Ch. 7: A Turbulent Evening
The scattered cries of crows echoed through the town, dyed scarlet…-.
Subaru: “…nah, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Contrary to his words, Subaru’s gaze remained fixed on the alley…
(I wonder what’s going on…?)
It was at that moment…-.
Town Woman: “Bandits! The bandits have come again!”
Subaru: “!”
Hearing the voice yelling in the distance, Subaru’s body moved on reflex.
(Bandits… I remember the townspeople saying they’d increased recently…)
Subaru: “…damn, I’ve got no choice.”
A large hand rested on my shoulder as I still stood there bewildered.
Subaru: “Hey, you’ve seen enough of the town, right? Go back to the castle.”
OO: “What about you…?”
Subaru: “I’ve got some minor business to take care of. If there’s anywhere else you wanted to go, I’ll take you tomorrow. So just head back for today, got it?”
I peered into his eyes, and there was a sincerity there that I couldn’t ignore…
OO: “…alright.”
Confirming my response, Subaru broke into a run and headed for the disturbance.
As I felt the heat on my shoulder rapidly dissipating, I watched him as he left.
Ch. 8: A Lowered Fist
As Subaru left, his form was swallowed up by the darkness until I could no longer see him.
(Subaru…)
————————
Town Woman: “Bandits! The bandits have come again!”
Subaru: “…damn, I’ve got no choice.”
————————
(Subaru went to chase after the bandits I bet.)
Worried, my feet subconsciously turned towards the alley, and I tightly gripped my hands.
————————
Subaru: “If there’s anywhere else you wanted to go, I’ll take you tomorrow. So just head back for today, got it?”
————————
(He was worried about me, so I should head straight back.)
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I stepped into the crowd with my eyes set on the castle.
But then…-.
OO: “!?”
A hand reached out from the alley, grabbing me and pulling me in against my will.
I couldn’t cry out in pain as an arm held me down painfully and I reflexively turned my head.
(What…!?)
Bandit 1: “You the girl that was with Prince Subaru?”
I could only shift my eyes as my mouth was covered, and the rough-looking men made vulgar smiles.
…
……
Having been captured by the men, I was taken to a dimly lit cavern on the outskirts of town.
A tepid wind curled around my body, maximizing the creepy feeling I was getting.
(Where is this…?)
??: “You can’t run!”
(Was that Subaru’s voice?)
An angry voice echoed from within the cavern, and I was dragged towards the fighting.
Bandit 1: “Don’t move!”
Subaru: “!”
At the source of that angry voice was Subaru, surrounded by ten other men.
Subaru’s gaze fell to me, and he dropped his fist, which had been in the air ready to strike the bandits.
(Subaru…!)
The second I tried to speak, I felt the cold bite of a blade against my neck and my body froze.
OO: “…!”
Bandit 1: “Don’t you care what happens to this girl?”
Subaru: “… …tch, what are you planning?”
Subaru’s eyes boiled with rage as he stared fixedly at the man holding me.
Bandit 1: “I’m not planning anything. As you can see, we’ve taken your girl hostage.”
Subaru: “Getting a woman involved in this is pretty cowardly.”
Bandit 2: “Heh, it’s fine if it means winning. Come on now, let’s see you put away those fists.”
Subaru: “…tch.”
I didn’t know how long or how many opponents Subaru had been fighting, but his body was riddled with injuries…
OO: “Subaru, don’t worry about me…!”
Subaru: “Shut up, you just stay quiet.”
I startled at the tone of his voice, deep and low as if it had come from the earth itself.
The bandits flinched for an instant as well, but then smiled as they saw Subaru’s fists relax…
Bandit 1: “Get ‘im!”
At that signal, the men struck at Subaru in unison.
OO: “Subaru!”
The thudding sounds echoed again and again as Subaru’s face and body turned red.
Even still, he continued to endure the beatings with his hands clenched.
Ch. 9: With Fists Swinging
Angry shouts and wicked laughs grated on my ears as they echoed cacophonously through the dark cavern…-.
Subaru: “…this is nothing…”
No matter how many times Subaru was struck, he kept his fists clenched and just smiled at the men.
Bandit 2: “Damn… this bastard!”
Subaru: “!”
With a punch to the face, Subaru was thrown against the rocky wall.
OO: “Subaru!”
(He can’t keep going like this… isn’t there any other way?)
I took a small breath and glanced up at the man who had captured me.
He was completely absorbed in the beating Subaru was taking, his attention no longer on me.
(If I do it now… I can take him by surprise.)
I let out a breath and somehow pressed down on all of the quarreling emotions in my heart.
(It’s all or nothing…!)
Having made up my mind, I used all my might and headbutted the guy in the chin.
Bandit 1: “Ugh!?”
At the impact, the man let go of me and wheeled backwards.
Subaru didn’t miss that brief chance.
Subaru: “Oraa!”
In one move, Subaru swept in and pulled me close while at the same time using all his strength to knock the guy flying.
From within Subaru’s arms, I could feel the sensation of the man falling.
Subaru: “Damn, you’re a pretty gutsy one Princess.”
OO: “Sorry, I was desperate and just…”
Subaru: “Ha, don’t apologize. Thanks to you, now I can really let loose and take all these guys out.”
With a faint smile, Subaru hid me behind his broad back.
Subaru: “You bastards… I won’t go easy on you this time! So get ready!!”
Subaru tightened his hands into fists and let out a sharp cry that sounded like a roar.
As those fists rushed towards the bandits, Subaru swung them high in the air.
Ch. 10: Beloved Gentle Beast
The white moon shone in the sky, shining softly on the still and silent town…-.
After finishing his fight with the bandits, Subaru and I headed back to the castle, hoping no one would notice.
Subaru: “I’ll tell the soldiers what happened later, so let’s head back.”
OO: “Eh? But wouldn’t it be better if you…”
Subaru: “No need.”
We entered through the back gate to avoid the eyes of others and walked through the courtyard without making a sound.
The moonlight shone on Subaru’s injured face in profile.
OO: “Um, are you alright?”
Subaru: “Huh? Don’t worry about it. This is nothing.”
OO: “But…”
(He got those injuries because I was taken hostage…)
Subaru: “I said it’s fine. This is nothing worse than usual.”
(Usual? Does that mean…)
————————
??: “Bastard! If I catch you doing this shit again, you won’t get off so easy!”
————————
(When we met again in town, there were those unsettling rumors throughout the town, but maybe the truth is…)
OO: “Subaru, have you been protecting the people like this the whole time, on your own?”
Subaru: “…”
Subaru remained silent, then after a little while, he let out a deep, exasperated sigh.
OO: “You have… haven’t you.”
Subaru: “…even if I was, it doesn’t change the fact that my fists are only good for hurting people. You even got caught up in it. Being ‘noble’ was an impossible ideal from the very beginning.”
Naturally, Subaru’s gaze turned toward the stone monument enshrined in the gardens.
————————
OO: “ ‘Swing your fist for the weak. Live as the strong and noble tiger.’ …?”
Subaru: “Our family has always been instructed to live by these words.”
Subaru: “But… my fists can only hurt people.”
————————
I knew his hands were clenched into tight fists, and how they conveyed a sense of remorse.
(I wish you wouldn’t blame yourself like that…)
I gently placed my hand over his wounded fist.
Subaru: “…”
I could feel a gentle warmth emanating from those rough and calloused hands.
OO: “They aren’t just for hurting. These hands saved me. And… they took down the bandits and protected the people.”
Subaru: “…”
OO: “So please, don’t blame yourself like that. I’ll tell everyone in the town, alright? That you’re actually a kind person…-.”
As I was speaking, the fist I had my hand over softened and relaxed…-.
I would have kept talking, except powerful arms pulled me into a tight embrace and stopped me.
OO: “!”
Within those powerful, constricting arms, I felt hot breath against the top of my head.
Subaru: “You don’t need to do anything like that. …it’s enough if you’re the only one who understands.”
The voice that touched my ears trembled slightly, making my chest tighten.
OO: “Subaru…”
Subaru: “I don’t care what those guys in town or my family think of me. But when you stood in front of this stone monument and understood my heart… I realized that wasn’t such a bad feeling.”
Moving only slightly, as if refusing to give me an opportunity to get free, his arms pulled me tightly against his chest.
Subaru: “…you’re the only whose thoughts I couldn’t ignore. OO, you’re the only one. The only woman to make me feel this much… that I love you.”
I could hear just how fast Subaru’s heart was beating from where I touched his chest.
(Hearing Subaru say he needs me like that… makes me so very happy.)
As if the fear I had felt when we’d met had all been a lie, now all I felt was love.
I tried to wrap my arms around his broad back and tightly returned the hug with what strength I had.
Subaru: “…geez, what are you doing?”
I looked up from within his arms, and saw he was smiling in a way that looked as if he were embarrassed.
With his large hands, he gently moved away the hair hanging in my face and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
Subaru: “From now on, stay. Stay here… right beside me.”
OO: “…I will.”
My arms wrapped around his back were stretched to their absolute limit, so I wrapped them around his neck.
(I hope that someday the people in the town will know how kind Subaru really is. Until then… yeah, and even after that, I always want to be beside him.)
Contrary to the sharp fangs that peeked out near the corners of his mouth, Subaru’s gaze that looked down at me was so kind…
As I accepted his kiss that was both kind and hungry, as if he would devour me, I eagerly hoped for a future with him.
END
Secret Story: The Only Place I Belong
The wind that caused the leaves to sway seemed to condemn me as it brushed my skin and stole the heat from my body…-.
Standing in front of the stone monument, I was tormented as usual by an indescribable pain.
(And here I’d planned to not hurt anyone again.)
But in the end, OO, who had been beside me, had gotten dragged into all this…
(In the end, I couldn’t protect anyone this time either. I’m so worthless…)
And yet OO placed her hand over my fist.
OO: “They aren’t just for hurting. These hands saved me.”
(That’s not true. Did you forget? It’s because you were with me that you got dragged into such a dangerous mess.)
OO: “And… they took down the bandits and protected the people.”
(No matter the situation, you have a good explanation for it. Damn… you’re such a good-natured person.)
Even as I thought it, her words were warm, and they pierced my chest.
OO: “So please, don’t blame yourself like that.”
I understood the love I felt for OO, in my heart that had never been understood.
OO: “I’ll tell everyone in the town, alright? That you’re actually a kind person…-.”
(Why would you go that far…)
I couldn’t stand the feelings I had for her, rising and overflowing in my chest.
Before I’d realized it, I was reaching out for her…-.
I held her in my arms, that person I loved more than anything else in the world.
(It hurts. But it isn’t the usual pain of remorse. It’s because I’m touching your warmth.)
Subaru: “You don’t need to do anything like that.”
Her delicate body settled in my arms, and it made the pain and pressure on my heart increase even more.
(She alone is enough…)
Subaru: “…it’s enough if you’re the only one who understands.”
OO: “Subaru…”
Subaru: “I don’t care what those guys in town or my family think of me.”
(I was prepared for that. Even if I was alone, even if no one knew… I would devote myself to doing what I could.)
Subaru: “But when you stood in front of this stone monument and understood my heart… I realized that wasn’t such a bad feeling.”
(You looked at me… and with just a few words, you saved me. I didn’t know that just that would make me so ridiculously happy…)
Subaru: “…you’re the only whose thoughts I couldn’t ignore. OO, you’re the only one. The only woman to make me feel this much… that I love you.”
(Even though I don’t want to hurt you, I never want to let you go. I really am a contradiction.)
Those words went through my mind, but I was happy as she stretched out her hands.
As she held me with her slender arms, I felt a sense of relief from the very depths of my heart…-.
…
……
I was filled with a sense of rightness as I saw the town, busy as ever…-.
(Today… there aren’t any weird guys around.)
Some time had passed since the matter with the bandits as OO and I walked through town.
I thought about it being known that she was my woman, and it was enough to just be aiming for that possibility.
(Well, I was the one that said I’d go out with her wherever she wanted to go.)
OO: “Ah, this one is pretty…”
Suddenly, OO stopped in front of a storefront with a line of hair ornaments.
The decoration was made of two colors of bamboo in a striped pattern, and it seemed a far cry from what a woman would normally like.
Subaru: “You like this one?”
OO: “Yes. The striped patterning is like a tiger… it reminds me of you Subaru.”
As she spoke, she seemed embarrassed, and her cheeks turned red.
(…you really are cute.)
I smiled without realizing it, and I took the hair ornament in my hand.
Subaru: “Hey, shop keep. How much is this one?”
OO: “Eh! Y-you can’t…!”
Subaru: “Rejected. Just take it and think of it as making up for all the trouble I’ve put you through.”
As we continued our back and forth, the shop keeper just stared at me, eyes wide.
Subaru: “Huh? …what?”
Shopkeeper: “N-nothing!”
The shop keeper turned their face away in a panic and hurriedly left.
Subaru: “What’s their problem?”
OO: “I think it’s because… you were smiling Subaru.”
Subaru: “What?”
Seeing OO’s face split in a grin, I instinctively felt my own mouth.
(Was my face really that relaxed?)
Seeing me like that, OO smiled softly.
OO: “If the people could learn more about you when you’re like this… I’m sure their feelings towards you would start to change too.”
Seeing the gentle gleam in her eyes, this time I was aware of my own grin.
Subaru: “…geez, you’re getting ahead of yourself. You’ve got some nerve to say that.”
Even as I thought it, a faint glimmer of an optimistic future flickered through my mind.
Now, I felt love for this woman who was even able to give me that kind of dream.
Subaru: “…you really are an amazing woman.”
OO: “Eh?”
Subaru: “…it’s nothing.”
(This doesn’t change the fact that I’m fine with you being the only one that knows. But… if you’re beside me, someday… a day might come where I can be noble.)
As if saying I wouldn’t let go of this place where I belonged, this place that was this woman of kindness and warmth, I gently hugged her shoulder, putting all my strength into that embrace.
END