Chapter 54: Too Close For Comfort
Loki was standing in the castle entrance, talking with Katsu... Well, actually, she was fighting with Katsu.
"But why do you have to be so closed off!?" She exclaimed.
"I ask you if you're okay, and you don't give me the slightest hint. What did I do!? Tell me..."
He sighed. "It's not exactly you..." He said monotone.
"But it's something right?" She said.
"Why are you keeping this from me?"
He looked at her.
"Look, things have obviously changed. It's been ten years for me, and-"
She laughed.
"Oh... Is that all."
She punched the arch of the palace, causing a crack in it.
"I WAITED for exactly one HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS IN HELL! For THIS!? I am still willing to work on this. Are you? I mean, COME ON KATSU!"
"One hundred ten years is a LOT of time to FUCKING CHANGE!" He yelled.
"We're not the people we fell in love with, and you know what? You've become so bitter... That's not the Loki I remember."
She teared up.
"Fine. If that's how it is..."
She swallowed her tears.
"Are we doing this?" She asked.
"Are you staying or not?"
He shook his head.
"Sorry... I'll leave this place, if it will make things easier on you..."
She gestured out.
"Then by all means, LEAVE! If it will makes things easier on you..."
He walked away, and left the grounds.
She teared up again, but continued to swallow it...
No more... No more of this silly stupid love.
...
Kuhn was in the dining hall with Linn. They had a nice dinner, and were taking some time to spend with each other.
Linn smiled at him.
"Well, that looks good on you."
He rolled his eyes, and laughed.
"You've seen this on me plenty of times."
She laughed. "Yes, and it still looks good on you!"
He shook his head.
"Well, it's not earth. It's not like we age or anything..."
He looked at her.
"You know? I'm still hopelessly in love with you..."
She blushed, her smile was warm.
"Yeah... Me too..." She said softly.
"I was really nervous about having more kids..." He said.
"I mean, we have Hiro... Her heart is in the right place, but she worries me..."
Linn sighed. "No kidding, right?"
He gave her a soft kiss.
"But, I think we'll be fine. Hiro seems pretty excited for siblings, and that was a big worry for me. What were your thoughts?"
She laughed. "Oh I was worried! Then I thought... Well, maybe they'll be more like you... Then they won't get into trouble, and blow things up... Sneak on wraith rides... Charge into a hell cave riding on Leviathan's... Yeah... Stuff that I would have pulled as a kid... And I did... A lot..."
Kuhn grinned. "So that's who she gets it from!"
Linn turned red. "Well... Maybe a little..."
Max Limped through the door, blood dripping from his mouth, and one of his legs were mangled.
Linn and Kuhn stood.
"Oh shit, isn't Max Hiro's Leviathan now!?" Linn exclaimed.
"That's what she said, so what happened!?" Kuhn said frantically.
They ran to Max.
"Where's Hiro!?" Kuhn exclaimed.
"Is she okay!?"
Max heaved in heavy, blood filled breaths. He was desperately trying to say something, but it was all garbled.
"Kahn! Shisuta! Get over here!" Kuhn yelled.
Kahn, Karo, Haruka, Shisuta, and Haku all came down.
They saw max, and Kahn was able to heal him.
Max leapt up, and began speaking.
"Hurry! Hiro is in danger, and Eiji was with her! A man of similar stature..."
He pointed at Kuhn and Kahn.
"Blood filled eyes in the cover of a priestess. They had stayed too long! Too long! We must HURRY!"
They all knew who he was talking about.
"Where were THEY!?" Kuhn yelled.
"Sitting at a tree near the trials!"
Junichi walked in.
He saw the panicked faces, and sighed.
"What's going on?" He asked calmly.
"Something happened at the trials, Kaihn somehow got to Hiro and Eiji."
Junichi gestured to the door.
"Say no more then! We should gather the others as quickly as possible, and find them."
...
Hiro awoke in a strange room... It had metallic walls, and a concrete floor.
Kaihn grinned. "You know, this room brings back so many memories..."
She looked over at Eiji, who was also strapped to a chair. He was strapped more firmly than she was. He was still out cold.
He laughed maliciously.
"So you noticed his restraints? Yes well... Normally they inhibit magic and abilities well enough on their own... But his mother broke them once... Best not take any chances."
He laughed maniacally.
"Why are you laughing!?" She exclaimed.
He slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair, her arms. She flinched.
"I find it funny that your loved ones are searching the grounds so vigorously, when really!? You're in the bathhouse... The Warrior's was once a bathhouse you know, and this is one of the forgotten rooms."
Hiro's eyes filled with realization.
"I see. So this is the bathhouse that was ran by the head witch Yubaba..."
He grinned. "My you are an observant one... A lot like Kahn..."
He punched her in the face.
"I HATE KAHN!"
She flinched, then gritted her teeth.
"Good for you."
"Where am I...?" Said Eiji softly.
Kaihn walked over to him.
"Oh hello, son of Chihiro... You've been a thorn in my side for quite some time..."
He laughed darkly.
"But all thorns are eventually extracted... But it's not always an easy process."
Eiji went pale as he pulled out the scalpel.
"In fact? Most times you'll find the process slow and... Painful."
He desperately tried to turn his head, but Kaihn held him in place.
"Don't you TOUCH HIM!" Hiro screamed.
Kaihn laughed. "What, like this?"
He slowly shoved the scalpel into his ear... Eiji flinched, and began screaming as he shoved it deeper, moving it around as blood poured from his ear.
"Stop! STOP IT!" Hiro screamed.
"Leave him alone! Just hurt me!"
"Don't say that!" Eiji choked between tears.
"I can-!"
Kaihn shoved it in his other ear, and he screamed.
"No! STOP!" She cried.
"Take me! As long as you want, but leave him ALONE!"
He laughed. "Don't worry little one, I'm the generous sort, and I always share..."
She laughed bitterly... Her mind going dark.
"I'm sure you do... What makes you so fucked up Kaihn? Did you get skull raped by demons in the womb? I bet those red eyes are filled with skull fucking demon jiz..."
She laughed maniacally.
"I bet you're just bitter from your nutrition as a child... What, did your mom mix up the bottles... Hm, what's that red stuff? Or was it more direct..."
He stopped, and laughed.
"You know? That's something I would say... Turns out you inherited a little bit of everything!"
She stopped, and snapped out of it.
No, she was nothing like him!
He laughed. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be just like me! I might even keep you around!"
He stabbed out Eiji's right eye, and he let out a blood churning scream.
"EIJI!" She yelled.
"You're a sick FUCKING MONSTER!" She screamed.
He began slowly peeling the skin from Eiji's face, and he screamed, letting out small sobs.
Hiro sobbed.
"Stop it! Please stop... I'll do whatever you want."
He grabbed Eiji's tongue.
Hiro jolted in her chair.
"NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!"
He slowly sawed it off.
Blood shot out of his mouth, and he began to choke as Kaihn tilted his head back.
Hiro sobbed.
"I always found it fascinating how when you cut out the tongue, you're more likely to die then when you say, cut off a hand... Viens in the tongue can bleed out quite quickly..."
Eiji was breathing in his own blood, gagging and gasping for air.
"However, I find it more fun to tip the head back, that way they drown... Don't you agree?"
"No!" She screamed.
"I DON'T!"
Eiji went still.
Hiro's eyes went wide.
"No... NO! NO! EIJI!"
He restored, and Kaihn tipped his head back a little longer before he let it hang forward, Eiji's mouth spilling with vomit and blood.
Hm... Why was there still blood?
No! You are not curious!
SHUT UP!
NO! SHUT UP! NO MORE!
He grinned. "You were curious... I saw it in your eyes."
"I'm NOTHING LIKE YOU!" She barked.
He laughed darkly.
"Tell that to the inn you mercilessly slaughtered..."
She was shaking... Not only because of all of the blood, but because he made sense.
She HAD slaughtered that inn... She enjoyed it, and subconsciously? She knew it.
He got close to her face, and grinned.
"You aren't afraid of blood... You're afraid of what it stirs in your mind. You're afraid to like it..."
She turned her head. "No..."
"You're full of shit!" Eiji laughed.
"Hiro is kind, and merciful to those who deserve it! You do not deserve it..."
Kaihn glared at him. "I feel more like hurting you than her I hope you know... Pissing me off, may NOT BE THE BEST OF IDEAS!"
He laughed darkly. "Yeah? Okay... Fine then. Go ahead, get defensive. It just proves to me that you're a little bitch..."
Kaihn punched him in the face, dislocating his jaw.
The straps loosened on Hiro.
She tried to attack him, but a shield defended him.
He laughed, and handed her the scalpel.
"If you can cause him as much pain as you possibly can, I'll let you both go!"
She froze.
"No..." She said blankly.
"I won't."
He pulled out another scalpel, and sliced his own finger.
She began shaking as his blood dripped to the floor...
"You sure...?" He asked.
"It's such a pretty color... Don't you think that red would suit him Hiro? The crimson red..."
She became entranced...
She held her head, and started screaming.
"No! NO! STOP!"
"What are you DOING TO HER!?" Eiji yelled.
Kaihn laughed.
"It's not what I'm doing to her... No. She's doing it to herself..."
"When I get out of this chair, I will hurt you..." Said Eiji darkly.
He had been restored again, and was dark and livid.
Kaihn grinned.
"There's your mother... That dark side that I prized..."
Eiji laughed bitterly.
"I'm not surprised you brought that out in her... Disrespectful bitches have always set her off."
Kaihn held him by his throat.
"You are so FUCKING STUPID! Talking to ME LIKE THAT!? You're the one tied down to the FUCKING CHAIR!"
The door slammed open.
"I knew it..." Said Chihiro darkly.
The room changed into a normal small room.
She laughed maniacally, as if a darker part of her had been revived.
Kaihn grinned. "Well speak of tainted devil! That is what you are right now, after all..."
She held him to a wall, and slammed his head there.
"What ABOUT IT!?" She barked.
She grinned, and Eiji had never seen her so malicious...
"How about it Kaihn? Ready for another round in the underworld?"
He grinned. "Sorry, but I've got places to be... Missions to report. I am on a holy mission after all... I live it when these 'Angels' hire me!"
He disappeared, and Chihiro collapsed.
She laughed darkly, not fully returned to herself...
"So that's how it's going to be..."
She continued laughing.
Eiji walked up to her. Hiro was still shaking, but unharmed.
His mother was kin a state he had never seen... He was worried.
He put his hands on her shoulders.
"Mom..." He said.
"Look at me... I want you to relax... Just calm your mind."
She did.
Her eyes went from a blood red to her normal hazel.
She sobbed, and hugged him.
"Eiji... I'm so sorry you had to... Oh god..."
She held him, and continued to cry.
Hiro was shaking, and curled up on the ground.
She sobbed, and Eiji looked up.
He looked at his mom.
"Sorry but, give me a minute..."
She nodded. "Alright then."
He walked over to Hiro, and laid down in front of her.
He held her hands, and stroked them.
She cried into him.
"I would never hurt you..." She sobbed.
"Never... Never..."
He pulled her in. "I know... It's okay, I'm fine. Let's get you out of here, and we should get some sleep..."
Eiji wasn't fine. He was tearing apart inside...
He had to be here for Hiro... She was a mess, and he couldn't leave her like that.
He'd rather leave himself in this state of turmoil.
He helped her stand, and they left the room.
Chihiro sealed the room, and melted the doorknob and lock.
"They should have sealed it before..." She said.
Kuhn, Linn, and the others ran up to them.
Haku looked at Chihiro, and sensed the residual energy she had harnessed.
He hugged her. "Are you alright?" He asked.
She took a glance at Eiji.
"I'm more worried about him..."
Haku sighed. "Did Kaihn...?"
Chihiro nodded. "Yeah..."
Hiro tried to stand again, but fell to her knees... She was exhausted.
Kuhn put his arms under her, and lifted her up.
"Linn. Could you run a warm bath for her?" He asked.
"I'll just take her to her room..."
Linn nodded.
They walked away.
Eiji's expression became blank. He began walking almost lifelessly to his room.
The others stopped him.
He stopped without notice...
Like he didn't even know where he was going.
He sat, and his face was blank, his eyes were empty.
They all knelt down.
Chihiro and Haku held him, whispering soothing words...
Shisuta examined him.
"Do you feel any pain?" She asked.
He shook his head... Then it hung there, motionless.
Haruka sighed. "I think what he needs is rest..."
Loki looked conflicted.
"Well, for now..." She said.
"He also needs movement... Eiji, you should rest. Just make sure you wake up tomorrow, and we'll train, so eat a good breakfast."
Karo looked at her.
"Should he really be training the day after something like this!?"
Kahn nodded. "Routine will help... Of reorients the mind, and helps you recover from something like this."
Loki looked at them.
"Talk to him, not about him. That never helps..."
She looked at Eiji.
"Come on, let's stand up, and you should walk to your room... Then get some sleep. We'll be training at 9:30, so make sure to be up before then."
He nodded, and stood.
Chihiro and Haku made sure he kept his balance as he went up the stairs.
He couldn't show it right now, but her really appreciated what Loki did for him.
The last thing he wanted was to be smothered, and held down... He just didn't want that attention. He didn't want to think about this.
Eiji started to understand why Loki was the way she was... It made perfect sense to him now.
And out of everyone he had met, he now respected her the most.