Chương 79: Chapter 78 How dare he!!!

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Merchant Ark- Heading to Southern Cities The air in the belly of the merchant ark was thick with the suffocatingly sweet scent of Crimson Lotus flowers. The glow of their invisibility talismans had faded hours ago.. CLANG. The heavy iron latch of the main hold began to turn. Voices drifted through the cracking seal—deckhands coming down to inspect the cargo. Kira didn't say a word. She moved with terrifying, silent speed, darting toward the massive wooden crates packed with crimson petals.

She slid the lid off the first crate, slipped inside, and pulled the wood shut above her. Panic spiking, Lia rushed to the second crate. She shoved the lid aside and scrambled in, sinking slightly into the soft, fragrant bed of crushed red flowers. There was barely enough room to lie flat. She expected Varek to dive into the third crate. Instead, Varek completely ignored it. Without a moment's hesitation, he slid directly into Lia's crate right behind her. Damn horn dog, Lia thought, exasperated.

She tried to turn around to quietly shove him out, but the space was entirely too cramped. Before she could voice a whispered protest, Varek was already pulling the heavy wooden lid closed above them, plunging them into darkness. Pressed flush against her back, Varek shifted, his arm slipping around her waist to "steady" himself. Lia's breath hitched at his touch. Earth – Soaring Phoenix Fist Dojo Tim was currently drowning.

Sitting on his meditation mat, he was trying to process Master Kurosaki's lecture, but his mind kept fracturing into a dozen panicked directions. The fear that the Void affinity meant he had caught something from the void, Something from Lia. To make matters worse, Varek was currently pressed tightly against Lia in a dark, sweet-smelling box running his hands over her with zero shame. Tim was sweating profusely, his face fixed in a hollow, thousand-yard stare.

A few feet away, Riku was going through hell of her own. The Exploding Meridian technique was no joke. She sat in the lotus position, her skin literally radiating waves of intense heat. A faint puff of gray smoke escaped her lips as she exhaled, her face scrunching in pain as a micro-explosion of qi vaporized a tiny blockage near her ribs.

"Alright, break," Master Kurosaki's raspy voice cut through the heavy silence of the dojo.

"Do not push the flame too far in one sitting, Riku." Riku opened her eyes, gasping for air. Her internal pathways felt like they were lined with sunburns, but she felt lighter. More potent. She stood up, her muscles screaming, and instantly leaned forward, doing a deep, toe-touching stretch to work the stiffness out of her lower back. Peering back between her own legs, she saw Tim staring blankly in her direction.

Assuming he was watching her, she gave him a cheeky wink and delved a little deeper into the stretch really trying to show off what he could get if lia would stop being a prude. Her tight yoga pants left absolutely nothing to the imagination, and Tim's already overloaded brain finally short-circuited. Before he could look away, Himari stepped up beside him, crossing her arms.

"Be careful, Tim," Himari whispered, her voice dripping with dry amusement.

"Don't cash a cheque Lia will have to pay." Tim choked on his own saliva. Himari knew there must be some kind of sexual standoff between them. Himari then noticed Takeshi sitting nearby. The massive guy had been making incredible progress smoothing his stitched soul, but right now, his face was bright red as he caught the full view of Riku's shameless stretching. Himari scrunched her face in disapproval.

Channelling her Kira persona, she flicked her workout towel up into the air with her toes, snatched it with two fingers, and fired off a vicious whip-crack aimed directly at Riku's rear end. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A loud CRACK rang out. Riku jumped a foot in the air, yelping and holding her ass. She spun around in absolute indignation, a wisp of smoke flaring from her nostrils.

"What the hell, Himari?!"

"Put that thing away," Himari huffed, keeping the towel in a quick, threatening spin.

"Not everyone wants to see your ass. Besides, you're distracting the boys." Riku went to fire back a sharp retort but caught sight of a furiously blushing Takeshi desperately trying to examine the grain of the floorboards.

"Ah, right. Sorry," Riku whispered, still rubbing her stinging backside.

"I was just trying to lay out some bait for Tim. I need to take my mind off my meridians feeling like a deep fryer." She winced, glaring at Himari.

"Did you have to hit so hard?"

"Good," Master Kurosaki interjected seamlessly, completely ignoring the teenage drama playing out on his mats.

"It is sparring time. Riku, Himari, you two are paired. Tim, you will help Takeshi test his ability to move in a restrained manner." Riku cracked her neck, a dangerous glint in her eye. She was fully intending to pay Himari back for the towel whip. However, the next hour proved to be absolute torture. With Himari's memories of Kira's training, she was practically untouchable, slipping through Riku's guard like smoke.

Worse, the shadow prodigy had a singular, vindictive target in mind as revenge for Riku enthralling Takeshi. Smack. A quick backhand slapped firmly against Riku's right ass cheek.

"Yow!" Riku yelped, stumbling forward and breaking her stance. Whack. A swift, sweeping kick connected perfectly with her left cheek.

"Himari, stop it!" Riku shrieked, furiously trying to protect her rear while desperately trying to keep her defensive stance.

"That's cheating! Fight me from the front!"

"Your stance is too wide," Himari replied coolly.

"I am simply correcting your terrible center of gravity. And perhaps teaching you some modesty." Thwack.

"Ahhh! I yield! I yield!" Takeshi sat on the sidelines during a short breather with Tim, his massive hands completely burying his face to hide his glowing red cheeks as Riku's indignant squeals echoed through the hall. Tim just winced in sympathetic phantom pain, wisely deciding it was best to keep his mouth shut and let Himari work out her aggression. The Parking Lot The 8 PM bell finally rang out, signalling the end of their sparring.

Tim and Riku hobbled outside, groaning as their battered bodies protested every step. While Takeshi and Himari casually strolled behind them.

"Want a lift?" Tim asked Himari and Takeshi, trying to be polite. Himari's icy glare shut him up instantly.

"Oh, crap, look at the time! We gotta run, Riku!" Tim suddenly declared, deciding a tactical retreat was best. He dragged Riku toward his car, opening the passenger door for her. The moment she bent to get in, he exacted his revenge for the earlier teasing, delivering a solid slap to her ass.

"Owww! Are you kidding me?!" Riku complained, tumbling into the seat and cradling her already abused backside. Watching them peel out of the parking lot, Takeshi sheepishly laughed.

"Are they like this in the other world?" Himari sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Far, far worse. Poor Tim." Takeshi chuckled.

"I am going to have to get Zulu to look their profiles up once he reaches a city." Himari looked up at the dark street, then back at Takeshi's sturdy, dependable frame.

"Hey, Takeshi... could you walk me home? It's late."

"Oh, sure!" Takeshi replied in earnest, his pure heart missing the subtle undertone completely. Watching from the shadows of the dojo entrance, Yui stood deadpan next to Master Kurokawa.

"He really is completely oblivious, isn't he?" she noted.

"He is pure of heart," Master Kurokawa replied wisely.

"With the wounds Himari seems to be holding... maybe he is exactly what she needs."

"Ow, ow, ow," Riku continued to complain in the passenger seat, wincing as she shifted her weight.

"No more touching my ass!" she complained loudly as Tim navigated the dark mountain roads. Hearing a set of unfair rules while trapped in the crate of crimson flowers, Lia forcefully grabbed Varek's straying hands, physically shoving them away from her waist where they had been trying to grab.

"Okay, okay," Riku mumbled in the car, sensing the dual-world rejection.

"Just take it easy. No smacks! A few minutes later, Tim pulled up beside the towering, ornate gates of Riku's family mansion. Getting out of the car, he walked around and opened the door for her like a gentleman. He had only seen the sprawling estate a few times, but it was a testament to her family's wealth.

"Riku, please take care of me, Tim," he joked as she stepped out.

"I need a sugar mama." Riku rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"See you in class tomorrow, old man," she playfully jibed. As she turned to walk up the long driveway, Tim reached out, grabbed her by the waist, and spun her back around, kissing her deeply. The sudden, bold move left Riku breathless. Breaking the kiss, he gave her one final, parting slap on the ass.

"Okay, go get some sleep," Tim said.

"Ouch," she mumbled, her face flushed red, though she didn't protest the affection. Varek was getting rather handsy again in the flower crate with Lia, who had yet to voice a complaint. However, neither Tim nor Riku noticed they had an audience. Standing in the grand second-story window of the mansion overlooking the front gate was Riku's father. He had unexpectedly flown back to the estate after hearing unsavoury rumours regarding his daughter.

His teeth ground painfully against each other as he watched his sweet, innocent daughter visibly limping up the driveway after being dropped off. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, his protective rage boiling over. How dare someone molest my daughter.