Accelerando
The silence in the forest was broken quickly, with each snapping twig or rustling leaf underfoot, with each ragged breath.
She had not stopped running and she would not stop, not until she saw-
The small light from the cottage peeked at her from behind a mosaic of scalloped leaves.
...
Neru had become very good at waiting. She despised it-but she'd adapted out of necessity.
She'd always been the least patient, however, when it came to waiting for Haku to return, and this time she was driven nearly to distraction.
She was making Rin horribly anxious-and she didn't even care. She couldn't get Haku out of her mind if she wanted to.
If anything were to happen to Haku, and she hadn't been using her every thought to pray for her safety-
Neru would never forgive herself.
Was she really well enough to travel so soon after collapsing like she had? Even if she were, there was no telling what things were like in town. The forest was deafeningly silent, as always: was it only the calm before the storm?
Was she imagining things, or did she smell smoke in the winds from the direction of town?
Was Haku there, in the middle of everything-
-all over again?
"I'm not waiting anymore."
Rin jolted upright at the sudden declaration, where she'd lain prostrate in prayer at the table, watching as Neru grabbed her cloak from their pile of laundry and threw it around her shoulders, tugging up the hood.
"N-Neru? Wh-What are you doing?"
"I need to find her. I have to know she's okay."
Rin bit her lower lip.
"What if-you're recognized?"
"Dark is coming. And even if they do recognize me, I have better reasons to run than they do. I don't care-" Neru ground out bluntly, "-but I can't wait when she might need me." Neru yanked open the heavy oak door. It felt light as paper in her hand, her pulse loud in her ears. She paused in the doorway to grab the kitchen knife off of the counter and tilted her chin back towards Rin.
"Stay here. Don't open the door for anyone unless you hear me, okay? If you see anyone coming, take Josephine and get as far away as you can-"
"No." Rin's expression contorted with horror at the sight of the knife, "No, Neru! I can't let y-!"
"You will promise me! And that's final!" Neru shouted back.
"Neru-!"
"I know how you feel-" Neru started carefully, leveling her gaze with Rin's, "-and...I know that...you know how I feel, too. Why I can't just wait."
"...I know."
...
Haku tripped over a cracked log and into the final clearing, wheezing to catch her breath.
Almost there...
Her weary footsteps slowed to an unsure walk before she froze altogether.
The door was open, and a hooded figure stood in the light that bathed the entrance.
And in their hand, gleaming bright and dark at once-
-A knife.
...
There was a pregnant pause, in which Neru's grip on the knife handle tightened.
"...I'm not going to use this unless I have to. Believe me, I hope I won't."
Rin's eyes widened again.
"Neru-"
"And there's no point trying to convince me otherwise-"
"Neru-!"
Rin wasn't looking at her: she was looking past her.
...
Haku moved, willed by the solitary need to stop whatever was going to happen. She felt dreamlike, barely conscious as she charged forward with a desperate scream, heart pounding in her ribcage as she grasped for the hand bearing the knife.
Josephine.
Frightened by the sudden movement, she reared up and slammed her hoof against Haku's shoulder with a wailing whinny, knocking her into the robed figure and slamming the two of them to the ground. Her world was reeling: pain compounded by exhaustion and terror, and dazedly she managed to right herself.
Was this real? She'd pinned the robed figure to the ground, the knife dropping and clattering across the floor, their hood had fallen back-
"N-Neru?!" Haku choked out, looking between her and Rin with exhausted relief.
Neru was safe. They were safe. They were safe. Thank god.
Her grip faltered and Neru's eyes never left hers as she sat up and pulled her in close, hands on either side of her cheeks, fingers threading back into her hair, steadying her. In the beat of clarity it brought her, she could feel Neru's eyes on her trembling lips.
"I'm right here-"
Her body buzzed like it had been entirely numb and was only just beginning to awaken again. She could feel Neru's arms around her. Her voice in her ear. She was there. She was here.
Haku sagged against her, scarcely able to breathe, eyelids heavy.
"N-Neru-I..." Before she could say another word, she was drawn tighter into the embrace.
In a voice that was loud enough only for Haku to hear, Neru spoke.
"...I know."
...
A/N: I was honestly starting to worry that I'd never write another author's note for this story again. To those of you that have been waiting three years for this chapter, give me a holler if you're still reading, because I do plan to make it up to you. I am so sorry for the long wait, but the good news is I know what I'm doing with the future chapters. I promise this story isn't dead yet. I'm planning on finishing it. Thank you again to everyone who's been waiting so long.