I'll Keep Waiting (Shiro x Reader)

2. Gohzan

"Ow... Ow. Ouch!"
"Will you stop complaining, (Y/n)? You're just making this harder than it needs to be." Your cellmate grumbled as he wiped off dry, green blood from your arm. "You were lucky the Druids decided you were even worth healing. Most of the time, gladiators who are injured this badly are left for dead."
"You should've been there, Gohzan." You said with a small chuckle, ignoring the morbid comment. "That thing reeked." You threw your head back, recalling the memory of the monster's warm blood covering you from head to toes, filling your nostrils with its pungent stench.
"I can tell." He replied while scrunching up his nose. Or, well, you'd guess that counts as a nose. It was really just two slits that barely poked out of his pudgy, yellow face.

"So how're you feeling about the big announcement?" Both of you always tried the keep the conversation lighthearted, so that the time spent at the thrall of the Galra seemed, even if ever so slightly, less miserable.
"The newcomer? Oh, he's definitely dead by now."
"No, you blockhead!" You yell. "About you getting moved to the work camps! You're turning into too much of an old geezer to keep fighting in this place."
"Real funny, (Y/n)," He muttered. But he knew there was some truth to your snarky remark. Gohzan had been prisoner to the Galra for much more time than you, or any other inmate you knew of. His ability to soften his entire body into an elastic and nearly indestructible blob had saved his life in countless battles. Just when he believed he had lost all hope and the last ounce of will to live, you arrived. You both found a safe haven within each other, and he slowly became a somewhat of a father figure to you.

"I'm going to miss you, Gohzan." The words came out in a whisper, dragging behind them a sense of melancholy. "I don't know what I'm gonna do when you leave."
"C'mon now, don't get all mopey with me, champ. Today's my last fight and the last day I'll get to see you. I want to keep the tears to a minimum."
"I already cried in the arena, though..."
"You always cry in the arena."
You let out a laugh. "So you're ready for your closing fight?"
"As I'll ever be," He said and he struggled to stand up. "There. I got as much blood off as I could. Hopefully you don't stink up the cell too much by the time you get a new cellmate."

You smile and roll your eyes. Taking a deep breath, you stand up as well, your arm still a little sore, and hug the only friend you've had in a while. "Thank you, Gohzan. For everything. If it weren't for you, I would've never survived in this place."
"I should be thanking you." His voice was soft and reassuring, giving you the illusion of protection you believed inimitable. "You gave me the strength I needed to keep fighting no matter what happened. You were there for me after every fight." He pulled away from the hug and passed you the rag he had used to wipe away the stains on you, which he had ripped off of his Galran prisoner outfit "Here. It's not much, and it's going to smell pretty bad, but hopefully it's enough."

You took the rag in your hands, held it close to your chest and closed your eyes. Concentrate. You urged yourself. Soon enough, a blurry picture found its way into your mind. This was one of your abilities; clairvoyance. You could connect with others and their life force so long as you held a object of their belonging, granting you a fuzzy viewing of them in real time.

"Does it work?" You first heard Gohzan's voice muffled in your head before hearing the real thing as well.
"Perfectly." You smile as you open your eyes and clutch the cloth tightly before the door opens, revealing two Galra sentries assigned to escort your friend to his fight. Your heart shattered, desperate for if only a few more seconds with your only ally in this world. Please no... you begged silently in your head, knowing that speaking up would be futile. The looming robots harshly grabbed Gohzan by the arms, programmed to do so due to the wild thrashing from most prisoners, but received no resistance from him at all. The sight made your heart drop to your gut no matter how many times you saw it. The submission to the Galra every prisoner eventually succumbed to was inevitable, and hopelessness found its way back into you with every inch that Gohzan was dragged away from you.
"Come see me in the arena, (Y/n). This one's for you." You give a final nod before having the door shut close, echoing through the halls.

✿ ✿ ✿

You curled up in the corner of your cell, moments after Gohzan's departure. Your breathing was shaky and your sniffing constant, but you wouldn't allow the tears to fall. You promised him, (Y/n). Don't cry. This is what's best for him. The work camps are pretty much every prisoner's dream. Taking deep breaths, you let your body relax and hold the rag close to your chest once more. From the darkness, you began to distinguish the unmistakable lights of the arena, shining down ardently onto your friend. Gohzan was fighting against another creature similar to the one you had faced off. He had not a single scratch on him, and the animal was already wounded. You've got this...

The audience couldn't have been more displeased. There was no fun in ending the show with a meager prisoner triumphing over the second beast on the ring today. The angry screams and barbaric roars overwhelmed your powers, increasing the haziness of your vision. Everything seemed to be going well until you spotted a cloaked figure creeping up from the arena's entrance. You barely noticed yourself hyperventilating as the Druid extended a bony hand towards the creature. A dark aura engulfed it while shooting out purple lightning, and the creature, ignorant to the source of its immense pain, charged for Gohzan with newfound strength and speed. It's muscles shifted and grew under its skin, almost doubling in size. It's fangs grew too big for its mouth and its claws became abnormally large. The deformed monster took its victim by surprise, and delivered a lethal blow by biting down on half of Gohzan's body. The vision vanished.

"NO!" You screamed as your eyes shot open. It took you only an instant to process what had happened. "No... no, no, NO!" You hadn't noticed the few tears that had fallen during the vision, but now you were sobbing inconsolably into your knees, wailing and screaming like a child who'd lost their parent.

Not that you hadn't.

«~§~»
Okay, I promise Shiro will actually appear in the next chapter. I have no solid idea on where this book is headed to hopefully I can work on that before publishing any new chapters.

- Valkyrie ♥