Tough as Nails [Anguis Tenebris and Aiko]

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Birdsong filled the trees as flowers and plants grew, flourishing in the newness of spring. Bees buzzed, and the scent of life filled the air. It was peaceful, just as the forest ought to be. This was why the young Neko enjoyed it so much. However, she came here to do something more than relish in nature's tranquility.

Aiko had been in Team Dragonstorm her whole life, adopted by the Kaiju Draligon and mentored by a man she saw as her best friend, Arik. With their help, Aiko had become interested in becoming a real part of Team Dragonstorm, like them. She wanted to go on serious missions and handle them perfectly, much how Sly and Lexia did together. You could say everyone in the Guild was her inspiration to be the perfect fighter, but unfortunately she never got the chance to prove herself. . . Until now.

The young adult had been tracking an assassin known as Anguis Tenebris in hopes of taking him down in order to prove herself. Aiko was hoping to catch him here, in this very forest. So the Neko slunk about in the undergrowth, axes in hand as she glanced around the woods for any signs. Her tail flicked behind her. There were no signs, yet. . .

The walk to the room seemed like forever to Aiko. She kept on shifting her neck, unused to the collar wrapped snugly around her throat. While Anguis made sure she didn't speed up, she kept attempting to until she finally submitted. Thus, the Neko was relieved when she finally entered the coolness of the room. If she was stupid, she would bolt as soon as Anguis became engrossed in his book, but Aiko was smarter than that. If she was smart, she would have to escape when her captor was completely off guard, like when he was sleeping.

In response to the assassin, Aiko rolled her eyes and flopped on the bed. She paused, then pressed it gently. The girl smiled. It sounded like a water bed. She had her own back at home, and remembered that as a child she believed that there was fish living inside of it. Aiko rolled onto her belly and propped her chin on her hands, watching Anguis through narrowed eyes. However, she was more interested in her axes beside him, and her gaze slowly slid down to those instead.

While Anguis was reading his book, he was cautious to keep his guard up. What strings weren't around her neck were flowing around his body. If needed, these strings had the capability to block machine gun fire, so this girl didn't prove to be any kind of threat. But, he didn't get 167 confirmed kills by letting his guard down to anyone he didn't see as a threat. I'm going to need a name for her. I can't call her by her actual name because I'm saving that as a reward. So what should I call her for now to remind her of her place without constantly addressing her as "Slave" or "Girl".

A few hours later. . .

Aiko was burrowed under the blankets on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Try as she might, she really wanted to go to sleep, so she could escape from this sad new reality. But no matter what she imagined, what sleeping position she shifted to, the Neko could not bring herself to fall asleep. It felt like boundless energy was running through her veins, begging her to get up. Aiko sat up in bed, blinking. Moonlight shone through the window, bathing the contents of the hotel room in a tranquil shade of silver. The girl's eyes rested on Anguis Tenebris, fast asleep in his armchair. Beside him, we're her axes. Aiko's heart jumped.

Slowly and silently, the Neko slid out of the bed and slipped her sneakers onto her feet. She then tiptoed over to Anguis' armchair, carefully picking up her axes. This was it. Aiko could kill him, right now, but she thought better of it. She knew that Anguis Tenebris was clever, and she couldn't forget about his strings. He could have a trap around him so he could sleep peacefully and be alerted if Aiko dared to try something on him. No. Killing him was not a good idea. Escaping was a much better one.

Aiko slid open the window and looked down at the ground below, axes still in hand. It was a long way down; she would get injured if she jumped straight down there. So the young adult leapt from the window to the building next to it, claws unsheathed. The claws didn't dig into the building, but it caught onto the bricks, letting Aiko hang on. She climbed down carefully into the alleyway then sped off, trying to get as far from the hotel as possible.

Anguis had been reading his book and eventually started to fake sleep. He wanted to see how Aiko would react if she thought Anguis was asleep. His strings were still up and around him in case she decided to attack. Anguis was surprised that Aiko didn't try to attack him, but just grabbed her axes and left.

When he was certain Aiko had left, he opened his eyes and walked over to the window. She had just made it to the ground and charged off. Anguis turned around and walked out of the room. He the exited the hotel and went to go track her down. It wasn't hard since her running steps were the echoing down the streets. He gave chase in order to not lose her. Judging by the path she is taking, she is either trying to lose me or is completely lost.

Aiko kept her eyes peeled for any possible places to hide, and anything that gave a clue to where she was going. She was trying to take paths that would be unexpected and random, in case Anguis Tenebris came looking for her. The thought of seeing him again made the Neko run faster.

However, before she could go much further, something in her path made her grunt and fall to the ground in a tumble, scraping her knees and hands. She gritted her teeth as she felt the unpleasant sensation of dirt and blood mingling in her new minor wound, causing more pain. Aiko was suddenly looking at the concrete underneath her, momentarily confused as to why she was suddenly on the ground.

The Neko's tail lashed furiously as she hissed, ears going flat against her head. She struggled angrily despite one of the thugs stepping on her wrists. When he did, she yelped in the sudden pain and released her precious weapons. As soon as she realized what she did, Aiko groaned in frustration and struggled harder, not liking the weight of the thug on top of her despite the knife near her face. She narrowed her eyes ominously at the blade.

"The reason I'm down here is none of your business," she spat at him. "If you think you can take something from me, you're sadly mistaken. I have nothing. Now, let me go, won't you?!" She began to struggle again, hoping to prove a challenge, which was unlikely because of her current position.

Hanshu slid the edge of the blade over her throat, making the smallest of cuts appear. "Not really giving me reason to keep you alive. And I can't just let you go now can I?" He paused for a bit and pondered. "I know, you could be the boss' new toy."

"Nah, fuck that. I'm having first go with this one." Junker exclaimed. He turned to Jinko, "You in for some fun? I'm doing her with or without you."

Jinko brushed away on of her tails as she got off the wall. "Sure why not. I was getting bored anyway and this one looks like fun." She walked over and held the girls arms down while Junker dropped the axes and walked up behind the girl.

"You two are just disgusting. I'm not going to be the one to tell the boss what happened to her." He got off the girl as Junker was getting ready.

Anguis heard commotion up ahead. As he turned the corner he saw three people standing over Aiko. From what he heard, it sounded like they were going to rape Aiko. He ran ahead, strings wrapped together to form a whip. One man with a knife got off her and turned around just in time to be hit in the head by the whip. The impact shot him into the wall with a broken skull.

Another male turned around, hands down at his buckle. Anguis used all five strings on his left hand to wrap around the mans neck and crushed it in a second.

Releasing all his strings, they began to flow around his body. He then slowly approached the girl holding down Aiko, a panicked look on her face. "Oh god! Who are you? What do you want?" She let go of Aiko's arms and raised her hands in surrender.

A dark shadow covered Anguis' face and a dark look entered his eyes. "You were going to hurt my possession. That girl is mine so anything you wish to do to her is going to have to get through me. He send a hand forward and all ten strings wrapped around her throat, lifting her up. Anguis began to choke her, squeezing the strings slowly. She tried to claw at the strings around her throat but was unable to do anything. Finally, the pressure was too much and a sickening snap was heard as her body went limp. Anguis let the body hit the floor and turned to look at Aiko.

For those few seconds, Aiko was mortified as she realized what was happening and she struggled harder than she ever had in her whole life. No no no no, she thought in horror, not like this, not like this--

Just when she was entering a deeper stage of panic mode, suddenly everything seemed to come to an abrupt stop with the sound of a sickening snap. Aiko pulled herself up with a dazed, shocked look on her face, staggering on her feet as she tried to wrap her mind around what just happened. . . Or, more like what almost happened. The Neko's jeans around her knees were soaked red, but the bleeding had stopped. Finally, Aiko realized who was standing right before her. She instantly grabbed her axes, entering a defensive stance. She was grateful that Anguis saved her life, but at the same time, she wished that someone else-- anyone --would have come along. Aiko flattened her ears, not saying a word. She let the fire in her eyes say everything for her.

"Things aren't safe out here. These streets get filled with real scum. If you think you can take them on, I implore you too. But things would be safer back at the hotel. Come now girl, you offered your life in servitude. Put down those weapons and return with me." As he talked three strings detached and floated their way to Aiko. He hoped the dark night would help camoflage them as they approached. They were aiming to make another string collar, forcing Aiko to follow his command.

Aiko gripped her axes so tight that her knuckles turned white. She knew what she had to do, and god help her, she was going to scream. She came all out here and almost got raped to escape from this guy, and lo and behold, who was there? Anguis Fucking Tenebris in all his glory.

Gritting her teeth, Aiko raised her voice. "Fine! Just. . . Fine!" She threw down her axes and stomped past Anguis, starting to head back towards the hotel in a stomping fury. "I hope you're happy with yourself, Tenebris!" she yelled over her shoulder.

Anguis let Aiko walk past, but the strings still wrapped around her neck for good measure. He picked up the axes and rushed over to her. He grabbed Aiko by the arm and walked with her back to the hotel. When they got back Anguis closed the window and went back to his chair, placing the axes back beside the chair. He didn't speak to her the entire time.

Only when Aiko flopped back onto the waterbed did she realize how exhausted she was from the whole experience. Ignoring the pain in her legs and hands, she rolled up her sleeves and snuggled into the bed, staring at Anguis with her bright blue eyes. Her gaze slid down to look at her precious axes beside his chair. She really screwed up. She should have killed him when she had the chance. She should have ran faster through those alleyways. If she had done those things, she could be well on her way back to Team Dragonstorm now, ready to embrace Arik and Draligon.

Aiko's eyelids were getting heavy and she rolled over to turn her back to her captor, not wanting to look at him as she fell asleep. Finally, the warm arms of sleep embraced her into a world of dreams.

Anguis watched as Aiko fell asleep. He wouldn't allow her to fake sleep and get away again. And so, he remained in that chair for the rest of the night. As much as he wanted too, he couldn't allow her to wake up before him and run off again. Besides, he was used to working sleep deprived. His family made sure of that. He had spend many nights in a cold dark room with nothing to do. A shock collar around his neck to prevent sleep.

Anguis had to quickly adapt to working under many sorts of high stress situations. For this one, he only used basic functions, even stopping all thoughts. Going into a half awake half asleep state. He was preserving as much energy as he could for tomorrow. When Anguis felt himself falling totally asleep, he thought about the pain a shock collar brought and immediately woke up. The pain and twitching fresh in his mind.

When the morning came, the warmth of the sunlight awoke the Neko laying on the bed. Aiko opened her eyes groggily. She didn't sleep very long due to the time she and Anguis returned to the hotel, but the few hours she did sleep, the rest was blissful. Aiko rolled over onto her back and sat up. From the color of the sunlight, the sun was just rising. The Neko stretched, spreading her fingers and yawning. She turned to look at Anguis Tenebris. He didn't look so good. She wondered if he slept at all the night before.

Anguis managed to stay awake until the girl woke up. "Good, you are awake. Now we are going to eat breakfast before we head out." His voice was very low and lacked energy. He got up and stumbled a small bit. Anguis cursed how affected he was by one sleepless night. I'm getting rusty. I should have more more nights like that to get used to it again.

Anguis walked over and opened the door. "Come on, lets go."

On the move already? thought Aiko in her head as she watched her captor stumble. This early? I bet we're the only ones awake right now!

Mumbling under her breath, Aiko stood up, rolling her sleeves back down. Her limbs felt stiff, especially her legs. The blood from the night before caked on her jeans, making them stiff. Aiko will have to move a lot before they go back to their regular flexibility. She slipped on her tennis shoes and walked out of the hotel room, only giving Anguis Tenebris a side glance when she passed him. She remained quiet. She hoped he knew that she was mad at him, both for capturing her and for making them head out this early. The Neko did not make a comment on her growling belly as she followed the assassin to their first meal of the day.

Anguis led the girl through the street, careful to keep and eye on her at all times. They entered a shop just barely opening. Anguis tell Aiko, "Order meat. You should get alot of protein and carbs. They will give us energy for the day. Just don't order eggs, they will make you sick in the hot sun all day."

Aiko nodded, walking up to the counter, where a pink-haired girl stood. She looked more exhausted than both Aiko and Anguis combined. Black circles rimmed her eyes. She looked more dead inside than anything else.

"What can I get for the two of you?" she asked. Aiko looked at the menu. "Uh. . . Just tuna, please." It wasn't the ideal breakfast food, but it was on the menu on the wall under the category for lunch. Besides, Aiko loved fish. Maybe it was her cat instincts, but she would do anything for a mouthful of tuna. The woman at the counter just raised her eyebrow, but snapped her fingers. The chefs behind her went to work and gave Aiko a plate of steaming tuna with a biscuit on the side. The pink-haired lady then looked at Anguis. "And you, sir?" she spoke as Aiko was eagerly inhaling her tuna at a nearby table, purring loudly.

Anguis stared at the woman blankly. "3 strips of bacon, 1 slice of ham and 2 slices of toast. With some water to drink."

He walked over to the table with Aiko and waited for his food. When it arrived Anguis thanked the waiter before quickly finishing his meal. Anguis said nothing to Aiko but watched to see if she would do anything to escape.

Aiko finished her tuna quickly, not even bothering to savor its flavor. Having this treat seemed to be the only good thing that happened to her in the past day, and she was quick to snatch it up. When she was done, she spun around in her seat, which was one of those twirly ones. She watched Anguis as she spun, trying to maintain eye contact as much as possible. "Well, I'm ready whenever you are," the Neko said, finally breaking her use of the silent treatment.

Anguis finished up the meat and placed some money on the table. He then summoned strings to go around Aiko's neck and grabbed the bread as he started to leave. "Come on then. We need to hit the road now." He stepped outside to the empty streets and started walking, Aiko in tow.

The Neko rolled her eyes, but had no choice but to follow her master. She dragged her feet after him, ears flattened in her annoyance. "Fine."

It was now two days later and all the two had done was walk. They might stop every now and then to eat or rest, but they mostly just walked. Anguis dragged Aiko by her binded hands through the forest. A makeshift blindfold had been placed over her eyes so she couldn't see where they were going. Anguis pulled her into a slight root in hope of shocking her. He wanted to keep her brain confused and unable to think. He pulled tightly on her wrist and spoke for the first time in a long while, "Keep walking. We are almost to your new home."

Anguis was taking her to a home he had deep in the woods. It belonged to his parents and was a good retreat should one need to lay low for extended periods of time. As much as he didn't like his parents, they were smart to have this place built.

The past few days were much too hot for Aiko's liking. She wasn't a huge fan of the heat. Or walking almost nonstop for two whole days. Or being kept captive in general. Whenever the two would stop and rest, Aiko would attempt to use her claws to scratch off the sleeves of her hoodie to keep herself from overheating. However, this was hard to do with her blindfold, so Aiko accidentally cut herself a few times before she gave up. But at least there were some rips in the hoodie that would let air in. Aiko didn't expect the walk to Anguis Tenebris' home to take this long, so she soon became cranky.

Today, Aiko had just had enough and had slowed her steps into a trudge. She sometimes swiveled her ears around to stir up some cool air around her head, but it never lasted too long. She yelped as she stumbled over the root. The yelp was more from surprise than the slight pain, and the Neko hissed. "You know, you could have given me a heads up about that, whatever it was. . ." However, she kept quiet after that. She was looking forward to finally getting to Anguis' home-- she wasn't quite ready to call it her own home yet.

Anguis grumbled, "I could have, but didn't." The heat was getting to him as well. But Anguis powered through it. At least it isn't as hot as it could be, these trees are providing some protection from the sun. But his black suit wasn't helping, it clinged to his body and made movement slightly difficult and uncomfortable. Just a little further and we will be at the house. Then I can rest.