~ Ayano's Pov ~
.
.
.
Before I even knew it, almost everything in my vision all slowed down, to a massive degree... I could see it all clearly, the roof, it was falling.
'My, perception...' No. I couldn't waste my time figuring out what the hell I'm going through right now.
My arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the floor before she could even turn her head...
For a split second, Chisaki's eyes locked with mine, just for that single fraction of a second.
Then—
SHA-BOOM!!!!!!
The Floor underneath me feet gave way in an explosion.
But, we weren't there anymore.
I launched us backward, being as low and fast as possible, just ahead of the collapse itself. We-I had hit the ground hard, rolling over once—me first, her tucked tight against my chest—and I twisted to shield her as debris rained down behind us...
'Dang it...' I could feel piece of something sharp caught partly in the back of my hand—I felt the annoying sting of it, warm blood slicking my palm—but I kept moving until we were out of the fall zone.
...
...
...
All the built-up dust fell in slow-motion flakes around us... My chest heaved once, twice. Chisaki was staring up at me, her breath shallow, pupils wide. She was afraid.
"Y-You… moved." she whispered to me.
"Before it even fell. You knew."
I nodded, slowly, pushing myself up enough to let her breathe properly. I scratched the back of my head, "I heard it start to give."
I looked back toward the wreckage, the old house half-swallowed in complete ruin now.
"Plus, I wasn't gonna wait to see where it landed." I laughed it off.
She was still staring at me, like I wasn't even real. It was like her mind hadn't really caught up to the fact that, we were both even alive right now. That we weren't buried under some old splintered beams and a few tons of roof... Speaking of, maybe I should have caught it. I'm sure it wouldn't way more than 60 tons...
I shook my head, sitting up fully this time, checking her over—dust on her sleeves, and a small scratch on her shoulder. Nothing too serious. Nothing broken either. That was, good.
Me on the other hand? My palm was pretty much bleeding profusely where that piece of wood had sliced through my skin, plus, my ribs were aching from slamming into the floor first—but otherwise? I was mostly fine.
Nothing an hour of rest won't heal. The real pain was gonna be in actually hiding it.
I sighed, "Are you okay..?" I asked quietly, brushing some of the dust from her hair.
Chisaki blinked at me, slowly. "You…" Her voice was barely audible when she said it. "You, caught me before it even fell..."
I nodded once... Not sure how I'll even go about this. "I had to."
"How...? You... you weren't near me. Y-You were—" She glanced toward where I had been standing, way across the room. "How did you even get to me that quickly?"
I, didn't answer.
Couldn't, really... What was I supposed to even say here? Oh, I just moved at the speed of sound, and threw us both across and outside the room before gravity finished its job?
Instead, I looked down at my hand, flexing it once. The blood still dripped slowly off my wrist, but I didn't really care. Not right now at least...
"I… couldn't just. let you get hurt."
Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her expression softened—something flickering behind her eyes. Then, slowly, she suddenly reached for my injured hand.
She looked completely downtrodden, "Oh, no... You're, bleeding..."
I shook my head "It's nothing," I said. "Really."
But she held it anyway. Gently. Her fingers felt warm against mine... Still, I could tell she was trembling, even if it was slight. She must have realized that she could have lost her life earlier. Hell, what if I didn't even find this place?
A low creak echoed from somewhere behind the wreckage, followed by hurried footsteps crunching through loose debris. His eyes saw, us... Her.
"Ch-Chisaki-sama!!"
His figure burst through the rest of the dust cloud left—one of the guards in black, eyes wild with extreme panic. His chest rose and fell while he scanned the devastation around too, then locked eyes back on her.
"Are you hurt!!?" he shouted, dropping to one knee beside her, not even noticing me at first. "I—I heard something collapse, we thought the whole structure went down—!"
Chisaki blinked, startled back into the present. Her hand slipped gently from mine, as if reality was reclaiming her piece by piece. The guard continued to hover near her, his concerned gaze switching between us...
"I'm fine, really." Chisaki said, sitting up and brushing dust off her shoulders. She stood carefully, looking at the guard with calm assurance. "Ayano-san helped me. He—he moved fast enough, and got me out of the way before the ceiling collapsed..."
She hid my secret? I'd have to thank her for that one later... Still, I've realized that her voice was oddly steady too, but there was something in the way she spoke, something almost, protective... The guard was still eyeing us both, his posture stiff, probably unsure on how to proceed.
"Did you injure yourself, or…?" the guard asked, clearly wanting to ensure she was in good health...
Chisaki quickly shook her head. "No, I told you I'm fine... Just a little, shaken. My wounds aren't important; my benefactor has been injured, please tend to him, quickly." When she finished her sentence, her voice was stern.
It was, weird. I hadn't expected her to sound so... commanding.
I even saw the guard hesitating for a split second, his eyes were constantly switching between Chisaki and myself, before his attention finally settled on my hand. He must have finally seen the blood dripping down my wrist, because his face tightened with some concern.
"R-Right away, Chisaki-sama." he said, before swiftly pulling out a small medical kit from his belt.
I barely even noticed the pain anymore; my focus was still on Chisaki. Her calmness in the middle of all this was... unsettling, almost. It was as if she'd been through things like this before... I knew she was scared, but her reaction wasn't exactly normal, but that might be because of shock.
Or, she's just the type of person that might deal with stress silently.
She watched the guard work on my hand. I could feel her eyes flickering over me, likely still trying to process what had just happened. I personally didn't want to explain this whole thing to her... I still wanted to keep my strength hidden away as much as possible.
"Can you stand?" The guard suddenly asked me.
I nodded, "Ah yeah, I can stand."
"That's good, then follow me." He then turned, "Chisaki-sama, I think it would be best if you came back with me."
Chisaki gave a curt nod, "Alright..."
For now, I thought it'd be best to just follow along...
_________________________________________________________
~ Chisaki's Pov. 15 minutes later... ~
.
.
.
"…We almost lost you, Chisaki!"
My mother's voice echoed through the room before I even sat down. She was pacing—angry, stressed, scared—all of it wrapped up in the same tone. Her footsteps were quick and loud on the polished floor, and the guards by the door stood like statues, clearly trying not to breathe too loud.
I didn't say anything at first. Just sat there, dust still clinging to my clothes, that scratch on my arm starting to sting now that things had finally slowed down.
"What were you thinking!?" she went on. "You don't just wander into an unstable building! Alone! Without telling anyone!"
"I didn't think it was that bad…" I mumbled, keeping my eyes low...
But now that I saw her expression. I could clearly tell that it wasn't the answer she wanted.
"It doesn't matter what you thought!" Her voice cracked, and suddenly I realized—she wasn't just mad. She was scared. "You could've been killed in there. You should've been killed."
That last part had hit me differently. She didn't mean it in a harsh way, but hearing it out loud made everything I'd been trying to ignore hit all at once. The ceiling really did almost crush me. I could've actually died.
But, I didn't. Because, of Ayano.
I still can't believe it... He was across the room—and then he just, wasn't. He was just there. All I remember was being outside with his arms wrapped around me... Protecting me. It was like he was moving like time didn't even apply to him...
"You're all I have left," she added softly, and it made me look up. She was standing still now, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "I.. I can't lose you, too."
"I'm fine, mother." I said quietly.
"No, you're not," she snapped back. "Not after something like that."
Then, the question I knew was coming.
"…Who is he?"
"A-Ayano?" I asked, even though I knew she didn't mean his name.
"Yes. That boy. The one who somehow moved fast enough to dodge a collapsing roof with you in his arms... He didn't hadn't just reacted—he knew. I saw it. That's not something a normal person does, Chisaki..."
...
What?
...
I felt my entire world crashing down... How... How did she know that?
"You've been, watching me? How long... How long have you been watching me for?"
She didn't hesitate.
"There are surveillance systems all over the territory... You know that. But what you don't know is that the old town district—where you snuck off to today—has been under direct monitoring since you were seven."
"S-Seven...?" I repeated, barely able to breathe. "That was, years ago." Does that mean I've never even had a true sense of privacy my entire life...? Was my own safe haven was just another place for her to monitor me? Is, this some kind of cruel joke?
I looked her dead in the eyes, and they didn't waver even a bit, I could tell she was serious... "And I've seen everything since. All of it."
I staggered back a step like she'd physically slapped me. "You-You've been spying on my entire life?"
"I've been protecting it." she said, coldly. "You are the heir to this place. I'm sorry, but you don't get to have a 'normal' life, Chisaki... Not anymore. Not since the day you were born."
I felt my chest tighten, like the air had been sucked out of the room... My voice was shaking now, but I didn't care. "So what? You've just been sitting there, watching from your little throne while I walked around like some kind of puppet?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Please... Don't be dramatic."
"Don't be—" I cut myself off, my breath hitching in anger. "You watched me nearly die today. And instead of asking if I was okay, you interrogate me like I'm the one who did something wrong?!"
She stepped forward, her face was stoic, and hardened. "I saw you get saved by someone who shouldn't have been able to do what he did! I'm not just your mother, Chisaki—I'm also the ruler of this territory, the people! If someone with power-strength like that gets close to you, and I don't ask questions, I've failed at both my roles!"
...
I stared at her, feeling like I didn't even know who I was speaking to anymore...
"He... He saved me..." I said quietly. "And you're treating him like-like, he's some kind of threat."
"Because he is one," she replied, ice in her voice... "Whether he knows it or not."
That was the last straw. I turned on my heel, walking straight for the door. But just before I stepped out, I looked back over my shoulder.
"If Ayano's a threat, then maybe I'd rather take my chances with him… than stay trapped under your surveillance forever." Then I left, slamming the door behind me.
...
__________________________________________________________
~ Ayano's Pov ~
.
.
.
I've been following this guard since the beginning, and we've past the beach a few minutes ago...
I couldn't take this anymore, "Hey excuse me... But, do you mind telling me where you're even taking me?"
The guy didn't answer me at first—he just kept walking ahead, that same stiff posture, all business.
I clenched my jaw... Fighting the building frustration I had. My hand still stung from earlier, but I could feel it already starting to knit itself back together beneath the bandage... It was, annoying. Not the pain, just the damn silence. The fact that he hadn't said anything since dragging me out of that wrecked house.
So. I stopped walking.
Now I was losing my patience, "I asked you a question," I said, louder now. "You drag me out of a good time with my friends, patch up my hand, and then what? Start leading me back into the facility like it's no big deal?"
Still, nothin'. He didn't bother to stop. Didn't turn. Just kept moving.
That was enough for me.
I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not taking another step unless you tell me where we're going—and don't give me some cryptic 'you'll see' bull-crap."
...
He had finally halted. Stiff posture, shoulders squared. But he still didn't turn around...
"…Orders." he said at last, voice flat.
Orders? Alright then. "If you're not going to tell me," I said, my voice low, "then I'm going back."
Still, he didn't move... Didn't try to stop me either. Which was good—because if he had, I wasn't sure I'd hold back on him.
Without another word, I turned and started retracing my steps, every part of me on alert now. Something wasn't right. And I was pretty much done playing along at this point.
I'd barely even taken five steps back toward the trees when I heard it—fast, precise footsteps behind me... I didn't even need to look.
"Stop..." the guard called out. "You were told to follow me, son..."
I stopped, but I didn't turn around. "Yeah?"
PING!
-----------------------------------------------------
SIDE MAIN QUEST: Defend yourself...
REWARD: 1 Silver Key
-----------------------------------------------------
...
Seeing the system's notifications had answered my question...
I turned back around, "Well, I'm un-following you now."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
END