"Will you stop staring at my chest!?" Crystal growled, still staring forward. She wasn't sure where she was walking, she just knew she had to go somewhere. Of course, Kenjii followed.
Kenjii snorted. "I'm not staring at your chest. I'm staring at what's ON your chest."
Crystal spun around to face him, face red with anger and embarrasment. Krinn chuckled, sending it to her mentally. She ignored him. "Look, Kenjii," she practically snarled, "if we're going to get along, you better treat me with respect. Do you hear me?" She made an infuriated sound. "Stop staring at my chest, damnit!!"
Kenjii blinked and looked up, for the first time since leaving the hideout looking at her eyes. "Huh?"
:I think he really respects your morals and good character: Krinn said, in a very controlled tone. :Either that, or he thinks you're hot:
Crystal's eyes widened in indignation and she kicked at her iguion familiar. Krinn danced back with a well practiced dodge. :Missed me!:
Crystal stalked off, completely furious at the two. Kenjii blinked after her, then looked down at Krinn. "What the hell's wrong with her?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Skyler growled after Kenjii closed the door behind them. "Sending Crystal off with that brat. What can that solve!?"
"It can solve a few things," Teron said calmly. "For both of them. For one, we both know that Crystal can manage herself. It wouldn't do that boy too much trouble for somebody to teach him a lesson or two. And I don't think it would hurt Crystal to have to learn to put up with people like him. Besides... Kenjii was a new recruit and Crystal needed somebody to watch her back. Somebody competent."
"And how do you know that Kenjii is competent at all?" Skyler growled. "We haven't seen him fight once. For all we know-"
"Didn't you see the way he walked, Skyler?" Teron interrupted. "And the way he held the gythka? I've seen Tohr-Kreen less sure of their abilities with that weapon. No, that man can fight, as well as any of us."
Skyler snorted, staring at the door. "I still don't trust him."
"Uh, where are we going?" Kenjii asked after a long while of silence. Crystal stalked a few feet ahead of him.
Crystal blinked and almost stopped. She didn't really know WHERE she was going until he just asked. The memorial. "The memorial," she said, not bothering to turn her head. "Don't you ever THINK?" She knew it was harsh (how could she expect him to know?) but at the moment, she really didn't like Kenjii enough to speak respectfully to him. God knows he never spoke like an equal to her.
As if to prove his point, Kenjii chuckled. "Of course I think. Just five minutes ago, I was in the middle of a thought about you, me, and a big pile of Jell-O."
This time, Crystal did stop. She spun around, facing him angrily. "You leave me out of your perverted day dreams, you sicko!" She snapped, waving a threatning finger at him.
Kenjii stared at her finger for a moment, the grin gone. Abruptly it was back. "Hey, don't knock the Jell-O thing, babe. After all, you DO have a nice-"
Crystal's full-armed slap took them both by surprise. But mostly just Crystal; Kenjii seemed like he had expected it for a while. He felt at his chin with his hand. "Ouch. Hey, you don't gotta be embarassed. I wouldn't laugh no matter how small-" This time, Crystal was fully aware of her slap.
"Damnit," Kenjii growled. His jaw would ache all day, now. He toungued a tooth, wondering if it was loose. "Fine. Be that way." He began mumbling under his breath, words that Crystal probably was glad she didn't hear, and began following her again.
:I think she likes you: said a voice in Kenjii's head. Kenjii jumped, and looked around. He realized that Krinn was looking up at him.
"You..." :You can talk!?: Kenjii asked incredulously. He decided to speak telepathically, so Crystal didn't think he was a loon.
:Well, in a sense: Krinn said, no longer looking at Kenjii. :But, only to Crystal. Actually, I CAN'T talk to you. You talk to me. Does anybody else know you're telepathic?:
Kenjii jumped and looked at Krinn incredulously. :No.. not really:
:Oh. OK, then... do you have any other psionic Talents?:
:Well, yeah. Just telikinesis, though. And I'm not that good at it: Kenjii glanced at Krinn out of the corner of his eyes. :Think you could keep it to yourself, too?:
Krinn shrugged, an odd look for an iguion. :I could. I really don't see why, though. It can only help to let Crystal know, if she's to be your partner:
Kenjii shook his head, still looking straight ahead. :Not really. She'll just expect me to do something "special". And may make a mistake off of it. You should always prepare for the worst, you know. The less she knows, the better she can prepare. Besides, I might need the edge, one day:
:You do not trust Crystal?:
Kenjii didn't answer for a while. Stupid. Just give yourself away, why don't you. :Just don't tell her, okay?: Krinn didn't respond at all, he just quickened his pace to catch up with Crystal.
After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Kenjii could see a few buildings ahead. Well, they used to be buildings. Just charred foundations, none of them taller than his waist. Such a shame. A tavern would be great here, something to drink, at least.
In the middle of the town was a black marble marker, just a few inches taller than Kenjii. He assumed that was the memorial Crystal was talking about. What he didn't expect was the five men standing there. One of them, who looked to be around thirty five, was staring at the memorial. The other four looked to be guards, each one facing a different direction and armed with what looked to be a machine gun. Two of them spotted Crystal and Kenjii.
"Alex, sir!" one of them called, just as the other said, "Sir, it's Crystal. And... another man."
In an instant, Kenjii had the gythka in his hands, extended, ready to fight. Crystal just gave him a look that told him he was acting like an idiot and walked forward, Krinn by her side.
:C'mon: Krinn called Kenjii. Kenjii followed uncertainly, not putting away his weapon.
"Who the hell is this?" he asked Crystal, not taking his eyes off of Alex. All the four guards had their guns pointed directly at Kenjii. They didn't lower them until Alex gave a gesture, barely a flick of his fingers.
"My name is Alexander Sescuan," the man smiled, extending a hand, "leader of the Engineer's Guild." Under Crystal's hard glare, Kenjii twisted the ends of the gythka, then placed the shortened weapon back in his coat. He still refused to take Alex's hand.
"I'm Kenjii Ikaku," Kenjii said. He suddenly smirked and put an arm around Crystal's shoulders. "Crystal's new partner."
Crystal jumped back, recoiling from Kenjii's touch. "Keep your arm off me, you freak!" she snapped.
Alex merely watched the two, wisely saying nothing.
"So what are you doing here?" Kenjii asked Alex, a little less harshly than how he had spoken to him earlier. Alex blinked, as if he was surprised at the question.
"Well... the same thing you two are, I assume. Taking a moment to honor the dead. I knew some of these people. Especially Skan. He was... like a father to me, at times."
Kenjii shrugged. "Well, Crystal wanted to see it, I guess. I couldn't care less."
Alex frowned. "Oh, come now. Haven't you anybody to mourn for? Has Seth killed anybody you love, perhaps a sibling or a girlfriend?"
Only my entire family. "None of your business!" Kenjii snapped forcefully. Alex shrugged.
"Hey, calm down. Sorry if I struck a nerve or anything," Alex said, lifting his hands pacifically. "Calm down."
"You should learn to treat people with more respect," Crystal snapped. "This man has more power in his little pinky then you have-" She cut off abruptly, as if she'd bit her tongue, and looked down at Krinn. Her eyes widened, and her head darted back and forth. "There are SWORDs here... Unit Delta." Kenjii snorted loudly.
"Delta? You have to be kidding me. I can take an entire fist of Deltas with one arm tied behin my back." Nonetheless, he was instantly armed with the fully elongated gythka.
Krinn began pawing at the ground, then looked up at Crystal. "Look out!" she yelled, pulling free her longknife and an Uzi machine gun. Alex armed himself with a large rifle - a C-14, if Kenjii recognized it correclty - and a much smaller pistol. The guards looked everywhere at once, ready to battle.
A few minutes passed, and just as Kenjii was about to ask where the hell they were, a dozen Gamme SWORDs popped out from the ground, out of nowhere, suddenly in their midst. Kenjii reacted instantly, the gythka a blur, SWORDs falling all around him. Crystal and Alex were a bit slower to respond, but fought just as hard. Most of Crystal's fighting was with her Uzi, but the longknife took care of those who came in too close. Alex fired several rapid shots with his pistols, and the occasional larger blast- heard even over the sounds of battle - with the C-14. The guards shot only at the SWORDs that threatened Alex.
The battle only lasted for less than five minutes, but it seemed like an hour when it was finally over. Kenjii, despite his boasts, was the only one injured, a long gash running across his chest. It wasn't very deep, but stung like hell. However, most of the SWORDs doubtless fell to the mercenaries gythka, judging by the dismembered machines at his feet.
Kenjii was leaning on his gythka and panting as Crystal walked over to him and place her hand on his gash. Her other hand still held the long knife, almost as if she might need it, soon.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Kenjii barked.
"Tending your wounds," she snapped back. Kenjii blinked in surprise.
"Uh... thanks," he said. She seemed a bit surprised at his response, but hardly showed it.
Crystal's hand glowed a light white, and she traced the wound with it. The light seemed to detach from her hand to his gash. After repeating this a few more times, she placed her hand directly on the cut. It slowly shrunk into itself and dissapeared, leaving only the cut in his shirt and a light scar.
"I'm afraid it's going to leave a scar," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, I've never been too good at healing." Kenjii threw his head back and laughed.
"Well, I've had scars before, little woman," he smirked. "One more can't hurt. Besides, I'm sure where your healing talents falter, your... more important skills lie in other areas..." His leer left nothing to the imagination as to which other "areas" he meant.
Crystal shook her head and sighed. The man would never change.