But then he came along, and he ruined everything in his path. He took one look at me with those amber eyes and ruined my being. It was the first time I felt that way, yearning to be ruined by amber.
About a week after Taiju-kun was revived, he and Senku had left for supplies and came back with lion pelts and a...what was that? A greek god?
"This is the Strongest High School Primate from T.V. His name is-"
"Tsukasa Shishio. Though I suppose family names don't matter much anymore." He smiled as he held a hand out to me. Looking down at his hand didn't sit easily with me, both of my own could fit in his palm with plenty of room. But his eyes and his smile...they didn't seem to match his physique.
I'm careful with my eyes making sure to not give away too much of my skepticism as I ask, "Tsukasa you say...hmm. Do you write your name like this?" crouching down, I carefully carved the kanji in the dirt next to me with a single character. "Or like this?" with two characters, the less favorable of the two because then he would have five characters in his name.
"Only one character." He says pointing to the first option. "Is there a reason you ask?" he inquires. I muster the most intimidating side glance I could before taking his hand.
"No reason. I think we'll be good friends Tsukasa." I announce with a faux smile. " Please take care of us." I say with a bow and all the formality I could remember from three thousand seven-hundred years ago. When I stand upright I take a glance over at Senku and lean closer, whispering "Especially that nerd."
He pulls away and nods. "Of course." He seemed simple and straightforward a person. Maybe he wasn't one for words, but I wasn't going to be the one to draw more out of him. As long as he knew his role and completed his job with little errors, it didn't matter who Tsukasa was. He had four characters in his name and he was beyond my strength capabilities, that is all that mattered to me.
Senku calls all of us to gather nearby before he starts handing out 'duties' and 'responsibilities' for the time being: He would work on developing science to aid in survival, Taiju would help with any heavy lifting, and Tsukasa would be in charge of hunting.
"Eh?! What about me? I thought I was the hunter here!" I protested, standing and crossing my arms with a huff.
"Let's see...how do I explain this..." Senku muses aloud scratching the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "You were a nice hybrid damage and healing character. But now we have a full damage character so you can revert back to being a healer in our party." He explains. My protests continued;
"I don't have any supplies to a proper healer and there is nobody that needs to be healed right now." My face flushed a bright red at the thought that I'd be tossed into the backlines once again.
"(y/n)-san, don't you think your little crazy habits could get in the w-" Taiju started to speak up but was soon cut off by Senku.
"Shut up Taiju. Only I can call my sister crazy!" He defends me for a second before meeting my eyes again. "Look, your crazy habits end up costing a lot of time. Tsukasa doesn't need any problems or distractions when he's gathering. Right Tsukasa?" He gives Tsukasa a mildly threatening look.
"Right. Besides, I'm sure there's nothing you can do that I can't-" and that awakens something deep inside me. I loathed being underestimated and looked down upon. Just because I may be a little 'messed up' doesn't mean this wall of man is any better to Senku than I am! No one can protect him like I can.
With swift fingers I swung my bow from over my shoulder and strung two arrows, aiming at Tsukasa and letting both fly at high speed. His eyes widened as both arrows nearly scraped the flawless skin of his face and landed on two practice targets that happened to be behind him. "I can do plenty, thank you very much." I sigh as I string my bow back around my shoulders. All three men were stunned at my sudden aggression, and it was hitting me too. Since when could I be such a bitch? "I guess that settles it. I'll be hunting partners with Tsukasa."
Senku sighs loudly in defeat, moving his small hands up to rub away at the headache forming at his temples. "Why can't you just make things easier for your big brother?" He didn't seem too pleased when he heard my light and airy laugh waft around him almost mockingly.
"What kind of little sister would I be if I didn't make things difficult for you?" I chided, skipping to grip the two arrows snug deeply into the wooden targets and placing them back in my leather quiver. The sun was starting to set again and a rumble tore throughout my body. I guess arguing with Senku made me hungry.
"I'm gonna eat and then head to bed," I announced to the rest of the squad. "Goodnight Taiju, Goodnight Senku!" I waved as I started my way up the ladder. "I'll see you at dawn Tsukasa-kun."
_____
At dawn, I was not greeted by a fading azure sky or even the wink of a peaking orange sun. No, at dawn I was greeted by intense amber that fixated on my lips and was a little too close for my comfort. My boy went rigid and alert sirens went off in my mind. My instinct was clawing at me to get away!
I screamed, but I never heard myself scream.
Tsukasa was quick to cover my mouth with his hand and lift a silent finger to his lips, pointing at a sleeping Senku and Taiju next to me. "Wouldn't want to wake them up, would we?" He whispered. I couldn't reply, it was like he had stolen my voice with his hands. I'd never felt so...small. Tsukasa finally noticed my stunned eyes and pulled away, swiftly reaching out to help me to my feet.
"Did I scare you?" He nervously chuckled.
"N-No. I was just surprised that's all." I brushed off his suggestion and grabbed his hand despite my body still warning me to keep my distance, letting him pull me up with no effort. We had no more words to share out of consideration for the two sleeping boys, so we stepped down the wooden ladder and began gathering items for the hunt silently. I preferred it this way, it kept me far away like my body warned and it didn't force me to learn despite the curiosity playing in the back of my mind.
"Why were you studying me this morning?" I inquired, strapping my quiver across my shoulder and letting the bow follow.
He thinks for a moment before replying. As if he had to tread lightly in any conversation with me. "You're quite...interesting." He speaks lowly. Words causing sparks too close to my wooden heart for my liking. "You have three capable men who could be under your beck and call, yet you choose to hunt for your food."
He catches me off guard and he sees it in the way I tripped over my own feet for a moment. "E-Ehh? W-What do you mean?" I stumble out. He starts to lead the way into the forest, lowering the volume of his voice. I'm forced to fall in step next to him in order to hear him, and the proximity isn't doing much for my nerves.
"Well you are the only female and there are three of us. Eventually we'll have to compete-"
"D-Don't say things like that! I already know I'm marked for death being the only one but so are you three! The only thing keeping us safe is the fact that there are four of us!" I whisper in urgency. I look away to conceal my flushed embarrassment, "Besides, Senku is my brother..." I inform.
"Is that so. Hmm.."
Our conversation was soon stripped bare as neither of us were ones for talking. The dense forest served as an adequate distraction as alert eyes scanned the trees for movement of any kind and hidden roots that materialized under our lightly covered feet kept us on our toes. After minutes of walking, the sound of a stream reaches our ears and we curiously wander to investigate it. When we approach, I'm stopped by his wide arm and a silent gesture towards the stream where a stag serenely drank from the stream.
" I don't think these ancient arrows can pierce that much muscle." I express with concern and Tsukasa doesn't even have to look at me to tell me to 'just take the damn shot'. Instead, he starts sprinting towards the animal, leaving me to pick up from there.
The stag looks up in surprise once he hears Tsukasa's footsteps. It's startled for a fatal moment where I knock two arrows and pull them back with deft hands like its muscle memory, and let it go with a single deep breath. I was right, the first arrow wasn't sturdy enough to lodge deep enough into the muscle of his leg to incapacitate him. But the second arrow pierced the creature's lung, I could hear it in the terrified wheeze as he turned to run.
The majestic animal was making full strides in the wrong direction. It barreled towards me letting out struggled breaths the entire time, I noticed the red glow in its eyes like something otherworldly had possessed it to attack it's hunter. I was rooted in my place in the bushes like a deer in headlights, I couldn't compel my stupid legs to move, to climb , to run! Anything to avoid the unnaturally sharp antlers of the three hundred-fifty pound animal trying to take me down with it.
Like lightning, Tsukasa appeared from nowhere with his arms spread wide and feet planted firmly on the ground. The stag kept its charge and ran forward with even more vigor on it's dying breaths. With almost no effort, the Lion King gripped the threatening antlers and held tight as the force of the stags charge pushed him back a meter. His grip was true as the stag halted fully. Tsukasa gave the creature no time to recover, tossing the animal to the side by the antlers with no mercy and then quickly sliding his knife along it's tough neck.
A breath I didn't know I was holding was pulled from me in a furry. The panic was settling in late: I was breathing rapidly and I had collapsed to my knees mulling over how I would have been impaled if Tsukasa wasn't here.
"I said I would protect you, didn't I?" comes Tsukasa as he lifts the corpse of the stag and begins walking. "This is enough for today." He states, or more so commands.
Every fiber in my body wanted to protest. This wasn't right, we needed a second deer or we would die! There was no way...no possible way that I could...
"Ok." I muttered, getting back up onto my two feet and gathering some semblance of composure over the situation and the lack of comfort surrounding me. It was like demons were jeering around me, poking me with pitchforks and teasing the fact that I'll die because we only have one deer to bring back. I had no choice but to turn my back to them and follow Tsukasa out of the greenery and back to the meadow we called home for now.
_____
Hello Hello All!
So I just wanted to let you wonderful readers know that my story will be taking a sudden dark turn. Because of that, I am updating tags and setting warnings here and in the beginning of the next chapter.
-WARNING-
This story will now contain mental and physical abuse, blood, dom/sub relationships, and non-con elements.
I hope I don't scare too many of you off. Enjoy and stay safe y'all!