Chapter 119 - 119 - Almost Home

Yukiya leapt onto a nearby rock and gazed above. Evening sun light illuminated the beautiful river rushing down the mountain. This is the river that leads to her house in Nevada. 'Just a little more I can finally reach home. And.....I will find you baby... wait for me, mommy will find clues and will find you,'

"Are we there yet," an annoyed voice came from behind her.

"Still a bit more to go," Yukiya said, gritting her teeth.

"You said that when we were at the last mountain range, where are you going by the way?" Long ki mumbled with an annoying growl. This is the first time in his lifetime that he had walked so much. Days ago he suggested that we fly to our destination, but the woman refused.

{"we might miss Raijin if we fly." She said with shifty eyes."}

Even later on Long Ki was not able to figure out why she was so against flying.

Remembering her cute face, he chuckled softly.

"We are close," she said with a smirk. "See around there that is mu home," she said, pointing to the east of them. "Now all we have to do is pass this mountain range,"

"Hmm," he flowed behind her.

Suddenly the whole forest went quiet. The animals descended the mountain and scurried past them. The ravens flew away towards the opposite direction they were heading. Usually animals get spooked like this only when there is danger nearby.

Long ki dashed towards her and held her close. She struggled a little. "Careful, something is coming," he whispered.

The ground under them started trembling.

"Earthquake?" Yukiya whispered in shock.

"No, worse.... my brother," Long Ki said.

He could feel the familiar energy surging through the ground. As if the lava under them was angry and raging. 'What riled him up so much?' as far as he knew his little brother was cool headed and did not like to cause trouble.

A few rocks tumbled down the mountain.

"Shit," Long Ki threw her onto his shoulder and leaped onto the nearby tree. Huge rocks tumbled past them, blocking up the entire passageway.

After the ground settled, Long ki leaped down and let her down.

"Your brother did this?" Yukiya whispered, holding onto her tummy. The stupid red dragon had thrown her onto his shoulder quite brutally. And mind you, his shoulders were very stiff. Not so comfortable to just hand around.

Long ki saw her holding her stomach with a frown. "Are you hurt?" he whispered. it was an emergency situation, so he was not delicate with her when he threw her onto his shoulders.

"No..no, I'm fine," she whispered with a blush.

'It was not me.... the why is she still holding her stomach... 'gasp', is it.....' his thoughts ran rampant. "Are you having your time of the month?" he whispered.

Her face turned red instantly. Yukiya glared and slapped his shoulder. "You...you brute... you shouldn't ask a woman about that,"

"Ow.. Why? Isn��t it a natural phenomenon?" he was confused by her reaction. Isn't monthly bleeding a normal thing for women? So why is she so angry for bringing it up. 'this woman is complicated,' he thought, shaking his head.

They both tried to manoeuvre between the fallen rocks, but the path before them was completely blocked.

"We have to take a detour... it will take another day to reach Nevada," Yukiya whispered with a sad smile.

Long ki sighed. "Hey it's okay, we don't have to take the detour. We can fly over this. I can transform also if you want to...."

"No!...no, we.... we can walk around," she whispered. Just thinking about flying made her hands trembled in fear. After her last experience in her carriage, she had developed a weird fear of heights and flying in general.

The red dragon watched through his narrowed eyes. Her hand was trembling she started sweating abnormally and her legs were unsteady. "Are you scared of.... flying?"

"No.... no. how could I be.... scared of flying," she stuttered.

Now her fear was very noticeable, even in her voice. "I can carry you. All you have to do is close your eyes and hold on. Is that okay?"

"No... Please.. Please can we walk? Please," she begged with tears in her eyes.

Long ki hugged her close and whispered softly in her ear. "Okay okay, we can walk,"

And so they decided to take a detour around the mountain range. They both decided to follow the river.

Yukiya sighed. She gazed back at the man in front of her. They both had travelled a long time, and they were very close to her hometown. It was getting dark, and the path was barely visible.

"We can stay in the next village," she reluctantly whispered.

Long ki nodded with an indulging smile. Seeing her awkward look, he grew fond of this woman. At first her attitude really irked him. After he got to know her he found that this woman was very kind in nature, but she had a weird way of showing it.

The nearby villages seemed much impoverished, but the villagers did not enjoy their presence. Only a few people were living there, and most of the other houses were abandoned.

Yukiya walked around the small village searching for accommodation. Sadly, there was no inn nearby. Making a decision, she knocked on a random door. The house looked quite well off compared to the other houses in the village.

An old lady opened it. "What do you need, young lady?" she said.

Yukiya gave her a kind smile and whispered, "We are fellow travellers. Is there any place to stay in this town?"

The old lady gave her a sceptical gaze. But her eyes followed behind her at Long Ki. "Who is he?" she whispered with a vigilant look.

"Oh, he is my... ah..." she wanted to say travel companion.

But the stupid dragon held her hand. "I'm her husband," he said.

Yukiya subtly pinched his hands.

He gazed down at her with a loving smirk. "We are newly married, and on the way to my love's hometown. Sadly, the earthquake has destroyed the roadways." He said.

The old lady's face turned bright red. "There are no accommodations nearby. But you can stay in our house," she said.

Yukiya nodded with a smirk. But when the kind old lady was not looking, she glared at him and whispered, "Stop lying to people,"

He leaned down. "This is a small village they will misinterpret if an unmarried man and a woman are travelling alone," he whispered.

Small villages like this had the similar mindsets like this. Usually a lady from a good family is always escorted by her handmaids. Especially when she is accompanied by a man.

That's the reason the old lady gave a sceptical gaze their way when they first asked for help.

Yukiya also knew this, so she sighed and accepted this fact. They both crouched low to enter the low doorway of the house.

The old lady led them through the house and opened a dusty room. "We only have two bedrooms. It's quite dirty. I will get someone to clean it up for you," she said in a hurry.

Yukiya held her wrinkly hands. "No, no it's not needed we will clean it our self. But a new futon and pillows would be appreciated," she said.

"I will get you some and dinner will be ready in an hour," The old lady said cheerfully.

Long Ki whistled loudly as he walked inside the room. "You are generous," he said.

The old lady blushed red. She subtly held Yukiya's hand and whispered, "You are so lucky, lady... to have such a handsome man. Oh let me get you guys some cleaning supply as well," she dashed out.

Yukiya snorted 'lucky? How am I lucky to marry this idiotic guy?' she gazed at his smirking face. Her face heated up slowly.

"This village..... it looks too improvised," she said randomly. She pulled the old futon from the bamboo bed and laid them flat on the ground. With a small cloth, she wiped it down and set the pillow.

"You are going to sleep on the ground?"

She turned back at him with a hump. "Who said I will sleep on the floor? You will be sleeping here. I will sleep on the bed."

"What.... but I have never slept on the floor," the red dragon stuttered.

"Then it enjoy your first time," she chuckled out loud. She went to the small folded screen in the corner with a small lamp. "I'm going to change... don't you dare peak," she whispered.

She placed the small lamp behind her. Yukiya took her change of clothes from her ring and placed them neatly on the ground. She had not taken a bath for almost three days now. Even though they passed through many rivers and streams, she never got the privacy to do so. The red dragon always loomed next to her with his brooding face.

Long Ki saw her shadowy silhouette on the screen. The golden lamp behind her cast her shadow on the screen. Her hourglass shaped body was cast beautifully on the screen.

Panting softly, Long felt a weird heat originate in his heart.