Trials (An ErasermicXreader Medieval AU)

Chapter 9

Shouta wordlessly led you along the tree line until you reached a reasonably level path to the north. Hizashi was limping terribly and barely able to keep up with you, and as much as you hated to admit it, your had only just gotten your ability to move around freely on your own back a handful of days ago and your body wasn't ready to make such a long and furiously paced trek on foot. The three of you ran until the canopies ahead were lit up with morning light and fluttered about in shades of green and gold. You were about twenty or so feet from cresting upon a hill and your knees buckled under your weight and exhaustion.Your already bruised knees hit the ground and this time you were sure the fall tore through your trousers as you felt the familiar bite of skin on stone.

"Sho!" Hizashi called out, stumbling to catch up to you and help you stand. "Sho!"

You could hear Shouta's footsteps above you still trudging forward through the rough gravel. You had begun to hit the slated hills that bled into the mountains.

"Fuck." Hizashi huffed to himself before taking a breath. "Sho!"

This time his name rang out, it wasn't loud enough for any sort of adverse effect to take you other than the slight jump of such a sudden loud noise hitting your ears. It was just loud enough to echo through the surrounding trees, it was loud enough that any other person would have had to really yell to get it out where it looked as though Hizashi had done little more than spoken normally. Shouta tensed and turned around, and you realized he had been completely oblivious to your fall or Hizashi's attempts to call him. Shouta had a thin trail of now dried blood running down the side of his neck that stemmed from one of his ears.

"Sorry." Shouta gruffed as he backtracked. He wrapped a hand around your arm and hauled you onto your feet with a huff and eyed the top of the hill. "Think you can make it to the top, we can set up camp there?"

You steadied yourself and nodded, eyeing his damaged ear. He watched you for a moment before realizing what you were staring at and sucked in a frustrated breath.

'I'm fine." He whispered.

"I'm looking at it when we get up there." you grumbled, forcing your tired legs to carry you just a little further.

Shouta nodded reluctantly and turned to Hizashi as you powered forward, eventually needing to grab onto tall rocks and bushes for help. As you ascended up the hill you could hear the couple muttering to eachother.

"Sho," Hizashi sounded mortified. "your ears."

Shouta cleared his throat and tried to change the subject.

"Give me your arm." He gruffed.

"Sho-"

"I'm fine, Zash." Shouta snapped. "Arm. Please."

You crested the hill first to find a clearing that appeared to be recently used as a campsite. Two cool fire pits sat, covered in ash and soot, but cool and unused for a few days at least. There was a long log that was obviously been dragged in from the other side of the hill and set up as a long seating arrangement next to the pits, the top of it smoothed down into a flat edge. The three of you sat in the clearing for a few minutes completely silent, letting yourselves catch your breaths a stew in your misery. It wasn't until Hizashi tapped your leg to get your attention that you realized he'd been staring at you.

"How's your ears?" He asked, his worried emerald eyes looking up at you. "And your head?"

"F-fine." You blinked, taking a second to back sure you were telling the truth.

"Good." Hizashi looked over at Shouta, who was gingerly wiping the blood from his neck. "D-do you have more of the medicine and water?"

"Yeah, I have more of everything." You started rummaging through the bag you had thrown over your shoulder and handed Hizashi bandages and a water skin. "I'll need to make some disinfectant liquid to drop into his ear though, it'll take a little while."