Betrayal

Chapter 11- Melromarc

Y/N's POV: 

My heart stopped. My breath hitched. Sweat pooled on my forward. And the feeling of the cold, sharp metal against my neck. 

"P- please, let her go". 

My glassy eyes met Naofumi's desperate ones. He held his hands up in the air in surrender.

"W- what do you want?" he begged. It hurt me to see him this way. So desperate, so vulnerable, so.... sad. 

A low chuckle vibrated through my back. "I want her". "Give me her and I'll spare your lives". The knife pressed further into my neck, drawing blood.

"Y- you want Y/N?" "Why?" 

I could sense the man behind me smirk, "A pretty thing like her is sure to make a hefty buck on the black market". My stomach dropped.

'H- he wants to sell me?' 

The shock on Fumi's face made me glance away. It was so hard to see him this way.

"Here, take all my money". The black haired boy threw a bag of money at the feet of my captor. 

"You think I want your money?!" The man grew angry. I could feel the warm, red liquid trickle down my throat, the blade cutting deeper. My eyes widened in fear, "F- fumi?" I yelped in desperation. "H- help..." The pleas spilled from my lips as the world grew black. 

"Y-Y/N". "Please open your eyes". The sweet voice of my best friend drifted through the air, reaching my ears. His voice grew louder, as my eyes fluttered open.

"Y/N, thank god, you're awake". Blinking a few times, I removed my head from Naofumi's lap, "W- what happened?" My voice came out croaky and I brought a hand up to my bandaged neck.

"Try not to speak". "You were injured pretty badly". He instantly pulled me into his chest, holding me tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay". "Don't ever wander off again". Tears brimming in my eyes, I nodded. "I'm sorry Fumi". "I just wanted to gather more firewood for you". "I thought it would help you". 

Smiling, Naofumi pulled away, "I know". "I appreciate the thought". He wiped the tears from my cheeks and helped me stand. 

"You aren't feeling dizzy are you?" "You did lose quite a bit of blood". Shaking my head, I glanced around. Lying in a pool of blood was the man who I had assumed was my captor. 

"Raph's doing", Naofumi spoke, seemingly reading my mind. Looking around, Raph sat by a tree, cleaning the blood off her sword. "T- thanks Raph", I choked out, still finding it hard to speak. Naofumi grabbed my hand, "Are you ready to continue our journey?"

Nodding my head, I gripped his hand tighter.

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Naofumi's POV: 

I led Y/N through the woods, refusing to let go of her hand. My eyes glanced nervously back and forth. After the ordeal, I noticed I became more protective over my party members. The thought of losing either of them sent a wave of nausea through my stomach. 

___

After we had parted from Itsuki and his crew, we picked up some new armour for Raphtalia and headed on our way towards the city of Melromarc. 

We had travelled for three days, rarely stopping. On the fourth day of our journey, just as the sun was about to set, we had stopped in a clearing to rest for a while. That's when Y/N had decided to gather some extra firewood for the night. She was adamant she wanted to make herself useful to me, so I reluctantly agreed.