Akai's deep breathing, so filled with heat, melted the snowflakes that fell around his face.
He kept his red eyes wide open for any structures that were hidden inside the small blizzard that came over the area. Anything just to get out of it.
They were on the right track towards finding the farm him and Ki always passed by. They usually took a crowded path not many of the other demons took due to how winding and long it was. You could easily get lost in the nearby forest or fall straight over a not-so-easy-to-spot cliff if you didn't know what you were doing. Which was perfect for the two.
They were planning to take this path anyways as a part of their plan to escape. And the added blizzard that covered every single inch of the area made it all the more harder for Zankoku or his followers to chase after them.
Hopefully it'll give them enough time to fully escape the area before Zankoku eventually finds them. That farm was only 7 miles away from the asylum.
"I'm going to step away for a bit."
Akai turned his head to his brother who was adjusting his coat and looking off into the distance. "I need to make sure there will be a way for us out of this area without the King following."
"I thought you would gone by now." Akai grumbled, as if he hated the fact that his brother was still here.
"I thought so too." Yama rolled his eyes. He glanced at Ki's approaching figure down the road carrying the poor unconscious woman close to his body to keep her warm. His long coat was wrapped around her body like a blanket. "Our escape didn't go exactly as planned so we need to be more cautious for now."
Akai tossed the hood of his coat over his head as he narrowed his eyes at the doctor. Still suspicious of him. "Whatever. Did the mutt come back?"
Akai had sent Dog out into the blizzard to find some sort of shelter to wait out the storm. He didn't care if the demon was greatly injured, best case scenario was for Dog to collapse and freeze to death out there for all he cares. That would be his punishment for screwing up the plan.
Yama scanned his eyes along the horizon, not seeing the spider demon's figure anywhere. "No. In this weather, he'll for sure become lost."
"Hopefully." Akai grunted before beginning to walk the path again once Ki had caught up, his boots crunching into the deep snow.
Yama remained where he was, observing the vast field ahead that was covered in inches deep of snow. Things surely didn't go exactly as planned. If his plan had worked, (Y/N) would be safe at his hideout by now. But of course not. He should've had a backup.
He turned on his heel and started following after the small group from a distance. He kept his eyes on his friend who was wrapped up in Ki's arms. Still within the hands of her kidnappers.
Yama couldn't just grab her and run. He hated to say it but Ki and Akai together as a team are not an easy fight. They've undoubtedly grown stronger and smarter over the years under Zankoku's leadership that if you were to fight one you had to expect the other. They must realize this too since they see each other as partners now instead of rivals like before. Zankoku and his followers may refer to them as the two idiots but there's a reason the King made them his scouts.
For now, Yama would need to play along with them if he wanted to save her. Any other person he would turn a blind eye to but (Y/N) was someone who earned his respect and who he calls a friend. He wasn't going to let his brother and the quiet one turn her into some plaything.
The doctor looked up when he started to hear heavy breathing and soon a thud from up ahead. He looked up and saw that Ki and Akai had stopped just before Dog's exhausted body. He was clutching his ribs as he lay on the snow from fatigue. But he forced himself to at least lift his head up.
"There's... a house- nearby." Dog gasped out.
"Is it safe?" Akai asked. He looked up in the direction Dog had come from.
The spider demon nodded and struggled to push himself up. He was starting to heal but he was still in great pain from earlier. It felt like his own ribs were stabbing into his chest.
"Well come on! Lead us there!" Akai yanked him fully up and pushed him to make him start walking.
Yama shook his head disappointedly. Not understanding why the poor demon took the blame for those two. Why would you risk your life for people who don't respect you?
Akai had turned to Ki and leaned close to him to tell him something while handing him a bag. The dark demon took the bag and nodded. He started following Dog while Akai began to grow wings in his back and step away.
Yama raised an eyebrow as he caught up with his brother. "Where are you going?"
"To see how far we are from the farm. I'll meet up with them later." Akai's leathery wings grew through two ripped holes in his coat and extended out to prepare for flight. "Stay with them so I can find my way back."
"You're telling me what to do?"
The two glared at each other before Akai turned away. "What? You want me to say 'please'?"
"Asking politely like a civilized demon? Oh no, I would never!" Yama's sarcastic tone didn't amuse Akai.
"Go fuck yourself." He replied before taking off into the sky.
Yama tsked but went to follow the small group anyways. Not for Akai, but for (Y/N)'s safety.
Minutes passed before they eventually arrived at the place Dog had found. It was indeed a... house? More like a small shack next to what was once a house. The place was collapsed to the ground with only the beams and parts of the walls left standing. The shack wasn't as big but it was stable enough for them to rest in.
Dog stopped outside the door and allowed himself to fall against the wall and catch his breath. His spider legs fell limp around him.
Ki ignored him and shoved the door open with his shoulder and ducked inside with his love in his arms. Yama decided to stay outside but close enough to monitor the dark demon.
Ki had looked around the shack and noticed it had to have been used to store vehicles. A lot of what he recognized as car parts, tires, and shelves among shelves full of tools. He spotted a couch that was on its back and used his tail to prop it back up. Hooking his spikes into the cushions and pulling it back up.
Once it was upright he carefully laid the woman down on it and tightened his coat around her. His large hands in his true form making it difficult to do so.
He stepped back and started feeling the left side of his face and arm, feeling the burnt skin he tried so hard to hide. The bandages were hanging loose on him and he was sure his left eye was exposed. He had to change back and fix it before (Y/N) woke up. For now, he let his hair fall over his face in order to hide himself better.
He didn't want her seeing him like this... even though she was the one who caused it.
Yama had leaned against the shack and started digging around in his coat pocket. He pulled out a small box and a lighter and whipped out a cigarette to light.
Dog was able to calm his breathing as he glanced up to the doctor before looking back to the ground.
Yama took a puff of the cigarette before glancing down to the spider demon. "What happened back there?"
Dog looked back up to him and watched the smoke from the cigarette fly off into the air. "What-"
"Something went wrong obviously. What happened?" Yama repeated.
Dog turned back to the ground below him, feeling shame rise up inside him. "I-I was gonna take her to the roof... Lamya and Brus showed up..."
"I see." Those two. The most loyal to Zankoku along with Bodhi. They must've been on to them.
"(Y/N) she-" Dog stuttered. "She told me to run..."
"Sounds like her." Yama shook his head. He can admire her selflessness but that's going to lead to her death one of these days.
"I shouldn't have left her..." Dog was more so whispering to himself. Feeling guilt from leaving the woman behind like that, no matter how persistent she was.
Yama took another puff of his cigarette. "Just be glad she isn't dead. Or worse, one of us."
Hours had passed before Akai finally returned, now knowing where the farm was. It was going to be a long walk so he and Ki made sure that (Y/N) was fully covered and warm before heading out. Since Akai was back, Yama decided this was his time to leave for a bit.
He'll use Akai to find his way back and he wasn't planning on being gone for long. He didn't want to leave the poor woman alone in the hands of those two for too long but needed time and space to strategize. Not to mention another escape route. For now he trusted her safety with Dog even though the spider demon still had loyalty to his leaders. He can tell just by looking at him.
The wonders brainwashing and torture can do to the mind.
It wasn't long after the small group had arrived at the farm that (Y/N) finally began to stir awake.
She winced at the small headache she had but soon felt warmth hit her face. She felt the blindfold tightly secured around her eyes, giving up on trying to see. But when she went to move she realized her hands were bonded tightly to a chair she was sitting on. She yanked her limbs but to no luck. She was stuck.
The crackling of a fire nearby caught her attention. Lifting her head up she tried listening out for any more sounds. A voice maybe? Footsteps?
But it was quiet. Just the crackling fire keeping her company.
She sighed and let her head fall back down. She was once again bounded to furniture with nowhere to go...
"We'll take shifts-"
(Y/N) suddenly heard Akai's voice enter the room and she quickly pretended to still be unconscious.
"I'll go on watch first around the fences. If that fucker or his minions try to sneak up on us I'll give the signal." Akai spoke. (Y/N) heard his footsteps along with who she knew was Ki come into the room she was in.
"Dog's on the roof" This was Ki's voice. "He's watching the forest."
(Y/N) started to grow nervous as she heard one of them begin to approach her. She remained 'unconscious' but she felt someone kneel down in front of her and gently lift her blindfold up.
"She's still out." Akai spoke, she can feel his gaze stabbing into her. "When you think she'll wake up?"
"Not too long." She heard Ki take a seat somewhere ahead of her. An old wooden chair scraping against the floor and creaking to support the demon. "It's been hours. She should be waking up."
"Well when she does we need to talk to her about you know what." Akai had stood up and let the blindfold fall back down. But this time the fabric became loose enough that it only covered her eyes partially. "I'm heading out."
She didn't hear Ki respond but listened to Akai's heavy footsteps exit the room. She kept listening and could hear him walk down what sounded like stairs. Where were they?
However, Ki stood up and trudged past her figure to somewhere behind her. It sounded like he was rummaging through a bag before retrieving something and heading back to his seat. But he stopped next to (Y/N) and remained there.
'Why did he stop?' She can tell he was looking at her but he wasn't doing anything.
But soon she felt his hand slip under her chin and slowly lift her head up. She purposely fell limp and let his hand pull her head up to face him.
She was trying so hard not to give away that she was awake. Not even the slightest movement.
Ki had watched her closely, even moving his head closer. He used his other hand to slowly push one of his claws into her arm, thinking she was going to move. But nothing. (Y/N) took the pain but remained unmoving apart from her breathing.
He finally released her and let her head fall to the side on her shoulder. (Y/N) heard his footsteps go back to the wooden chair ahead of her and felt relief when he was finally away.
She didn't know how long she was going to play the unconscious game. Not wanting to deal with the two when she was finally 'awake'. They wanted to talk to her about something? About what?
Where was Yama? They never mentioned him. They said Dog was on the roof so at least she knew he was still here.
A quick hitch of breath caught her attention and she focused back onto Ki. It sounded like he was doing something but whatever it was pained him. He would grunt every now and then and take deep breaths before doing whatever it was he was doing.
She was playing unconscious but this grabbed her curiosity. What was he doing?
Feeling the blindfold only partially covering her eyes, she slowly and carefully opened one up. Maybe she can get a sense of where she was too.
Half her view was covered by the fabric but once she was able to see the light of a fire and Ki's blurry figure she stopped. Her vision still wasn't clear but started to adjust itself.
And as she was able to see Ki clearer and clearer, she became stunned at what she saw.
Ki was sitting in a chair and leaning his left side against a small table next to it. She saw his left arm as he unraveled the messed up bandages that he needed to replace after he had shifted. But she can now see how burned his skin there really was. It traveled from his hand all the way up his arm and across the left side of his chest. He had his loose grey shirt pulled over his head to expose the left side of his body to where (Y/N) could see the full extent of what that bomb did to him. But when she traveled her eyes up to his face, a chill crept over her spine.
His entire left side of his face was burned. He wasn't able to fully move that side of his face, only the right had movement. Half of his mouth was stuck together due to how it healed, he no longer had an eyebrow nor lashes over his left eye, but the eye was the worst of it.
He wasn't able to fully open it but she can see how damaged and faded it look. Showing that he was fully blind in that one while the other shined brightly in the dark room.
She remembered Yama's theory of how he got that bad. The explosion from the bomb traveling through his portals severely burned him but also the freezing temperature made the burns even worse.
Letting her eye close, she began to think. She wondered how Akai was able to walk around with zero burns on him but remembering he was a transmute answered her. But Akai had severe migraines. So bad that they'll have him writhing in pain on the ground. She hasn't seen this yet but she has noticed his eyes twitch and lips shake sometimes. Signs of his migraines coming on. All thanks to her stabbing into the weak point in his neck with the very same knife he had given her.
A small part of her began to feel pride knowing that their injuries were all thanks to her. They were supposed to be dead but at least they didn't come out fully unscathed.