“Senpai, are you all right?” Burn asked Dash.
The bald leader of the elite samurai group known as Team Impossible was stuck staring into the naked blade of the sword that he had stolen. It was the unused weapon of Possible Kim. They had stolen all of Kim’s swords from a dusty corner in a restaurant that they had been “abandoned” in. He had taken possession of the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows because of all of the stories about it granting the owner special, god-like powers and he wanted those powers, like most people did when heard rumors about Kim’s idle sword.
“Yeah, senpai, you okay?” Crash jumped in because their leader had not turned away from the sword since he unsheathed it almost five minutes again.
“I’m fine,” Dash finally answered while shaking his head and turning away from the sword. He could have sworn that he was seeing men in the blade and they were beckoning him for something. It was odd, he thought.
“All right. Could I see that sword?” Crash requested. He wondered if the unused sword was as well a quality as the one that he held in his hand. He now had possession of Kim’s personal katana. Just from looking at it and holding it, he knew that her personal weapon was crafted by one of the best, if not the best, swordsmith in all the land.
“Uh…no,” Dash answered in almost an unsure tone, like he wanted to say something else, but he had to say no instead. “No one can see this sword,” he stated soundly.
“You sound like the brat herself,” Crash commented, thinking that the leader was joking.
“Yeah, he does,” Burn agreed with a laugh.
“Okay, well, let me see it, Demond-senpai,” the brunette man requested again while putting his hand out.
“It’s not worth it,” Dash answered as he sheathed the katana and placed it with his own weapons. His two teammates were confused by the response and his actions, but they decided not to press the issue. Dash himself was not totally sure why he had said or done those things. Usually, he would not mind showing his teammates his things, especially if he was standing right there and knew that he would get the item back. With Kim’s sword, things were different, though.
Dash did not want the sword out of his possession now that he had it. He just would not feel right without it now. He was almost certain that he would sooner give up his right arm than allow anyone else to show much as touch his new weapon. It was his now and his alone.
Kim was still in complete and utter shock. Shego had ordered her to strip half naked without telling her why, led her into the town’s red light district, and was now making a deal on a price to sell her to a brothel owner. It was supposedly apart of some grand scheme to get them money to pay their check at a restaurant in order to get her swords back. Fair to say, Kim was not enjoying the plan so far, especially since the brothel owner continuously eyed her with a lecherous gleam in his eyes.
Shego was not too pleased with the way the dirty old man kept looking at her princess, but it was a necessary offense to put up with. She was driving a hard bargain with him because she could see that he was anxious to have her little kitsune, but the man was a cheapskate. Eventually, he did agree with her and Kim was thus sold into his den of prostitution. Shego then turned to the newest addition of the house.
“Behave for the nice man,” Shego said in a normal tone for all to hear.
Kim frowned and was ready to seriously just attack Shego and everyone else in the place. The pale woman had not really just sold her, right, Kim asked herself. Well, from the money in her hand, Kim was going to have to go with “yes.” Her companion had just sold her to pay off their restaurant bill. She could not believe her lover would do such a thing to her.
The samurai looked into Shego’s eyes with a mix of sorrow and rage. The look seemed to scream “I trusted you and you do this to me!” The older woman tried to ignore the fact that the expression was pretty much cutting her in half. She was a bit offended that Kim thought that was the end of the plan, but then again, she could understand the redhead being insulted considering what seemed to be going on. The green-skinned woman thought that she needed clarify the plan just a little more before she ended up losing her kitsune.
Shego went next to Kim, leaning in very close to the redhead, and whispered, “I’ll be waiting for you by the restaurant. Try not to kill anyone when you get out of here.”
Kim was speechless as Shego left her. The redhead then turned her attention to the man that she had just been sold to and three other men in his employ. Her stomach churned as she saw the greedy and licentious looks in their eyes. They were about to learn that they had just purchased faulty merchandise.
Shego slowly strolled back to the restaurant that she and Kim owed money to. She was not feeling pleased about what she had done, even though it had just made her a great deal of money and it would be a good scheme to run, if only she did not know that Kim would be totally against it. Kim probably felt betrayed and violated by the predicament that she had left the teen in; she could tell that just from the look in those olive eyes when Kim had been glaring daggers at her. But, it was fast money.
Still the thought of what she had done weighed on her worse than having a mountain on her shoulders. She cared deeply about Kim and yet, she had just sold her to such a place. She was confident that Kim would get away, but it still made her feel dirty to have done such a thing. It did not help matters that she had also given up Kim’s precious swords as collateral for their check at the restaurant. She was swinging and missing a lot that day.
She hoped that Kim could forgive her for doing such things. She was only looking to be practical. Surely there was no crime in that, but in her heart and gut, it felt as if she had committed the worst of evils. Her mind wished to know how she could just sell her girl like that.
“It’s not like I really sold her,” Shego argued with herself.
Kim would get away from the brothel in a hurry, the pale woman assured herself, which was why she had sold Kim in the first place. The teen was able. Kim had defeated her, after all. So, she told herself that she should not worry that Kim would not get away because she was sure that the redhead would be back with her within minutes. What she needed to worry about was her lover’s wrath, she reminded herself. The look in Kim’s eyes was enough for her to know that Kim would get away; the redhead was going to seek revenge more than likely. Hopefully, she could be reasoned with, Shego silently prayed.
Shego arrived at the restaurant after a couple of minutes, but she did not enter the establishment. She waited outside, figuring that she would go in when Kim returned to her. She did not need to wait long, which she knew would be the case. Her redheaded companion stormed over to her hardly two minutes after she arrived. The expression in her olive eyes a keen mixture of deep offense and anger.
Kim was beyond insulted that Shego would take her and sell her to a brothel. She was damned samurai first of all! A member of the highly esteemed Possible clan! And Shego had the nerve to sell her into some sleazy den of prostitution as a way to pay for a restaurant bill. It was unacceptable! It was if Shego thought that she had no pride or honor to speak of to do such a thing to her. How could Shego even do such a thing to her? She thought that the green-skinned warrior cared about her and yet, she had been able to do such a thing.
“How could you do that!” Kim demanded to know before she was even in Shego’s face.
“We needed the money,” Shego pointed out, remaining calm with the hope that it would help get her lover to settle down too. The last thing that she wanted was to have Kim punch her right in the middle of a public street.
“So you sell me?” Kim shrieked. “Wait until I get my swords back. You’re not going to have to keep your promise because I’m going cut you in half!” the redhead declared with a fire blazing in her eyes.
“Kitsune,” Shego said with a nervous grin. She was not sure if her lover was being serious or if that was just the fury talking. She was not interested in finding out, though.
“Give me my damn clothes back,” Kim ordered, which the pale woman did immediately. After all, there was no need to add to the aggravation of the situation by teasing the fuming samurai.
The redhead went to a nearby alley and put her hakama back on. She slipped her zori back on her feet. She even put her fox mask back on, wearing it backwards again. She then returned to Shego to have her a piece of her mind.
“What the hell was that about?” the redhead demanded to know.
“Princess,” Shego started in a very gentle tone, hoping that it would get her out of trouble. Unfortunately, she did not get the chance to finish her statement.
“Oh, no, don’t try to sweet talk me. Let’s go get my damn swords, so we can get this over with!” Kim commanded and she stumped into the restaurant.
Shego gulped and followed behind the furious teen. It seemed like her lover had been serious when she that she was going to cut Shego in half. They went to the back of the restaurant for Lars, who was doing some cooking.
“You two again,” Lars commented as he noticed the ladies. “I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come back here.”
“Here’s your money,” Shego said to the blonde and she handed him the payment for their bill. “Where’s our swords?” she inquired.
“Ned,” Lars called his nerdy waiter.
“Yes?” Ned replied from the front of the restaurant where he was attempting to wait tables.
“Come and get those swords!” the boss commanded.
“Yes, sir!”
Ned hustled from the front of the business to the back, not wanting to anger his boss by taking too long to perform the ordered task. He went to the corner that his boss had stored the ladies’ weapons in. Ned then went to the female duo and handed over one sword. Kim and Shego looked rather baffled by his actions.
“Where are the other three?” Shego asked with a bit of an attitude. Her saving grace was that she was getting the swords back and yet three of them were missing. The three important ones at that.
“Other three? That’s the only one that was there,” Ned answered.
“What do you mean!” Kim screamed and she grabbed Ned by the front of his kimono. She started yanking him back and forth. “Where the hell are my swords?” she demanded to know.
“I don’t know!” Ned answered with fear in his voice. “Could you get off of me?” he begged to know. If she kept shaking him, he was scared that he might pee on himself and he really did not need to do that in front of his boss, especially not in the kitchen.
“Princess, let him go!” Shego said and she pulled her companion off of the scrawny boy. She stepped in between the two of them, but Kim still tried to go through her to get to Ned, who was now the source and desired outlet of all of her rage because he had lost the swords in her opinion.
“Where the hell are my swords!” Kim demanded to know, attempting to leap over Shego to get back at the little waiter.
“Princess, calm the hell down!” Shego ordered, knowing that if her companion did not get a hold of herself at the very least Ned was likely to die. After Ned, it would probably be Lars, and then maybe herself since she had given the swords up in the first place.
“How can I calm down? They lost my swords! Damn it, those are my swords!” Kim hollered in serious, agonizing distress. Her most prized and treasured possessions were gone. She was responsible for those swords, especially the heirloom, which could be out doing damage to someone for all she knew. And then there were her own personal weapons, which did represent and house her soul.
“Calm down, calm down, calm down,” Shego repeated in a low tone almost like a chant. She leaned in close to Kim and pressed her forehead against the distraught teen’s head. She placed her hand on the back of Kim’s head to hold the redhead in place and also to comfort the upset warrior. “We’ll find the swords. We’ll find them. I promise,” she whispered. Damn right, she promised; after all, she was the one that gave them up in the first place. She now had a shot at redemption.
Kim had to take a few deep breaths and her heart began to steady its rhythm. She eyed the floor for a moment before staring directly at Shego, who she had only minutes ago been ready to cut in two, but now, she was glad for the support. She was glad for that sincere look in those emerald eyes that pledged to her that they would find those swords. There was no second option as far as Shego was concerned, which Kim could also see in her eyes, so that helped the redhead calm down.
“Where do we even start looking?” Kim pled to know. She needed those swords back and she needed them now, especially the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows. She did not even want to think of what might be happening if that legend was true.
“We’ll start with asking four eyes and blondie if they saw anything suspicious,” the pale woman pointed out and she turned her attention to Lars and Ned, sweeping around to face them with a dangerous glint in her eyes. “So, did you two see anything suspicious?” she inquired.
“We didn’t see anything,” Lars answered soundly. Like he would just let someone steal from him, even if he did not want the swords in the first place. It was the principle of the matter and he would not just allow someone to plunder anything that was his if he could help it.
“Of course,” Shego sighed. It was just her luck that they did not have any clues at all.
“What do we do? What do we do?” Kim was obviously panicking. They did not have clues if those guys did not see anything, which meant that she might never get her weapons back. She would never be able to face her family again after losing the Blade of Hundred Sorrows; not only was it dangerous, but it was a family heirloom too. There was also the symbolic meaning behind the sword, which showed that the Possible clan would and could do anything to protect its people and land.
“Calm down. Come on. Those swords couldn’t have gotten far. It hasn’t even been an hour yet,” Shego pointed out.
Kim nodded in agreement because she did not have any other choice in the matter. She needed to calm down and focus on the problem at hand rather than being totally alarmed by the entire situation. Shego pulled her out of the restaurant and they began to the hunt for Kim’s swords. The redhead was not sure what to do and she began to hyperventilate from her panic after only a few seconds. Shego noticed immediately and put her arm around Kim.
“Don’t worry, kitsune. I’ll get your swords back or die trying,” the pale woman declared while rubbing the smaller warrior’s shoulder.
Kim could not even speak, which did not matter because she would not have known what to say if she could. She probably would have blamed Shego for what happened, but she could not even think about that. All she could think about was having her swords back. She needed her swords; they were treasures to her. Taking her swords, the thief might as well have snatched her arms and legs too in her opinion because the weapons were just as important to her as her limbs.
Shego did plan to break her back if necessary to get those swords back for her companion. She did feel very responsible for what was happening to Kim and she did not like that Kim freaking out was all her fault. She was experiencing too much guilt lately, she thought as she dashed around attempting to locate the physical manifestation of Kim’s soul. She was going to find those swords, Shego told herself over and over because she did not want to even think there was a chance that something else might happen.
“Senpai, are you all right?” Crash inquired as Dash turned around suddenly.
They had been planning to make their way back home since they had been expected in a couple of days ago actually, but Dash seemed to be stalling in getting out of town now. He kept turning around as if he was looking for something, but never spotted what he was looking for; it was like he was a bird on high alert for a predator or prey. He also kept his hand resting on the hilt of his stolen weapon, the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows, which his two partners thought was weird. He was worse with that katana than Possible was, the two thought because of the way that he kept his hand on it. She at least did not need to touch it all the time like their leader seemed to need to do.
“I’m fine. Stop asking me that,” Dash barked at his two teammates. They continuously asked if he was all right and it was getting on his nerves now since it had been going on for almost an hour. He was sick of hearing them talk for the most part.
“You don’t look fine,” Burn pointed out, which was why they kept asking him how he felt. It did not help that he continuously turned around sharply every couple of minutes when nothing or no one was around.
“What do you mean?” Dash countered in a close to angry tone.
“You’re sweating,” the redhead commented.
“So? It’s hot,” the bald man huffed.
“Not really,” Crash objected. It was a fantastic day, not too hot or too cold. The sky was clear, but the sun was not really bothersome. There was no reason to be sweating.
Dash was sweating; it was dripping down his cheek. He was also feeling fidgety. He wanted to draw the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows, but he did not because it did not feel like the right time. He was not sure when the right time was for him to unsheathe the weapon, but he was certain that he would know when the time came. He felt like he needed to cut someone in half, though. He was not sure who that someone was just yet, but he could feel that the person was close. He could not wait for that person to show up, so he could get to work on that unlucky soul. Once his business was done with that person, he might turn around and take care of his teammates since they did not seem to know when to shut up.
“Come on, senpai. We need to get home before Director-sama has us commit seppuku (1),” Crash commented. He imagined that a lot of the time that woman would devour them whole if she could and they would just have to stand there while she did it or try to complain to the Shogun, who probably would side with her anyway.
“Right,” Dash agreed and they continued on their way, trying to get out of the town and back on the road to get to Edo.
“We also need to get out of here before Possible realizes her swords are gone,” Burn added, hoping that that would get their leader to stop fooling around and they could just be on their way.
“You think I’m afraid of that little girl?” Dash inquired in a rather angry tone. One might have thought Burn said something about his leader’s mother from the irritation in his voice.
“I didn’t say that, senpai,” the redhead quickly defended himself, not looking to get into a battle with his leader.
“But, you implied it,” the bald man growled like a mad dog. He had never felt so insulted in all his life that anyone would even come close to suggest that he was frightened of that little girl. He would tear her in half if she was there right now.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he argued.
“I could destroy that kid,” Dash proclaimed and he realized that he wanted to do just that. He looked around, hoping to spot her, but he was not so lucky. He then suddenly walked off, in the wrong direction. Apparently, he was going to find her and show his teammates just how scared he was of Kim.
“What the? Senpai, where are you going?” Crash called to the departing bald man, who did not answer.
“What’s up with him?” Burn asked his partner with a confused expression on his face.
Crash shrugged. “Hell if I know. Let’s follow him and try to figure out what’s going on. We really need to get back to Edo or Director-sama is going to eat our heads at this rate.”
Burn nodded in agreement with that; she was probably going to punish them for their lateness anyway, but they did not want to compound that. They took off after their leader and noticed that he seemed to be searching for something or someone, but they could not figure out what. They did not know anyone in the town, except for the girl that they had stolen weapons from, of course. They did not know why he would want to find Kim, though.
Dash was hunting for Kim like snake hunting for a rat. His head turned sharply every few seconds, searching for some sign of her. He practically slithered by people and around buildings, in hurry to locate his prey. He felt like she was close by; it was almost as if he could sense her, just like a viper following its tongue to its dinner. He just felt the urge to destroy her and it was building with every passing moment. And then he spotted her and his hatred boiled through his system it seemed. A crimson steam seemed to rise off him at that very moment.
“Mim-hime,” Dash whispered to himself and he unsheathed the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows, which also seemed to be giving off a deep scarlet mist now. He then ran at Kim, who did not seem to be paying attention.
Kim was still depressed over the loss of her weapons. She quietly despaired while Shego had gone into a shop to see if someone had gone in there and sold the swords or maybe tried to sell the swords. And then suddenly, Kim was on full alert and dodging an attack. She jumped back while a sword came down. She caught sight of her enemy before her feet hit the ground.
“Demond-san?” Kim said in disbelief and puzzlement. She knew that Team Impossible were no fans of hers, but they never had attacked her before. What was going on? And then she noticed the sword that he was wielding. “The Blade of a Hundred Sorrows? What are you doing with that?” she demanded to know.
“Mim-hime,” Dash growled as he turned his attention back to Kim and came at her with another powerful sword attack. There was eternal hatred in his movements.
“Oh, crap, he’s possessed,” Kim realized as she moved out of the way of his attack again. She had never seen the possession of the sword before, but the fact that he called her Mim was a dead giveaway, mostly because she had been told that when the sword possessed someone that the souls of the men inside only wanted revenge on Mim. The bad thing was that the souls seemed to perceive any Possible protecting the blade as Mim.
There was also the fact that Dash seemed to be sporting a new red miasma surrounding him. The cursed blade held the same visible aura to it. The color in Dash’s eyes had faded almost completely, but there was still an intense look of pure, unshakable hatred in his eyes that was never present before. His face was tighter than usual from tension that was coming from the souls taking control over his body.
The redhead instinctively went for her sword, hoping to fend off Dash. She clearly forgot that she was sans weapons. She silently cursed as she moved out of the way of the blade again and avoided losing her head to her own sword. She started scanning the area, looking for something that could be a weapon. She did not see anything; hell, there were not even people on the street, as they all made hasty retreats when Dash charged in swinging the sword.
“Why the hell didn’t I bring my backup weapons?” Kim asked herself. She usually carried at least three backup weapons, but she left those with her horse, which she left with Ron and Yori. If anything, her weapons were at home now. Could the day get any worse, really?
The redhead just made sure to stay out of the way of the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows. Dash growled furiously every time that he missed the slender girl, as if he was an angry dragon, breathing out a crimson mist from his nose to go along with that. He did keep up with her better than most, but she was still avoiding him. He did not see the merit in keeping up with her unless he was cutting her head off, so it was moot to him.
“What the hell?” Shego muttered as she exited the store to see her girl nearly getting cut to bits by a man covered in a red fog that he was generating from what she could tell. It was always something, she sighed to herself.
“Shego, give me your sword!” Kim called urgently. She figured with a sword, she could quickly disarm Dash and with luck, it would get the demon souls out of him.
“No problem,” Shego answered and she tossed the redhead her blade.
The teen grabbed the sword and had to duck Dash taking mighty horizontal slash at her. She unsheathed the ninjato (2) and quickly put the weapon out to block the next assault that she knew was coming from Dash. She put the ninjato up just in time and as the blades collided then a couple of sparks were actually created as if the metals were hot as they rubbed against each other.
“Mim-hime,” Dash snarled in a deep voice that Kim knew was not his usual tone, looking down at her while their swords clashed. The scarlet aura helped hide his face, covering his visage in shadow, making him look very much like an oni.
“Demond-san, you’re being taken over by demons,” Kim tried to tell him in a rational tone, thinking it might get through to him. She was not sure if that would work since no one ever told her what she should do if someone was possessed by the sword, other than get the weapon out of the person’s custody.
“Mim-hime,” he growled, blowing out more red smoke from his nose and mouth now as he spoke.
Kim sucked her teeth since it was obvious now that there was no getting through to him, especially since he kept referring to her as “Mim.” She was just going to have to get that accursed sword out of his hands. She had no problem with that, especially since it was apparent that he was the one that stole her sword. She guessed that his two shadows held her personal weapons.
Shego just watched the swordfight as it took place. Being on the outside looking in now, Shego could see how the girl offered her competition. The redhead was agile and flexible and seemed to be able to get out of the way of anything. And then to go along with her sword attacks, Kim had all sorts of martial arts moves. Dash seemed to have his hands full trying to take her on, even though it was clear that he was a master swordsman. The pale woman did wonder what his malfunction was with attacking her kitsune, though.
Shego would have continued watching the blades cling against each other, sparking each time, but she something else caught her eye. She turned to her left and caught sight of Crash and Burn, who were also watching the battle. Shego did not know the pair, of course, but she did know those swords that they were carrying near their own. So, she made her way over to them, standing in front of them and sort of blocking the intriguing battle going on between their leader and Kim, which still included more and more sparks as their swords collided.
“Hey, guys,” Shego said to the pair in a very casual manner.
“Hey,” they replied in puzzled tones since they did not know her and she was in the way of an important fight as far as they were concerned.
“Those are some nice swords that you have there,” the green-skinned woman commented while motioning to weapons on their belts that did not seem to belong.
“Oh, yeah,” Burn said.
“Funny, I have a friend that has swords that look exactly like those,” Shego stated and they seemed to have gotten the hint.
Crash and Burn pulled their weapons, their personally owned katanas. Shego leaped back to avoid getting sliced at the neck and waist. She then ignited her hands and went at the thieves that had gotten her into such trouble with her lover. She was angry with them for what happened with Kim. How depressed and stressed she was over the loss of her swords and of course how angry she had gotten with Shego. She was going to make them pay for it all.
Shego’s first move against Crash and Burn was to cut right through their swords with plasma-charged claws, mostly due to the fury that she was feeling knowing that they were the ones that caused her and Kim so much trouble. They did not notice immediately, which cost them because they tried to counterattack her with the swords. She did not have to move and came in with punches for them, catching them in the chest. They fell onto their backs while wondering how in the hell a woman could be so powerful.
“Give me this, bitch,” Shego said to Crash and she ripped Kim’s katana from his side. She used the sheathed weapon to hit him in the stomach, which caused him to cough and he held his stomach. She turned her attention to Burn. “You want some of the same, bitch?” she inquired, still rather upset.
“Who are you calling a bitch, bitch?” Burn countered and he attempted to kick her while he on his back.
Shego laughed a bit and caught his leg. He was about to regret throwing his leg out because as soon as she had that limb in her clutches, she was about to show her evil side. She proceeded to stomp him in the crotch. He cried out in sheer agony and passed out from the pain.
“I hope you already had children, bitch.” Shego chuckled as she leaned down and took her girl’s short sword from his side. She felt a bit better about herself having killed Burn’s nuts.
Shego was about to turn her attention back to the swordfight, but Crash decided to stand up. He took a few swings at Shego with his fists, which she blocked; he was weak from her first assault, so he was easy to defend against. He then kicked at her side, which landed. She grunted, but she held his leg to her side and then she smashed him across the face with the sheathed katana that she was holding. Crash’s face snapped to the side and he fell over, halfway anyway since Shego was still holding his leg. She dropped him unceremoniously in the dirt and turned her attention to the fight.
Kim seemed to be holding her own, so Shego figured that she would just hold onto Kim’s weapons since the young samurai did not seem to need them. The redhead continued to clash weapons with Dash and they tried to force each other back. Shego was waiting for the sparks from the swords to ignite the crimson aura that Dash was bathed in.
“Mim-hime!” Dash snarled in a blind rage. There were veins bulging on the side of his head as he tried to force Kim to her knees with the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows against the sword she was wielding.
“The name’s Kim,” she informed him and she kicked him hard in the side. He fell back, surprised by the hit and the strength of it.
“Mim!” the bald man snorted as if he was a vengeful bull. The veins in his head just bulged more as his face grew dark from shadows and the scarlet smoke slowly covering his whole being.
Kim did not even try to reason with him. She ran at him while she had the chance, but she did not get to attack because he beat her to it. She put the ninjato out to block the katana and then she quickly stepped to the side. She went to strike him with her sword, but he blocked. They continued on in that manner for a few more steps until Kim changed strategies.
The redhead slid behind Dash and proceeded to hit him in the back with as many punches as she could. He turned around and swiped at her with The Blade. She jumped back and moved to the side, hoping to come in with a lightning fast strike of her own. He blocked that attack, but she lashed out with several kicks. He forced her back with their swords to get the kicks to stop. Kim just ran in for more.
The slender samurai decided that it was best to go at Dash with punches and kicks, only using sword attacks as a distraction. She tired him out in that manner and then disarmed him with a rapid, surprising strike from her sword, sending the Blade of a Hundred Sorrows flying several feet away and landing harmlessly in the dust on its side. Dash seemed incredulous to what just happened.
“Mim…” he hissed while breathing hard, but he did not run at her.
Kim waited a moment to see what Dash was going to do. He bent down on one knee and then fell forward on his face. She was not sure if he passed out from the fighting or because the possession was over. She went to check on him and found that he was unconscious; the crimson aura around him quickly began dissolving. She took her scabbard for her sword out of his belt and went to retrieve her family’s sword. She put the cursed katana back where it could do no harm.
“Well, that’s one down,” Kim muttered.
“Two to go, kitsune,” Shego commented as she came over, holding the two swords out as a peace offering.
“My swords,” Kim gasped and she grabbed them. She quickly put the weapons back on her hip and she sighed in relief. “Thank you!” she hollered and she threw herself in Shego’s arms. It would seem that it slipped her mind that it was sort of Shego’s fault that her precious swords had gone missing. She was just overjoyed to have her treasures and the family heirloom back.
“Come on, let’s get going,” Shego said while patting her companion on her lower back.
“Yeah,” Kim agreed and they continued on their journey, leaving the entire Team Impossible just laid out in the middle of the empty street.
“So, princess, how did you get away from the brothel anyway?” Shego asked curiously. She really did not want to remind Kim that she had done something as horrible as selling Kim, but she just had to know how her lover made it back to her.
“I beat them up the second they came to touch me and broke open the cage that they keep the women in. I thought that the women would like to be free, but not too many of them fled. I still figured that the owner would be concerned about fixing the cage before coming after me,” Kim explained.
Shego nodded. She figured that everything happened something like that. It was what she had been banking on when she sold Kim, but she still did not feel right about what she had done.
“I’m sorry for that, princess,” Shego apologized sincerely.
Kim glanced over at her companion. She wanted to still be mad at Shego for what happened, but she looked ahead of her and thought about how close they were to their destination. She easily let her anger go, as if it was a captured firefly. She stepped closer to Shego and took the pale woman’s arm, placing it around her waist.
“It’s all right, tenshi, especially since we got everything back,” Kim replied. Shego smiled a bit.
1: Seppuku: ritual suicide.
2: ninjato: ninja sword.
Next time: they arrive at Edo.