Chapter 33

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Hajime's Third Person P.O.V.

"His life is in your hands."

Hajime had become paralyzed at those words. His jagged breathing increased as he looked at the albino who was sprawled out on the ground, slowly dying.

So he made his choice then and there, with no hesitation or regrets. Hajime would not let Ko die. He didn't want to drown in the overlapping guilt that would consume him if he let Ko down. He wouldn't become a burden to his friends.

Giving the albino a forced reassuring smile, and started climbing up the bars of the ladder.

"Oh Hajime!" Panda called out from below.

Hajime halted in the middle of the ladder. What did the brat want now?

"I forgot to mention that there's a time limit too!" He said slyly. "You have approximately two hours. If you don't come back by then, your boyfriend will die."

Well, that's just great. As if there wasn't enough pressure already.

He had to act fast.

The crisp night air enveloped his body as he climbed up from the sewer hole, sending chills down his spine. Somewhere far away, a clock chimed midnight.

He had been underground for at least six hours, huh.

The brunette glanced to his left and right, absorbing the views of his surroundings. Exactly where was he?

Street lights were the only source of light that could help Hajime navigate through the unfamiliar territory.

Left or right? He thought desperately.

His gut feeling told him right, but his brain was yelling at him to go left.

He trusted his gut feeling more than his brain. Screw decisions.

Sprinting off to the right side of the empty street, the brunette continued straight down the concrete road. A familiar scenery sat before him.

Where had he seen those trees before?

A memory of them snapped into place.

Hajime was now at the park, which means that Ko's house couldn't be far from here. Glancing at the clock in the park, the brunette noticed that half an hour had passed ever since he had left the underground base. He needed to quicken his pace or else it would be too late for the albino.

Climbing down the ladder of the manhole, Hajime punched in the numbers to the house.

Where had he left the book though? Hajime's hands fumbled against the papers that littered the polished wooden table, sweeping them to the side.

Where had he placed it?

Come on, Hajime. THINK!

The book had been brought back by Ko, who had left it on the nightstand next to Hajime's bed.

Where had the brunette placed it after that?

He snapped his fingers. He remembered now.

Rushing to the side of his bed, the brunette shoved a hand underneath the mattress, his hand groping for the purple leathered book.

Aha.

He pulled out the book, its cover the same as it had been before.

He knew he couldn't trick Panda with a false copy of the book, because if he were to be found out, the punishment for Ko would be ten times as deadly as what he was going through.

Hajime was out of options. He had spent twenty minutes looking for the book, reaching the fifty minute mark. One hour and ten minutes left.

All the running that Hajime was doing at one A.M. in the morning was starting to take a toll on him. His legs screamed in protest as the brunette forced himself to keep running back. He couldn't stop. Time was not his ally in this situation.

In the far distance, Hajime's red eyes could make out several shadows, all of them advancing towards him. The group of shadows were laughing, their arms on one another's shoulder.

Drunk fools. Superb. Just what Hajime needed right now.

Hoping to go unnoticed, the brunette attempted to slip past the trio of men to reach his destination.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" One of the men hiccuped.

Hajime continued walking, unfazed by the loud remark.

It was one A.M. exactly. He had one more hour before his deadline.

"Hey you!" Another man shouted, "My friend asked you something!"

Keep walking. Don't pay attention to them. They'll just lose interest in you sooner or later. Keep walking forward. Hajime told himself.

Suddenly, the brunette was hoisted up into the air by the back of the collar of his white t-shirt, his feet dangling a few inches above the ground. He clawed at the front of his collar, which was choking him, with his unpreoccupied hand. His legs swung backwards, attempting to kick the person who was holding him up in his shins.

A tall, unkept man in his early forties stood in front of Hajime's face.

"When I ask someone something, I expect them to answer." He jabbed the struggling brunette in the chest with a finger.

"But I will forgive you if you hand me that book," He bargained, suddenly taking interest in it.

Hajime only glared at the man.

"No? Well if that's how you want it..." The blonde man snatched the purple covered book out of the brunette's right hand.

Oh hell to the no. He did NOT just do that.

With a surge of energy Hajime didn't know he had, the brunette swung his legs up with all his might, succcesfully kicking them into the drunk man's face, making him drop the book.

A surge of pain went through the brunette when the book made contact with the ground, catching his off guard for a bit.

Regaining his composture, Hajime broke the nose of the man holding him with his elbow, the blood staining his shirt. The third man in league with the other two drunks lunged towards the red eyed teen, trying to pin him to the floor.

Hajime dodged to the side before he could tackle him, and the man ended up pinning the leader to the ground when he tried to stand up.

Hajime stumbled when crouched down to obtain the book, his knees and elbows colliding onto the concrete, scratching them and drawing blood.

He couldn't stop now to tend to his injuries. He only had forty five minutes left before Ko expired. It was a race against time, and Hajime was determined to win it.
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I rushed it so much HHHhhHHH ;x;

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