Shangri La Pt. 1

88: Domineering

( Note: This first part doesn't happen in reality, it's just something that Izumi is imagining, but that doesn't mean she can't feel anything in her imagination. Enjoy! )

Having the feeling that she was sinking deep underwater, the greenette could only open her eyes but knew that this couldn't be the reality. 

'Huh? What's– Ah– What's going on?' Izumi jerked her head left and right to see herself sinking in red water as if she was trapped in an ocean. 

'What's happening? Why do I feel like I'm sinking? Ah– Wait– I got injured by a soldier when I was at the temple where the Scholars were. But... But what happened after that? I– I lost a lot of blood that I couldn't hear or see anything going on around me. Am I... still in the temple? But that wouldn't make sense... not when it feels like I'm... drowning. So... is this all just a dream? Arg–' 

In seconds, Izumi felt that strong sense of something pinching her back and everything started to turn blurry in her vision. 

'Arg– what's happening... to me? Everything... Everything hurts!' 

Her chest began feeling tight and all she could do was try to hold her chest as she curled herself up in a ball, but everything worsened that she couldn't even keep her eyes open.

As Izumi could only lie there dreaming that she was drowning while in immense pain, a man decided to approach the unwary greenette and glare down at her as she struggled to breathe. 

'Tch– So those soldiers managed to get her injured, but they didn't finish the job. I knew I should've gone in there with her to make sure she'd be done for. If only I wasn't expecting the Captain of the Todoroki Knights to appear out of the blue, then none of this would've happened and everything would've gone according to plan by the Empress. And now that she's lying here before me, I guess I gotta finish the job.' this man thought, as it was revealed to be the very man that allowed Izumi to travel on his wagon all the way there. 

This same man would be the one that the Empress requested for him to keep an eye on the greenette through the travels to make sure she wouldn't escape. And though she's managed to escape death inside the temple by the Scholars, that didn't stop this man from finishing it.

The man knelt down–practically on top of the unconscious greenette–and stared down at her pained expression and he showed not a single shrivel of sympathy for what she was going through. 

'I don't know how the Captain of the Todoroki Knights knew she was here, but I need to finish her now before he comes here finding me and kills me. I may be just another puppet for the Empress, but that's something I'm willing to do when it's people like this girl blocking our path to freedom.' he thought as he soon raised his hands and then clasped them around the greenette's throat and started to choke her. 

Izumi was already appearing to struggle with breathing, but this kind of action clearly showed that she couldn't even try to gasp for a single breath.

"Arg– Choke, dammit, choke!" he yelled as he started vigorously shaking the greenette as the sounds of choking could be heard, but that didn't stop him from not finishing. The sound of something falling out of her sleeve gently rolled onto the ground, but the man was far too focused on what could've dropped onto the ground that he possibly didn't hear whatever it was that fell. 

"Arg– Why won't you– JUST DIE!!!" he exclaimed once more as he tightened his grip on her throat to the point of not hearing a single gasp for breath any longer. 

And when he saw the greenette's hand drop to the ground–almost completely lifeless–he stopped choking her and released his hands from her throat to look down at his work.