Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 26

"...and how will a rock help us escape?" Jyushi asked as his fingers ran through my hair, gently pushing through the knots before letting the loose strands fall through his digits and repeating the process all over.

"The rock itself won't help," I rested my injured arm against the thick length of tail that cradled my right side, gazing up at the black ceiling as the lights within the enclosure turned off, "It's a way for me to get the thing we need to escape."

"Okay," His scales shifted slightly as a length of tail slipped over my legs, the darkness of the room leaving me mostly blind to his movements, "(Y/n)...?"

"Yes?" I felt his fingers stop their meticulous movement in my hair, making me look up to where I thought he was.

"Why do you keep getting hurt when you're around us?" Jyushi's hand lightly grazed the top of my injured arm, his fingers barely pressing into the gauze wrap.

"Humans are easily hurt," I gave a soft sigh, "We don't have thick skin like you or your brothers, and we definitely don't have scales that keep us safe from the smaller threats. Our bodies are easy to hurt, but they heal relatively quickly. This should be gone in a few days."

The dark room masked his movements and I bit down a surprised cry when I felt the eyepatch slide off my head. He lightly touched a thumb over the eyelid, moving the digit gently towards my cheek as if wiping off a tear.

"...and this?"

"Another two weeks or so," I could barely see his concerned face in the dark, "Jyushi, what's wrong?"

"I told you that I was strong...but you keep getting hurt. Am I not strong enough to protect you?"

"Jyushi," I quickly sat up and moved to face him, straddling his tail as it shifted to accommodate my movement, "Of course you're strong. Just because I was hurt when you weren't around doesn't make you weak; it just means that I wasn't strong enough to keep myself safe."

"Then why do I feel sad whenever I look at your injuries?" The dip in Jyushi's voice struck a chord in my heart, making me move even closer and reach out to him, fumbling around in the dark until his head was cradled between my arms and chest.

I didn't speak for a while, not knowing what the right words to say were.

"You...feel sad because someone you love was hurt..." I put my own emotions into words, "When I saw how hurt you and your brothers were in those awful cargo containers, I knew that it was all my fault. I couldn't do anything to help you..."

Jyushi's arms slowly wrapped around my waist, his hands pressing into my back, "(Y/n), I don't want to see you hurt anymore."

"Are you able to hold out for another two days?" I ran a hand through his soft hair, "When Friday night comes, you can do what you want to keep me safe...but until then, let me keep you safe however I'm able."

"No..." He shook his head in my arms, "...you've already done so much for my brothers and I--"

"When we're back on your island, you can keep me safe from things that could harm me," I loosened my hold, pulling away a little to see his face more clearly, "But since we're on my terrain, I'm keeping you safe."

"...okay..." Jyushi's face melted from concern to resignation, tilting his head forward until it rested against my right shoulder, "Just promise to not get more hurt."

"I promise," I ran my fingers through his hair once more, keeping quiet on how I wasn't sure how I'd stay out of physical danger when we were about to head into the most dangerous situation I've ever been in. If this escape went wrong, then all of our lives would be at risk.