Akagami No Shirayukihime - Obi x (OC) The Visitor

Chapter 7 - Gathered in the Red String

It was dusk when his feet landed inside the castle town of Clarines, and only a few minutes later were they padding on the castle grounds. His normal behavior was quiet, or didn't cause too much of a scene unless he had to, in this case he did. As soon as he saw the gates and the familiar guards, he shouted at them to open the gates. They noticed the limp body against his chest and hastily did so.

Drops of blood ranging from small droplets to large hit the tile ground of the palace as his feet pounded against the floors, the echoing drilling into his brain. His mind was hazy, and he was running on adrenaline. He whipped his head to and fro, hoping, praying to find someone to help, he couldn't think straight, he looked down to the crimsonette in his grasp as her breaths became more shallow and the knife still stuck out from her flesh.

His force from moving his legs at full speed all day, his thoughts that clouded and blurred his every move, the stress of having this girl who made his chest ache lay in his arms nearly lifeless, and everything that happened playing through his head, his knees buckled beneath him and he hit the ground. He rocked back and forth with the girl as he felt like he would break down into tears over her. Then it seemed the gods, or whatever spirit one believed in, saw this and decided that he had been through enough, because not a moment later, a very familiar voice call out to him from across the courts.

"Obi?!" He jerked his head up and met the eyes of a very concerned Mitsuhide. He dashed over to him as he then caught sight of Alice. He bent down his his level and then looked at Obi, his eyes widened at the state of the normally level-headed male. He was straight up terrified and his body trembled as he clutched Alice to him like if he held her tighter, she would be okay.

Mitsuhide placed a calming hand on Obi's shoulder and his gaze shot up to his. Obi's golden eyes that were filled with terror were calming as they spoke a silent conversation with Mitsuhide's brown ones. Alice was slowly lifted from Obi's arms as Mitsuhide took her and stood up, Obi stood with him and they both rushed to the medical wing. Mitsuhide, rather harshly, kicked in the door to the pharmacy and entered with a commotion, shouting and calling for someone to help him. Garak was the fastest to bolt out of her office to resolve the commotion, Ryuu behind her with Yatsufusa and Shirayuki tailing them. Garaka spared a glance to Alice in Mitsuhide's arms and started shouting orders, telling who to get what medications, and prepare a room to put Alice in. Garak directed Mitsuhide to a room down the medical hall and they placed Alice in there, Mitsuhide was then kicked out of the room as the pharmacists worked.

Garak intrustructed Shirayuki to stay out in the waiting hall with the two men and that Kiki and Zen were already contacted and would be here soon. Shirayuki was okay with staying out there, but if it wasn't for one factor, she would have been in there, treating Alice with the others, but she just couldn't leave Obi by himself right now. At the moment, the ex-assassin was slouched over on the couch of the waiting hall. His elbows on his knees and his face in his palms. He seemed like the living embodiment of slowly sinking sorrow.

Shirayuki walked up to Mitsuhide and wanted to say something, but didn't know what. Mitsuhide only shook his head at the apple-haired girl and leaned against a nearby wall. He was worried for Alice too, I mean she was a childhood friend after all, but Obi had him beat. Shirayuki placed herself next to Obi on the couch and touched his shoulder. He flinched at the contact but soon relaxed. Shirayuki noticed a bulge in his jacket as it hung forward a bit and she pointed to it.

"Hey, Obi.. What is that? In your jacket?" Obi's gaze shifted down to his jacket pocket and inside he saw a white stick. He slowly took it out as his back straightened and he smiled slightly at the carved flute and recalled the scene of Alice relaxed and playing her music as it sailed through the air in fluent notes.

"It's Alice's flute. She was playing it this morning." Shirayuki smiled and pulled a red ribbon from her pocket and placed it in one of Obi's palms. He looked at it and then at his Mistress confused. "What is this Mistress?"

"It's a red string!" She answered with a smile, brimming from ear to ear, trying to cheer up the male. It's at this moment that Kiki and Zen quietly slipped in the room as Shirayuki began to explain the string. "It's the same shade of her hair, so why not tie it to the flute. It's the the beginning of the string of fate, right?" She nearly quoted what Zen had told her about her hair the first time they met, about red being the color of fate, and Zen faintly blushed as he recalled it. Kiki smiled a bit as Obi clutched the string and began to tie it in a fashion to the flute. Once finished he held it away from him and took in the flute as a whole.

A beautifully carved oak flute, with even creases from the carving knife and the unique air holes for creating different notes to meld into melodies. All with a crimson thread looped around the bottom and hanging from the end. Obi smiled at it as he twirled it in his fingers and examined it. Obi nearly dropped the flute as he was hit on the center on his back between his shoulder blades. Whipping his head around he was greeted with a smirking Zen who had his hands on his hips, as per usual.

"Well well, look who's here."

"We made it in time didn't we Master~?" Zen reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch before opening it and then closing it again.

"Just in the nick of time, but I'll let it pass this time around." The four personnel lightened the mood for a while until Ryuu and Garak came out of the room Alice was in. It was nearly two hours since they saw anything from them. The longest two hours Obi's had to sit through. Mitsuhide noticed the change in Obi's eyes and took the initiative.

"What's happened to Alice?" Mitsuhide came right out with the question weighing on everyone's mind like a two-ton metal beam. Garak crossed her arms and bent her head down as she briefed Alice's condition.

"She's got some minor injuries here and there, but the biggest difficulty was the puncture wound to her abdomen. Thankfully, the knife wasn't moved hardly at all on her transport here, so that saved a bit of blood loss, and Obi was wise enough to not removed the knife all together." She uncrossed her arms and placed them on her hips as she looked up and smiled. "In conclusion, she'll be just fine. Just needs a lot of rest."

Obi let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in and he felt relieved that she was going to be okay. He placed the flute back into his jacket pocket as he stood up. "Is it okay if I went back there? Just to see her for myself?"

"Not at all, go ahead. You may come and go as you please." Obi thanked her before running down the hall and into Alice's room. Once Obi was gone, Garak signaled to Ryuu and he nodded as he walked over to Zen and handed him something wrapped in cloth. Ryuu then returned to Garak's side.

"Your Highness, inside that cloth in the blade we took out of Alice's body. I didn't want to show it to Obi, I wanted you to make that decision to show him or not." Zen nodded at the blonde medical expert and carefully unwrapped the blade to see it glint off the lights. It was a rather impressive looking blade, golden and shining, like it was made for decoration, not combat. Zen carefully folded it back up and placed it in his side back he kept on his belt.

"I'll show him later, let him some time to recover then I shall. Thank you Garak." She bowed to him.

"Anytime Your Highness." With that she, and Ryuu dismissed themselves. Kiki purposed that the four of them leave as well and let Obi have some time alone with Alice. Shirayuki agreed easily as did Mitsuhide and Zen just followed along. They all left the pharmacy with Alice and Obi behind that night a waiting until morning to see the two of them.

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Next Chapter is hereeee~~~!!!

Its up faster than expected because I feel like I may be getting a case of writer's block and that is the WORST THING EVER!!  So I thought before I just fall into the pit of darkness that is Writer's block, I'd post a chapter with a proper word count of over 1,000 like normal and fight the block monster. X'D  Hope you enjoyed though and the next chapter will be posted eventually.

Thanks guys!