Duty-Bound: Chapter 11
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Even though she had utterly no idea in which direction she was heading, she continued to race on. When her feet were too tired to run anymore, she finally stopped. As her tears flowed down her face, she repressed any oncoming sobs. Until the first drop of rain collided with her smooth skin, she had not noticed the dark clouds forming in the sky. As she looked up at the sky with blurry eyes, the rain finally decided to pour down. Closing her eyes, she welcomed the cold rain.
"How did you manage to find me, Natsume?" she asked, still in his arms.
"I can hear your voice clearly when you are here."
She broke the embrace and looked into his crimson eyes. "What if it's raining? Will you still find me?"
He didn't look away from her gaze. "Do you trust me?"
Intently holding her gaze on him, she answered, "I do."
He gave her a small smile. "Then trust me to find you, too."
Rain always washed away her pain, the pain she received from her Lady Mother when she was young and when she was shunned by everyone before her Lady Mother decided to disown her. As the onslaught of memories hit her full force, she tightly clenched her fists together and remembered her hatred for almost all of them. A sad smile settled upon her face when she opened her eyes. By then, the rain had washed away her tears. When a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist from behind, she gasped. Even in the pouring rain, she could hear the words that he gently whispered into her ear. Hearing those words was enough to spur the washed-away tears again. Leaning on his chest, she closed her eyes. "I love you, too, Natsume…"