Ch. 7: A Cold Cheek
(Huh…I…)
I slowly opened my eyes and saw Orion looking at me closely, his face pale.
Orion: “OO! Hey, she’s awake!”
He impatiently called for someone.
OO: “Um, I…?”
(My head is pounding.)
Doctor: “Lord Orion gave you his power…a little longer, and you would have died.”
(He gave me his power?)
Doctor: “Alright Lord Orion, now it’s your turn. Get some rest. You lost quite a bit of blood. At this rate, your life…”
(Orion…he has a bandage on his neck!? Why…)
Orion: “I’m fine. And I’m staying…”
Doctor: “Lord Orion!”
Orion staggered and collapsed near the side of the bed.
OO: “Orion…”
I reached out and…his cheek was distressingly cold.
(He’s so cold. Why? Orion…)
His skin was like ice, and it made my heart freeze.
Ch. 8: A Heart Coaxed Open
Doctor: “Lord Orion gave you his power…a little longer, and you would have died.”
———————
3 days after that…-.
I gazed at Orion, who had yet to wake up.
(Orion, I’m sorry.)
I tightly grasped the necklace, which had been beside me when I woke up, then reached out to touch his hand with my own.
———————
OO: “What happened…?”
I was shocked as I looked at the wound Orion had gotten, and questioned the man who appeared to be the physician.
———————
Orion: “However, in order to get the ability to return to the surface… you’ll have to have an even deeper bond with a sea floor dweller.”
Orion: “You bear their child.”
———————
OO: “I was told that, in order to leave the bubble, one needs to bear the child of a sea dweller.”
Man: “…there is one other way. You can acquire the same ability, if you are given a large amount of blood by the sea dweller.”
OO: “…!”
———————
(He did that for me… Orion, I’m sorry.)
OO: “…!”
(His hand!)
Orion’s fingers twitched, and I stood up from my chair.
OO: “Orion…”
At my voice, Orion’s eyebrows knit in discomfort and he opened his eyes.
Orion: “OO…”
OO: “Thank goodness! I’ll go get the doctor.”
I made to hurry out of the room, but Orion pulled on my hand.
Orion: “I’m fine. Besides…there’s something I want to ask you. Was it an accident? Or…were you trying to leave?”
OO: “…”
Orion: “Why were you outside the bubble?”
(I have to be honest and apologize.)
OO: “…I was careless. The necklace you gave me was floating in the water and went outside the bubble. I was so absorbed with chasing after it that…suddenly…”
Orion: “…that’s all? You weren’t trying to run away from me?”
OO: “Well…”
(It’s true, I had wanted to run away. I have to tell…the truth.)
I looked Orion in the eye, and slowly nodded.
Orion: “…why? Up until now, I’ve been able to get close to everything I had ever thought I wanted. Things…women…anything. Why did you run? How can I make you mine? Why won’t you be how I want you to!?”
(His complexion…!)
Orion: “…I love you. Even if your heart doesn’t return my feelings…I’ll put that aside. I just can’t imagine being parted from you.”
His words, so straightforward, were prying my heart open.
OO: “Orion, please…”
His face had grown paler, and as I tried to calm him…
Orion: “…”
He suddenly started coughing violently.
OO: “I’ll go get the doctor right away!”
Orion: “No. If he shows up, he’ll make me take medicine to make me sleep. And while I’m sleeping, you might try to disappear again.”
OO: “I won’t disappear. I’ll stay by your side until you wake up.”
I spoke frantically and with conviction, and Orion looked into my eyes.
Then he reached out his hand and pulled mine in closer.
While holding my hand like that, Orion fell asleep.
Ch. 9: The Lonely Prince
…
In the night…-.
Orion: “OO…?”
Having woken up, Orion looked around the room in a panic.
Orion: “Did she…actually leave?”
Then he saw OO, asleep in a chair next to the bed. Seeing her there, a gentle smile broke over his face.
Then Orion moved to place a kiss on each of her eyelids…
But suddenly, he stopped.
For a while, he just looked at her, then…
Orion: “I’m sorry…”
His voice was a whisper, then Orion slowly got up and left the room.
…
(Huh…just now, someone…)
I opened my eyes at the noise, and saw that Orion, who was supposed to be asleep, was gone.
OO: “Oh no…!”
I panicked and ran out into the hallway.
Orion: “Take care of OO for me.”
I left the room, and saw Orion talking to the doctor down at the end of the hall.
Orion: “She told me she was running away. And yet I still hope for her to stay with me. So… if I’m with her, her heart won’t be able to rest.”
(Orion…)
The pain in his voice wrenched at my heart.
Bubbles drifted quietly from my lips and rose painfully towards the sky.
Ch. 10: The Setting Sun Shining in the Deep Sea
The next day…-.
OO: “Eh…?”
I had come to visit Orion while he was still ill, and in spite of myself, my eyes opened wide.
Orion: “I said leave. You have the power to go back to the surface now.”
The reflection of the light in the water was beautiful and brilliant, suddenly dying the room in color.
OO: “…Orion.”
Orion: “You would have died because of me. You probably don’t remember because you were unconscious but…I really was afraid. By the time I caught up to you, your heart had already stopped… I had no choice but to give you the power you needed right away. When I realized that, I cut open my throat and gave you my blood.”
OO: “…”
Orion: “That’s when I knew. If you had died…I would have no reason to keep living. And if you were to happen to run away from me again, and get into trouble… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself, as long as I lived. So…go.”
OO: “Orion…”
The shell necklace I wore around my neck made a clinking sound.
———————
Orion: “To happen to meet the person you love from the bottom of your heart is a miracle, right? I don’t want to have any regrets. No matter what happens… I’ll have you.”
———————
(Orion…)
His eyes were narrowed as if in pain.
I didn’t know what to do, and my heart ached…
Realizing it, I gently pulled Orion into an embrace…-.
Orion: “OO…?”
OO: “S-sorry…I…”
I panicked and turned to run but…-.
From behind, Orion grabbed my hand and tightly held on to me.
Orion: “Does… this mean I can hold on to a shred of hope?”
(I don’t know. But I don’t want to leave yet. Because I haven’t properly thanked him. Or apologized. I want to tell him, but my chest hurts…)
I was unable to give him an answer, then Orion pulled on my hand and pulled me into an embrace.
Orion: “Is it alright…if I touch you…? If I can, I won’t be able to hold back…”
My chest throbbed painfully, and I was still unable to answer.
Then he suddenly pulled on my waist…
And gently ran his thumb over my lips.
OO: “…”
There was a pleasant tingling sensation where his thumb touched, at which I started to close my eyes, and Orion’s face slowly came closer.
Orion: “OO…”
Hearing my name said like that, with more love than ever before, had be closing my eyes the rest of the way.
OO: “…”
Orion parted my lips with his tongue.
This kiss was different from before, deeper…
There was a sweetness and a kindness to the kiss, and my heart filled with warmth.
OO: “Thank you…for saving me.”
I was somehow able to get the words out, though my voice was hoarse.
OO: “And…I’m sor…-“
Before I could finish what I was saying, my lips were once again pressed against Orion’s.
OO: “Nn…”
His fingers gently stroked my hair and he held onto my back with a powerful arm.
Orion: “OO…I don’t need anything else from you. Stay…with me…”
Without giving me a chance to breathe, I was once again pulled into a long kiss.
I felt a bliss that I could not put into words, and completely at ease…-.
(Aah, I… I love Orion.)
Suddenly, I felt myself lifted up, then gently placed on the bed.
Orion: “…stay by my side.”
OO: “Orion…”
Orion put his hand on the ribbon at my breast.
OO: “…”
Out of embarrassment, I moved to stop his hand, but…-.
OO: “Nn…”
He grabbed my hand and kissed the palm.
Orion: “OO…”
Feeling the heat of his breath on my hand, I could do nothing other than surrender myself to him.
(It’s embarrassing…but I can’t resist him.)
Before long, I was stripped of anything I could use to hide myself…-.
Orion: “…”
There was a faint clinking sound, and Orion’s face broke into a kind smile.
OO: “Ah…”
It was the shell necklace, mixed with the orange hue of the setting sun.
Orion lovingly placed a kiss on my chest.
OO: “…”
It didn’t take long for Orion to start covering my entire body in kisses…
And as if blessing the two with the ability to understand each other’s feelings, the shells clinked and made the gentlest music.
END