~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko couldn't move. In pain, her body was trying to shut down. She could barely even hear Jasper's cries for her to wake up and for the bandits to leave her alone as she tried desperately just to stay cognizant of what was going on.
She was on the ground now, she knew that. Gokan was holding her down. He had hurt her and ripped her shirt. Now he had ripped her skirt too.
"Neko-chan! Wake up!" Jasper screamed to her. "Fight him!"
She forced her eyes open. Gokan was right on top of her. The sight of him filled her with great fear and disgust.
It wasn't anything more than a knee-jerk response, in fact that was exactly what it was - Neko's knee hit him in the crotch, which caused him to release her and lurch off of her. Instantly, she jumped to her feet, thanking whatever kami was responsible for her instinctive reaction.
But as her head continued to try and clear, she realized, there still were three other bandits around her, none of which looked like they were very happy with her.
The big burly guy who had held her earlier ran towards her. She stood there staring at him like a deer caught in headlights, but as he lunged at her, she ducked and before she knew it, she had thrown him into the ground. This didn't stop Scar Guy from attacking her. He charged at her, but she countered the move, and ended up punching him several times before he backed off. As soon as he had, she swung her foot around and kicked him in the gut, sending him into a nearby tree.
Now Nubusito had her in his sights. He ran at her and managed to punch her hard enough to floor her. He stood over her, swinging her necklace and laughing maniacally at her, as she tried once again to combat the dizziness that lingered from the first time she had hit her head. A split second before it was too late, she realized that he had thrown his knife at her head and jerked out of its way. She swept his feet out from underneath him and rolled away as he fell to the ground.
As she returned to her feet, she was grabbed from behind by Gokan, who was still limping from her previous attack on him. She pivoted out of his grasp and struck him in the face, surprised when he fell to the ground after that single blow.
Nubusito had gotten up now. Neko was still on autopilot, but was beginning to become more aware of how instinctual her actions were. She didn't know how long she could go on protecting herself without knowing what the heck she was doing. She had barely been aware of anything going on around her and the thieves. Not even Jasper's shouts to her had pierced her consciousness. But there was one person who could always reach her.
"Neko-chan!"
Neko spun around to see Mi-chan enter the area just as Nubusito ran at her. But rather than be caught off guard, Neko continued spinning and swung her leg up, her foot catching him in the face. He went flying.
Mi-chan ran to her. "Neko-chan!" Neko hid behind her, leaning into her to make sure she still had her balance. She didn't know which bandit was coming after her next, but whichever one it was, she knew Mi-chan would protect her. Mi-chan would always protect her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mi-chan looked around at the four grown men, who were all unconscious on the forest floor, impressed by her normally restrained sister. "Neko-chan, you kicked butt!" she praised her.
"I'm sorry!" Neko cried, as if it was something to be ashamed of.
"No, Neko-chan, it's okay. You did awesome!"
Neko began to cry. "I didn't know what I was doing. They took my jewelry and were going to� to�," her voice shook as she fought to find words to explain her actions.
Mi-chan hugged her gently. "It's okay. They won't hurt you. You defended yourself just fine."
Neko looked up at her sister with eyes red from crying all evening. "I just reacted, but� but I don't know what I did. It's okay?"
Mi-chan nodded, as Jasper called from the net he still was trapped in, "Neko-chan, they didn't hurt you, did they?"
Mi-chan gave him a condescending look as she examined the absurd sight of him in the booby trap. "What the hell do you think you're doing up there?! You should have been laying down your life for her, not hanging around in that mess."
"Oh, like I planned this," he answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's not really something I could do anything about."
During their bickering, Neko had retrieved her jewelry from the brunette bandit. She pocketed the necklace and replaced the ring, and returned to Mi-chan's side, bringing her Nusubito's knife.
"We could cut him down with this," she suggested timidly to Mi-chan.
"Whatever!" Mi-chan threw the knife at the tree where the net's rope was tied off, impressively managing to cut the rope in the process. Jasper fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
"Thanks," he grumbled.
"Anytime," she returned, satisfied with the small amount of pain he had received from that.
Neko tugged on Mi-chan's sleeve to get her attention. "Ano, Mi-chan�." She pointed to the bandits who were beginning to glow with a white light.
"Uh, I hope that's a good thing�," Jasper said nervously.
The bandits dissolved into four glowing balls of light that swirled together and merged into one ball.
"Neko-chan," Mi-chan said joyfully, "that's the last stone!"
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