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The air is freezing cold. Biting. Everything was wrong in more ways than one.
“We won’t–”
“... Go.”
Mei froze as her eyes flitted between Nawa’s back and the man clad in armor behind her. With gritted teeth, she grabs her shoulder, gripping it tightly. “MK, he– He won’t be able to hold back, not even for you, Nawa, he’ll kill you–”
“I said go!” Nawa didn’t bother to look back at her, her form poised and ready to block if need be. She didn't have to see Nawa’s face to know that she was desperate at this point– anyone would be. “Trust me on this. I’ll get to him. Please.” She reassured, comfort and confidence oozing in her tone and smile as she turned to look at her. Mei would’ve believed it if it wasn’t for her eyes. Everything in her gaze screamed fear and uncertainty, yet she stood there in front of her with a protective hand.
With a hesitant nod, her feet ran as fast as they could, her eyes misting over as tears threatened to fall, but she knows it wasn’t the time and place to grieve. Not when the person you’re grieving for wasn’t even dead yet.
Nawa stood her ground, the trident in her hand pointed towards MK. Not an ounce of her could ever, ever truly hurt him– but this was a different circumstance. The call to fall back included her, but she knows that MK will just incapacitate them one by one like lambs to the slaughter– unless there was a distraction.
She can’t hurt him, she knows she doesn’t have the heart to, but the one thing she can do is buy time. Enough to give the others to escape unscathed.
He takes a step forward, and she takes a step back, her heart pounding in her chest while adrenaline ran through her veins.
What is a knight to a rook? A ship in the midst of a storm? She’s at his mercy and she’s aware that she’s standing against inevitability at this point. This was a fight that she was destined- no, fated to lose, and she knew it since the very beginning.
“MK– MK, please–” One could call it perseverance and courage, but in this situation? It was nothing but naivety and false hope. It was but the only way to push forward, and there is no time to falter. “You can’t let her do this!”
The trident in her hands clangs as it hit the floor, dissolving into tiny specks of dust. She cannot keep running forever, and she is reminded of this harshly as he grabs her by the neck and yanks her upward, gazing at her not with the warmth of the sun, but with cold indifference amidst those hauntingly blue eyes.
“Ah, it seems he’s caught a stowaway!” The voice taunted, sickly and sweet. She meets the gaze of the girl who played them like puppets on strings. “I’ve never seen a sea snake up close, but I don’t like it when they meddle with my catch. Come now, we can’t just let pests run free.”
His grip tightens, and she could only kick her legs in protest as her hands clawed at his in a futile attempt to set herself free. Whether it was by instinct or a genuine belief that she’ll come out of this unscathed, she doesn’t know.
Eventually, she realizes that there’s no point in bothering anymore. With shaking hands, she weakly reaches for his face, treating him with the same gentleness and care she held only for him.
“Do you think I’ll look good with blue eyes?”
"… No. I think your eyes fit you perfectly the way it is."
“C’mooooon, I bet I’ll make all the ladies swoon for me if I had them!”
You don’t need that. You’re perfect just the way you are. In some other place… In some other time…
Something wet pooled in her thumbs, and she briefly wonders if rain began to pour before realizing that he’s crying. MK’s crying, and the only thing she can do other than resign herself to her fate was to brush away the tears that streamed down his face in a feeble attempt to comfort him.
A slow death, it seems. She could feel her arms losing their strength as they fell limply by her side, her eyes becoming harder and harder to keep open.
I’ll definitely save you.
The world gets blurry, but the only thing that remained constant in her view was the haunting color of blue. There’s a lot of ways to die, but to take your last breath with the person you cherish the most? Maybe it won't be so bad.
“... It wasn’t personal, by the way.” The girl hummed, placing a hand at her soldier’s shoulder. “Moreso killing two birds in one stone. Not only for destiny, but also to keep you in line. The ends do justify the means, you’ll understand that eventually.”
The body in his hands dropped to the cold, hard ground. Still and unmoving. A monster. He’s a monster. He will never forgive himself.
The Lady Bone Demon shook her head with a smile, her hands brushing against the tears against his cold and rigid face. “You should be happy that I’m even allowing you to cry right now. I’m not that cruel.”