Chapter 2

She watched Tukmah’s men begin to surround Comotos. One of them attacked him, and he stepped to the side, spun on his heel, and slashed open the Yajuu’s posterior with his Ripping attack. Even from the distance, she was from the battle she could clearly see the flash of crimson energy and the spine split in half. Another henchman tried to attack him and he ducked as a mace billowed across the top of his head. He leaned backward on his muscular arms and kicked upwards with a solitary leg into the Yajuu’s stomach, making it spew up maroon liquid as he moved quickly to avoid it with a sinister grin on his lips. He leaned forward again and in an instant his fist was completely through the henchman's stomach.

The blue skin on his hand was shining and dripping with blood and bits of organs. He pulled the limp body off of his arm just in time for the last three henchmen to charge at him at once. He was still crouched down and brought his hands up to his face, crossed over each other. His legs straightened for him to stand and his arms swooped backward in an arch and he called out in a raspy voice, “Ripping!” The thick liquid on his hands and nails helped to send out waves of blood-red energy larger than normal that sliced open each opponent, like a freshly sharpened butcher knife goes through a tomato. She shut her eyes and whimpered as she had never experienced anything so brutal in her life.

The pieces of Yajuu thumped and splashed to the already blood-splattered greenish-brown grass beneath them. The rusty liquid covered his gauntlets and arms up to his elbows and he seemed to be enjoying himself, as there was a wicked grin on his lips. “Tukmah! Your men were pathetic! Please be more of a challenge!” He yelled with his arms outstretched towards his final opponent. Those henchmen he had just sliced apart were no match for him and he thought that was suspicious. Usually, someone with a bounty as big as his would have at least one or two bodyguards that were stronger than normal but he had only brought five others with him to the tavern.

He realized a bit too late what Tukmah really was really made of as he barreled towards him with such speed and force that it knocked him backward into a boulder that was lodged halfway in the dirt. Rusty-tinted fluid came flying out of his mouth just as his body made an impact with the rock with a sickening thud and he slid down to the ground. The huge Yajuu stepped away and Comotos began coughing harshly and wiped the blood from his mouth as he calculated when his opponent would move next.

At the same time, they lunged at each other and began punching, slashing, and kicking at each other wildly. She could only see a blur of fists, claws, and legs as the fighters moved in the vicinity of the area in a frenzy to end each other. She had no idea that Tukmah was a wanted criminal, so she was confused as to why he looked so determined to fight him. She also noticed that all of the patrons had flocked to the windows, and they were staring out as if they thought they would be safe behind them. “No…” she thought, “No one was safe as long as there were people on the planet like Tukmah and Comotos!”

The brawl seemed to last decades when in reality it was mere minutes. He was very close to killing Tukmah, so close that the larger Yajuu was actually going limp. A hard breeze picked up across the battlefield and Comotos was suddenly lifted into the air as if he was hauled up by a wave of nothingness. He backflipped and landed gracefully on the ground near her. The wind siphoned through the whole of Tukmah’s body as he let out a horrific roar. His eyes began to glow blood red and his clawed fingers stretched to extreme lengths and wobbled in the air. They were both shocked, so shocked that he didn’t realize the tendrils were coming right at him!

They grabbed him and tugged him at least thirty feet into the sky encompassing his legs, gauntlets that were now shattered, and torso as stray tendrils began whipping his shoulders with such force that his shirt exploded from his chest and his blood was a red mist that hung in the air. He screamed, in more pain than he had ever felt in his life. He struggled to get free, slashing at the tendrils with his attack but it was no use. That monster had him and was going to tear him apart and whip him to death!

Tukmah’s body didn’t move at all during his onslaught and Drusilla noticed that. Would she really try to distract the rampaging Yajuu that walked away unscathed from one of her hardest hits? The thought of his other presence sparked in her memory so she cupped her hands circling her mouth and yelled at the top of her lungs, “Comotos Wellshur! If you can hear me then use the box around your neck! Destroy it in your hand!” Instantly she saw him struggle against the tendrils to wrench his arm free and reach for his pendant.

She knew this was her moment of truth so she began running towards Tukmah. Picking up speed she pushed forward through wave after wave of dark and putrid air. She noted to herself that the darkness was pulsating from a pouch on his hip. She saw the blackest of black diamonds in her mind's eye and knew that the ancient artifact was never to be in his possession. She squeezed her hands into tight fists when she finally reached the hypnotized beast-man and punched furiously at his posterior. She watched her punches ricochet off of an invisible wall of energy surrounding him.

He finally tore his left arm free from Tukmah's unreal grip and grabbed for his pendant. All at once, he was engulfed in a bright green light that shot sparks out throughout the area. He held his pendant in his dominant hand and squeezed with all of his might until he felt it crack and split. A handle melted into his fist and a single blade manifested onto the end. It was as if it were taunting him, urging him to slice with it. And so he did.

With his nimble fingers, he twisted his Axe around so that it spun in a complete circle cutting off numerous tendrils around his wrist. The light faded and he moved his arm in a long sweeping motion cutting the tendrils attached to his right arm and then released his legs and he dropped to the ground much further away from Drusilla now. He didn’t land as smoothly as he would have liked, but it was only a sprain. Tukmah roared as more tendrils regenerated from the bloody and severed ones. He didn’t waste any time! He aimed quickly and threw his Axe at Tukmah’s neck. His head was severed and flew off to the side as his body convulsed as his thorny spaghetti fingers came raining down from the sky like wet noodles.

His Axe returned to him equal to a boomerang and he caught it neatly by the handle. It shrank and reformed back into a pendant but he didn’t have enough energy left to put it back over his head. Tukmah’s body lay motionless now and he fell backward onto the dusty blood-covered ground. He was exhausted. He was panting as he closed his eyes only to hear light footsteps approaching him. He didn’t bother to open his eyes as he knew exactly who it was.

She didn’t want to but she did step timidly towards the fallen Yajuu and lifted the striped shirt from his lifeless carcass which was somewhat difficult because his fingers had turned into the long snake-like tendrils earlier, so much to her dismay she had to cut his fingers off with the knife she hid in her boot. She knew the currently unconscious Comotos would need some proof of Tukmah’s defeat and there was no way she was going to pick up his severed head! She rummaged around in his pouch and took out a medium-sized ebony diamond-shaped stone. She felt an ancient energy flow out of it but it dissipated just as quickly when she held it in her hand. She stood up and brushed off her skirt on her knees and then walked to where he had collapsed.

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She saw his pierced ears twitch as she approached and she smiled at him and then knelt by his side, “If it wasn’t for you, that Yajuu would have killed me. Thank you.” She whispered. He grunted and then seemed to pass out. This was her chance to see him up close and never before had she felt the softness of a Kuro.

She moved two fingers down his jawline, across the black stubble on his chin, then she ran a finger across his lips. She touched the black lines on his face and her hand shot away. They were burning hot like the red coals in a fire but the rest of his face was normal temperature. She wondered about his eyes, those venom-like orbs that swam with deadliness. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to think about how attractive this blue man was anymore, she had to get him into the tavern and bandaged up. She swung his arm around her shoulder then stood up slowly then she began walking towards the tavern.

He was conscious again as they began the slow return to the tavern. He had a heavy limp due to the tremendous fall he had taken and she heard him grunt and moan from the pain every few steps. As soon as she put a hand up to push on the door it flew open with concerned-faced patrons wanting to help Drusilla get him up the stairs to rest. He was grateful to the tavern patrons for wanting to help but he had no intention of saving any of them if Tukmah had destroyed the tavern. He had only done his job and once he had some rest he was going to collect his reward. Three days had passed now since Tukmah's demise. She thought something was strange as she walked past a window on the second floor of the building. When she looked down she should have seen at least drag marks from the wild animals in these parts but she saw nothing but the dried blood pool that flowed from his headless neck.

She shrugged it off as she entered the room with a small basin of steaming water in her hands and a cloth on her arm. She walked over to the small table and placed the basin on top of it as she watched him on the other side of the bed, doing one-handed push-ups. His long hair wasn’t tied back so it looked like a silver curtain that fell over his shoulder and tricep. He stopped doing push-ups and stood up with a slight huff. He limped over to her, hopping right by her without saying thanks as took the cloth off her arm to wipe his sweaty face and collarbone.

He wondered why this girl was still hanging around and helping him recover. It was true that he saved her life but she could leave and live her life now. She didn’t need to hang around a dangerous guy like him, yet she was with him every day chatting with him, tending to his ankle that was only sprained and treating his wounds though they had mostly healed already. He found it strange, confusing, and new and he kind of liked it. The two of them made a strange pair, a human girl that wasn’t more than five foot seven, and a man of dark elven descent. He towered over the girl at the height of six foot two.

Both of them didn’t know it yet, but they were destined to meet. Drusilla luckily had an abnormal super strength advantage and Comotos was as menacing as they came. If it wasn’t for his speed, strength, and quick wits they would have both perished by Tukmah’s claws. And if she hadn’t witnessed the fight then he would have never obtained that rare jewel that he didn’t even know he was looking for. He suddenly remembered a melody and then words that his mother sang to him after his father was killed. After they received the news from their mother she sat on her husbands’ rocking chair and slowly began to lose her mind. Tears flowed down her soot-smudged face as she sang the mournful melody for her lost husband, though it had nothing to do with a lost love or broken hearts. It seemed so long ago now but yes, he still remembered the whole thing.

“The dolphin and the whale lived in harmony,

In the skies among the clouds, at night the stars fell,

The whale and the dolphin swam together, in a misty dance,

They were happy but they cried tears, pure black drops.

The black tears formed together into one as they fell,

They split apart again into five stones before they hit the sea,

The whale and the dolphin wanted to stay with their tears,

The land was made in their form, then the Unido were born.

I tell a tale of lost treasures,

Treasures so old they gave no pleasure,

The Diamonds of Tesmaro forged,

No one could ignore their ethereal groans.

The power that all five possess,

Will tear the world apart

No Chiisai, No Yajuu, No Kuro,

Can control this power arch.

He didn’t understand why that song, which was so memorable for him in his childhood could be forgotten so easily. It seemed the memory was dislodged from his brain and was shoved right back in at the very moment. It even hurt as if he was continuously being kicked in the stomach. He felt a sudden urge to puke up his own intestines when he felt a warm hand on his bareback. It was Drusilla and she was looking up at him with so much concern that it pained him, even more, to stare into her sad and beautiful purple eyes. Even her magnificent smile was gone from her features. It seemed almost always plastered against her face, except for when he and Tukmah were having their duel. He had glanced over at her a few times while fighting the now dead Yajuu and he saw a completely blank expression on her face as if all of her life was drained from it. Her mouth twitched into a magnificent smile again.

“Looks like you’re feeling better, hm?” she chuckled and patted Comotos’ back all friendly-like. She backed away and headed towards the door. He was dumbfounded. How did she subdue that horrible feeling in his gut? He actually felt better than ever and he realized he didn’t want her to leave, yet he didn’t know what to say. He kind of stood there, staring at her retreating form when she stopped and swung her body around and walked right back to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, breathing out a small sigh in the process. “Thank you again for saving my life.” She sighed out into his bare skin. Thanks to her, he finally realized his expanding potential and how to activate his true power. On their first day together he was angry because she wanted to stay by his side and help him recover. He told her to get lost but she resisted. She pushed and prodded him with the many, many reasons why she should stay with him until he finally gave in and accepted the fact that he would have someone by his side, an apprentice of sorts when he was so used to being alone. “You're welcome," He said with little emotion.

She released her hold of the taller Kuro’s lean and muscular frame and lifted one of his hands in hers and began studying his hand, turning it over to see his palm and the back of it. She seemed to have a great idea and put his hand back at his side. She smiled up at him. “I’m going to make you a gift!” As she walked towards the bed, Comotos sat down heavily on an overstuffed sofa, he laid down and lifted his sprained ankle to rest on the back of the couch. Before he dozed off he noticed her happily cutting red cloth on the bed. He had fallen asleep before she had finished his gift.

She tiptoed over to him and lightly ran a finger up the unpierced edge of his ear. His eyes shot open and those venom orbs moved to stare at her. She stretched out her hand and offered what was in it. He took the items cautiously and studied them. They were no longer mere pieces of cloth. They were red and black trimmed fingerless gloves. He slipped them onto his hands and made a fist and studied them again. They fit his hands almost perfectly. He placed his feet on the floor and stood up, if not the tiniest bit shakily.

She offered him the shirt and he studied it as well. He put the shirt on, noticing that it was now completely tailored to his body. He also noticed that she had made his left sleeve striped. Yajuu are a lot bigger than all of the other sentient species on Seken, so it seemed logical enough to modify it. He tucked the shirt into his pants and rolled the sleeves up past his elbows. He smirked and grabbed Drusilla by her waist gently and took a few steps towards her, making her walk backward at the same time. The surprised look on her face made this maneuver worth it. He suddenly pivoted and tripped Drusilla, making her fall on the bed. He put his knee on the bed beside her and lowered his face to hers. “Thank you, these new clothes are a nice gesture. Let me give you something in return."