AN: Yo, I still live. I'm still here. If you don't follow my QQ account, well, just know I was busy and stuff happens. Anyway, I've been working on a few projects I might unveil in the common weeks.
But enough of that. Hope you enjoy the next chap for Nekoshou, and sorry for the wait.
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Disclaimer: I don't own any source material.
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Chapter 8: Life in Sakura Village Part 4: Ghislaine
'That wasn't fun.'
"That was fun!"
Two wildly different opinions met, with one ruthlessly crushed under the sheer enthusiasm of the second.
"I'm starting to think you just like making people suffer."
"I don't not like it."
Hei didn't even have the energy to groan as he turned over in the stone tub of green liquid Yoru tossed him into after he couldn't stand anymore. "Yoru. Why are you trying to drown me?"
"Oh, don't be a baby. That's shallow water at best."
"Let me rephrase my question. Why am I soaking in liquid?"
"It's a medicinal bath." Yoru replied while casually flipping quarter-ton weights on the tip of her fingers like they were basketballs.
"And I'm soaking in a medicinal bath because…?"
Yoru dropped a weight and shot Hei a disgruntled look. "Are you being annoying on purpose, kid? I can toss your ass back under increased gravity if you have this much energy."
"Humor me." Whether it was his deadpan tone or his lack of care under her threat, Yoru just huffed and started putting the weights back in their places.
"You spent hours under increased gravity doing a damn good job of destroying yourself. You've got internal bleeding in numerous places, torn muscles, and cracked bones. If you don't soak in that medicinal bath right now, you'll die within two hours. So just shut up and soak for a bit, and you'll be fine. That liquid is my own personal formula for physical recovery tested and adjusted over the course of many long decades."
"Uhu." Hei hummed and idly summoned his grimoire.
He mentally pulled up the details for Designated Card #31: Volcanic Healing Springs and flicked it her way.
Yoru looked up as it floated over to her slowly with a raised brow. "If this is about that healing card of yours, you already told me it was limited…." Yoru's voice trailed off as she read the new card's description and her face went blank.
"I appreciate the concern, but I think I'll be fine." Hei mused as he pushed himself up out of the water. Torn muscles and internal bleeding were nothing new to him, even if the training itself was more physically demanding than any of his previous experiences.
He hopped out of the medicinal bath with a wince but otherwise ignored the throbbing all over as he looked over at the slightly shaking woman with a shadowed expression. "Yoru?"
"I'm…. fine." The woman grunted out and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a deep breath. "I'm just questioning the worth of decades of research, experimenting, and searching to make a highly optimized medicinal bath for physical recovery verse a playing card a decade-old kid just pulled out of his ass."
"I pulled it out of a book." Hei corrected gently as he returned the grimoire.
"Uhu. I'm going to go destroy something. Don't wait up." She turned to walk off while cracking the earth beneath her feet.
"Oh yeah, I found a clearing a bit outside the southwest side of the village; you mind if I set up there?"
Yoru growled but waved a hand. "Sure. Let me know if you need wards."
Hei might have chosen better timing to ask the next question, but frankly, she fucked him up pretty badly before, so he wasn't feeling merciful.
"Thanks, Yoru, see you tomorrow~." Hei sang cheerily as he walked out. "Oh, and feel free to drop by if you want to soak in my hot springs."
"Gah!" His instincts shot to the roof as he dodged a half-ton weight flung his way by a hair's breadth, running away with a laugh at the towering fury behind him.
Thankfully, the woman was more preoccupied with property damage than manslaughter.
Doubly thankfully, Yoru's training ground was on the west end of the village. All he had to do was walk back into the village and head south for a few minutes to reach the place he had left from the night before.
Although, that short walk involved him passing numerous villagers who winced in sympathy upon seeing him in his current state.
The pink-haired cat, Kione, whom Yoru used for her demonstration, crossed his path while carrying a large basket of vegetables from the field and paused upon seeing him.
"Nya, the gravity field?"
Hei raised a brow curiously. "You can tell?"
"Yeah." She awkwardly laughed and scratched her cheek. "We all go through it once a month, usually just working with the weights or sparring if she thinks we're slacking off." She stuck her tongue out childishly, and Hei couldn't help but laugh.
"She must think I'm slacking then; she kicked my ass in hand to hand."
"Oof, Leader can be ruthless. She means well, though. Usually." She added the last word hesitantly. "But she'll leave you alone for a couple weeks, don't worry too much."
"Weeks?" Hei chuckled as he walked past her. "I'm heading back tomorrow. It was fun."
"Fun?!" He heard Kione choke on her words behind him but didn't stick around to talk more.
"See you around, Kione." He sent a wave over his shoulder and continued down his path. 'I kinda see why they're not all monsters like Yoru now.'
His body was in enough pain to cripple an average man at the moment, and yet he was already looking forward to going back tomorrow for more. 'Yoru might have built it up to be insane, but if the first six years with the old man taught me anything, it was that I live for the grind.'
He shook his head with a wry laugh and passed through the village barrier on the southwest corner, immediately feeling the changes pass as the sounds of the village fled, and the forest ones welcomed him.
Hei stood there for a moment, taking it all in, being embraced by the raw natural beauty before his throbbing body reminded him that he could stop to smell the flowers after he healed up.
Thankfully, he marked the trees as he walked with Leone that morning, so he knew how to find his way back.
As he walked, though, he wondered how he found the place the first time. 'I know I was drawn to it, but was it because of the moonstone or something else?'
He closed his eyes and felt around him while he moved, mimicking what he had learned from Leone that morning.
His breath slowed, his external senses regressed, and he pushed his mana outward awkwardly like a toddler learning to crawl.
But he knew how to do it now, and it was enough to sense it.
Almost like a sound reverberating in his ears. Like distant chimes or inhuman singing voices.
Something about it tickled his mind, telling him it was safe, telling him it was home.
It pulled him forward a step at a time; however, he wasn't as tired as he was the night before, and the entrancing effect wasn't nearly as strong, so he was able to consciously feel it as the sound reverberated through him.
'What are you?' Hei couldn't help but wonder.
No matter how much his paranoid mind wanted to tell him it was something fooling him, it was like his own soul was rejecting the notion.
Before he knew it, he was there. The same clearing he woke up in the night before. The air tickled him like a vibrating hug, the water rushing through the streams splashed higher as if they were pulled to him, and the sounds of the forest dampened slightly. Not to the same extent as the village barrier but enough to be noticeable.
It all happened for a fraction of a second, something that could have been a figment of his imagination, but Hei trusted his senses. His hands moved through the air slowly, like he was trying to grasp something, as he repeated his question a second time. 'What are you?'
He chased the feeling, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving him in a clearing that was soothing him unnaturally. 'I thought it was the Moonstone, but maybe the stone was just a medium for something else?'
Hei's eyes scanned the area in open curiosity. 'It's not like it was last night. The pull then was like a gong right by my head. Now it's more a distant chime than anything.'
He wanted to sit and focus on the feeling, but his body chose that moment to remind him of the pain he was in. 'Right, set up first, deal with the mystery second.'
However, the second he went to summon his grimoire, a voice rang behind him.
"Nice spot, cub."
Hei tensed before the deep velvety voice registered to him, and his shoulders sagged.
"Thanks, Ghis." He turned with a wry smile to see the grey-haired Amazonian beauty standing a short distance behind him, suppressing a sigh of disappointment in himself for not sensing her sooner. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Not long." She commented casually and came up beside him. "It's a nice spot; someone laid down some aversion wards."
'Aversion wards?' Hei's eyes narrowed. 'Yoru didn't say anything about setting them up. I just told her I would be in this area. And I was with Leone all morning.' Suspicions rose in him, but when he opened his mouth to ask what she meant, he found the much taller woman's face beside his own.
Ghis rubbed her cheek against the side of his head affectionately like a large cat. "Don't worry about not sensing me. You are weaker, don't feel shame, anger, or envy for that simple fact. You are here to grow, and so long as you continue to grow, your time won't be wasted."
His mouth clacked shut at her words and actions, and Hei found his self-control that stood up to beautiful women like Yoru and Leone cracking as he flushed. 'Why is this woman so damn cool?' And then the other part of her words registered, and he bit back a sigh. 'She saw through my initial disappointment in myself with barely a glance. Dammit, if I stay here too long, these cats are going to destroy all the confidence I built in my skills these last seven years.'
Outwardly, he just nodded casually while walking into the clearing. "Thanks, Ghis. Is there something you needed, though?" He was wondering what she was doing all the way over in his spot, not that he had made it that well known yet, and the woman replied easily while staying in step.
"Mn. I wish to speak to you."
"About?"
"Training you."
Hei froze mid-step. "Huh?"
"I want to train you." She repeated without missing a beat.
Hei's paranoia rose its head as he shot her a wary look. "Why?"
"Because you need it."
He felt an internal wince of pain at the pointed words but shook it off. "I meant, why do you want to train me? What do you get out of it?"
'Leone training me is due to the old man. I never questioned how they knew each other, but the old man lived long enough to have his own connections. And Yoru's passion for body forging spoke enough for her reasons; she doesn't have enough people willing to go through with her form of insanity. But another one? That's just too many coincidences lining up.'
Ghislaine studied his tense posture and hummed. "Caution is good, cub. But don't let it rule your life." She stepped closer and poked him in the forehead. "Not all scenarios result from your needs. Just as you walk through a forest and find shelter or sustenance, sometimes you stumble on things. Sometimes other things stumble on you. And for us here in the village with long lifespans and little to do, your presence adds something new. New is interesting."
"And that has nothing to do with curiosity and cats?"
"Perhaps." Ghis responded in amusement. "Felines do like to play, after all."
"Joy." Hei snorted in humor and dropped his guard. Somehow, he just couldn't find the will to be cautious of the woman. Not that he didn't know she could end his life in a blink of an eye, but more that he felt she wouldn't. He felt less danger from her than Kione, let alone Leone or Yoru. "So what's in it for you personally?"
His ribs throbbed as he finished speaking, and he debated his options before discarding his paranoia for more important things, like not puking blood, and summoned his grimoire.
Ghis absently watched him fiddle around with his Sacred Gear as she answered. "I've trained many hunters over the years and developed a keen eye for potential." She eyed him appraisingly. "And I take pleasure in honing it when I see it."
Hei flicked a card into the activation slot. "Shouldn't you have more students then? I doubt you couldn't find someone with potential out there."
"I have my duties." She replied simply. "I have a responsibility to the village, as well as to the reason we Yokai are here in the first place."
Hei's finger paused on the activation button as he sent her a questioning look. "Reason? I thought you were all just living here because of the nature hotspot."
Ghis gave him a thoughtful nod. "Mn, there is more to it than that, but that's not the focus of this conversation." She shook her head softly and repeated her earlier point. "I wish to take you as a student. Do you accept?"
Hei clicked his tongue at his diversion to save time getting cut through. 'It's not like I don't want to learn from her, but what's the point? I already have Yoru and Leone, not to mention the old man. How many teachers am I supposed to have?'
Outwardly he sighed and responded while pressing the button, causing a soft white light to begin forming next to him. "What kind of potential do you see in me anyway?"
"An apex hunters." Her answer was swift and confident, again cutting into any form of resistance he had to it and making him look away with a slight flush.
"You really think that?"
"Mn. But you're sloppy." She replied ruthlessly, banishing his good feelings as the white light hardened.
"Excuse me? I'm a professional assassin."
"And you're sloppy." She repeated as the white light finally formed into a familiar sleazy raccoon in a business suit.
"Ah~! Our most esteemed customer. How may Oscar be of service today?" Oscar, the trash panda, flashed shiny white teeth and rubbed his paws together excitedly.
Hei held up a hand to shush him as he turned to Ghis. "What do you mean by that? I have a perfect track record."
Ghis's pupils thinned to slits as she locked onto the raccoon, yet her voice was still cool and calm. "Perhaps with humanoid creatures. However, I witnessed your fight against the adolescent rock snake. You have no knowledge of fighting magical species. No experience with non-humanoid creatures. And your weapons were useless."
"Er…customer…." Oscar raised a paw uneasily.
Hei ignored him again. "My weapons are a work in progress, but I still killed it. It died, and I lived. What's the problem?"
Oscar backed away from the pressure Ghis unconsciously let off. "Customer, I do not feel safe."
Ghis thumbed her scabbard idly and licked her lips with predatory intent. "You did. The method does not matter as long as you stand alive and well at the end. But that was nothing but a few months old child, the adult that came after would not have fallen for the same trick you pulled. You have many tools and skills, but you ignore your animal instincts. There is no harmony between your varied skills."
"I was taught to remain calm, controlled, and act with logical thought. To use what I needed when I needed it. Instinct interferes with that." Hei replied cooly. He had let go of his slight arrogance after getting trashed by Leone and Yoru in short order, but damn it, he had pride in his professional skills.
"Not as much as you think." Ghis shot him an amused look and pointed to the sweating trash panda, who looked like he was a second away from bolting. "What made you reveal your Sacred Gear abilities to me just now? You were far more cagy about these cards of yours yesterday."
Oscar felt so offended by her comment that he switched from extreme fear to an insulted posh British accent in a heartbeat. "Good heavens, I am a professional, madam. Not a card."
Hei paused and eyed the raccoon wiping his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief, and hid his sadistic amusement as he considered her question. "Because I feel no danger from you." His eyes dilated as her point came across just then.
"And what part of that was logical."
"…it wasn't."
Ghis smirked triumphantly and went on. "Instinct is not only honed in combat. Instinct is our sixth sense as animals, honed through millions of years of evolution. Instinct is not about acting without logic; it's simply another sense that can be trained like anything else. When one projects killing intent, it is done through mana, but it is felt by others through instinct, through their sixth sense."
"That….oddly makes sense." He mused and looked at her. "And you could train me in it?"
"I can." She nodded as her sole eye locked onto him like an X-ray seeing all his hidden depths. "You have trained for combat against humanoids; it's easy to see in your movements when you fight. Your first teacher set the foundation and allowed you to grow along the most efficient path to teach you his skills. But you are not focusing on that path alone any longer." She raised both hands, pointing with her left toward the palm of her right, slowly moving up to the tip of her pointer finger with her others closed. "This is your first path, the skillset of an assassin." She moved back to her palm and extended her middle finger. "Yoru's body forging methods will strengthen the structure of that foundation, along with giving you a new path to grow." She extended her ring finger then. "Leone is opening you up to the unseen. Allowing you to direct your magical growth and see possible threats." Her pinky finger extended. "Your Sacred Gear offers you another path to grow." She lowered her hands when she saw the point registered to Hei. "So, already, you have four paths before you, splitting your attention in four directions at once. And as a result, there is no harmony."
Hei listened attentively as she evaluated him. "Harmony?"
"Mn." Ghis raised her hands again, pointing to her extended fingers. "There is no harmony between the paths. You have too many skills. Too many draws on your time. If you continue as you are, you will not reach your full potential." She made a face like she imagined something appalling. "To see such potential squandered like that is…unpleasant." Her gaze locked onto him with an intense glow. "And that is why I focus on survival. Through survival, what is needed and unneeded becomes obvious. Through survival, the weak are snuffed out. And through survival." Her fist shot forward with a howl of wind, stopping an inch before Hei's eyes. "We combine all that we have into one harmony and grow far beyond what separate paths could allow us to reach."
Hei's blown back hair slowly fell back to its natural place as he unflinchingly stared at the fist. "And you could teach me that?"
Ghis grunted in agreement as she slowly took back her fist. "I can. I can show you how to hone your instinct, survive off the land without magic or tools, combine all the pieces into one, and become the apex predator your potential shows me you can be."
The sheer confidence in her tone told Hei all he needed to know about her ability to do that. "I see…if I said yes, where would we start?"
"With your weapons." Her eyes fell to the pistols holstered at his side. "I admit I have not studied up on mortal modern weaponry enough to help, but I have mastered many styles and can see many shortcomings."
Hei could only shrug at that. "It's not like I didn't try other weapon styles. It was one of the first things my teacher tested me on. And since I had far more talent for marksmen-style weapons than swords and such, he encouraged me to make my own path forward."
"As he should have." Ghislaine hummed at that. "I don't expect you to change your style at this point, you are far too set in stone for that, but there is much that needs to be improved."
"I told you I have plans for that." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You all have made it perfectly clear how useless my weapons are beyond Low-Class enemies, but I need time to experiment and produce something better."
The Amazonian woman's tail waved through the air in clear interest. "I believe I can help with that." She flicked the scabbard of her katana. "I dabbled in smithing for a time. If forging is the issue, you have my attention."
Hei's eyes lit up. "Well, if your offering…" His ribs throbbed just then and reminded him of his current state. "Ugh, one sec." He turned to find Oscar and realized that during Ghis's speech, the trash panda somehow built a fort into a tree as far away as possible from Ghislaine as he could manage without leaving the clearing he was summoned into. "Oi, get over here, Oscar."
The agent's furry head stuck up over the ramparts of his fort. "Customer, I will remind you I am a real estate agent, not a food supply."
Hei's brow twitched at the cowardly creature. "She's not going to eat you. Who knows what kind of things you have digging through."
"That's a stereotype!" Oscar shouted back heatedly and climbed down. "My diet is perfectly healthy; I am a vegetarian."
"So your meat would be lean then?" Ghis hummed thoughtfully as Oscar froze mid-step, having forgotten about the reason he was afraid.
"Uh…er….customer was correct. I am a trash panda. I eat nothing but trash. I take medicine for the parasites in my liver."
Hei found it amusing to see Ghis's ears droop in disappointment. "Ok, enough messing around. Oscar set up the standard environmental unit. I want it placed in the center of the clearing, where that indent is from a boulder I pulled up earlier. Make it around 8,000 square feet, with the insides divided as such…" He trailed off as he quickly laid out the floor plan he wanted. After doing it half a dozen times, he already knew how to best take advantage of Oscar's capabilities.
Oscar listened and nodded along, asking slight questions about preferences before they finalized it.
"And leave the extra room section empty; I'll decide on the last amenity before the timer runs out."
"Right away, dear customer." Oscar got to work without any sleazy comments, although Hei was pretty sure that had more to do with Ghis hovering behind the woodland creature menacingly rather than it being a professional courtesy.
Hei hummed as the new safehouse was built. 'I can sense the new draw on my mana more clearly than before. Interesting, I should make a note to focus on this with Leone's lessons. Maybe I can do more with my Sacred Gear than I originally thought.'
Oscar bid him adieu the second the job was complete, and Hei quickly made his way down the ladder, followed by Ghis.
"And this is?" She asked curiously as she looked around.
"My new home." Hei waved a hand lazily and pushed open the inner door. "You're the first I've ever let inside my safehouses. Please don't spread it around."
"You have my word." Ghis responded calmly, yet her serious tone made it clear she took his request seriously.
Hei sent her a small smile for that. "I believe you." And he really meant it. Ghis was just that type of charismatic person.
The two walked into the new space, coming out at an elevated position to see a large rectangular cavern well-lit with interior lighting. The area was split down the middle, with the left side having a sizeable rocky arena and the right having been divided into four rectangular sections cut into the flooring.
The farthest rectangle, toward the back against the wall, had a house already standing.
The following three spaces were left empty for the time being.
"Hm, very quant." Ghis commented as she followed behind. "Do you plan to train in here?"
"Yeah. I have another place I used to train in, but seeing as I can't just teleport in or out of the village easily, it's easier to set up a new one here." Inwardly he mused about even using the other one. 'There's no need for a training field in two places; besides, my gardener Joy has been eyeing that plot of land enviously for a while now.'
Among the six safehouses he had set up so far, his second one, The Garden, was split in half between fertile lands for gardening and half for a training field like the one he was in currently. 'I'm sure she'll be happy to know she can begin her expansion plans now.' Hei recalled when he stumbled on her in a construction helmet with complete diagrams of where she wanted things to go pinned to a bulletin board. He had never seen a panda blush before, but when she found him standing there, she lit up with color and calmly put everything away.
It was adorable.
He shook his head with a chuckle and waved a hand at an open plot. "I'm thinking of using my extra amenity to set up a smelting station here."
Hei didn't hide his earlier conversation with Oscar from Ghis, and it clued her into what was possible with his card.
Ghis's sole eye sparkled at that. "I see. Is that why you brought me in here?"
"More or less." He lazily waved a hand. "I do trust you, oddly enough as it is, but I'm kinda on a timer right now; I only have another hour or so until I can't change any of the safehouse settings anymore. So I was hoping you could customize the smelter better than I could."
"You have my attention."
Hei smirked at the eager-looking woman and removed a card from his grimoire before floating the book over to the woman. "The second rectangular plot here is the land you have available. Feel free to customize the options."
The grimoire page was set to the Smelter option, and Ghislaine studied the options presented curiously. "And what will you be doing?"
"Bathing." He tossed the card in his hand into the third plot of land right before the timer ended, and the area around it terraformed into a steaming hot spring. "I think Yoru cracked one of my ribs, and it's putting pressure on my spleen."
Ghis raised a brow at him. "….And you walked here from the village?"
"Don't look at me like that; this is how I heal." He tore off the remains of his shirt and tossed it aside with his boots before stepping into the water. "This one is called 'Volcanic Healing Springs,' good for slowly healing non-permanent damage and promoting healthy skin."
"I see." Ghis held her chin thoughtfully and looked away from the water to focus on her new toy. "A useful tool."
Hei just hummed in reply as he sunk into the water, internally groaning in relief as the healing effect immediately took hold, soothing the aches through his body as his internal healing factor sped up.
Ghislaine meanwhile went through the options for a smelter with a critical eye, swapping out settings like a pro after only moments of adjusting to the grimoire's system. "Are you planning on using molds for ammunition?"
"Yeah. That's why I wanted a smelter instead of a forge. Easier to work in larger quantities this way."
"You will have to create the molds separately."
"I know. Can you show me how to do it later?"
"Gladly." Ghis nodded at her choices. "Do I confirm it?"
"Yeah, it'll go into effect right away."
She pressed the button and backed away quickly as the second rectangular plot of land terraformed before her eye.
A large smelter rose out of the ground in the shape of a mound, like an oval volcano, with a series of circular pools to filter metals, eventually ending in a funnel to pour the molten metal outward into prepared molds. "Convenient."
"I know, right?" Hei floated peacefully in the water. "I can only get one extra amenity per safehouse, but it can take many different forms."
"Mn. And according to the description, you can use mana to heat up the smelter. It will be useful for the more heat-resistant metals out there."
Hei winced at that point. "I might ask for your help. My mana pool isn't that large at the moment."
Ghis chuckled at that and walked over to the water, sitting down at the edge, and experimentally stuck her feet in. A sound of purring delight echoed from her chest as she answered. "Feel free. I haven't had fun with a smithing project in a good while. Although, don't forget that improving your weapons is only one factor I wish to teach you."
Hei nodded and floated over to the woman. "I know. But that was the first step. Where do we go from there?"
Ghis eyed his floating form curiously. "So you accept my proposal then? You will accept me as a teacher?"
"I wouldn't have brought you down here if I didn't."
"Heh, good." She smirked and kicked her feet idly. "In that case, the next step depends on your goals. Tell me, is there anything you wish to train yourself in, in terms of survival and instinct?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nature has many factors. Cold tundras, hot deserts, humid jungles, there are many environments I will use to hone you. But you may choose where we begin if you have a preference."
"Goals…" The question brought something to mind that had been floating in the back of Hei's brain for a few years now. "You know, I actually do have a goal. It's a small part of the reason I was so quick to accept learning from you."
"Oh?" Ghis's brow rose in interest as Hei re-summoned the grimoire and flipped to a page.
"Check this out." He sent the book over for her to read.
Designated Card #1: Garden of Eden – Enter the primal garden, where many unique endemic species live. You may collect whatever you can carry in the provided bag supplied as long as you make it to the exit. You have 24 hours of real-world time to explore. Enter at your peril. To exit in case of emergency, simply say 'Exit Garden' for instant transmission. Using the emergency exit feature will result in the loss of the contents of your bag. The user may take up to two others with them into the garden.
"And this is?"
"Something that's been out of my reach for a long time." Hei answered seriously. "My Sacred Gear supplies me with many useful abilities, but Card #1 is unique in its feature. It's literally a primitive land filled with resources long since extinct or dried up in the modern world, but those resources are impossible for me to reach. Everything in there, from the weather to the creatures, to plant life and more, has evolved to prey on the weak. Every single time I entered, I was forced to exit within minutes." He grimaced at the memories. "Once because the temperature suddenly dropped from a humid rainforest to below zero. Another time because I was instantly surrounded by a pack of what looked like Velociraptors. And one time, I was even paralyzed by the pollen of a flower, only surviving because it paralyzed my legs first and slowly went up. Each time I go in, I end up being forced to teleport out in minutes, no matter how many times I attempt it."
He sighed as he finished. 'Even if I can only enter once a year, I thought that as I grew, it would get easier. But if anything, it's only gotten harder.'
"So yeah, I was hoping you could…." A spray of water splashed onto Hei's face, and he coughed in surprise before looking up to see Ghis hovering over him with an intense gaze, uncaring of the water soaking her clothes.
"Let me try."
"Uhhh." His intelligent response did nothing to stop her enthusiasm as she grabbed his shoulders and lifted him up to her eye level.
"Let me try it. It sounds fun." Her tail swished through the air, and her ears were pointed straight up as she stared into his soul like a lion staring down a rabbit. "I'll test it out for you."
Hei floundered at being manhandled so easily and tried to look away from Ghis's soul-piercing gaze and fanged grin. 'I never thought I'd see this calm-tempered woman look like a cat hearing a tuna can opening.'
Pain gripped his torso and knocked him from his state. "Ok, ok, just put me back in the water; I'm not done healing."
"Oh, my bad." She gently placed him back down, and he sighed in relief as his flaring wounds were soothed once more.
"You can go in if you want. I decided to stop trying until I could figure out how to increase my odds. I only have one ticket a year, though, so you'll have to make it count."
She nodded severely. "I'll research it thoroughly; you have my word."
Hei sweatdropped at her attitude. "Aren't you a little too excited?"
"I live for the hunt, cub." Her fanged smile said it all, and he could only back down under the pressure she let off. "And the forests around my home have been dull lately."
"Uh…sure. You need to go grab anything?"
"No, a blade is all I need to survive." She gripped the handle of her katana and stood tall. "Send me off."
"Damn, that decisiveness is sexy." Hei couldn't help but think, only to blink as he realized he had said that out loud by the cheeky smirk she sent him.
"Hm." She didn't need to say more by the way she emanated a sense of pride at the compliment.
Hei coughed into his hand and tried to play it off. "Right, well, safe travels, I guess." He activated the card, and a glowing portal appeared before them. "If you want to bring anything back with you, put it in the bag your provided and come back through the portal. If you need to get out immediately, forget the prizes and say, 'Exit Garden.' Nothing in there is worth losing your life over."
"Understood." Ghis stepped through without hesitation, and the portal shrunk to a tiny dot behind her, remaining in place until it was activated from the other side.
Hei blinked as she left and looked down. "That decisiveness really was sexy. And now I have a boner. Thank god this hot spring is self-cleaning…."
An hour passed as he floated and healed peacefully. The water improved skin quality, so he never had to worry about pruned skin from soaking too long. And even without the healing, it felt like floating on a cloud while getting a full body massage, so there wasn't any reason to leave.
At the end of the hour, the portal expanded once more, and Ghislaine came rolling out, oozing bloodlust in waves with the wildest smile Hei had ever seen on anyone until that moment.
He froze in the water, staying absolutely still as the feline took stock of her surroundings and blinked in recognition. Her hair, which had been standing on end, calmed as her posture relaxed and the maniacal smile eased into a soft one.
Her chipped katana slowly slunk back into her scabbard with an audible metallic clink, effectively cutting through the tense air like a hot knife through butter. "That was fun."
Hei let out a breath as the feeling of danger faded. "I bet. You look like shit."
"Just what every woman wants to hear." She mused jokingly and took stock of her bleeding and muddied state. "Does that pool of yours clear poison?"
"Somewhat." Hei waved her over. "If not, I have something else for it."
"Thank you." She dropped her torn rags without a hint of shame as Hei averted his gaze to avoid an awkward incident.
"No problem. Can't have you test my own card and not heal you up afterward."
Ghis slipped into the water quickly and let out a sigh of relief as its magic came into effect. "That's nice."
Hei let out a bark of laughter and closed his eyes to keep relaxing. "That's what I said an hour ago. Let me know if the poison isn't cleared up in a few minutes."
Ghis hummed at that. "An hour, you say?"
"Yeah, did you lose track of time in there?"
"No, the opposite."
Hei looked over in interest, only to avert his eyes with a flush as her chest was on clear display. "What happened in there? What did you learn?"
"Well, for starters." She eyed him with a playful look of mischief as she came up behind him and threw an arm over his shoulder, pulling him flush against the side of her ample chest. Hei tried to manfully focus on her face and was met with an excited gleam in her sole eye, and the following words from her mouth were more heated than he had ever heard from a woman before. "I know where to begin training you."
Chapter End.
AN: There are many of you that deserve a response for your reviews. I can't get to them right now, but just know I see them, and I appreciate all the kind words and your interests in this story.
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