Denahi was walking back home when he crossed way with Brock and Cerberus. Brock was looking at him with a serious look and his arms crossed on his chest.
"What?"
"I just saw what happened between you guys"
"Oh really? What a surprise"said Denahi sarcastically
"You like her, don't you?"
"Oh come on Brock! Not you too!"
But the soldier lifted an eyebrow, being the most quiet of the team had given him the ability to analyze psychologically a person by their behaviour.
"I knew you like her, when you tried to justify your denial"
Denahi had no arguments to debate against Brock, he lowered his head as he sighed and said:
"Okay, you're right, I like her. I like her a lot, I admit it. But that doesn't change the fact that she's a crazy mad freak"
"Come with me, I wanna show you something"
Denahi was confused, but he followed the soldier till the plain.
"Wait here"Brock"Hey Davis"
"Brock, what do you need so I have to see your awful hairy face?"
"Pretty funny, listen, um...Do you have access to our records?"
"I always carry some copies with me"
"Do you think I can see Chayo's?"
"Give me a second"
Meanwhile Denahi was waiting for Brock outside the plain with Cerberus.
"Do you think he's gonna take too long?"
Cerberus whined deep like saying you have no idea. The dog then lifted his head, they saw Brock coming out of the plane with a yellow folder on his left hand.
The three of them walked to Bravo's tent, once inside, Brock took his computer. But first he opened the folder.
"What is this?"Denahi
"This is called a record, in here people can know everything about you by the information you put on it. This one is Chayo's"
On that moment Denahi's eyes wide opened.
"Mexico City, September 19th 2017. An earthquake of 7.1 Mw devastated a big part of the City, causing 369 deaths and 228 mortal victims"
"Okay...what does this have to do with Chayo?"
"Her whole family was there that day. Nobody survived"
Denahi's face turned into horror.
Brock showed him a picture of Chayo with her family. Her parents, her three sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunts, her cousins, everyone looked happy. Then Brock showed him the pictures after the earthquake, Denahi was shocked.
"Chayo was broken and undone that day, she was already on DEVGRU, so her team was sent there. Then Green Team was deployed to Afghanistan for supporting the Marine troops"
"There she went through a living hell, lost a leg and her best friend"
"Did she told you about that?"
The boy nodded with concern.
"But that's not all, there's more about her you might ignore"
Brock started to look for her medical diagnosis.
"Do you know what psychotic depression is?"
Denahi shook his head.
"Well, is like a mental sickness, the symptoms are feelings of hopelessness, uselessness, blame, hallucinations and in worst of cases...suicidal thoughts"
Now the young hunter was worried. Brock then opened his computer and showed him a video.
"I hope you're ready for this"
The video showed how many times Chayo tried to suicide. She had hanged herself, cut off her veins, pills, medicine overdose, once she tied herself up and covered her head with a plastic bag, she also had tied her feet to a rock and threw it at a pool.
"So...that's why she didn't show fear when Keldysh pointed her with his weapon? Because she wants to die?"
Brock nodded.
...
Chayo woke up all the sudden by the oxygen missing, she was underwater. It started to rain while she was unconscious and the water level was rising fast. She quickly reached the surface but fell again because of the pain in her ankle. Chayo realized her prosthetic was on the ground, she quickly grabbed it and tried to reach the surface again. She made an effort to help her by supporting on the walls, but it wasn't easy due to her sprained ankle and the fact that the walls were more earth than rock.
"Maybe this is it"she told herself.
Maybe her time had come, so...there was no point of fighting. From all kind of deaths, drowning was one of the slowest and most awful. She already experienced that, but if this would be her destiny...she had no choice but surrender. Chayo let herself sink in the water until she felt her back on the ground.
"The sooner it starts, the sooner will end"
Chayo started to loose her oxygen in purpose, it was an awful process of death. Her body started to react at the missing of oxygen, she started to convulse and loose conscience. Chayo finally thought she'll join her family and Isaac again, until she felt being pulled up. She started to cough as the water was coming out of her body, her glasses had little water drops, but she could see the guy that just saved her from drowning: Denahi. He had an arm wrapped around her waist and was looking at her with worry.
"Are you okay?"he asked her
"What are you doing here?"
"What does it looks like? Saving you"
A thunder was heard as a lightning glow on the sky.
"The water is rising fast"Chayo
"Can you swim?"
"My prosthetic broke on the fall and I sprained my ankle"she said showing her fake leg.
Denahi had an idea.
"Hold on to me"he said offering his back to her.
Chayo wrapped her arms around Denahi's neck and her right leg around his waist. But pain hit her again on her ankle.
"Ah!"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, is just my ankle"
"Okay, Brock! The rope!"
Brock dropped a rope from the top, it didn't reach the water, but it was close enough to grab it.
"Here we go"Denahi, he started to swim to the rope. Once he reached it, he started to climb up the wall with Chayo on his back, as Brock was pulling from the top.
"Spirits you're heavy"
"It's my muscles"
But then happened something really scary, a lightning touched the water. Creating a deadly electrified pool, not to mention that the lightning had almost touch Chayo.
"Jesus! Are you kids okay?!"
"Yes!"they both said looking up.
"Chayo...I'm really sorry about what I told you earlier"
"You think it's the good time for apologizing?"
"If not now then when?"
Chayo looked up and her expression changed.
"Denahi..."
"What?"
"The rope is breaking"
Denahi looked up and confirmed what she said, the rope started to break.
"Shit"
"It won't hold our weight"
"Easy, we're almost there"
"No...you...you must get out of here"
"What?"
"I'm sorry"
Chayo let go off Denahi, she fell but Denahi reached to catch her by the arm.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Let me go"
"What?"
"It's okay"
"No, I won't let you go. Brock! Hurry!"
"I'm working on it!"said Brock who started to have struggles pulling the kids up.
"Chayo listen to me, Brock showed me everything about you. I learned about your family, your best friend, your mental sickness"
"Then you must understand, let me go"
"Chayo I know what it feels loosing someone you love. I lost my parents too as a kid, I almost lost my brothers once and I understand you want to see them again. But you think this is what they would have wanted for you?"
Chayo looked down at the electrified water, then up to Denahi. His eyes were reflecting pain and fear, he started to loose grip from her arm due to the rain.
"Maybe you think you're alone Chayo, but you're not. You have Saya, you have Brock, you have Bravo. And there's also more people out there who needs you, those captured children need you, my village needs you, Bravo needs you, I NEED YOU!"
Chayo saw no lies on him, but then the rope broke and both fell yelling, fortunately Denahi reached to hang on with a rock and caught her prosthetic. Chayo was at few inches from the water, she then saw another rope falling down them.
"You kids still alive?!"asked Brock from above.
"Yes!"answered Denahi"Chayo, I'm gonna swing you to the rope, okay?"
Chayo nodded with determination, Denahi swing her to the rope, first try, Chayo almost reached the rope but her foot hit the wall, making her scream of pain.
"¡Carajo!"
"Try again"
Second try, she supported her foot on a rock, holding on the pain and reached the rope.
"I got it!"
With the rope on hand, she swing back to Denahi.
"You can let go now"she told him.
Denahi let go the prosthetic trusting Chayo was secured. Then he hung onto the rope, Chayo was starting to climb up, when she fell a hard grip on her arm and being lifted. Finally her eyes met with Denahi's, unconsciously her arms wrapped around his neck and her leg around his waist. The boy saw her deeply at the eyes.
"I got you"
Chayo hid her face on his shoulder as Denahi started to climb up until they reached the top.
"Brock! Help me!"
"Come on, are you okay?"
"Yes, help her first"
Brock nodded and took Chayo from the shoulders.
"Careful, she sprained her ankle"
"Got it"
Brock pulled her first and putted her safe, then he went back to Denahi and help him out.
"We must get back to the village, it's getting late and the storm is getting worse"Brock
"Okay, Chayo, now I'll have to do something you won't like"
"If you're gonna carry me at least do it on your shoulders, I'm a soldier, not a princess"
Denahi didn't listen to her, so he picked her up princess style and the three leaded back to the village.
...
The three of them were at the brothers tent, they had change their clothes and were close to a fire.
"So, how's the little damsel in distress?"teased Denahi as he was coming out from a fur curtain drying his hair with a towel.
"Chinga tu madre cabrón"she told him showing her middle finger.
"Language, we have kids here"said Brock looking at Koda and winking an eye to the kid. Then he got closer to Chayo to have a talk.
"Hey kiddo, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Earlier...did you tried to... you know..."
"...Yes, twice"
"Chayo look at my eyes, I know you miss your family and that you think that you're on your own now. But you're not, I don't know why I didn't tell you this before...but...since you came into my life you became a daughter for me and my wife, I see you more than just an apprentice"
Chayo's eyes were shining.
"Well...you also have been a father to me Brock, I started to develop feelings for you, parental feelings precisely. Even some times I'm about to call you dad"
"Well, between us you can call me that if you want to"
"Really?"
"Come here Kiddo"
Both of them shared a hug, Brock kissed the top of her head as he ran his fingers through her hair.