The air pulsed with a brittle tension as the newly freed group, still reeling from their miraculous liberation, stood before John. Before a single word of gratitude or protest could escape their lips, John's gaze, sharp and unforgiving, swept over them. He didn't linger, his attention immediately snapping back to Ash and Saya, his voice a low, cold rasp. "Keep them under control and in line. I only helped them for you two. It won't happen again." With that chilling pronouncement, he gestured curtly to Lucy, instructing her to lead the way.
Ash and Saya wasted no time. As the group began to stir, a murmur of comments threatening to erupt, they exchanged a look. Tim, in particular, was already scowling, his mouth opening to voice an inevitable complaint. Ash's silent, steely glare, coupled with Saya's subtle but authoritative presence, quelled the nascent rebellion before it could truly begin. The new arrivals, chastised and uncertain, fell mostly silent.
"Is it okay if we catch up with you?" Saya asked, her voice softer than John's, but laced with an undeniable undercurrent of resolve. Ash nodded vigorously beside her, already launching into an explanation. "Yep! We just need to make sure they understand the hierarchy. You're the big head honcho, like a Hokage and we would be your Anbu, with them being nothing but Genin." Her cheerful, almost singsong tone belied the seriousness of her words.
John snapped back, his patience clearly threadbare. "Fine. I'll ask Lucy to have one of the guards or something bring you to us when you're done. I just want this over with." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm also leaving Choi and our special forces with you girls, just in case." Without another word, he turned and strode away, the rest of his companions falling into step behind him. Saya flinched almost imperceptibly at his harsh tone, a ripple of unease crossing her features as she began to question if their actions where correct or not.
"Jeez, he's a real dick. Makes you wonder if the whole 'good guy' thing was an act—" Nick's sneering remark was cut brutally short. Ash, a flash of pure fury in her eyes, spun and delivered a sharp, cracking punch across his jaw. The force of it sent him sprawling to the ground, a surprised grunt escaping his lips.
"Don't you fucking dare!" Ash ground out, her teeth clenched so tightly they looked like they might shatter. "He's having a rough time from a bad night you couldn't hope to imagine and he just saved you lot from being damned slaves again!" Her words were laced with a protectiveness that bordered on feral.
Saya, her expression grim soon spoke up as well, "He didn't have to rescue you lot. And it seems it cost him a lot to do so. So at least show some gratitude for what he did." Her voice, while not as explosive as Ash's, carried a weight that left no room for argument.
"Yeah right, he did jack shit! You two are the ones who convinced him!" Jim retorted, rubbing his still-smarting jaw. Then he looked pointedly at the figure who had remained silent, an imposing presence guarding the rear flank. "And who's this ass? And what did he mean 'special forces,' as if it's something special."
The man in question, Choi, stepped forward, his silhouette casting a long shadow. His voice was deep, resonant and utterly devoid of warmth. "I am my lord's strategist and I would advise you to watch your words before they lead you into further trouble." His gaze, sharp and analytical, pinned Jim. "As for the special forces he spoke of, you need not know about that. Suffice it to say, their capabilities far exceed anything you might imagine."
"Yeah well, whatever," Jim muttered, thoroughly cowed by Choi's cold authority. "What happens now?" He glanced at Lacy and May, who clung to each other, their faces pale and eyes downcast, the terror of their recent bondage still etched into their features.
"Well, for now you lot are our responsibility," Saya said, crossing her arms. Her voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation. "So it would be a very good idea to listen to us."
"Oh, great. From one group to another," Smith snarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I thought he disliked slavery and the sort yet here you lot are, owning our asses with 'King Cuck' who has a bounty on his head setting it all in motion. He even left after practically 'gifting' us to you two, clearly just as much a monster as you two are."
Saya's eyes narrowed, doing all she could to keep her cool. "It's clear you couldn't handle yourselves at all so what do you expect? I mean, look at how you ended up. Paraded around like livestock again well waiting for someone else to turn you into meat." Her tone was cutting, a direct response to his insolence as she began to grow annoyed, sending Ash a look of frustration as she began to feel more like this was a bad idea.
"Well, whatever, if we had some proper supplies, it wouldn't have happened!" Tim chimed in, a whiny note in his voice. Both Ash and Saya shot him incredulous looks, bordering on disbelief.
"Proper supplies?!?" Ash sputtered, genuinely shocked and becoming just as angry as Saya, her own thoughts beginning to run down a similar road. "You lot were given a few hours to stock up! You took most of the food and weapons! And you're saying you weren't given proper supplies?" The memory of their frantic preparations, the sheer volume of goods they had hoarded, made Tim's claim utterly preposterous.
"Well, uhm..." Jim stammered, trying to find some way to cover for his brother's blatant lie but the words died in his throat.
"Just stop it!" Lacy finally burst out, her voice raw with exhaustion and shame. "We messed up, okay? It would have been better to be with monsters than on our own. We ended right back with them in the end, after all..." Her words trailed off, a desolate admission of their failure.
Choi tilted his head, his expression unreadable. "Tsk, tsk. You call my master and his companions' monsters?" His voice was low, but each word carried the weight of judgment. "On what grounds do you have to judge them? Have they slaughtered without care? Killed innocents? Deprived others in need? Have they forced anyone to do things they did not wish to do? Tell me child, on what grounds do you judge them as monsters?" His gaze was stern, his eyes piercing through her fragile facade.
Silence descended, heavy and suffocating, as they grappled with Choi's pointed questions. After a long moment, May found her voice, a tremor running through it. "He killed Alice when she stopped being human! She was someone who was apparently with him the longest and he killed her when she stopped being human! And Jamerson as well! He was someone we got to know and well he was super creepy he was entirely innocent and a good man! He really respected John and instead got killed because of it! Then there was the group of warriors we had with us that he practically threw away for some quick coin! But here he is, with a fox woman and the rest showing he's a hypocrite!" Her voice built in intensity, rising to a near-scream by the end of her furious rant, leaving her panting for breath.
Ash and Saya exchanged a look, almost pitying yet the anger still clearly there at her words and remarks. "I see," Choi said calmly, his composure unshaken by May's outburst. "So, you judge a man knowing only half the story?" His voice remained level, yet his words struck with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. "Were you aware the girl called Alice was in unbearable pain? Were you aware she would have been nothing more than a doll, a puppet controlled by another and forced to remain in that perpetual state of agony without any way for it to ever be noticed or seen? That the so-called innocent man violated her in all manners of ways in order to turn her into that very doll she was becoming?" He paused, letting the horrific implications sink in. "And as for those so-called warriors, were they not turning on my lord? Would you have rather had him trust his back to those who would readily stick a knife into it as soon as they had a chance to take his place? Who would resort to threats and clear intimidation attempts?" Choi's calm delivery of these brutal truths caused the new group to flinch, their previous certainties crumbling under the weight of information they had never known.
"You! You're lying!" Lacy shrieked, her voice cracking with desperation, refusing to accept the hard truth that shattered her carefully constructed narrative.
"What reason would I have to lie?" Choi replied, his voice still measured. "I don't know any of you. And personally, I feel my lord would fare better with those he could trust rather than... rats." He stepped away, turning his back on them to face Saya and Ash. "I fear you two made a rather large mistake asking my master to help this lot. They're clearly not worth it if they can't understand simple truths. Perhaps just let them leave once more. I will explain why to my lord." His words seemed to have had a large impact on the girls as both seemed to wince, realizing exactly what he was meaning and questioning if not only there choice but the reaction they received from John was really worth it.
"No! You can't really be turning us away? We have nothing! How are we supposed to survive? At least give us some food or weapons or even some coin, just something so we can survive!" Nick shouted, anger flaring in his eyes as panic set in.
"No! Don't abandon us! We'll follow; we will listen this time!" May and Lacy both cried out, throwing themselves forward, practically begging Saya. Their desperate pleas earned them a glare from the other men, save for Smith.
"I don't speak for them, but I do agree with them," Smith said, walking over to stand near the two women. "I'll do whatever you lot say I must do if you take me back in." His voice was low; his decision made with cold practicality.
"Bastards and idiots, the lot of you!" Jim sneered, his face contorted in disgust. "We don't need them! It was just one bad run we had! A bit of practice and some scavenging and we'll be good again, maybe even better than before! Trust me and my bro, we can do this and improve without them!"
"Fuck that and fuck you!" Smith roared, glaring pointedly at Jim, Tim and Nick. "I'm not gambling with my life anymore! At least with them I know I will have food and shelter. Hell, first day away and your calls almost got us killed and then captured! I'm burnt, hungry and in pain because I followed your assholes. No, I will take my chances with them over you lot." The finality in his voice was absolute.
"Fine. We will grow stronger on our own and show you all. We will have you at our feet one, you'll see." Nick declared, his eyes burning with a desperate, wounded pride. He then spat dramatically on the ground in front of them before turning and stalking away, Jim and Tim falling in behind him, their backs stiff with defiant resentment.
Saya turned her attention to the remaining three. "You three better know it's going to be much harder now. John's… Well his not in the best of places lately and he did mean it when he warned you all before leaving. You can't expect the good treatment like you had before anymore." Her words were a stark warning, causing May, Lacy and Smith to look down, the harsh reality settling over them.
"Will we at least be safe?" May asked quietly, her voice barely a whisper.
"Maybe," Saya replied, her tone softening slightly, though her expression remained guarded. "I mean, you won't be beaten anymore or whipped. And I doubt he would even come near either of you, or even think of touching any of you." The last part of her statement caused both Lacy and May to flinch, a stark reminder of the other horrors they had endured.
"We should get going," Ash urged, her gaze already fixed on the path ahead. "Honestly, we spent too much time talking with you and I want to get back to him. I know the others are with him, but I want to be with him too." She started walking, her pace quickening. "So let's go already!" She moved towards a red-armored guard, a formidable figure who had stood apart from the others, silently observing the entire exchange.