Oh, the Irony

Betrayal (Chapter Three)

When I describe this chapter, I can only say the feels. Hehe, I had some trouble writing this one.

Yay, Suigetsu finally comes into play! :D

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Disclaimer: Haha no.

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Chapter Three

Over the course of the week, I remained mostly in my bed (or at least in my room), with Karashi coming in several times a day to either bring in curry or tend to my injuries. Oddly enough, the majority of his time was spent in my presence. At first, I was puzzled as to why he would willingly choose to stay with me. It certainly wasn't because of my "charisma", or my lack thereof. But over time, as Karashi revealed his personality, little by little I quickly figured out why he preferred to be with me.

Karashi was only trying to boost his ego... I was sure of it. Almost constantly, he bragged about his oh-so-great Kurosuki clan. Even though he was no longer a member, he talked about it so animatedly, as if the clan was his. I did admit that it was kind of getting on my nerves, but finally establishing human contact- normal human contact- after being locked up in that hellhole for so long was so wonderful that it was more than tolerable.

And really, there was no reason for me to keep secrets from him. Although I had expected Karashi to reveal some sliver of immorality, he remained as pure as ever, and my view of him didn't change. As I got used to having him around, I slowly opened up to him and even shared with him the story of my horrid past one night. Besides, who would he tell, and how would they benefit from that sort of information? Karashi only lived with two others- his mother, Sansho, and his younger brother, Ranmaru. Even if he felt the need to tell them, it wouldn't threaten my safety in any way.

"...Wow," Karashi breathed after I had just finished relaying my torturous experience. "You really went through all of that?"

I raised an eyebrow as I fiddled with the threads of his bed sheets. "Why would I make it up and waste my time telling you? You're the very first to know about this."

Karashi, like usual, didn't show any signs of offense; I guess he got used to my personality. Instead, he laughed. "Of course... It's just hard to believe. I'm surprised you haven't gone crazy from all of that."

I wouldn't have been surprised if I already had gone crazy. Laughing softly, I said, "Same here."

"I'm glad you found your way here," Karashi continued.

Well, of course I was, too... Why wouldn't I be? He brought me back from the brink of death, after all. But as I noticed a flicker of a hidden meaning in his blue eyes, I started to wonder why he would enjoy nursing me back to health.

"Why?" I inquired. "You had to spend so much of your time taking care of me while I couldn't do anything for you. I was basically dead weight."

Karashi's lips curled upwards in a small smile as he regarded me with a knowing look. "That's not true," he objected. "A few years ago, a good friend of mine taught me what the true meaning of strength was. I was lucky to meet someone like Lee..." He trailed off, probably recalling something from the past. I continued to look at him and waited for him to continue.

"Anyway," said Karashi, the same intense look returning to his eyes, "He taught me that real strength is finding the courage to not only protect yourself, but others, too. Now that you're here, I finally have something to protect- you."

I blinked as I processed his words, but I didn't have much time to come up with an answer... All of my attention was drawn to Karashi's arm, which was now circling around my waist.