A New Start -Bnha x Naruto

Chapter 19

The two footsteps came closer and closer and he held his breath.

"I'm sure I heard something from here," one of them muttered and stepped closer. He could hear them moving past him and it ran cold down his spine. Please don't notice me, I'm not here, go away, go away, go away goawaygoawaygoaway. They kept walking and Kenshin inwardly thanked the gods until he heard one stop and with him the other. His blood froze in his veins and he avoided opening his eyes to face them.

"I'm sure there's one" growled the same one again and the familiar click-clack of a pistol being loaded sounded. " And it was from right there" a shot rang through the corridors and the bullet drilled into the body of a man. The bullet bored into his chest and the shadow huffed in satisfaction. But nothing happened.

"There's nothing" the other said and after a brief silence they continued walking.

Kenshin exhaled heavily when they were finally gone. His breath was faltering and he was close to a panic attack. He had just managed not to flinch or make a sound when the body was shot a few meters away from him. He whimpered, his hands shook and a strangled cry came from him.

Please, just get him away from here, he was so scared, so much that it was driving him insane. Whoever was there, please make this nightmare stop.

::

A figure crept through the depths of the dark forest. In the distance he could still hear the sound of fighting and he shuddered. His feet carried him to a large open area, like a gash or a thick scar it ran through the middle of the forest. The ground was wet and muddy and there were uprooted trees and washed away grime everywhere.

He walked forward, his flashlight pointed in front of him as he waded through the swampy water. On and on. This was the last place Orochimaru, and therefore Souta, had been seen. The man had bravely sacrificed himself to help the others escape. Everyone had fled, even he himself had run away at first, with his tail between his legs, but now he was back. He had come back to rush to his rescuer's aid, if he was still alive that is. It was hard to wade through the small newly formed lake, but he did it, looking behind every trunk, behind every corner where one could possibly hide. The night air was cold along with the wind and the icy, ankle- and in some places knee-deep water. He wanted to call out names, but he was afraid that he would be found. He was not allowed to be found here. Again and again he turned and looked at the flames in the distance rising high into the air and consuming the forest. Faintly, they reflected on the calm surface of the water, along with the beam of his flashlight.

He approached the end of the lake, letting his flashlight shine over the shore. He almost missed it, but a little further away, in front of a boulder, he could make out a silhouette. His steps quickened and he tried to fight his way through the water faster. The liquid splashed up and soaked his clothes and pants even more, but he didn't care. Closer and closer he got to the figure and now he could make out clothes through the light.

"Takahashi!" nothing stopped him from calling his name now. The water became less and less deep until it was replaced by muddy ground and a solid surface. He stumbled out of the lake, almost slipping in the mud, and then threw himself into the dirt next to the motionless body.

"Takahashi, can you hear me?" he asked frantically, shining his light at the man. After nothing came, he placed the flashlight in the mud beside him and began to turn the man's large body over.

Everything in him twisted around after he got to see the unblinking eyes. He took his cold hand in his own. How he hoped the cold would come from the water. "I'm so sorry" he said, his voice full of regret, and averted his gaze. His eyes wandered back to the burning forest, the screams still echoing in the distance.