Rigel looked up, hope filling his eyes. He smiled, rushing to the side of the house and whisper-shouting, “Do you have any more metal?” He could feel some in the room, but he didn’t want to rip it out in case of making any loud noises. But he still needed to get up there somehow.
Kohaku nodded. "I hope jewelry works…" She went back and pulled out all the boxes and cases of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings, setting them on the window sill. "This is all I could find." Her ears perked up, her tail still wagging happily. My Rigel has come back!
Rigel brought down the metal- it would be enough. He melded the metal to go on his feet and hands and lifted himself up to the window. Rigel had to grit his teeth to pull himself up, but he managed.
Kohaku helped him to the window sill and drew him into a warming, clinging hug. "I haven't seen you in so long…." She whispered and nuzzled at his neck. "…And I'm glad to tell you no one else knows about the rose yet…"
“Yeah,” He rubbed his chin, knowing a small beard was forming by now. He wrapped his arms around Kohaku and kissed her, “I missed you a lot.” He formed the rose back to it’s original shape. “The rose can be our signal.”
"Of course…." She curled her tail loosely around his waist. "If it closes…. You're nearby…. Right?" Kohaku glanced at him into his wonderful eyes, running a hand along his face, where a light stubble was forming. ….Maybe I should offer him….
“Yeah, when I get in range,” He smiled, brushing her hair/fur caringly, “I’ll close it. Just keep it out of sight at all times, and we’ll be fine.” Rigel kisses her forehead lightly, smiling.
Kohaku's ears twitched with excitement, and she licked his cheek in return. "That shouldn't be too tough… Considering it hides well under my robe…" She thought twice, and thought it was best to leave it be. "But… I was wondering if… You'd want to clean up… If you understand…"
Meanwhile…
Yasu and Alex finally returned to Naoki's abode, not surprised to find it abandoned. "Should've known they'd run…" Yasu growled, putting her traditional bow on her back. "But…" Her face screwed up.
"What's up?" Alex glared at her.
"That guy…" She wrinkled her nose. "Who would ever try to defend a Doku Ningen, expecially a human…." She stuck her tongue out in disgust. So screwed up….
“You don’t like my beard?” Rigel asked in a mockingly offended tone, stroking his chin, “I think I’d like to braid it eventually,” He joked, eyes twinkling in amusement. He missed being around Kohaku.
She giggled lightly. "Your beard's fine, silly– I was talking about taking a shower. I'd think you would've gotten a bit dirty from being out and about the past seven days…" Kohaku massaged his shoulders, rubbing at his muscles. He must've been exhausted from trying to live directly off the wild.
Meanwhile….
Alex shook his head. "I guess there always has to be that one group of people that oppose the entire nation…"
Yasu rumaged around the house, looting off the valuables and stuff Naoki kept in his house. "Damn… This is some pretty good stuff…."
Alex went around out back to see a nice, jumble of animal footprints leading off into the wilderness. He smirked. "I think I know where they all went…"
“All jokes aside, washing up sounds wonderful.” Rigel smiled softly, hand sliding to intertwine with Kohaku’s. “It’s been a long week without you, I must smell disgusting.”
"Well, you aren't far from the truth…" She got off of him, and carefully lead him to the door. "Just be careful… They're all asleep somewhere down the hallway…. And if they catch you, just say that you didn't know anyone was here…" Kohaku squeezed his hand softly, putting a small grin on her face. "You understand….?"
Meanwhile…. Because Yasu and Alex kinda got tired, they stopped to rest a little.
Rigel nodded, hoping they didn’t get caught nonetheless. He didn’t have much metal to defend them, he’d probably only be able to make a small disk sized shield with what he had.
Kohaku tip toed down the hallway in the opposite direction of where the others were sleeping. She made it all the way down to the third floor bathroom, and she let him go inside. "Don't take long, though…"
Rigel quickly cleaned himself up, making sure to not shave off that sexy beard morphing the metal he had into a blade so he could shave himself. He was so comforted to be able to clean himself.
Kohaku waited patiently outside the door, looking out for Daichi and anyone else, truthfully. I just hope he can get back into my room before they wake up….
Meanwhile…
Alex and Yasu began following their tracks, but they faded as they got lower on the mountain. "Dammit…" Alex scanned the ground, looking for any kind of sign that they were around. "Where could they have gone?"
"Well, being the half human that they are, do you think they got very far?"
Rigel hurried and stepped out silently a moment later, relieved to be here, to be safe right now.
(I’m confused as he stepped out of the bathroom or the shower….)
Alex and Yasu were traveling along nicely when a hefty rainstorm came over the land. “Dammit!!” Alex barked, putting his hood up. “I always had a feeling this was gonna happen…”
Yasu put her hood up too. “Then let’s see if we can— look! Over there!” She pointed to the manor. “We can just take shelter in there.”
They carfully stepped up on the porch and snuck inside. “Who knows… they actually might be here…..” They tip toed up the stairs and went into the first bedroom they came to.
Yasu shushed Alex. “Dude… it’s that panther….” She signaled him to go beside the bed, and he pulled a cloth out. He held Akira’s head and shoved the cloth over his mouth to mute his hollering. “Light’s out, my friend.”
And with a swift pull from Yasu’s bow, the black panther was dead.
(I’m kinda surprised he died so soon)
“I should probably go soon,” Rigel whispered to Kohaku, knowing it was only a matter of time before someone in the house woke up and found him.
(Me too…. But…. They were after him….)
Kohaku got on her tip toes. "You can't leave me so soon," She whined, ears drooping sadly. "You just got here five minutes ago…. Can't you stay any longer?" Her tail swayed. "P-Please?"
A random crack of thunder frightened her, and she yipped, clinging to Rigel. "…Please?"
Meanwhile….
Yasu and Alex glanced up upon hearing a yip. "It sounds like that fox girl," Yasu sneered, yanking the arrow from Akira's chest. "…Is she scared of storms?" She asked in a sarcastic whiny voice.
"Well…." Alex shrugged. "You think we should find her?"
"Of course… Yet… I have a better idea…."
“Shhh, shhhh,” Rigel comforted, brushing Kohaku’s head, “You know it’s not safe for us to be here together. Now that I know where you are, I can visit you more frequently. But it gets more and more risky the longer I stay,” Rigel kissed her forehead gently, “I promise I’ll stay longer next time, but I feel like I’ve already tested my luck.”
She just hugged him tight, nuzzling into his chest. "I can't leave you…. Osore…" She muttered weakly. "He's out there…." Kohaku didn't dare look up. She didn't want to risk her sanity, yet she wanted to preserve their highly-valued relationship.
Meanwhile….
"Well, what's your plan?" Yasu glared, heading out of the room quietly.
He shrugged. "Does it look like I have one? As long as we're the only ones leaving the mansion, that's okay with me…"
They went into the dark hallway, and they inched onward to a corridor. Yasu glanced around the corner and snickered. "Right there, out in the open…."
“Oh,” It finally clicked in Rigel’s head what the problem was. He brought Kohaku in a tight hug, “Hey, I’ll stay. Let’s go up to your room, I’ll keep you safe.” It’s be better to get out of prying eyes…
Kohaku clung to him, keeping her head down. "Please…"
Yasu stuck her tongue out. "My god, they're in love…" She hissed.
Alex went around to have a peek. "Damn… It doesn't get any worse than that… Quick… Before they get away…"
"Well, hang on a hot second…." Yasu began to whisper something into Alex's ear.
He nodded deliberately. "Sounds good to me." They turned back and left them, off to find the others.
Rigel guided her up to her room, bringing her to sit on the bed, “Hey, look at me. It will be alright.” He even pulled out his metal defensively, putting it behind him so Kohaku’s Osore would be out of the picture.