From Behind Enemy Lines

The startled gurgling from the king as the girl stabbed him caught the attention of the remaining guards surrounding him. Sirius quickly unloaded the rest of the bullets and stabbed the sword and spear into the final two guards. He glared daggers at the girl who still was before the king.

" A little warning would have sufficed," He hissed. If he didn’t need to escape, Sirius would have consider killing her too. He internally sighed. She had finished the mission and that was all that mattered. He did not have the time nor the energy to get into another conflict. He looked back to the girl. “I am headed out. The guards will probably be swarming the area soon and I don’t want to be around when that happens.” With that he threw open the doors behind him and quickly began moving towards the nearest exit. Running would only bring suspicion to him, thus he needed to act with some amount of serenity.

This day was getting better and better. Not only was he exhausted from killing ten guard but now a trek through the sewers awaited him. Next thing was a toxic monster waiting in the sewers. He brushed such thoughts aside. He needed to focus, not think depressing and ridiculous thoughts.

"Lead the way," he muttered. "I am right behind you." Hopefully the sewers would lead them far enough away that he wouldn't need to fight. After that, he would need to get back to the human world and somehow avoid the camp of demons that were probably still out for his blood. Anything to get home he supposed.

Sirius nodded taking a stance in front of the grate. With a few well placed slashes the metal fell away, like paper, clattering to the ground. He immediately strode inside, his nose detecting the awful stench flowing throughout the place. He would have covered his nose, but he was used to this by now. He had smelt much worse after all. The tunnel ways were dark, light only peaking it through grates from above. Thankfully there was a walkway on the side of the sewer. He didn't want to walk through the sludge that the water seemed to be producing.

"How far till the exit?" Sirius asked. Keeping an eye out for any noises or potential threats.

Sirius stared blandly. A better situation couldn't be asked for. If he killed her, no one would know his involvement in the kings murder. He could just leave her too, it wasn't like she was in danger of drowning. best of all she couldn't follow him. He already knew that she could care less if he died. Why else would she not warn him about the guards? To top it all off, he could even scoop up the King's rings and sell it off to the highest bidder. He could literally escape unseen...and yet he hesitated. There was not real reason to help her, but he knew better than that...he was better than that. She had helped complete his mission and was helping him out of the palace. Besides, he would rather not have a girl like this out for his blood. He had seen the results for himself. With a groan, he picked up the ring and slipped it into his pocket and then hoisted the girl onto his shoulder.

"I better not regret this," Sirius sighed as he slowly made his way deeper into the tunnel.

"You're awake." Sirius observed from his spot behind the rock she had been resting on. He had decided that carrying an unconscious girl across a barren wasteland was not the best move. Thus he had decided to allow her to rest while he stayed as looked out. From his limited medical training he realized that she had fainted from exhaustion. Rest was the best treatment, though that was for humans, he was clueless regarding demon biology.

"Are you hungry?" He asked withdrawing a ration bar from his pack. "We need to move soon. I don't know how quickly the guards will mobilize." He held the wrapped bar out to the girl. "Thse taste like charcoal but it will give you strength."

The first thing she asked about is a stupid ring? Sirius was worried about actual threats like demons or starvation, and she was worried about a piece of jewelry. Perhaps it was a female thing...or a demon one, he really didn't know. He felt the ring shift awkwardly shift in his pocket. He had grabbed it of course, but he didn't know why it was so important. Hadn't she taken it off the demon lord? Was it really worth anything? He decided to question her about it.

"What ring? You may have dropped it when you fainted." Sirius responded calmly. "Is it worth anything, because I am not heading back to find a piece of jewelry." He was gauge whether or not to give to back from her reaction.

Sirius' eyes narrowed immediately and rolled out of the way. His mind dug deep trying to figure out why she was attacking. He came up with two explanations. She had realized that he held the ring and wanted it back. She was smart and his question had been too obvious. If the ring was valuable then she would probably fight to the death for it. It was that or she was completely insane and just wanted to kill others. One was looking more likely that the other. Still it annoyed him that she would kill him even though he dragged her out of that hellhole. Perhaps killing her was truly the better option...

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sirius spat with glare. He withdrew his sword and held it in front of him. "Try that again and I will kill you."

So she knew, but Sirius frowned. How would a ring keep her alive or even keep her from being a slave? He knew demons had magic, but he doubted a mere ring could change that much. Still it was certainly worth something... perhaps its value could get her enough money to live in luxury? He sighed, he had more important things to be worrying about. He withdrew the ring from his pocket, making sure to show it to the girl.

"As you guessed I do have the ring. If it is that important, you could have just asked for it back." His expression turned dark as his eye shot daggers at the girl. "Or I could crush this and leave you to die here." He growled. "Not only did you try and kill me in the throne room, but just now as well. How the hell do you expect me to trust you if you value this ring over my life?!"

Sirius temple twitched. She did understand that she was insulting him while he held the "precious ring"... right? He could run away with it, distract her with the ring and kill her or just fight her head on. He wanted to bang his head against a wall. This had to be a female demon thing...both Tsun and this girl were getting furious and completely losing common sense. Still as long as she wasn't going to back stab him then he could care less.

"I am a human, not a demon and I certainly could care less about becoming a demon lord." Sirius replied with a growl. In one motion he tossed the ring to the slave girl. "If it will shut you up, take the damn thing. If you have enough energy to attack me then you should have plenty to walk. We leave immediately." With that he turned and began walking. He didn't sheath his blade though...he might need it.

The journey back to the gate was thankfully uneventful. There were not more arguments or complaints, just walking. As they drew closer, Sirius gestured for them to stop and rest. More and more demons were appearing and Sirius didn't want to draw in any attention. He could only pray that he wouldn't be recognized.

"Can that ring get us through the checkpoints?" Sirius asked from a safe distance. He didn't need another fight on his hands. "I have been through here before and someone knew me as a human. I need to know if that can get us through or if we need a plan.

Sirius hear her hesitation...he felt it. She was free, the feeling must have felt so liberating. The mere thought of returning to what she was...it must be excruciating. Sirius could relate, if he found his parent only for them to be ripped away again. He wasn't sure if he would want to continue. Still, she would only need to act the part and Sirius would do his best on his side as well.

"Give me the ring then." Sirius commanded. "I will use it if we run into any trouble. Once we get away from the gate, you can have it back." Sirius felt tense, more so than normal. They were relying on his acting, he couldn't blow their cover now. Still having a back up plan was important. 'If we get separated, get to the city of Arakai. I will meet up with you there." It probably wouldn't help too much seeing as she had no idea where Arakai was, but it was better than nothing.

As Sirius expected the news of the kings death had yet to reach the gate. There was no panic or even distress. The demon were simply going about their daily business. The other side of the gate would hold that man though. Roach... If he caught them, they would need to make a bolt for it. Still, Sirius didn't know another way back to the human world. Hopefully they didn't meet him. Holding his breath, Sirius stepped through to the other side. The demon camp was just like he remembered. The tents were still standing and demons were milling around. The girl and he carefully made their way to the edge of the camp. They were almost gone until a voice called out to him.

"Looks like the dog came crawling back." Roach laughed menacingly. "Was the demon world too difficult to handle or did you just get scared?"

Roach frowned unable to comprehend what had happened. He was sure that the demon boy was trying to escape but her this girl was telling him otherwise. She acted perfectly like a slave as if she was following orders. But...it seemed suspicious. This boy had held his own against a group of well trained soldiers. He was expected to believe a mere slave could keep this boy is check? If she could why was she a slave then and not fighting on the front lines for the glory of the demon race? Unless...Roach had heard that the demon king held several soldiers close to him. It was only a rumor, but...a test was in order.

"Girl, pick up his sword. I find it hard to believe someone as frail as you could keep him in order. You will have three chances to injure me. If you succeed, I will send you ahead. If not you and the boy will die here."