ATTENTION: Hello Lovelies! So this chapter will be in Orochi's POV. I'll keep reminding you guys when this happens so make sure you pay attention to either beginning of the chapters or when it has ~~~~~. Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
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As I walk down the hall to where Ren and Tomoko are talking to each other, doubt surfaces all over my body. The worry of Ren getting herself hurt is something too costly for my mind to consider at the moment.
I tap my index finger's knuckle on the door to signal them. "It's time."
"So what do I do?" Ren looks over to me as she set her box down.
"Lay down and get as comfortable as you can. It makes it easier for your body to relax and think." She lays back folding her small delicate hands on her abdomen and looks at me waiting.
Something this strenuous shouldn't be taken lightly and Ren is blowing through it like it's nothing, it concerns me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask.
Her eyes meet mine with a strong determination, "Yes."
I nod, "Close your eyes and picture where you last saw Aiya. What she looks like and every detail about her. Envision it almost like you looking at an image of her."
She shuts her eyes and obeys my command. Her face seems so peaceful in the dim light. Light dark circles caress the bottom of her eyes. Guilt evades my chest knowing that she has lost so much sleep in the last week.
I clear my throat, "Now slow your heart rate and listen to it. Think about how you are lying down and how it's supporting your body." I place my hand gently on her forehead and cast a clairvoyance spell, hoping that in some way it will help her.
The pulse of her heartbeat I could feel against her forehead, clearly speeding up. It's starting. "Now let yourself dissipate into the dark and your mind."
Ren's body begins to lose all its tension against my hand and softly sinks into the bed. Her hands slowly slide off from her stomach and lay on her stomach. "Well, she is now in the spirit world. The best we can do is wish her luck now." I say out loud.
Tomoko who is still sitting on the bed across from us nods, "So, what do we do while she is in the other realm?"
"We wait and see what happens. Aiya is in control of her body or at least responsible for it." I head out of the room and go sit down inside my own.
It's one thing for a woman to be reckless but a woman who is reckless in the demon world is a death sentence. Luck has been on this girl's side throughout her being her, how long will it be there?
I sigh and put my face into my hands, "Only a fool would go to these lengths for such."
Time passes by slowly, I sit in my room thinking for the past two hours burred deep into my troubled thoughts. Nothing has come from Ren and Tomoko has come out of the room to get me.
Ren was one of those girls who were helpless and fragile. So innocent that you would think nothing dangerous would happen to them besides a danger to their health.
Worry is what is been constantly looming me with whatever she did.
It seemed like everything was fine until Tomoko came rushing and slamming the door open making me jump. "Master! It's Ren, something is wrong with her!"
I go wide-eyed and jump up towards the door, heading towards the room. "What's going on?"
She shakes her head, "I don't know. She started mumbling and I noticed that she started to move. Almost unnaturally."
My worry increases as I open the door to see her body arched up against the bed. "Tomoko! Push her head down onto the pillows while I hold her body down. Something isn't going right in her body and her head needs to be safe!"
As Tomoko pins her head to the pillow, I hop up on the bed placing my leg on her side keeping her from hurting her back. Sweat is now breaking out across her face. "Master, why is she so hot?"
I shake my head, "I don't know. I never have seen this happen-"
A scream billows out from Ren's chest. "Orochi! What's wrong with her?!"
Fear is pulsing through my body now, Ren's small figure is thrashing below me. Her hands I pinned down near the sides of her head but her nails have grown out before us.
Screams continue to echo around us, "Oroc-"
"SHUT UP TOMOKO! I don't know what's happening!"
Ren's face is glistening with sweat, almost like she just jumped into a lake. Her mouth is moving frantically but too low for us to hear. Almost as if her mind was stuff in the spirit realm and her body was being used right now.
"Make it stop! Please!" Rips open from her mouth between screams.
Panic was circling us in a heavy fog. Ren was losing control of her body and there was nothing we could do.
Tomoko's hands shoot back, "Her temperature is too hot for me. I can't keep holding her down."
I bite my lip down hard tasting blood, "Shit!"
You have to do something, do something! I place my hands down at her chest and try to lower her body temperature. Her screams get louder and more persistent.
"What are you doing! She's screaming in pain!"
"I'm trying to lower her temperature! The half-demon inside her is taking over her body and we need to push it back so she doesn't lose control!"
She nods and watches from a distance. Her face was frozen in anxiety and panic. Ren's body starts to tense below me and her small chest begins to heave quickly below my hands.
Another scream ripples into the air. "Come on Ren! Don't!" I push more of power into her.
"FINE!" Her lips growl and her eyes shoot open right to mine with a heavy amount of fear.
We stay like that for a few seconds before I start to see her eyes flutter, "Ren... Ren!"
Her head leans to the right and blood pools out from her nose, laying lifeless below me.
"We need to get her somewhere else so her body can drop in temperature dramatically. Now!" I say towards Tomoko, as she nods her head frantically. I pick up Ren's body which lays limp in my arms.
"Let's get her to the springs, there you can change the water temperature."
Blood runs down from her nose, her cheek, and into the hair on her shoulder. Her body still hot from the moments before. Anger and worry are pulsing from me in waves.
Did she put her life in danger just to find her next step towards finding herself but at what cost?
We get to the top of the hill on the side outhouse. "Do you want to remove her clothes?" Tomoko asks.
"No, I'll do it. Go find something to help her get her energy back whenever she wakes. This will probably take a lot out of her." She nods and leaves me with a passed out human in my arms.
"You stupid girl." I shake my head and gently place her body in the water against the rocks.
Her head dips forward onto my shoulder as I undo the knot of her kimono. As it slides off, her head tips backward and I wrap my hand under it. She was like a lifeless doll now in my hands.
I put the drenched kimono on the ground and place my hands on the surface of the water. In minutes, I make the temperature drop to suit her needs.
No signs of movement come from her, making me worry even more.
If something happened to her... I could never forgive myself.
A few minutes pass and still, nothing has happened. Dread has washed over me now as I lay my hand on her now, ice-cold hand. My eyebrows furrowed against her soft cold skin.
Please...
"Orochi..."
My eyes shoot open at the sound of her small voice croaking. I jerk my head upwards to see her droopy eyes struggling to keep open.
"I'm here. Don't worry about me, just yourself." I put my hand against her cheek keeping it from dropping.
She nods and whispers, "I did it. I found the next step."
I smile at her, "Good. I'm glad."
Ren smiles sheepishly at me in happiness. "Let's get you out of here."
She nods in agreement and slowly gets out of the water shivering. Before she fades back into unconsciousness again, I grab the giant cloth that Tomoko brought to wrap in when she woke.
"You can rest now. Sleep well." She slowly lets her weight lean against me. I hold her against me trying to provide some warmth to her body.
She's okay and that's all that mattered at that moment.