The sun beat down on the seemingly endless sea of khaki sand, baking its inhabitants with oven-like temperatures. Its once beautiful glow had over the hours transformed into a hateful glare, assaulting all within its gaze with rays of oppressive heat. Black waves shimmered in the distance, imitating the lapping waves of an oasis, but only offering the disappointment of a mirage. Vegetation sparsely dotted the landscape, consisting of the cacti, shrubs, and the odd flower. Animals were nowhere to be seen, which was probably for the better; There were few creatures roaming these wastes that weren't extremely hazardous. Wind picked up particles of sand and dirt, filling the air with buffeting debris. There was no protection from the constant heat and sand, and no landmarks to judge one's progress besides endless dunes. It was in this hellish scape that Ken found himself, and the situation was only made worse by his reluctant traveling partner. The girl had been nothing but trouble since the two left Soon's Haven. She spent the first half hour brooding angrily, staring daggers at Ken any time he dared look at her. She tried in vain twice to escape, at first time simply making a break for it when Ken stopped to pee, and second time trying to kick the boy in the head but only succeeding to fall flat on her backside. The boy had to tighten her restraints multiple times during the walk because the girl was constantly tugging on them, rubbing her wrists raw in an attempt to get enough room to create an explosive. Now she was lying supine in the sand, obstinately refusing to go on.
"You aren't helping yourself at all." Ken advised, frustrated with the whole situation. He licked his chapped, sunburned lips, running his dry tongue across them uselessly. He had been drinking water, but no matter how much water he drank the desert's conditions left him feeling perpetually dehydrated. He also had to share his stock of water with his prisoner, and the girl was not shy about drinking. As angry as she was at the boy, she wasn't too proud to drain canteens of life-sustaining liquid. The fact that he was nice enough to water her apparently didn't mean much, because here she was throwing a tantrum regardless. "You're going to Suna, whether it's on your feet or being carried by me." There was no answer from the girl, she simple stared into the air, brow furrowed. Ken continued, "And if I have to carry your fat butt, I'm not going to make it comfortable for you!" The girl glared in response. If looks could kill, Ken would be seriously worried about his health, but as things were he was just annoyed. The boy shrugged and seized the girl from under her arms, tossing her roughly over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She exhaled sharply with an "oof" as her stomach drove into his shoulder, and the boy trudged off in the direction of village.
"Let me go!" the girl hollered, kicking her legs as she protested wildly, "Unhand me you sheep! You midget! You petulant child!" The boy rolled his eyes at the insults being lobbed at him, and tightened his grip on her legs. She wriggled erratically in response and spat out every angry word in the book. This was going to be a long trip. Things continued in this fashion for a few minutes before the girl got tired of thrashing about and simply returned to fidgeting with her bonds. Upon being told to cut it out, the girl complained. "They're too tight!" she whined, "Can you loosen them a little bit at least? They're chaffing me!"
"They're chaffing you because you're struggling against them!" The boy growled, irritated. "If you left them alone, you'd be perfectly fine!" There was no response, so Ken guessed it was back to the silent treatment. Fine by him. Unfortunately carrying Yuki was tiring Ken out more rapidly than if he had just been walking alone, so the boy soon needed to take a break. Once he reached a spot he deemed sufficent, he simply allowed his prisoner to drop off his shoulder. Unable to break her fall, the girl squealed as she fell to the sand with a thud. This of course prompted a string of colorful insults and expletives aimed at the young boy. "Yeah, yeah." Ken answered, waving the complaints off with a dismissive tone. "If you want to act like baggage, you get treated like baggage." Ken sat down next to the girl, and she sat up to give him a look of predictable malice. After getting one look at her face, however, Ken couldn't help but crack a smile. The girl had ivory sand stuck all over the left side of her face, clinging to her eyebrows and hair. The left side of her red mane was sticking out in wild directions, and her makeup was smeared across her cheek and forehead. This was all made funnier by her expression, now made to look absolutely ridiculous. Ken tried to hold his laughter in, but that only made the giggling worse. Still angry, but now more confused, the girl asked what he thought was so funny. "You're face!" the boy answered between snickers.
Face blushing, Yuki was obviously offended. "Oh, you think that's funny, elf?" she countered hotly, "You look like someone used a dried out scarecrow to unclog a shower drain!" This only made Ken laugh all the harder, much to Yuki's frustration. "Stop laughing!" she roared, sending a Kick at the boy's knee. Her kick struck true, and it shut Ken up; He would have to spend the next few minutes rubbing the pain out of his leg. At the very least it brought a triumphant smile to Yuki's face, and the two could at least sit in silence with some satisfaction.
After a few minutes of happy silence, Ken stretched and sighed. "We ought to get moving." He proclaimed, dusting his shorts off. He looked over to the girl sitting next to him, and she seemed to be in a better mood than earlier. He decided he would try to reason with her a bit. "So what's it going to be? Are we walking or are we playing the baggage game?"
The girl seemed to mull it over for a moment before speaking up. "I'll walk," she propositioned, "But only if we eat first. We've been walking for hours, and I'm starving over here!" Ken nodded in agreement, obliging partly because he didn't want to carry her and partly because he was quite hungry himself. Pulling out a pair of bento boxes, he tossed one into her lap and began digging into his own. He was a few bites in when he realized the girl was still bound. Looking up, he was embarrassed to see her trying in vain to eat with her mouth only, hunched over with her face in her meal. He began to reach his chopsticks over to give her hand, prompting her to snarl at him. "Don't even think about feeding me." she growled. The boy threw his hands up in exasperation and allowed her to continue. He kept an eye on her, though, and saw her struggling to get any food. After a minute of this it was too much to bear.
"Look," Ken began, "I'll untie your hands for you to eat, but you can't try to escape and you have to let me tie you back up before we get moving. Deal?" The girl looked up from her bento box, rice clinging to nose and chin, a mixture of anger and embarrassment showing on her face. She almost seemed too proud to submit, but then her stomach protested loudly and she cast her eyes down in shame. She nodded her head and shuffled her body around for Ken to untie her, and the boy did so. He noticed her wrists were bright red and bleeding slightly, and he sighed sadly. If she had just left them alone she would have been fine. he repeated to himself, but somehow he still felt like dirt. The two ate their meals in silence for a while, then Ken finally spoke up again. "Why did you do it?" he asked quietly. Yuki looked up at him quizzically. "Why rob all those people? Why pretend to be a Sunan Shinobi?" The girl swallowed her mouthful of food but said nothing. For a few moments it seemed she was on the verge of telling him something. She opened her mouth, then hesitated. Finally she just shoved another bit of food in and resumed chewing. It wasn't something she was willing to talk about, it seemed, so Ken just returned to his bento box. The sand in the air and the warm environment made the food quite unappetizing, though. Eventually he tossed his box aside and lay on his back for some rest, being sure to keep a close eye on his prisoner for funny business.
[WC: 1510]
"You aren't helping yourself at all." Ken advised, frustrated with the whole situation. He licked his chapped, sunburned lips, running his dry tongue across them uselessly. He had been drinking water, but no matter how much water he drank the desert's conditions left him feeling perpetually dehydrated. He also had to share his stock of water with his prisoner, and the girl was not shy about drinking. As angry as she was at the boy, she wasn't too proud to drain canteens of life-sustaining liquid. The fact that he was nice enough to water her apparently didn't mean much, because here she was throwing a tantrum regardless. "You're going to Suna, whether it's on your feet or being carried by me." There was no answer from the girl, she simple stared into the air, brow furrowed. Ken continued, "And if I have to carry your fat butt, I'm not going to make it comfortable for you!" The girl glared in response. If looks could kill, Ken would be seriously worried about his health, but as things were he was just annoyed. The boy shrugged and seized the girl from under her arms, tossing her roughly over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She exhaled sharply with an "oof" as her stomach drove into his shoulder, and the boy trudged off in the direction of village.
"Let me go!" the girl hollered, kicking her legs as she protested wildly, "Unhand me you sheep! You midget! You petulant child!" The boy rolled his eyes at the insults being lobbed at him, and tightened his grip on her legs. She wriggled erratically in response and spat out every angry word in the book. This was going to be a long trip. Things continued in this fashion for a few minutes before the girl got tired of thrashing about and simply returned to fidgeting with her bonds. Upon being told to cut it out, the girl complained. "They're too tight!" she whined, "Can you loosen them a little bit at least? They're chaffing me!"
"They're chaffing you because you're struggling against them!" The boy growled, irritated. "If you left them alone, you'd be perfectly fine!" There was no response, so Ken guessed it was back to the silent treatment. Fine by him. Unfortunately carrying Yuki was tiring Ken out more rapidly than if he had just been walking alone, so the boy soon needed to take a break. Once he reached a spot he deemed sufficent, he simply allowed his prisoner to drop off his shoulder. Unable to break her fall, the girl squealed as she fell to the sand with a thud. This of course prompted a string of colorful insults and expletives aimed at the young boy. "Yeah, yeah." Ken answered, waving the complaints off with a dismissive tone. "If you want to act like baggage, you get treated like baggage." Ken sat down next to the girl, and she sat up to give him a look of predictable malice. After getting one look at her face, however, Ken couldn't help but crack a smile. The girl had ivory sand stuck all over the left side of her face, clinging to her eyebrows and hair. The left side of her red mane was sticking out in wild directions, and her makeup was smeared across her cheek and forehead. This was all made funnier by her expression, now made to look absolutely ridiculous. Ken tried to hold his laughter in, but that only made the giggling worse. Still angry, but now more confused, the girl asked what he thought was so funny. "You're face!" the boy answered between snickers.
Face blushing, Yuki was obviously offended. "Oh, you think that's funny, elf?" she countered hotly, "You look like someone used a dried out scarecrow to unclog a shower drain!" This only made Ken laugh all the harder, much to Yuki's frustration. "Stop laughing!" she roared, sending a Kick at the boy's knee. Her kick struck true, and it shut Ken up; He would have to spend the next few minutes rubbing the pain out of his leg. At the very least it brought a triumphant smile to Yuki's face, and the two could at least sit in silence with some satisfaction.
After a few minutes of happy silence, Ken stretched and sighed. "We ought to get moving." He proclaimed, dusting his shorts off. He looked over to the girl sitting next to him, and she seemed to be in a better mood than earlier. He decided he would try to reason with her a bit. "So what's it going to be? Are we walking or are we playing the baggage game?"
The girl seemed to mull it over for a moment before speaking up. "I'll walk," she propositioned, "But only if we eat first. We've been walking for hours, and I'm starving over here!" Ken nodded in agreement, obliging partly because he didn't want to carry her and partly because he was quite hungry himself. Pulling out a pair of bento boxes, he tossed one into her lap and began digging into his own. He was a few bites in when he realized the girl was still bound. Looking up, he was embarrassed to see her trying in vain to eat with her mouth only, hunched over with her face in her meal. He began to reach his chopsticks over to give her hand, prompting her to snarl at him. "Don't even think about feeding me." she growled. The boy threw his hands up in exasperation and allowed her to continue. He kept an eye on her, though, and saw her struggling to get any food. After a minute of this it was too much to bear.
"Look," Ken began, "I'll untie your hands for you to eat, but you can't try to escape and you have to let me tie you back up before we get moving. Deal?" The girl looked up from her bento box, rice clinging to nose and chin, a mixture of anger and embarrassment showing on her face. She almost seemed too proud to submit, but then her stomach protested loudly and she cast her eyes down in shame. She nodded her head and shuffled her body around for Ken to untie her, and the boy did so. He noticed her wrists were bright red and bleeding slightly, and he sighed sadly. If she had just left them alone she would have been fine. he repeated to himself, but somehow he still felt like dirt. The two ate their meals in silence for a while, then Ken finally spoke up again. "Why did you do it?" he asked quietly. Yuki looked up at him quizzically. "Why rob all those people? Why pretend to be a Sunan Shinobi?" The girl swallowed her mouthful of food but said nothing. For a few moments it seemed she was on the verge of telling him something. She opened her mouth, then hesitated. Finally she just shoved another bit of food in and resumed chewing. It wasn't something she was willing to talk about, it seemed, so Ken just returned to his bento box. The sand in the air and the warm environment made the food quite unappetizing, though. Eventually he tossed his box aside and lay on his back for some rest, being sure to keep a close eye on his prisoner for funny business.
[WC: 1510]
