Pᴀʀᴀʟʟᴇʟ | Dᴏʀᴏʀᴏ 2019 Fᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ |

17: Busted

"Kou..."

Hyakkimaru mumbled as he looked at the direction where the people went. He tried to follow them but the density of the people are giving him a hard time in doing so. Dororo noticed that Hyakkimaru had disappeared from behind him so he turned his head only to see him getting squished in the middle of many people.

The child sighed, telling the shopkeeper that he will return after fetching his friend. Dororo's way to Hyakkimaru became easy because of his small stature, and also because the people had started to disperse, giving him his much needed free space to move around.

When he reached Hyakkimaru, the teenager was already walking away, but he stopped him by grabbing the fabric of his clothes.

"What's wrong with you, bro?" The child asked as he pulled him back. "Where do you think you're going?"

The teenager turned to him before pointing at a certain direction.

"Kou is here". He spoke, facing Dororo.

The child couldn't believe his ears.

"What?"

"Kou is here".

Hyakkimaru repeated.

The child could feel a stinging sensation in his eyes but he shook his head. This isn't the right time for him to be emotional. Besides, how can he be so sure that the one Hyakkimaru had seen is Kou?

"It's a good news if the one you saw was really neechan. But, wouldn't she go to us if she saw you too?"

"She was injured...unconscious". Hyakkimaru frowned, remembering the large wounds visible on her back.

"Injured?" Then as if he was hit by a lightning, Dororo realized something. He remembered what the old shop keeper had said earlier.

"So you mean, neechan came with those people who just arrived here?"

To answer his question, Hyakkimaru nodded his head. Dororo massaged his chin as he think to himself. Seeing him doing nothing, Hyakkimaru had decided to himself to search for Kou. He turned around and was ready to leave when Dororo stopped him for the second time.

"Wait a minute, bro". The child said with a serious expression.

"Let's ask around first to know the whole story. And then we can go and confirm if that was really neechan. You also said that she's injured, so I think it's not really a good idea to meet her in that state. Aside from that, she's with some powerful people, so it's not wise to approach her carelessly".

At his suggestion, Hyakkimaru frowned even more. They have been searching for Kou for a while now, but now that they've found her, they can't even go and meet her immediately? Sensing his displeasure at the idea, Dororo tried to calm him down.

"Don't worry, bro. We'll go to her after asking around".

Dororo sighed in relief when Hyakkimaru gave up and decided to go along with his plan. Taking his prosthetic hand, Dororo lead him on to their first destination.

ಠ_ಠಠ_ಠಠ_ಠ

Kou blinked her eyes and grimaced when she felt pain on her back. She realized that she had been laying on her stomach and was very sure that sleeping like that for a long time isn't a very good idea.

The girl grunted as she struggled to sit up. A pair of big warm hands helped her in doing what she wanted. She turned her head and recognized the person who was with her in the room.

"Cat face..." She said with a small smile. "When did you came back?"

"A few hours after you arrived here with Tahomaru-sama".