A blurry lush green forest slowly came into view. The girl awoke with a violent kick in the side, but she was too numb and groggy to feel the pain. She let out a soft wail before squinting her eyes to adjust to the sunlight. She rolled over onto a more comfortable position on her back and stared up into the sky - only to find a group of males staring down at her.
Her eyes widened instantly as she jerked into a sitting stance. Her clear blue orbs were round as saucers as she gaped at them speechlessly. "Good morning, princess." One of them spoke in a husky voice, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. "W-Who are you? Where am I?" She demanded, shifting her gaze from each of them to the other. She was still in a daze from earlier and her mind could not quite register the scenes from before she was knocked out.
"Remember the temple?" Another of them asked from somewhere behind her, "Our master Shino?" She ducked her head low and fisted her hands in the skirt of her toga, looking as if she wanted to bury herself in the soil. Vigorously she shook her head, making her light locks bob up and down. A few of them snickered at her misery. "He'll be very heartbroken to hear that." Another one chirped. Soon after, she wasn't sure who was speaking anymore and simply shut their voices out.
"Hey, are you listening to us?" A hand darted out to encircle her thin wrist, snapping her out of her thoughts and jerking her upright. She mewled in pain and allowed herself to be dragged along. She raised her head to catch a glimpse of her kidnapper - a tall, built young man with thick brown locks and an annoyed face. "Look at this. Why would Shino want a weakling like this around? She's just a waste of resources." He said in a growl, sounding extremely disdainful.
At the sound of this, the girl grew irritated and willed up all her energy to char the smirk off his face. She brought her fist up to his face in lightnig speed - but nothing but an embarrassing puff of smoke erupted from it. The other boys burst into laughter, including a chuckle from the ruffian. He tightened his grip around her wrist, causing her to scrunch her face. "Did you think Shino was stupid enough to let you hold your powers?" He chided.
"Y-You sealed my powers!" She cried out, her strained voice a mixture of fury and pain, "You bastards!" She struggled violently but his grip never faltered. "Dare you to say that again." The boy snarled, but she tried her best not to show any signs of fear or flinch. His other arm encircled her waist as he pulled her toward him. She struggled even harder now and even managed to kick him in the shin.
He jumped slightly and just as his hand was raised for the blow, his fist started to harden. It froze in midair, quite literally, as the sound of crackling ice echoed across the woods. A split second later, his entire fist was encased in an ice cube. His expression turned grim as well as his fellow gang mates as their gazes were fixated on something beyond her back. The boy's iron grip on her wrist loosened and she quickly pulled her injured hand towards her, cradling it against her chest gently.
She spun around as well, coming face to face to a familiar boy. She had seen him before, but she couldn't quite remember when. The ice mage's blue eyes were cold and hard and his face expressionless. "Welcome back, Shino," One of them spoke, trying to sound as casual as possible but obviously uncomfortable, "We awoke the princess for you."
Shino diverted his gaze towards the girl and she stared back at him with pleading eyes. Perhaps she could help her. It only took him a few long strides to reach her and as he did, he grabbed her by the hair. She squealed in surprise at the sudden attack and strained her neck to get a good look at him. "I told you not to lay your hands on her," He barked at the rest and surprisingly, they all looked remorseful, "And you defy my orders as usual."
"We're very sorry." They all muttered in chorus. The girl's eyes never left his face as he looked down at her once again, expression stoic that said I'd take none of this. "Now, make yourselves useful and set up camp. Night is nigh and I wouldn't want to sleep in the open if I were you." With that, he stalked off, dragging the girl along with him.
"Please let go of my hair," She spoke softly after they have walked a fair distance, "Who are you? And why am I here?" The boy stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face her. His features looked less tense and scary and he looked almost like a normal boy now. "Did I knock your head so hard that you lost your memories?" He asked out loud, ever so slightly bewildered. She held a puzzled expression and cocked her head to the side like a thinking puppy. "Remember the temple? Our little display of magic?" He reached out his hands to pull her slightly forward by the waist until they both stood at the mouth of a clearing.
"Remember this?" The girl stared wide-eyed at the enormous round object as memories came flooding into her head like a stream. She spun around quickly to face the boy again, this time, her eyebrows furrowed and breaths more vigorous. "You kidnapped me!" She yelled at him, "You kidnapped me and the sacred egg! The temple is doomed now!" The boy looked extremely unamused as he constantly dodged her kicks and punches.
"I'm glad that you have regained your memories, princess," He spoke nonchalantly, allowing her foot to zip past his face, "But I have sealed your powers and any effort to get out of here will be futile. So I suggest it's best that we start getting along." She panted tiredly as her punches grew weaker. Her eyes were rimmed with fat tears. Eventually she stopped lashing out and dropped down onto the ground on her butt, looking defeated.
The boy knelt down before her and placed a large hand atop her silver hair. "I'm Shinosuke, a fellow mage and I'm the boss here." He said, and she wasn't sure if he was angry or that he just sounded like that all the time. She didn't utter a reply and simply nodded under her ruffled bangs. There was nothing she could do now with her powers sealed away and the absence of her wonder staff.
"Now let's get you back to the campsite to rest-" She mewled again, but this time louder as his hand came in contact with her injured wrist. There was now an angry red welt around it and it throbbed violently at a single touch. What had the ruffian done? The boy stared at it for a split second with pursed lips. "Did they push you around just now?" He quipped, his voice dripping with annoyance. She nodded again and tried to jerk her hand away from his grasp. He let out a deep sigh and grabbed her other wrist instead, this time his hold gentler and more careful.
"Now let's get you back to the camp and treat your wounds," He muttered over his shoulder, the girl following after him obediently, "I wouldn't want an injured summoner around."
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