Gunfires.

I immediately fell to my knees as I touched my left shoulder and found blood.

"Natsume! Are you alright?" I saw Baldy's figure approach me.

"Keh." I spat. "This is nothing."

"What in the world are you talking about? You're already blee—"

I cut him off as I sprinted towards a man who aimed a gun at us. It was a slim chance, but I was just in time, I set his hand on fire before he even go the chance to pull the trigger.

Seconds later I'd coughed up some blood and my vision had dimmed. Before I knew it, everything became blurry and obscured.

"Natsume!" I heard Baldy call out again. "You should rest for a while; I'll take care of him."

I nodded.

He caught sight of the man's shadow and approached him quickly to give him a taste of his fists. I could still clearly hear gunshots all around, not long after, followed by the man falling almost lifeless to the ground.

I forced myself up, but my body didn't seem to agree with my attempts of standing, so I ended up falling half conscious on the roadside.

Baldy came to my assistance and he carried me on his back.

"For goodness' sake, Natsume!" He shouted as he started to run, "Don't push yourself too hard! We've all got limits."

"S-shut… up, Baldy…" I managed to utter between breaths.

"Again with that nickname? Geez, it's Tsubasa. Listen, stop forcing yourself. You're not going to get extra merit when you do that, if that's what you're thinking." He sighed. "Anyway, we're going back now. Hayate and the gang will finish the rest. They already know about your condition. I'll teleport you to the hospital first." He paused. "And don't worry. I won't tell Mikan and the others about this."

Words of relief, those were.

I accepted these missions because of them. No matter how painful it is, no matter how hard I suffer, and no matter how much I have to sacrifice, this is all going to be worth it. As long as I get to see the smiles on their faces, I'm willing to go through this much in order to protect them and drive the darkness I'm in away from them.

I have to protect everyone. Ruka's happiness… and Mikan's smile.

You're wrong, Tsubasa. I do get extra merits.

So, yeah. Am back after how many months of being on hiatus. I'm getting lazy and lazy by the moment, but someone's message motivated me to write again, and this time, with the help of some professionals. Haha Anyone interested to help me?

And THANK YOU very much to Franfran, Ridley Silverlake, for beta-reading this drabble. Thank you! :D