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 Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:43 pm
  This is a private roleplay between Jianyu [Kuro-Mizuki] and Yue Lao [Face Your Demons].
Setting:
Outside the Quiet Roads.
Yue Lao and Jianyu meet in the evening to spend time together, but it seems like they're about to entertain some uninvited guests... Will blood be spilled, and whose blood?
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:44 pm
The sun was just setting, stretching fingers of pink light into the horizon, when Yue Lao stepped into the courtyard outside her home. The air was getting chilly, but she was naturally quite warm, so it would take a little longer before she felt the chill. She had a bottle of wine wrapped in a soft cloth with gold designs, carried in her left hand. Although it wasn't exactly from the grapes they had ...tried and failed to prepare, it was another good bottle from her mothers. It was a gift for Jianyu to give to her mother, because Chichi had wanted to offer something in return for the delicious fruit. Yowai and Chichi had eaten half of them before Yue even got to try one; she appropriated most of the remaining fruits for her beverages.
Yue wasn't really sure what their plans were, tonight, but she did know that they were supposed to go on a walk. Maybe she could see the blossoms; Yue had never bothered, because it was a long walk out of the way. Not to any blossoms, but the best view, or so Yowai had told her. She said it was a view to share with someone you cared for. Yue Lao wasn't sure what that meant, really, but if it wasn't care she felt for Jianyu, she didn't know what it was. In any case, even if they just wandered around idly, Yue Lao would be happy. She really should have left the wine at the house and given it to him another day, though, since she'd have to carry it around.
The air was soft. Yue Lao took a deep breath, and grinned into the fading light. Around her, lunarians were lighting lanterns in their windows, or setting candles outside in holders. She loved the soft glow of light. Again, it reminded her of that night, walking down to Jianyu's home. It felt like it was all so far away, and so long ago, but she still thought about it time and again. Yue liked to focus on the future, but lately things had been tying together so neatly, she couldn't help but pay attention to her life as a whole.
Thankfully, there would be no grapes at this outing, and thus no fight. Yue Lao walked to the place where the Quiet Roads gave way to more open paths, wider streets. She leaned against a pole where the road split in two, heading off to very different places. It was where she had arranged to meet Jianyu, so they could figure out where to go for their evening flight.
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:07 pm
"Mother," Jianyu said, for what was perhaps the third time in as many minutes. "I am going to be late."
Ehuang just clicked her tongue at her son, moving around him in a slow circle. "My son is going out with a young lady of close acquaintance," she said, tugging at a stray thread on his sleeve. "I must make sure you are properly attired before you do so."
"Mother," Jianyu said with some exasperation. "It's Yue. She is a mere friend, nothing more. I am close to her because I choose to be and because I enjoy her company, not because I intend to marry her or anything of the sort."
Ehaung obviously did not believe him and was giving him a scrutinizing gaze, as if trying to determine just exactly what he was thinking. She had done this before as well, back when he had first met Bataar and brought him back to his home (though not for any conventional reasons whatsoever). The stupid Mongol had managed to fall asleep naked in his bed while Jianyu had been fetching him clothes (Bataar had taken them off to prove his manliness), and of course his sisters and mother had immediately jumped to conclusions - namely the wrong conclusions, but Bataar had certainly not helped any, since when he had been interrogated by Ehuang had merely proclaimed his affection for Jianyu and then had kissed him, only sealing both of their fates. It had taken months afterwards for Jianyu to convince his sisters that it had all been a joke (though by that time, it had not been after all), but he had never fully managed to sway his mother's opinion. Even to this day, after he and Bataar had parted ways, his mother still maintained her beliefs about her son's romantic relationships.
Though she was mistaken (again) this time. Jianyu twisted away from Ehuang's perusal of his clothing and stepped away from her, picking up his crossbow.
His mother wrinkled her nose in disapproval. "Oh, Jianyu." she said. "Don't take that."
"Mother," Jianyu said, in an attempt at placating her, tying the bow to his waist and then strapping the quiver of arrows to his back. "I am leaving now."
Ehuang was pouting slightly, but her eyes were twinkling as Jianyu bent down, kissing her cheek fondly. With a wave, he finally escaped out of his front door, darting down the front steps with nimble feet. He was going to be late, but that was his mother's fault as it was.
The air, though clear and balmy, was slightly off, as if it were just barely wrong, and a quiet breeze was rustling the leaves of the trees around the Qian House. Above him, the few, dark wisps of storm clouds were beginning to drift lazily across the orange and gold streaked sky, though it did not seem enough to cause alarm.
A few moments later Jianyu stepped up to Yue, breathless from his hasty walking to reach her.
"Forgive my lateness," he said, bending down to peck a quick kiss to her cheek. "But my mother would not quite let me go before I was dressed exactly to her standards. I hope you were not waiting long?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:06 am
The air smelled slightly charged, as if there was a storm on its way. Yue noticed it in passing, wondered if it was going to rain, as Jianyu stepped up to her. Her face immediately broke into a smile, and she reached out to him with her free arm. "Nothing to forgive!" Yue laughed, "I didn't really have a way of checking how much time had passed, so as far as I know, you're not late at all." Yue's heart skipped again, as Jianyu kissed her cheek. She always blamed the little fluttering moments on her love of physical affection. Yue had always needed a lot of connection, skin to skin, but since becoming close with Jianyu, she had found herself wanting it less and less from strangers. She didn't bump into people in the street any more, stealing a glance. It just wasn't necessary; it was like she was being spoiled, really.
Yue Lao smiled up at Jianyu and then stepped close, pressing against him and holding on. She leaned her head against his chest and took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent and the warmth of his body. "It got cold all of a sudden," Yue said, sheepishly. It was true that she had felt the cold rather suddenly, but it was more to do with the fact that his kiss had been dizzying and appealing. Just a little, innocent, friendly gesture. Yue recognized that, and assumed nothing of it, but relished the little kisses.
She took a step back, looking him up and down, pursing her lips. Her eyes shimmered, even in the dull light. He had brought his bow and arrows with him. Yue found his marksmanship fascinating and graceful; very unlike her currently ungainly style of fighting. In fact, most of what she knew was hand-to-hand combat, having no real weapon of her own. She was still in training. Hopefully, she would figure out what she was good at, and improve at that skill. She would be pretty useless in a war if all she could do was fling things at her opponent.
Yue didn't mention the bottle of wine for the moment, because she felt silly for having brought it. Really, where did she think they could put it while they walked? Instead, she kept hold of it quietly. "So, where do you want to go? Upwards, downwards, side to side?" Yue laughed, and winked at Jianyu. She held his hand for a second with her free hand, squeezed, and turned to look at the fork in the road, standing beside him. The back of her hand brushed against him; she didn't really want to let go, but for some reason, with the bow so close, she worried about his being free to use it. "Actually... now that I think about it," she pursed her lips, "I've never been down the left path; have you?" Yue nodded her head at the fork in the road. The left path seemed less well lit, but more open. The right one was a simple road, with light cast from residential and commercial buildings.
"Whaddya say, Yu? Want to walk on the wild side with me?" Yue laughed, and wiggled her eyebrows at Jianyu. The night smelled more and more of rain. Though she was trying to pretend she wasn't getting a little chilly, the steadily fading sun was having its effect on Yue.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:53 am
Jianyu smiled down at Yue as she stepped forward, bending down to rest his chin gently on the top of her head as she pressed her face to his chest. He had long since grown used to her obvious need for physical contact, grown used to her little touches, the way she clung to him, the way she pressed herself close, as if she needed the contact. He did not know what had made Yue that way, and others might have been offended by her brash forwardness, but Jianyu did not find it as appalling. If anything, he found it somewhat endearing; it gave Yue a childlike innocence, a naive and somehow sweet side to an otherwise flirtatious and wild nature. That was mostly why Jianyu liked being with Yue; he could see both sides of her simultaneously.
"I must admit, I have been curious about this 'wild side' of yours." Jianyu teased. Walking beside her, he let his best friend choose the path they walked. He followed next to her, moving to rest his hand lightly on the hilt of his crossbow; an involuntary action, and one that he was more than a little used to doing. However, Yue's hand was brushing against his, and she seemed a little bit chilly, so he slipped behind her, moving to her other side and took her hand, removing the curious bundle from that hand, switching it to her other hand for her, and then wrapped his hand around hers, smiling down at her.
"If you're cold, just say so - " he started to say, but his sentence was never finished. A familiar hiss jolted through the air, and Jianyu immediately pivoted, grabbing Yue and shoving her roughly to the side. The arrow missed his own shoulder by mere inches, but sliced through his upper arm, leaving behind a bright red line. Jianyu twisted around, reaching behind him to grab a bolt from the quiver on his back, his fingers already pulling the crossbow out of its sheath. Within seconds he had it locked and loaded, raised to meet the face of those who had appeared.
"Noble bastards." Jianyu snapped, staring at the darkened eyes of five large men standing before him. Overhead the sky was rapidly turning black, and Jianyu felt the first drop of rain split on his cheek.
"Give us the girl and we'll leave." said one the men, and there was a general murmur of raucous laughter. Jianyu felt hatred burn through his veins. He backstepped slowly, feeling for Yue until he touched her hand. Yanking her behind him, he stepped completely in front of her, refusing to lower his crossbow. He glared at them, his grip on Yue's wrist growing tighter.
"Like hell I will." he hissed and pulled the trigger.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:56 am
"You saw it once," Yue Lao said, grinning, "That first night. Well, a little; I get worse," she giggled. It was true. Her flamboyance was often ill-received, though in some cases she could make friends despite that. Kiran, for example, just got uncomfortable and stiff whenever she felt the need to brush his arm. Otherwise, they got along fine. With Jianyu, it was different. She was still wild, but in different ways; it became more about the joy that bubbled up inside her, and less about gaining physical contact. A lot of it was context. In one context, a kiss could be romantic; in another context, it could be Yue being Yue. She refused to enter into romantic relationships, so the physical touches helped stave off any kind of craving for contact she might have. It was a strict rule; to love someone was to allow them to tug at the string tied to your heart. For a long time, Yue thought she had no strings. Now, she just thought that she would have to be extra careful not to let someone get to them.
Yue Lao's thoughts were interrupted by Jianyu switching the bottle and taking her hand. She looked up at him, startled, and then her face eased into its usual smile. She beamed up at him, content. She always seemed to be content, around him. Instead of wanting more, she wanted what she had. Which was her friendship with Jianyu, who was sometimes serious, sometimes playful. His ability to switch between the two was one aspect of him that she coveted. Yue loved enjoying herself, of course, but there was a time when you had to fight, and you had to be good. Clear of heart and mind. Her boldness made her rash, sometimes; it was a trait that would be ill-placed in battle. She hoped that, with training, she would learn to fix that.
Caught off guard, Yue had no time for her usual boldness, nor her taunts, when the arrow shot towards them. Jianyu shoved her aside, and she braced herself to ease the fall as best she could. Her palms and forearms scraped along the ground as she slid. Yet Jianyu was the one who had taken damage: the thin line of blood where the arrow had cut him. Yue felt a sick fear boiling up in her; nobles attacking them? She was hardly armed; what good was hand to hand combat if they had arrows? Yue was grateful for Jianyu's care, though she owed him, now. The rain began to fall, and Yue felt the cool drops on her skin. This was when her dual nature became useful; her heart cleared, and the situation laid itself out. How many arrows? Yue didn't have a very good view. Her skin burned as the men laughed raucously. They were trying to trade his safety for her surrender? Yue wanted to spit in contempt. She had never been ambushed like this, so close to where she lived.
Courtesy of her job, and her training, she had been improving with hand-to-hand combat. There was no way Chichi would have let her go out late at night, to the bar, without knowing how to defend herself. Yue's jaw was set as Jianyu pulled her up and held her behind him. Yue still clenched the bottle in her free hand, her knuckles pale. "I'm not afraid, Yu; I'll fight by your side. I know I'm not as strong... but there are five of them. Let me help you."
Jianyu pulled the trigger, and Yue heard the bolt fly, piercing the air. Should she, in the chaos, rush forward? Yue felt that would be too rash, yet; who was it that had shot the arrow? She could fight, but not against a ranged weapon. She felt useless, standing behind him, but had resolved to defend herself as best she could, so Jianyu would have less to worry about.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:31 pm
Standing at such a close range to the men should have given Jianyu a clear shot. However, the rain had started rushing down, and Yue's voice, warm and low in his ear had made him realize the dangers of the situation they were in. His hand had lowered, ever so slightly, but there was a shout from one of the men, and Jianyu had pulled the trigger, letting the bolt leave the crossbow like gossamer. The man he had aimed for dodged it quickly, and it clattered to the ground, useless, nearly sixty feet away. He would have no time to run and get it, and his precious crossbow arrows were limited. They were also inconveniently placed on his back; he was too used to his own arrows, which were longer, with feathered tips and made of wood. The bolts used in the crossbow that Tenhou had given him were made of a lightweight steel and were much shorter, only about six inches. However, they were almost three times as heavy as normal arrows and much more deadly in their speed and strength. The quiver on his back made it difficult to reach the bolts; he would need to add more to the secret pouch he had tied to his upper thigh, which only contained ten or twelve.
"Yue, I don't doubt that you can fight." Jianyu said, pushing his wet hair out of his face. The men were angrier now, beginning to draw closer. "But i can't take a chance that you'll be injured, Stargazer. So forgive me."
One of the men leapt. With a quick, hard shove Jianyu threw Yue away from him and swung his crossbow. It collided with the side of the man's head with a sickening thud, and he staggered, managing to keep himself from falling at the last second. However, it gave Jianyu just enough time to reach back and grab a second bolt, quickly pushing it into the crevice on the crossbow before pulling back the wire, locking it in place. He raised it hastily, the rain blurring his already limited vision, and he could make out dark forms rather than actual people.
He swore internally, backstepping rapidly to give himself more room to shoot. This was not a good scenario, not a good one at all. His vision was already half gone, and though he had proven himself to be of worth to both his superiors and himself, fighting at night, in the rain, with Yue around him was not a good situation by any means, even if he had had the use of both of his eyes.
"Run, Yue!" Jianyu shouted as one of the men advanced closer. He rushed towards him, ducking low as one of the man's hands locked around his upper arm, hauling him to the side. Jianyu was instantly flipped onto his back and he let out a sharp gasp of surprise, but as the man leaned over him, his fist rearing back, Jianyu thrust his crossbow upwards, shoving it into the man's stomach.
"Die." he hissed, his wet hair sticking to his fist and pulled the trigger. The close-range of the weapon made it so that the bolt passed through the man instantly, shredding his insides and exiting out of his back smoothly. The Noble gave a wordless grunt, his mouth opening and closing and then he collapsed, half on top of Jianyu, who let out a grunt of pain and irritation. Pushing him of, he grappled for another bolt, but to his horror he discovered that being thrown to the ground had caused the metal arrows to spill out of the quiver, scattering across the muddy road. His vision stunted by his damned blind eye, for the first time Jianyu felt a slight sense of panic rising in his throat.
This is...not good.
"YUE!" he yelled. "GET OUT OF HERE!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:22 pm
Yue was becoming soaked through from the rain. It chilled her, made her eyes open further than they usually were. She needed to be able to see as these men bore down on them. Her face pulled into a grimace as the man dodged Jianyu's bolt. "Doesn't mean I'll stand by and watch these disgusting nobles take advantage of their numbers," Yue mumbled, her voice scorching, though not directed towards Jianyu. Yue Lao would do her best not to get injured, clearly, but she would never leave Jianyu here. Not to face all of them alone. He was skilled, of course, but that was reckless. Again, Yue felt herself being shoved to the side. She spun this time, regaining her balance in a crouch, watching Jianyu and the chaos. He stepped back, and a man was advancing on him. Why wasn't he shooting? She worried for Jianyu; was his eye more of a problem than he let on?
Yue didn't run. She picked what was left of the bottle up off the ground, grasping its unbroken neck like the hilt of a sword. "I don't run, Yu," she whispered, her voice masked by the hissing rain. She eyed the men, who seemed to be distracted for the moment; Yue stepped towards Jianyu as the man threw him on his back, but just as soon, Jianyu had shot the noble in the stomach with his bolt. Yue grimaced. One life lost, but it was necessary. Threads that would never again be tugged, learned or tangled; his thread had been cut. Yue would not hesitate to wound or kill any of these nobles that attacked them. There were four left, and although at least one of them seemed hesitant after the death of his comrade, another was enraged. Yue tucked the broken bottle into the sash of her over robe, trying not to cut herself in the process. One of the jagged points dug into her hip and drew blood. She winced, spun it so that the point wasn't digging in, and dove to the road, scooping a handful of bolts up, her nails filling with dirt and mud as she went, fingertips cut on the gravel in her haste. "No," Yue had time to cry out, before she thrust the bolts into Jianyu's reach. She wasn't sure if he had caught hold of them, or let them drop at his feet, but she had gathered at least three.
She spun around and faced the men. Too many, too big. Yue took the broken bottle out of her sash and brandished it again. It was heavy and awkward in her hands, but if she were to drop it, she would have to employ only Koppojutsu. Would it work? She had never fought so many, nor such dense opponents. She supposed with the principles, she would at least fracture their bones. And she would fracture them, if given half the chance. Two of the men came towards her simultaneously. Not good, Yue thought to herself. She darted to the right of them and slashed down the man's left arm, raking lines of jagged blood all down it, cutting deep. Coming up behind him, she elbowed him swiftly in the ribs and heard a crack. The other man, the one she hadn't injured, grabbed hold of her arm. She could feel the bruise that would form and manifest, already. A strangled sound, some kind of fury, escaped her. He squeezed until she dropped the bottle, which prompted her to spin in towards him and snap with her left hand, driving it into his wrist. Hopefully, if the contact had been right, he should let go; in the confusion of the moment, Yue could hardly see what was happening, nor if the man she had slashed was recovering already.
Yue couldn't see Jianyu from her angle, and she was focused on trying to escape back to the edges of the fray. She just wanted to buy him time; if he was able to load his crossbow even once, she knew they might stand some kind of chance. She would just have to serve as a distraction. For better or worse, Yue Lao was not one to run, nor was she going to stand back and watch them attack her dearest friend.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:57 pm
Jiianyu hardly heard Yue's voice above the pounding rain. Thunder roared in the air, and a sharp jagged line of lightning cracked through the sky, illuminating it brightly for a brief moment - just enough to see where Yue had shoved the bolts.
There.
He dived for them as the sky turned black again, his fingers delving into the mud and the dirt, touching metal. One, two, three... He had only managed to grab six of the thirty bolts he had started the evening with. Jianyu swore internally, skidding in the wet ground as he fumbled to load the crossbow.
Crack. Another bolt of lightning, and another man lunging towards him. Jianyu did not have time to sidestep and the Noble caught him round the waist, sending them both to the ground. He felt a cold wetness against his back, mud sliding across the back of his neck, getting down underneath his arm. The Noble, a man with a grizzled beard, sat on top of him, straddling his waist to pin him down. It was not that difficult, considering thatt he was nearly twice Jianyu's size and bulky, whereas Jianyu was lean and lithe. He raised his fist, sending it straight towards Jianyu's face. He managed to twist his head to the left, and the blow glanced off of his cheek, but it would leave a large bruise. The Noble let out a derisive grunt and his fingers closed around Jianyu's throat, pressing down on his windpipe. Al
All of the air instantly rushed out of him and Jianyu's hips bucked upwards in an effort to free himself. He let out a rasping gasp, reaching up to try and pry the man's hands off, but they were too large and he was too strong. His vision was beginning to go black, fading in and out. Jianyu's fingers slipped on the cold metal of the bolts, finally managing to slide one into the rim. He grappled to pull the bowstring back, his wet, trembling fingers making it difficult. With great effort, his head spinning, he managed to pull it back, snapping it into place. Using every ounce of strength he could muster, Jianyu lifted his arm, pressing the crossbow underneath the man's jaw, against his chin. Then, he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.
Blood spattered across Jianyu's face and the grip around his neck instantly loosened as the man toppled sideways. Tasting coppor on his tongue, Jianyu gasped for air, hardly able to draw breath and rolled onto his stomach, away from the dead man. He let out a cough, reaching up to wipe the hot scarlet liquid from his face and staggered to his feet, feeling weak and lightheaded.
Yue. Where is Yue?
He was finding it difficult to distinguish between the blurred black shadows left. There were two to his right, then one a short ways in front of him, as well as a significantly smaller form struggling to defend herself.
Yue.
Jianyu staggered towards her, slowly gaining back some of his lost strength. The men to his right started towards him, and Jianyu whirled around, lifting his leg in a swift kick to one man's chest, slamming him backwards into the other. Anger and adrenaline were pulsing through his veins, and Jianyu ran towards them, swinging the crossbow in a wide arc, catching the same man he had kicked across the face. Without giving him time to recover he twisted around, landing a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, felling him immediately. The other man glared at Jianyu, pulling out a dagger, but he had already darted off, his mind flooded with only thoughts of making sure she was safe.
He reached them within a few seconds, sliding a bolt into his crossbow as he ran. As he got closer, he could see Yue's face was streaked with blood, a large cut on the side of her head dripping a red line down her cheek. She was holding her arm, a pained, angry expression on her face as she took a few steps backwards, obviously preparing herself to fight again. Pure hatred cascaded into Jianyu and he let out a roar of anger, slamming his foot into the man's back, who yelled, spinning around. Jianyu raised his crossbow, intent on ending it quickly.
Someone's arms closed around his neck, dragging him backwards, and Jianyu dropped his crossbow in shock, his hands automatically reaching up to pry the man away from him. The other Noble was slowly advancing towards him, and Jianyu, trapped between the two men, looked over at Yue in the rain.
He had to get out of this. But her safety came before his, which meant that she needed to go, now, while they were focused on him.
Run, his eyes begged. Yue, run!
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 6:23 pm
Lightning flashed and Yue could see, for a moment, their battlefield illuminated: the bolts scattered across the path; the shards of glass and spilt wine where the bottle had broken against a rock; the blood and rain mixing with the mud so that she couldn't tell the difference. She reached up with her good hand, brushed the side of her face to find it sticky with blood. A gash stretched from her temple down; it must have happened with the shards of glass, earlier. Her right arm, the one the Noble had grabbed, was pulsing with pain. She flexed her fingers quickly, assessing the damage: although hot pain seared down her muscles, she was able to bend all of them. No apparent severe injuries.
Probably only because Jianyu had showed up at that moment. Two of the nobles were on him, then. The one she had failed to defend herself against, and the one she had slashed; one had his back to her. She reached down and searched in the mud, slicing her hand on the bottle before grasping its neck. It was slippery with mud, but she tightened her hand around the neck. Her nostrils flared with anger. How dare they attack Jianyu? Her? Neither of them had done anything to provoke the band of Nobles. Had Jianyu not been there, they would have done terrible things to her; Yue knew that. She knew it in the pit of her stomach and the back of her skull, all the way through muscle and bone. If Jianyu hadn't been here, she would not be alive, or worse. Alive and forced to bear the memories of the assault.
Yue Lao swiped some of the mud and blood away from her eyes with the back of her arm, clearing her sight. She couldn't see Jianyu's expression, couldn't tell he wanted her to run. Even if he had, she could not have left him there. Without a word, Yue rushed up behind the thug approaching Jianyu and leaped on his back. She held on with her legs around his waist, a strangled gasp of pain escaping from her as she jerked her injured arm to tilt his neck to the side, exposing a vital point. She could barely hold on. He flailed his arms behind him, struggling for purchase on Yue's small body. She couldn't let him grab hold, though his fingers raked at her back and sides, tearing and digging. Swiftly, and without hesitation, she drew the bottle's jagged teeth across his throat, pushing in and across as hard as she could. The blood at spurted and gushed, the artery sliced, and she knew it would be a matter of time until he died. It really had not been a good idea to offer his back to Yue. She dropped from the Noble's body while he bled out, her hands and arms soaked with his blood. She wiped it off on her pants, mourning the filth and state of her over robe very briefly. Chichi had made it for her, after all.
Yue had to take a second to recover, panting, her bruised arm braced against her chest. She was clumsy with her left hand, and dropped the bottle, her hand shaking. She had never watched the life drain from someone before. Yue Lao shook her head; now, in the throes of battle, was not the time to become caught up in her own distress. Yue dove to her knees, saturating the cloth further and tearing a hole over one knee, and reached into the mud for Jianyu's crossbow and more bolts, whatever she could gather. It was hardly anything. She wasn't looking forward to taking inventory of all the injuries she'd received during the fight. "Yu! Your crossbow!" Yue wouldn't dare fire it, even if she knew how; what if she pierced Jianyu? It would break her heart, beyond repair. She tried to bring him the crossbow. Now that there was only one Noble left standing, Yue was ready to collapse. Just a little longer. She could move a little longer. Her eyes had dulled, lost their sheen, even that which she had gained from battle. Blood was smeared all over her. What was hers, and what was her enemy's, she could hardly tell. One side of her over robe and under robe were threatening to tip off her shoulder completely.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 7:37 pm
Jianyu could hardly see through the pouring rain that cascaded down over his head and shoulders, soaking him through to the skin. Besides that, he had the added blood from his earlier victim smeared across his face and chest, and Jianyu kept tasting it on his tongue, repulsing him. His stomach was repelling violently, nausea rising in his throat, but he forced it back down, trying to concentrate on ridding himself of the man half strangling him from behind. He could vaguely make out Yue through the storm, see her small silhouette leap onto the man in front of him's back. Jianyu wasn't sure what exactly she had in her hand, but whatever it was she was holding on for dear life. He couldn't see what she was doing, but all of a sudden the man dropped and Yue fell back, her arms covered in blood.
"Now is not a good time to be distracted by the pretty girl." hissed a low voice in his ear, and Jianyu felt the arms around his neck give way just slightly. He took the opportunity to slam his elbow back into the man's sternum, and heard a wheeze as the Noble gasped for air, letting him go completely. Jianyu dove forward instantly, running towards Yue. He snatched the crossbow from her bloodied fingers and whirled back around just in time to see the man rushing towards him. They collided and fell to the ground, rolling in the mud and the dirt, and Jianyu felt the Noble's meaty fist catch the side of his face again, then straight into his chest. He let out a hacking cough, spitting blood and fell sideways, his fingers holding onto his crossbow almost desperately. Lashing out, he caught a kick to the man's stomach and then crawled away, scrambling to his feet. He fumbled to find a bolt, any bolt, sifting frantically through the mud until finally his fingers closed around something cool and metallic. Yanking the bolt up, Jianyu slid it into the notch, pulling back the string and locking it in before turning around. The man was right behind him, and Jianyu swung the crossbow up to face him.
"You get no last words." he snarled and pulled the trigger. The arrow hissed, metal on metal, and landed straight in the man's stomach; Jianyu's aim had been slightly off because of the rain, but it had done the trick. The man collapsed, motionless on the ground, and Jianyu let out his breath, his body aching.
It was done. Jianyu turned towards. He walked to her, his face streaked with blood and dirt, feeling utterly drained and exhausted, and gave her a tired, weary smile.
Crack. Another blinding flash of lightning. And Jianyu felt something crush into his side as a horrendous, burning pain slammed into him. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Looking down, he saw the last Noble looking up at him, a smirk on his face as his hand dropped away from the dagger protruding from Jianyu's side.
"You don't...get...any last words...either." he gasped out, and then blood spilled from his lips and he dropped for good this time.
Jianyu's hand found his side, and he stared down at the dagger, as if he could not quite believe it was there. He raised his gaze to look at Yue and then his vision went black and he collapsed onto the muddy, dirt road.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:33 pm
The crossbow left her hands, the fingers of her right hand stinging, and Yue took a deep breath, coughing on rain and blood. Yue watched Jianyu, blinking through the haze of rain, as he fumbled for a bolt, slid it in and pulled, shooting the man in the stomach. She smiled and a small sob escaped her, one of relief. Yu was walking towards her, and he smiled; she held out one hand to him. The smile may as well have been skinned off her face, as she saw the Noble moving behind him. She stepped forward, her friendly hand gesture turning into a frantic wave. "YU, he's still alive! He's still--" as loud as she was, it seemed like there was no way Jianyu would hear her. Her words choked away when the Noble stabbed him in the side. Her hand flew up to her mouth, and she clutched her stomach with her other hand, trying to hold back a heave.
Yue was already running to Jianyu, closing the distance between them. She heard what the Noble said, but not what Jianyu had said to him. The difference between the Noble and Jianyu was that the Noble had no one there who cared for him. Jianyu did; Yue loved him in that moment, brilliant as the sun might shine if the earth was pressed against it, and she was trying desperately not to panic. She wouldn't let him die, that was all she knew. Jianyu was strong; if Yue could help him, even a little, she was sure he could recover. Yue let that hope overwhelm her, then drew it back, and thought as rationally as she could.
A stab wound. She remembered what she had learned: the object should be left in for the time being. She might not be able to stem the blood flow if she removed it right then. Yue fell to her knees next to Jianyu's body, cradling his head in her lap, leaning over to shield his face from the rain. She tore the cleanest part of her overrobe off as she could manage, and rolled it into a shape fit for staunching his blood loss. She wrapped it around the wound, careful not to press the dagger in, but making sure the flow was interrupted. She kept pressure against it, trying to help the blood clot. "Yu, you have to stop being so bloody, you need to wake up, so we can go home," Yue was mumbling, her eyes stinging from the rain and her terror. She pressed down hard with her hand, circling the dagger. "Someone, please, we need help," Yue yelled, at the top of her lungs. She broke into a jagged sob when she had squeezed the words out. No one came. With her free right hand, which was still sending pulsing pain up through her arm with every movement, she brushed Jianyu's damp hair away from his forehead and face, surveying his serious features. It frightened her, to look at him so closely and see no trace of the smile that usually rested there. It really brought home the sense that something was not right. When she was around him, she treasured his smile. The Nobles had taken that from her, if only for now. Yue couldn't keep thinking of that. She pressed, and pressed, and when it looked like perhaps the blood had slowed enough she could take action, her mouth twisted with worry. She could never carry him somewhere all on her own. She was already injured and weak from the battle. She needed help. Yue Lao was admitting it, for the sake of her dear friend. She needed someone's help. She couldn't do it alone.
"PLEASE, someone, the wound is really bad, we need your help," she yelled into the darkness. Doors closed, somewhere nearby, and everything became so still, except for the pounding rain. No one was brave enough to come help them. Not one of them would lift a finger to save her closest friend, when she would give her life for his. For all her careful planning, Yue Lao had not been able to manipulate this night. She bent down, brushed her lips against his cool forehead, whispering, "Yu, I'm not going to let you die, I love you too much. You're so stupid, for getting stabbed. I'll find us help, if no one else will do it. I'll find a way."
Yue Lao made sure the cloth was still secure around the wound, hoping it could clot for a little longer, though the rain was trying to saturate it now that her hand had moved. She would have to be swift. All that had just passed felt like eternity, but it had passed in the blink of an eye. She got to her feet, after extracting herself from under his head, and felt horrible, leaving him in the mud like that. She took off what was left of her over robe and folded it, placing it under his head. She tore off down the street, until she had reached the mid point between her home and where she had left Jianyu. A stitch had developed in her side, and she was chilled from the rain. Each drop lashed at her like the flick of a whip, and she flinched from the pain of her arm and head. She pounded on the door; one of the chief labourers from Yowai's brewery lived there. She pounded again, and when he opened the door, he seemed irate at first. "It's just you, Yue Lao... what are you doing out here at night, banging this door, as if--"
He paused, and he must have noticed Yue's state. "I need your help, you have to come with me, please. I'm begging you," Yue bit her lip and tasted blood, rain and mud. "Please, my best friend, he's been injured..." Yue almost fell into her mother's friend. Her muscles were giving up. She couldn't afford it. She needed to be strong, for Yu.
"Lead the way," he answered, finally. "Oro, get your a** over here. I think I'll need help; Mayu, prepare hot water, and get ready to take care of a severe injury, I suspect."
Yue Lao took off running, again, and the men kept pace. She was normally so fast, but in her exhaustion, every third step seemed to be a stumble. She reached the path where she had left him, and the men bent to pick him up, saying nothing about the bodies. Like Yowai, they were allied with Legion; they would probably ask for details later. "You can't let him die," Yue said, trying to stay back while they carried him, but desperately wanting to reach out.
They braced him as best they could between each other, minding the dagger. One of them had gone to take it out, and Yue had panicked, told them never to do that, not until they were ready to bind him, stop the blood, keep him safe.
Yue felt like she was in a horrible dream, wandering behind Jianyu, being carried by the men. They reached the house, and Mayu opened the door. She had been waiting for them, and told them where to bring Jianyu. She had set up dishes of boiled water, and removed the cloth from over their table. Blood had already stained the wood from previous healthcare attempts. They lowered him onto the table. Mayu's hands worked steadily. She did what she could; staunched the blood, cleaned the wound, bound it tightly with fresh linen. Oro and Seto tried to convince Yue to change out of the cold clothing, to use some of the hot water to clean her wounds off. Every time they came close, she glared at them. Eventually, she accepted a hot cloth, used it to wash the blood off her face, clean the wound on her head. She wrapped it around the bruise which had bloomed on her arm, using the remainder of the heat to soothe it.
They were finished with his wounds. In order to treat them, Mayu had removed all of the clothing from his torso. Seto had set up a pallet in their sitting room. "Yue, love, he's chilled to the bone... Would he be less embarassed if it was you that prepared him for his recovery?... He should be fine, sweet, so don't cry, okay?" Mayu was all comforting words and soothing facial expressions.
"Yes... Thank you, Mayu. I guess we'll have to find out which would have embarassed him more, when he wakes up," Yue smiled thinly, her eyes dull, her body slumped into the chair. Yue waved the adults away, though Mayu cleaned up the table and her instruments as Yue closed the shoji between the kitchen and the sitting area, creating a spare bedroom. The men had carried Jianyu into the room for her, though she would have to lift him off the floor and into the pallet. She would ask for Mayu's help putting fully-dressed Jianyu onto the pallet.
Tenderly, her hands shaking with exhaustion, Yue removed the damp clothing which clinged to his skin. She was respectful, and as she removed it, she covered him with one of the clean blankets. When he was stripped, and she had patted most of him dry with a cloth Mayu had left for her, she pulled his clean clothing on, and called out to Mayu. Mayu came in and helped her lift Jianyu into the pallet. Yue pulled the covers over him, leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Everything will be okay now, Yu; just wake up soon, okay?"
Yue curled up on the floor beside him, out of the pallet. Her clothes were still damp. She tugged the discarded, mostly dry clothes under her body and lay on them, so she wouldn't ruin the tatami flooring. Quietly, she hummed to Jianyu. She wouldn't move an inch until Jianyu had woken, though she had allowed Mayu to spread some of the healing ointment on her forehead. Yue was trying so hard to stay awake, but she was exhausted...
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:10 pm
It hurt. That was the first thing that Jianyu noticed as he began to slowly regain sense of his thoughts. The overwhelming, racking pain that ricocheted up his side, across his stomach, reverberating in every inch of his body. The last time he had felt this much pain he had been waking up from the injury that had blinded him in the first place. He could remember each and every action, the way the blade felt as it had raked down his eye, the way the blood had felt as it had run down his face, the hot, coppery taste in his mouth. He had relived that single moment over and over again for months, and though this pain was not nearly as devastatingly awful as that one night had been, this was coming close as it was.
For a few seconds...minutes...hours, Jianyu could not tell, he could not seem to wake up. Trapped in the space halfway between awake and asleep, he struggled to rise above the blackness, to crawl free of the suffocating darkness that encircled him. After what seemed like a lifetime, however, slowly, very slowly, Jianyu opened his eye.
He did not recognize the house. The beams that stretched above him, the clean, well-kept walls, the gentle scent of smoke and wood, none of it was familiar. However, his vision was still only half there, and Jianyu reached up a hand, wincing at the movement, to touch his face. He breathed a soft sigh of relief that the cloth was still there, although it felt damp and sticky to his touch, and was most likely covered in mud and blood. He would have to take it off and have it washed, and even after nearly five months he was still wary of others seeing what exactly was under his blindfold. He had yet to show anyone, excluding Tenhou and his own family.
Jianyu tried to sit up, but a horrific pain in his side made him fall back down, gasping for air. Dizzy and nauseous, it took almost every inch of Jianyu's self-control to not turn his head and heave the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He felt hot, sweaty, though as he looked down, he realized that his chest - and the rest of him - was bare. It was the heavy blankets that were causing his temperature to rise, and Jianyu felt himself flush with the suddenly overwhelming heat, using his non-bandaged hand to push at the blankets. Sweat slid down his face and pooled in his collarbone and Jianyu was breathing heavily, each intake of air painful.
"Y-Yue..?" he managed to call out, and his voice was hoarse, raw and throbbing.
He had to know if she was safe. He had to know if his dearest and closest friend was alive, that she was well, that she was uninjured and safe. Panic, along with desperation was rising in his throat; a frantic need to know if she was alive, that he had not lost her.
"YUE!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:34 pm
At some point, she must have drifted off. She woke, shivering, to something which felt like a far-off dream of her name. The voice cleared through the fog and pounding in her head. It sounded just like... Yue Lao's eyes snapped open and she pushed herself up, wincing in pain and sucking in a breath as she put her weight on her injured arm. She turned to face Jianyu, in disbelief that it had been his voice in reality.
It was, though; she could see that. He was awake. Her face broke into a smile, and she tried not to cry. He was awake, and alive. She didn't know how long either of them had been asleep, but she knew that every nerve in her body felt singed. She had fought beyond her means, and had been foolish, refusing to change into clean clothing or leave his side. She was still, in fact, dressed in the once-white shirt and pants she wore under her over robe. The over robe, she remembered suddenly, had been left in the mud. Her brows knit together as she remembered that ambush, but she shook her head and reached out. The grief she felt was overwhelming, obscured only barely by her joy at seeing Jianyu awake. "I'm right here, Yu, don't wake the dead," Yue said, leaning over him and caressing his cheek with her hand. Her eyes were barely slit open, and her face was flushed. Her braid had come undone at some point in the night, and her hair fell around her in a curtain of violets and plums, blood and mud ruining whatever beauty it might have presented.
"You're so warm!" Yue pursed her lips, and pushed the heavy covers aside, leaving just the sheet and whatever he had on beneath it. "Is that any better, Yu?" She asked, leaning over him again. She wanted to be close to him, to wrap herself around him and not let go, to squeeze him so tightly that it hurt. She did none of those things; she was covered in filth and he had a severe injury. He looked almost like he had been reborn, lying there on the futon. His black cloth, the one that covered his eye, stood out in its dirtiness, but Yue was pretty sure her entire person looked that dirty. She hadn't had the will to leave him there. She still didn't, no matter how uncomfortable she was in her current state. She did lean in and press her forehead lightly against his, though, smiling. She breathed in too sharply, and it was as if it broke down some kind of door in her she hadn't even known about, some kind of wall.
She started to cry, quietly as possible, her tears sticky against her cheeks. She sat up, and looked away briefly. "I was scared, Yu. I was scared, and I needed someone to help you, but no one came. I was afraid I wouldn't be fast enough." Yue swiped at her eyes with the least muddy part of her arm she could manage. "I couldn't have run, I couldn't have left you there, you know?" Yue almost seemed to be babbling, sitting at his side. She sucked in a breath, and got to her feet. "Yu, I'm so stupid, you must need water, by now," she said. She was about to leave to get some, when she realized Mayu must have left a tray of food and drinks next to the shoji while they were asleep. There was some kind of earthenware dish filled with cool spring water. "Here, Yu..." Yue brought it over to him, not sure whether or not he could drink it on his own, since it seemed like it would be hard to sit up. She prepared to help him sit up, offered to let him lean against her.
There were things she didn't say, just then. She didn't say how much she had worried, how she hadn't left his side; she didn't say that she had feared the worst, nor that she had discovered, even if for an instant, how crucial Jianyu was to her life. And he was crucial.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:51 pm
For a few devastating moments, Jianyu was not certain that she Yue would appear. But then, after a heart-stopping amount of time, there she was, leaning over him, and her hair was falling free over her shoulders, matted with dirt and blood. She had obviously not changed, nor bathed since their encounter with the Nobles, but at the moment Jianyu didn't care. The tension in his face relaxed instantly at seeing her there, his face breaking out in a relieved, slightly painful smile.
"Stargazer." he said, and when she touched his cheek, he pressed his face against her hand, reaching up to take hers in his. He turned his face, pressing a kiss to her palm and then closed his eye as she touched her forehead to his, reaching up his own hands to cup her face in his hands as she started to cry.
"Thank Lunaria you're alive." he murmured, tilting his head up to kiss her dirt-streaked forehead, not caring that she was filthy, not caring that the movement caused his side to twinge in pain. She was alive. Yue Lao, his best friend, one of his favorite people in the world, was alive. "I was so worried. But you're here. You're okay."
He kept repeating this, over and over, as if saying the words more than once would engrave them into his soul. When she pulled away, he almost grabbed her hand, unwilling to let her leave, but the thought of having a cool drink was too irresistible to resist. With Yue's help, he sat up, each movement agony, but finally he was most of the way up, leaning against her, and took a sip, greedily downing the cool liquid. It soothed his aching throat, made some of the heat from his injury calm, and when he was done, Jianyu lay back down, unable to stay upright for more than a few moments. But he reached up, letting his fingertips trail down the side of Yue's face, still trying to reassure himself that she was still alive.
"I should have known your stubbornness would not permit you to leave me." he said, laughing lightly, then winced in pain, his expression turning serious. "You were scared? I was terrified that I had gotten you killed, Yue. You didn't run, and if you had gotten injured I could never have lived with myself."
The dirtied cloth around his eye was growing steadily more uncomfortable. Jianyu dropped his hand from Yue's face and raised it to his own. He hesitated a brief moment, resting against the damp cloth before he slipped his fingers underneath, pulling it away from his face. Jianyu turned his face to Yue, the black cloth slipping from his fingers to the floor.
"Don't scare me like that again." he said softly. "And next time, run when I tell you to."
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