Vermilion Blur

(Pt. 16) Anxiety

~Keigo~

Amongst the darkness, the girl melted in with the shadows and vanished utterly. He reached into space, only wanting to wrap his arms around the walking dead without getting a finger sliced off. But, instead, the warm blood trickled down his leg, a dim reminder of how much hate she held towards him. 

He stood there in silence for hours, complicating what happened. But, in reality, it was only a few seconds. After that, he couldn't wrap his mind around what had just happened. 

"Hm... Keigo?" 

He glanced over his shoulder to see (y/n) awake; they leaned over the couch to turn on a lamp sitting on the side table. He found a newfound interest in his shoes and the puddle of blood leaking down his leg. At the moment, he couldn't have cared less. 

"Keigo? Keigo!" He didn't have the heart to look at them. "Keigo! You are a dumbass! You're bleeding. I was asleep for not ten minutes..."

They snatched his wrist and pushed him onto the couch. They picked up a stray black feather and removed the pants covering the wound. "Since when do your feathers turn black?"

Keigo instinctively grabbed the feather and shoved it into his back pocket. 

"Ow... Why did you do that?" (y/n) held a wounded hand close to their chest, smearing a small amount of blood on the exposed skin. "What's the big deal about a feather?" They glanced at him in confusion. 

Keigo's throat tightened as his heart sank into his gut.  "Stop mentioning it! I'm already stressed enough, and I don't want to explain this to you!" He snapped. 

(y/n) stood, clenching her fist. "Don't yell at me, Hawks!" 

His wings puffed up as his hands expressed more of his thoughts than he wanted to. More and more of his words came out than he intended. "I can yell if I want to! This matter doesn't involve you! Stay out of it (y/n)!"

They stepped back, holding their arms over their chest. Their brow furrowed as they curled into themselves. Pupils widened with shock, and their breath quickened. 

"Let me get this straight; you want me to stay," (y/n) pointed a finger to the lingering scars on his abdomen, "out of something you dragged me into?!"

You fool, you brought an innocent into this.

Keigo grabbed their wounded hand, catching some of the blood in his. "I know! I never meant to!" Their frown turned sour, gaze falling towards the ground. Then, finally, their eyes latched onto his, pupils narrowing at him and only him. 

"But you did! And now you can patch up your damn wounds! I'm done." Their hand was ripped from his. They stormed out of the nearest entrance, and the door slammed behind them. For now, he was standing there alone in his silence. 

He ran his hands nervously through his hair. Then, finally, he threw them down, hitting the puncture wound. Keigo drew in a hissed breath as he plopped back onto the couch. "... Shit." 

~(y/n)~

They slammed the door shut and stomped over the small balcony. Waves crashed in the distance, not helping to wash away the feeling of regret.

They ran sweaty hands through their hair and plopped down onto the steps. (y/n) rested their head on their knees, sighing with discontent.

Why was he being so defensive all of a sudden? He was the one who dragged them into it, so at least he should keep them in the loop.

They glanced at the dark waves splashing onto shore. This wasn't needed. Yet, they couldn't just push the hurt feelings down as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, now, what's the fuss, little dove?"

They almost jumped out of their skin at the sudden voice. (y/n) turned around to find a female-like figure standing by a tree not 5 feet away.

They curled into themselves, unsure of what this stranger would do. "W-who are you? Why are you at my cabin?"

"Oh, no one special. I was merely passing by when I heard the little lovebird's argument."

She walked forwards and knelt to face the ocean waves. From what they could see in the little darkness, she had long hair and a thin build.

They nervously rubbed their elbow. "We-we're not. I mean, I'm not-"

The female shifted, and they were met with a set of eyes. No emotion glimmered behind a group of tired eyes. Almost as if they were the eyes of a corpse. Dead.

"Not what, dove? Be precise with that tongue." She whispered a bit too close for comfort. All the air trickled from their lungs. The set of tired eyes stared into theirs. Something about them seemed familiar.

They nervously laughed, smearing their bloodied palm across their neck. Her head tilted with curiosity.

"Hm? Yet, is that blood I smell on your palm?" She sniffed, grabbing the injured hand. (y/n) yanked it away and held it close to their chest. It was a din reminder of how Keigo treated them a few minutes ago. Yet, with the appearance of this stranger, they completely forgot the pain.

"I-It's... It's nothing." The girl snatched their hand back again. "Hey!"

"Shut your pretty mouth, and let me fix that cut."

Their mouth snapped shut from spitting out another retort. She ripped a piece of cloth from a long-forgotten tank top covered with repetitive wound coverages.

"I don't even know who you are, and you're being nice to a stranger." They mumbled, not baring to watch a stranger lick their wounds.

She held the bandaged knuckles to her lips as if they were royalty.

"Honey, we all do things we aren't proud of. Walk paths that lead down several different ways. And now, both you and I have come to a cross. Might I ask you what that is?" She whispered, breathing across the cold skin.

Suddenly flustered, they managed to spit out some response. "I-I Uhm."

"There isn't any room for hesitation here, dove. Hesitation gets people killed, and loved ones suffer because of it." She sighed, leaning back but still uneasily making eye contact. They forced a gulp down.

"So sweetheart, make your choice and walk a path. One, stick with the hero who's saved your life." She bit her lip and sighed. "Or, abandon him and retreat to your sheltered life as an analytical student?"

(y/n) drew back into themselves. "How do you-" in an instant, the female was gone. Not a speck of the woman they were sitting next to.

"She's gone...?" Glancing at the bandaged wounds. Their fingers clenched tightly, and they took a breath. Hawks didn't mean to yell from the looks of it. Maybe he was stressed out about the current situation.

With a sigh, they stood and walked inside. It was utterly silent,  and Hawks was gone.

"Keigo...? Where'd you go?"