The Stealth Assassin had been right. The girl didn't respond to him in any way. Neither this day nor the next one. Or the one after. The following weeks were the worst of his entire life. He tried to be patient, to talk to her as often as possible and not only about important things, just to talk to her. He gave her as little commands as possible, always trying to get her to do something without him having to order her to do it. But she wouldn't do it until it was a command.
He didn't leave her alone once during those weeks, even though he had the urge to hunt the undead, who had taken her, and kill them all. The more he saw how damaged his girl was the more pain he wanted to cause them before he killed them. He wanted them to suffer. But he wouldn't leave her alone now. It will simply take some time, he told himself, for her to realize that she was no slave anymore, that she could do what she wanted, have a normal life again. And he did everything he could to make her see it.
But it was tough and when she was sleeping he often sat in front of the house, frustrated, angry and with a feeling of helplessness that wouldn't go away.
He had his girl back, but only her body and he didn't know how to get her spirit back, too.
On one of those nights, just before Rikimaru was about to get to bed, too, mentally exhausted from all those weeks of getting absolutely no reaction from his girl, he saw a small cat creeping through the grass of the swamp. It was dirty brown, with black stripes, and it was definitely a house cat. It was thin, probably not getting much to eat out here, and as the Assassin watched it trying to catch a fat dragonfly, he had an idea.
A bit of meat and a bowl of milk. With that he approached the cat as it was about to pounce on another dragonfly. The creature looked at the Assassin with wide eyes, its body completely unmoving. Slowly he knelt down, placing the meat and the milk on the ground before backing away.
The cat watched his every move, eying him as well as the food. It was clearly unsure if it was safe to eat the meat but in the end its hunger won.
The cat came back every night now and Rikimaru fed it. And, in complete contrast to the days with his girl, it took only a week for him to get the cat to trust him enough to let him pet it. The Stealth Assassin smiled when he heard the purring of the small creature as it nuzzled his hand, rubbing its head against his palm.
He waited two more days. Then he didn't send Jayne to bed as usual but took her outside with him at the time he fed the cat now. It was there already, lying on a dry patch of earth and watching the house.
Rikimaru gave the girl the meat. "Sit down and hold the food out for the cat." He sat next to her, placing the bowl with milk in front of him. The cat was used to him but a little weary of the girl. But the food was there for the taking and so it didn't hesitate very long. The girl didn't move, without a command that told her what to do she was sometimes like a statue. But then, when the cat had eaten the meat and licked over the fingers that had held it, one single tear slid over the girl's cheek.
The Stealth Assassin took a deep breath and then he did something he had never done in his life before: he sang. Maybe it was more like humming and it was definitely not very good, but the tunes were close enough to the melody he wanted to sing.
Another tear, then the girl shuddered. Gently taking her hand, he kept humming. The cat sat down, watching the scene in front of her. The girl shuddered again, closed her eyes and then she really started to cry. These were the first emotions the Assassin had seen from her since he had rescued her.
Thank god, he thought. And when she turned towards him, sobbing and crying, he held her, so very glad that she had finally reacted to something.
She cried for a long time, soaking his shirt with her tears.
Rikimaru stroked her hair and rocked her while he murmured nonsensical things. He didn't know if it was of any use but he had never had to comfort anyone and he didn't know what else to do. So he kept sitting in front of the house in the middle of the swamp, holding his girl while she cried.
Finally she grew quieter, calming slowly down. She didn't move away from the Assassin and when her breathing was almost normal again, her sobs having died down, she still clutched at him, her fists grabbing his shirt and her face buried in the crook of his neck.
"You came for me." Her voice was hoarse, the words very low.
"Of course. I would have done anything to find you."
The girl was silent for long minutes. "I wasn't sure about it."
The Stealth Assassin thought she wanted to say more, but she didn't. And it was okay. She had finally talked to him and he had hope again. Even if she would never be like the girl in the forest again, he was just glad that she wasn't this numb and aboulic creature anymore. And if she got like that again he at least knew how to get her out of it, now. It was a progress.
"You don't have to doubt ever again. I'll always come for you, no matter where you are. I promise."
She moved away a little and looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen, tears still shimmering at the corners. And the Assassin could see the fear inside. It was a deep rooted fear, one he fully intended to chase away, even if it took him his whole life. It was partly his fault that it was there and he would make it right again. His girl should fear nothing and she should definitely never doubt him, never doubt how important she was to him. With him by her side there was nothing to be afraid of.
"Don't say something like that." Her voice was only a whisper as she looked on the ground. "You don't know what they made of me. I am broken."
A wave of anger swept over the Assassin. Anger about the undead and what they had done to his sweet little girl. Anger wouldn't help her, though, and he pushed it away. "I don't care." He pulled her closer again, back into the hug, and rubbed his cheek over the top of her head. "I don't care."
From that day on it got better. Not constantly, but definitely noticeable over the weeks.
Rikimaru saw how his girl struggled with everything but he helped her as best as he could. At least it seemed as if she hadn't been raped, physical contact being no problem at all. And so he used it to his advantage, holding her hand and hugging her often, stroking her hair or simply sitting by her side with their bodies touching from hip to shoulder. She never shied away from him.
Everything else was hard, though. But the Assassin was patient. They had all the time they wanted, they didn't need to rush anything. His wish for vengeance was there but it had time, knew what he had to look for now.
First she began to do things of her own accord, then she stopped looking at the ground all the time, and then she started talking again.
One morning the Assassin woke up and the bed of the girl was empty. He got up and, not seeing her inside of the house, stepped out of the door. There she was, sitting on the ground and petting the cat, which still appeared every day. The animal licked her hand and the girl smiled. It was only the hint of a smile but it was definitely there.
The Stealth Assassin felt unbelievably relieved at this sight. It looked so much like a scene from out of the forest from before. The cat turned its head, looking at Rikimaru and the girl followed its gaze. The smile on her face got a little wider when she saw him and it took his breath. Her hair was not like before, shorter, her features still sharp from too little food but her eyes were the same, as was her smile. She was unbelievably beautiful. He smiled back at her. "Good morning."
This day was the best in the last two years. The girl was in high spirits and Rikimaru enjoyed it immensely. And he thought that it wouldn't take long until he could leave her to hunt the undead. He already felt restless from time to time. Sitting around in one place and doing nothing was something he could do for a while but definitely not forever.
They sat over dinner when he addressed the topic of leaving her alone for a few days. She lived alone her whole life and the house here was relatively safe, so she should be fine. Of course he knew that it wasn't that easy. Not anymore.
The girl looked at him with wide eyes. Then she lowered her gaze. Rikimaru couldn't see her expression properly when she nodded. "Okay." But she didn't sound okay and something was not right. So he rounded the table to stand next to her. With one hand under her chin he tilted her face up so she had to look at him. The fear in her eyes was back. It had been completely gone the whole day, but now it was back. And the Assassin felt like an ass for putting it there. Again. Nevertheless he tried to explain it to her. "I want to avenge you. The undead have taken you and I want to kill them all for that. I will come back every day, you won't be alone for very long."
"But..." her voice was wavering a little. "...what if your staying is more important to me than you extracting a revenge I don't need?"
The Stealth Assassin frowned. "You don't feel the need to take vengeance against them? They have destroyed your whole life! You can't let them simply live with what they have done to you."
"Vengeance is never worth the cost for the one who takes it. Never. Have you thought about what it would do to you to kill them? Or to me, knowing that I am to blame for their death?" She shook her head a little. "I am not a vengeful creature and I honestly don't care what happens to them. I just don't want you to leave me for something unimportant like that."
That was something completely new for the Assassin. He'd been given so many jobs from creatures who wanted revenge for one thing or the other that he had never thought someone could not be like that. He had only known this one way all his life and now this small human girl told him that there was a different path.
She really didn't care for vengeance, he could see it in her eyes. For all they had done, she didn't feel the need to give them at least some of the pain and fear she had had to endure back. She was strong. Stronger than he had thought, because he knew that he would never be able to let someone live, who had made him suffer like that. And though he still didn't fully understand it, still wanted to kill them for what they had done, it was her revenge and if she didn't want it, if she wanted him to let them alone, he would abide by her wish. "Are you sure? Because I can wait and go in a year or in ten years. I can find them anywhere and kill them at a moment's notice. It doesn't have to be now if you are still too afraid of being alone."
But she shook her head again. "I'm sure. I don't want you to kill them. Or hurt them in any way. Not now and not ever. Just try to let it go because it honestly isn't worth it."
Rikimaru smiled at her. "You are awesome." He didn't know if he could be like her and just don't want to take revenge, but for her he would try. He thought that he would do anything for her, she just had to name it. Somehow, without her even wanting to, she had made him hers.
The girl flushed. She hesitated. "Does that mean you won't go?"
"Not for that, no."
She sighed, her whole body relaxing. "Thank you." When she looked at him, she smiled again, this hint of a smile that promised everything was going to be well again. It made the Assassin unbelievably happy, even more after he had seen the fear in her eyes only moments ago. When he didn't step back but didn't say anything more, either, and just kept staring at her, she seemed to get a little nervous.
She started to say something, then pressed her lips together, having changed her mind. The movement, though, drew his gaze to her mouth. And this time when he wanted to kiss her, he didn't stop. He moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to tell him should she not want it.
She didn't.
When she realised what he was about to do, her eyes grew wider for a second, before she closed them. She tilted her face upward a fraction and Rikimaru smiled, pleased that she not only not moved away but even moved towards him a little.
The Assassin was gentle, looking for the slightest sign that Jayne might feel uncomfortable.
When his lips touched the girl's, the Assassin shuddered. They felt so soft underneath his and he suddenly realized that he hadn't kissed anyone since he had been on the clearing in the forest for the second time. The girl had been way too young, then, and Rikimaru hadn't even seen her as anything as a little girl. But somehow, on a completely subconscious level, he had waited for her. Had waited over ten years without even realizing it.
His body sprang to attention at the first touch, wanting desperately to rush this and take what he had been waiting for. But he was an assassin, the wants and needs of his body being nothing to him. He was in perfect control as he began to nibble on her lower lip before slowly backing away a little.
The girl looked dazed, her eyes still half closed but then she began to smile, bright and beautiful. She looked up at Rikimaru and he almost kissed her again. He stopped himself. He had to go slow, had to be careful not to rush anything so she wouldn't be frightened.
And so, over the next days, he stole one kiss after the other but never pressed for anything more. The girl smiled again and one morning the Assassin thought he heard her humming as she fed the cat.