Red x Eyes

Chapter 1

Beads of water slid down the pipes. Noise from the vehicles no longer bothered him, for all he could think was a way to leave that terrifying place as soon as possible. Even he himself wanted to throw a temper tantrum to those who'd set him up, calling him a Rogue without reason, all while ganging up on him. Though, he felt inappropriate since part of him kind of agreed with them, that he actually didn't deserve to live anymore. Countless wounds and bruises could be seen on that man's body, as a result of their beatings.

He was out of breath. Only god knows how long he'd been running, leaping, falling, before getting back on his feet and repeating it all again. He winced from the sharp pain in his head, and his throat was parched, but he knew too well to hold it all in, so that nobody else needed to suffer from his condition.

Shouldn't drag anyone else into this, he thought.

His vision started to blur, his breath was getting ragged, and his consciousness was fading. He walked closer to the wall, taking a moment to regulate his breath, before continued to walk while using the wall as a support. Am I safe yet? Have they stopped chasing? These were the questions plaguing his mind, the only thing forcing him to continue moving. Eventually, his trembling feet had given up, and the last thing he could remember before passing out completely was a girl, calling him with a worried voice.

***

A ray of light shone on his face. It wasn't blinding, but enough to wake him up. The pain in his body had subsided, but his throat was still parched. His nose caught the faint smell of medicine, or rather, a disinfectant, mixing with the smell of blood in the air.

Did someone... help me? he wondered. But... why?

He took a closer look on his bandaged arm. A bit clumsy, he thought, though, wasn't terrible as a first aid. His senses started to adapt to the surroundings. The scent of an unknown flower, mixed with the scent of blood and disinfectant. The noise from the vehicles outside the window mingled with the indistinct conversation from outside the room. The room itself was dim, considering the only source of light was the one that crept through the curtains, but he was able to recognize the furniture occupying the corners. The bed he was sitting on, a desk with several books piled on it, and a closet right across the bed. Quite simple, he thought.

The sound of footsteps pulled him back to reality. Someone was walking toward the room. He held his breath when seeing the door being opened.

"Oh, you're awake.*" (*spoken in Japanese)

A girl in his twenties, wearing long clothes with her hair in a messy bun. She seemed alert, but her movement showed no threat. The man sighed in relief, while she, noticing a ray of sunlight, quickly walked toward the window.

"You can open the curtain," he spoke.

"You sure it's alright?" she asked, which was replied by a nod from him.

She then opened the curtain, allowing the sunlight to fill the room. She then walked toward the bed and sat on a chair next to it.

"Could you tell me your name?" she asked cautiously.

"Wakaba...Yuuto," he answered.

"Wakaba-san, then? My name is Aria, it's nice to meet you," she replied.

"Likewise," Yuuto nodded. "Oh, and English is fine."

"Er, was it that obvious?" Aria scratched her ear.

"There was a hint of doubt in your voice," he explained. "Do you live here, Miss Aria?"

"Just Aria is fine, and... yes, actually, this is my bedroom."

"Sorry for the trouble," he said, bowing slightly. "If only my injuries could heal faster...."

Aria let out a deep breath. "Well, it's gonna be tough with your current condition, since it's not like I always have blood bags in storage...."

Yuuto stiffened, his eyes wide. "H-how did you...?"

It took him almost everything to stay as still as possible, since injuries not healing meant that he wasn't stable and thus, more prone to commit aggression. Once the fight or flight instinct was triggered, it could end horribly for either or both of them, in ways more than one. Aria, taking a notice at his behaviour, tried to calm the situation.

"Last night," she took a deep, steady breath. "When I checked on you, your body temperature was too low, and... before you completely lost consciousness...," her hand fiddled with the hem of her shirt. It was at the tip of her tongue, but the tension made her rethink her choice of words.

Yuuto's hand traced around his eye. "Was it... that obvious?"

Aria nodded. "Very, actually. It's less obvious now, but...," she found herself struggling to finish, afraid to look him in the eye.

"Why didn't you run?!" Yuuto raised his voice. "Others would've been afraid and leave, but why did you... instead...."

Aria fell silent. Realizing what he just did, a hint of guilt started to creep inside him. "Sorry, it's just... what you did was reckless. Plus, you've been aware of my condition, so... why this far...?"

Aria took a deep breath. "That's...." 

                                                                                                  ***

Author's Note: 

Dialogues that are completely italicized (as in whole sentence, not just 1 word) from this point on are all spoken in Japanese unless stated otherwise. Thank you.