"Over there, Chief wants to speak to you in private." An officer called out to Durandal, gesturing behind them.
Durandal nods, spearing away from the noisy crowd behind her and towards a quieter part of the neighborhood. Street lights lit up the road as she walked, reaching a narrow alleyway situated neatly between two buildings.
Her eyes gaze far into the dark alley, finding it difficult to discern anything. Eventually though, she notices a slight shift at the very edge of the path, identifying it as a human figure.
She instinctively straightens her back as her voice echoes through the dark.
"Chief Inspector."
A few seconds passed by without a response, before the figure began to shift ever so slightly.
"Kaslana."
Their voice hoarse with a deep tone to it, evidently coming from that of a man.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Durandal asked.
"You were the first person at the scene, is that correct?"
"Correct sir."
"Give me a report then."
Durandal nods, reaching into her side pocket as she takes out a small notebook. She swiftly flips through its content, finding the correct page as she voiced.
"Around 5 p.m, I was surveying this neighborhood before noticing a group of people gathering around a convenience store. When I went to check, I saw someone lying on the floor bleeding inside the building. It was already too late by the time I entered the store."
"Cause of death?"
"Judging from the two visible holes at either side of the victim's head and a small handgun held in their hand, most likely gunshot wounds."
Silence filled the atmosphere once more as neither spoke another word. Durandal observes as the Chief slowly pushes himself off the wall he was leaning on.
"Get the team to do an autopsy with the body, but this is likely to be a suicide."
"That is one possible conclusion, sir."
"Hmm?" He hummed, slight surprise evident from his tone.
"We only have surface evidence as of right now, so we can't confirm anything for sure. There's still a few odd details at the crime scene."
"Is that so? What would those things be?"
"I noticed faint smears near the edges of the blood, however I couldn't find any objects nearby that had blood marks on them."
"Hooohh…"
The man voiced, his figure shifting again in the darkness. He seemed to have pulled some kind of box from his pocket as he fiddled with it.
"There's also the fact that this happened at an odd location. If the cause truly was that of suicide, then why would the victim commit such an act in a public store instead of his own house? Either the decision to end their life came very sudden, or something else might have happene-"
CLICK
Sparks flew across the man's face, a bright fire then proceeded to light up his face. Holding a cigarette in his mouth, he lit up the tip as he took a deep long whiff. He then lets out a gulp of smoke from his nostrils and mouth, turning his head to the side to quietly observe Durandal, whose sentence was cut short by his lighter.
"I understand that you want to be conclusive, but don't you think you might be overthinking it a little?"
"What do you mean by that sir?"
"The blood smears, do you know exactly if it was there before or after you entered? For all you know, you might have accidentally placed your foot a little too close to the blood and ended up smearing it a little."
"But sir-"
"As for the time and place of suicide, it could completely be a coincidence that it happened on this day. Besides, who knows what goes on in the mind of someone contemplating death by their own hands."
"..."
Durandal gave no retort, her gaze only narrowing towards the man. Seeing that, he took another whiff of his cig before moving out of the alley, his figure becoming a bit more visible under the dim light.
"I understand that you are acting like this because of what has transpired in this district, especially towards your own-"
"With all due respects, this is not about that Chief Inspector." Durandal cut off the man's words, her voice evidently growing much sharper in tone.
"Is it?" He locks his gaze towards Durandal as his demeanor seemingly shifts. "You went off on your own, disregarding your assigned patrol route and somehow got roped into this. This isn't the first time you have done this over the past month, not to mention you getting half of the entire station involved in your own search without informing me nor any of the higher ups, resulting in a near meltdown of communication between everybody. If your actions are not related to that, then are you saying you directly disobey orders and rack chaos out of spite?"
"I-"
Durandal held her tongue, finding herself unable to retort any of his claims. He was right after all, she had on multiple occasions gone off on her own, sometimes even dragging others around her into a wild goose chase. But until now she never once considered just how much trouble she had ended up causing towards people around her, and even now, being confronted by it she nearly argued back. All because of her own fragile state of mind.
Durandal was ashamed of herself.
"I'm sorry, sir. I won't cause you trouble again." She mutters to him, her head hung low.
The man gave an audible sigh before he walked over to her. Placing a firm hand onto her shoulder, he lightly patted her.
"No, forgive me for what I just said to you. I have a family myself, so I somewhat understand how it must feel like for you to lose a closed one like that. Especially for someone your age."
"..."
"That's why I'm willing to overlook your mistakes, knowing you had no ill intentions." He then grabs onto Durandal's shoulder, his eyes softening as he gently speaks in a fatherly-like voice. "That said, for your own health, take some time off for yourself. Your team is willing to wait for your return."
With that advice, the man then walks away, taking another quick whiff of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground. Slowly his footsteps became less audible to Durandal, before it became nothing more than the muffled noises behind her.
Durandal stood motionless, her eyes trained onto the darkness where the man had once been. Time began to tick by as Durandal stood in utter silence.
Slowly, she began to turn back, taking a few steps forward as she looked down to her feet. In front of her laid the man's cigarette, its tip still burning on the ground. She gave it a long look, her irises devoid of any light, before crushing the cigarette under her boot.
Lifting her foot to find the cig now completely crushed and snuffed out, Durandal then held her gloved hands to her mouth, her eyes listlessly staring at the ground as she huffs.
How pathetic…
"Hey, you! What are you doing here?!"
"Who was even guarding the line? How did you let her slip in!"
The sudden yells of commotion caught Durandal's attention as she turned her head to her side. Not too far from her, a few officers stepped out from the convenience store, their arms extending forward as if dragging something out.
She looked on for a moment before closing her eyes as she gave a sigh. Regaining her composure, she opened them back up as she began walking towards the group.
As she got closer, the officers were finally able to pull something out from the store. Or rather, someone, their arms held tightly by an officer.
"S-so sorry for that! I didn't mean to stumble all the way into a dead man's store!" The woman yelped out to them.
"Then get your butt off the ground and move already lady!"
"Ah, but I prefer being dragged away more. You see I have been walking an awful lot today so it's nice taking a breather!"
The woman said in an overtly cheerful tone, completely unbefitting to the situation she was in. This fact seems to unnerve the officers as they gave her weird looks.
"Y-you-!"
"What seems to be the matter here?"
Durandal interjects, catching the attention of everybody there.
"D-Durandal-sama!" One of them yelled, their eyes widened as they locked their gaze onto her.
"Please, you don't have to call me that." She corrected one of the officers in her division.
"Y-yes ma'am! We were just dragging this woman out of the store. She somehow got past the line and sneaked in."
"Is that so.." Durandal mutters, staring down at the young lady. She was wearing a long gray coat that dragged along the ground, a unique silver color adorned her hair. Her gray eyes stare back at Durandal with a gleam.
…Isn't she…
Durandal's expression shifts as she recognizes who the girl was. The silver-haired youth only gave her a wink as if to confirm her suspicions.
"How ya doin?" She said now with a weird accent, completely in contrast to how she was speaking before.
"…Leave her to me."
"Eh?" The officers all yelped in surprise.
"I'll take care of her. You all should focus on dealing with the crowd."
"R-right! Thank you Durandal-sam-I MEAN MA'AM!" One of them quickly corrected themselves before rushing off, the others then followed suit, dropping the girl to the ground with an audible thud.
"Agh! Hey, treat this girl with sum respect, will ya?!" She yells out towards them to no avail, swinging her arms cartoonishly into the air.
Durandal watched with a bemused expression, finding the girl's actions and sentences to be so overly exaggerated. She quickly pushed away that thought however as she leaned down to her, extending her arm to the girl.
"Are you alrig-"
"Come with me."
"Huh?"
Durandal didn't even have time to process what she just heard before her arm was suddenly swept away by another. Their arm gripping tightly onto Durandal's, the girl began to sprint away from the crowd and the swarm of officers.
"H-Hey! What are you doi-!"
Before she could finish that sentence, the woman took a sharp turn into an alleyway, causing Durandal's feet to stumble as she lost balance. Barely managing to hold her body upright without falling, she decides to keep herself quiet for now as she is dragged away into the darkness.
Durandal pants as she wipes the bead of sweat on her chin with her hand. Her legs spread apart as she took in quick breaths, her eyes gazing up to the person before her.
Standing in a quiet part of the neighborhood, the silver-haired woman turned back to face Durandal, her calm smile reflected under the fluttering street lights.
"Sorry for that, I need to get you somewhere quiet so we can talk," she said apologetically to Durandal.
"You're the girl from the line, may I ask who you are exactly?" Durandal asked, having regained her normal breathing as she took a few steps towards her.
"It's Bronya. Bronya Zaychik."
"What is it that you wanted to talk about, Bronya Zaychik?"
"I need your help on clearing some of the details of this case."
"This case?" Durandal raises her eyebrow at that statement.
"Yeah. I looked through the scene inside the store, but unfortunately the body was already moved by then so I didn't have the full details. I was hoping that you could provide me with the rest of the information-"
"Please stop there."
"Hmm?"
Bronya watches Durandal getting closer to her, eyes narrowing towards the girl.
"You understand that civilians entering a police investigation scene is strictly prohibited, right?"
"Yeah?"
"In spite of knowing that fact, you still entered the store regardless and made a scene. Not only that, but you dragged me all the way out here just to ask for information I simply can not give you?"
"...Oooooh." Bronya waved her hand back and forth to Durandal as she seemed to realize something. "I think you got the wrong idea, I'm not a civilian."
"Are you?"
"Mhmm, I'm actually a private detective." Bronya said with a friendly smile. "The victim was actually a client of mine, we were scheduled to meet sometime around this evening, but things didn't turn out the way I expected as you can see."
"...So you're asking me for information on their death to…"
"To figure out who's responsible for the crime of course. They told me before during one of our phone calls that they suspected somebody was stalking them, and even some of their family members attest to that. And so I agreed to come meet them to discuss more about it. If the culprit is that same stalker, then I figure it's my responsibility to find and catch them as well."
"I see.."
Durandal remarks, breaking her gaze from Bronya as she holds her chin. A few seconds pass as neither speaks another word, before Durandal lifts her head back up to the girl, her eyes softened up.
"I understand your situation now. I apologize for my quick assumption." Durandal leaned her head downwards as she spoke.
"It's alright, I get it." Bronya held her hand out, stopping Durandal from bowing to her. "You had a job to do, it was my fault for not properly introducing myself."
"Even so, I shouldn't have come to such steadfast conclusions. I should have properly asked you before enforcing my own thoughts onto you."
"It's alright! You really don't need to say sorry for that."
"Even so, it's still a matter of having proper respect, something I did not offer to you. And because of that, I could have potentially caused you more trouble than you needed, and even made a scene out of it if I was any more careless. For that, I must apologize."
"Heeehhh…" Bronya hummed, completely taken aback by Durandal's words. Only a moment passed however as she regained her composure, placing her hands onto Durandal's arms as she brought her up towards her.
"Durandal-san."
"Yes?" She responds, surprise etched on her face as she gazes at Bronya's sudden serious demeanor.
"You don't have to be sorry for every single thing you have done. You didn't know, and that's alright. Besides, I'm the last person you should say that to."
"Is that..so?"
"Yeah, so instead let's just focus on solving this case once and for all okay?" Bronya's serious face then melts away, a soft smile replacing it. Durandal found herself slightly lost in that smile, before regaining her composure.
"I'm…afraid that I can't do that."
"Eh?" Bronya's friendly smile then contorts into a confused look, seemingly unable to understand what she meant.
"Even when you are a private detective, I'm still not allowed to share with anyone details of a case unless I am given proper permissions to do so."
"S-seriously?"
"Yes, it's something that all officers know."
"Agh!"
Bronya suddenly yelped, her shoulder slumped down as her body faltered to the floor.
"How was I never taught about this…" she spoke in a disappointed, almost frustrated voice, before letting out a defeated sigh.
"I'm sorry…" Durandal said to the girl, finding her sadness to be understandable. However, wanting to lift up Bronya's spirits a little bit, she lowered herself down to her as she shared one single detail.
"This was a suicide."
"..."
The girl didn't seem to respond, so Durandal continued.
"The victim held a gun in their hands with a single bullet fired out from the chamber. It's suspected that they ended their life using it, the reasons for it however we have yet to discern. Though what you provided to us about the victim's supposed stalker might just help us to find the truth. So I thank you for that."
"...Do you believe that?"
"Huh?" Durandal replied, caught off guard by the girl's question.
"Do you believe that it was a suicide?" Bronya repeated the question with more clarity, her face still not visible from Durandal's perspective.
Durandal parted her lips, but no words ever left her mouth. Instead, hesitation set into her heart as she held her tongue, only keeping her gaze towards Bronya.
"What do you mean by that?" She finally forced herself to ask.
Bronya slowly lifts herself up from the ground, her head raised back up to stare back at Durandal. There was a distinct sharpness visible in her gaze, her mouth moving to spell out each precise word.
"Was the position of the gun somewhere like this?" She raises a hand towards the side of her head, imitating the shape of a gun.
"That's…" Durandal hesitates before resuming, "...it's uncertain how the shot was fired."
"Then you should check the victim's wrists first off. Try to pay attention to where the gunshot residue covers it."
"What would be the significance of that?"
"Depending on what the answer may be, we can fully discern whether this was truly a suicide or someone deliberately set it up to look like one."
"That's…" Durandal's voice trails off, entranced by the girl's aura. A girl whose personality and demeanor constantly shifted from one to the next, and yet somehow a sense of absolute confidence was always present in her every word and action. As if everything she did was intentional and precise.
"And also," Bronya turns to the side, her hand waving in front of her as she makes out a square shape, "something was missing inside one of the drawers near the cashier's desk where the victim's body laid. Either somebody took it or one of the officers collected it. You should check for it once you get the chance."
"...Why are you helping me?"
"Hmm?" Bronya tilts her head towards Durandal, whose expression was filled with uncertainty.
"Even though I had already denied you information about your own client's case, you're still going out of your way to help me, knowing that it wouldn't benefit you in any way and that it might just be more trouble than it's worth. Why is that?"
Durandal asked, sounding more like she was pleading than asking. Holding a hand up to her chest, she waited with bated breaths for the girl's answer.
Bronya stared at her for a moment, before giving her a smile.
"Because you helped me."
"...Helped you?"
"When I was stuck inside the crowd, I tripped and nearly hurt myself. But you caught me just before that, and saved me from a painful fall. For that…I uh, want to help you back in return."
Bronya's voice slightly breaks at the last sentence, rubbing her head sheepishly. The absolute confidence she had been displaying up until now suddenly broke, and instead it was replaced by an image of just a girl, whose desire simply was that to help others.
At least, that was what Durandal saw in her in that brief moment.
"...So that's why you're helping me. Not because of losing your client?"
"Ah! O-of course not! Wait no, that's not right either…Aaaah, it's both!" She muttered erratically, turning on her own words as if she was caught between a rock and a hard place.
This complete lack of self-assurance in her own answer finally gave rise to a smile on Durandal's face, before she began to burst out in laughter, surprising Bronya.
"You are an odd person, Bronya Zaychik," Durandal remarks through her laughter.
"You aren't any less odder than me, miss Durandal Kaslana," Bronya retorts, a grin creeping up on her face.
"Perhaps you are right. In either case, thank you." She then bowed to the girl, not for forgiveness, but rather gratefulness.
"It's no problem," Bronya said with a smile.
"Though how would I contact you?"
"Oh," the girl then pulls out a small sheet of paper before handing it towards Durandal, "this is my number. You can call me once you check up on everything back at your station."
"Mmm, though you do remember that I still can't tell you that right?"
"Oh come on, just this once?" Bronya clasped her hands together as she begged.
"Your once was this already."
"Then two? Come oooon, can't we solve this together?"
"Hmmm..alright, just for this time, I'll notify you when I figure something out." Durandal said with a smile. She then turned away as she walked back to the other side of the neighborhood.
"I'll be seeing you then, Bronya."
"Mmm, see you too."
Bronya's exaggerated waving was the last thing Durandal sees, before turning her gaze towards the distant lights of red and blue, a sense of assurance and relief flowed through her.
Thank you for believing in me, Bronya Zaychik.
Watching as the golden-haired woman disappeared into the night, Bronya's waving slowly ceased, before dropping completely down to her side. She then lets out a sigh, a relief expression on her face.
"Well, it was a bit hastily built together. Needed to improvise a bit near the end there," Bronya mutters as she thought back to most of the answers that she gave to Durandal. About her being a private detective, about the client and a few other things, all carefully constructed to be believable as possible, "but I'll still consider that a decent performance nonetheless."
She gave an approving smile to herself before walking away to the side of the road as she headed back to where she had parked her motorcycle.
Durandal Kaslana…not quite who I was expecting. I feel a bit guilty about deceiving her like this, but if I want to solve this case, this is the only way.
She pulls out a small note in her coat pocket, a short description of what she found in the story written on the page. At the end of it, she wrote down "missing object" inside one of the drawers, a question mark next to the description.
Let's hope that this is in the right hands.
Bronya thought to herself before shuffling the paper away, quickening her pace. Wandering in this district has made her evidently homesick by now.
Kiana eyelids part slightly, her pupils peering into nothing but darkness. Her lips dry as she holds them open, letting out a short breath, a guff of white air pour out as she did.
She began nudging parts of her body, her senses slowly coming back to her. She felt the softness of the surface, and the icky air that wrapped around her body. It weaves through every crevice of her flesh, sending shivers down her back as her lips tremble from the cold.
Kiana lets out a shaky breath as she instinctively pulls her arms closer to her body, before feeling a tug at her wrists. She trails her gaze along her arms up to her head, finding both her hands tied together in a bind. She pulled her hands slightly, the bind tightly constricting any of her movements. She wasn't going to get out of this by herself anytime soon.
Her jaw trembled as she finds it harder to breathe now, the cold becoming more unbearable by the second. Kiana closes her mouth, her toes twirling inwards as she bit down on her lips. Sinking her head deeper, shutting her eyes as she tries to ignore the painful shivers shooting up her neck.
She sucks her lips inwards, forcing herself to focus on the dryness of it. Her tongue was so rough and coarse, her throat equally as dehydrated, making every saliva swallowed almost painful to her. And yet, she focused on that feeling, enduring the pain of her insides rather than the outside.
So…thirsty…
CLACK
Kiana's eyes snap open, her attention now placed far into the darkness. She could hear an audible creaking before it abruptly stops, a single click echo afterwards. Holding her breath, she racked her ears to pick up anything else, a constant ringing reverberated in her ears.
Footsteps began to echo around her, drowning out the ringing as it paths towards Kiana. Each reverberating step louder than the last until they were right next to her, before everything returned to silence.
Then she heard something flicker, before a sudden burst of light blinded her eyes. Kiana squinted, letting her eyes slowly adjust to the change in lighting, but no time was given for her before she felt something gripping onto her chin.
Unlike the cold that surrounded her, her chin felt warm from the touch as her head was lifted higher. Something then pressed onto her frail lips, nudging them open gently. Fingers? Kiana thought as she widened her eyelids, somewhat adjusted to the light as she looked at whatever was in front for the first time.
She wished she hadn't.
Kiana's eyes locked onto Raiden Mei, the woman's dark purple irises staring right back at her. A smile etched into her lips as she pressed down a glass into Kiana's mouth, its liquid contents pouring down into her throat.
Her reaction slightly delayed from her body's weakened state, Kiana immediately wiggled her head away, trying to take the glass out from her mouth. Her fear set in as her mind began to race over what she was being forced to drink.
"Please don't move around so much." Mei remarks towards her, pulling the glass away to give her a better view of it. "I figured that you must be thirsty after sleeping all day, so I brought you some water."
She smiles at Kiana, bringing the glass closer.
"Though I understand why you would be taken by surprise by my actions, so I'm sorry for that."
Kiana felt the glass hitting her lips again, her mouth held tightly. She had no reason to trust what the woman was saying was true, that she was just drinking water. But even when her rationale told her that, her urges were too strong. She tasted the liquid, and now her throat was screaming at her to let it taste it again.
So with great reluctance, Kiana slowly parted her lips, letting the water pour down her throat. Mei kept her gaze at her, a small smile still ever present. It made her skin crawl just from looking at it, memories began to surge into her head before she immediately pushed them away, not wanting to confront them.
She instead focused on something else, breaking away from Mei's eyes as she looked to the side. It was only then did she notice something plastered onto the woman's cheek, a dark crimson mark stretching down to her neck. Kiana's mind paused for a moment before she realized what it looked like.
Blood?
Before she could fully discern what exactly that mark was, she had already drunk everything from the glass as Mei put away the object. She then moves up towards Kiana, reaching her hand over her head.
"Here," the woman promptly removes the bind from Kiana's wrists, letting her arms fall down onto the soft bed, "better?"
Kiana said nothing, only turning her head away from her. Every second she spent looking at the woman's figure the more she wanted to puke, finding herself sick to her stomach.
"I'll be in the bathroom for a bit, so for now this should help warm you up." She spoke before pulling a blanket over Kiana's body before walking away. Hearing an audible clack of a door opening and closing, Kiana lets out a long shaky breath.
She began hugging tightly to the blanket, finding its warmth comforting to her shivering skin. But even with that comfort, it couldn't shake away the sickness that brewed inside her as she laid there, her body too exhausted and weak to move anywhere.
Placing a hand onto her head, Kiana lets out a trembling sigh, her eyes blinking tiredly. Even though she had supposedly slept for the entire day, she didn't recover any energy at all, her mind still spinning if she ever so lets it wander.
How long…would I be trapped here?
She thought to herself, finding herself dreading the answer. She wasn't sure if anybody was out searching for her, for all she knows they might have concluded that she simply ran away from home and ended the search before it even began.
God, she prayed it wasn't the latter.
Yet even as she did, a part of her mind was echoing. Deep in the darkest pits of her brain, a thought lingered in her mind, tucking itself into every thought she subsequently had, before it became too much to simply ignore anymore. It was one that she was so utterly afraid of confronting.
The thought that what was happening to her was simply justified. That her living aimlessly until now has resulted in retribution in the form of this. To be caged and kept alive purely for someone's monstrous desires, a toy to be played with. It was a terrible thought.
Yet it was one that she couldn't bring herself to disagree with.
Kiana's lips thinned as she instinctively gripped onto her forearm. Shutting her eyes as she tries fruitlessly to push that thought away, only finding more trouble as other memories begin surging into her head.
Memories of her slacking off school, of her spending countless nights staying up just to indulge in her games, of her negligence of her own life and decisions. Everything came back one after the other, like a twisted and broken melody repeating over and over until Kiana would rather go deaf than to listen to it anymore.
Slowly, her memories began to twist, its images reflecting events from more recently. Memories of her being kidnapped, of being caged into this place for days on end, and finally, of what happened yesterday.
No…
Kiana grips onto her arm tighter, feeling her heart beating faster. She began to remember the feeling of that woman's hand pressing against her bare skin, how it moved and trails down onto her lower bottom like a hungry predator, wanting to devour her whole.
She felt utterly sick to her stomach, finding the urge to puke rising violently in her throat, yet there was nothing in her stomach to let out. Only a sinking feeling that mauled at her insides as she recalled these horrible memories.
It was horrible. It was painful. It was disgusting.
She remembers how utterly out of control she felt. How her body trembled and shivers like a malfunctioned doll, her limbs jittery and erratic as she moaned out from the woman's touch.
Moaned?
That thought passed by her like a flash, before it became the only thing she could think of. Why was she moaning? In that situation, one can't have been anything but terrified and scared out of their minds, and yet here Kiana was, experiencing that very thing and instead of being scared, she was moaning.
Kiana's eyes were wide open, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She didn't want to believe her own memories, she wanted them so badly to just be her misremembering. But she couldn't get the image out of her head, the image of her pressing herself against that woman's palm as she rode out her orgasm, her mind in the clouds before passing out from the overwhelming sensation. That image replayed in her head over and over until everything else no longer exists except for that.
It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true
It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true
It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true It isn't true it isn't true-
"You. Want. Me~"
Those very words echo through her mind, a simple but complete rebuttal to what Kiana tries to convince herself. Words that came from the very woman that had inflicted this pleasure onto her, shattering what little assurance she had left.
CLACK
The bathroom door springs open as Mei walks out. Her naked body gleamed under the soft lights emanating from behind her. Her glistening hair sat firmly on her shoulders, droplets of water still dripping from the tip.
Using the towel she had grabbed from the hanger inside the bathroom, Mei began drying her hair with it, turning her gaze over to Kiana.
The soft smile she held on her face immediately disappears upon seeing the girl, instead replaced with a wide-eyed shock.
"Kiana?!"
Mei sprinted towards the girl's side, dropping her towel to the floor as she sat down next to Kiana. Her hand reached to grab onto the girl's shoulder whose eyes were frozen wide as her erratic breaking filled the air.
Kiana didn't seem to register Mei's presence whatsoever as she forced out every breath, her body trembling with each one.
Mei held her gaze onto the girl, her hands slightly shaking. She takes in a deep breath, calming down her rapidly beating heart. She closes her eyes for a moment, deciding on her next course of action before reopening them, a look of assurance now present.
She gently cups her hands over Kiana's cheek before pulling her head towards hers. Slowly resting her forehead onto Kianas, keeping her breathing steady as she held her there.
Minutes passed by as the two stayed like that. Eventually Kiana's breathing began to slow, each one less erratic than before, until it returned to a steady pace. The girl then lets out a long drawn out breath, almost like a relief from the torture she had just endured.
Her eyes slightly blurry as she blinks, Kiana finally notices someone's presence, feeling her forehead press onto another. Yet even when she knew who it was, she felt an odd calmness overtaking what little nervousness that surged within her.
Eventually Mei's head lifted from hers as her eyes peer into Kianas.
"Are you alright?" Mei asked, though her voice came out cracked and shaky in its tone.
Kiana gave a long look at the woman, unable to find herself to say anything back. For what she was staring at was not the face of her kidnapper, nor the smiles of a monster that wanted nothing more than to devour her very body. No, what she was seeing was something she had never expected nor thought to even be possible.
What she saw on Mei's face was that of genuine worry, of fear that someone dear to her was in pain, of the stress and frustration of being unable to do more than what she had done, but beyond all of that…
It was the face of someone who wholeheartedly cared for Kiana's well-being.
"...I'm..alright," Kiana answered almost subconsciously.
Mei only nodded to her answer, a relieved smile began to spread across her lips. Tears seemed to have welled up against the edge of her eyelids as she pulled herself closer to Kiana, wrapping her arms against her.
"I'm glad then..so very glad.." she mumbles, her voice mixed with sadness and happiness.
Kiana didn't push her away, instead she laid there, feeling the warm embrace of the woman. The sickness she felt from seeing Mei was no longer there anymore, that feeling now replaced with an inexplicable sense of calmness.
She should be shocked by this sudden change, or at least somewhat surprised. But she didn't, Kiana simply accepted it as a matter of course. For why, however, she couldn't possibly imagine. She was still too tired to think that deep anyways.
"I'm..tired," Kiana said to Mei.
Mei promptly pulls herself away from Kiana as she wipes away the tears condensed around her eyes. She gave a smiling nod to the girl's words before standing up, exposing her bare body to Kiana, whose eyes widened before quickly turning away.
Picking up the towel that she had dropped, Mei then places it onto the table before turning off the lamp. She then walked towards the other side of the bed, sliding herself under the blanket.
Kiana lightly jumped from the sudden decline of the soft sheet, finding herself nervously gulping. Mei's face crept into her vision as the two were only slightly separated.
"Do you still feel cold, Kiana-chan?" Mei asked her suddenly.
"N-no, I'm okay.." Kiana answered, her eyes darting away from Meis. She found it hard to stare at Mei not because she was scared of looking at her, but rather because she couldn't bring herself to.
"...Hmmm."
Kiana heard Mei's hum as she thought about asking her what she was thinking. But before she could make a decision, she felt a hand holding onto her arm before pulling her further into the bed. She yelped as she found herself pressing against Mei's body, her face now just inches away from touching hers.
"...Um.." Kiana utter, finding herself lightly sweating as she tries to recollect her thoughts.
"Something the matter?" Mei respondes innocently, a playful smile on her face.
"Isn't this..too close?" Kiana forced out her words.
"Mmm, but this is warmer isn't it~?" Mei then wraps her arms around Kiana, pulling them somehow even closer.
Kiana held her breath, feeling Mei's light breathing just barely glazing her skin. She should be scared, terrified even at being this close. And yet, she could barely muster any of that, only finding herself a bit taken aback by Mei's assertiveness and the tiredness setting into her every limb.
Eventually, Kiana lets out a tired sigh, closing her eyes as she rests her head close to Mei.
"Whatever…" Kiana mumbles, her body and mind already more than exhausted as she begins to drift away.
Mei only smiles at her response, inching her head just a bit closer to Kiana.
"Goodnight, Kiana-chan~"
"...Night."
With that final exchange, Kiana Kaslana then fell into a deep slumber. For the first time however, she felt an odd sense of assurance that tonight, she will finally be able to sleep well.
AN: Only a one month delayed update? What's this? Am I finally becoming a more consistent writer?! Hah!...hopefully.
Anyhow, hope you all found this one enjoyable. I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure with how to characterize Dudu in a way that makes sense for an AU version of herself while still retaining her core traits, but I think? I might just barely done it right. I think anyways. As for Mei, a lot of the ideas I had for her character has changed drastically, to the point that her initial character versus what I have now is almost completely different. Though I would like to think that this version of her would be able to offer a more interesting take on a character such as this, and perhaps might even be something more. Who knows really, but I am excited to keep writing.
And with that, I'll see you all in the next chapter!
P.S: Rocky Mountain Oysters is a thing and I hate the fact that I know it is a thing now.