An Awkward Book Hunt

[hamnat]

When the girl left the room, Shenjara suddenly felt...less. She didn't care as much as when the girl was there, as though the girl was eliciting those feelings which she had forgotten for so long. Her mind was suddenly clear and focused, albeit shaky because of Arajnehs permanent chaotic drive. What was I here for again? As though to shatter the brief sense of self-control, Uh..being a bitch? Wake up, no-brain! You were here to shut me up, remember?

She suddenly remembered and let Arajnehs snide comment slide; she would save it as ammunition for later. She sat at the table, which probably made of oak and had a banzai tree in the center. "Yes, we are here on the recommendation of a former associate of mine who said you would be able to help me. I'll go ahead and get straight to it because otherwise the problem will rear her ugly little head." Taking a sip of the tea she'd just been served, she paused and told the girl thank you. The smell of the tea seemed to block out the pheromones because the girl's presence wasn't affecting her like before.

"It would seem I am no longer in control of my mind. It is being held hostage by someone else: someone who is very hostile towards me, and I cannot rid myself of her. She has been reeking havoc on my mind for months now. It wasn't much trouble to begin with, but she's been becoming more and more vicious. I haven't slept in days and I've rarely had a moment of happiness or inspiration in two weeks." She took a break here to sip her tea some more and allow the information to sink in. She took a deep breath before continuing, "As I was saying, she's been destroying me as a person. My two companions will hardly even look at me, let alone talk to me anymore; I've snapped at them and been cynical and condescending almost every day because of this. I'm honestly surprised they are still within a city of me."

And if I have MY way, they won't want to be anywhere on the same continent when I'm done with you. Oh wait, I never will be done! Arajnehs cackled horridly inside her mind. Shenjara continued to ignore her. "This is the part where you come in. According to my associate, you have an ancient book that teaches the practice of complete meditation. It is said that with this book, a person can control both their mind and body with full strength and hold. I would be willing to do whatever you ask of me to get this book." Shenjara took another sip, savoring the flavor which was a little bitter but pleasant anyways. She felt it go down her throat and rest inside her stomach where it made her whole body feel at ease. Her muscles relaxed, her mind eased, and her heart slowed a little. It's a good tea...no matter what YOU may say, Araj.

[Kishurin]

Kishurin's mind was ablaze with confusion. Something about that girl made him feel light-headed. He could hear his heart beating in his chest and tingling sensation all over his body. He'd never felt this combination of feelings before. He quietly followed the others to the table and sat down. The girl came out just as Shenjara started speaking and poured everyone a cup of tea.

As she came by to pour his cup with the bitter tea, he inhaled softly. There was a scent there that was appealing to his nose, making him feel funny all over. He was giddy with the smell of this girl next to him. It seemed forever passed while she poured his tea. He was almost certain she'd poured his slowly on purpose. What is this? Is this the feeling humans and elves call "love"? No...It couldn't be...

He watched her moving in the corner of his eye as she bent to pour Mac's tea. Her form seemed so delicate, like a lily in bloom. Kishurin couldn't help but feel like the ronin was watching him, so he hung his head a little to conceal his eyes and watched the girl more while she sat on the other side of Mac. She's so...what's the word? Awe-inspiring. No...that's not it... He didn't really care about the word though, so he dropped the though right there. What he cared more about was that he was sure she was stealing glances at him, too.

[Tsukiko]

I stayed quiet as I sipped the tea and occasionally glanced at Kishurin and even smiled at him before turning away, blushing. Right now I had nothing to do but sit there and listen. Shenjara needed a special book from mom and Ki seemed to know what book.

“I do have a book on meditation. By the great monk Zu but I don’t think it’s what you want.” Ki looked serious for a moment. “While the book you want is by Zu but the man that gave me this book said it wasn’t the legendary book of the Great Void. That is the book that you want and there’s only one copy.”

I was surprised to hear that mom knew a lot about such a rare book. Not that she didn’t read but all I knew that she had been books about adventure and poetry. Ki loved Poetry but really was a terrible poet. I’ve heard some of mom’s poems and they made anyone cringe.

“I do think I know where the book is. There’s an old monastery that Zu lived at and it had fallen to Oni after he had died. If the book was anywhere, then it’d be there. But it won’t be easy to get in.” Ki drank a bit of her tea, she looked a bit grim as she looked at the trio.

I was feeling a little different now. No longer did I want to be alone. I wanted to be alone with Kishurin. But it felt like he was going beyond my grasp to go and fight with the demons for the book and for his friend. Were they more than friends? I was starting to get jealous at that thought. No, I didn’t want to lose him yet, I was sure that his looking at me was more than just thinking I’m cute.

I had to act. “I’ll go with them. That way it’ll be sure they’ll be safe.”

Mom’s ears stood strait up as she was staring at me. “Honey, are you sure? You’re not in the condition to go out to such a battle. You know you are . . . ”

I wanted to crawl in a corner. I knew she would say I was in heat, but I didn’t want Kishurin to know, not yet. “Please mom, I’m better now. That tea helped and you know I’m good with a sword.”

Ki looked at me hard and was probably thinking of sending me to my room but then she relented with her ears flattened. “Well it’s up to you. Don’t do anything stupid now. I know you’re a woman now and go on adventures and make your own way but please think of me before you get your self in trouble.” I hated the way her voice had the weariness of defeat in it. But I wanted to be with Kishurin now. It was the only thing going good for me now.

[hamnat]

Shenjara wasn't too keen on the girl coming with them. She was, after all, quite young, and she was ill too. The girl was insistent to her mother, however, so Shenjara figured it wasn't worth the effort and said, "You are a renowned ronin, Miss Doji. I'm sure your daughter will be able to handle herself. We will all be in good hands, together." She looked over at Tsukiko and with a smile, said, "we would be honored to have you accompany us."

She looked over at Kishurin, who didn't seem to have any objections to her statement. Mac looked a bit uncertain, but she flashed him a look that said, "Just go with it." Apparently, he caught it and let it slide. Shenjara returned her attention to Ki. "Thank you very much, Miss Doji. If we get through this in one piece, I will be deeply indebted to you. We will keep your daughter as safe as we can, though I'm pretty certain she'll be saving us more often than not."

I really hate you... Arajnehs was whining again. I told you she would help. She might not have the book with her, but she knows where it is. Besides, at least she's not teaching me how to disembowel you with my bare hands. She put as much sarcastic emotion on that last sentence as she could. Arajnehs only said, I-I...uh... before being silent again. That's how I thought you'd feel. You are learning well, hehe.

[Axeheart]

Mac really was not certain of a young girl in her state going with them to battle apparently powerful monsters. He was going to protest, but he saw Shenjara give him a look that clearly was telling him to shut up. He didn't want to have another row with her, so he conceded defeat and let the matter go.

Mac didn't really let it go, but thought a little about Shenjara. She really wasn't much older than Tsukiko was. An' if ye coun' her elven blood in there, she migh' jus' be younger than the other lass...An' well, she is an well-known ronin's daugh'er. I s'ppose she woul'n't be too much trouble... After thinking about it like that, it was probably the best thing for them. If they did encounter something dangerous, she could be there standing next to him, beating back the enemy. Everythin' 'ill be alrigh'. Don' sweat i'.

Mac stood up and went over to the young girl. He held his hand out and said, "My name's Mac Axhart, a smith an' a warrior, which is probly obvious based on my appearance, isn't i'?" Migh' as well make a formal introduction if we're gonna be travlin' together.

[Tsukiko]

“It’s good to be by your side, Mr. Mac. I promise that I won’t get in the way.” I bowed and grabbed my blades. Somehow they gave me a bit of comfort. I might be in heat but I still could be very mean with a blade.

It was a good thing that they were going to take me along. Not only was I going to get out of the house, I got to be with Kishurin too. I smiled at the gang, mostly Kishurin and even had the bravery to wink at him. My tail was swishing hard and my mom watched it.

“I won’t stop you but if it’s too dangerous, run away. That’s for all of you.” Ki said with worry mostly for me but for my new friends as well.

“I know mom. You said that when I first left.” I giggled and hugged her. It felt far too good when our bodies touched and the way her breasts touched mine sent tingles through my body was too much. I really felt guilty and was both disappointed and glad that we let go. “I’ll make you proud.” I reassured her that I wouldn’t do anything stupid. Though I really wasn’t sure if I could resist doing anything stupid as far as Kishurin was concerned.

I strode out into the night air of the outside. Again the Chill felt great and made me shiver as we left into the forest. I always loved the spring nights in my home. The woodlands were cool and quiet but not too cold and there weren’t any bugs out to annoy me.

While walking I found my self gravitating to the blue haired love. With the way I felt it could have been love. I smiled into his lovely jet eyes that seemed to swallow me in. “I know I haven’t said much to you.” I was now shivering from nerves and not the night air. “But I think I really like you a lot. Like . . . ” I wanted to say love at first sight but I stopped. Shenjara and Mac were there and I didn’t know how they would act. I probably gave it away already but nonetheless I couldn’t complete my thought and only blush.

[Kishurin]

After a heartfelt farewell between the mother and daughter, Tsukiko prepared to leave with them. There were a few "thank you"s here and there and the four of them left together, Shenjara in front, Mac behind her with his hand on the pommel of his sword, and Kishurin with his hands in his pockets. Tsukiko wasn't very far behind him and was getting closer with every minute. He could feel her eyes drilling holes in him. A strong desire flowed from her, a passionate desire that couldn't be sated.

Kishurin couldn't help but blush as he thought about her reactions to him. He almost jumped out of his skin when she told him that she liked him. That's no normal "liking"...I think she's actually falling for me...or whatever it is that humans say here. He turned his head to look at her. She was a deep shade of red, one to rival turnips. His voice faltered and he also blushed as he said, "Oh, that's really nice. I...like you too, Tsukiko...we can be good friends, ok?" Somehow Kishurin got the feeling that wasn't the response she was looking for.

[hamnat]

Shenjara hadn't wasted much time in the ronin's house after their conversation. A few formalities, some friendliness, and a good farewell was pretty much it. They were on the pathway Ki had pointed out to them. It was quite overgrown, which was believable since, according to Ki, it hadn't been used in decades. Somehow, though, the path had remained distinguishable. Mac was right behind her, Kishurin behind him, and their blush-prone ward was behind him.

Shenjara's ears picked up something that shocked her and Arajnehs to the core. "I really like you..." Oh my goodness...it's so adowable!! Don't you t'ink so too, bitch? Shenjara cringed and sent a wave of hatred at Arajnehs. I swear if you call me "Bitch" again, I will personally dismember you. More silence. It seems you've been making incredible progress today, Araj. Well done. There was no cynical retort, which pleased her immensely. Still though...they've just met. They don't even know anything about each other yet...Does this have anything to do with what Ki was referring to earlier?

She looked back and saw the two of them, both as red as beets. Mac seemed to be doing a great job at keeping his reserve, but she could tell he was finding the show terribly entertaining. She looked back at the path and just barely missed hitting her head on a low branch. For some reason, she felt a small pit in her stomach. What is with this? The others don't seem to be reacting badly to the tea, so it's not that...I can't think of anything... She heard Arajnehs chuckling in her head. You know, this time, I think I WILL keep my mouth shut. You can figure it out on your own. Shenjara was frustrated. It was the worst time Arajnehs could have refused to speak her mind.

[Axeheart]

Mac kept his mouth shut the whole time. He had nothing to say other than his name. With that out of the way, he kept to himself. Once they got on the road though, he could almost taste the awkwardness behind him. Listening to the two of them was like watching two cats play with a mouse. This is absolutely hilarious! Two li'l 'uns infatuated wi' each other. I's so sweet! Hahaha!

Mac almost choked when he tried to hold his laughter back. Luckily, he didn't seem to draw any attention from the other two. The path they were walking on was very erratic. It was wide here, narrow here, there was a tree in the way here, etc. It was also starting to get dark. They'd been walking for a while and the sun had already gotten low. Mac looked at Shenjara. She was quietly walking up in front, probably engaging Arajnehs in another mental battle. Th' poor lass...If there was someone in my 'ead...well...i'd be pre'y bad... Mac pitied her. She faced the hardest trial out of them all.

[Tsukiko]

Disappointment had bitten me hard. Kishurin had only wanted to be friends with me. I did want to be friends with him but I needed to be more. My body cried out with sensations of desire. I needed Kishurin as more than just a friend. I needed him.

The cool night air was of little comfort as it stimulated my body and made my nipples hard and sensitive to even just wearing a kimono. It just didn’t seem right to be so close and to want someone so much but to have him in my grasp.

I needed to work quickly, for I didn’t know how I could fight with my body acting up like this. I needed to do something to get Kishurin tonight and before we would fight the Oni. I looked to the beautiful ranger and then to his companion. I needed for us to stop. “Hey!” I called out to get everyone’s attention. “We should camp and rest until morning before we get to close. Oni are quite dangerous and we need to be in top shape for any fighting with them.” My tail was twitching like mad and my heart pulsed so hard I could feel every throb throughout my body.

I really hoped that they would set up camp. It was only my first move in getting Kishurin. I would also have to get him away from the companions so we could be alone. I would really hate to see how mom would act if either Shen or Mac told my mother. My bottom would be cherry red for a while if Ki got wind what I was plotting to do.

While I prayed for stopping with one part of my mind the other sized up the prize. Kishurin was a pretty man, very young looking and his skin looked as soft as mine. I wanted to feel his hands all over me and to have my lust sated. Oh, I felt like I had a fever all over my body and it clashed with the chill night air to keep me focused on the funny feelings of being in heat. This whole mess would be worth it if I could just get Kishurin.