There was nothing he could do.
*"will you protect me?"*
Tsui Ling's voice rang in his ears as he helplessly watched her die.
Blood was streaming down from her lips, making its way down her neck, arms and into the pool of blood beneath her.
"stop it" he pleaded
He felt numb. He felt like everything was playing in fast forward and in slow motion at the same time, and he was stuck at still trying to figuring out how that could be.
"K-Kazuma.." His lover calls his name
"Tsui Ling.." he responds.
She turned her head to face him and he watched as her eyes turned from emerald green into crimson red.
He was stunned.
Wh-what's happening?
His eyes traveled from her eyes to her long (and now) red hair.
"K-kazuma.." The voice was different from the first one.
His heart skipped. This isn't Tsui Ling.
The numbness he felt before was lost and he began to feel everything, and see everything at its clearest. His head was pounding and he felt every muscle of his body tense. The temperature around him dropped. His eyes widened as he recognizes the girl before him.
AYANO!
His eyes shot wide open as he gasped for air. His hands went to grab anything he could feel…
Sheets. Bed sheets.
He was in bed. His heart was pounding violently. He sat up and concentrated on calming himself down.
He lifted his palms to his face as he tried to steady his breathing.
It's been years since he stopped having nightmares of that incident. He couldn't think of any reason why he suddenly had to put up with it again.
To add up to his thoughts, this one's different.
It had always been Tsui Ling until the end of the dream. He clutched at the sheets.
"Ayano…" he whispers. His heart pounded violently again.
He grunted as he got up, got dressed and head to the Kannagi compound
He knows he wouldn't shake off this uneasy feeling until he saw her.
.
.
.
.
.
"Kazuma.." she mumbles in her sleep
Ayano shifted slightly in her bed.
A soft smile made its way to his lips as he hears his name escaped her lips.
He was sitting on the side of her bed, observing her.
She looked so peaceful. Her hair was spread out around her, framing her body.
She nuzzled her nose closer to the body pillow she was hugging and he can't help but think of how much he would give at the moment to take the pillow's place.
He noticed a few strands of hair on her face and struggled in fighting off the urge to brush them away.
…
…
…
Oh, screw it.
He reached out his hand near to her face and gently brushed the strayed strands of hair away from her face.
As his fingers made contact with her skin, he felt her move and he immediately jerked his hand away.
Her eyes fluttered open.
Shit…
Once she gained focus, her eyes widened.
"EEEEk- - -"
He covered her mouth with his hand
"shhshhhhh… it's just me. Don't scream." When he was sure that she's recognized him, He released her.
"Kazuma! How long have you been here?!" She angrily whispered as she sat up on her bed.
He looked at his watch before answering,
"… only a few hours.."
"Few HOURS?! You've been watching me sleep for HOURS?! You pervert!" A deep shade of blush crept up her cheeks.
"Well I did thought of waking you up, but you were just so peaceful and I ended up just waiting till you wake up on your own"
She blushed harder at what he said.
"wha- what are you doing here anyway?" she turned away her face, in attempt to hide her blush.
"I don't know… I wanted to talk to you" well I only wanted to see you and I wasn't supposed to get caught. I wasn't even supposed to stay for hours. But- -
"Couldn't it be saved for tomorrow?"
Couldn't it?
No. He didn't think so.
"I had a nightmare."
She was startled. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs as he avoided her gaze. Her blush left her face and turned into an expression that of worry.
" d-do you want to talk about it?" She carefully asked, suddenly nervous.
She felt her chest tighten as a sad smile played on his lips. He shook his head.
"no.. not tonight." He whispered
"I thought you said you wanted to talk"
"Then I guess I didn't. Maybe I just needed to see you." He reached out and slid a hand to the back of her head, pulled her and leaned his forehead against hers.
She was taken aback with his sudden actions.
"k-kazuma…" Her face turned different shades of red. He was too close.
He then, found himself struggling again with fighting the urge to kiss her, but soon won against it, thinking it might make things awkward between them, and he couldn't afford to have any sort of distance between them now… especially not now.
"did the nightmare involve me?" she finally asked.
She bit her tongue, scolding herself for assuming things.
He slightly pulled away to briefly look at her in the eyes. Her eyes flashed of curiosity, embarrassment, concern and comfort.
He smiled and responded by brushing his lips against her forehead.
"Let me stay with you tonight." He whispers.
She was silent for a few moments, having a private battle with herself about whether to let him stay or send him away.
The battle didn't really last long since she knew after all, she could never send him away.
"s-sure, yeah.. why not" she stuttered, trying to make it sound like it's a light matter.
"..thanks."
She shifted and made space for him to lie on her bed, making sure there's enough distance between him and her.
But he was having none of that.
He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her close, breathing her in.
She almost shrieked at his actions. She tried pushing him away at first, but later she found herself relax in his warmth.
Soon, her eyelids gave up and finally closed as she drifts off to sleep.
.
.
He had to admit, this was better than what he originally came for.
He felt even more satisfied as he felt her chest rise up and back down with her steady breathing.
.
.
Now, everything felt right.
She was there,
In his arms,
She was safe.
A/N: soooo… what do you think about this one? Let me know.
I'm still thinking about whether I would make this a multi-chap story or just leave it here.
I want to make it a multi-chap but I don't know if I can.
I'm not good with writing multi chap stories, I swear. TT-TT
If I'm going to make this as multi-chap, I'm seriously gonna need help… and I have no one who could help me with this.
I have little skills in writing one shots like this one, what chance do I have in writing a multi-chap story? TT-TT
Oh and uh, a lot of thanks to the following people:
Koko
kazenostigmalover
hotakugirl1996
kazenostigmafan4ever
Heavy Distance
SapphiRubyCrys
(there's another one but he/she was signed as a guest)
For leaving reviews on my first one shot, "Too Early For This"
You guys are the reason why I had the motivation to write this one.. ;)
I hope you enjoyed this one as well. :D
Reviews would be very much appreciated :D