"Hey. Isn't that Daiyu's?"
March asked, worry written in her eyes as she, Dan Heng and Jing Yuan, were battling some rouge ammuatron gatekeepers. They were certain to have cleared the last few and thought to make sure none of the wounded had been left behind. Until they stumbled on Daiyu's whip sword.
"Daiyu."
Everyone looked at the general as he whispered, seeing the look of horror in his face. He sensed something was wrong if her weapon was here. The whole mission, he hadn't seen her since she went to one of the temples.
"DAIYU!"
He yelled in alarm, breaking his cool as he took off to where he last saw her. His friends calling him out went deaf in his ears as the only sound he could make was the rain.
In his head, he was pleading with himself that Daiyu wouldn't be taken from him, too. He had already lost too many friends. But this was different. Daiyu was more than his friend. She was his lover. If he lost her, then it would be more painful than any of the other losses.
"ROAR!"
A roaring battle cry reached his ears. One he recognized as Daiyu's. His hope was perking up that maybe she was still staying strong in the fight. However, once he finally found her in his sights, his world stopped for a moment.
Right before him, an ammutron gatekeeper was standing before Daiyu. The commander was on her knees, holding onto her left arm. Her clawed gauntlets were stained with her blood as she tried to stop the bleeding. He couldn't see her face, but he was certain she was in pain. "Daiyu..." he breathed out, his voice broken. He heard the machine start up and glanced back up at it.
The gatekeeper aimed its large cannon at the already fallen panthera, who could only snarl at it aggressively. She was willing to go down fighting, but with her wounded arm and having exhausted herself so much from battling, there was little strength in her.
But Jing Yuan. He could not. That look of horror shifted in a glare. His eyes emitted a yellow glow as lightning crackled wildly. All he knew was that this foe harmed Daiyu. His Daiyu. His friend and lover. A loved one was about to be taken away from him. Just like all the ones from before. He would not accept another loss. Not this time.
"NO!!!"
SLASH!
A bright yellow light blinded Daiyu as she brought her good arm to shield herself. A sharp crack of lighting in the air reached her ears after hearing that angry yell. Lowering her arm down to see what that strong glow was, her eyes widened to see Jing Yuan standing in front of her. He had slashed his sword staff through the gatekeeper.
Looking at the general, she could a sense of fury in him, judging by the way the electricity flickered rapidly to reflect his anger. The mechanical foe sputtered as its system had been interrupted from the sudden electrical attack and slowly collapsed onto the ground, motionless, and nonfunctional.
He breathed shakily as his body shook, holding tightly onto his sword staff as he glared down strongly at the fallen machinery before him. It didn't matter if he had pushed himself with the current injuries from earlier. more injuries. He couldn't feel the pain from all the adrenaline he felt. Either way, he didn't care. He had dealt with the threat that dared to take away Daiyu.
Slowly, the panthera stood up and clenched her teeth to resist the urge to hiss or groan in pain from her injuries. Her eyes stared at the general, a little scared to say something unless she provoked him further.
"J-Jing Yuan?"
The moment her voice broke the silence and the sound of the rain, he turned around to look af her instantly. Just to see her alive, breathing and speaking to him was enough for him to feel his heart settle deep within his chest. A smile of relief formed on his face.
"You're...you're alive." He breathed out, letting out a relieved laugh mixed with a cry. If seeing him unleashing full rage in battle wasn't enough of a surprise, seeing this side of him was new to Daiyu. She was always used to seeing him relaxed or stern.
Jing Yuan dropped his dong qui and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. The sudden hug caught her off guard, and she nearly stumbled. But she did return the hug back. She understood where this sudden relief came from. He had experienced loss before in battle. This was a close one. They both have talked about that possibility of dying in battle, but this was the first time they came so close to it.
"Daiyu...." she heard him whisper against her hair, burying his face in her shoulder and wet, damp hair. But then the smell of blood hit his nose, reminding him that she was hurt. Pulling away, he analyzed her physical condition. The panic he felt earlier came back again as he hurriedly started to tend to her.
"Are you alright? Did you sustain any more injuries? Where does it hurt?" He asked her frantically, feeling his heart race at seeing the bloody cut on her forehead and the larger wound on her arm. "Jingy-" she called him by his pet name, hoping to calm him down as he brought his cape, and began wrapping it around her arm to stop the bleeding.
"I'm sorry, my love. I should have gotten here sooner. I shouldn't have left you alone. I should've stayed with you!" He apologized rapidly, ripping his piece of his cape to wipe the blood on her head. His head was spinning from speaking so fast without taking a chance to breathe.
"Jing Yuan! Breathe!"
He snapped out of his guilt and panic when two hands cupped his face, forcing him to look at Daiyu. She stated at him softly. Despite being soaked and roughed up from the battling, she was still the most beautiful thing in his eyes. Even more when she's alive.
Her thumb brushed across his cheek as he leaned it in her touch, finding relief at the cool feeling of her skin on his face. "Breathe." She instructed again in a calmer tone. There was no energy for both of them to argue or panic.
Obeying her command, he inhaled and let out a shaky breath. They did this a few times until his breathing resumed a normal pace. His golden yellow eyes looked at her green ones. The panthera realized that his eyes were emitting that yellow glow. Daiyu smiled assuringly at him, brushing her thumb against the cut on his cheek.
"I'm here."
That one whisper of assurance helped tone down the electric glow in his eyes. He smiled tearfully at her, unable to hold it in as he went in to hold her again. Her ears perked at a choked sob. It hurt her to hear him make a sound like that. It made her wonder if he acted like this through every loss he sustained.
He pulled back, cupping her face to press a soft kiss to her forehead. Letting their foreheads touch, he smiled at her in relief to see her alive. Daiyu stared back at him, smiling at him as they went for another hug. Her ears perked at some voices, and they turned around to see their friends arriving, finding them.
"Let's go get our injuries." She told him as the general started to feel his injuries sting once the adrenaline rush went down. He nodded at her as he put her arm over his shoulder to support her, making their way to their friends.
