AN: This is a Mio Akiyama x Haruka Nanase fanfiction. I do not own any of the characters in my story other than the plot of the story. Free! and K-On! are owned by Ooji Kouji and Kakifly respectively.

Chapter 1: Spirited Away

I felt the wet mud squelch under my feet as I ran in the rain through the forest. Thick droplets of water hit my face, blurring my eyesight and making my cheeks hurt. I had lost my shoes long ago in the chase, and yet I could not shake my attackers off. Stray branches struck me and my whole body ached from the strain of running. I felt my lungs paining and my heart thudding, demanding that I collapse and rest for a while but somehow my mind forced my legs to run. Subconsciously, I knew that if I sat down now, I would not be able to get up and that would be the end of me. I choked on the tears that ran down my face and my voice came out in soft whispers. I heard their voices behind me and the heavy thuds of their feet as they ran behind me. My beautiful gown was already in tatters and only one thing ran through my mind: 'Somebody please save me from this hell…'

It was then that I saw a great wall of entangled trees and bushes before me. I was trapped. I could not go back. I felt tears of frustration clogging my throat even as I desperately looked around for an escape route. There had to be one. I could not die like this. I was only twenty-one and I was at the top of my batch in college. I was awarded for my wonderful performance in academics, just this evening and today was supposed to be the most wonderful day of my life. I danced with my friends and had so much fun. So how did it end up with me being kidnapped by thugs and on the verge of being raped and killed, running alone in a desperate bid to keep myself alive?

But even as I stood there in the rain, desperately forcing my mind to think and trying to catch a breath, looking at the mysterious wall of trees before me, I heard the peal of thunder overhead. It seemed to shake the very ground over which I was standing. I looked up to the sky as it rained fat droplets of water on me: So this is how I was to be killed. I was an only child, the apple of my parents' eyes. I was not born with any proverbial golden spoon in my mouth but I worked hard. My parents worked hard and they loved each other a lot. They did not earn millions, but they earned a decent wage and they lived happily. They embedded in me the values of courage and persistence and the conquering power of true love. It was also one of the reasons why I had been single all this time. Somehow, I always believed that I too had someone waiting for me out there, waiting to reveal their love for me. And when that time came, we too would live a fulfilling life like that of my parents. I therefore worked hard and gave my best to everything, hoping to make my parents proud and find myself better jobs. And yet, here I stood, waiting for the end to come. I watched as huge shadows appeared at a distance and grew as the four men walked towards me.

"So the wench has at last given up. She is a tasty one, don't you think?" A husky voice spoke up. I felt my back hit the wall of branches and leaves, and a sob rose in my throat. I forced my choked throat to work.

"Please, let me go…if you need money, I know my dad will pay you…please…please let me go…"

"I like her voice. She has a sweet voice. Wonder if we can make her sing, eh boys?" A raucous round of laughter followed.

I felt rivulets of rainwater flow down the exposed areas of my skin. The next moment, I felt a hand roughly catch hold of my hair and twist it, making me scream out in agony. Hot tears leaked out of my eyes, and intermingled with the cold rainwater. Frustration and pain made me tremble and suddenly a hand roughly grabbed hold of my face, forcing me to look up at the sky. Darkness prevented me from seeing the faces of my assaulters. The rain seemed to drum down harder on my face.

"So, shall we start, boys? I know that this one is a firecracker from the way she squirmed when we caught her…"

Suddenly there was the great sound of thunder, which even made the wall of trees behind me shake violently and shudder.

"Whoa, this is some ugly storm…"

But somehow, I felt the trees behind me continue to shake and shudder. I tried to turn my head to see what was happening, but the fingers of the man in my hair tightened and my scalp throbbed with pain. I choked on my own breath. I could not even muster the strength to scream for help. Nobody would hear me anyway. Somehow I felt the cold beginning to grow and my eyesight seemed to be growing dimmer. Was this the end already? Did god finally listen to my plea to kill me rather than face the ordeal of being raped and killed?

"Wait, did you hear that sound right now? Something seems to be moving?"

I forced my eyes to open and felt the fingers in my hair go lax. I felt that this was my chance to again run but somehow I did not have the strength anymore. My feet were weak and my body seemed to be numb with a burning pain. I knew that even if I ran, I did not have the strength to run very far. I knew that I would collapse anyway and then these brutes would catch hold of me anyway and maybe then, they would kill me more violently than they were prone to now. I closed my eyes and prayed fervently…if there really was my true love out there; please send him for me, to rescue me. It was a futile hope but I still prayed. Maybe god would be kind enough to…

"How dare you put your filthy hands on her? You bastards…"

I did not have the strength to force myself to look up to see the newcomer and truthfully I did not even care anymore. I felt the darkness closing in on me even as I felt the fingers leave my hair and my hair tumbled down. I felt my body become numb and I got the sensation that I was falling; from where I did not know. The side of my face hit the ground with such force that the cool mud splattered one side of my face. As I lay there in the mud, I felt the cool rain drum on the side of my face which was falling from the open sky. As my senses slowly returned to me, I realised that no one was attacking me or grabbing me. I opened my eyes and saw that as lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the grove of trees, four men stood surrounding a single man. I squinted to see properly, but the darkness returned. I tried to move but all my limbs protested against any kind of movement. I looked around for any kind of support there was no kind of stout stick to support my weight. So I just lay there, watching and hoping for another flash of lightning, to light up the face of the newcomer.

As my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I saw as one of my assaulters ran towards the newcomer. Suddenly everything seemed to happen in slow-motion. As the lightning again flashed in the sky, I saw the new-comer throw a punch. It hit the man's face with such ferocity, that it almost threw the man backwards. My eyes widened involuntary as I watched the newcomer defend himself effortlessly against the other three men. And it was all over in a few minutes, but to me who waited with bated breath, it seemed to me to go on forever. Every time I hoped that the man would not get hurt. As their groans and agonized shouts reached me, I felt an irrational glee to see my assaulters being beaten up. My heart swelled for the new-comer and I thanked god for sending him to save me. I wanted him to beat those bastards to a pulp, till they could not stand anymore, for them to lie in the mud as I lay, to make them face the same hell that I faced while I ran through the deep forest, looking for an escape route.

I smiled as fresh tears leaked out of my eyes. My mother was right…if there was someone in this world truly meant for me, he would come no matter what. He would feel the same pain as I did, he would feel the same joy that I felt, and he would feel the same love that I felt. That was what it meant to be soul mates, to be so intrinsically bound to each other, that without the other, life would be dull and bland. Love that was so overwhelming that being away from each other, once the people had met would be a physical pain. The man there fighting for me must have been my soul mate. He must have felt the desperation that I felt today as I was captured, as I ran and as I looked up the great wall of trees and branches. He must have known that I prayed for him to come and save me…or else how would he have known that I was in trouble, how would he have known that I was here, in the middle of a deserted forest…

I watched as he grunted and beat the fourth and last man, who collapsed in a dead faint. I closed my eyes happily. At last, I could die happily. I could not move as my limbs felt stiff and wooden. I felt so cold and frozen. But I was happy that I was not harmed in the way that I thought that I would be. I heard footsteps and I turned my head to see the man standing over me. He then kneeled beside me and picked up my prone body and faced it towards the sky. I felt his strong muscles bunch under my back…

"You do not have to do that." I breathed.

"You are grievously injured. You need treatment." A deep voice answered me. He picked me up bridal style, "We will try to get you treatment."

I opened my eyes slowly to look at him. I could only make out the strong cuts of his face and his brilliant blue eyes. They were like the deep blue ocean on a summer day. I lifted up my hand or rather forced it up by sheer force of will and touched his cheek. They were rough with the beginning of stubble. Something told me that this man was always clean-shaven. I smiled softly: This man was somehow growing to be more my type.

"What are you doing?" he asked as I continued to caress his face. His voice had lost its previous roughness, even though it was still somber. "Are you not in pain?"

The rain was still falling but now it was a bit weaker. And yet we stood there in the rain, with none of us moving. I was not in a position to move but even he stood there motionless, holding me close to him. I felt his body heat seep through his wet shirt and heat up my body. I snuggled up closer to him for that favoured heat. It was then that I felt myself trembling fiercely and I could not stop. The aftermath of the rush of adrenaline that I had experienced were now setting in.

"You are shaking…"

I then looked up, "You are a hypocrite, you know that…but anyway I am so glad you came. Thank god, you came…" And I finally felt the darkness set in, giving me that release that I had been longing for all this time. And yet I only felt happiness as the fear receded never to come back. I was at last safe and sound. It was true what my mother had said all this time, he had come to rescue and protect me after all. He was truly my soul-mate. The only thing that was left was to convince him to feel the same way too…

AN: So this is the first chapter of my very first fanfiction of any kind. I was binging on the anime series of Free! and K-ON! when the idea just popped into my head. Please read and review. I would love to hear what you all think after reading this chapter.

Yours truly,

Fable.