Obsession (Ayano x Budo)

Chapter 23

Budo striked.

His hand shot in a precise arc to Taro's neck, like a guillotine zooming towards the final destination in a blur, about to execute the fatal blow...

This is for Ayano, Budo thought. At that very moment, the excitement within him was killing him, making him put even more force into the strike. A hysteria was taking over, but he loved the delicious racing of his blood. He smiled and thought wildly, just before he hit, Have fun with Osana in hell!

He missed.

Instead of hitting below the head and snapping the neck, his hand delivered a cracking blow below it, where Taro's back began, with all the power of a train ramming into a building. The effect was immediate.

There came an abrupt sound, like that of a branch being snapped into two, as his hand landed. The blow swept Taro from his hands and knees. There was only enough time for Taro to release a half-caught "Gh-" as he felt his back cave inwards. There was a brief, intense burst of pain along his back, and then, just as suddenly, it was gone as if caught by the wind.

Taro hit the gravel chest-first with a force that knocked the air out of his lungs. He lay still for a long second afterwards, feeling his heart running as if a horse was galloping on the inside of his ribs. He realized, slowly, that he was struggling to breathe. I must be winded, his mind thought then, dimly. Taro stared, uncomprehending, at the grey gravel in front of him and noticed in a half-real, half-dream sort of delirium that the snow falling peacefully around him looked beautiful.

All the while Budo gaped at his own hand, which was throbbing like hell. He was bewildered beyond belief. Gone was the excitement, as his mood effectively plummeted. Now, he felt all the chaotic energy and power that he'd put into that blow drain cleanly out of him, leaving him exhausted and disorientated. Did he just miss? Never had that happened before. But he'd also never felt that much power before. Is that what someone feels when they're about to kill someone?

With every second, Budo felt the hot pulse of pain flash on the skin of his hand more clearly. Budo's eyes moved from his hand to Taro's unmoving form on the ground. He was waiting for Taro to get up and start screaming at him. But he wasn't moving. Is he...?

No. He wasn't dead. Now Budo could see the small, erratic lifts of Taro's back as he struggled to breath. Is he winded? But winded people's hands and legs move in a panicked call for help. Their heads shift. Why wasn't he moving?

The longer Budo stared at him, the worse Taro looked. With his bruised face, and his little twitchy movements, he looked like a half-squashed bug in its final stages of death. He was alive, but...

A slow understanding crept into Budo. Taro was paralysed.

It would be cruel to let him live. I should end it. Budo wanted to look away from him, but his eyes were pinned to his body in morbid fascination. Now that he knew he truth, he felt a bit disturbed by it, by the way Taro's mouth was gaping first wide and then closed, again and again, like a fish out of water. He wanted to stop it quickly.

Budo was raising his still-throbbing hand again, when he heard the distinct wail of a siren. His heart stopped, arm frozen mid-air. Was it the police? As the siren started becoming louder, some sort of recognition clicked in Budo's brain. An ambulance?

The high-pitched whine of the ambulance was getting louder by the second. It was coming this way. Sudden-realization drained Budo's face of all its color. His eyes started sweeping over all the windows of the houses that lined the street and found them all closed by curtains. Someone was watching us and saw Taro. He started to sweat as he realized further what this meant. They may have just seen me attack him. Will they report me to the police? Will I be arrested?

That's when the ambulance turned the corner. There was no more time. He had to act now! Budo dropped his raised arm, and forced a panicked expression onto his face. Quick! He began waving his arms furiously at the fast-approaching ambulance.

Budo started screaming at the top of his lungs, "Help! My friend can't move!"

A/N: thank you @Chess_Cat, @regal_princess
@YadaGasai @ImAnOumaFangirl @Sisi_Dawnmoon for reaching well over 1k in the comment section of Chapter 8! Well done and thank you so much! :) *applause*