The Death Market *Obi x OC* (COMPLETE)

End of Me

Song: End of Me - A Day To Remember

 I feel a spray of blood hit my side and I glance over to find Harlowe running her sword through another body. I still am uneasy about trusting her but at this point she is helping. I curse as I notice Iladriel escape Torin's grip and draw a dagger as she jumps into the fray.

"Ila get back here!"

"I can help Torin!"

I curse and fling a dagger in her direction and it sinks into the chest of the man who was about to stab her. I hear her call out a thanks as Harlowe and I end up back to back fighting against her people.

"Harlowe, why did you say you don't control the market anymore?" I ask.

"I abandoned Market. I'm no longer ruling."

"So, they'll kill you?"

"If they're strong enough." She shrugs as she ducks under my arm to stab the man I locked blades with. "If you wish to leave, you must hurry."

"What are you going to do since you aren't the leader anymore?"

"I have no idea but I do not wish to stay. I will help you through exit and leave you once free."

"Torin, Ila, I'm heading in, can you cover?"

"On it!" He calls out and I pull Harlowe into the tent with me.

Harlowe and I rush down the stairs with Iladriel and Torin following close behind trying to keep everyone back. Right now it's five against two and one of the two is a child. I can't leave them like this. I duck around Harlowe and tell her to keep moving as I rejoin the fight. Iladriel starts to argue with me but I shut her down immediately. There only three left to deal with so it shouldn't take long. We're already in the tunnel so it will be much easier to escape after this. We aren't in full sight of the other people in The Death Market to draw more attention.

"Torin, I hear water." Iladriel says as I drop the last body.

"What? We are underwater technically."

"They're flooding the tunnel..." Harlowe mumbles before repeating it louder. "They are flooding the tunnel, we have to go now!"

I feel her start to tug on my hand as the water appears at the end of the tunnel.

"Torin what do we do!?" Iladriel looks up at him with tear filled eyes.

He curses and looks between us and Iladriel before pushing her toward me.

"Take care of her or I will come for you, alive or in the afterlife."

"What are you-"

"Just go!" He shouts as he brings his sword up to the roof of the tunnel between us.

As I pick up Iladriel, the wall collapses between us.

"Torin! Torin! Obi let me go!" I keep my grip on the girl as she struggles to free herself. "We have to go back for him!"

"Hey, hey, listen." I tell her as we make our way through the tunnel. Apparently there was enough earth that built up to bring the rush of water down to just a small steady stream so we should be able to get out just fine. "Torin is a fighter, right? And he used to be a pirate. He knows how to swim and you know he won't give up without a fight. He's going to be fine."

I can feel Iladriel crying into my shoulder as we walk but she slowly calms down until she's asleep. I didn't notice any injuries on her that would warrant medical attention beyond a few small bandages.

"Harlowe, are you injured?"

"I am fine. You are bleeding though."

"Just a scratch." I mumble without bothering to look where I'm even bleeding.

"It's more like a stab wound." She retorts. "So what will you do with the little blonde girl?"

"I have to take care of her somehow. I know of a few people who may be willing to take her as a favor. I would bring her to the castle with me but I'm not sure it would be a good idea. She has a criminal background whether they know it or not and she isn't a fan of royals either. Where are you going to go?"

"I am not sure."

We reach the stairs leading up to the regular market and she hesitates. When I ask if she's okay she simply nods and tells me that she hadn't left The Death Market since she became leader. I offer for us to wait for a minute or two until she's ready but she rolls her shoulder and within just a few seconds, she holds the same confident air she had when I first encountered her.

"Let's go."

"Are you sure? We could-"

"If we do not go now I will not be able to."

Looking at her and the subtle tremble of her hands, I realize what has been off about her. She's terrified, she always has been. She is just really good at masking it. No, not masking it, she's mimicking. She saw the confidence Raji and the others who mistreated her held and she learned to copy it as a way to cope with the fear and protect herself.

"Alright, let's go. I'll guarantee your safety until we leave the market or you decide to part ways. Thank you for changing your mind and for helping us."

"Thank you Obi for helping me realize the truth." She replies with a slight smirk before leaning over and kissing my cheek.

My body tenses at the contact and I can feel heat rising toward my face. That's not what I expected, but it didn't feel wrong.

"Let's go Obi."

Without another word, she grabs my free hand and pulls me up the stairs and into the entrance tent. The guards are gone and in their place is Mitsuhide settled on the ground with a deck of cards. He looks up at me excitedly, until he notices Iladriel in my arms and Harlowe beside me.

"I feel like there will be a long story in my future."