Chapter Three

Chapter 3

The girl could smell the sickly in the air. She could feel the aura of injured souls and heard the sounds of people scurrying from place to place. She slowly opened her eyes and she was in the place she knew she would be in. She was in the infirmary.

She could feel that the wound she had received earlier had already healed itself and she also sensed that her thirst had been diminished. She didn't understand how but an IV in her wrist told her the answer. She could hear the slow drip of the blood and could feel it coursing into her own bloodstream.

She stared at it for a few moments before she ripped it out and climbed off of the bed. She looked around the room when her eyes fell on her sword and sandals in a corner of the room. She floated across the room to them and quickly put them back in their rightful places.

She double checked herself to make sure she had everything and then headed straight for the door. She threw it open and made her way through the halls. She paid close attention to the nurses that passed her but none of them even glanced in her direction. She looked puzzled, unable to explain why they didn't see her as a threat after the commotion she had caused yesterday. She pondered about it but she figured that it benefited her more this way as she came to the exit.

She slid the door open and stepped outside where she was met by a ray of sunshine that blinded her. She put her hand up to fight off the sunshine and slowly drifted into the streets with the rest of the crowd. She made her way towards the edge of town when she felt something pull on her.

She subtly shifted her head so she could see behind her but no one was behind her. She felt the tug again and she could tell that it wasn't tugging on her physically but mentally. She ignored it and kept walking for the outskirts of the village.

The tug was consistent and she took note of its presence as she turned the corner of the main path of the village. The other path she had turned down was void of people and she could see the forest a couple of yards away from the end of the street, but a figure stood, blocking her path to salvation.

She kept up her pace and tried to identify what kind of person the figure was as she got closer and closer. It's back was to her so she couldn't fully assess the figure but she felt she had a pretty good guess when she came to a stop.

The figure could feel her there and turned around to meet her gaze. Recognition hit her and she identified the figure as Ren.

“I knew I would find you here,” he spoke lightly.

She glared at him in disbelief and couldn't grasp the meaning behind his sentence.

He chuckled to himself and began to close the distance between them. “Well I guess you were probably going to try to leave but I can't let you do that,” he said with absolutism as he stopped a few feet away from her and smiled.

She didn't say a word and snarled in response.

He raised his hands as a truce not meaning to offend her. “Easy, easy. You should be a little more nice to your Master.”

Her snarl grew louder and more viscous at his comment.

“I don't want to fight with my new partner, but you are mine. The collar says so.” He lowered one of his hands to point at her neck.

She instantly took recognition of the newly acquired weight around her neck and her hand automatically wrapped itself around it. Anger pooled through her body and she was ready to rip the man to shreds.

“Hey, hey. Calm down now. The collar just helps us connect since were not officially a pair yet. I'm sure you're not used to it yet but I know you can feel my presence inside of you,” he spoke softly but his eyes burned with truth.

The girl shut her eyes to concentrate and she could feel her heart beat and Kurái's, but another one surfaced. She could feel it's calm beating and then she could sense the feelings that didn't belong to her or her Spirit. Her eyes shot open to find Ren smiling at her in victory.

“See. You can sense me just like I can sense you. It's not so bad, right?” She could feel the wave of feelings that he was trying to push on her as he tried to make her sense his sincerity and kindness.

It defeated her will as it washed over her and she could feel herself calm down along with her Spirit. She locked eyes with him and she could feel the connection to him as it resembled her connection to Kurái.

He smiled sincerely at her when something dawned on him. “So, what am I supposed to call my new partner,” he asked curiously.

She hesitated and contemplated whether she should say anything at all. “Ruka,” she spoke reluctantly.

His face seemed to brighten as he played with her name in his head. “Well Ruka, you can call me Ren.”

She nodded her head in response when he grabbed her hand and led her back into the busy main street. “C'mon. There's so much I want to show you,” he said cheerfully.

He led her through all of the shops but Ruka could feel the eyes of the Spirit Wielders on her wherever she went. She could feel the hostility in the air but she forced herself to remain calm for Ren's sake because although she couldn't explain it, she wanted to protect him from anything and everything.

As they flitted through every building inside the village, she felt like there couldn't possibly be any other place that she hadn't seen but Ren pulled her into a restaurant that she didn't recognize. He pulled her towards a booth in the back but horror took over her.

She wanted to wrench herself away from his grip but the shock seemed to paralyze her body as he pulled her towards the familiar scent. They stopped in front of the booth and her eyes fell on the person she knew was going to be there.

“Roo,” Ruka whispered despite the fact that her breathe had left her. She stared at the girl sitting in the booth and the girl returned her look with a smirk.

“Hey Ruka. Haven't seen you in a while,” Roo spoke accusingly. Ruka wanted to say something but her throat felt like it was closing on her. Instead, she stared at the unchanging figure that was Roo and slowly blended in the past with the present.

She still had her massive black sunglasses that rested on top of her wavy honey colored hair. Her pink tank top and black miniskirt still hugged her body tightly and her black high heeled boots were still as shiny as ever. The black ribbon she had gotten as a child was still criss crossed down the lengths of her arms and flowed down to her ankles. Ruka's blend of the past and the present had been completed and she labeled the image as her childhood friend.

They stared each other down when Ren intercepted their stare off and turned her to face a man sitting next to Roo. “Zane,” he said with a smile.

Ruka looked at the one Ren called Zane and mindlessly studied him. She stared at his dirty blond hair and then lowered her gaze to find a brown leather jacket over a baggy white t-shirt. Her search was cut short when Zane chuckled to himself.

“I see you found a mongrel Ren. How many times do I have to tell you? You can do better than that,” Zane mockingly spoke. He directed it at Ruka but she stood there speechless.

“Ruka this is my friend Zane and this is his Spirit Wielder Roo,” Ren said obliviously.

Ruka stood silently and the insults trailed on. “Ren why do you need this thing? Don't you think she'll slow you down,” Roo sneered.

“Don't be like that Roo. She just became my partner so try and accept her. She's new to all of this so she's probably overwhelmed,” Ren defended.

Roo and Zane burst out in laughter and Ruka could feel the hate seep into her skin. The hair on her neck began to bristle when she felt a tight squeeze around her hand. She looked down to find Ren squeezing her hand in reassurance. A subtle smile appeared on her face but no one seemed to notice.

“Why would you want a useless thing like her Ren? You know that she couldn't even do anything right in our village. She's considered a traitor among Spirit Wielders. She'll only bring down your name,” Roo viciously attacked.

Curiosity and surprise crossed Ren's face but it was quickly replaced with seriousness. “Both of you have been my friend since I was little, but I don't want you to speak that way about my partner,” Ren spoke defensively.

Roo and Zane seemed to be taken aback and just gazed at Ren in shock.

“I'll see you guys later,” Ren said with anger and then pulled Ruka out of the restaurant and into the street. They walked through the crowd of people never slowing their pace until they came to the street where they had met that morning.

Ren stopped at the end of the secluded street and pulled her in front of him to face him but she refused to make eye contact with him. She felt too ashamed of her past to look him in the eye as painful memories filmed into her head.

Ren grabbed her arms and demanded her attention as she reluctantly met his eyes. He glared into them as if he was trying to peer inside of her and then he wrapped his arms around her.

Shock struck Ruka as his gesture caught her off guard. Ren raised his hand to rest on the back of her head as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I'm sorry,” he spoke softly.

She didn't say a word and it felt like they had stayed like that for an eternity until he pulled her back so he could look at her face. “Don't take anything that Roo and Zane say to heart. I promise I won't believe anything anyone says unless you tell me yourself. I don't believe anything they say �"”

“It's okay Ren, you don't have to stick up for me like that,” she whispered but turned away from him.

He smiled painfully as he could feel her pain running through his body. He let go of her but held her hand in his as he spoke.

“I didn't bring you back here for no reason,” he said with a small smile. “I showed you my world, now you have to show me yours.”

She met his gaze with a wide eyed stare and he laughed to himself. She looked at him for a few moments before she turned to look at the forest at the end of the street.

Her heart throbbed at the urge of being in her element once again and she unconsciously took a step in its direction. She longed to be alone in the forest again where the sounds of its inhabitants filled her ears, the smells of crisp leaves and fresh air filled her nose, and the rows of endless trees filled her sights. She thought about running away from this nightmare she had plunged herself into. To forget it ever happened and to return to the life she had been living for centuries.

She was ready to leave when she remembered that Ren was by her side. She could feel her hand in his and she could feel the complete trust he gave her. She froze in place as her mind battled against itself.

Ren waited for her quietly and he began to think what he would do if she ran away. He thought about letting her go if it would make her happy when she squeezed his hand in return.

“C'mon,” she spoke gently. “There's a lot I want to show you.” She smiled softly at him before she turned and led him into the forest, into her home.

Author's Note

Tell me what you think :)