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Chapter Sixteen - Kincho Dragonfly
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Nothing would stop Nina.
If the thief could pounce high into the air then Nina was no less. On her was a gun and swiftly she removed it from her holster. From below, she fired a few rounds at Kunimitsu's feet. Not like a frantic sharpshooter but as a cunning assassin.
The Japanese woman cursed as the bullets hit her armoured boots. She was running out of trees to hop on and next was the pond. It wasn't a problem for her but it would stop the blonde lady from shooting at her! She thanked the night for making her able to dodge Nina's aims otherwise she could have been shot fatally! The lady knew how to use a gun!
In the dark, Nina ran into the lotus pond while chasing Kunimitsu. The thought of her claddagh ring falling into the pond, never to be recovered sent goosebumps all over her. Her stomach churned. Kunimitsu turned around in the air and was shocked to see the blonde in the lotus pond.
"All this for a ring?!" She yelled.
"Give it back to me!" Nina demanded, the water rising to her waist.
Damn it was stupid but in her anger, Nina forgot to be sensible. The pond was cold and it was also trying to pull her deeper, legs being tangled in lotus vines and the murky water beneath.
"Wait, stop! Any further and you will drown!" Kunimitsu told Nina. She sighed. Her teleporting powers made it seem she was walking on water. She approached Nina and extended her hand. Nina slapped it and demanded for her precious ring.
Kunimitsu grabbed her wrist and tugged the stubborn blonde woman out of the water.
She teleported Nina out of the water and back onto the ground. Disorientation was written all over her face.
"Shit!" Kuni cursed as they landed on grass.
Nina's legs were so cold that she had gotten into shock. A glowing sword out of nowhere made itself seen and was pointed at Kunimitsu's neck.
"Return what you stole." A weird alienlike voice commanded.
Admist her shock, Nina narrowed her eyes at the owner of the sword. He was dressed like a dragon fly, wings just as glowing green as their sword.
Jin was surprised to see a walking dragonfly behind the door. The Claddagh ring and Nina were delivered to him and she was shivering under a blanket. Jin ran her a hot bath and sorted out new clothes for her which meant her underwear too. He shyly placed her bra and her panties on the bed as she soaked in the hot bath. He used the Epsom salt that was in the bathroom to help her relax.
Your wife fell into the lotus pond, Yoshimitsu said to him. She's very cold and needs your attention.
Why she, a skilled demon hunter had fallen into the lotus pond was unanswered. Did she see a monster? Was it Ogre?
Nina emerged in a towel, skin flushed from the hot bath. Her blonde hair damp. Cheeks rosy. Jin got up from the bed and turned around to give her some privacy.
He heard her towel slip off. Jin's eyes widened.
Nina Williams was naked and she was only a couple of feet away from him. She said nothing as she began to change.
"Are you completely clothed now?" Jin asked.
"I am."
Jin swallowed and then turned around. She was clothed, he let out a sigh of relief. Not that he wasn't attracted to her, he wouldn't touch a woman he wasn't committed to. It went against his morals. If they were really married, oh he would be a husband to her….
"What happened out there? Did Ogre show up?"
"No Ogre didn't show up."
Another sigh of relief. As much as he wanted to defeat the monster, he wasn't prepared for a loss.
"Where is my ring?" She frantically looked around the room.
"It's here." He went to the desk and got it for her.
Nina smiled at him before gently talking the ring. They sat down on the bed together.
"Kunimitsu stole my ring, I chased her and I ended up in the pond." Nina recapped. "Yoshimitsu made her give me back my ring."
He was surprised Kunimitsu would do such a thing, she seemed to be kind towards him. Jin just thought that kindness would extend to a woman who was known as his wife too.
"I'm glad you're okay and you got your ring back." Jin earnestly said. "But for me, your wellbeing and safety is more important than the ring. I wouldn't have been mad at you."
"I know." Nina said softly. "However since it was from you, I couldn't just do nothing."
He looked at her and wished that they were a couple. A real one. But he'd never ask unless she gave him a sign.
They both looked at the ring before Nina put it on. She turned the heart inwards and slipped it on a finger of her right hand.
Nina found Kunimitsu chopping vegetables in the kitchen, to her surprised. After last night, she thought the leader would expel the woman from the village. Yet here she was. Perhaps the woman knew how to sweeten deals and convince the leader to spare her. Yet, maybe cutting vegetables was the punishment. She watched the lady scoop up chopped up carrots into a pot.
"Why did you save me?" Nina asked Kunimitsu.
"C'mon." Kunimitsu rolled her eyes. "I'm the reason why you and your little crew have a space in this Manji village. In a way you're my guests. Can't just let any of you die."
"But you could steal from them instead. Great logic."
In all her twenty two years of living, Kunimitsu never met a woman who was similar to her in nature. The sarcasm, the love of purple and the same taste in men. Sure there were some ninja women around but they had different personalities. They were too different from Kunimitsu who always sort of felt alone. She wanted Nina to be the one who approached her for a conversation first. She got it.
Kunimitsu chuckled. "It's not fun until you do a little thieving here and here. It's in my nature."
"Are you sure it isn't because you actually respect me?" Nina queried.
"If I said I respect your little sister more, would you believe me?"
"I honestly wouldn't care if that were true." Replied the blonde. "She needs it more than I do anyway."
"So I see. You two are quite the sisterly pair. Scarlet and Violet. Hot and Cold. Red and Blonde. Your parents much have hand such a handful."
"Thanks for the observation."
"I wish I had a sister growing up. Only having an elder half-brother is lonely." Kunimitsu revealed. "You're lucky. Does your husband tell you that?"
"What he tells me is only between us." Nina said.
"Of course, after all you risked your life to save his token of love."
"Is Yoshimitsu your brother?" Nina asked.
"The Kincho Dragonfly? God no." Kunimitsu rolled her eyes.
The reaction was surprising. Although the ninja was eccentric with a creepy voice, he made sure Nina got her ring back and that some ninjas tended to her. They even accompanied her back to the hut she shared with Jin.
"Is he your lover?"
Kuni swiftly replied. "He's not my type. He secretly asked me out and I flatly refused. He's still salty about that.."
Nina couldn't believe she was doing this. Making conversation with the elusive thief. They were talking like they were friends. Weird.
"My half-brother is still in Tottori with his wife. Heard he flung himself knee deep into one of the sand dunes during a duel with another ninja leader."
"I can tell you're close." Nina replied sarcastically.
The Japanese woman chuckled. "By the way, don't worry, I won't go after your ring again."
"Good."
"Be careful though, if you neglect your sexy husband, I may just steal him from under your nose." Kuni teased. "The sexy devlish angel."
The Kincho Dragonfly was found this evening balancing on his sword. Nina, Jin, Anna and Hwoarang were new to these strange shenanigans. In a span of a second, he was now sitting crossed legged, moving the sword up and down like a prayer of some sort. Then, he was using his cursed sword like a helicopter blade.
"Motherfucker actually levitates from the ground!" Hwoarang exclaimed.
"Shhh!" Anna pressed a finger to his lips. "You'll get us caught."
He suddenly appeared in front of them and with one hand, took a hold of Hwoarang's wrist. The Korean grabbed Anna's wrist, pleading her to anchor him. When that didn't work, Nina grasped her sister's wrist to stop her from floating.
Even she couldn't keep her feet on the ground!
Jin then reached out and held her other hand.
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