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I'm terrified.
It was all Chihiro could think at the time. A sword comprised solely of bloodlust was aimed at his throat, and if he so much as moved two inches too far, he'd be cut down. He was in the path of destruction, and it was pure luck that he hadn't been killed already. Was it due to anything besides him being the Sword Saint's nephew? Was it his own skill? Or was it because everyone kept sacrificing themselves so he could live?
Standing a mere foot away from the terrifying man, Chihiro could say that nothing else had ever made him feel the way he had at this very moment. And for all he knew, it'd be the last thing he felt if the tide didn't change. If there wasn't some cheat code hack to get out of there.
“Every member of that clan that governed the Rakuzaichi must be eradicated.”
Even through that absolute level of fear and dread, he couldn't help physically and verbally challenge the Sword Saint when the words left his mouth.
Hakuri!
“But Hakuri-”
Not him, please.
Chihiro could feel his breath and his heart racing, to the point where he knew he was in a detrimental state to be swinging a sword. He had to manually calm himself down before he made the wrong move, especially as he had barely noticed Samura's presence, as minimal as it was. You need to calm down, panicking won't get you anywhere.
The battle had picked up after a very short stall, and Chihiro had no more time to spend on his racing thoughts. All he could do was take on attack after attack after attack, and pray that no matter what happened to him or Samura, Hakuri was-
-“Safe!”
Shiba landed with Chihiro, finally back into some semblance of safety. He traveled to the further extent that his ability would allow, but as far as he knew, the Sword Saint was no longer interested in them and had left the location. Samura had burned into ashes, and Chihiro was battered, cut up, and covered in various shades of blood. To top it all off, Enten had shattered into pieces. All in all, it looked to have been a total loss. He assisted the boy to his feet, hoping that they could take a small breather before relocating somewhere else a bit less depressing. With a quick salute, he vanished, likely to go pick up the other survivors.
Chihiro had appreciated Shiba's help, as even with some of Samura's healing, his stamina had drastically been worn out. How many times did I get hurt today, he thought to himself while surveying the pieces of his sword laying next to his feet. His expression darkened and a frown crossed over his face, suddenly reminder of the events of the last few days. How can I not also call myself a monster. How many people did I have to kill today. How can I ever face-
“CHIHIRO!”
A voice suddenly broke through the beginning of his spiraling thoughts. Chihiro looked up, and he was greeted with the familiar white haired boy waving and running at him at top speed. “Hakuri” he quietly spoke, afraid that he was merely hallucinating and the Sword Saint had already killed him. He could feel the familiar pangs of fear in his chest from only moments earlier. What if it's not real, what if he already got to Hakuri already what if-
“Oomf!”
Bodies came together roughly, as Hakuri's met with his at full speed. Before he could even utter a syllable of the other's name, Chihiro found arms wrapped very tightly around him, hands fully grasped into his back, as if holding him together. He wanted to protest, especially as he was still quite in bad shape, but he also…didn't want to. Hakuri had nestled his head in Chihiro's shoulder, ignoring the large damp mass of fabric where his heart had been stabbed just a short bit ago.
“You're okay!” Hakuri had suddenly half shouted, as if he was trying to convince himself. “I thought you had died, but you're okay!” He repeated once more. This time, Chihiro could hear the breaks the other boys voice, and feel his body shake with every breath. With summoned strength, Hakuri loosened his grip on Chihiro, leaned back, and looked up at him with a full tearstreaken face and the best smile he could muster, all before a sob completely broke through his body.
“I thought I lost you,” Hakuri choked.
Chihiro's eyes widened and the darkness that crawled through his mind earlier completely vanished. A lump formed in his throat as he looked at Hakuri- and realized that he was terrified of losing him, as much as he was of losing Hakuri. The sensation of relief washed over his body, and he could feel his eyes starting to burn.
“I'm sorry,” Chihiro spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. His lips were dry and started quivering. “I'm sorry,” he repeated, this time a bit louder and shakier. “I'm-”
He didn't get to finish, as Hakuri had embraced him again, startling him out of his words. The arms wrapped around him, tight once more, keeping him steady. This time, Chihiro could feel himself surrounded by warmth, almost as if his entire body was in the grass, laying in the sun. But it was nice, so so nice. Thinking back, it kinda felt like when his dad would give him a giant hug…and it felt like he was back in those arms. Being told that everything was okay. And that he was safe.
Chihiro's arms lifted from his sides, and he hesitated only briefly, before wrapping his own arms around Hakuri's. He nestled his head in the crook of the other's neck, trying to ignore the blood that he was smearing all over the fabric of the boy's shirt. Hakuri had let a few more quiet sobs escape from his body, as he managed to somehow pull Chihiro even closer.
“We're safe. We're going to be okay,” he spoke through shaky breaths.
Chihiro tried to ignore the tears that were starting to burn in his own eyes. He merely gave a small nod of agreement, hoping the other would understand. After a moment of them holding each other, they both slowly separated, but Hakuri kept a firm grip on Chihiro's arms. He looked down on the ground sheepishly for second, almost as if second guessing himself, before he shot his face back up, with a large smile plastered on it.
“Welcome home,” he spoke, his face flushed with emotion.
Chihiro was slightly taken aback by the gesture, but relaxed into himself before taking a deep breath. He looked at Hakuri, a small smile on his face, and his eyes burning brighter than they had before, but much…much softer.
“I'm home.”