Monsters of HoloSantos [Suisei x Sora] [HoloGTA]

Chapter 8: Maddening Conviction

Sora's mind turned blank. The sight in front of her felt unreal, as if she had stepped into a vivid nightmare.

"This has to be a lie, right...?"

But no matter how hard she wished for it, she couldn't wake herself up. The blood on her hands clung stubbornly, anchoring her to reality.

"Please tell me..."

She wished Suisei would smile devilishly like usual. Maybe she stuffed a blood pack under her clothes to play a horrible prank on her. She would be angry at her, but it would be better than this terrible truth.

"Why are you..."

But the hint of lethargy in Suisei's eyes told Sora that it wasn't the case. Her expression lacked the usual fervor that she would always have, causing Sora's heart to throb in dread.

"Sorry for not telling you, Sora." Suisei ended up muttering an apology, but Sora couldn't care less about that.

"That's not the problem here! What happened to you?!" Sora yelled out in panic.

"A stray bullet hit me during our escape, that's all. I was just unlucky," Suisei explained dryly, as if it didn't concern her.

"Unlucky? That's it?! You're seriously unbelievable!" Sora exclaimed angrily before lifting Suisei's shirt.

The gunshot wound on Suisei's body had bled badly. The left side of her stomach was soaked in blood pouring from it. Just seeing it caused Sora to wince. Had Suisei been holding in the pain all this time? How painful must it be? When those thoughts crossed Sora's mind, a pang of guilt shot through her heart.

Sora's expression darkened as her hands began to shake. Once again, her choice had caused someone to suffer. Because Sora asked Suisei to save her, she would die right here.

Sora weakly muttered, "I-I'm sorry... Because of me..."

Flick!

"Ouch!"

Her apology was cut short by a sudden flick on her forehead, causing her to yelp. When Sora opened her eyes, she caught sight of a scowl on Suisei's face.

"I told you to quit worrying about stupid things like that, didn't I?" Suisei complained.

"But that's..."

Suisei interrupted Sora before she could finish her words, "It's my decision to get you. Naturally, it's my own fault that this happened. So stop being sorry for things you're not responsible for before I get angry."

Sora could only swallow her words. Despite her wound, Suisei still showed the same confidence that pulled Sora out of her despair. Even if she wanted to cry, she didn't want to do so under her unyielding gaze. Doing so would be akin to disrespecting Suisei's resolve to save her.

"... But what am I supposed to do without you?" Sora muttered weakly. She wanted to spend more time with Suisei. Having Suisei by her side as she chased her dream wouldn't sound so bad. She might tease her sometimes, but Sora wouldn't hate her for it. In fact, she would probably enjoy her company even more.

But it was too late now. The brief moment that they spent together felt too short. Not only was she about to lose Suisei, she had been wrongfully declared as an accomplice. No matter how Sora saw it, everything was about to crumble around her.

Seeing Sora's sullen expression, Suisei let out a sigh. She pulled out her phone and started tapping on it. After pressing play, a conversation began playing from it.

"Your accomplice will get caught up in your troubles as well! Is that what you wanted?!"

"Her troubles are my troubles as well, so I'll take care of it all. Also, don't try to paint her into your schemes. She's my hostage, not my accomplice."