Love's Not Void

Chapter 17:

She didn't strip completely. She was still wearing her shirt and underwear, just in case she was interrupted.

Once submerged, she let out a content sigh.

The water was cold. It felt nice, considering how warm and moist she was a while ago. She wouldn't have been warm or moist, if this world had invented AC by now.

How long have their species been alive for? And not a single cat thought 'oh, I know what I'll do. I'll finally get off my ass and create something useful, like a fan or AC! After all, nobody likes to be hot and perspiring on a regular basis.'

Kimberly ducked her head underwater, getting her hair wet. She tried to comb it underwater with her fingers, in hopes that the grime would come out. But when she was finally getting situated, she heard the sound of footsteps.

Yes, she could hear the sound of someone approaching, even if they would be walking on grass. Trust me, your senses open up when you're standing in a pool of water, in silence, with nobody else around.

Turning her head towards the noise, a shadow could be seen standing a few feet away. The dark ominous shadow had an unfamiliar shape to it. It was lean, not necessarily bulky, and the outline of curled horns was evident at the shadow's 'head'. In short, something dangerous was a yard away from her. It would be presumable to say that it was another devil, based on the silhouette.

So it decided to attack her while bathing? Nicely played, stranger...nicely played...

"Froud, please tell me that it's you messing with me," she said hopefully, "Maybe, just this one time, I'll forgive you. Simply reassure me that it's you, and not someone who wants the flesh off my bones."

An orange light started to come from its hands.

Nope, it's not Froud! And it's definitely not Verg. That bitch is yellow.

Hitting the deck, she held her breath. She saw the orange light splash into the water, causing the pool to heat up at a quick rate.

Call for Rai: Common Route/Rai's Route.

Call for Konoe: Konoe's Route (Book 2- incomplete).

Call for Asato: Asato's Route (Book 3- incomplete).

Call for Bardo: Bardo's Route (Book 4- incomplete).

Call for Firi: Firi's Route (Book 5- incomplete).

Call for Froud: Froud's Route (Book 6- incomplete).

Call for Verg: Verg's Route (Book 7- incomplete).

Call for Razel: Razel's Route (Book 8- incomplete).

Call for Kaltz: Kaltz's Route (Book 9- incomplete).

(A/N: 'incomplete' basically means; they don't exist...yet. I'm on it I promise! It shall be done!)

Raising her head out of the water to gasp for air, she screamed as loud as she could: "RAI!"

As this shout left her throat, she felt it go dry.

She was trapped between this shadow and the pool of water. If she tries to get out, she's dead. If she keeps on dodging, the water will eventually become so hot that she will burn alive. She had no other option but to wait this out.

Swimming over to her clothes, she dodged another ball of orange energy.

The water was getting warmer. Just a degree higher and it will be hardly bearable.

Taking a deep breath, she gripped her weapon, and faced the dark silhouette. It had the high ground. She's screwed. But if she's screwed, then she's going to bring this fucker down with her.

Just before she could make her move, she saw the shadow begin to crack. From the head down, small white cracks formed. As the cracks grew, the dark form started to crack. Eventually, the figure shattered into a million pieces. Dust particles flew everywhere, some disappearing like melting snow, and others blowing away with the soft breeze.

Rai stood by, his sword out of its holster. He glanced around, until his eyes finally landed on Kimberly.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She got out of the pool, shivering when the cold hair hit her warm lover half. She drained her long hair, and shook her head to clear it.

"I'm fine."

He walked over to her anyway, his eye scanning her arms- eventually traveling to her legs.

"They're red..."

Oh yeah, she has more sensitive skin than cats.

"That's okay, I promise I'm not hurt. Human skin just gets aggravated easier."

He seemed to sigh when hearing her words.

"Let's get inside. The last thing we need is for you to get sick."

Rai gently took her hand, and began to lead her inside. He never looked back to check up on her. He just knew that they had to get indoors. He wanted to get her indoors, and that was the end of it.

Bardo was the one who opened the door. His smile was wiped completely clean when meeting Rai's angry face.

"You...this is your fault." Rai let go of her hand and stepped closer.

Bardo reflexively stepped back, not knowing what to say. He, for once, looked horrified.

Taking the rim of his shirt, Rai lifted him a good inch off the ground, and threw him into a wall.

"You knew she was outside, and you didn't bother to tell anyone? She could have died! Because of you, she could have died."

The devils gathered in the room, the cats following close behind. Konoe sprang into action, trying to get Rai's hand off Bardo's shirt.

"Rai, calm down."

"Rai, I'm not hurt." As her words left her mouth, the cat's ears twitched.

For a moment or so, he did nothing. He said nothing.

"You easily could have been... If I didn't hear you screaming, you would be seriously injured or dead by now."

"But I'm not," she insisted, "It's not his fault. He was just respecting my privacy. Nobody could have predicted something like this."

At last, Rai released Bardo. He clicked his tongue irritably, and looked over at Kimberly.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm sure." She glanced around the room, suddenly feeling...nude. "I'm going to go upstairs now."

She made her way to the stairs, and turned around. "Nothing is going to happen to me there," she hinted.

Once reaching her room, she looked around for some spare clothes. The Inn provided sleepwear. It will have to do.