𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕊𝕖𝕒 (FEM! Reader X Arataki Itto)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ⁶⁰

"ITTO!"

Everything seemed to slow down. I stopped breathing for a moment and my mind went into full overdrive. The sight of his blood made my vision blur and my ears ring.

'He's hurt. Badly. I wasn't able to stop it.'

My heart was hammering loudly against my chest but I knew I had to stand up. I had to.

'Get up! Move! Snap out of it!'

I was finally able to breath again but struggled to get up with how weak my legs felt. I stumbled and hurt my knees on the sharp debris beneath me but I couldn't afford to waste a second thinking about the pain.

The blond laughed like a maniac, complete opposite of how he was acting earlier. "Hahaha! Some king you are!" He stepped away from Itto, a delighted grin plastered onto his face as he looked at the damage he caused.

"You..."

I dashed towards the blond with inhuman speed and cut him off by grabbing his face with my hand and used the velocity to slam him into the ground. Hard. I summoned the ice blade in a single, swift motion and raised it high and brought it down onto his thigh.

"AHHH!" He screamed from the pain and tried to take it out. I grabbed his one wrist in a crushing vice and forced him to look at me. He panicked when he saw my expressionless face and I pushed the blade deeper into his leg, eliciting another scream from the bastard as I kept him in place.

I clenched my jaw tightly, barely holding back the burning rage within me. He had to pay for what he had done. He must.

I got up but left the blade in his leg. I wrapped my fingers around the handle, him watching the movement in fear of what could happen next. I slowly began to pull it out and the blond squirmed in agony at my feet. Mercy was the last thing on my mind as I loomed over him, eyes darkening with vile thoughts–

"Sh-Shortie?" I was instantly pulled from that state and looked over at Arataki. He was staring at the floor with wide eyes, too afraid to move. He was swaying on his feet, probably lightheaded. I immediately let go of the blade and gasped when I saw the knife was still in his back. In case I didn't believe it before, there it was. It actually happened.

Blood seeped through his kimono, soaking it in a deep scarlet and the image burned into my memory. I snapped out of my petrified state when I saw that he was about to fall and I lunged forward to catch him.

He fell against me and I struggled to carry his weight. For a moment, he found his footing and tried to stand on his own again, long enough for me to take his arm and sling it over my shoulders for support.

"D-Do I take it out..?" He stuttered fearfully. "No! You can't! It'll bleed more s-so just... just hang in there!" I coughed a little and tasted something acidic in my throat. The aftertaste tasted like rust. 'No, not now!'

I hurriedly helped Arataki to the exit, leaving the assailants behind. Once outside, we traveled down the dark dirt path that lead in the direction of Higi Village but I knew just north of it was the fortress. Thankfully, the moon helped lead the way on what would've been a beautiful and quiet night, had it not been for the destruction that occured here.

"You're okay, you're fine..." I was muttering but it sounded like I was trying to convince myself more than him. "H-How're you feeling?" I asked him and he shrugged slightly,
  "Well. It's uncomfortable, I'll tell you that. A little scary... Kinda cold... Y'know, getting stabbed is a-actually on my bucket list." He gave me a weak grin and I gawked at him in bewilderment. "What kind of horrible bucket list do you have?!"