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The weeks following the introduction of Pulchra dormiens into Runa Tempest's diet were quite… intense. As Laplace predicted, her character was quite unstable. Yuuki had to constantly remind himself that all of this was worth it, that only fourteen days had passed and that his dream was at hand.
And, to make matters worse, the land of monsters had returned in full force. The spells they used were becoming more and more powerful and effective. This caused the brunette to have to stay awake whole nights while he repelled each and every contact attempt.
Kagurazaka was almost fully convinced that Jura Tempest had the help of a powerful Majin or, perhaps, a Demon Lord. This could be a major setback or even the complete downfall of his plans. Luckily for him, he had his own monsters to counter them.
He didn't want to owe the Moderate Harlequin Alliance too much or any favors, though. With Hinata Sakaguchi there was nothing to do, she had saved his butt so many times… that he wasn't sure if he could make it up to her in this life. Blessed be her goodness.
Yuuki, after another night without being able to sleep, was slumped on the couch while he was holding a cup with something similar to coffee. He yawned loudly before taking a sip of the bitter liquid, four attempts today. He felt tired, in a bad mood and his energy reserves were low; it would not be a good day.
It was only half an hour before he had to be present at the Free Guild headquarters, for an important meeting with another Grand Master from another distant association. He definitely didn't feel prepared, he was sure that his eye bags could compete with L from Death note.
He looked at his clock again before putting the mug on the sink to clean later. Silently he made his way into the bedroom, grabbing the jacket of his uniform and buttoning it. For a moment he climbed onto the bed, placing a kiss on Runa's forehead while he made sure to reinforce the spell that protected her soul from unwanted intrusions.
"Time to go, I'll be back at the usual time". Yuuki smiled as he watched as the woman shifted to snuggle up where he had been watching her, enjoying the residual warmth from him "I love you". With a calmer mind, he headed out in the direction of the large Free Guild building.
A few seconds later, before the sun made its appearance, a dark figure leapt through the open window without practically making noise. Cold eyes swept the room, trying to orient themselves so as not to waste a precious second.
If his observations didn't fail, Rimuru should continue to sleep and He wouldn't return until hours later. With light steps he headed towards where his leader was sleeping peacefully -Rimuru-sama-. The figure knelt in respect before rising again and placing a hand on the slightly bulging chest.
"In a little while, you will be free and return to us". A slight purple glow came from his palm as he slowly weakened the spells that bound the soul of his lord. He felt like vomiting because of what that humans were doing to his lord and savior. Ten minutes later, when the first seal had vanished into nothingness and there were only two more left, the figure had to retreat at top speed for the unwanted visit.
He clicked his tongue as he watched, from the shadows, the black-haired woman who didn't leave Rimuru's side. Sighing he put two fingers to his forehead, contacting Jura Tempest "I have only been able to withdraw one, although it should be enough to contact Rimuru-sama".
Meanwhile, in the living room of that house, Hinata Sakaguchi slowly toured the entire house, sword in hand. She could sense it, very vaguely, the presence of someone else. Someone who shouldn't be here. Finding no intruder she made her sword disappear, wondering whether she should inform Yuuki about this or not. She would have to wait to see if more incidents occurred.
Runa Tempest had been hopping between dreaming of nothing, having what seemed to be nightmares, and the repetitive blurry image whose brain insisted on reproducing. She was currently sleeping, although she was frowning as she snuggled deeper into the sheets.
Runa opened her golden eyes to find the same blurry landscape that she saw almost every night. Although this time something felt different, as if it were more real.
She curiously looked around her taking a hesitant step forward to discover, to her surprise, that she seemed to be stepping on real grass "Uh". Looking up, she could see the landscape clearing up.
She was in the middle of a thick forest, completely alone and without any trace of the people she was used to. "Y… Yuuki, Hinata? Hello?". She squeezed the front of her shirt, feeling very scared but calm at the same time. It was as if she already knew this place.
Runa screeched as she saw a huge wolf come out of nowhere. A monster! And she had nothing to defend herself with… she didn't want to die like this! She hadn't even made it up to Yuuki. She tried to hold her ground as she felt tears of panic rise from her eyes.
"Rimuru-sama!". Spoke the huge animal. Causing Runa to look around her in confusion. Was there someone else with them? "Are you okay?". She nervously smiled when she noticed the wolf's tail wagging forcefully. Did that mean that the wolf wasn't hostile? She couldn't be sure.
"I… um… My name is Runa, I think you have the wrong person". She said meekly, backing up to lean against the bark of a tree "I don't know you ...".
The canine let out a low growl before shaking his head. "We don't time. My name is Ranga, you are the leader of Jura Tempest and they are t… -. The wolf couldn't finish the sentence before everything abruptly blurred.
Runa abruptly awake, sitting up in bed as she gasped heavily, her forehead beaded with beads of sweat. She absentmindedly noticed that Hinata was next to her, her beautiful features twisted into a strange grimace.
Runa put her hand to her chest as she tried to control her breathing. What had that been? Who was Ranga? She, leader of Jura Tempest? She had never heard of that town or city. And what was the last thing the wolf was going to say to her? She was feeling very confused.
She was suddenly drawn to an alien chest, with strong arms wrapped around her small shoulders "It was just a bad dream, nothing more. When I arrived you were stirring hard. You scared me".
Runa was unable or she didn't want to hear the obvious lie in Hinata's words. Were they tricking on her? And if ... Shaking her head, she reciprocated her hug, resting her chin on the other woman's shoulder.
After several seconds they separated, with the smallest yawning and shuddering slightly from the breeze that came from the window "I... I don't want to sleep anymore. Let's have breakfast, please? I think Yuuki has left money somewhere... ".
"I invite you, I just got paid. I am going to wait for you in the living room, change and meet me". Hinata smiled slightly as she gave her privacy, walking away and sitting on one of the cushions. She sighed deeply, knowing that she would have to inform Yuuki. Good thing she had arrived on time or the consequences would have been catastrophic.
Runa approached the window, watching as something hid in the shadows of the alley below, so she quickly closed it and slid down the wall. What was that? It was being a very strange morning. Breathing in and out, she drew the curtains before going over to her dresser to choose the clothes she would wear that cold morning.
Half an hour later Runa came out, tripping over her own feet as she combed her fingers through her hair. She was wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt alongside black cotton pants, all paired with a red jacket and boots.
"Come here". Runa followed Hinata's order, while the latter tied her hair in a high ponytail "That's it, so you'll look like you has combed". Hinata laughed lightly at the offended eyes that greeted her. Taking her arm they went out into the street in search of some cafeteria.
Luckily for both of them, it wasn't that early in the morning and they were able to find an open store. Although it was quite out of the way and small, at least they hoped it wasn't expensive and the food was decent. They studied the menu carefully, then ended up ordering almost the same things they used to eat in their regular cafeteria.
Runa was feeling a lot more relaxed, with the incident almost entirely forgotten. She sure had an overly creative imagination, with her being a man and the leader of a country of monsters. She chuckled as she took the first bite of her breakfast.
After paying and enjoying the first rays of sunshine, Hinata looked at her best friend straight ahead. "Do you want to go home? Are you tired?". She knew, well enough, how unaccustomed Runa was to getting up early.
"Hum... not really. I have more energy than usual". Runa stretched out on her seat, her arms above her head. "I don't know this area. Shall we take a ride?".
"Of course. I will act as a guide, don't leave my side, this part of the city isn't the best". Hinata offered her arm as if it were an ancient knight.
The youngest couldn't help chuckling as she accepted her offer. "Yes, Mom." Don't worry, I won't accept candy from strangers". She scoffed as they began to walk aimlessly.
Sakaguchi gave her an unimpressed look as they walked down a somewhat dirty and narrow street. "You are a magnet for trouble, I wouldn't be surprised if something happened to you. you're going to make Yuuki's hair turn gray".
"And what does he have to do with all this? If he hardly pays attention to me. If it were not for you, I would always be alone". Runa grumbled to herself, hard kicking a stone in the way. With some satisfaction she saw the rock fly into a nearby alley, she was definitely not weak.
"Ouch!". A hoarse voice was heard from the shadows causing both women to become alert, with Hinata stepping forward and putting a hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Rimuru-sama".He whispered as the cap of his cape slid down his hair, revealing his features. Dark blue hair, sky eyes, brown skin, and most importantly, a white horn in the middle of his forehead.
"Damn". Regardless of whether the man was in the middle of a meeting or not, Sakaguchi immediately sent a distress message to Yuuki using a spell for him to come as quickly as he could.
Hinata didn't realize that she when she unsheathe, but she was already advancing to cut off the head of that intruder. Although, to her bad luck, he vanished just as the Kagurazaka made an appearance.
The man appeared, immediately prepared for battle. Although not seeing anything strange and Runa on the ground holding her own head, he immediately went to her "Runa-chan, what happ...?".
"Don't touch me!". Runa slapped Yuuki away, re-tangling her fingers in the blue strands and tugging. Her breathing was fast and uneven. "You're tricking me! You are all deceiving me!"-. The girl kept yelling incoherencies, occasionally muttering Souei's name, until she simply fainted.
Yuuki just picked her up in his arms as he started walking to the Free Guild building. They should definitely start preparations and get rid of the huge problem that was Jura Tempest.
Hinata, meanwhile, was contacting to the knights of the Western Church of Saints to hunt down and kill the Kijin. They couldn't afford another mistake like that.