Sweet Burden

by K L Ogden

  Hitomi tightened her mouth refusing to answer. Domitori lowered the blade and brought his hand up. He ran his fingers down through her hair causing her body to shudder. She tried to turn away, but Kooisan still had his fingers wrapped around her neck. All she could do was close her eyes.

  “I think I will just have some more fun for now,” Domitori whispered. He swiftly pulled away as she opened her eyes back up. He turned to Deiman and motioned to Obi. “Wake him up.” Domitori returned back to Hitomi and glanced at Kooisan. “Don’t let her scream and make her watch.”

  “Just leave Obi alone. I’m the one you want,” Hitomi said with no fear in her voice. She would rather take all the abuse rather than watch Obi suffer. But Domitori ignored her as Deiman stepped up to Obi and smacked him across the face. Obi let out a slight grunt as his head started moving. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as he started to regain consciousness, but she was petrified at the thought of what Domitori had planned.

  Kooisan put his free hand over her mouth to stifle any sounds. Deiman smacked Obi again and Obi lifted his head. He spit out a good amount of blood and opened his eyes. Turning his head, his gaze locked on Hitomi. She watched as Domitori removed Obi’s shirt and pulled his dagger back out. Hitomi tried to yell. She tried to get free. But she couldn’t do anything except watch. Deiman stood behind Domitori smirking as Domitori raised his arm and sliced Obi across the chest.

  Obi made no sound as his body slightly twitched. He just continued to watch Hitomi as she screamed into Kooisan’s hand. Domitori slashed the blade across him another time and still Obi made no sound. The tears had swelled Hitomi’s eyes so completely that she could barely make out Obi’s silhouette. Her head slowly dropped forward, but Kooisan easily slammed the back of her head into the tree again.

  Suddenly there was a deep voice in the distance. “Halt!”

  She had no idea where the voice was coming from but she felt instantly calmed. Kooisan released her as he spun around and Deiman and Domitori also turned their attention to behind them. Hitomi rested her head back against the bark and looked at Obi. His body had gone limp again.

  “Who’s there?” Deiman stepped in front of Domitori and pulled a sword out that had previously been hidden by his trench coat. Kooisan moved forward as well taking a defensive stance.

  “Just a friend,” the voice returned.

  “Show yourself,” Domitori demanded.

  “Normally I do not comply with orders, but since you three have followed ours so well…” a dark figure began to take shape among the trees. The figure stepped out becoming fully visible. His face was hidden by the hood of his oversized black cloak. Hitomi turned her attention back to Obi, whose head was still down but she saw his eyes open watching the scene unfold.

  “Our apologies my lord,” Domitori quickly replied as he knelt down. Kooisan and Deiman followed his lead and knelt down in front of the figure.

  Hitomi was unsure why she did not feel unease in front of the man. He was obviously someone important in the Afterworld, but she felt nothing except relief. Her gaze shifted between the figure and Obi. Obi glanced at her and gave her a concerned expression, but all she could return was confusion.

  “For what do we owe this honor, my lord?” Deiman asked.

  “I wanted to see for myself that the daughter of Isbian, the Goddess of Light had been retrieved,” the figure replied as he stepped closer. Their heads were still bowed down and the figure lifted his head. His gaze fixated on Hitomi and she saw the slight glow of his green eyes. He lowered his head again as her breath caught in her throat. The man was not a death god. He was not from the Afterworld at all. He must be the help that Isbian was talking about.

  She opened her mouth wanting to say something to Obi. When she looked at him she realized that he had not noticed the man’s eyes. Obi now looked full of rage as he righted his body and glared at the figure.

  “You can inspect her for yourself, my lord,” Domitori commented.

  The man moved towards Hitomi as Obi fought against his bindings again. “Don’t you touch her,” Obi warned through gritted teeth.

  But Hitomi was not afraid. The man moved up in front of her and placed his hand on her cheek. “Daughter of Isbian, you will accompany me.”

  “What?” Domitori snapped with surprise.

  The man started undoing Hitomi’s restraints quickly. “This is a new order. We might have use for her. She is to remain alive.” He lifted up his head letting Hitomi see his face completely. He had deep green eyes under low set brows. His brows were the same color as the short beard running along his jaw, chin, and above his mouth. His thin lips curved into an awkward grin.

  “But, my lord…” Deiman started.

  “Enough. I have given you the new orders,” the man interrupted. Hitomi shifted her eyes over to Obi who was intensely watching them. She gave him a smile signaling everything was alright and the man turned to Obi. Without another thought, the man grabbed her arm and pulled her from the tree. “We will leave you now. You have done the Afterworld proud.”

  Hitomi turned and looked at Obi as the man started to lead her away. They couldn’t leave Obi there and she started to panic. She knew exactly what Domitori was going to do to him. Obi knew exactly what she was about to do and he furiously shook his head for her not to, but there was no way she was walking out of there leaving Obi to die.

  She pulled against the grip the man had on her. “Wait! Stop. What about Obi?” She pushed her free arm against the man’s chest in an effort to get away. “I can’t leave Obi.”

  The man shook his head and continued to try to pull her away. She struggled against him until he let her go to keep from harming her. Hitomi pushed away from him and ran back to Obi, who was shaking his head. She threw her arms around his neck tightly.

  “I’m not leaving you,” she whispered.

  “What are you doing? You need to get out of here,” Obi replied into her ear. She shook her head in response.

  “Your plan is to eliminate him,” the man stated to Domitori, referring to Obi.

  “Well, of course, my lord.”

  “And what is the reasoning behind prolonging it?” the man questioned.

  Hitomi pulled away from Obi and turned seeing the death gods still facing the man. As her heart raced she hurriedly started undoing the ropes around Obi’s wrists.

  “And how is that a concern of the council’s as long as he is eliminated…my lord?” Domitori responded.

  The man let out a low chuckle as Hitomi raced to get Obi free. There was a slight suspicion in Domitori’s voice and she knew they were running out of time. Her fingers couldn’t seem to move fast enough against the knots.

  “Just a curiosity. Doesn’t one of your fellow brethren deserve a little more respect?” the man answered.

  “Respect? He disobeyed the laws of our world. He let one on his list continue to live.” Domitori’s tone changed from courteous to anger. “And not only did he let her live, he protected her and claims he fell in love with her.”

  Hitomi glanced over as Domitori stood from his knee and faced the man.

  “I did not tell you to rise,” the cloaked figure said.

  Hitomi yanked at the last knot and it unraveled releasing Obi’s hands.

  “Who are you?” Domitori asked as Deiman and Kooisan stood. The man did not answer and before Hitomi knew exactly what was going on, she had been pushed to the ground. There was yelling coming from every direction and she looked up to see the man pushing back his cloak and brandishing a large silver sword. Deiman went for the man as Domitori spun around to her and Obi.

  “Hitomi, get out of here! Run!” Obi shouted.

  “Not without you!” she yelled back trying to get to her feet. But before she was able to get up, someone grabbed her around her waist and yanked her behind the tree. “Obi!” She struggled against the arms holding her until she turned finding Guri behind her. “Guri!” He flashed a quick smile as she saw Rediisu dart around the tree to cut
off Domitori.

  “Are you alright?” Guri asked letting her go and inspecting her blood covered clothes.

  “It’s Obi’s blood,” she swiftly answered.

  “We have to get you out of here.”

  “Get Obi first. He’s hurt badly.”

  “Guri, get her out of here now!” Obi bellowed from the other side of the tree. Hitomi furiously shook her head. Guri mashed his lips together and grabbed a cross bow laying on the ground.

  “Stay right here,” Guri ordered. She gave a nod and he rushed out from behind the tree.

  There was so much shouting and yelling that Hitomi couldn’t decipher anything that was going on. She could hear swords clashing above her head, but she couldn’t see anything through the leaves. A thunderous shot rang out and her entire body jolted. She heard Rediisu’s voice shouting something and then Guri reappeared with Obi. Guri removed his arm from around him and helped him sit down on the ground. Obi rested his back against the tree and looked up at Guri.

  “Go help them,” Obi said with a nod. Hitomi knelt down next to him as Guri rushed back out to the fight.

  “I can’t believe they did this to you.” She stumbled over her words as she gazed across his battered body.

  “I’ll be fine. Hitomi, I need you to do something for me,” Obi said grabbing her hands. She nodded in agreement before she even knew what he would ask of her. “I need you to heal me. Quickly.”

  “What?” Hitomi swiftly shook her head. “Why? No. We need to get you out of here and back to the cabin. I can heal you there.”

  Obi let go of her hands and placed his hands on her face. “I want them to pay for what they did to you.”

  “Obi, I’m alright. Let’s just go back to the cabin.”

  “If you don’t heal me, I’m just going to go back out there anyway.”

  Hitomi contemplated the options. “Fine.”

  “Thank you.” He pulled her face to his and kissed her hard. Once he let her go, she rubbed her hands together and then placed one on the deep gash on his side and the other on his chest. As soon as her fingers touched his blood she was able to feel the poison. She closed her eyes feeling the heat rush to her hands. Even though she still needed to concentrate, this time felt so much easier than before. It was as if her hands were drawn to whatever needed healed.

  She kept her one hand pressed tightly against the larger wound and started moving her other hand across his chest and abdomen quickly closing the smaller slices. Closing the gashes wasn’t the problem. She pulled away and opened her eyes. Hitomi sighed feeling extremely tired suddenly.

  “I can’t draw out the poison,” she said lowering her head.

  “It’s alright.” He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. Obi pushed himself up from the ground and straightened out his body as Hitomi looked up at him. He held out his hand and helped her up. Wrapping his arms around her, he tightly embraced her. “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do this ever again.” He let out a deep breath.

  Abruptly, Kooisan’s body flopped down next to them causing them both to jump. Hitomi glanced down seeing an arrow stuck in his chest. Obi moved around in front of her as Rediisu appeared. He raised his pistol and fired a shot into Kooisan’s head. His body immediately turned to dust and disappeared into the ground.

  “Damn, that was a copy,” Rediisu swore and turned around searching the area with his eyes.

  “A copy?” Hitomi repeated.

  “Yes. He can multiply himself,” Rediisu replied and turned his attention to Obi. “I assumed you’d want this.” He pulled the large gun out and tossed it to Obi as Guri appeared behind them.

  “Guri, get Hitomi back inside the barrier,” Obi ordered.

  “No, you can’t go out there.” Hitomi tugged on his arm. The fear rose again inside her.

  “I have to.” He pulled away from her and rushed out from behind the tree as his wings spread out.

  “Obi!” she yelled as she started to follow him, but Guri grabbed her. “Let me go Guri. I need to go find him.”

  “Hitomi, don’t be silly. Go with Guri,” Rediisu commented as there was an odd slicing sound getting louder. Rediisu grabbed her other arm and they all fell to the ground. Above them something whizzed by and just as Hitomi was about to lift her head Rediisu slammed her face back down. The object passed over again. “Guri, can you get a read on him?”

  “No. He keeps duplicating and giving me a headache.”

  Hitomi turned her face to Guri. “Someone needs to help Obi. He’s not fully healed. Where is he?”

  Guri closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “I don’t know. I can’t sense him.”

  “He must be too far,” Rediisu added. “Who’s the guy with the sword?”

  “I have no idea,” Hitomi answered. She could feel the desperation climbing in her throat as she tried to breathe. She needed to find Obi. He was still weak and she couldn’t let anymore happen to him.

  “I’ll find Kooisan and you get Hitomi out of here,” Rediisu grumbled as he lifted his head slightly to get a better look. The whizzing sound started again and as it got louder Rediisu jumped up from the ground and snatched it from the air. It looked like a four sided boomerang, only it was made of razor sharp metal. Blood dripped from the edges causing Hitomi to feel sick. She watched as Rediisu raised his gun and fired into the woods.

  Rediisu was occupied with nailing down Kooisan’s position and Guri had let her go to pull himself up from the ground. She realized this was probably her only opportunity to get away from them. She jumped to her feet and ran behind Rediisu heading in the direction Obi went.

  “Hitomi, come back!” Guri shouted after her as Rediisu fired off another shot.

  She ran as fast as she could, hoping that Kooisan was enough to keep them both occupied. The darkness of the night did not help her in her search. She had no idea where she was going or where Deiman and Domitori might be. Even through her fear and exhaustion, she continued to run. Her legs burned as her eyes scanned every direction for any sign of Obi. Her lungs strained as she stopped for a second to compose herself. A knot grew in her stomach as she realized she was surrounded in silence. She did not hear any yelling or shooting. There were no swords clashing or objects buzzing through the air.

  The silence was almost more frightening for Hitomi. Was the battle over? Was one side victorious? Her body trembled thinking of the possibilities. Then there was a loud shot in the distance. She rushed out to a spot where she could see through the tree branches and looked up into the sky. A dark figure stood out against the grey clouds. She watched as the figure fell from the sky.

  Obi. Despite her gasping breath and stinging legs, she started towards the direction where she thought the figure had fallen. She used the trees as leverage as she curled her fingers around the moss covered trunks pushing her forward. It was hard for her to think about Obi being even hurt more, but if he was she could heal him again. Maybe with more time she could draw the poison out. She had to save him because she knew now that she could never live without him. As much as he’d been created for her, she knew that she was also meant for him.

  Hitomi pushed her legs harder running further and further into the unknown. Eventually her exhaustion caught up with her. Her foot caught on a tree root sending her flying forward. She landed on the ground with a hard thud. Already dirt and blood covered, she pulled herself up and didn’t bother to dust anything off. She didn’t care about another skinned knee or bruised shin. Unfortunately her legs did not cooperate with her intentions. Her knees buckled and her legs gave out underneath her. She plopped back down onto the soggy ground as the rain continued its downpour from above.

  She rubbed at her legs trying to get rid of the numbness when she heard something moving through the forest behind her. Her body froze with trepidation. Hitomi was able to make out the sounds of heavy breathing and the crunching of the wooded ground stopped. Biting at her bottom lip, she fought with herself over whether to turn and look or to try to
get up and run. Knowing that her legs were aching with pain, she slowly turned her head as the moon crept out from behind the clouds for a few seconds. She could see Domitori holding his chest as he staggered around a tree only a few feet from her. She put her hand over her mouth and watched him as he settled against the trunk.

  He coughed as blood trickled from his lips to his chin. Domitori was weakened and possibly dying. A shiver ran down her spine. She needed to confront him. She needed to know where Obi was. Tugging at her jeans, she forced her legs to support her weight as she got up. She straightened herself up trying to look as strong as possible. She didn’t feel strong, but she needed to appear as though she did. Forcing her feet to move, she turned facing him and took a few steps towards him.

  “Where’s Obi?” she demanded.

  Domitori lifted his head with his eyes half open and managed a snide grin. “You’re still alive,” he remarked with disappointment.