Home Again

[Ensui]

The questions Kit had asked were never answered. The last few moments in the swamp were soon forgotten as he felt his whole body submerged in water. Water that was clean and fresh. Confused, he looked up toward what he thought was the surface. The water was clear enough, he could make out an aquatic sky. These actions had been brief, broken by a pressure around his waste. Looking down, Kit was still with him. So they had both made it to the same place after all. Ensui smirked, grabbing Kit into his right arm and quickly making his way up. As he broke the surface he took in a fresh breath of air. The oxygen here was considerably cleaner than the swamp and it made him dizzy at first. He was still grateful, however.

“Look. I did it.”

Floating there, he scanned the familiar area. She had indeed made it to the water region. There was no mistaking it. This was a place he had been through many times before, which he considered fortunate. With Kit still held fast in his arm he swam toward the closest bank.

Feeling a little like dead weight, had she fallen unconscious? He frowned. The transportation must have used up whatever she had left. Now what was he going to do with her? He had made it close enough to the edge that he could wade now. Had she really expected him to care for her? He grimaced at the thought. He stepped away from the edge of the lake, leaving it behind him. His and Kits clothes dripped as he picked out a tree to move toward. Now out of the water, the air was brisker than he thought.

He settled Kit's limp body against the tree of his choice. Stepping back, he watched her as he considered his options. His first thought was to leave her. That's what he would have liked to have done. He has home now, and no longer needed her assistance. But something nagged at him. In all honesty, if it wasn't for her, he would still be in the swamp; lost and clueless. He owed her that much.

Eyes turning to slits, he walked off to find wood for a fire. He didn't like being in debt to people. He would at least stay until she was awake, if only to guard her flesh.

~~~

It had become dark quickly, and worst off Kit was still out. The fish Ensui had caught simmered over the fire. The air was still brisk, but Ensui's clothes had dried. The swamp had taken a bit of a toll on him, and he wanted to nod off, but the scent of the cooking fish kept him awake. On the up side, if Kit had failed to gain consciousness, he laid all claims to her portion of the meat. He smiled at this thought, half considering to smother her in her sleep.

[frozentears]

Keiko didn’t want this dreamland she was in to disappear. This was everything in a life that she wanted for so long. These were the things that seemed to be beyond her reach. But something had interrupted this peaceful place that reminded her none of this was real. The person who had taken her beloved sister long ago returned. Only this time he took everything away from her, her sister, husband, and daughter, leaving her once again alone in the darkness. Sitting in the corner of nothing, crying both in tears and aloud. She had just assumed that her life was not meant to be happy. Keiko screamed and screamed asking why it was her life that had been chosen to be miserable and full of pain, but not a single soul heard her.

She cried out asking if her life was meaningless until she could cry no more and couldn’t stand the pain. The pain had taken over her. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn’t take it. She remembered all the good memories that would be no longer. Outside, under the full moon, Keiko saw the cliff and the ocean beyond it. She remembered how it always seemed to cleanse her. As if she was in a daze, Keiko walked out and stared at the inviting water, only wanting the pain to vanish. She walked to the cliff’s edge, staring down into the waves, the breeze on her face, and without further hesitation, walked straight off. Keiko watched as the water came closer and closer and said her goodbyes to the sins of the world and her world faded to black.

Keiko awoke in an instant as soon as she hit the water. Her dream must have shaken her back into reality because the dream faded and the throbbing pain in her head returned. She must of pain alive or death was quite painful. She felt the cool air blow against her. The air was fresh and the only sound that could be heard was that of water whooshing and a crackling of a fire. Where were they? Was there still a ‘they’ or was it just she?

She was leaning against something whether it was a tree or rock was unknown. The last thing she could remember was clutching on to Crescent, looking up at his face, and being hit in water. She never could land in a good place. One thing she did know was that someone or something had taken her out of the water. Her head was still aching. Her body was still terribly weak. On top of all of her previous symptoms, now she had nausea. Keiko didn’t know if it was from not eating for countless hours or from her illness. Her mouth was dry and her clothing was damp. She could feel how drained her powers and energy was.

Keiko fluttered her eyes open. She wanted to know where she had managed to place herself. Her sight was kind of blurry, but she make things out. It was night so must have been out for quite a few hours. The first thing so caught a glimpse of was a bright, blazing fire, which made her highly sensitive eyes water. Then, she was not sure if her heart sunk or leaped, but she saw her traveling companion cozy by the fire, looking as is planning a devious plan and staring at something. He didn’t leave her after all. Maybe he was just there for rest or maybe this was his way repaying her that on puzzled her.

She glanced around for a few seconds, they were near a lake and it seemed like a nice peaceful place to be. She closed her eyes. Keiko thought to herself for a bit. She knew this wasn’t permanent. She wasn’t sure if she should let Crescent acknowledge she was awake, but he did have pretty keen eye so he might have already known. As soon as he knew she was awake, he’d probably seeing that the two of them were now even and she could help herself now.

A few deep coughs had snuck up on her, hurting her chest. She tilted her head toward the fire and opened her eyes. Keiko guessed it was better he knew she was conscious he could leave. After all, the saying was better sooner than later. She went to lift up her head, but her surroundings spun. SO instead, she just resituated herself against the tree that had been propping her weary body in an upright position. Her body was weaker than she thought. She finally came to reality when Keiko realized she might have needed Crescent a little more thought and hoped. There was a huge chance that she wouldn’t even be able to stand up. Fear rushed throughout her. If he did leave, it would leave her helpless, vulnerable, and there was a chance of even death, but then again Crescent didn’t seem to care if she lived or died. He got what he wanted. Right now, she was just his extra luggage.

Another coughing spurt hurt her lungs. Had she been doing this is her sleep too? Keiko was REALLY sick. Her vision had become a little better since she’d been awake. What she was very aware of was the fact that she was cold, very cold. She couldn’t seem to find enough energy to crawl over to the fire and she couldn’t even seem to locate her BO. Had she lost it? Forgotten it? Where was it?

“…Crescent…”

The word was almost inaudible, but what could you expect?

“…I do not care… if you leave me here… alone. It is my own damn fault…I am sick…I am sure… you have better things to do…. instead of being here…. of sick, weak me…”

With that said, she was sure he’d leave, Keiko really didn’t want him to go, but she hated being a burden to someone. Keiko took off her plum colored robe to use as blanket. It was damp, but better than nothing. She closed her eyes hoping to open them in the morning with Crescent still there.