Of Her Nature

Part Five : Fire and Brimstone


She came back from her room physically clean and dry, but spiritually tainted. *Time to suit up*. She put on a one piece white pant suit. It was made of a thin wispy material, it didn’t rest on her skin it merely kissed her as it brushed by. The top was like a tank-top. Her arms were completely exposed and the neck line plunged just beneath her breast. Her breasts were completely covered by the thin material, but it showed off her cleavage. The sides were open. Her abdomen was covered.

She picked up a belt and put it on. The belt was thick and 4 inches wide. It had a black base color and it had symbols pressed and carved into it. The symbols were accented with silver and would only be recognized for what they were by fellow members of the order. The belt cinched the cloth around her waist. It had a small snapping loop on the left side.

The pants billowed out from under the belt. The inner , front and back of her legs were covered by thght ght fabric, but the outsides were open. She bent down to buckle her ankles. The ankle cuffs matched the belt. Occasionally, the symbols would subtly shift.

She reached out for her shoes. The bottoms were made of a thick, but supple leather. The backs and sides were made of the same white material as the pantsuit. The tops were made of Damascus steel with the swirls enhanced with silver. They were designed as to allow her complete freedom of movement.

She attached a mid-thigh length cape to the shoulders of her top. Both clasps were made of silver. One was reminiscent of a full moon, the other a crescent moon.

She walked up to the wood box that contained the crystals, and touched the second and fourth crystals. The box opened and revealed a silver headdress. The tips were solid but toward the middle the tongs splintered. The strips twisted and knotted against themselves. Enclosed in the knots and twists was a white crystal. The headdress rested just above her eyebrow. The crystal obscured her crimson charka.

She had put on this outfit many times, and every time she followed the same steps.
She looked at herself in the mirror. She fluffed her curls and smiled. *Damn, I’d fuck me.*

She looked out the window, the sun was beginning to rise, the sky was a beautiful blend of red, yellow, blue and violet swirls. *It’s ass kicking time.*

She snapped her miniature batlet to her belt, grabbed her staff and headed out into the hallway.

The hallway was empty. She made her way into the dining room, and saw Gojyo asleep at the bar. Hakkai was asleep with his head resting in his arms at a table. Sanzo was asleep propped up against the window. She went out the front door and saw Goku curled up asleep on the porch.

She headed down the street.

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The rays of the rising sun assaulted Sanzo’s eyes. He looked out the window and say Goku curled up on the porch. “Damn Chimp!”

Hakkai and Gojyo groggily lifted their heads as Sanzo started out the door. They walked out on the porch behind him. They stood around Goku and looked down at him. His shoes were covered in mud, and the bottoms of his pants had splashes of caked mud. His face had smudges of mud and on his cheeks there were thin lines of skin coming through the mud.

“What did he do last night, go puddle jumping?” Gojyo asked as he laughed.

Sanzo walked into the bar and got a pitcher of water.

Hakkai laughed as he saw Sanzo coming.

Sanzo bent down and poured the water on Goku’s face.

Goku coughed as he jolted to an upright sitting position. “What was that for?”

“Your face was dirty.” Sanzo stated as he grabbed Goku by the ear. “Now, get up.”

“Hey that hurts!”

“I’ll show you hur---” Sanzo was interrupted by a woman running down the street.

“Demons! Demons!”, She ran into a building a slammed the door shut. The foursome heard her lock it. All round them ,including the inn, windows and doors were being slammed shut. People were scrambling to get off the street.

Gojyo looked at Sanzo , “Still think it was a lie, oh enlightened one?”

Jorja leaped from her perched , a roof top a few buildings down from the inn, It’s show time. She landed in the street in direct line of sight of the foursome. She had her back to them. She squared her shoulders, put her muscles on edge, and strode down the street. Her steps were firm and her head lead the way.

“Who is that?” Gojyo asked.

“I don’t know, but I think we should follow her and find out,” Stated Hakkai.

With a “Hmmph” Sanzo stepped onto the street. He’d never admit it, but he was very curious about her too.

As they walked down the street , they saw all the windows and doors closed. The area looked like a ghost town. There was one solitary window open. A woman was standing in it, she yelled out the window, “High Priestess! Bless us!”

Jorja didn’t look at her, her eyes were fixed down the street. She quickly raised one arm turned her palm out and in a flat tone said, “You’re blessed”. The rhythm of her stride didn’t falter.

Hakkai , Goku and Gojyo looked at Sanzo. Gojyo exclaimed, “Well! A chick! Explain!”.

Sanzo scanned the group, “Not at my seminary they didn’t .”

The group picked up their pace to keep up with her.

They saw a band of demons at the end of the street. One large demon was walking toward the woman in white. They recognized him as one of the demons from the woods, Otwana.

The woman took a few more steps and stopped. Her hands ready at her sides.

Otwana walked up to her and stopped about two feet way from her. The foursome stopped within listening distance.

Otwana looked at her, “I’ll give you one more chance. I’ll ask you one final time. You might be able to shield from and dodge Homura. You may have even ingratiated yourswithwith Kougaji, but we will find you. We will relentlessly hunt you. Join the revolt and you will be accepted. Will you join the revolt?

“No”

“We subdued you once, we can do it again.”

“I used you, you were a means to an end. It was serendipity.”

“I see you brought some help, so did I.”

She didn’t look behind her. “They aren’t with me. They are just an audience.”

He leaned into her and yelled, “Those that don’t join will die.”

Jorja leaned in to him, she pointed her finger about two inches from his left eye, “Know thine place demon! You are out of line! Step --the fuck--- off!”

Otwana turned sharply and walked briskly back to his troops.

Jorja stood fast.

When he got back to his group, he raised one arm and exclaimed, “It’s on!” In a flash the group dispersed.

Jorja stepped back into her stride, but increased its pace. She straightend her arms and lifted her hands to hip height. She flicked her wrists and her staff disappeared. In her hands emerged two swords, the blades the same silvery Damascus as her shoes. The blades were narrow, thin and gently curved. The hilt was silver and round.

“What kind of swords are those Hakkai?” Goku asked.

“They look like customized Samurai swords, but I’ve never seen anything like them before.” Hakkai said as he held her tight in his vision.

Without taking her eyes off Otwana, she crossed her arms in front of her breasts, the blades pointing up, and swung her arms out. The swords flew from her hands and made their way up to two demons on rooftops. The silver streaks returned to her and the demons fell to the ground. Their heads severed from their bodies.

“No way!” Gojyo breathily got from his mouth.

Hakkai’s jaw dropped.

“Damn, she’s good!”, proclaimed Goku.

Sanzo tried his best to not be impressed.

They closed the distance between them and her.

She finally reached Otwana, He charged her. She kicked one foot up, and it landed right under his chin, the momentum of her kick took her other foot off the ground. She kicked off his shoulder and flipped ie aie air. Landing on her feet facing him. As he was reeling back from the kick , she brought her swords up , slanted them into him. The blades entered at his neck , she crossed her arms at his heart and the blades left him just below the rib cage. He fell backwards, dead.

His group surrounded her. Her touch on the swords was so light it seemed she wasn’t even in contact with them. She twirled the blades as her attackers surrounded her. She spun them so fast they hummed. She set two in her sights. She jumped up, gave them roundhouse kicks to the head and followed behind her foot with her swords. Two more down.

While she was landing from the kick a demon came up from behind. Her swords disappeared, she bent her knee a bit and hammer fisted him in the groin. As he went down she elbowed him in the chin, as he went up she whirled and punched him in the throat. As he was going down another attacker reached her. She offered him a vertical stomp just below the ribcage, he fell back. She unhooked her batlet and sliced his throat.

“What kind of dagger is that , Hakkai.” Goku asked.

Hakkai wondered when and why he became the weapons expert of the group, but didn’t say anything, “That looks custom too.” He eyed the doubled edged weapon. Point to point it was no more than a foot long and was all blade, save for the small silver handle in the middle, that was a half an inch wider that her hand. Both sides curved slightlay fay from her arm. One was a double edged blade aside from the curve it would look like any normal blade, but on the “arm side“ it had a “c“ notch in it. On the other half, the “arm side” of the blade was smooth and sharpened, the other edge had a main point and a secondary point. “It looks like a bat.” Hakkai shrugged.

Gojyo recognized it as identical to the one Areia carried.

She was whirling and twirling , dispatching demons as they came, in groups and as few brave souls approached alone.

The foursome sat down in the street.

“She not wearing any armor.” Goku mused.

Hakkai smiled and thought , *Armor expert too? *

They heard the woman’s voice, “It only slows me down.”

Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku looked at each other.

Sanzo was watching her intently and he spoke in a flat even tone, “Her….I like.”

The rest of party couldn’t believe their ears, their jaws dropped open.

Her response , triggered thoughts in some of the demons, that they might not just be an audience. They noticed demons looking at them and walking their way. They jumped to their feet and readied their weapons.

The group spread out. Gojyo ended up next to Jorja. With the help, she didn’t need to focus so much on the attackers. She scanned the scene trying to asses the situation. Her eyes zeroed in on Sanzo. His robes flowed, billowed and flapped with his movements. His offensive and defensive actions were very clean. No wasted energy, no wasted movements…direct. He went from point A to point B via the most straight and direct path. He dodged like a trained warrior --sidestepping and ducking the fastest attacks. He attacked like a man with no conscience --- no, like a man with a clear conscience. When he turned his head, his blonde hair fluttered to keep up. He was self assured, he was confident, he was commanding, he was sexy.

A fundamental shift in her intentions occurred.

Gojyo saw her watching Sanzo as he dodged attacks and let loose with his banishing


“It’ll never happen. Why go after what you can’t get, when you have someone ready and available here.”

She looked at him and he saw her golden eyes. She looked him up and down and smiled. “Maybe some other time, but as of now I’m officially on the prowl. So, back off my game plan and don‘t cock block.“

Gojyo smiled and they both leaped into different parts of the battle.

Jorja positioned herself in Sanzo’s line of sight, she looked over her shoulder and gazed upon his beautiful poise. Due to her untimely distraction, a blow landed on her right shin, her ankle turned. She limped and faltered. Demons postured toward her, smelling the blood in the water. She looked over at Sanzo, he missed all the theatrics. *Damn* . She stood up , straightened her ankle and proceeded to dispatch the opportunistic foes.

Jorja noticed a large number of her attackers leaving and walking toward Sanzo. “This isn’t their fight” (punch, jab, dodge, slice) “Leave them alone!” (punch , dodge , elbow, slice.) She jumped up, and pushed off her attackers, leap-frogging over them and somersaulting in the air. She landed between Sanzo and what was left of the demons. She held her staff over her head. The staff glowed of golden chi, and a ball was formed in front of her. The ball grew in size and strength. She was chanting , but no one could make it out. The energy made her cape fly out and her hair as as if she was facing a stiff breeze. She dropped her arms, and the ball flew out, encompassing what was left of the demons. In a flash, they were gone.

The street was devoid of everyone, except four males and one heavily breathing female. Her skin glistened with sweat.

She stood up, checked herself, and brushed her clothes.

Gojyo scanned the area for any straggling foes, there were none.

Hakkai checked the status of his group…everyone was fine.

Sanzo, walked over to Goku. “You! I’m not done with.”

Goku ran behind Jorja using her as a shield. “Protect me! He’ll kill me!”

“You’ve got that right!” Sanzo stormed over to him.

Jorja was in the geographic middle of a domestic disturbance. Sanzo yelled , “Don’t use her as a shield you wimp! How dare you stay out all night! Don’t you have any manners monkey-for-brains!” Sanzo raised his banishing gun and took aim. Goku was darting back and forth behind her. He could not get a clear shot. The veins on his forehead pulsed as he lowered the gun, “You have to sleep sometime.”

Jorja looked at him. “You don’t behave much like a priest.” She said sarcastically.

Sanzo glared at her, “I’m a priest. I’m behaving. Thus, I’m behaving like a priest.”

Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku did their best to stifle their laughter, but it was too much for them.

The laughter was contagious. Jorja tried her best to look tough. First her chin quivered, her chest jiggled, her lips tightened around her teeth. She bit her bottom lip all to no avail. She lost her composure and laughed out loud. A good hearty belly lauHer Her shoulders eased forward and her entire body shook.

Sanzo was the only stoic one. He watched her laughing. She looked so free. Her eyes twinkled and when she smiled her face lit up. Her glistening skin reflected the light. Her silver accents twinkled. In the sunlight she seemed to radiate.

Her arms , heavily chiseled and full of cut muscles, seems to take a softer , graceful appearance when she laughed. Her breasts bounced and jiggled with each laugh and guffaw. He began to think she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She looked up at him. She locked her eyes with his violet eyes. Her laughter slowly subdued. He zeroed in on her golden eyes.

“There seems to be a lot of heretics around here. “ Sanzo said trying to muster some angst.

The others looked at Jorja.

“I can’t speak on that. Some of us travel in groups. Some of us travel alone.”

“Which do you do?” His tone getting flatter.

“I ---travel alone. Beholden to no one. “ Jorja knew that was a poignant remark toward his Buddhist teachings.

The towns people , noting the lack of battle sounds, began to open their windows and doors. Several people came out on the street and gathered around her.

“Priestess, thank you for your service!”

“We would have been destroyed for sure!”

“Thank you, your holiness.”

A small voice came up over the crowd. ,“I wanna be like her when I get big. “

The words all began to mingle, people voiced their thanks, admiration and asked for blessings and tidbits of wisdom. She tried to be pleasant and graceful. This was a part of her job she didn’t like.

Sanzo was never one to seek or even appreciate the fawnings and praise of the laymen. He often went out of his way to avoid it, but now that it was so blatantly being bestowed on another…he was feeling a little put out.

She leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, through a tight smile, “Get me out of here.”

She put a tight grip on her wrist and elbowed his way out of the crowd. He felt a small shock when he touched her. Gojyo and Goku followed.

Hakkai spoke up, “Thank you so much for your appreciation, but helineliness has other duties to tend. I do hope you understand. “ He pressed his hands together in front of his chest and bowed.

He quickly turned and briskly walked to catch up with the group.

The group turned mob, began to chase after them. Sanzo looked behind him. He tightened his grip and jerked her wrist. They took off running. He turned down various streets, choosing on the fly. He looked for the path of least resistance and seized it. His hand began to shake and feel numb.

As word spread people poured into the street. Paths associated with civilization offered only resistance. He saw a tree line and darted into the forest. They ran and ran and ran. Finally, he could no longer hear the shouts of the people.