hey, Ryu, the hell is wrong with you?"
The shaman remained deaf to his guardian's complaints. His eyes were fixed at that dark spot of deep-blue abyss; the place where the lake bottom was vanishing into darkness.
"Hey!" Tokagero barked and poked Ryu's shoulder. "Why don't you answer!?"
The spirit leaned forward and gaped at Ryu's pensive face.
"You've been sulking like that since you came home last night! Are you still thinking about that woman?"
Still no answer.
"Sheesh…" The ghostly thief sighed in irritation. "If you keep tormenting yourself with that woman, you'll lose your mind, kid! You gotta take it easy!"
Ryu raised his head and glanced at Tokagero. He muttered:
"But they'll lose because of me."
The reptilian ghost scratched a spot near his ear and tried to come up with some sort of answer.
"Well…" His stock-in-trade was running low on consoling ideas, mostly because of the fact that he had never encountered a situation like this one when he was alive. When he finally came up with something relatively close to what he was aiming for, he babbled out: "If they lose because of you, then this will dispel their fears that they are too weak and they won't put the blame on themselves!... ugh…"
Ryu's dark glower made Tokagero recoil. He had picked the wrong set of words. The spirit hung his head.
"That didn't help much, did it?" He checked, feeling discouraged by his partner's mood.
The silence was Ryu's answer.
"Ah… I figure as much." The spirit sulked even more.
Unknown to Ryu and his guardian ghost, the woman they were – or at least Tokagero was – discussing, was hobbling towards that same lake in that same forest, supporting her body on her crutches and muttering angry curse words under her nose.
Her frustration had reached its peak when, in spite of all logic and rational sense, she had grabbed her crutches and limped all the way to this forgotten place, despite of her physical state. Sharona could only imagine the fright and horror the other Lilies would have when they found her bed empty with her nowhere to be found. She blamed this on her stubbornness and inability to cope with defeat; she has always been a sore loser. Even though she knew that exposing her exasperation in front of other people would make her look pathetic and even weaker, she couldn't keep the raging storm of injured pride locked inside her when she met with failure. It was this same stubbornness and denial of defeat that made her get out of the warm and comfy sheets and trudge all the way to this place: the place she had picked to be her sanctuary; her own little temple where she could heal her mind and purify her thoughts in a way nothing else could.
Sharona tripped in a rock. If her hand hadn't caught on a low branch, she would have fallen prostrate on the ground. The pain in her palm hinted that the rough branch had torn the skin of her palm. Ignoring the pain, she reached the crutch she had just dropped and seconds later she was on her way again.
That damn guy...
Men! Every single one of them was a liar, a back-stabbing hypocrite who wanted nothing but to get some. Sure, it was natural that when it came to their relationships with females, men were mostly interested in having sex with that particular woman above all else. Sharona had learned first-hand that men were skilful liars. She understood that nature dictated men's behavior, but that didn't mean she liked the methods they used to get what they want. Maybe it was because of their reserved nature and tendency to hide their true feelings that they were able to speak untruth so lightheartedly. Men were insensitive brutes who could never imagine themselves in a girl's position. They had no idea what it was to be a young, innocent girl, who had discovered love for the first time. They did not how much it hurt when that amazing sensation disappeared, when it broke to millions of sharp pieces and stabbled like glass deep into the body. How could someone be so cruel to take advantage of a girl's feelings to use her in such a disgusting and sinful way? Her antipathy towards men was anything but ungrounded prejudice; she wouldn't take any chances of allowing another man to get close to her ever again. She couldn't afford that kind of pain again.
The increasing number of light streaks in the green roof above her head was indicating that she was exiting the forest. Limping on her crutches, she carefully stepped on the bare land. The flat surface of the lake was reflecting her image: a tall woman with grayish-green eyes, long blond hair with the tips curled backwards, pale skin, clad in a blue dress and black high heels. She stared impartially at her own image for a few seconds, then strode near an area near the shore surrounded by high river rocks with flat sides, creating a shelter where a person could sit or lie down, remaining completely hidden from curious looks from the other side of the lake. It was her favourite spot of this whole place. She could sit there, protected by the wall of rocks surrounding her, and allow her mind to drift off quietly and peacefully in the little whirlpool inside her own head, rearranging her thoughts, refreshing her thinking and mulling over the solution to personal problems. And right now, she had a very serious problem to deal with.
She let her body slump against the surface of the rocks. Her rear was pressed against the sand a few seconds later.
She was useless. With that leg of hers, she was in no condition to fight. The doctors themselves had strictly advised her to stay out of fights. However, there was no way Sharona could allow her girls to go out there all by themselves. It was not all because they would be one fighter short. She was the Leader. She was the one entitled with the right to give orders, to work on strategies and act as the head, the representative of the whole team, the embodiment of their ideals and their unique characteristics. She had taken the psychological role of the Leader, she had taken the responsibility of ordering others around and making decisions. She had the aura of a commander, she was the most mature in the group and had far more experience in giving orders than any of the girls. In their eyes, she took the image of a mother figure, a person who can always be relied on, someone who wouldn't let anyone down. How was she supposed to NOT lead them, to NOT fight alongside with them?
And yet, maybe she was looking at the problem from the wrong angle. She had taken the burden of being the leader, but she had also taken the advantage of giving other orders. She had created this image of a chief in the minds of the Lilies, she had given them the impression that they depended on her judgment and guidance. She had not even thought for a second that a time like this might come when she would be unable to lead the Lily Five. All Sharona had been doing was teaching them how to follow her orders correctly and execute them quickly, she had not prepared the girls at all to act independently in case of an extreme situation such as this one. Without her to lead them, she feared that fights might erupt among the team for the position of a temporary leader.
However, wasn't she underestimating them too much? Hadn't the girls proven themselves before that they were self-reliant individuals who could take care of themselves? Both Sally and Ellie were grown young women who knew how to survive without Sharona babysitting them, Lilly was a rational thinker with a solid touch with reality and even Millie had her own opinion and a will to act independently. Maybe it was not something that Sharona should have specifically taught them, perhaps it was something that developed as the girls grew up and matured? But how could Sharona be certain that her girls were mentally prepared to do this without her? What if they screwed everything up in the most crucial moment? Nothing could guarantee that the Lily Five would emerge victorious from a fight, even when Sharona was leading them, but now that their key fighter was absent, the chances of victory were even smaller.
Sharona slammed her fist against the ground. She let out a whimper because she had hit an exceptionally large pebble with her palm. The woman cursed silently; if she bruised herself even more, this time even without the 'help' of anybody else, she'd probably be better off if she locked herself in a padded room with lots of soft pillows in the shape of bunnies.
A small pink cloud appeared with a quiet puff next to her.
"Aren't you making too much of a fuss over this?" Enra Enra asked her.
"Shut up." Sharona murmured gloomily.
The impish spirit floated above her head then positioned herself in front of Sharona's face.
"You shouldn't spoil them so much. Let them take a risk; give them a chance to make a decision on their own."
"You don't understand, do you?" Sharona grunted. She picked a pebble from the ground and threw it in the lake, disturbing the perfectly smooth mirror surface of the lake with small circles. "How am I supposed to let them go on their own when I've always been there guiding them? I've fought as the leader of the team ever since we started fighting. I haven't prepared them for a situation like this one…"
"You'll never know if they're ready until you let them take that risk." The spirit answered with eyes fixed in the water.
Sharona sighed:
"What if they lose? What if they get hurt? What if they get killed!? I can barely keep them safe when I am there, can you imagine what will happen if I let them fight anyone without me sticking by their sight? There's no doubt that this might end tragically."
She threw another pebble in the lake. It landed with a ringing splash, sending more circles drifting through the water.
"And what exactly will you do? You'll force yourself on the battlefield with that wounded leg of yours? You can barely walk; fighting someone is impossible for you right now. You'll be nothing but a burden to them, Sharona. If you try to help them in this condition, you'll only be making things worse." Enra Enra explained in concerned tone.
Sharona, who had been on the brink of her nerves since yesterday, finally exploded:
"Then what the hell should I do!? I can't tell them to forfeit; we made a compromise with our pride one year ago, we won't quit on our own accord again! I'd rather die than forfeit another fight!"
She scooped some pebbles with her hand and threw them in the lake. They sunk instantly, leaving small ripples through the water surface as the only trace of their impact.
"After everything we've been through and after we've been given this unique second chance, we're gonna lose in a stupid way like that!" She screamed in a state of uncontrollable fury. "Everything's gonna fall apart because of some sprained ankle! And it's all because of that idiot Ryu!"
She slammed her fists on the ground and shouted:
"I'm helpless! For the first time ever, I can't think of anything to help them! What kind of leader am I when I don't know how to save my teammates' lives!?"
Her curses and growls turned into desperate sobs and whimpers. Sharona gritted her teeth as tears streamed down her cheeks and fell on the ground. She was gasping through air, her mind was sinking in a pit of despair. She felt the desolation spilling upon her… ancient, long-lost obsidian memories flooded her head, her gaze faded to black…
Enra Enra grabbed her shoulder and yelled:
"Sharona! Sharona! Pull yourself together!"
Sharona stared at her spirit with wide, tear-filled eyes. Her expression was a broken mirror, reflecting her inner torment. The ethereal woman leaned forward and exclaimed:
"Why are you letting yourself getting the best of you!? Are you going to sit here, crying and curling like a child till your girls get killed? Have you forgotten the oath you made when the Lily Five was formed three years ago?"
The blonde raised her head in a dumbstruck emotion. How could she have…
Silver moonlight seeping through a dusty window. A scantily lighted room. A large kitchen table. Five stools, situated around the table. Five girls, sitting on them. A thin streak of smoke, coming out of a pipe.
Sharona settled the pipe on the table. She sighed in a bored voice and stated:
"What are you all so surprised about? I thought it was obvious from the very beginning."
Ellie blinked. Her features still carried the traces of the shock she had had only a minute ago.
"Sharona… do you really mean it? Seriously?"
Sharona cocked her eyebrows in irritation.
"Of course I mean it! Do I look like the type who'll joke about something as serious as this?"
Millie muttered in a low voice:
"We've always talked about this, but… turning away from everything just like that…"
"Did you plan on just talking about that your whole life? Mourning over your fate till you die and rot away? I'm tired of talking! I'm not putting up with this dog life I'm leading anymore."
Lilly stuttered out:
"But… getting involved in something so dangerous!? We might get killed!"
"Die fighting for a cause or live a life as an outcast and without any purpose, which do you prefer? This is our chance to get away from this nightmare of an existence we live here. We'll be able to start all over again, to walk among other shamans like us without fear of being shunned, persecuted or lynched for seeing spirits. If we win, we'll never have to be afraid of humans again. The whole world will be in our feet."
"But what if we lose?" Ellie insisted anxiously. "We'll have to get back to this miserable life!"
Sharona slammed her palms against the table, stood up and yelled:
"Then we just won't lose! We'll put everything in this fight! Every single drop of strength, determination, perseverance and willpower we have in us, even our blood and flesh; we'll use it all! If we lose like that, we'll never feel the shame or remorse of not doing our best to win."
"Sharona, you can't be serious!" Ellie insisted wearily. "You want us to join a tournament we know absolutely nothing about! We don't know where we are supposed to go, what we are supposed to do, what are the risks we are taking, we don't know what people we are supposed to fight, we don't even know what we will win in the end! How are we supposed to know that we are strong enough to start something like this when we've never compared ourselves to other shamans? What if we are weak? What if we don't have anything that takes to fight in this Shaman Fight? We'll be throwing away our lives for something we—"
"Has your fear killed every single drop of dignity and pride you have in you?!" Sharona grumbled and sat down again. "I hear you moan every day how no one understands you and how stupid, weak and bigoted humans are! You've lived for sixteen years like a bird in a cage and now that the door is finally opened, you're afraid to fly away!?"
Ellie bit her lower lip. Sharona narrowed her eyes in anger and spat out:
"You are wasting your lives this way! I've wasted enough of my time hiding from these pathetic humans! This is a golden chance for a complete change that can't be missed!"
The girls stared at each in silent nonplus and hesitance. Only Sally was leaning on the table with her eyes closed. Lily cleared her throat with ill-concealed nervousness and began:
"Sharona, I might agree with your statement and assist you in this tournament…"
"What!?" Ellie exclaimed.
"…but only if you find more information about it. I want to know exactly what am I getting myself involved into."
The blond woman nodded.
"The priest said that there's a preliminary round we must pass before we can participate in the tournament. When we pass this round, we'll ask him about everything we need to know."
"Hold on a second!" Ellie exclaimed and waved her hands around. "You are—"
Sally raised her head and opened her eyes.
"I'm in, too." She stated firmly.
Ellie's mouth turned into a wide circle.
"You, too!?" She squealed unbelievingly.
The redhead glanced at the other girl impartially and said:
"If I can choose between dying here in this wretched place and dying somewhere away from humans and among other shamans, then I choose the latter."
Sharona grinned contently.
"I knew I could count on you." She commended Sally. Then she fixed her eyes on Ellie and Millie, the two remaining dissidents. The woman folded her arms and smiled expectantly. Ellie knitted her eyebrows and sighed:
"Sharona, you know I am a conformist. I've always agreed with everyone, but… I'm afraid for us. And Millie…" She took the little girl in her embrace. "What will happen to her? Will you risk her life so recklessly for the sake of this Shaman Fight? She's barely 10 years old, Sharona, she's just a kid! You're going to get her killed in this stupid…"
Ellie was cut off when Millie broke loose from her arms. She stepped away from her and glared at her. The older girl was taken aback from her actions.
"I'm not a kid!" She said determinedly. "I'm a shaman just like you and I can take care of myself!"
"Millie, you are—" Ellie began desperately, but the little girl snapped at her:
"If you are against the Shaman Fight because you're worrying about me, then stop it! I'll go with Sharona and prove to you that I'm not weak, helpless or dependent. I'll show you that I am just as capable as any of you!"
Tears welled up in Ellie's eyes.
"Millie, I am—"
"Cut it out already!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm not a baby! If you don't let me go, then I'll never be able to prove that to you! Stop using me as an excuse to avoid fighting and get a grip!"
For a short period of half a minute, the heavy silence of a screamed-out truth settled in, stretching those thirty seconds into an eternity of anguish. The words embedded themselves in the walls of the room.
Lilly pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and lightened the air a little bit by muttering:
"Honestly, Millie, don't you think you're overreacting?"
The chestnut-haired kid glared at the four-eyes. A second before another fierce quarrel began, Sharona rose from her stool.
"I think this debate is pretty much over. The only one who still disagrees is you, Ellie."
The frown on her forehead indicated her disapproval of the recent turn of events and change of standpoints. Sharona knew perfectly how hesitant and frightened Ellie was; for the four years she's known her, the girl had made it obvious that even though she hated her life of an outcast in the human society, she had accepted that fact as the foundation of her lifestyle. It was a reality she had adapted to, it had become so intertwined with her being that tearing her so suddenly from her elbow-room was like tearing off a part of her soul.
Sharona smiled.
"Don't worry about it. Nothing's gonna happen to her or any of us. And you know why?"
She walked in front of the dumbfound Ellie and slowly, carefully embraced her. The other girl was gawking, unable to muster a proper response.
"Because I won't let that happen. I won't let anything or anyone harm you. I'll be a mother to all of you."
She closed her lids and whispered:
"I swear it..."
Sharona pursed her lips. Her eyes were no longer watery. The streaks of tears running down her cheeks slowly dried out. In a minute's time, the woman regained her composure and dignity. If her ankle wasn't sprained, she would have rose up gracefully and regally like a queen. Her expression was a cool façade, a seal for all emotions and torments she experienced from the inside. No one could guess that minutes ago she was lying on the ground, crying like a child.
Enra Enra let out a small smile.
"It's about time you got back to your normal self. Shame on you for allowing your spirit to lecture you as if you're a little girl."
Sharona's lips curved in a smirk and acknowledged:
"It's been a long time since I've heard you talk that much, Enra Enra, especially with this attitude towards me." She reached for her crutches and carefully pulled her body up. She turned towards her guardian and her eyelids narrowed impishly. "I should punish you when we get back home."
The spirit turned light-pink in fear:
"Hey, what's that all of a sudden!? You're being too much like yourself!" She whined out in panic as Sharona started walking up the beach and into the forest.
"Just wait till I get my pipe." She threatened with a sly smile. "I'll lock you up and throw you in the closed for a whole week!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Enra Enra squeaked out. "I was only trying to help."
"And that comes at a prize."
"Since when does one have to pay to help someone!?"
"That's how things work with me."
"Why do I always forget that…"
Their dispute could still be heard from the lake, even though they were already out of sight, lost in the thick shadows of the woods. The lake was peaceful once more, its surface frozen like a mirror, reflecting the gaze of the heavens beetling upon it. A sparrow's cheerful song echoed through the branches. A gentle breeze rippled through the treetops and send leafs flying across the beach.
One of the leafs fell in Ryu's feet, who was crouching on the other side of the rocky wall. He had heard every word Sharona had said.
Sharona and her spirit were jogging along through the forest, trying to forget about the conversation they had had ten minutes ago, as if it was a topic with the same embarrassment a full-grown person could experience from having a conversation with his/her sweet old mother, talking to him/her as if she was still in 2nd grade in front of other people. Though the awkward silence was more deafening than the cheery chit-chat, Sharona could still notice a change in the forest. Earlier that morning, on her way to the lake, there were birds singing from every branch around her. Now, all the life bustling in the trees had vanished. The woman did not need her shaman senses to distinguish between natural and unnatural silence.
She stopped dead in her tracks. Enra Enra turned around and faced her.
"What's wrong?"
Sharona sighed.
"What kind of guardian spirit are you when I can sense things better than you? There's someone else around here besides us."
She turned her head around, examining the centuries-old trees around her.
"It must be someone who has never been here before. The birds react towards the presence of new people as a threat."
Sharona did her best to take a provoking position while still supporting her body on her crutches. She knew well that if this 'someone' who was following her was ill-intentioned, there would be no difference between waiting for him to attack her or calling him out, because either way she would be dead. The woman cursed mentally for not bringing the pipe with her and not being in a physical condition for running. Without any hesitation, she yelled out:
"I know you're around here somewhere, so come out!"
She strained her ears to catch any sounds of movement. The forest suddenly seemed gloomier and more threatening to her now. Even the grass blades were frozen stiff in stagnation. Sharona felt sweat breaking out on her back. The forest was completely silent.
Almost like a graveyard.
A sharp sparkle reflected from cold metal. Sharona's eyes shot open.
She pushed herself on her cruches and shot herself forward when a short blade swung where her neck was a moment ago. The blonde rolled on the grass. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the sudden pain in her sprained ankle. She was lying on the ground, staring at her assailant.
"You're attacking me from the back even though I'm unarmed and walk with crutches? What kind of a cowardly underhanded weakling are you?"
A man with short, black hair who was probably two years older than her was towering above her. He was clad in a pair of denim trousers and a Hawaiian shirt with orange and pink flowers. His freshly-shaved jaw was shut cruelly. His small, sly grayish eyes were fixed in her face arrogantly. There was a tattoo of an inverted cross on his neck.
"Being cautious has never hurt anyone. You should have been, too." He replied evenly. The dagger in his right hand was reflecting the sun with blinding sharpness.
Sharona cursed again. Of all the people out there, why did a psycho like him have to come and kill her? She immediately recognized him as the killer type just by the tone of his voice. There was no point in pleading him to spare her life; it would just give him a kick, plus, he would kill her, anyway. Screaming was out of the question; she didn't come here so far away from Patch to have her voice be heard by people in the vicinity. There was no way she could escape from him with her damn injured leg. She could only pray that he'd just slid her throat instead of raping her, killing her slowly and dumping her in the bushes like an empty can of beer or some other useless junk.
"Who the hell are you, anyway?" She hissed angrily.
"Is there any point for you to know?" He said and raised his eyebrows. "You're going to die soon, so it's useless to tell you."
"Are you connected in any way to the Crimson Skulls?" She inquired.
The man was slowly walking towards her with his knife dangling in his hand.
"I am their leader." He spoke emotionlessly. "Emilio Cordona. A pleasure to meet you. As I already said, you're going to die soon, so don't bother telling me your name. I won't remember it, anyway."
"I had no intentions of telling you my name, you bastard!" The woman grumbled.
Emilio crouched in front of her. He neared his face to hers.
"Tell me, woman… are you afraid of death?"
Sharona snorted disdainfully. She looked at him mockingly and laughed out:
"If I was afraid to die, then I wouldn't be participating in the Shaman Fight, dumbass." A wide smirk appeared on her face. "What are you trying to do? Bring me to the edge of despair and then kill me? How idiotically cliché can you get?"
"You're not going to pray for your life?"
"I haven't prayed to anyone for anything in my life. There's no way in hell I'll die pleading to someone so full of shit like you."
The man blinked. His expression remained unchanged.
"You're being like that because of all that pride, am I right?"
He neared the dagger to her chest and positioned it between her breasts. The tip pierces the fabric of her clothes.
"I'm going to take away your pride and your virginity." He stated as he slowly ran the dagger up her top, cutting through the cloth and revealing her breasts. A small smile emerged on his face at the sight of a horrified Sharona. "Don't worry… I'll make sure I kill you as soon as I finish, so that you won't have to live with the shame of being fucked like an animal in every way imaginable to man."
Sharona gritted her teeth. Her heart was going to explode any moment now. Tears filled her eyes, she wanted to curse and swear at her own helplessness. She was going to be used like some toy by this pig and die like a dog without a drop of honour of pride left. Powerless rage was overtaking her whole being. She had no idea who she hated more: the bastard who was about to ravage her or her own hollow pride that couldn't do shit to help her or the girls…
Something roared behind them. Emilio turned back and raised his dagger.
A creature resembling a large snake with a dragon-like head lunged at Sharona's assailant and sunk its teeth in his neck. The man screamed as the snake crashed him against a tree.
Sharona raised herself from the ground and looked at the one who shook Emilio off her.
"It's unmanly to attack a woman." A deep, familiar voice stated.
It was Ryu.
From the Author: Yes, I screwed up the ending, I know. I hope the rest of the chapter still has some value. Sorry for the huge delay, but I've got other things on my hands and I'm not talking only about my laziness.