You grabbed Kaveh's hand and led him through the Sumeru streets, using the fading sunlight as guidance. Just as you were about to turn another corner, you felt a strong grip on the back of your shirt as you were pulled back behind a building.
You were pulled into a pair of firm arms, and before you could let out a scream, you felt a hand over your mouth. You started to struggle but stopped once you noticed whose arms you were in - Alhaithams.
You looked to the side and saw Kaveh beside him.
The three of you waited for a while like that behind a building - you in Alhaitham's embrace with Kaveh standing close beside you. After a while, you saw the man run straight past you and continue on through the streets, trying to find you.
You sighed in relief and looked up at Alhaitham with a smile. "Thanks," you said, and received a nod in response.
"What are you doing here?!" you heard Kaveh ask as he came up and pulled you away from Alhaitham.
"Without me, you'd probably be dead," Alhaitham said, crossing his arms. "I knew something happened to you as soon as I got home and it was peaceful and quiet for once."
"We didn't need your help, we could have escaped just fine!!" Kaveh yelled, annoyed.
"What are you talking about?!!" you exclaimed, looking at Kaveh puzzled. "Without him, who knows what would have happened to us??" you turned to Alhaitham. "Thank you once again,"
"We could have gotten away another way," Kaveh muttered, looking away. "You scared the life out of us,"
Alhaitham looked at Kaveh, then you, then Kaveh once more before sighing. "I see what's going on here,"
"You know who kidnapped us??" you asked, eagerly.
"Yes, it's clear as day," he replied, looking at a very worried Kaveh.
"W-who is it?? Are the eremites back again??" Kaveh asked, nervously.
"You already know the answer," Alhaitham said and you immediately turned to Kaveh.
"Kaveh what's going on?? Don't tell me you got into more trouble..." you said, concerned.
"Well...I actually..." he trailed off, looking away.
"Just say it already!!" you exclaimed, growing impatient. "Is your life in danger again??"
"I don't know!! I just feel like someone has been following me recently and I can't shake off that feeling...I don't know why," he said, looking frustrated.
"Oh, why didn't you just tell me??" you said, worriedly. If it isn't the eremites, then who else could it be??
"Now that you're here, can I ask you to be my bodyguard again? Just until I feel safe," he said, looking at you with a sincere expression.
You were elated at his request. Immediately ashamed of yourself for being happy that Kaveh's life was in danger again, you scolded yourself internally.
"Of course I'll help you again," you said, trying to mask your smile.
His expression lit up at once and he smiled at you brightly.
You looked at him, puzzled.
"Sorry," he said, recognizing his strange response. "I'm just happy that you're here again...I finally feel safe,"
You couldn't help but get flustered at his sudden statement and you quickly brushed it off. "Alright, first let's get you home. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes," you said, resuming your professional demeanor.
Kaveh nodded and the two of you started making your way back.
"By the way...where did Alhaitham go??" you asked, finally realizing that he was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh just ignore him," Kaveh sighed. "He has a tendency to just appear and disappear randomly. It gets frustrating honestly. Whenever you want to see him, he's never there but always shows up just when I don't want to see him,"
You let out a small chuckle. "That sounds like Alhaitham alright..."
You froze once you felt something tug at your shirt, immediately becoming alert and taking a defensive position. You looked down and saw a small boy gently tugging at your shirt, and you laughed at yourself for getting so worked up over nothing. He was dressed in a simple shirt and shorts, and you noticed that they were a bit old as the shirt had a few holes in them.
You relaxed and Kaveh walked over to the boy, lowering himself onto one knee before smiling at him. You crossed your arms and watched from behind.
"Do you need something?" Kaveh asked, gently.
"Please...help me..." he said, looking down. You and Kaveh exchanged worried glances.
"It's my mom," he continued, "She needs money for her surgery, the doctors said it will be very expensive," he started tearing up and you could see the tears in his eyes. "Please buy this," he said, holding up a few keychains made of thread.
Kaveh immediately began searching himself for any spare change and you looked at the child.
"Your mom isn't really in the hospital, is she?" you asked, leaning down towards the boy.
"What...?" he asked, innocently.
"Y/N!! How can you ask him that??" Kaveh exclaimed in disbelief.
You continued to look the boy in the eye. "All healthcare in Sumeru is free, your scam won't fly this time," you said, tilting your head.
The boy's demeanor completely changed in an instant and he glared at you. "Ugh...just stay out of it! You better not tell anyone else or you'll regret it," he threatened fiercely before turning around and storming off.
You let out a sigh of relief. Growing up in the desert prepared you well to easily spot scams like these. You stood up, proud of yourself only to see Kaveh look at you with contempt.
"How could you do that to him??" he asked, annoyed.
Your expression faltered as you looked at him, confused. "What do you mean...? It was obviously a scam, Kaveh...he even admitted it himself and threatened me! You saw it, didn't you??"
"So what?!" he yelled, rendering you speechless at his sudden outburst. "So what if he lied about his mom being in the hospital?? He's just a kid! How could you be so....so cruel??"
"Cruel??" you asked, shocked. "I would have happily helped him if he didn't lie to us!!"
"Who cares if he lied? A child who needs money, for whatever reason, should be helped," his expression hardened. "I didn't know you were really like this," he said.
You blinked, unable to say anything in response. "Kaveh..."
"I don't need help from you anymore," he said, and you felt your heart shatter at the disappointment in his voice. "You should just...go back to the desert," he said, before turning around and walking off into the night.
You slowly slumped down onto the side of the street, consumed by guilt. You felt horrible. For not helping that kid, for disappointing Kaveh, for disappointing Azrul...and the Matriarch...and everyone in your life lately.
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath before coming to a decision. There was no point in sitting around and moping like this. You got up and ran off in the direction you saw the kid leave.
You were starting to get out of breath after running for a good five minutes and were about to give up hope when you spotted the kid again. He was asking a few other people for money only for them to ignore him and walk away.
"Hey, kid!" you yelled, running over to him.
His face twisted into disgust as soon as he saw you. "What do you want," he said, glaring. "You didn't tell anyone about this, did you?"
You shook your head while rummaging around in your pockets for any spare mora you had. You sighed in relief as your hands closed around the coins and you took them out and gave them to the kid.
He went from defensive to surprised in an instant. "But...why?? I tried to take advantage of you..." he said, accepting the money.
"It doesn't matter what your motives are, you need the money and that's all that matters," you said, remembering what Kaveh said. "Make good use of it," you said, gently ruffling his hair.
"Thank you..." he said, looking down.
You nodded before turning around and leaving. As you walked down the Sumeru streets, you were plagued by a dilemma. You wanted to apologize to Kaveh but...you didn't know where he was. And even if you did, would he even want to see you...? Your heart sank again as you remembered the look he gave you.
You were pulled out of your thoughts as you heard something move in the shadows and you became alert.
You remembered what Kaveh had said earlier...that he thought someone was following him. You gasped as you realized you left him alone. Without wasting another second you started running, trying to figure out where Kaveh could be at this time of night.
You ran over to Kaveh's house and knocked on the door frantically. To your relief, it opened, but the only person you saw was Alhaitham.
"Y/N?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Kaveh! Is he here??" you asked, trying to look over his shoulder into the house for any signs of blond hair.
Alhaitham shook his head. "I haven't seen him since I met you guys this evening,"
Your eyes widened and you knew there was only one other place he could be at this time of night. You murmured a quick 'thank you' to Alhaitham before running off in the other direction.
Alhaitham leaned against the door frame as he watched you run off into the night.
"She still doesn't know..."
- x -
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