She patted my back soothingly, and though it was very close to the wounds hidden beneath the thin fabric of my shirt, her comfort was helping tame the whimpers and sobs that escaped me.
When my whimpers settled, ChiyoChi pulled back to look down at me, her eyes their original cool toned multicolored appearance.
"For one to be powerful, it requires patience, dedication, and determination to grow. When we train, I do not show mercy but match my power to my students. In your case, you don't know how strong you are, so I will train you differently," she stated.
I had to stare at her in shock and my Kitsune, sat down on her back legs and was just as astonished as I. "You'll...train us?"
ChiyoChi's eyes twinkled with kindness, the same passion I'd seen previously when she talked to Aki. Her pink lips parted as she announced the words I never thought I'd hear.
"You and your Kitsune, yes. Congratulations, Crimson Jiyuna. You have passed my test," ChiyoChi confirmed.
"Why would I have to make a barrier that's ALL THE WAY over there, while I'm fighting my culprit who is over HERE?!" I exclaimed, feeling frustrated.
Itsuki gave me a smirk while Haru chuckled. "She's cute when she's frustrated." Haru grinned.
"She really is, especially with her ears out like that," Itsuki added.
I growled and threw my hands up in the air, waving my swords like an idiot. "Answer me!!!! And I'm not cute!"
They both just chuckled, and I pouted my lips as my arms fell to my sides. My Kitsune was just as annoyed; neither of us liked the fact we were being called cute in the middle of our "fake battle."
It had been a full week of training with ChiyoChi and the guys. My daily schedule from Monday to Friday started with me waking up at 5:30 in the morning to run with Malachi.
The first three days it was just me and him, and I personally couldn't be happier. I'd missed the chilled morning breeze, the chirping of the birds, and watching the sun begin to rise as my feet squished into the soft ground of the trails that were all over the shrine.
Malachi appeared just as pleased to go back to our running routine, but he did push me harder than usual, trying to increase my endurance and help me use my Kitsune's agility to assist me if I landed myself into a situation where I'd need to run for my life.
By Thursday, Haru joined us in the morning runs, wanting to work on his endurance as well as liking to spend time with me without kicking my ass in training that happened later on in the day.
When we would return from our morning run, I would shower and either Aki or Quil would help wrap my wounds. The last three days Quil had been doing the bandaging because Aki would go off somewhere with Malachi and Haru. I didn't know what they were working on, but seeing as I would have training after breakfast, it wasn't a big deal.
Haru and Itsuki would alternate making breakfast for everyone, and Quil would then take me to ChiyoChi and stand on guard while we trained.
I didn't see the purpose of Quil or Yoshi standing guard to protect me when I was training with Master ChiyoChi who had a reputation of killing thousands of men at war. A thousand men was apparently an understatement, but ChiyoChi merely shrugged when I asked for clarification. "I lost count after one thousand," she stated, acting like it wasn't an amazing achievement.
Yoshi would stand on guard when Quil needed a break, but he'd been going back and forth from the shrine to the palace to have discussions with his father and help with the planning.
So far, there hadn't been any major incidents around Homatomashi, but the crime rate was still high and there had been more reports of rapes and kidnappings happening in the smaller communities where prostitution was much higher.
After my training sessions with ChiyoChi, which would be between 4 to 9 hours, I'd break for either lunch or dinner and do training with the guys, particularly Itsuki. He'd been training me consistently all week, with the occasional addition of Quil and Haru who'd rotate guarding us while we trained in a different location within the shrine.
The training was HARD, and it was thanks to Haru for making some replenish medicine that I wasn’t a crippled mess after each training session; it kept me going during our night training.
"I'm going to tell the others that you're going to be late coming back. Quil's outside on guard duty so don't worry about staying too late," Haru suggested, walking over to me. He gave me a comforting hug and patted my head, which made me pout once again.
"You guys treat me like an innocent animal."
"Well, you're pretty innocent and cute until you start doing that petal stuff. Then you're frightening." Haru winked and gave me a peck on my lips that I hadn't been expecting. He smirked at my astonished look, my Kitsune pausing in her current pacing. She wanted to get back to trying to kick Itsuki's ass, but Haru's small gesture of affection threw both of us off.
"Hai..." I replied, not even realizing I'd answered in Japanese until Itsuki chuckled.
"You notice whenever anyone seduces Crim even a little, she's thrown off?"
"Definitely noticed. Malachi does it all the time to her when he takes his shirt off after our runs," Haru teased.
I blushed before I glared at Haru. "I do not!"
"Uh huh. Should have seen when Malachi ran topless the other day. Crim almost ran into a tree while checking out his six pack."
"That- that was different! I was distracted!" I defended.
"Distracted by them tight muscles of his abdomen and the dip of his sweatpants." Haru winked and my face grew hot red.
"Baka! Go away!" I whined, placing my hands on Haru's shoulders. I turned him around and began to push him toward the door, which only made him laugh harder.
"Admit it."
"Never! Go enjoy Quil's abs or something!" I huffed. My eyes focused on the approaching door and a wind picked up, sliding the wooden door open. Quil's head popped up on the side of the door frame but he moved back right in time as I gently pushed Haru out into the cool night air. He turned around and I pointed at him. "Go tease someone else."
"What did you do?" Quil asked with a grin.
"I told Itsuki that she'd been checking Malachi out and almost ran into a tree." Haru smirked as he put his hands in his black sweatpants.
Quil sighed, his pink eyes filled with amusement. "You know she gets completely distracted when she sees something she likes."
"Quil!" I huffed.
He shrugged. "It's the truth."
My Kitsune came to the surface and eyed the both of them; they noticed the shift and froze. We took a step back and closed the door with ease.
We turned around and walked back to where Itsuki had been watching everything play out. Even though my Kitsune was in control, he still couldn't hide his pleased expression.
"You're impatient, Ms. Kitsune," Itsuki noted. His words were more of a compliment to us than anything.
"I want to get stronger," she replied and ran back to her spot while I took over. "That makes the both of us," I added and sighed. "But I think I need a break."
My back was aching, which happened every couple of hours. The wounds were healing and some of my wounds had finally closed, but it still hurt in certain areas, and I still hadn't fully gotten over my "deer in headlights" moments.
"Are you okay?" Itsuki asked. I knew he was referring to whether I could continue training after a few minutes of rest, or if I was done for the day.
With a smile, I nodded. "Yes. Maybe some fresh air would help."
Itsuki looked at the entrance where Quil would most likely be guarding. "Want to go somewhere? I'm technically not supposed to show you yet, but Yoshi's rather busy and you may have to be trained earlier rather than later."
"A place I shouldn't know about? Sounds exciting. Don't we have to tell Quil?" I followed Itsuki's gaze to the door.
When Itsuki was silent, I turned my curious gaze on him to see a slight smile on his lips while his purple eyes met my mine. "There's always an alternate exit everywhere."
He reached out and slid his hand in
to mine and guided me to the corner of the room where there were a few mats placed on the wall. He let go of my hand to move to the middle blue mat, revealing a back door.
"That wasn't there before!"
"We know." Itsuki winked, reclaiming my hand in his before he used his free hand to reach the doorknob. "We move it during each training session. You haven't noticed though."
"I feel robbed," I grumbled, wishing I was a part of the loop which made Itsuki laugh. "That's what Malachi said when he finally figured it out. Now, try to be silent. Don't want Quil noticing."
"Hai!" I replied while my Kitsune began to roll around in excitement. She could feel my aches, and the idea of getting some air and discovering a new place we hadn't explored yet was exciting to her.
We moved quietly outside into the cool breezy night. The door closed on its own, sealing itself and returning to what it originally looked like, which was the dark blue wall. We were in the back of the building, but we didn't stay long, Itsuki leading the way to this unknown location.
Walking in the forest was comforting, especially with Itsuki present. I knew we hadn't gotten a lot of time to spend with one another, but it didn't feel like he was upset about the lack of attention.
With everything that had been going on the last couple of weeks, it made sense that we were so jam-packed and had no down time to actually learn about each other even more. I felt like everyone knew what was going on with me, but I'd yet to learn more about some of the guys.
I didn't expect to have a balance or to know everything about everyone quickly, but I prayed I could strive towards learning about all of my men. I want to scratch the surface and see what lies deep within and gain an even stronger connection with all of them.
My dream might be delayed due to all this training in preparation of getting the last crystal from N.R.O, but I hoped after all this was over, I'd have all the time in the world to spend with the guys. To learn more about them on a personal level and grow stronger together.
When we reached a clearing, my eyes grew wide and a smile formed on my lips. "Wow..."
My eyes were immediately drawn to the crystal clear water that had a type of algae glowing vividly along the bottom. The translucent teal and purples made the pink lilies that floated gently on the surface look untouchable, and the moonlight that shone above us only added to the spectacular view.
Gold fireflies buzzed around us while the calming trees had various fruits and flowers blossoming on their large branches. Some of them reaching so far up into the sky the moonlight couldn't penetrate through the thickness of the leaves and boughs.
Itsuki squeezed my hand to bring me out of my daze, and the alluring expression on his face brought out the handsomeness I'd been trying to ignore.
It wasn't because I didn't want to appreciate him or any of the guys’ attractiveness. It was more along the fact that if I acknowledged their handsome features like before, I wouldn't be able to step up and perform without remembering what had happened to me. To remember those dark thoughts.
"It's stunning, right?"
I grinned and looked around once more. "It's more than just stunning. How can something so immaculate remain this way? Has no one come here before?" I inquired.
"ChiyoChi and Aki have trained here before," Itsuki replied.
"Really? What can they do here?"
"Sometimes, depending on the situation, you're going to have to fight on water. This place helps you attune with your powers and learn how to balance your energy throughout different body parts."
Itsuki used his free hand to point to the water. "To balance yourself on water, you have to focus your energy as you would when you’re sword dancing. It's a bit harder because you're not using only the wind element to aid you in hovering above the water. You have to acknowledge the water as an object and constantly remind yourself that you are a light object that can float on the surface, just like the lilies."
"Can you do it?" I asked, feeling intrigued by the new information.
"Not really. I'm pretty bad at it and Quil's too bulky. He'll sink right in." Itsuki shrugged while I snickered.
"I can imagine Malachi teasing him for that."
"He does." Itsuki winked and chuckled as I laughed quietly. It was such an easy situation to envision and it was relaxing to laugh about it with Itsuki.
"Haru can do it for a short period of time and Malachi isn't too bad at it either. Akihiro was trained to know how to fight on water, but Yoshi is a pro at it."
"Really? Is it a palace or royal thing?"
"Royal families participate in traditional water dances. It doesn't matter if you’re male or female. Dance is rooted in the Japanese culture and is mandatory. Yoshi actually dances every year at the Summer Festival at the palace for royals across Homatomashi. He didn't participate last year because we were on a mission. He'll most likely be in the Winter Festival since the Emperor gave Yoshi a break for the summer one."
"Yoshi dances. I really want to see that one day," I admitted.
"Malachi does too, but he’s way better at his hip-hop club dancing." Itsuki chuckled.
"Do you guys even go clubbing?"
"Once in a while when we all need to relax. To be honest, it's been a long time since we've all been together for this length of time. I mean, sure we're not together in one place all the time but being in the same country together varied. Dancing isn’t my thing, but I like reading and sometimes drawing. Haru loves cooking, running, and sometimes he plays video games with Malachi and Quil. Malachi and I love training more than anything, and Quil joins from time to time with Yoshi and Aki. Our interests are all different, but we've become pretty close that we don't mind doing one of someone's favorites. Malachi has won a few competitions though."
"Wow. I realize we haven't gotten to do a lot of our hobbies as of late," I whispered.
I hadn't touched a paintbrush in weeks. Aki had announced I was on a much-needed break, but everyone had been super positive and supportive, insisting I deserve a break after all the years of delivering artwork.
It wasn't like I'd lost my passion, but I wasn't ready to pick up the brush and draw out how I felt. I could reveal the truth of the extent of the incident with Erica, and I’m not ready to face that hurdle yet.
I'd yet to tell the guys, and even though I'd wanted to tell Hakua eventually, with our previous fight, there was no way I could tell her.
Itsuki nodded and the empathy that showed on his face made me wish I could tell him more. "I know. But hobbies and passions never leave a person’s life. We can put them on the shelf and let them collect dust for as long as we need to, but when it comes time to pick them up again, all we would do is brush the dust off and get back to enjoying them once more. Painting, dancing, reading, any of those can wait for us to be ready to love them like we have in the past. I think that's what I love about it."
I maneuvered myself so that I stood before him, face to face. Sliding my hand in his, I stared up into his purple eyes that glittered from the rays of the moonlight.
"How...how are you doing? I mean, in regard to everything. I know I haven't been doing my part as a girlfriend should in seeing how all of you are coping with Storm's betrayal."
I really had been slacking and felt a bit self-centered for not addressing this sooner.
"It's hard...sometimes. I mean, I've accepted the fact that Storm essentially used us and never loved us. I think compared to the others, I haven't really let it sink in yet. We all handle devastating news somewhat differently, and I'm a slow responder. I acknowledge it, just haven't allowed it to fully sink in. When it does, I know it will hurt as it did when we found out," Itsuki admitted, lifting his eyes to stare at the starry sky.
"Storm was once our world. We felt like we had a purpose in her life, especially since we all came from, well...broken lives. We all knew what tragedy felt like. We all experienced losing someone dear to us. Maybe our pain is what brought us all together, and now that we know about Storm's true pain...gue
ss she, too, felt some connection with all of us. I won't deny that finding out she used us hurt, but I think I'm more upset that it hurt my fellow friends who are basically like family to me."
He lowered his gaze to look into my eyes. "And it hurt you as well. You didn't have to stay with us. You weren't obligated to after being caught into this mess, yet you did. You showed us loyalty that others would take years to prove and loved us when we weren't sure of what we wanted. You're a rare jewel that people would dream to love and adore, and it makes me happy to know we get to love and protect you."
"Even with everything that happened? I'm not really a shiny diamond anymore." My Kitsune growled at my negative talk, but that was the first thing that came to my mind. I feel like they're too good for me, yet they think I'm a jewel that others would be blessed to have?
"Crimson." Itsuki lifted his hands to cradle my face, making it impossible for me to move my gaze from his. "No matter whether a jewel is untouchable or shattered into little pieces, it doesn't lose its essence. Just because a jewel falls and cracks, doesn't mean its beauty and purpose is lost. It still holds its shiny glow, and once fixed, it's returned to its original appearance. Sometimes you won't see the lines that show it had once been broken, and if the lines do remain, it does not tarnish its overall beauty. It proves that anyone can survive being broken and those lines show the beauty that comes with survival."
I bit my lip and blinked back the tears threatening to spill over, my Kitsune just as moved by his words as I was. She moved up to the border of the surface to show me she, too, was here and didn't think of us as something that could never shine again.
Itsuki smiled and his gaze lowered to my lips. "Would this beautiful gem before me be fine with a kiss?"
"I'd love one," I replied as a single tear left my right eye and rolled down to his left thumb that brushed it away. His head inched closer as my eyes slowly closed. I wasn't afraid of a simple kiss, and even though closing my eyes trickled a bit of fear through me, I knew I was in safe hands. It was something I'd have to keep reminding myself of, in hopes of one day conquering that fear.
Facing the Storm Page 9
