𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑪𝒀𝑶𝑵 𝑶𝑩𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑰𝑶𝑵 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

Feeling ~ Age 11

"My leg really hurts..." Aizen mumbled out, voice a little muffled by the fabric on Hikaru's shoulder.

They had been running for a few hours now, but it seemed like they weren't even coming closer to the tower.

"Suck it up," was the reply he got, the boy's hands gripping onto his legs, holding him up, "We're bound to get to the tower sooner or later either way."

Aizen did as asked, ignoring the rather painful pulsating in his leg.

They needed to get to the tower.

That was all that mattered.

_

Hanae ran ahead of them, acting as a scout. Aizen and Hikaru were vulnerable in their position, so it was best Hanae stayed right in front of them.

That was the plan, but they didn't expect the second attack to come so soon.

"Get down!" Her shrill voice rang out, immediately causing Hikaru to jump off the branch and towards the ground. Not a second after, the branch that they were previously on got blown to shreds.

Aizen winced as the side of his leg scraped down one of the trees and his bandage got loose, "Hikaru, set me down." He hurriedly told the dark-haired boy, causing him to reluctantly release his hold on him.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Aizen stumbled, his injured leg screaming out in pain, "You can't even stand properly!" Hikaru hissed at him, grabbing a hold of his arm, holding him up.

"If we stay together, it'll be easier for them to hit us, we're also slower if I'm on your back!" Aizen ripped his arm out of his grip, shakily stepping away from him.

Their argument was cut short when the ground beneath their feet rumbled, "Get back!" Hikaru pushed him away the moment the ground's surface broke and a person jumped out, kunai slashing at Hikaru.

Aizen watched as the kunai stabbed into Hikaru's palm, cutting through.

In retaliation, Hikaru pulled his hand back, effectively catching the shinobi off guard, and slammed his fist into his face, knocking him back. The kunai was released and Hikaru grabbed the hilt, pulling it out.

Hanae landed next to them just in time to watch as the knocked down shinobi puffed out of existence, smoke remaining in his place, "A clone?" She asked, already pulling out a bandage.

"I don't know how many of them were there, but it seemed as if they were testing us." Hikaru said, taking the bandage out of Hanae's hand and tightly wrapping it around his injured hand.

Testing them...? That boy who attacked them was an Iwa shinobi. Aizen had caught sight of his forehead protector.

Great...

_

The pain he felt was almost unbearable. Blood had seeped through the bandage, staining it a dark crimson. Hanae had run out of bandages, so there was no way for him to replace the one he had.

But, it was better than nothing.

Yet, he felt his vision starting to blur. The vibrant trees around them had blended together, creating an infinite amount of green around him. Everywhere he looked, he only saw green, green, green.

"Wait." He did as asked, body coming to a full stop as a deep breath left him. He almost flinched when a cold hand settled on his shoulder, "You're not fine." Hikaru said, turning him around.

Oh... Did he perhaps look like he was on the verge of passing out?

How funny... "Nice of you to notice." Aizen weekly pushed the hand off. It felt as if it was weighting him down and he could barely move as it was, he didn't need an extra weight on his shoulders.