Chapter 68: Seryu's Suspicion

"Captain! We should set up camp!" Seryu called out to Esdeath, demeaning herself long enough to break her eyes from Parc's back for a second to focus on the woman before him. Said woman not responding to her in the slightest.

"Captain?" Seryu muttered about to get her horse to trot along faster.

Before she could even tab the horses belly with her heels, Kurome slowed her horse to bring her besides Seryu. "Nnn, she is talking with Parc." A big fat lie, she could smell it however faint it was, the musk of a woman in heat. Her master was playing with Esdeath and she didn't want him to be disturbed.

If he were able to get Esdeath to become his she would no longer have to hide her relationship with him anymore. Then she could be pampered as much as and whenever Parc wanted to without having to worry about risking her life.

"What are they talking about?" Seryu frowned her eyes falling to slits to dig through Parc's back as if trying to listen in to their conversation.

Kurome had to think quick, she hadn't expected to be asked, "the baby," was the first thing that popped into her head.

That got Seryu's full attention. It still baffled her that Esdeath would even think of doing 'that' with that evildoer, let along having his corrupted child kicking around in her stomach. Nothing good would come about bringing a child like that into the world.

"What… what do you think about it? The baby, I mean."

Kurome's head tilted in contemplation, eyes trailing to Parc's back with her heart beating just a little flatter. "It is…" her lips wiggled unsure of what to say. What first came to her mind was 'envious' would Parc spoil her if she were with child? Would he still treat her as his puppy? Or as his lover?

Just the idea sent panic through her, 'no,' her head shook side to side, throwing the thought away. 'I am masters puppy. I will always be masters puppy.' A hound had no place acting like a human. Her place was as her masters pet, his plaything.

She was no woman, not anymore. Now all she was, was a bitch. A dog forced to play a human in public but return to her doggly instincts when alone with her beloved master.

"It is… not my place to say," Kurome grip on her reigns tightened for just a moment before loosening. "It is for the general and her…" her eyes trembled looking to Parc's back, hand going white from how tight she clenched her fist around the leather reigns of the horse. "…lover to." no amount of calmness could hide the slight jealous nature to her voice.

Seryu's eyes fell to slits, noting the strange tone of Kurome. 'What are you hiding,' she thought. Her suspicion that Kurome was someway or another cavorting with the darkside still lingered in her mind. "What do… what do you think about Parc? Truly."

Kurome was not dull enough to not recognize the trap Seryu had laid out for her. "He has been a model prisoner."

"By attacking you all?"

"He has never attacked me," even though he had long ago when she first had the ridiculous idea of killing him and bringing him into Yatsufusa's collection.

Seryu frowned suspicion glinting in her eyes, "never attacked you? Not even when you went to check on him in his cell."

"Nnn," Kurome bobbed her head with a stoic expression. "He talked with me. But didn't attack."

Something told Seryu she was hiding something, something very important that could possibly prove her alignment with evil. "Why didn't he attack you?"

"He didn't want to." Kurome shrugged.

"Why didn't he want to?"

"Because he didn't," Kurome grumbled irritated with the confrontational girl.

"That's not an answer. He attacked Bols, Run and Wave. But he didn't attack you. Why. Didn't. he." Seryu glowered at Kurome, a dark shadow lingering around her and Kuro who sat in her lap, growling towards both Kurome and the kitten that popped its head out of Kurome's satchel, sending its own hiss towards the stubby dog.

"I don't know. What are you trying to insinuate?"

"I'm not trying to insinuate anything, Kurome," Seryu's lips curled down and her eyes slanted, "I know your loyalties are elsewhere than the empire. You can hide it. But I can feel it. I will find proof, Kurome. And when I do I. Will. Tear. You. Apart."

Kurome pulled her left hand from the reigns, bringing it down to Yatsufusa's hilt, "my loyalties are where they need to be."

"And where is that?" Seryu grinned brightly as if she had just pushed Kurome into a corner.

"With the g-"

"Are you two okay?" before the words could come out Wave sped up and caught up to the two, placing himself on the other side of Kurome.

Kurome's head swivelled to Wave and nodded, "Nnn, Seryu thinks I'm a traitor."

That caused his eyes to rocket open and shoot to Seryu, "really? You really still think that?"

"YES! Because It's true!"

Wave hung his head and sighed, "come on Seryu, just let it go. Kurome's on our side."

Oh he was so wrong, on so many levels. But he didn't know that.

"How can't you see it!?" Seryu yelled, "the way she acts so weird all of a sudden! How 'he'-"she glared Parc's direction seeing his "treats her like she's not even a threat to him!"

'Because I will never hurt him.' Kurome snorted.

"Get this! He didn't even attack her like he did you guys when she went to check on him!"

"Yeah? That true?" Wave turned his gaze to Kurome who just nodded and hummed to him. "Lucky…" he grumbled, "look, Seryu. There's lots of reasons he might not have attacked her. He didn't feel like it, he didn't have the energy. Hell, maybe he just thought Kurome was cute," he did, "but just because he didn't attack her, doesn't mean she's a traitor. Look at him now, he's had every chance to escape let alone attack us and he hasn't tried anything."

"HE MURDERED DR. STYLISH!"

Wave flinched away feeling his eardrums about to burst even from a horses distance away from the girl.

"Yes," Wave picked his ear with his pinky, "and I'll never forgive him for that. But right now he's our prisoner and the future father of Esdeath's child. And as much as I don't like him. I'm not going to treat him like he's a monster. He can change."

"NO HE CAN'T!" Her horse neighed, beginning to look restless.

"Gah!" Wave recoiled once again in pain while Kurome and the kitten just covered their ears. "Seryu, just. Please let it go. He's currently not a danger to us." He rubbed his head in pain, "so please, just, for now let it go. If he tries anything feel free to do what it is you do. Just… just don't kill him."

"But he deser-"

Wave shot his hand up, holding his index up while his other fingers curled into his palm, "don't, leave an innocent child, without a father, Seryu. Parc may be a murderer. But the child has done nothing. Don't let them grow up never knowing their father, that's not something any child deserves."

Seryu's voice hitched. 'No. NO! A child shouldn't have to grow up with a MURDERER as a father!' she screamed on the inside.

"We're stopping for today!" They heard a voice from the front of the group. Not that of Esdeath, but that of a man's. Drawing their heads to look in the direction the voice came from, they saw Parc with his head tilted back to them, his horse slowing and moving closer to the side of the road where a small clearing was set up.

"That isn't your choice to make!" Seryu growled, "only the capta-"

"Yeah, yeah. Only Esdeath can make that decision. Well, maybe she would if she wasn't unconscious right now." Parc huffed bringing his horse to a stop and quickly dismounting it, keeping his arms around Esdeath to help lift her off the horses back and into his arms.

Her entire body was a mess, starting from her head, her hair stuck to her glistening skin in strands, a pale flush along her cheeks while drool trickled down one side of her cheek. Then her uniform, it was just as dishevelled as she was covered in wrinkles and with a darker splotch by her crotch.

Seryu burst off her horses back, charging Parc, "RELEASE THE CAPTAIN YOU MONSTER!" Her arm rearing back to slug Parc away, only for it to be struck away not by one, but by two of the Jaegers, Wave and Kurome who bolted to stop her.

"Seryu, calm down." Wave said while Kurome glared, hatred in her eyes for her attempt at her beloved masters life, "there must be a good reason for this. Isn't there, Parc?" Wave turned to look at Parc, seeing him laying the unconscious Esdeath against a tree.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, definitely, but its none of yours or hers business." He nodded in Seryu's direction as he returned to the horse pulling out a rolled-up blanket on its saddle. Lingering for just a second longer than he needed to on the wet leather of said saddle from where Esdeath had been releasing her nectar. "All you need to know is that its none of your business and that I've done nothing Esdeath hasn't approved of." He threw the blanket over Esdeath's body to let her warmup, lowering himself besides her, to stare up at the five figure, two of which were just dismounting their own steads.

"So how about one of you get a campfire set up so we can get food prepared for the lady eating for two? I'd do it myself but Seryu's probably skewer me for picking up some flint and steel and some tinder."

"You'd start a fire!" she screeched.

"That is literally the point of having flint and steel and tinder." He retorted giving her a blank stare. "Do you think I'd start a forest fire or something?"

"Of course you would!"

'She has officially lost it… again.'

"Jesus Christ woman," Parc groaned planting his face into his palm, "I'm not even going to bother reacting to that. "Bols," he lifted his head to the giant of a man who was unpacking the cooking utensils from his own steed. "Could you make a triple portion for Esdeath? I'd like to also have some food today." Esdeath had gotten a horrible habit of taking some, normally most of his food for herself because she recently became something of a black hole.

Bols chuckled a response, "of course. Kije was just like Esdeath when she was pregnant with Logue. Though, I may need some more ingredients."

"Perfect. Seryu," Wave turned to the metal armed girl, "you go hunt something, and cool down. When you get back, I want you to put away your grievances with Parc."

"But!"

"No Seryu. I'm not asking you to forgive him. Just, please. For your own safety, drop it."

"But he-"

"Drop. It." He put his foot down, "Esdeath has been lenient with you so far. But if you ever start annoying her with your hatred of Parc, she may end up doing something worse than just punishing you."

"I-"

"Stop trying to reason it, Seryu. Just go and cool down for an hour." She wanted to argue, she really did, but Wave was not going to let her, "GO!" he roared, pointing in the direction of the forest.

Seryu jumped, scrambling towards the forest, Koro following just a little behind her.

With her gone, all eyes fell to Wave in surprise, something he noticed, "I'm not letting her get herself hurt." He huffed turning away from them, "I'm going to get firewood, anyone want to come with?"

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Okay, so I have something to get off my chest.

I've been deleting reviews.

And I hate that I have to do it. But I have to do it. When I get a review when the reviewer reads 1 chapter. It annoys me. Whether they give a high star, or a low star. I really do not want those reviews because it shows no actual dignity.

If they read to like chapter 5 (which is still lower than I'd like before getting a review.) I'd be much more open to it because at least then it shows that they read a bit of the first part of the story and didn't like it and dropped it.

But when I get a review after reading 1 chapter?

With the current amount of chapters I have released for this story, it is inexcusable for both positive and negative reviews. I would much rather silence, than preordained positivity or negativity. I'd be even happier to get actual review that deconstruct the good and bad of my story so that I may at least grow as a writer.

But for the people who make the spam reviews where its just one word over and over again at the higher chapter counts. That at least shows how much they enjoyed it, that they lasted that long and still enjoyed it enough to give it a high review. And if I get a negative review that is only something innane as 'lololololololololololololololololololololol' that's a 1 star at chapter 100? well, at that point i'd still be annoyed because wtf is that. But at least I can see that they read up to a damn high chapter before reviewing.

I'll understand if this annoys people. But I just can't stand people who do stuff like that. I'm just lucky and thankful that all my reviews so far have been positive apart from those said, 1 chap reviewers.