13. Trouble

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"...Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!" Kanmuri finally snapped at Shachihoko. "We're not getting any closer to the mountains! Aargh!" Kanmuri sighed, shaking his head. "I don't get it. Why aren't we getting any closer to the mountains?!"

"Maybe it's because WE'RE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!" Kai finally snapped, pulling out a map and shoving it in Kanmuri's face. "We've been going farther away, south, rather than towards the mountains, which is north! We have to get there!"

"Dude, calm down!" Shachihoko exclaimed, restraining Kai by one arm before the samurai could physically injure anyone. "I understand that you're mad that they took Sylvan, but this isn't helping, either! Just calm down already!"

Kai let out a sigh, before sitting down on the ground. "Dang it." He muttered under his breath. We have to find Sylvan, soon...

"We have no choice but to camp for the night..." Kanmuri trailed off quietly, glancing at the sky. "It's getting too dark for us to continue travelling right now." As the others began to set up camp, Monica walked over to Kai quietly, sitting down beside him.

"You're not alright, are you?" Monica asked, pushing a strand of her orange hair behind her ear as she made eye contact with her childhood friend.

"No, I'm not." Kai muttered back to her in response. "When Sylvan and I were seperated from the rest of you, we formed an alliance after we helped each other out. I didn't tell him what I promised aloud, but I swore to somehow get him back to his normal human state and help him defeat Yukino to avenge his dead sister."

"He had a sister?" Monica asked, surprised.

Kai nodded, before continuing. "Yukino fed his sister to him. That was his first meal as a demon, and he certainly has held a grudge against Yukino since. He wants to get back to normal and defeat Yukino; I can just sense that from him. But now he's captured, and-" He paused before blurting out, "And if we don't get to him in time, I won't be able to fufill that promise to help him!"

"Kai..." Monica paused for a moment before speaking. "He's going to be okay, I'm sure of it. He's pretty pain tolerant..."

"Yeah, but..." Kai paused before speaking again. "How much blood can he lose before dying? He said that all demons need to keep feeding on creatures with blood and they can't lose too much or they'll die, just like any normal human being. What if he bleeds out completely before we get to him?"

Monica didn't know what else to say, and instead, held his hand tightly. She hoped that nothing was happening to the demon, either.

Sylvan let out a gasp and cough as he was sent flying backwards into a wall. He heard a crack, with pain sharply cutting into his left arm afterwards. He nearly let out a cry of pain at this, but he bit down on his bloody, torn lower lip.

Dang it, my arm...

He didn't have much more time to continue as he was finally punched in the face, before his torturers let him slump to the floor, helpless and certainly too tired and weak to battle them.

"Have you had enough!?" Yukino snapped. Sylvan didn't say a thing. "I'm giving you one more chance before I decide to let you bleed to death. What are those other cockroaches doing?"

Sylvan's lips curved into a thin smile. "They're going to defeat you, you hag." He rasped quietly. "They're going to kill you, soon..."

He was kicked once more in the face, before Yukino and her servants left. He lay on the floor, unsure of what to say or do. His whole body hurt, and he wasn't sure of how much blood he might have lost...

How much blood he might have lost... The thought of it scared him, and he closed his eyes quietly. He did not want to imagine himself dying, helpless and alone. No. No. He didn't want to die yet. He wanted to avenge his sister, dang it! But no, he's stuck here in this prison, and he is beaten to a pulp, almost. He swore he could hear Yukino's laughter cackling its way into his mind...

Isn't there someone that will find me soon? Please? Anyone?

Before he realized that the sound of footsteps had gotten very close to him, he felt a hand gently touch his face. Sylvan flinched at first, but then he opened his eyes, and realized who it was.

"K-Kuroyanagi-san?"

Before he could hear the raven-haired companion answer in reply, Sylvan's world went dark.

Author note: I know, I know, not really any MoniKai in this chapter...It'll come eventually...