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Sumi (yakuzaprincess) wrote in devils_tower,
@ 2009-08-29 01:34:00

Entry tags:

jax, sumi

Week Fifteen - Thursday
WHO: Sumi and Jax
WHAT: A near death experience and an epiphany
WHERE: Along the Belle Fourche River between the Jackal Lodge and the Winter Camp
WHEN: Late afternoon
RATING: TBD
STATUS: Incomplete // Closed

It seemed that there really wasn't anything to do in the lodge. She'd read a whole lot of books lately and just sitting around reading was becoming rather boring. So, Sumi had just been staying out of everyone's way, watching the goings-on within the lodge and just learning new little things about her tribemates. Although, her gaze would always be searching for Jax among all the people coming and going. That day, it seemed, he would be nowhere to be seen. Still, she had faith that he wouldn't let their plans fall through. They had planned to go out swimming in the river, near the River Runners' winter camp where the water was the nicest. Yes, Jax was busy, but when was he not busy? Sumi had complete faith in him. He wouldn't forget their little outing, even if he didn't have the time to escort her himself. Someone a lot lower on the food chain had been asked to take her out to the river. And then Jax would come and swim with her. Simple as that. She and her escort left out earlier in the morning so that they could make it to the spot on the river in a timely manner. Sumi, polite and pleasant as always, followed behind the surly mechanic that led the horse she'd been allowed to take for the trip. As they walked, he made it no secret that he thought his task was pointless. And he also didn't hesitate to say that he thought Sumi was a burden on the tribe and the she herself was a pointless waste of space. She paid him no mind, not at all taking the things he said to heart. Had she had a weapon in her hands, she might have been tempted to silence his endless comments. But she was unarmed. So the princess grace came into use.

The time didn't go by too slowly despite the horrible company. Very begrudgingly, the mechanic helped her down from the horse, tying the mare up to a tree. He sat down against the tree, leaving Sumi to head to the river. She was less than inclined to actually show her body around this man. It made it a little difficult, considering that she only had one swimsuit. A white bikini. Still, she got around that problem by just keeping her dress on over the bikini. She waded into the river, loving the feel of the cool water on her skin. The current was too bad to start out with, but it picked up as she got further out into the water. But it was alright. She just let herself swim and it felt really good.

Eventually it seemed that her escort had fallen asleep. Figuring that there wasn't any harm in it, she removed her dress then, choosing to swim only in her bathing suit. She went back out into the deeper water, just swimming and wondering when Jax was going to come. Sumi dove down under the water then, but on her way back up, the current got the best of her. She couldn't swim back up too far before her leg got very caught in some sort of weed or plant at the river's bottom. She reached down, trying to get herself free of the plants, but they had her tangled up very well. Panicking now, she tried to get back to the surface of the water, but only her hands managed to make it that far, causing splashing at the surface. All the paddling in the world wasn't going to get her past the surface of the water.

Her muscles started to tire out and worse still, she was running out of air. Sumi wanted to scream for help, but she couldn't. And the mechanic who had brought her out was probably still asleep and wasn't able to hear the commotion of the splashing. She felt her lungs begin to burn for air as she thrashed and kicked. In her mind, Sumi pleaded for someone to come along. Anyone.

And then those mental pleas were focused only on Jax. Jax...please come! Please save me! She started feeling lightheaded and, inevitably, she started inhaling water. If only someone would come and save her...

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jaxjackal
2009-08-31 04:08 pm UTC (link)

Jax had had a lot of things to think about and sort out after the meeting on Wednesday and subsequently he'd not been able to completley honor the commitment he'd had to Sumi on Thursday. He'd told one of his guards to make sure that Sumi was escorted to the river. Jax would rather have taken Sumi there himself but he had needed just a little more time to complete the plans he was drafting. Little did he know that it had been one of the lowest runged mechanics that the guard had assigned to escort Sumi. That fact in itself would have made him angry.

Jax was able to leave the lodge a little sooner than he'd thought and so he set out around twenty minutes after they had. The ride the to Winter Camp took at least a good fifteen minutes if he was riding at a canter. He arrived to find a mechanic he'd only even seen once or twice, asleep against a tree that one of the Jackal's horses was tied to. Jax slid out of his saddle and looked around, then nudged the guy with the toe of his boot. "Where's Sumi?"

Something in the direction of the river caught his attention. It was an odd kind of splash, almost like the wings of a bird that was taking off from the water. It didn't take long for Jax to be struck with a horrible feeling. He didn't even have to time to curse the awakening idiot next to him. He ran through the trees and down the little hill to the river. When he reached the bank he knew immediately what was happening and without thinking he jumped straight into the river and swam to Sumi's aid. He swam down to her feet and pulled his switchblade from the back of his pants so that he could cut her free from the root she'd become entangled in.

Jax picked her up with one arm and held her head above water as he swam to the shore. He laid her down on the bank and immediately checked for her pulse and it was still there. "Sumi, Sumi!?" He tilted her head back and lifted her chin to open up her airway. He took a deep breath and pinched her nose shut before pressing his lips to hers and exhaling.

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yakuzaprincess
2009-08-31 10:52 pm UTC (link)

The moments as they passed felt like they were taking an eternity. They passed by so slowly, only dragging out the fear and the panicked feelings she had. Bit by bit, Sumi felt herself getting more and more lightheaded. She'd inhaled too much water. Her eyes were open as she thrashed, but she soon saw spots of black creeping into her vision. It wasn't long at all before the grips of unconsciousness took hold of her, causing her to pass out. Her limbs stopped moving and she went limp in the water. It seemed as though she was going to die by drowning, unless someone found her and pulled her to shore. The next few things that happened, she was not aware of. Still, the savior that she'd wanted had come to her rescue. Jax was in the water with her, cutting her free of the roots at the bottom of the water.

Her body was set down on the riverbank, still not moving at all. There was silence and there was blackness. As Jax exhaled, forcing air into her body, her chest rose and fell as was normal. But one attempt wasn't enough. After a few more times, Sumi began to cough and sputter. Turning her face to the side, she coughed up the water she'd inhaled. Her eyes opened and, though her vision was a bit blurry to start, she saw Jax leaning over her, looking concerned.

"Jax?" she said, her voice slightly hoarse and rather soft. Was she dreaming? Or worse yet, was she actually dead? No...it didn't seem like it.

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jaxjackal
2009-09-01 03:58 pm UTC (link)

Jax had continued CPR until she'd come to and coughed up the water from her lungs. He knew that it was almost always bad news once a drowning victim had lost consciousness so he was jubilant with relief when Sumi came to and was actually able to recognize him. He reached down and pulled her up to a sitting position as he fell back from his haunches and onto the ground. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him, but not too tight.

He leaned back a little to look at her and smooth the wet hair from her face. "Are you all right Sumi?" He heard something in the trees and then galloping hooves off in the distance. No doubt it was that coward mechanic, but Jax could deal with that later - and deal with it he would. "Take some deep breaths if you can..." Now that the adrenaline rush was starting to wear off he felt an even stranger feeling in the pit of his stomach. It took him a moment but when the realization hit him it was almost overwhelming.

He cared for Sumi, more than he had ever realized. The thought that he had almost just lost her was staggering to him. He'd never felt this way about any other person and the effects were so dizzying to him that he was quiet for a very long time. He her a small squeeze and kissed her forehead, being momentarily unable to speak

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yakuzaprincess
2009-09-01 06:17 pm UTC (link)

She still felt very funny, to be quite honest. Her head hurt and her vision wasn't completely clear just yet. And frankly, the thought of going back in that river was extremely unappealing. At least, laying down on the riverbank, she could at least feel grounded until everything got back to normal. She closed her eyes for only a second, trying to make her head stop hurting, but in that time Jax pulled her so that she was sitting up. And then, all at once, she was in his arms being held against him. Sumi opened her eyes then, rather...surprised. He'd never done that before. Held her hand, yes. Push her hair out of her eyes and touch her face, yes. But she didn't recall him ever holding her like that. Strange as it was, she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of being held so close to him.

"I'm fine...well, my head hurts pretty badly, but other than that, I'm just fine." She smiled softly when he smoothed some of her hair away from her face. Doing as he told her, she tried to take deep breaths. It kept her from feeling so light headed, thank goodness. Little by little she was starting to feel better. At least a bit. And any sort of progress towards feeling normal was better than making none at all.

She wasn't sure if she should say anything when he was sitting there so quietly. And, aside from the slightly raspy sound of her breathing, she didn't make any noise. However, her gaze searched his own, trying to figure out just what he was thinking. And if she wasn't confused enough, he squeezed her gently and kissed her on the forehead. Now he definitely had never kissed her, on the forehead or otherwise. It made her even more confused, quite honestly. "...thank you for saving me." It was the only thing that she could think to say. But it still didn't keep the slight blush from rising in her cheeks.

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jaxjackal
2009-09-02 06:57 am UTC (link)

She was lucky to be alive, and if a headache was her biggest issue at the moment then that was a sincere relief. The other Jackals had always been confounded about the reason that Jax had let Sumi stay on with them. Jax himself had even been unsure of what it was exactly that had drawn him to her. He knew that a big part of it had been her reaction to his lifestyle and his actions that had caught his attention. He could strangle someone in front of her and she wouldn't even flinch or give him that familiar look, as if was some monster to look at.

Up until this moment he'd convinced himself that he'd kept her around merely for the novelty of her acceptance of him. Meanwhile her acceptance had left room for time to burrow an opening in his heart and now he was concerned that he genuinley cared for her. If that was the case then she really was a liability to him. He felt so confused by it all and in this moment he was simply too relieved that she was alive to think too hard about it all.

"Please, don't thank me Sumi." He leaned down to rest his forehead against hers and close his eyes. "I should have come down here with you. I apologize that you were so neglected."

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yakuzaprincess
2009-09-02 03:21 pm UTC (link)

Sumi knew that she was lucky to be alive and she was sincerely thankful that she hadn't died. That Jax had been there to save her. The thought of not being able to be near him anymore, even if that meant her death, scared her. She still couldn't quite understand why he even decided to keep her around. She was weak without a weapon in her hands and she didn't have any real skills to help keep the tribe running. And yet he still didn't tire of her and kept her around, allowing her to get by without doing work. She was thankful for that. Jax had never ever scared her once, even during his more brutal moments. He could kill a person with her watching and she'd simply look on with cool eyes and acceptance. He wasn't a monster. He was just like every other man she'd ever encountered in her life. Brutal, but powerful. Strong. She was raised around men like him and she would have been expected to marry one of them when she got older. To her, his actions made being in the Jackals that much more like home.

She was sure that Jax didn't care about her in the same way she cared about him. Why should he? She was essentially weak. And he had more important things to worry about, surely. Still, that never stopped her from being happy when he could spend some time with her. Because even if her feelings were unrequited, being close to him at all was better than not being able to be with him.

"But I need to thank you. That's the second time you've saved my life." Had he not saved her in New Haven, she would have already been dead. She really did owe him her life, it seemed. He was so close right then, his forehead resting against her own. It was hard to keep from blushing. But she tried her best not to. "...well, I would have loved to have you here with me. But you had important things to do. It's not my place to keep you from being a leader. If I even tried, that would certainly make me...well...a liability, I suppose." She didn't want to deter him from his job. It wasn't her place.

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jaxjackal
2009-09-03 03:10 pm UTC (link)

Jax truly believed that the world revolved around the idea that one had to kill or be killed. There was no real place in the world for weak people except in the arms or under the boot of those who were strong. Now Sumi was truly in his arms, but the thing was, that once the strong took in the weak it only made the strong more like those who were weak. At least, that was how Jax saw the world. He'd seen nothing to show him otherwise. In Palestine he'd fought to protect those who could not defend Indra cause themselves, but their group had been so brutal and distant from the human element of their cause that it hadn't weakened them or slowed them down. All they'd seen was the goal.

Despite Sumi's obvious weaknesses he'd never once considered her a liability. He'd always thought to himself that if it ever came down to it, he could simply walk away and leave her behind. Now he was quickly coming to realize that he could not do such a thing. "Maybe it's not your place, but I shouldn't leave the things that are important to me to people who are obviously incapable of doing their job to protect those things." He was talking rather abstractly as a means of distancing himself from directly admitting any feelings he had for her. Still, it was pretty obvious that something had changed.

"We should get you home and dry so you can relax." Before she was able to respond, he scooped her up under her knees to carry her up the bank and over to his tied horse. Just as he'd thought, the sleeping coward had already vanished.

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yakuzaprincess
2009-09-05 03:45 pm UTC (link)

Kill or be killed. That was the sort of life that the Naotaka family had always known. To get their strength, they'd had to cut down those that were standing in their way before they could have been killed themselves. Sumi had seen that principle in effect since she was old enough to watch the executions of men from enemy yakuza families. That was how the world was, in her eyes. She'd been told from a very early age that, as a woman, she'd be seen as weak. And that was because she was. Her only choices were to fall at the hands of another, or to stand by her future husband so that he may protect her. Her presence would always be a liability. That was just the hand she'd been dealt in her life. She was the delicate flower that needed to be protected and, by being so, she provided a chip in the armor. That was, unless her husband could have cared less about her. Then she was something he could walk away from if he chose to.

Sumi didn't know now if Jax viewed her as a liability. Before, she'd been more than sure that he could have walked away from her without a second thought if it really ever came to it. And she would have let him, simply because she owed everything to him and what he wanted, she wanted to be able to give him. Now though, it was difficult to say if he still viewed her that way. The way he was speaking, as if skirting around a certain subject, had her confused. But one thing was more than obvious. Something had changed. She just wasn't sure what.

She wasn't able to say anything to his next comment before he was picking her up and carrying her up the river bank to his horse. It was then that she became all too aware of two things. One, she was getting rather cold because she was still covered in water from head to toe. And two, she didn't have her dress. That left her only in her bikini. It was hard not to think about the immodesty. After all, she'd always been taught not to show so much skin around a man unless he was her husband. It wasn't lady-like, otherwise.

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jaxjackal
2009-09-26 02:59 am UTC (link)

He had to sit her down once he'd reached the horse. He stared at her for a moment, his brow obviously knit with a concern that likely no one in the tribe had ever seen in him. He took a deep breath and then grabbed her shoulders. "You're shivering..." It wasn't that cold outside, but he figured shock had a lot to do with it. Without a pause he pulled his t-shirt over his head and offered it to her. It wasn't much, but it was all he had and it was better than nothing.

He turned his gaze from her so that she could put it on and he could better keep his eyes from roving the skin that he'd never seen so exposed. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment. What was his problem? He wasn't acting at all like himself, he didn't feel like himself. What was this feeling in the bottom of his stomach?

"I'm glad you're all right..."

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yakuzaprincess
2009-09-26 03:27 am UTC (link)

She was shivering and shaking, but Sumi didn't really notice it all that much. Probably because to her slowly clearing mind, her body was sitting perfectly still as he carried her. Apparently, though, it wasn't. She looked up at him, dark eyes studying the worry in his expression. The crease in his brow, the concern in his eyes. It was different from the hardened Jax that she was used to seeing. When he grabbed her shoulders and told her that she was shivering, she was slightly confused. "Am I?" Obviously, she hadn't been able to feel it. Just the cold from being wet and exposed to the open air. She hadn't at all been expecting him to take off his shirt. More than a tiny bit stunned, Sumi wavered a moment before taking it from him. By then, though, her cheeks were colored in a rosy tinge as she tried not to look at the physique she'd often admired from afar.

She slipped the shirt on. Of course it was rather big on her, but that wasn't what she was focusing on. She could just barely fathom the fact that she was wearing his shirt. It was something that she found to be a comfort, even among the confusions running through her mind. Just why was Jax acting like he was? It was different, though not in a bad way. She just didn't understand why he was acting so differently.

"I'm only alright because you were here to save me," she said softly. "I suppose I'm incredibly lucky. Saved twice from death."

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jaxjackal
2009-09-26 03:49 am UTC (link)

When he sensed that she'd pulled the shirt over her head he looked back to her and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. Playing the savior was not a normal role for him by any means. He was usually the one that people needed saving from. Sumi had a record with him, she wasn't dead by his own hands and he'd even saved her twice. Yeah, she was lucky, or else he was just more concerned about her than he had thought.

God, he felt confused; and he never felt confused.

"Huh, yeah...guess we're both lucky." He closed his eyes and shook his head with an uncertain smile. "Let's get you to bed. I mean, back to the lodge, to your bed- your room. So you can rest." What, was he 15? He sighed at himself and swung himself up onto the horse.

He held a hand out to help her up.

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yakuzaprincess
2009-09-26 01:26 pm UTC (link)

She didn't say anything when he looked back at her, just looking up at him. It was true, he'd saved her twice from death. And that was just wasn't something that he did. If anything, he was someone to be afraid of because he could kill you. To her, he was her savior. The one she owed her life to. She was a very lucky girl, in more ways than just one.

Sumi was still extremely confused when he said both of them were lucky. But she needed to stop thinking about why he was acting why he was. It was only going to confuse her more and tamper with that headache. What he said at first made her even more confused. He seemed almost...uncomfortable. "Um...yeah." This was just strange, to be quite honest.

She took his hand, getting up onto the horse with his help.

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jaxjackal
2009-09-28 03:32 pm UTC (link)

Jax tried to offer a normal smile as she took his hand and he helped her up onto the horse behind him. He scooted as far up in the saddle as he could so that she could fit behind him, but the arrangements were still rather snug. As always, it felt strangely good to have her so close to him.

He turned the horse towards the lodge and nudged it into a brisk walk. In an attempt to clear his head he started to formulate plans for the unlucky fellow who'd been dumb enough to take his eyes off of Sumi. He had no doubt in his mind that he would find the guy, but if he didn't, losing an idiot like him would be no great loss. He would, however, be very disappointed if he wasn't able to at least beat the shit out of the guy.

It had been a long time since he'd been able to act on any of his more violent tendencies. What with the Lions having been almost completely disposed of in one fell swoop, and the other tribes being in a cautious peace there wasn't much that Jax could do. Indra had told him that he should always have a reason for killing. Before Indra Jax had had no reason, just simple enjoyment, so now with Indra and certain politics gone Jax was left to come up with his own reasons for killing or maiming. He'd come up with reasons all right, but not ones that would have held up in a court of law.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't here sooner Sumi. I should have made time for you." They were almost at the lodge by the time he spoke to her.

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yakuzaprincess
2009-09-28 04:18 pm UTC (link)

She saw his smile, but there was just something there that made it just the slightest bit off. Not the same normal smile that he gave her most of the time. On the inside, she really wanted to ask him just what was going on. But her better judgement kept the inquiries to herself. Sumi settled in behind him on the saddle, wrapping her arms around him so as not to fall. It was difficult to not think about how nice it felt to be so closet to him. If it was her own personal thoughts, though, there wasn't really any reason not to indulge herself, was there? It wasn't as if Jax knew what she was really thinking. And that was likely a good thing.

Idly she thought about just what would befall the young man who had been her escort. Surely Jax would find some way to punish him that would undoubtedly be violent. Because for some strange reason, she was important to him. Perhaps for the novelty of her not fearing him? She wasn't sure as to just why. But either way, she knew the mechanic was going to pay for his negligence some way or another. That was certain. And with Jax's tendencies toward violence...well it was safe to assume that there would be blood.

Sumi also pondered over why Jax was acting so strange around her. Had she done something wrong? Or was something else bothering him? She wanted so badly to ask, but she assumed that he didn't want her fussing over him unneccessarily. What point was there to that? He was plenty strong on his own. He didn't need someone like her worrying over every little thing that he did. But...that didn't stop her from wanting to care for him that way. Nothing ever would, she was sure.

Again he was apologizing and again she wished that he wouldn't. It wasn't his fault. "...I wish you would stop apologizing," she said softly, so as not to make him angry. "There were more important things that you had to attend to. That couldn't be helped." She wasn't as important as his duties as a leader. She played second fiddle and, quite honestly, she had no problem with that. Why? Because it seemed rather certain that it wasn't going to change.

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