A Plus One

Naren clasped his hands, as he quickly looked away from the gaping entrance before him. He had no intention of going in there. Nope. Never.

"Well, there's no way the marble could be in there. I guarantee it actually."

He took a step to leave, but noticed the lack of response from Jade. Matter of fact, there was even a lack of breathing.

Turning his gaze, Jade was completely frozen in fear. Her face contorted into one of horror as she struggled to get a breath out. She had broken out into a cold sweat with her body stiff as a rock. Her voice barely audible.

"...Help..."

Naren tugged Jade's arm, pulling her out of her stunned daze as she fell to the floor gasping for her breath. Her eyes quivering as she held her chest.

"I...I'm sorry...I...I thought...I...I."

Naren put a finger to Jade's mouth.

"You're tickling my ear with all this heavy breathing. Calm down before you speak, please."

Jade took a moment to calm herself as she limped behind Naren, the two walking away from the abysmal entrance. She collapsed onto the ground under the shade of a looming tree that must've been at least ten meters thick.

After Naren noticed Jade's beathing had finally settled he hopped back up.

"Ok, back to the search."

But Jade didn't move.

Instead, she sat still in silence. A quiet moment faltered and then she spoke, not looking at Naren.

"I'm sorry about earlier. About how I've been acting...It's actually my spite...I..."

As Jade spoke her truth to Naren, his head tilted at her words. Spite's were quite interesting. They could be something that was as debilitating as not being able to lie, or something that nobody would notice like Naren's lack of presence.

But then there were other's like Jades. One's that completely turn your character inside out.

However, just then Naren's attention was pulled somewhere else.

Right above them.

Naren heard it first, the faint crisp flailing of embers along with two familiar voices as they drew clearer and clearer. Then he saw it. A dark shape plummeting through the overgrown purple canopies above them.

The impact hit the forest like an explosion. Fire crackling as trees wisped into embers and dust spread out like a maelstrom, hanging thick and impenetrable for several seconds while Naren squeezed his ears shut.

Then as he was finally relieved of the pressure that came with the sudden event, his golden eyes caught movement in the dust cloud.

A figure stumbled forward, lurking over and coughing violently. Her navy hair almost black as she first made sure the flower tucked in her ear was unharmed. Her voice coarse and forced.

"Cairo...You dunce..."

Then a maniacal laughter filled the air as the dust had subsided completely. A figure standing atop a giant bird that was slowly burning into nothing but a black husk. His black tunic a little charred.

"Hahaha...Whatcha mean? How else we get down without a bird?"

Naren watched as Cairo cracked his neck, his eyes narrowing on him.

"An look here...So this is where you was piss-eyes!"

Then his eyes waved over to the figure that sat beside Naren.

"And look's like he's got a plus one."

By now, Jade had already gone through her motion of squealing, latching onto Naren and shutting her eyes firm until she was able to calm herself down.

When her eyes slowly fluttered open, the girl was staring intently at Cairo. Her eyes suddenly shifting into a look of terror, but instead of peeling over like usual, Jade bit her lips so hard that it began to bleed.

The girl stood up so suddenly that it spooked Naren. Her body already moving towards Cairo without another word.

Naren looked between the two, the conversation he had with Jade filing into his mind. The fact that she was here to hunt two Aspirants. And the fact that those two Aspirants were now both right in front of her.

'Shoot!'

There were only two outcomes he could think of. Either Cairo kills the girl or the girl takes Cairo and Yuna to Atlas. And Naren couldn't quite figure out which one was worse.

In the end, they were both the worst case scenario for him.

Naren caught up to Jade, pulling her hands back, stopping her momentarily.

"Listen Jade. Let's uh, let's calm down and talk this out 'kay?"

However, instead of leveling with him, Jade whipped her palm at Naren. A swift motion that should've been a normal slap. But in the next moment, Naren was flying through the air, skidding through the ground.

Again, just like when he first met her. It felt like he was hit by a freight train. Except, he was too tried to stay conscious last time.

Though this time, Naren was able to notice something strange.

Jade had her eyes closed the entire time. As if she was too scared to watch what she was doing.

Jade sighed as she failed to even give Naren a glance.

"Stain of Musashi and Eye of Janus..."

Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"Under orders from king Nero...I-I must escort the two of you to the Tomb of Atlas."

A quite silence followed as flames around them. The forest slowly growing more and more tainted by embers that consumed all life it set upon.

Cairo smiled a wide smile. A toothy unnerving grin that exposed his gums.

"Under orders of yours truly...Fuck you."

In the next second Cairo lunged forward, a wave of heating closing in as his kunai flung out of his waist.

But before Cairo could connect with Jade, a pair of bare feet stepped out of the reflection of his steel weapons. Reflections that were only brought about by Cairo's newly created flames.

The one-eyed man toppled over mid strike at the shift in weight of Naren's sudden appearance. The two rolling into a tree.

Cairo grabbed Naren by the collar, shaking him.

"The hell're you doin?! That shorty just handed your ass to you so it's my go!"

Naren tried getting a word out but Cairo kept shaking him. When he finally stopped and Naren opened his mouth, a overwhelming force came down right between them. The ground below them rupturing and cracking from the pressure.

Naren and Cairo hopped back opposite each other just in time to avoid being turned into a lump of flesh and gore.

Jade standing in the spot where they used to be.

"Either surrender, or I'll have to use force."

Jade's gaze wasn't looking at anyone in particular. Instead it was staring down, unable to see the looks she was getting from Naren and Cairo. She had no intentions of seeing any of their faces...Until a voice spoke from behind.

"We...Surrender."

Behind her, Yuna held her hands up, swaying as her flushed face gave hint to her body that was about to give in any moment.

And it did. Her body fell to the ground with a palpable thump. This time though, Naren could hear it. Her once erratic heart growing duller and duller by the second.

He had no medical knowledge, but he'd heard a similar beat before. The beating of a dying body. If he had to guess, she wouldn't make it to tomorrow.

Jade's eyes widening wide as her prisoner who was supposed to be brought back alive fell before her.