―Shit! I didn't know that I was being watched!
Rynan's mind filled with panic as his gaze darted everywhere around the ruined house. He quickly hid behind a broken wooden wall, breathing heavily as fear gripped his chest. The reality of being observed during that brutal interrogation made his stomach twist with worry.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm down as much as he could manage. But only after doing this did the adrenaline finally wear off completely. The spot where his left arm used to be suddenly shot up with sharp, crushing pain that made him see stars.
"GAH!"
"WHY DID IT HAVE TO HURT NOW!?"
Rynan collapsed onto the ground, clutching the bloody wound as agony tore through his body. He rolled to his side in pain, his face twisting as he fought against the waves of burning sensation. With shaking hands, he ripped his shirt off and tied it tightly around his shoulder, turning the cloth into a makeshift tourniquet.
"GHHHHHAA!"
Rynan screamed as the tourniquet cut off the blood flow, his body arching up instinctively from the pain. He fell back down with a dull thud, the impact jarring his wounded shoulder even more. Finally, he was able to gasp for air as his body slowly began to relax.
"Damn it..."
He muttered through gritted teeth, still completely out of breath and exhausted. While lying on his back, he turned his head to the right and looked at the headless corpse of the assassin. The sight of the dead body reminded him of just how close he had come to dying himself.
―I hate to admit it, but I'm completely powerless right now. My body doesn't even listen to me anymore.
Rynan laughed bitterly at his own helpless situation, closing his eyes as reality set in. His heart rate finally began to slow down as he accepted that he was safe for now. The adrenaline crash left him feeling empty and drained of all energy.
"R-RYNAN!"
A familiar voice shouted his name from somewhere nearby, filled with panic and worry. He opened one eye weakly, and at the corner of his vision he saw something that made his heart skip. It was the person he'd been most worried about during this entire fight.
"Emi..."
"RYNAN!"
Emi quickly dropped to her knees beside him, not knowing what to do to help. She gently put her hands under his head and back, slowly lifting him up. With careful movements, she let him rest his head on her lap as comfortably as possible.
"Uaa..."
Rynan groaned in relief as a sense of peace finally washed over him completely. The feeling of safety and comfort made him ready to pass out, knowing that he would be saved. He could finally relax, believing that he would live to see another day.
―So, this is how it feels to rest on a girl's lap... I'm fading into pure bliss..!
Despite everything that had happened, all the pain and terror he had just experienced, this was the only thought in his mind. Even in his weakened state, he couldn't help but notice how nice it felt. What a strange boy he was, finding joy in such a simple moment after nearly dying.
<-<-<-<-<-<-༒︎->->->->->->
Hours had already passed, and Rynan was sent to the highest ranking noble hospital in Lagunna, positioned right beside the City Hall just a few minutes away. Inside his hospital room, everything was painted in white—though not just any ordinary white paint, it looked really expensive as expected of a noble hospital. The clean walls seemed to shine with a quality that made even the air feel fancy.
Rynan's hospital bed sat at the far end of the room, while to his right was a floating table that would move wherever he wanted with just a hand gesture. To his left was a Magic device designed to call nurses and doctors during emergencies. The setup was pretty cool, though Rynan wasn't exactly awake to appreciate any of it.
―O-oh..?
As Rynan finally woke up, the first thing he saw was Emi holding his hand, sitting beside him with her head resting on the bed looking completely tired. She looked like she'd been watching over him for hours, maybe even days. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, grateful that he was still alive to see her worried face.
"R-Rynan..?" Emi's voice was barely a whisper as she began to wake up.
"R-Rynan! You're awake! Finally!" The moment his eyes fully opened, Emi's body shot up like lightning had struck her. She didn't waste a single second—no, not even a millisecond—her tiredness disappearing instantly as she sat up straight. Her eyes were wide with relief and what looked like tears.
"Y-yeah... more importantly, are you hurt? Are you okay? Did anything happen while I was out?!" Rynan immediately hit her with a bunch of questions, his worry for her beating out any concern for himself. The words came out of his mouth faster than his still-sleepy brain could organize them. ―Damn, I sound crazy, but I need to know she's safe.
Emi grabbed Rynan's right hand with both of hers, a bright smile breaking across her face despite the tears in her eyes. "I'm okay! But how can you say that when you're the one who's been through hell?!" Her voice cracked as the words exploded out of her. The guilt she'd been carrying seemed to pour out with each word.
"Honestly! Stop being so reckless!" Emi crossed her arms and pointed at him while looking away, her cheeks red with anger and embarrassment. Soon after, an awkward silence settled between them, broken only by the wind blowing through the open window on the far left of the room. The curtains moved softly, making shifting patterns of light across the floor.
"Pft!" Rynan couldn't hold it in any longer.
"You still haven't changed one bit, Emi." He laughed warmly, truly grateful for this moment and her predictable reaction. Even in a hospital bed, beaten up and barely awake, he found comfort in her familiar attitude. ―Some things never change, and honestly, I wouldn't want them to.
"What do you mean by... that?" Emi's face turned bright red as she tried not to show any weakness. As a solution, she looked toward the door at the far right corner of the hospital room. Her attempt at staying calm was failing badly, and they both knew it.
"What I mean is... YOU'RE STILL A BITCH!!! HAHA!" Rynan burst into loud laughter, immediately followed by coughing from his own outburst. The combination made him look like a complete idiot, gasping and wheezing while still grinning like crazy. ―Great job, genius. Real smooth there.
"..." Emi stayed completely silent, her face unreadable.
―Oh shit, she's pissed. Really, really pissed.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOOOOOTTTT!!!" Her voice exploded through the room like thunder.
"AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" The sound that followed was less human speech and more like a scream of pure frustration.
<-<-<-<-<-<-༒︎->->->->->->
"Ahem, sorry to disturb your romantic time, Rynan, but we need to speak to you." A familiar voice sounded from the corner of the room, slightly startling both Rynan and Emi. The sudden interruption made them both fall completely silent, their faces turning red from embarrassment.
"Oh, it's just you, Xhan, don't scare me like that!" Rynan laughed with relief, and Xhan couldn't help but smile too. The tension in the room seemed to ease up a bit with Rynan's casual response.
"Being young sure is the best... when are you guys getting married?" Tarnillya teased both Emi and Rynan, suddenly appearing out of thin air beside Xhan. This time, she only managed to startle Rynan since Emi was still focused on their previous conversation.
"In the next five years." Emi's response came out so casually that it might as well have been about the weather. Everyone stood completely silent, shocked by what she had just said without any hesitation. Rynan looked at Emi, then at Xhan, then at Tarnillya, completely confused and scratching his head with furrowed brows.
―Did... she just say... what I think she just said? Rynan thought, his mind going completely blank from confusion and disbelief. The words kept echoing in his head like a broken record that wouldn't stop playing.
―You won't steal Rynan from me, you Tarnillya woman! What was going on inside Emi's mind was quite... questionable, to say the least. While everyone else took her comment as a joke, she had actually taken Tarnillya's teasing completely seriously. Her competitive side had kicked in without warning.
"E-Emi..?" Rynan called her name out softly, hoping that she'd snap back to her senses as soon as possible. She then looked at him with the brightest, most innocent smile he'd ever seen. It was almost scary how normal she looked after dropping that bomb.
"What's wrong?" Her voice was so sweet and casual that it made the situation even more confusing.
"N-nothing..." Rynan immediately shrugged it off, not wanting to repeat what she had said out loud. The embarrassment was already killing him, and saying it again would probably finish the job.
After a few seconds of awkward silence that felt like hours, Xhan quietly moved to Rynan's left side. He crouched down low, as if he had something important to whisper to him. His movements were so sneaky that he looked like he was planning some kind of secret mission.
"You have bagged... a baddie." Xhan's whisper was filled with obvious admiration and a hint of jealousy.
"DON'T BE SUCH AN IDIOT!" Rynan's voice exploded before he could stop himself.
"KEEP YOUR VOICE LOW, BOY!" Xhan immediately karate-chopped Rynan's head, trying to keep what he said as a secret between them. Rynan's head now had a slight bump, making him look even more like an idiot than usual. The pain was nothing compared to his embarrassment though.
"Don't you like her too?" Xhan asked, whispering even quieter this time while glancing at the girls.
"I mean, I do, but..." Rynan's voice trailed off as he struggled to find the right words. His feelings were all jumbled up, and he couldn't think straight with everyone watching.
"Boy, you're both only 2 years apart, there's nothing wrong with that." Xhan's tone was encouraging, like an older brother giving advice. "Better confess to her if you want to make her yours!"
"You..." Rynan looked at Xhan with a mix of fury and gratitude, his brows still furrowed. The advice was good, but the timing was terrible with everyone around. "Thanks for helping me out, I'll give you that."
Xhan eventually returned to his spot beside Tarnillya, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. The serious expression on his face showed that playtime was over. "Alright, Rynan, mind if I ask you some questions?"
"I don't mind." Rynan's response was simple, though he could already tell this wasn't going to be a casual chat.throat.
"Kay, Rynan, mind if I ask you some questions?
"I don't mind."