The Hound's Moon

Agonizing Remedial

--Chapter 14--
Agonizing Remedial

Yuuki woke up, hissing at the stinging pain on her arm and leg. When she tried to move, she somewhat couldn't. Her two limbs were incapacitated for some unknown reason. It was as if lead were holding them down. She felt fabric around her limbs, wondering who had bandaged them up. All she could do was look around. She noticed that she was on her bed within her apartment. The raven tried to recall what happened before the sudden blackout.

'I was... investigating Caster's whereabouts with Cú and we ended up by Miyama Town's Ryuudou Temple. A barrier forced him out so I went ahead... Um, there were multiple servants nearby...' Her eyes widened as she spoke before groaning. "Caster..!" She couldn't even move to a more comfortable position as she felt the pain. Her free arm glazed over something warm. She glanced over the bedside, seeing the male resting with his backside on the wall and him sitting on the side of the bed.

The Celtic stirred awake, covering his mouth as he yawned. His half-lidded eyes lazily glanced around until he laid his eyes on the awoken female. It was then his eyes widened and grasped onto her right hand with both of his. "Milady...!" She weakly smiled, feeling the welcoming warmth on her hand. "Morning mo ridire..." The female felt him shake when he placed his forehead close to her hand.

"I told you not to friggin' scare the hell out of me. And what did you do? Scare the hell out of me." He heavily sighed, kissing the back of her hand that had the command seals. "Sorry... I didn't expect a sudden comeback from Caster. She was already injured before she headed toward me." She turned her hand to cup his right cheek, caressing it lovingly.

"You've been out cold for almost more than 36 hours, mo banphrionsa." The raven was shocked to hear what the male had said. "36... hours? It has been that long?" The male leaned into her palm as he slightly nodded. "Yeah. It's been a day and a half since then. What the hell happened back there that caused you to be out cold for this long?"

The female explained the situation about Archer, Caster, and the sudden high schooler that was there. She spoke about the high-density mana that accumulated from the city to there. She purposely left out the detail with the arrow called Caladbolg, knowing that it would plague his mind. "Tsk... So that shitty Archer in a way defeated Caster but didn't take their head? That's pathetic." The raven smiled, blinking slowly as the male continued to speak. "The fact Caster wanted you as a sacrificial lamb for mana... It makes my blood curdle. I would murder her in a second if I wasn't prevented."

"But I'm here...right? That means I'm well alive and thank you for catching me." She tried to turn but groaned painfully due to the numbing wounds. "Don't move just yet, milady." The female pouted. "But Cú... I want to sit up. Can you help me so I could sit?" Unable to resist his princess' pout, he sighed. The Celtic cautiously wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulders before pulling her up to a sitting position. The raven hissed at the movement before settling down in the seated position. Her eyes fell upon her clothes, to which were somewhat disoriented buttoned up pajamas.

"...Mo ridire..." The male hummed as his response. "What... happened to my clothes I wore beforehand...?" His eyes flickered left and right before he scratched the back of his head. "Uh, about that... the situation was that uh...I had to get you in more comfortable clothes, so... I replaced them with those." The female's temperature rose so quickly that she had got somewhat lightheaded. "And I had to tend to your wounds; whatever the hell you did to yourself that is... which leads to my main concern. Why use the runes of fire?"

The raven, too preoccupied with her thinking, was shaken by the Celtic. "Milady, are you alright?" His voice brought her back to reality, which made her subconsciously look down on her free hand. "S-Sorry... Can you repeat that?" The male sat next to her, his left side prompted by the bed's structure as he faced her. "Why did you use the fire rune out of all things to separate yourself from Caster?"