『バウンド』 Bound

Colonel Armon

Tatsumi awoke with a start and harshly took in air through his mouth. He experimentally moved his fingers and a huge wave of relief washed through his body. He could move again. He could breathe normally. His migraine was barely noticable. It was as though he was alive again, having to go through such a long time not feeling anything and just being a washboard.

His eyes took in the early morning sky, which was still dark blue and there was a faint commotion in the background. He was still surrounded by trees and there was a glowing flickering heat beside him. In curiosity he turned onto his side and noticed a jacket fall off of him. His heart, which had returned to it's calm beating, slowly picked up its speed. There was a small fire crackling in front of him with the luck of trees in the surrounding area to block the light it gave off. Shuddering, he sat up and scooted closer to the fire, wondering where the person who dragged him is. Did they leave him in hopes that he could defend himself? Did they find out who he was and decided to make a run for it so they would not be executed as well?

Tatsumi stopped asking himself questions that would have no answers. He blinked dazedly at the fire before blinking again and turning to look at the article of clothing that was previously on him. It was a long black coat with a hood. But strangely enough, there was a hole in it, as though something large tore into it.

He jolted and groaned while clutching his head. The unbearable migraine was back and it hurt more than ever.

"Ow...Ow... Ow..." He continued to mutter to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. Foot steps finally approached and he darted his head up.

"Careful young man, that poison put a number on ya." An old and kind voice spoke. Tatsumi looked up and came across an old man with a smile hidden behind his bushy white mustache.

"Did you-?"

"Indeed I did. Ya look very familiar. I couldn't resist givin' a helping hand." Tatsumi looked back at the fire.

"I looked... familiar?"

"Wanted posters everywhere. One of them Night Raiders?" Tatsumi numbly nodded and blinked when the man began putting out the fire. "Let's get ya to my cabin. It's safe don't worry."

When Tatsumi gave an uneasy look, the old man shrugged. "Or you can stay here and get captured. At this point I doubt they'll wait to publicly execute ya. You're on death row."

"I... I need to get back to my friends." Tatsumi whispered and yelped in pain when two hands slowly lifted him from the ground. Why was he hurting all of a sudden?

"You will once you are in good condition. Can you walk?" Tatsumi nodded hesitantly and rubbed his shoulder with a wince. The man picked up his belongings and tossed Tatsumi the black jacket. "Follow my lead, don't look back. It's going to be quite a walk."

Tatsumi slipped the jacket over him and followed him. Each time he took a step he winced at his head ache. The commotion quieted down and he wondered if his friends were doing okay. Especially Leone and the false hope she had that he did not have time to correct.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Tatsumi spoke up, "But why did you come here?"

"I picked up someone in a relatively close spot. Figured they were takin' a nap but the poor soul barely had any life. I'm not one to leave someone who needs help so I took them in. Still unconcious and kept muttering something. I came back to see if there were any clues on them and got a little ruffled up by a danger beast. So I camped here for a bit before I found ya later on."

Tatsumi took a closer look in the dark and noticed bandages on the man's arm.

"How do you know about Night Raid?"

"I'm a colonel for the 12th regiment of the Revolutionary Army."

"I see..."

"I suppose to be fair," Tatsumi looked up when the old man glanced back at him, "My name is Armon."