Etude Op. 10, No. 9 in f minor ("Storm")
Shuhei struggled through the muddy forest with Kai cradled to his chest, blood spurting in warm rivulets from a gash on his leg, a sharp contrast to the icy downpour drenching them both. He tried not to look at the blood. Focus. Just get to town.
"Don't look so grim." Kai whispered, breath ghosting hot on his neck. "It's just a cut."
"You don't know that." Shuhei stumbled and dropped heavily to one knee. Kai gasped at the shock, his head falling back, weak with exhaustion and blood loss.
"No! Stay with me!" He staggered upright, clutching Kai desperately against him. "Just hold on tight. You'll be ok."
He felt Kai nod, faintly. He could make out lights in the distance. Just a little further.
- O -
Author's Notes: Welp, there goes my fluffy rom-com. In my defense, is there anything so grim as this etude in all the world? The relentless rhythm of it! It sounds exactly like the uneven footsteps and gasping breath of one haunted and hunted.
Of all the etudes, No. 9 is among the spottiest in nickname. One random person on the internet said they thought they heard this name once (but wasn't sure), and a couple others said it reminded them of the Prelude in d minor (Op. 28, No. 24) which is sometimes called "The Storm". So I ran with it, or rather, Shuu-chan did. Hah?
Anyway, none of the names are canonical, and Chopin was famously opposed to naming any of them. There are only varying degrees of use. Granted, some names such as "Revolutionary" are so widely-used they might as well be canonical. I've tried to use the most accepted name when there is one. And when there isn't, well. In Chopin's eyes they're all equally bad, so "Storm" is no worse than any other.