Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero 80: Ashe

Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero 80: Ashe

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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My chieftain frowned and crossed his arms as he looked upon himself in the reflection of the water.

“Tch, I figured they didn’t have proper clothes, but this is one hell of a bad joke.”  Hachiman wore the same clothes that the husbands of jungle tribes did. It was little more than leather shorts and an open vest. “These clothes are just begging for me to die the moment I step into the jungle. Oh, wait, that’s probably why they’re made this way.”

He grumbled and griped, but he drew stares from the tribe we borrowed from.

I understood why.

His form was different to the men of the village. He had muscle like stronger warriors did, much like the warriors and soldiers of the Empire. But those muscles usually faded overtime from the soldiers of the Empire, and they turned into husbands who did nothing but eat, sleep, and rut like all the others.

Hachiman had a leanness and power to his form that wetted many lips, and that was fine, but when some of our new friends’ steps forward reached my ears… I looked upon them.

I did not yet understand language very well, much like the rest of the tribe, but I knew how to speak in another way.

Those who did not know their place froze at my glare.

They can look, they can stare, and they can appreciate my chieftain, but they cannot do anything to him besides that.

He rules over my tribe, and many other tribes, all of which prosper under his rule. He has created something greater than tribes in the valley he calls his own, which the Demon Lord gave to him, and those that live therein, who devote themselves to him, and who would die for him cannot have him without his permission.

These women should be grateful to be allowed to look and stare.

My glare and low growl scarred the weaklings away, but the cunning ones slinked into the shadows, and those who thought themselves strong held their grown. I met crushed both the strong and the cunning by calling upon my power, my birthright, and they scattered.

A moment later Hachiman’s hand kindly, warmly ran through my hair.

“Thanks, Ashe, they were being annoying.” Hachiman’s praise made my heart race, and I felt a smile form on my face. Though I tried to control myself, to be proper as Henri suggested, my tail wagged as it always did. The fire within me grew in strength and need, but I quelled it. It was easier to overcome now.  “So, how do you feel about this plan? Any complaints that I need to ignore?”

He chuckled deeply and smirked in a way that made it a little more difficult to be a proper warrior, but I preserved.

He wished to hear my words, so I would say my thoughts.

To the best of my ability, I told him that larger tribes and packs used their males as bait for opponents many times. It was a strong tactic used only by the powerful, but when it went wrong it destroyed entire tribes. It was the same for Ylstu.

It would break if Hachiman was lost.

I would break.

But I will do as he says.

My words made my chieftain act strangely. He froze and looked at me with warm eyes filled with emotion that I did not understand. It wasn’t the need, yearning, or apathy in the eyes of other males, but something else.

Something that made a part of me hurt, and I had to remind myself to be good and proper for my new tribe, my pack, and my chieftain.

I needed to do what he told me, because he knew best, and by doing that I helped him and everyone.

“I see… thanks, Ashe.” Hachiman thanked me after looking away. He coughed and his face grew a little red. “Tch… don’t worry about that, though, okay? I’m not leaving you or Ylstu behind. This little plan won’t have me disappear or die on you. I promise.”

Sometimes, I didn’t know why, he spoke to me like this. There were no sharp, cunning words, but instead things that even those within the pack never said. It was something that everyone looked for, and everyone wanted, but never asked for.

I didn’t know the name of what he was giving me, but I cherished it immensely.

This was why so many in Ylstu looked upon him with wonder and affection. There was still lust and need, but those were in the newcomers, and it faded with time. Now everyone saw him and was content to simply know that he… that he cared about us and wanted us to be happy, even with all his sharp words.

A lot liked his sharp words and how he looked, many whispered and dreamt and fantasized, but in the end, they would never touch him if he didn’t ask.

Because they couldn’t imagine returning to the time before anyone cared for them, their lives, and their wants.

I did my best to tell him that I would protect him, and when he smiled at me, I knew all the time I spent learning the strange language and words of civilized people were worth it.

…

The tactic was simple.

Hachiman would pose as a prime male offered to the Chimera for reprieve after her arduous battle. While she was distracted by him, I will strike against the Chimera.

If he was in danger, if any of us were in danger, I was allowed to use all of my power and strength to defeat the Chimera. I will hold nothing back as I struck against her, not even caring if my flame set the forest aflame, because our chieftain wished only for the Chimera to become part of Ylstu if she did not harm one of our own.

She would become only part of our tribe, if she was never truly our enemy.

I trusted in Hachiman’s plan, I believed in him, but I did not believe in myself.

So, as the clearing was made and the signals sent to the Chimera by the denizens of the jungle, I sought them out.

Those who hid in the shadows, who looked after Hachiman with devotion and yearning, and who sought to entice him and intrigue him at every peaceful moment.

Upon our arrival here, in this jungle, they have been steadfast and stalwart. They remained in the shadows, clad in weapons and armor at all times, and unseen by all as Hachiman’s silent guardians. They were the Alpha’s most trusted warriors, and though I have never seen them fight, I knew that they were a fearsome people.

I never sought them out before, but now I followed the scent of poison and cursed silver through the jungle, until I came upon the foot of a tree.

My eyes saw nothing, but I trusted in my nose, and spoke to them.

I told them to not care for my pride, and if I was not enough, that they should not hesitate to attack the Chimera to protect everyone.

My pack and tribe found honor in battle, especially when duels were called between champions. It was a way to make it so that battles ended before they began, with the fate of two parties falling upon the shoulders of their strongest. I was groomed for many years to become my pack’s champion, they grew hungry and fed me, as to ensure my strength and power for the future of my pack.

But I did not hesitate to put aside my pride and past for my people.

I asked the Kunoichi if they had any poison which I could use to coat my claws, which could harm the Chimera, and bring her low all the more quickly.

As Hachiman said: “Fighting fair is fighting to lose.”

The Kunoichi answered quickly and from the treetops fell one of the shadowy women. She held in her hands a canister from Ylstu. A wooden “thermos” whose lid screwed onto the larger body. It was used to keep water by those who labored in the sun, but this one was different. A seal was wrapped around the lid, obscuring the opening, as to ensure that it would not be accidentally opened.

The Kunoichi spoke to me without words, gesturing to the tip of her fingers, and miming dipping it within the container. Then, she kept the tips of her hands away from herself, and cast magic upon her hands to mimic a flame. After that she allowed her hands to touch herself once again.

I relayed to them my understanding of the message. That I should dip my claws in the poison, keep it away from myself, and use my flame to burn it away before letting it touch me.

The Kunoichi nodded positively, so I asked another question.

How much of the poison would it take to kill the Chimera?

The Kunoichi’s answer was immediate.

She raised a single finger and pointed it towards her vital spots, where much blood travelled, before pointing at her heart and crossing over it.

A wound that would seal, which could be easily endured, will kill the Chimera in an instant.

I made my decision and unscrewed the lid, after my interpretation was confirmed.

I took my left thumb’s claw and dipped it within the poison of the thermos, and let the excess drip away as the thin layer dried. The thermos was sealed a moment later, and the Kunoichi disappeared a moment later, leaving me with the scent of death and suffering on my single digit as I walked back to the clearing.

I was going against my upbringing and my status as Champion, but I cared less for those than my current orders.

For Hachiman, I would do everything I could.

…

I lay in hiding within the canopy as the Chimera approached the clearing where the offerings were laid out for her.

It looked to be a tribute to curry favor with the Chimera, so that she would not visit the same fate upon the village as the ones who would defy her.

She did not know of the hate that those under her felt, and how Hachiman barely convinced the tribes from taking up arms and dying against the Chimera.

All that the Chimera knew, as she entered the clearing, as after being bloodied in battle and expending strength… she was being offered tribute and respect by those under her control.

Thus, upon seeing the tables laden with food and Hachiman, her guard began to drop.

The Chimera was as fearsome a creature as Hachiman described. Numerous wounds from spears covered her body with dried blood, but the wounds from which the blood came forth were no longer anywhere to be found. Her snake-like tail was a long, sinuous thing as tall as her with a gaze and tongue that searched the surrounding for deceit, even as a smile filled with greed and lust spread across her face.

I nearly launched myself at her as that smile fell upon my chieftain, but I stayed within the shadows, downwind, and covered in mud as the snake continued to search and scan the clearing.

My legs tensed by their own accord when the Chimera reached the tables and the tent which Hachiman stood in front of. The moment he was in reach a blush spread across the Chimera’s face, and I intensified my focus.

The Chimera’s needs built as one across all its forms, so the lust of one would build and distract each on in turn until each individual was overcome with the lust of four Kindred.

Hachiman aimed to inspire that lust, already high from battle, through himself.

Once the Chimera was clouded completely by lust, I would strike, but I found it difficult… as she reached out for him, grabbed him with her filthy hands, and buried his face against her chest.

She uttered many falsehoods about him, about his eyes finding her beautiful, and his lust being apparent to her.

She even spoke as though she was better than him, and that he should be honored to be her newest husband, and that she would strive not to break him.

She spoke of many things that made fury rise within me in a way it never had before, and even though she was Kindred and I was instructed to first fight against her with the aim of capturing her, the thought of killing her began to take over my mind.

I wished to let loose, to attack, and to tear away her limbs and burn her away once she knew she lost all her power.

Not only did I wish for her demise, I also wished for her to suffer.

The thought frightened me, even as I yearned for it, because I never though such things before… but I could not dispel the urge as she told Hachiman to undress before her, while taking a pitcher of water enough for one person for a day to drink, and toured it upon him to cleanse him of the filth she put on him. Her eyes alighted in delight to see him shiver and unclothe himself, as the blush on her face deepened and a depraved hunger rose within her.

A part of me wished to stay put to watch, witness, and see… but it died as I saw the utter lack of emotion and will within Hachiman’s eyes.

There was only acceptance in his eyes.

There was only his willingness to be defeated in the face of an individual he couldn’t overcome.

There was only him reliving his hated days as a slave to the Empire.

At the sight of that, I became aware that I was not alone through the rustle of leaves and the sound of bark crumbling beneath tightened fists.

The Kunoichi were already at their wits end, their magic already abandoned, as they were about to strike.

I barely managed to growl at them to cease and wait, as the snake was still searching for deceit… and they barely heeded my words.

We had to endure.

We had to endure this disgrace, our hatred, and Hachiman’s baleful circumstance until the distraction was perfect.

My heart thundered in my chest as she watched him like a meal to be devoured, and took hold of him without any love or affection in her gaze.

The rage within me threatened the mission, but I persevered… until the Chimera’s snake tail reared up over her shoulder, overcome with lust, and gazed upon Hachiman as well.

There was no signal, only action, and my body moved so quickly I did not know I was acting until my claws wrapped around the head of the snake, as it readied itself to spray aphrodisiac upon Hachiman, and crushed it without a single thought occurring in my mind.

The Chimera’s roar of rage and anger, as she was attacked and Hachiman was whisked away only registered to me, as my heel caught the small of her back and sent her into the empty tent which Hachiman stood in front of.

I did not hesitate to set it, and the oil within it, alight.