Convergence

Part 3 : chapter 5

Despite the abominable pain that tore across her face, Utahime did not loosen her hold around Tsumiki. Blood began to pour in warm sheets down her cheek, sliding slowly along her neck and soaking into the collar of her shirt. Her blood. Not the blood of someone else. She could feel her skin splitting, opening down to the flesh, yet she did not dare raise a hand to the wound, perhaps fearing that the mere touch would make the suffering all the more real.

She did not cry. Nor did she scream.

What would have been the point?

Agathe would not hear her, lost somewhere high in the depths of the forest. And even if she did hear... would she even come? Utahime was far from certain.

Most of all, there was Tsumiki.

The young girl's body weighed against her with unbearable fragility. Utahime could not leave her here, in the middle of this horrible forest. She could not.

Gathering the last pieces of her strength, Utahime hoisted Tsumiki onto her shoulders. A flash of pain shot through her body at once, but she gritted her teeth and straightened up. Then she began to walk.

One step.

Then another.

The forest seemed endless. The trunks rose like hostile silhouettes, pressed tightly together, choking off the way out. The wind stirred the branches in a funeral whisper. Every movement tore a new burning pain across her face; every step made Tsumiki's body weigh heavier upon her already bruised shoulders.

She had no idea how much longer she could keep going.

Truthfully, she no longer even had the strength to think. Her mind had narrowed to a single command, simple and bare: Keep moving. Get Tsumiki out of here.

Her legs trembled. Her vision blurred at times. The ground seemed to give way beneath her feet, rippling like dark water. Yet she kept going, driven by a will even more stubborn than pain.

At last, between the trunks, a gap of light appeared.

The exit.

The school.

The courtyard was not far now.

Utahime tried to make one final effort, but her body decided otherwise. Her knees buckled suddenly, and she collapsed onto the earth, unable to hold Tsumiki any longer. All strength had left her. Her arms no longer obeyed. Her breathing turned short, ragged. The world around her swayed in a strange haze.

On the edge of unconsciousness, she thought she could see a figure approaching.

Tall.

Carefree.

Snow-coloured hair.

Him again?

Even as she was about to pass out, Satoru still had to come haunt her.

"Well, where were you girls? You sure took your time for such a simple mission. I was starting to worri—"

Satoru stopped dead.

His insolent smile vanished as though blown away by the wind.

Utahime's face was covered in blood. So were her clothes. A reddish stain spread unnaturally across her face. She was already tipping toward the ground when Satoru lunged forward and caught her before she could hit it.

In his arms, she lifted a clouded gaze toward him.

"Tsu... mi... ki..."

Her voice was no more than a breath.