Two Sides Of The Same Feather

B3 Part Three

      The cry leaves my mouth right away.

   "HAJIME!" I shriek. 

   The bullet slices through his shoulder like it was merely butter. Hajime slumps down in his seat, emitting a loud wail of agony. The wound begins bleeding immediately as he throws his head back, continuing to wail and groan.

   I remove my sweater immediately, rushing to his side. I prop his arm up on top of his arm to slow the bleeding and tightly press my sweater to it, applying pressure. 

   There's an entry and an exit wound, implying the bullet went straight through him. Hmm, this won't do.

   I remove the sweater briefly, ripping it into long strips of fabric. I begin using them as bandages, wrapping the wound up tight. 

   "Hajime, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I keep mumbling anxiously as I go about my work. 

   "Aha...you shot me, Ko." He laughs weakly. 

   "I'm sorry I'm sorry." I keep repeating.

   Finally, Hajime sits himself up and smiles. "Well, it hurts like a motherfucker. But if I had to get shot by anyone I'd rather it be you.~" He teases. My cheeks turn pink.

   "We need to clean out the wound. Once the bleeding lets up a little, we'll go to the shower and wash it out. We need to prevent infection the best we can." I tell him. He gives me a lopsided-yet-pained grin.

   "Whatever you think is best." He responds.

   Once I'm done treating the wound for now, I sit on the ground at his feet. He clutches his shoulder, smiling slightly at me. Suddenly feeling exhausted, I rest my head in his lap before I can think things through.

   Suddenly I stiffen. I just casually put my head in the lap of the person I just shot, a serial killer. He's going to prematurely kill me, isn't he...

   But to my surprise he starts running his fingers through my fluffy hair, petting me. "You're hair is so soft." He mumbles. I chuckle nervously. "Marshmallow boy." He hums. 

   "Haaaa." I breathe involuntarily. Ah, I did that out loud. He's going to be disgusted with me now, if he wasn't already. 

    He continues humming, gradually starting to hum a tune as he continues petting. 

   "Has the bleeding slowed down yet?" I ask finally. He glances over at his shoulder.

   "A little," He replies, "we can wash it soon, if you want." I smile lazily, growing a little sleepy under his rhythmic strokes.

   "Um-kay."

   Suddenly the monitor flickers to life and Chiaki appears, looking pissed as heck. "WHAT THE HELL?! HAJIME, YOU'RE CHEATING ON ME?! BASTARD! YOU TWO BETTER GET OUT OF HERE NOW OR I'LL BLOW YOU TO BITS!" She screams angrily. 

   I leap to my feet in an instant, startled. I extend a hand to Hajime, helping him to his feet. He clutches his shoulder, glaring at Chiaki. I tug on his uninjured arm gently.

   "Let's wash the wound." I mumble. 

   "Sure."

================================================================================

   After washing out the wound, we return to the main hall.

   "So what's next, Ko? Should we play the next game or take a breather?" Hajime asks. I shrug.

   "It's up to you. You're injured after all. If you still need time we'll take some time." I respond.

   "No, let's just get this over with. I won't be better until I kill that obsessive bitch." He grumbles, opening the second door, leaving no choice but for me to follow. 

   The first thing that grabs our attention is Chiaki on the large monitor.

   "Welcome to Game Two! I'll now explain the rules. The game, is Hide And Seek Maze. Nagito, you will be the hider and Hajime will be the seeker." She states. Hajime frowns.

   "It can't be that simple. What's the catch?" He demands. Chiaki smiles darkly.

   "You're going to be trying to kill Nagito."

   "Excuse me?!" We exclaim in unison.

   "Indeed. I'm going to inject Hajime with a drug that gives him the uncontrollable urge to kill. It'll only last for twenty minutes. Stay alive for that long, Nagito, and you win the game!" She chirps happily.

   As soon as she finishes speaking, a mechanical arm containing a syringe shoots out of the wall and stabs Hajime's uninjured arm. He lets out a groan of protest.

   "Good luck and have fun! Timer starts now!~" She sings before vanishing once more. Hajime turns to me with a determined, dark expression. 

   "Marshmallow...I know you want to die, but we're not out of here yet. We have a promise so please...don't let me kill you just yet." He says through gritted teeth.

   I stare back at him, nodding firmly. "I'll do my best." I promise. He smiles, ruffling my hair.

   "Good boy," He shoves me towards the maze, "Run."

   I don't hesitate to depart from his trembling form. 

   I hear some disturbing laughter coming from behind me but I don't look back.

============================================================================

   I've been running for maybe five minutes now. I'm so out of breath I'm going to collapse. But Hajime is a fast runner with a lot of stamina and I know he's nearby. I promised him I wouldn't let him kill me. I can rest after. 

   "Ko~mae~daaaa~ where are youuuu?~" I hear him sing with a malicious tone from a little ways away. I shiver. Damn, he can be terrifying when he wants to be. 

   "Come out come out~you can't hide forever, doll!~" He coos. I clamp a hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing. I've got to get out of here!
  

   I take off running once again, my boots slapping loudly against the concrete floor. I've got to get away! 

   I come to yet another split in the path. Right or left?! AH!

   I choose the right path, sprinting down the hall the fastest I can. 

   Oh.

   Oh.

   Well, shit.

   It's a dead end. 

   "Ah~so that's where you are."

   I turn around and there's Hinata, weapon in hand, sauntering towards me with a smug smirk.

   "Hehe~No where to run!" He cackles loudly. I keep stepping back from him until my back is against the wall.

   No! It can't end like this! He can't kill me yet! I've gotta do something I've gotta-

   I don't have much choice.

   My body moves before I can think it through.

   I lunge forward rapidly, and kiss him.