Wounds that lead me to you
Yae stares at her reflection in the mirror, tracing delicately the large scar adorning part of her stomach. As she does it, she can't help but notice the reddish color marring the perfect skin of her forearm, making her frown upon trying to remember about its existence the previous night before she went to sleep.
But sadly, she can't remember it which makes Yae sigh heavily as she brings her arm up to her eyes to scrutinize the fresh wound on it as well as the small cuts and light scratches covering her hand.
Her fingertips touch them ever slightly, hissing at the pain that comes with it, before she sighs once again and opens the drawer of her bathroom's vanity to pull out of it the first-aid kit she has inside and take the things she'll need to heal the wounds.
She then shuts the toilet lid and sits on it to drench a gauze in hydrogen peroxide, sucking a deep breath as she carefully begins to apply it on the large wound, already feeling it stinging her.
The pink haired woman breathes shakily yet keeps cleaning and disinfecting the wound carefully and thoroughly, hoping that even though it may also be bothering to her soulmate, it could help them in some way.
Once she's satisfied, she takes a dressing and puts it on the wound to then wrap a bandage around her arm to protect it, making sure it's not too tight.
Yae stares at her ministrations for a brief moment, already used to the appearance of new wounds on her skin hoping this time her soulmate isn't severely wounded, before she puts the first-aid kit back into the drawer of her vanity and throws the used items to the trash.
She then strolls to her bedroom to get changed into her shrine-maiden uniform ready to start her day at the shrine.
Ever since ancient times, it has been known about the existence of soulmates and the resulting revelation of themselves in different forms. Some people would meet theirs after finding themselves connected together by a red string, others would get a distinctive mark related to their soulmates, or even got to see the world in color once they'd meet their soulmates after years of seeing it in monochrome.
Yae, for her part, would get wounds, scars or even bruises marring her skin in return once her soulmate got themselves injured, feeling their pain as hers. And even though as time goes by and Yae gets used to her perfect skin being marred by new and fresh wounds and scars, she can't help but wonder and worry about her soulmate, wondering if they're okay, sometimes wondering if they're even alive…
Yae can't help but shake her head upon that nasty thought, before she plasters the best smile she can muster and leaves the quietness of her chambers to meet the shrine maidens that greet her on her way to the Sacred Sakura tree where she bows in respect and places her hands together, closing her eyes to pray for her soulmate's well-begin.
- Please, protect them.
She whispers, hearing the tree rustling as Sakura petals flutter around her as if her pray has been heard and answered. She reopens her eyes, smiling softly at the centenarian tree, before she goes back to the shrine to accomplish her duties.
Even though Yae has known about the existence of her soulmate for years through the appearance of small scratches, cuts and bruises, only minor injuries at first, before larger and more worrying injuries marred the skin all over her body, the pink haired woman was never once able to find out who her soulmate truly was.
She has always had the suspicion that her soulmate was perhaps part of the military forces, or God willing they'd be part of the military forces and not a delinquent or something worst. Yet Yae could never found out about their identity, not even when they were severally injured on their stomach.
As hard as she has tried to forget about that fateful day, she can't stop remembering it: how one moment she was walking around happily while eating some fried tofu, when suddenly an unbearable pain made her fall onto her knees holding her stomach out of breath.
Yae still can reminisce the feeling of her blood staining her hands as the smell of iron replaced the pleasant smell of the Sakura petals fluttering in the air.
She barely had time to cry out for help, when everything turned black and she fainted, leaving a pool of blood on the sacred ground.
She can't remember what happened after that, only that she was quickly taken to the greatest healer in Inazuma to get her life saved. And even with the gravity of her injury and situation, not matter how hard she tried to investigate for any other person with their life hanging in a thread and in the same state as she was, Yae was never able to neither hear about it nor stumble with her soulmate.
Yae shakes her head once again trying to forget about those past times to focus back on the present, on helping the shrine maidens with their duties, listening to the visitors' problems in the hope she can alleviate their burdens with comforting words, before night falls and she retreats to her chambers.
As she's preparing herself something for dinner, a sharp pain shots through her shoulder causing her to stumble and hit one of the glasses on the counter, making it fall and shatter into pieces.
Yae stifles a scream as she grabs her shoulder hard, gritting her teeth as a wave of nausea hits her and tears start spilling down her eyes without her realizing of it due to the severity of the pain inflicted.
With a strength she doesn't know she possesses and shaky legs, she manages to support her weight against the nearest wall to then begin to stumble towards the bathroom, quickly taking off the loose and comfortable shirt she is using to look at her shoulder in the mirror of her vanity. But much to her surprise, she finds nothing on it.
Her fingers touch her shoulder carefully, seeking for any small wound or scar, her eyes trained to find any trace of an upcoming bruise, but even flinching in pain, her skin is nothing but perfect.
Yae furrows her brow confused at this, before she gasps audibly.
- It can't be... Please, let them be safe.
Please, let them be alive.
She thinks as she quickly but carefully puts her shirt back on to then leave her chambers in a hurry, running through Inazuma's streets as fast as her legs allow her in a search for her soulmate hoping they're alive or that she can at least get in time to save them.
- Where are you…
She pants out of breath as she keeps running through the streets, feeling the pain in her shoulder weakening before it starts to grow stronger, making her stumble as she passes by a certain alley, and before it ends up becoming almost unbearable as she goes through it to find herself surrounded by the start of the forest.
She quickly finds an interstice in a bush and goes through it to find a woman crouched and resting against a tree, holding what seems to be her shoulder tightly. As Yae takes a step closer, she realizes it isn't her shoulder what she's holding tightly, but one of her dark and majestic black unfolded wings.
Yae's gasp quickly alerts the other woman of the presence of somebody else with her, and the pink haired woman soon finds a bow and an arrow aiming at her, causing her to raise her hands in surrender.
- Don't fret general Kujou, I'm not here to hurt you.
Yae says as she notices the general frowning before lowering her bow, wincing with the movement.
- I… apologize… Lady Guuji.
Sara apologizes with difficulty, almost breathless, while she observes the priestess taking tentative steps to where she's resting.
- You're hurt. Please, let me assist you.
Yae pleads as she crouches in front of her, extending her hand to touch her wounded wing when Sara grunts, making her retreat her hand quickly.
- I'm… okay.
Sara says stubbornly, and Yae can only snort at her.
- You're obviously not okay, general. Please, stop being stubborn and let me take a look at your wing.
Yae asks her once again, seeing the hard yet hesitant gaze in Sara's eyes, before she exhales.
- If you insist... Lady Guuji.
Sara accepts reluctantly, before Yae places a hand over her wounded wing, noticing the blood quickly staining it. She gulps feeling nauseous upon the amount of blood, yet keeps touching Sara's wing carefully, feeling it to know how deep the wound is.
- It's nothing… but an unimportant… wound, Lady Guuji.
- I beg to differ, general. This is nothing but important.
Yae scolds the general hard yet with a trace of fondness laced in her voice much different to her usual slit smug tone, and Sara can't help but feel something strange in the pit of her stomach, nodding at the pink haired woman.
She can only stare at Yae before she grimaces, causing Yae to retreat her hand of the general's wounded wing afraid to have caused her more pain.
- Sorry.
- It's okay.
Sara tries to give Yae a reassuring smile that comes out more like a grimace than anything else, before grunting, more blood gushing out of her wound.
- General, I need to take you home to heal you.
- L-Lady Guuji, it's not... necessary… – Sara struggles to say, before she notices Yae glaring at her.
- Stop being so stubborn and let me help you. And please, stop calling me Lady Guuji.
Sara opens her mouth to say something else, before she closes it and sighs heavily upon Yae's hard look.
- Okay, Lad- – Sara clams up as Yae glares at her again – Y-Yae.
She stutters slightly embarrassed, seeing Yae grinning, before she allows her to circle her waist with one of her arms while the other one places her uninjured arm around her shoulders, careful to not hurt her unfolded wings. Yae then helps her to stand back up on her feet as she supports her weight, and like that, they begin to walk slowly back to the pink haired woman's chambers to heal the general, luckily going unseen by anybody else around the shrine grounds.
- Please, take a seat.
Yae commands Sara to sit on her bed as she goes to the bathroom to get the first-aid kit. Once she comes back with it, she sits behind the other woman to heal her wounded wing, helping the general to take off her haori, before she pulls Sara's top off to begin disinfecting her wound, hearing her wincing in pain.
- Am I hurting you? – Yae asks ever softly, trying to be gentle with the other woman.
- No, it's okay – Sara answers quietly, toughing the pain as Yae carefully keeps healing her.
The pink haired woman can't help but let her hand roam over her dark feathers, forgetting about healing them as she caresses them. She gets trapped, fascinated by their soft touch, before a whimper pulls her out of her reverie and obliges her to go back to clean and disinfect the wound on the general's wing carefully to then bandage it.
As she finishes, she can't help but notice the tiny scars covering the general's back, letting her fingers touch them, and before she realizes, she's leaning into Sara's back to place her lips over each scar she comes across, kissing them softly.
Sara clears her throat awkardly, making the priestess jump and look away blushing slightly embarrassed at her behavior, before she grabs the first-aid kit to take it back to the bathroom.
- You should stay here tonight, Sara. You're too weak to go anywhere – she murmurs once she returns, seeing Sara looking at her surprised – I mean, I won't take well that all the work I put into healing you so you wouldn't bleed out to death in my arms will go to waste.
Yae ends up saying, hearing the general snorting at the second part, before she grimaces and gives her a tentative soft smile.
- You're right, it wouldn't be thoughtful of me to let all your effort go to waste. Thank you for it, Yae.
She thanks her in a bare whisper and Yae can't help but blush again, before her gaze stops at the general's stomach upon noticing the large scar covering part of it. She doesn't notice how she slowly approaches her to let her hand wander over it, tracing it delicately, before Sara grabs her wrist gently to stop her.
- I-it's just an old scar – Sara mutters uneasy, and Yae then notices the scar on her forearm.
- You…
Yae whispers as she shows Sara the identical large scar on her own stomach, seeing Sara staring at it in disbelief. She then notices the hard look on her face, setting her jaw so tight that it feels even painful to look at it.
- I'm truly sorry – Sara mutters apologetically, looking away ashamed.
- Why are you apologizing for?
Yae asks her as she grabs her chin gently to oblige her to look back at her, seeing a conflicted glint flashing in her golden eyes.
- Because I've been hurting you all this time.
Sara says seriously, and Yae can only sigh heavily, sitting on the bed to cup the general's cheek.
- It's okay, it wasn't your intention Sara – she says as her thumb caresses the other woman's cheek.
- But it's not-
Yae then cuts Sara off with a kiss, feeling her tensing up against her, before she reciprocates the kiss timidly. The pink haired woman can only grin at this as she deepens it, pulling away once air becomes a necessity for the both of them.
- It's okay.
- But-
Yae once again cuts Sara's protest by placing a finger on her lips, seeing her looking at it cross-eyed, and she can't help but giggle at how cute she looks like that, before she captures her lips once again, becoming addicted to her taste.
- It's really okay, Sara. I'm just happy you're safe and alive.
Yae whispers tenderly as she rests her forehead against Sara's, caressing the general's cheek with her thumb, before the other woman takes her hand to leave a gentle kiss on it, a coy smile breaking over her stoic features.
Sara then brings Yae's arm to her lips and kisses the scar covering her forearm, seeing it fading until there's barely a faint mark marring her perfect skin as if it had never been there.
Yae can only smile at her tenderness, feeling her heart fluttering at the gesture, before she leaves a fleeting kiss on the general's wings, careful to not cause her any pain as well as hoping it helps her and speeds up the healing process.
- I'm glad you're the one who is my soulmate – Yae confesses quietly as she looks into Sara's mesmerizing golden eyes, seeing a happy glint in them now.
- Me too.
Sara whispers against Yae's lips, before she shortens their negligible distance to capture them in a tender kiss.
Once the kiss comes to an end, Yae begins to stand up to leave the room and let the general rest, when Sara grabs her gently by the wrist once again.
- Wait.
Yae stops, looking at the general in bed to see her giving her a soft, almost bashful smile as a light blush dusts her cheeks, making her look adorable.
- Please stay.
The general asks her softly, and she can't help but grin mischievously.
- Ara~ isn't a bit too soon for that, general? – Yae teases her, winking at her to see now a furious blush tinting Sara's cheeks.
- W-what!? No! T-that's not what I meant! I- I sincerely apologize if it seemed like that!
Sara stutters completely embarrassed and wide-eyed, hearing Yae laughing wholeheartedly in return.
- I know, Sara. I was merely teasing you. You're truly adorable – Yae says as she pecks the blushing general's lips – I'll be honored to stay with you tonight. Just please rest, you need it.
She ends up saying as she lies beside her in bed, trying to not hurt the other woman further. She then sees Sara smiling at her, before she places her arm over her waist in a protective yet respectful way, making her smile and feel safe as she strokes it, tracing the faint scar on the general's forearm.
- Thank you for everything, Yae. Sweet dreams.
Sara whispers softly as her eyes flutter close quickly falling asleep, and Yae can only watch her sleep, tracing light caresses on her skin before she slowly falls asleep with a timid and content smile playing on her lips.
- Sweet dreams, my general...