Betrayal and Recovery - [ON HOLD]

A Close Call

Normal POV

Previously.....

The two groups made their way over, just in time to see a non-resistant Yuzumi about to get stabbed by the God-killing weapon.

"STOP!!!!!" The seven of them yelled.

Byakko heard their words and she slowed down a bit. But she was too close to Yuzumi and they were to far from them that they could only watch in horror as the sword was about to make contact with her heart.

..................

Except for one person.

"YUZUMIIIIII!!!!!!!!" Kaze screamed as he gathered an enormous amount of power beneath his feet and shot forward.

He pushed her away and took the hit...........or so everyone thought. The sword passed right through his body as if he were a ghost.

You see, as aforementioned, the sword is a God-killing Sword. It does not affect anyone who is not a God/ Goddess. Instead, it passes through those who are not full gods.

Everyone could only think What a close call when they saw that.

Meanwhile, Byakko turned to the Sacred Beasts and qilin and showed a confused and shocked face.

"What are you guys doing here? Why did you tell me to stop?" She asked.

"The past wasn't Yuzumi's fault!" Suzaku exclaimed.

"What?"

"We did not believe that Yuzumi would do something like that. So, we searched for the answer and found out that she was controlled to do that." Kin explained.

A sigh was heard. Everyone turned to see a guilt-filled Yuzumi. "Even so, I should have been able to resist that power long enough for you guys to escape and maybe even save all the animals."

"Wait, wait, wait. Yuzumi, you were.......controlled?" Byakko asked shakily.

"..........Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?! I was......this close......to killing you!! I..... I....wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed you wrongly!" Byakko cried.

"I'm sorry. But-"

"No buts!! Yuzumi, you could have cleared this misunderstanding a long time ago, why didn't you? If you had, I wouldn't have hurt your friends!"

"I......I was so drowned in pain and guilt, that I sealed my memories away. I didn't want to remember the sad memories. Even now, I only remember fragments of our past!" Yuzumi also started crying.

"Yuzumi......." Byakko and the others called out.

"Yuzumi, don't cry! I'm here! We're here! I forgive you! Everyone else has forgiven you! Don't continue to blame yourself and get revenge on the bastard who controlled you and made you kill the animals and capture your friends!" Kaze said softly as he hugged Yuzumi.

"Kaze.....I.....wooo...wooo..." Yuzumi, at this time, was inconsolable.

As everyone was wondering how to calm her down, Kaze tilted her head back and lowered his to give Yuzumi a kiss. She was so shocked, that she stopped crying and only stared wide-eyed at Kaze.

As if that wasn't enough, she felt something wet and hot enter her mouth, circle around her tongue, and started......sucking it.

Yuzumi's mind became an area of blank space. She forgot what she had done in the past, she forgot about everyone else there. The only thing on her mind was Kaze. Her body and soul were filled with thoughts of him. Something cool flowed into her mouth and when she swallowed it, she immediately lost consciousness. Kaze supported her limp body and glanced at the red faced companions around him.

"What?" He snapped.

"You.....you...." Serpent started as he pointed his finger at him. 

"You pervert!" Byakko finished.

"Why am I a pervert? I just fed her some sleeping potion so that she's not noisy anymore. What's wrong with that? I've done this to her before....." He said, his last sentence something of a murmur.

But all the people here were strong and had keen senses. So what Kaze had mumbled, they all heard.

"You've..........done this to her before?" Serpent said with a shaky voice.

"Well...........yes." Kaze hesitated. "She has had a rough past, and has been inconsolable at those times. She had no family and no friends and didn't know how to deal with her pain."

"....." Everyone was silent.

"When I met her, she was a mere husk of herself. Thanks to me and a few friends she met along the way, we were able to help her recover." Kaze continued. "Sometimes, she would have these episodes where she would be out of control. One of her friends designed a potion with a calming agent in it, and she would always faint after taking it. Sometimes, she would be hard to get to and I would then force feed her. It's as simple as that."

"Oh, thank god. I really thought you were a pervert." Byakko sighed in relief. 

"Why would I be a pervert for kissing my crush?"

"Well, you didn't.......ask for her permission...." 

"I-" That's true...... Kaze thought, but then he sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway, her memories-"

"Mm-mmm....." Yuzumi made a sound of protest before shifting to a more comfortable position in Kaze's arms. After shifting a few more times, she yawned, stretched her limbs, and awoke.

"Yuzumi, are you alright?" Kaze asked in a worried voice.

"Yeah, what happened? Where am I?"

Everyone looked at Yuzumi in shock. She.....She doesn't.....remember?

"Well, it happened like this....." Kaze told what just happened, exactly word-for-word, just saying that he forced that calming potion into her mouth to make her faint, and did not kiss her.

"I see....."

Everyone then became nervous that she would be unreasonable again, but, to their surprise, she calmly accepted the situation and apologized and bowed deeply several times until the Sacred Beasts and Qilin had to tell her to stop. Everyone chatted for a bit, while Serpent apologized to Yuzumi for his misdeeds.

"But Serpent, why did you.....do that  that day?" Yuzumi stammered.

Serpent blushed profusely in shame. "Yu-Yuzumi, I'm sorry. I've always loved you, and being under the guy's control, my pent-up........affection for you just exploded."

"That guy? I thought you were under Byakko's control?"

"That I was, but that happened way after I was under that man's control. His power over me suddenly disappeared not long after I saw and met Miss White Tiger."

"Oh, I think I know who was controlling you." Kin said.

"Really? Who was it? It was that same bad god who controlled Yuzumi to do........those things."

"I see.....Where is he now?"

"Dead. We tortured him and destroyed his soul. He will never come back to haunt you guys again."

"Thank you." Serpent, Kaze, and Yuzumi said in unison.

"You're welcome." 

"Shall we head to my world?" Yuzumi suggested.

"Your world?"

"Yes. I created a world in my free time with the help of my friends."

"I see. What do you guys think?"

"We have no objections." The others replied.

"Great! Then, let's go." Yuzumi said as she clapped her hands. 

A strong gust of wind appeared and they all disappeared.

Their story had come to a close, but that doesn't apply to others.