Rebellion

Red Eyes

Satoko didn't know how far or how long she looked. All she knew was that it was getting dark and that she could feel hunger. That feeling of hunger went on for at least a couple of hours. She was sure she spent at least three hours looking for him. At least it felt like hours. 

She wasn't lost. She knew where she was going, but it was harder and harder to stay focused. The forest just looked way too similar. If she had her bag, she'd just mark the trees with markers, but of course they were left without their stuff. And even if she had her phone, there wouldn't be no signal. 

She felt herself getting tired, but she didn't want to go to sleep just yet. Not before she finds him. She could be much stronger, she just needed to force herself to be. 

She hear noises coming from a nearby place on the right. Satoko went down and slowly crawled on the floor, carefully and cautiously. It could be anybody, and she wasn't really sure how sane the people in the gang were. Some of them were maybe just waiting for this type of situation, where they could just kill off thousands of people without getting caught, blaming the challenge as an excuse. Even if that wasn't an excuse, she still wanted to be careful, she couldn't help Shiro if she was dead or hurt. 

From the same side were heard annoyed grumbles. She peeked from the bush. She grinned. It was somehow amusing. Of course he'd get caught in the trap. The white haired boy was trapped in a net that was hanging upside down. His body was struggling to break through the net, looking like he was even managing somehow. 

"Need some help with that?" Satoko asked in a bit of a mocking voice.

His head turned away to face her. She got scared. There was just something... Off about him. He was different. Shiro's grin was huge, but in a morbid fashion. His eyes... They were glowing. It reminded her of the demon attack, something that scarred her for life. It looked so similar to the moment five years ago. When it was standing on her door, just staring at her, as if he was playing with her. She could just stand frozen as she stared, fear evident on her face.

"Oh, if it isn't the all mighty Miki Satoko!" He yelled out in a very condescending way, still grinning.

There was instability in his voice, as if he couldn't keep it in one tone. He kept breaking through the net more and more, almost looking like it'll break. Soon it would. Somehow she didn't want it to happen. She got scared he'd do something to her. 

"Look, I'm doing it by myself!" The net finally broke. 

Instead of falling down like the clumsy Shiro would, he landed on his feet in a crouching position. He stood up, turning around to face her slowly. Or it just felt slowly to her. This whole situation felt slow, but her heart was racing. She felt frozen. She wanted to move, but she was never met with this situation before. Never in her life. His eyes made her feel the most fear she felt in the five years since the demon attack. 

"Why are you looking at me like that!? You're getting me angry!" He yelled, his grin fading. 

He got closer and closer. Move. Please move.

"Are you scared of me!?" He smirked, laughing at the thought.

But as soon as he saw her just staring at him, it looked like he wasn't patient enough to wait for the answer.

"Answer me, or I'll give you a reason to be scared!" 

That made her feel terrified, but she could only stutter under the pressure. His eyes were peering and menacing. It wasn't the cute look she was used to. He came close enough for her to notice his height in a different way. He was so tall, yet it didn't feel comforting. It felt like he was just so much bigger than her that it didn't even make sense to fight back. She'd get killed either way. Was this even Shiro?

Once he was close enough, his movements got very rapid. Like he suddenly quickened the pace, just to play with her head. The last thing she saw was his hand very close to her neck. It stopped in a jerky movement. He pulled his hand back, his face confused and shocked. He gripped it and winced hard. Blood was mixed with water, and the wound just seemed to get bigger and bigger.

Satoko's eyes widened. He was hurt. But what got her even more shocked was that this type of wound could only happen to demons with holy water. His eyes went back to normal as he feel on the floor, gripping his hand even more, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Y-you're hurt! You need water!" She exclaimed, taking his other hand in her own, trying to pull him on his feet.

"N-No! Get away from me!" He yelled, fear on his face. 

He looked at her with his usual innocent eyes. They were teary, looking like he was trying very hard to hold it all in. Shaking in fear, or maybe even in pain. She never seen him like this. She didn't listen to him, she just tried getting him up more. 

"Stop being stubborn and come with me, idiot!" Satoko yelled harshly.

He nodded in shameful obedience. He stood up, still shaking. Satoko quickly took him to the nearest river, which luckily wasn't far. She didn't hesitate in the slightest bit when she shoved his hurt hand in the water. He screamed, looking like it was agonizing. He sighed after a moment, looking like it felt like relief now. The water near his hand had a reddish tint now, but soon became clear. 

Satoko let his hand go, signalizing him that it was okay to get it out now. Shiro looked at his hand, not amused with the huge scar it was left with. He noticed her looking at him with a gaze full of curiosity and fear. He sighed. He didn't know how he'll explain this, if he even could...