Those of Us Alone

Chapter 75: Transition~

Midori's POV

I guess you could say that the rescue was a success, in the most minuscule sense of the word.

I got off that god-forsaken stage.

. . .

. . . And fell right on my face, inducing quite the headache. 

Though, if I'm being honest, I guess that wasn't the worst pain I had felt all day. Not to mention that I was soon dragged off of the ground and placed onto my feet. From there, I darted off. 

For once in my life, I was running around with double-vision (thanks to my head meeting with the ground). It's very disorienting, but luckily for me, I could run the streets of Awa in my sleep. I did have to somewhat see in order to vault myself over things and avoiding people.

The pirates did create quite the ruckus. 

A few dozen turns, and I finally reach the safe-house. And thank goodness, because I all but collapsed into the arms of one of my allies who were likely startled by me slamming the door open.

"Took you long enough."

Soo-won's POV

It wasn't long before we arrived at what Miss Gi-gan called her 'base of operations'. In reality, it looked like an abandoned house, on the backside of some herbal shop.

It was . . . very quiet and there was immense pressure in the room

Generals Joo-doh and Geun-tae were surveying the outside from the mostly-boarded-up windows. Lord Mundok looked like he wanted to pass out, and it wasn't long before a pirate brought him a chair. 

I stood behind Mundok, watching with increasing worry as Gi-gan continued to pace back and forth across the room. She muttered to herself furiously every time a pirate came in who wasn't Midori.

Many of the pirates were concerned when they caught sight of me and the current and retired generals of the country. Their obvious glances and glares were constant, but they refrained from acting on any of their suspicions. There was something we were all concerned about. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

It had been hours, and now Mundok was pacing. I had begun to lean on the chair, and Geun-tae and Joo-doh had taken to not looking out the window every second. Instead, they were switching off. They were currently switching off, neither's eyes on the outside. 

That was likely why we were all surprised when the door slammed open, and a figure stumbled in. Everyone's attention was on them.

Gi-gan had snapped around, prepared to chew-out anyone who could have possibly given us away, but stopped soon in her tracks. A soft scoff left her mouth as she addressed the woman of the evening, "Took you long enough." 

She stumbled a little further, before my instincts kicked in and I caught ahold of her as she was about to collapse. As our eyes met, there was a frantic look in her eye, and as her eyes filled with tears, she muttered softly, "C . . . Can't I sit down before . . . you lecture me?"

The tension in the air was beginning to lessen, and I lead her over to the chair previously occupied by her grandfather. She shuddered as I backed away, and everyone gathered around, anxious to see her again.

Looking straight at her now, it looked as though she was trying hard to focus on something. She spoke slowly, as if not trusting herself, "That was . . . quite the stunt. . . Y'all really . . . pulled it off. . ."

No one spoke up, to be honest, I don't know if anyone knew what to say.

Her movements were sluggish, but she did finally manage to look up and meet Gi-gan's stern eyes, "What?" She let out a short, breathy laugh leaning her head back, "No . . . lecture?"

"Oh, you'll get a lecture," Gi-gan and Mundok were synchronized as they spoke, surprising not only themselves, but also everyone in the room. At this, Midori sat up, back rigid as her gaze went anywhere except either of the two.

Gi-gan shook her head, another worried glance was cast at Midori, "But . . . not tonight."

Midori's gaze now snapped back at Gi-gan, almost unsure, "Th . . . thanks? In . . . that case, is there . . . any chance I could . . . get some medicine for my head? I'm still seeing two of . . ." she glanced around the room, " . . . like everyone."

________________________________________________________________________________

Small, short, transitional chapter. . .

So, uh, hello, everyone!

As you can imagine, it's been quite hectic. Not really an excuse, but I guess my excuse could be that I'm taking one of the hardest semesters of my life . . .

Somehow I managed to find time that I wasn't doing homework and I wasn't trying to catch up on sleep. :/

Welp, I'll try to crank out an actual chapter soon. 

Hope everyone's safe and healthy!

Thanks, 

Ashley