Chapter 364

'Was that Raymond's…?' Zesshi wondered when she looked up at the daias, the shouting sure sounded like him. The half elf couldn't help but hope it was. 'Maybe I can find it in my heart to forgive him… eventually. Not yet, but maybe someday.' She told herself as her opponent squared herself off on the sands.

"So… we doin this'r what bitch?" Zesshi's opponent asked.

Zesshi glared at the woman across from her, at face value, the woman held a clear, even enormous advantage. She towered over Zesshi by a head and a half and was twice as broad, her muscles rippled and she wore very little, a wrap chains around her waist that hung like a dress, and a criss cross strip of metal across her chest which was similarly secured at four points with links of chainmail, but her belly was exposed to reveal her as a wall of muscle. Her arms and legs were larger than most men's, and her hair was cropped short at the top. Her fine, high features and exceptional chest size were the only obvious proof of her womanhood… until she spoke, at least.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. I was just thinking about something." Zesshi said and drew her sword.

"Whatever, I don't care. Just try to entertain me." The behemoth of a woman said, and slid her foot behind her while drawing out a sword from across her back which was almost the length of her body's height, and holding it in front of her with both hands.

"Nope." Zesshi said and yawned, "I have no interest in entertaining you. I have something to do, you're a chore, nothing more, and what's more, you're only going to be a bore." She stopped. "I did not mean to make that rhyme…"

"You arrogant bitch!" The woman snarled, her fists clenched around the hilt of the sword, and after activating a slew of martial arts in a row, the woman charged, the crowd held its collective breath.

Zesshi dropped her sword, slapped the weapon away, and before the behemoth could properly understand why she lost her grip on her sword, Zesshi's right hand struck her square across her face, straight into her ear and sending her bouncing away over the sands until she slid to a stop, smashing into the distant arena wall and going limp.

Zesshi then waved to the crowd, smiled at them, and gave a bored yawn, openly and obviously covering her mouth with her free hand before picking her sword up and walking out.

'It's hard to believe that one was an unknown, she looked pretty impressive… no match for me of course but then… what is?' Zesshi wondered as she left the arena behind.

With that victory, her position the following day was certain, 'Tomorrow I will get to face him, at long last, the man who ruined my mother's life… my life… strangely enough though…' Zesshi stopped dead in her tracks, it was evening now, 'How long have I been walking?' She wondered after the thought occurred to her, the hustle and bustle of the once proud capital was diminishing, though people were plentiful still, the nature of it changed. People were now in taverns and sitting outside the quick eateries, sizzling food on outdoor food stations filled the air with smells that were admittedly quite good, savory meat and sweetened vegetables, a thousand little tendrils of smoke rose in the air.

'Strangely enough… All I want to do is go back for Brain and Layali… he will fight Cerebrate soon, as well as beastmen and any number of other ranked warriors who have come for the prize of an empire's throne. He might die out there. Cerebrate might even kill him.' The thought seized her heart, and the warrior returned with heavy feet to the room all three of them shared.

'Never get attached… good advice…' She thought as she recalled the words of the solo swordsman she'd encountered on the road that day. 'A little late for that though.' Zesshi added to the thought when she opened the door and found Brain down on his knees lacing up Layali's little boots.

"Mama's back!" Layali shouted with glee. Her smile spread over her face and as soon as Brain stood up, the little half elf rushed to Zesshi and hugged her at the thigh with her head tilted back and looking up. "Can we go eat, I'm hungry!"

"That… that would be very nice." Zesshi said and ran her fingers through the golden hair of the little half elf.

When Zesshi looked at him, he read her youthful face like a book. Her black and white eyes, perhaps because they were opposites, were so full of expression, and after traveling the breadth of nations, he could nearly read her thoughts. "Let's go, why don't we grab something at one of the little stands here, it doesn't need to be anything expensive, and it's a nice day out. Plus there's a place I'd like to see, if it's still around that is."

"It-It is that. Okay, we'll go." Zesshi said, and reached for the door that she'd just passed through moments ago.

Brain approached, he held out his arm, and she slipped hers into the crook of his elbow, it was a very small gesture, a nothing, really. Compared to her, he was weak, she could snap him in two with minimal effort. Even though he still carried a sword that was cursed expressly to harm her, Zesshi knew she could crush him.

Yet despite that, as they walked out with Layali running ahead of her, it was hard not to think that it was him holding her up. 'Why didn't I think about this seriously until now… there's a very real possibility that he'll die.'

She was quiet and reserved as the evening wore on, they sat around a stone ring where a trio of cooks rushed around flipping and slicing meat and vegetables with the artful skill of any swordsman, their flashing blades like thrusts, cuts, and parries bounce the metal off the stone with the very lightest of 'ting' noises before coming back around again, they moved from station to station in a circle, taking turns with each dish without missing a beat.

As every cook was dressed the same, moved the same, and even looked the same, she quickly became enthralled with the show, as did Layali, who watched with open mouthed awe as knives and skewers were flipped about. "Dinner and a show, I haven't seen this in a few years." Brain said with a winsome smile.

"You've seen this, papa?" Layali asked.

"It was actually my idea." Brain said, and the trio stopped what they were doing, each one caught their knife at the same moment and turned to face him.

"It is you! I thought so!" The trio of chefs said all at once, they stabbed their knives into blocks of cheese to keep the blades ready, and approached where he sat and leaned across the stone counter to hug him. Brain chuckled a bit, but accepted the excess of affection.

"Wait, really?" Layali asked.

Brain nodded, "Sort of."

"Sort of… look at this guy eh?" The center chef said, stepping back and waving his arm toward Brain, smacking the man to his right. He twirled his handlebar mustache, and as if they were prompted, the other two did the same. "So humble. Yah little girl, me an my brothers were workin here, not doing a whole lotta business, an this'n here, he says to us, 'you're so good with those knives, you should make a show out of it, an Louie here says, 'Show us whatcha mean, eh?' and then Rouie over here says, 'Shuddup an let the man show us' an then I says, 'Bothaya shaddup an let the man work…' so he does a few little flips with his knife behind the counter, a few people sit down to watch while he makes a few quick dishes, then says since we triplets an'all, if we all worked together we'd make a really good show… now here we are a few years later… an we're packed every night! Your money's no good here Mr. Blue, you eatin free, you ana your family!"

"Why you talkin like we don't know that Doui? Mr. Blue always gonna eat free here! You sit there an enjoy the show, you get our best, you, your wife, an if'n you get ten more little'ns, they eatin free too!" Rouie added.

"Ten, nah, even if'n it's a hun'ed more, he still eats free, he save the family business in five minutes…" Louie quickly topped his brother, and it might have gone on longer, except that Brain coughed and interjected…

"You know, I'm thankful for the sentiment, but if you don't do something fast, what you're working on is going to burn."

"Shit!" The trio shouted and scattered to their stations to resume the display.

"You've known somebody in almost every place we've been, except for that one town." Zesshi said with wonderment, and when Brain's smile broadened, she asked, "Wait, you knew her too…?"

"No, but I knew her family back in Demalbion. They asked me to look in on her without saying anything, we just happened to also need some information, and I had originally planned on stopping by there on the way back." Brain said offhandedly and Zesshi slumped.

"You've seen everything, haven't you… by the tits of the goddess… I never really realized how isolated I'd been till you… everything out here that I've missed seeing…" Zesshi became subdued, and Layali inched her seat a little closer to her.

"True, but you're free of all that now. Better late than never, right?" Brain said enthusiastically as the trio preparing food slapped three heaping wooden bowls of shredded meat and vegetables down in front of them, along with three matching wooden cups.

"There you goooooo! Eaaat uuuuuuupppp!" The trio struck a pose with one hand close to the bowls and one hand up and back as they harmonized their invitation to eat into what was almost a song, and Layali began to clap passionately with a glowing smile on her face.

The dining went faster than Zesshi intended, in part because Layali practically dove into the food, and the enthusiasm of the place was infectious. The only thing to interrupt her train of thought, was thinking, 'That little sticker Brain put on her cheek… seems to make her somehow 'cuter'. How is that even possible?'

All in all, she found it to be the perfect evening. When the food was gone right down to Layali insisting upon, and carrying out, her desire to lick all three plates clean of every scrap of meat juice, they got up to leave.

Layali stretched out her little arms and legs, and said, "Carry me. I'm sleepy."

Unable to resist, or eager to give in, Brain reached down and picked her up at the waist and bent his elbow so that she was sitting on his forearm and had her arm around his neck.

Zesshi put herself on the other side and walked with her arm crooked in his, and Layali was snoring before they even reached the door to the room. "She had a big day today?" Zesshi asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, I took her to a park and let her run around and play. She was a little shy around the children since they were all humans but… I think… I think she's going to be okay. It may take a long time still for her to… to move past things, but she's young, resilient, and strong. And killing Cerebrate for her is probably going to be a big step forward. Nobody has ever been punished for doing anything to her before… Now that's different, she feels a little safer. That's… that's the way forward, I think." Brain said while Zesshi got the door and let them both into their shared room.

"I suppose. But what do I know? What haven't I screwed up since we started traveling?" Zesshi asked and turned to lock the door while Brain went to the small child's bed and drew back the covers to tuck her in.

"You're learning, that's all." Brain said with his back to her, "You'll be fine, I made my mistakes when I started traveling alone, and you haven't made the same mistake twice… except with cooking, that needs a lot of work." He chuckled a little and went to her. "Everything will work out." He promised and put his thumb to her cheek. "Don't be hard on yourself, you're strong, you're not stupid, and you're free, that makes you a lot better off than most people, all you need is experience, and there's plenty of time for that."

Whatever Brain intended to say next, he never got the chance.

Zesshi lunged forward and covered his lips with hers, she was forceful, urgent, dueling his tongue while her hands were in a frenzy at removing his clothes. He did the same, their boots ending up in a disorderly heap on top of which the rest of their clothing was quickly intertwined.

Brain fell back on the bed, that alone broke the kiss, and she was on top of him in an instant, her hands grasping his shaft, she pinned him beneath her and impaled herself to his hilt, gasping at the sudden pleasurable 'full' feeling as her body stretched. She gave a low moan, arched her back, and began to rock back and forth while his hands ran over her contours.

'He might die.' The thought was still there in the back of her mind, and that would make this their last hours together, so she made the best of them, allowing his every intimate touch, her nipples became hard little pebbles, and when he pulled her down, she gave in, her black and white hair cascading freely around them both like a shroud that still mocked the idea of privacy, but enhanced their intimacy. His mouth found her small breasts and his tongue played over them, circling and teasing them before he began a gentle suckle punctuated by the occasional love bite.

When her mouth demanded his again, he freely gave the kiss she craved, and the duel of tongues that neither could lose, before he turned his attention to her left ear. Electric bliss shot through her body as he nibbled, blew, and licked at the part of herself she hated most, turning it into a thing of beauty.

How many times she came to a shivering climax while sliding back and forth along the length of his manhood, she lost count, but she knew each time he rose to completion and filled her again with the proof of his want for her. Naive as Zesshi knew herself to be, some things seemed so naturally intuitive as to be beyond doubt.

A man might lie with his lips, with his kiss, or with his touch. But a man's cock was never able to lie, his want was undeniable, his urgency, unshakable, and the inner embrace her body offered it, was desired like the thirsty desired water.

When their urgent couplings finally ended, and steam rose from the sheets to bear witness to their mating, she rested her head on his chest in silence.

Her hand went up and down his side, and she looked at the shut, locked door, and over at the child's bed where Layali slept on.

"You don't want me to fight tomorrow, do you?" He asked and rested his hand on the small of her back.

"You know the answer to that." Zesshi whispered back and tilted her head so that she looked up at him.

"Why haven't you asked me not to then?" He pressed.

"Because you'll do it anyway, the same as me." Zesshi answered him, her hand moving to his cheek, she held it so that he faced her. "You said it yourself, I'm not stupid, I know you'll fight, you want Cerebrate dead for what he did to Layali, and you won't be satisfied unless you kill him yourself."

"And I called you naive…" Brain chuckled, but Zesshi did not.

"I'm serious." Zesshi said.

"And you're right. So thank you for not asking, let's just… enjoy this while we can, and let tomorrow take care of itself." Brain said, the sheets rustled as he put his hands on her hips and brought her over top of him again.

"Just do your best." Zesshi said as she reached for his shaft.

"At everything, it's the only way to live." He said with a seducer's cocky smile up at her, and at that, she had to smile back, before lowering her lips to his to claim them again.