Dreams are made from White Strings [Kimblee x Reader]

2.: Crest of Blood

A Crest of Blood. You didn't know it was called that. All you knew was that it was gruesome.

It didn't come out of nowhere. For quite some time now, your village, along with the others in the vicinity, had been terribly exploited by the city of Wellsley, with a lot of people suffering in turn. Everybody had beard it somehow, until the pressure and the despair had become too much. The whole affair ended in bloodshed. Not even the army could stop things from spiralling downwards, their arrival made things even worse.

Thus, in a matter of hours, everything you knew was being destroyed. On every corner, people were fighting - no, killing each other, every house was either burning or already burned down.

It was too much, the screams, the bodies, the destruction. And nothing you could do but run. You were tagging Isa along, rushing through what was left of the streets to just get away. Your sister was incredibly brave, she didn't even cry, but that could have been due to the shock as well.

Explosions behind you drove you into a corner, the only way to escape was to crawl through destroyed bits of houses. But just in that moment, you felt Isa cringing.

"Please, not now!", you screamed, but it was happening. Her small body spasmed uncontrollably and she blood began dripping from her mouth. Her seizures had been getting worse and worse, and with all the stress of the situation, this one was the worst up until now.

The explosions drew in, but there was no way you could run with your little sister in this state. You thought of leaving her, her illness was going to kill her soon anyway, but as soon as the thought crossed your mind, you were disgusted by yourself. She was all you had left, and you wouldn't want to live on without her.

Clutching her small body to yours, you could do nothing but kneel on the floor, cry and await what was to come.

Blood from the bodies of the people running in the street you were facing, as they were torn to pieces by the explosion, splattered across your face. Whatever was causing that, was coming closer.

The floor in front you started to blow up, one small explosion after the other wandered your way, unstoppable and deadly. And then, just before the blast came close enough to reach you - it stopped.

In the distance, right behind the source of the explosions, you met eyes that were familiar to you. Though years had passed, you recognized the person standing there, watching you with an unreadable expression. Kimblee. Not dresses in the familiar blue uniform, but a white suit instead.

Only later, it occurred to you that he was the one causing the destruction, and that he in fact had spared you and your sister. In this very moment, your brain couldn't process the information your eyes were receiving. You didn't even realize that Isa had stopped shaking, until she reached up to your face and pulled your gaze from the Crimson Lotus Alchemist to her.

"Isa!", you gasped, and hugged her tightly. The guilt of even thinking of leaving her painfully pulled on your heart.

"(Y/n), shouldn't we run?", she asked weakly, tearing you from your state of shock with her question.

Immediately, you jumped up and pulled her with you, running without hesitation. You were stopped, however after a few metres.

"Don't. They'll kill you."

You faced they one who had spoken those words. Kimblee was blocking your way.

"The only way to escape", he continued, "... is for you to die."

In a swift motion, before you could even react, he pressed his palms together, then placed them on the floor. The force from the resulting explosion hit you with full intensity, sending you and Isa flying.

And everything went black.

•

The pain was not the first thing you felt when waking up, it came with the memory of what had happened. After the initial seconds of confusion, you were wondering why you had even awoken. If you had been dead, you wouldn't have woken up, after all.

'Isa!', came to your mind and you shot up, frantically looking around you, ignoring the ache all over your body. You were lying in between broken parts of houses, your little sister next to you. Bending over her face, you checked for her breath. It was there.

You exhaled in relief after you had confirmed she was alive. Then you started taking in your surroundings. The sun had set since long, it must have been in the middle of the night. You were still in your village, though the blast had sent you over to another street. It was quiet. After all that had happened, the silence wasn't soothing, though, it was haunting. But at least, you were still alive, and so was Isa.

You soon understood Kimblee's words. By making you look like corpses, he ensured that you would be ignored by the fighting masses, in turn protecting you from their rage.

He had not forgotten you, and had saved your lives.