N. E. N. [ H U N T E R X H U N T E R ]

Chapter 22 - ハンター 試験 | パート20 | ちま ひ: 六

Last time (Kotono POV)

  Suddenly, as my vision began fading away and my legs failed me, she caught me. The woman gently placed me down on the wood, careful not to hit my head. I was barely conscious at that moment, and the only thing I can remember before I fell into blackness was a bitter liquid going down my throat.  

Now...

Hiroe POV:

I'm worried about Kotono.

Yesterday, I waited till the sun reached the top of the trees. I drew on the dirt, I made two flower crowns, one for Kotono and one for myself. I climbed the tree, I looked at what was in the bag Kotono gave me five times. But as the sun came down, my anxiety went up.

It was almost at the trees! Kotono said she'd be there...

The sunlight became dimmer, the leaves hiding them from me. It was time.

How about I give her five more minutes? 

Yeah, I'm sure she's just making her way here. I mean, that archer wouldn't ever beat Kotono. She's so powerful, always there to protect me! Yup, I'm sure she'll be right there!

My optimism degraded more and more as the five-minute cycle repeated over and over again. Maybe I should mark my words and look for her? But what if I bump into someone that want to attack me? I mean, staying here has the same risks... What if she moved from the place we were when the attack occurred? She couldn't be that far... What if...

I'm going. Enough messing around, Kotono might be lost, or even worse, injured!

After making up my mind, I threw the bag over my head, letting the strap rest comfortably on my shoulder. I looked back at the beautiful tree. I was majestic, with high branches reaching up for the sky and bright green leaves with magenta markings making a contrast with the surrounding trees. Its trunk was large, and its thousands of branches looked like a town's roads, making an intricate puzzle when we admired it from bottoms-up.

I reluctantly looked away, gripping on the leather strap that went over my chest. Let's go.

I found her on the ground, where the person had attacked us. She looked like she was in a peaceful sleep, but I knew better. The large wound on the left shoulder. It was covered in a red bandage, originally green but soaked in Kotono's blood. Horrified to see my sister in such a critical state, I tried to drop a few water drops on her face to wake her up. She made no movement, nothing to encourage me. 

But my determination wouldn't be tackled down so easily! I'm sure she's going to be fine! I abandoned the idea of waking her up right now, deciding maybe I should let her have her good-earned-sleep. I installed her head on a close by log, using it as a pillow. I made my best to install her in her sleeping bag, but my arm's muscles had their limitations. She ended up covered in it like a cocoon, which I figured would at least keep her warm during the cold nights.

After that, I imitated some people I saw and ripped a part of my dress. I made it damp using some water from our pouches and wrung it to make sure it wouldn't drip on my sister's forehead. I carefully placed it, hoping it would somehow help her, and wrapped myself in my own sleeping bag.

I didn't eat that night. I didn't sleep much, either. I was looking out into the shadows between the trees, trying to find something that wasn't there. After some time, when it was a while passed midnight, I let my worries on the side of my mind and let a deep slumber overcome me.

  xXx N-E-N xXx  

When I woke up, the sun was still low in the sky. A pink, orange and blue sky was on one side, and the still almost black night on the other, taking its time to leave the place. My eyes were drowsy, my body heavy and my mind sleepy, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.