"AKANE!" Ryan shouted as he sprinted toward the edge of the cliff. He planted one foot on the edge before pushing off into the air. He saw Akane for only a moment before she disappeared in the water. The water's threshold was fast approaching. He braced himself before slamming into the water. He breached the surface of the water and looked around to get his bearings. His face stung viciously from the impact of the water. He saw two the yokai standing on the cliff's edge watching him. They weren't going to give up so easily. He had to get himself and Akane to safety. He looked around for Akane. He spotted her pink outfit floating in the river, being taken away by the current. He swam with the current to catch up with her. He grabbed her and pulled her to the other side of the river. She wasn't breathing.
"God damn it, Akane," he said. "I'm not going to lose you this way." He pumped her chest and breathed into her mouth, doing all the CPR techniques to get her to start breathing again. He had to hurry because he knew the yokai would be on him if he didn't move from this spot. He pressed against her chest several more times.
Suddenly, she coughed up the water in her lungs. She coughed for a few moments before she started to breath normally. She was disoriented and didn't immediately know where she was.
"Where...?" she started to say but a hand covered her mouth. Her eyes widened from shock but she then realized it was Ryan who was covering her mouth. He held his finger to his mouth to silently tell her to keep quiet. He then slowly motioned to the embankment above them. His Dragon Dagger materialized in his hand. He held it in a defensive manner while he focused on the ground above them. Akane heard the sounds of footsteps nearby. They were close. Very close. The footsteps started moving away from them. Ryan listened intently until he couldn't hear them anymore.
"Come on," he said slinging her arm around his shoulders. "We have to get moving before the yokai find us."
"Why not morph and fight them?" she asked.
"You're in no condition to fight right now and I can't take both of them on and defend you. We have to retreat."
They slowly moved from their hiding spot and out into the open, Ryan being very cautious about their surroundings, wondering if the yokai were really gone.
"We need to find a better place to hide," Ryan said. "We can't make it back to the city in your condition."
The two of them found a cave not far from the river. They ventured deep into the cave before Ryan felt it was safe enough to set up camp. After setting Akane down, he gathered a pile of rocks, an easy task as they were surrounded by them, and put them in a pile. Making a normal fire would be hazardous as it would fill up the cave with smoke since there was no ventilation. He wasn't keen on dying from smoke inhalation. He aimed the blade of his Dragon Dagger at the pile and fired a constant green colored beam at them until they glowed brightly. Akane moved closer to the glowing pile to warm up.
"The wound on your back is still bleeding," Ryan said. "I'm going to have to treat it." Akane dug through her pouch on her belt before producing some bandages. Ryan knelt behind her to examine the wound. "You're gonna have to take off your shirt."
Akane, embarrassed, slowly pulled off her shirt, also using it to cover her front. Ryan cleaned up the wound with his own wet shirt before patching it up. The patches wouldn't last unless he wrapped and that meant wrapping it around the front of her torso.
"Okay," he said. "I dealt with the wound itself but I'll need to wrap it."
"I guess it can't be helped," Akane said. She raised her arms to allow Ryan to wrap her wound. He did his best not to rub up against her breasts but there were several times he misjudged the distance and ended up placing a hand on one of her breasts. She didn't necessarily protest in anger but each time he did it, she inhaled sharply. Each time was followed by a quick apology.
"All done," he said. He started to move but she grabbed him.
"It's okay," she said. "Stay there." He obeyed her wish and kept his position behind her. She leaned back against him. She pulled his arms around her stomach and held them there. He could feel the faint outlines of her abs.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?" he asked.
"For making you take care of me like this."
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "If this is anyone's fault it's those damned yokai that did it. Those bastards got the drop on us. I thought that yokai weren't able to come to Miyajima."
"It would seem that things have changed," Akane said. "This island is sacred and they aren't supposed to be able to come here."
"Once I find those two, I'm going to take them out. I almost lost you. I couldn't let that happen. You mean too much to me." Akane slightly repositioned herself to look at Ryan. He stared back at her. He knew he said too much but he might as well tell her everything now. "I know it feels wrong because we were never supposed to meet and our countries are currently at war with each other but these feelings are maddening. So much so because of what I know will happen. I don't know if I'll ever return to my own time but if not then I want to spend my time here with you. And with what happens in Aug..."
He was cut off by Akane kissing him.
