STAY BY MY SIDE
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Disclaimer : Ryuhei Tamura
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Genre (s) : Suspense and Romance
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Warning : Just like before
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A/N : I should start studying for the exam. But, here I am...updating more of the chapter. And another long one, too. Oh well, hope you like it.
Beta'ed by Alatum Laminis
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DON'T LIKE DON'T READ
If you want to flame it, go ahead.
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"Then I'll go out for a bit." Natsume rose from the chair and headed to the mahogany door. "Who knows what danger Oga could get into if h—" But then he suddenly froze. Furuichi raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.
"Natsume, what's the matter?" The white haired man tilted his head to the side slightly before he realized why his friend was suddenly speechless.
There, in front of their room, Hilda stood with a silver tray full of cookies and two cups of coffee. They knew from her stupefied expression that Hilda overheard their conversation and was now lost in her own thoughts, taking in the influx of information with wide eyes and pressed lips.
KRAAAK BRAK
They flinched, finally snapping out from the awkward silence after a loud crack—it was the sound of a falling tree—resounding in every nook of Hilda's not-to-big house. Before they know it, Hilda shoved the tray onto Natsume's grasp and stormed out from the house using the backdoor, heading to the source of the loud noise; the forest.
"Crud! Wait a minute, Hilda-san!" Natsume raced after her, leaving the tray of food and drinks on the floor and Furuichi, who sighed in frustation. Now, he didn't have any choice but to tell them the whole story.
Her body just moved on its own. She felt like a puppet on a string being controlled by a puppeteer. She ran and ran, ignoring the thunderous heaving of her lungs. Everything sounded diluted, even the sound of her breathing and quick footsteps. The only clear sounds she could hear were the scrunching of leaves under her foot and the horribly slow, irregular thumping of her heart. Her mind raced, full of thoughts of a certain brunette man.
Why? What...the hell she was doing? Sprinting like a mad man, thinking about that...that man? The same man that came, no, barging in and ruining her peaceful life? That, Oga Tatsumi?! Why should she care this much about a mere stranger into her small world after she heard that he is in danger? She should have known, though not like Furuichi did, that Oga's job would always put him in danger! So, why?!
But, here she was. Standing like a fool (Hilda could just imagine Oga snorting and agreeing with her statement just now), watching the commotion that unfolded right in front of her eyes; she could see some of the trees cracked in weird shapes, like the shape of a human, or split into two that, she believed, was because of a katana that a dark blue haired man held. She snapped out of her bewilderment after Oga lost and was dragged mercilessly to the opposite end of the forest, still not aware of the blonde's presence. And before she could stop herself, she spoke his name, albeit a little hoarsely.
"Oga?"
And Hilda slapped her forehead inwardly when their attention turned towards her, cursing her poor fate as the girl in braids scrutinized her being from head to toe. Oh, they didn't need to tell her, she knew it right away.
That she was seriously in a hell lot of trouble.
'Help!' Someone's screaming, before it stopped in an abrupt halt after a loud 'BANG' came into his hearing.
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"Spare me!" With a flick of his wrist, a knife was in a black figure's grasp and the victim's throat was opened like rain being expelled from the heavens, only much messier.
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"Mama!" A little girl merely laid on the ground like a broken doll, screaming and crying as she watched an old lady being stabbed by another black figure.
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"B-Boss..." Someone stomped his boot onto the man in suit's hand, successfully giving each and every twitching bone a good cracking. He howled in agony, watching the assaulter swing his weapon onto his unguarded neck.
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"O-Oga..." Ah, this voice. He knew it very well. The voice of someone very dear to him. "You...have to run..."
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"RUN BEFORE HE CAME TO KILL YOU!"
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Oga let out a loud gasp as he felt his stomach do a flip-flop in guilt. The memories kept playing like a fragments of a movie, all chopped up and sewn back together again, hideously distorted, but clearer than the double-edged sword as they rushed by, circling lazily, as if they enjoyed the brunette's torment. The stabbing, shooting, screaming, all of the bad sensations came back in a fury. His forehead was drenched with sweat, and his heart rate pounded out to a dangerous rhythm that made Oga as dizzy as the rest of his body felt. He was feeling light-headed and his brain felt hot and fuzzy. It was too much! It all caused him to arch in discomfort, groaning as the weight came on full force.
Make it stop.
His head was pounding, pounding so badly that it feels like someone was banging a mallet on his skull. He gritted his teeth and scrunched his nose, willing the pain to stop.
Make it stop.
Oga winced as his wounded body twinged painfully. His heart was pounding so fast, it hurt. Every muscle in his body tensied as the falling sensation dragged at his stomach.
Please, make it stop.
"Should I kill her?" Naga unsheathed his rapier from his black belt. His eyes narrowed, glinting with malice as Hilda flinched under his glare.
Agiel's orange orbs turned to the side, observing the brunette. His breath had become more rigid and blood was dripping profusely onto the fallen leaves beneath him. She let out a sigh, before her face changed drastically and her tone turned into one full of superiority. "Do not play around and finish it quickly."
A wide, toothy smirk adorned his face, "Aye, aye sir." And he dashed toward the woman, with his weapon shining under the sun.
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But before Naga could reach his target, a sudden dark intent made him shiver. He crossed his arms unconsciously, before a strong punch could reach his face. Immediately, the man was thrown away thanks to the strength of an invisible attack. Naga gritted out, his face twitching as he tried to regain his composure and ready his fighting stance again.
"Hora, hora...If you want to do something fun, you should let me in~" Some of the spectators narrowed their eyes in distaste, while Oga and Hilda showed pure confusion with the sudden twist of events. Meanwhile, Natsume finally caught up and leaned his shoulder on the trunk as he tried to steady his erratic heartbeat, and he too, gasped in shock after seeing the late hero that decided to came and save the day.
Wearing a tucked in collared shirt and baggy trousers, he stood menacingly under the spotlight. His reddish-orange hair was pushed back out of his face swayed as an evening breeze blew slightly, tried to enlighten the tensed mood but to no avail. His extremely well built body, a scar on the right side of his forehead and a playful but wicked grin didn't erase the fact that all of his aura screamed mess-with-me-and-you'll-know-hell.
"You!" Hecadoth ground his teeth together to stop the anger that was rising in his stomach. He loathed this man, more than that man who put a mental curse under their boss's nose. Especially that childish smirk, it made Hecadoth's jaw set in irritation.
"Toujo, I see you're safe." The said man, who Natsume just called Toujo, could hear leaves crunching under the pressure of someone's foot, and although his gaze still locked onto the enemies in front of him, he got ready for any attack that could come at anytime and from anywhere.
"Natsume, what is the meaning of this?" Sensing the tense atmosphere that didn't show any sign of letting up, he knew that he was missing out on something incredibly important, especially when he saw Oga, the man that they were searching for all this time, being held hostage.
But Natsume didn't say anything. Instead, his honey colored eyes stared solemnly into Toujo's black orbs, conveying the message without saying anything. They stayed like that for a couple of seconds, before the bulky man whipped his head to look at the blonde who still stood like a statue behind them. "Hey, woman!" Hilda woke up from her stupor. "You're not part of this freaking problem, right? Just go away so you don't slow us down!"
Hilda cringed at the harsh tone Toujou used, while Natsume nudged his side, warning him to stay polite to the young mother who had saved Furuichi and him. Naga took the chance and lunged at the woman one more time, like a hungry eagle after his prey.
Suddenly all of the saliva in Oga's mouth seemed to disappear, as he finally realized what dire circumstances they were in right now, leaving his throat as dry as an empty riverbed. He felt bereft and dusty and wind-blown. Hilda! He...had to help her.
He had to save her!
When he tried to lift up his arm, an electrifying shock crawled up his limb in the blink of an eye, burning him and making him hiss in pain. But he didn't care. He didn't care! Oga, with a bloodcurdling scream erupting from his mouth, mustered his strength, and his left elbow crashed into Hecadoth's jaw and sent him flying to the opposite side of the clearing.
"Wha-"
Before they could react any further, Oga leaped forward—stumbling a bit—and punched Naga's left cheek very hard, throwing the man off guard before he crashed to the nearby trunk. The brunette spun quickly and grabbed Hilda's wrist, dragging her away from the crossfire. Moving his injured body like this, it felt like a large snake was tightly coiled around his ribs, so tightly that every time he let out a breath, it constricted a bit more. But as long as he could reach that place...as long as Hilda was safe...
"So..." When he was sure that they were both already gone as far as possible, Natsume pulled out Oga's knife from the trunk and twirled it easily, like what he held wasn't dangerous. Agiel cursed herself for their carelessness, leaving anything that could be used as a weapon and giving their opponents an advantage. "Shall we begin?" Natsume teased.
Naga winced as he stood up shakily while Toujo relaxed his posture and prepared his fighting stance and weapon; a pair of black gloves adorned with iron thorns were on his hands. He couldn't resist an evil cackle as he felt his adrenaline pumping. "This will be fun~"
Ducking under numerous branches and skipping past huge slippery boulders and piles of soaked leaves, Hilda placed all of her effort not to trip or fall on anything along the way. She avoided every puddle, every uproot and every rock as she tried to keep her pace with Oga. who was still dragging her all the way to the deepest of the forest.
"O-oi, Oga! Slow down! You're hurting my wrist!"
But the man didn't slow down even a bit, let alone say anything to the furious young mother. However, he loosened his grip slightly, indicating that he heard what Hilda said. It irked her to not get any real response, but she tried to keep her composure. After she relaxed herself, she realized that she could feel Oga's erratic pulse from his fingers, somehow warm and cold at the same time. It resounded clearly inside her ears like the beat of a fragile drum.
After running around aimlessly for an hour—or so Hilda thought—she heard Oga's relieved sigh that escaped from his quivering lips upon spotting an old-looking cottage. Why a cottage was currently situated amidst a maze-looking forest did enter her mind though. "Maybe a hunter live here?" she hummed.
Oga let his feet shuffle faster, not minding that his shoes were being stained by muddy dirt puddles in every step he takes, while Hilda tried her best not to dirty her clothes but failed miserably. She groaned, babbling something along the lines of 'I have to do more laundry' or 'Damn! Forget it'.
The old cottage smelled of mildew. The wooden floor was worn and the walls were lined with blue wallpaper, albeit completely stained in a weird dark color. In the opposite room, she located two big rifles hanging horizontally on the upside wall, supporting Hilda's opinion that someone had lived in this place beforehand. The lack of furniture made the place look lonelier and more huge than it should have been. The poor lighting of the place, a few small light bulbs, made the environment feel even colder.
Realizing that Oga was still holding her wrist, Hilda's eyebrows furrowed and she finally snapped, "Oi, sewer-rat! Release me, now!"
And Oga listened this time. The brunette turned around, his silky, black bangs covering his orbs. His jaw tightened, forming a fine line on his sun-kissed face. Then, suddenly his arm pulled Hilda's body closer, embracing her into a secure and warm hug.
"O-Oga, what are you..." Oga's sudden action startled Hilda. The young mother's eyes widened to a degree and a small blush appeared on her cheeks. She began to sputter inaudible nonsense when the man enveloped her petite body like his life depended on it. Flipping her head to the side, her blush got bigger while her hand flailed frantically. She tried to talk to the stiff brunette and maybe coax him to release his hug when the situation turned more awkward and embarrassing as the time went by, but Oga beat her to it before she could say or protest about anything.
"..anks."
"Huh?"
Hilda could felt something wet drop onto her shoulder. Was Oga...crying? "Thank God..." His voice sounded remorseful, but she was able to catch a bit of relief in it. "Thank God you're safe, Hilda. You're safe. I didn't know what to do. I...I..."
"I don't want to lose someone dear to me anymore!"
And a large pang hit Hilda in the heart.
This feeling—Hilda held the hem of his clothes tightly. It was the same. It was just like at that time; when she met him for the first time, when he smiled so broadly, so sincerely at her, when he asked her out on date, when they had first started to go out and when he proposed to her, when he decided that he would stay by her side forever and ever. It was the same feeling that told her that everything was going to be absolutely alright and that she didn't have to worry about a single thing.
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It hurt.
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No, she wasn't prepared. She wasn't prepared for those feelings. Not again. She didn't know how to control the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to sink her again, after she had long forgotten about it. She felt glad, frustrated, confused, angered, mortified, excited, sad, everything in an insignificant span of time. And it hurt.
Just like at that time.
But...
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In the middle of a small, old cottage, the only clear sound she could hear clearly was a melodic pitter-patter of the rain that soon turned into a heavy downpour, cooling the temperature down. And also maybe her speedy heartbeat (since when did it start raining? She didn't know. She was too engrossed in the emotions to normalize her erratic heartbeat, it made her forget about her surroundings momentarily). Slowly but surely, she raised her hands, grabbing Oga's clothes as she buried her face on his broad chest. The image that came to her mind when he smelled his clothes was of a peaceful sky. A vast sky with the sun irradiated the earth and was accompanied by some white clouds. She could also faintly smell grass and leaves, which made her imagine of a wide field full of trees. Although she always said that he smelled like a rat, she really didn't mind it. Actually, she liked it (but she would never, ever tell Oga about this).How he would come home drenched in sweat, his hair full of leaves. How he looked bathed under the sun's rays.
And his eyes. Those black, lifeless orbs looked so bored all the time, but she could see his bit of contentment and...and happiness in the small, monotone life he lived right now. Just like him. Yes, just like her dear husband.
But...was it okay, though?
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Was it okay for me to fall in love again?
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"Oga..." Hilda patted Oga's back lightly, demanding his attention. But the brunette didn't bother to raise his head, and that was when Hilda realized something was wrong. Oga's breath became labored, and his hands on her trembled slightly. A second after that, he lost his footing and his body slumped to the ground, dragging Hilda with him.
"O-Oga? Hey!" She violently shook him, but stopped when she felt something cold and sticky on her hand. It smelled like burnt iron. Then it hit her, as she remembered what kind of predicament Oga faced a couple of hours before he dragged her here; he fought with three strangers. She rolled up his shirt—Oga winced—revealing his bandages that were now sporting a new, fresh red liquid. He was hurt. Badly.
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"I don't want to lose someone dear to me anymore!"
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Her mind suddenly went blank, watching as the liquid poured out, staining their clothes and the wooden floor. No. No. Nononononononononono! This...this was her fault. This is my fault! If she hadn't eavesdropped on Furuichi and Natsume's conversation that morning, if she hadn't gone to the forest, if the enemies (she knew that those strangers were enemies) hadn't spotted her, if she had just run away like that man—Toujou, she believed—told her to, this would have never happened. Oga had been injured, but he prioritized her safety first and ignored his well-being, his life!
"W-Wait. I-I can stop the bleeding." She tore her clothes off—she didn't care about it anymore. Oga's blood already stained her clothes and it would be a pain in the ass to wash it either way. She got rid of Oga's previous bandage and changed it with the new makeshift one. But it didn't help that much as the blood still sputtered out from his re-opened wound (or was it new? She didn't care!). "A-And now...w-what should I do?"
Damn it! She should have asked Alaindelon how to treat someone with a grave injury like this!
"Hey, you! What are you doing in my house?"
And Hilda's head whipped in the direction of the voice, looking at the looming shadow that stood in front of her. The stranger bored his dangerous, black orbs into her horrified, green eyes.
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***TBC***
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Best Regards
Akabane Kazama