Silver Wish

'Don't worry, Rikka. I will get you out of here. I will protect you.' Rikka recalled the words Haruka said to her on the first day he came here. He said he would protect her. Even though they tortured him non-stop to the point he lost his memories, could it be that promise still lingers in his heart?

Surprisingly Haruka was leading her in the right direction. He was running towards the path Kira Maaya laid out.

"Haruka, did you meet with Kira Maaya?" Rikka had to ask.

Haruka pulled out a note from his pocket.

Rikka noticed how crumpled up the paper was, but there she spotted Haruka's handwriting.

'Even if I lose my memory, I have to protect Rikka.'

Haruka pulled out similar-looking notes, and she bit her lip. She felt the tears fall from her eyes. But she cried even more when she saw the last note.

'I want to be able to see Lila again.'

This last note had several splashes of blood. So this entire time, where she thought he was a mindless puppet due to the torture, he was gradually working things out? Even though he is in this state where all he can do is follow orders.

Rikka was about to say something to him when she felt a familiar dark presence. Her eyes widened, alarmed once she saw the ginger-haired man, he had a calm expression on his face, but she got a bad feeling from him.

"Rikka-chan, what are you doing?"

Despite her fear, she didn't see the need to beat around the bush. "Escaping."

"I see why you would want to escape, but why are you taking that with you?"

Rikka frowned when she heard how he referred to Haruka. "What is wrong with me taking him?"

"What is wrong, you say? It makes it look like you are in love with him."

"I am."

Ethan's eyes twitched, annoyed. "You did tell me you have somebody you liked, but you were talking about that piece of trash?"

Rikka didn't like his words one bit. Haruka stepped forward and raised the gun. Is it another smoke bomb? To her surprise, black-colored bullets came out after he pulled the trigger. Ethan wasn't expecting this, and the bullets grazed his shoulder. But that didn't stop Ethan, he extended his large blade towards Haruka, and for the next few minutes, they engaged in an intense battle.

Haruka managed to get the upper hand; instead of continuing the fight, he ran back to her.

Haruka squeezed her hands as he dragged her along.

"Haruka, wait, maybe we should rethink the route."

By now, there must be other guards. There are several other paths here.

Haruka didn't say anything and continued to run. "Get down." It was just two words, but this time around, Rikka knew she heard his voice. In the next second, he had his arms encircled around her, and they rolled down a hill.

When they reached the bottom, she heard the sound of a single gunshot and then several. This time around, it did not come from Haruka's gun. Before she knew what was happening, Haruka was hovering on top of her. "Close your eyes, Rikka."

But how could she do that? Just now, he spoke; he even said her name. Rikka was just processing that when Haruka suddenly yelped in pain. Her eyes widened, alarmed, realizing that several bullets had hit his back.

She tried to turn him around, but he wouldn't budge. He kept shielding her. No, if this keeps up, he will die. Rikka saw a large amount of blood from his clothes and bit her lip. She has to move him off her. She felt a sting on her right leg just as she thought this, and her vision slowly started to blur.

'No, this isn't the time. I have to-' Everything faded to black; the last thing she saw was a cloaked figure approaching them from the back.

___

Surprised, a woman with long black hair wearing a black fur cloak with a gorgeous red gem in the center approached the two unconscious people. Indeed, it seems fate has yet to abandon her. After learning that Shinozaki Rikka and Haruka were in that place, Lucifer Informed her something else.

'Kira Maaya.' She was the daughter of her dear friend. Although the girl's parents have remained calm this entire time, she knew how worried they were. Kiryu-kun contacted her and confirmed Lucifer's words, and then Sumire sighed.

That boy is even more reckless than Lila-chan sometimes. But she supposes that careless nature is the reason why her daughter fell for him.

Her gaze fell on Haruka-kun. Despite his back facing her, Sumire saw the signs of torture on his body. 'Dying and drowning in the ocean may have been better.' How many mental scars will he have? Not just him, but she glanced over at the girl who he had shielded.

These kids do not deserve to suffer like this.

"Sir Ethan, I think we got them."

A ginger-haired man stepped forward and frowned. He harshly kicked the person who just spoke. "That's a snake pit! Did you have to make them fall there? What if she is hurt? I told you to kill the guy for all I care but keep the woman alive."

Sumire sighed deeply as she watched this exchange. Are they treating her like air? That is not good. It was almost like they just sensed her since the ginger head turned to her with a frown. He scanned her up and down and raised his hand. It wasn't the signal for his soldiers to attack but to stop.

They seemed startled at their commander's request.

Ethan clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Do you want to die? That's Terashima Sumire."

"Terashima Sumire." The men seemed taken back, and she watched as some stepped backward.

"What are your conditions?" Ethan asked.

Her lips curve to a smile. At least this commander is smart. The ones she passed by on the way here were not very clever. They did react to her name, but then they said something about challenging the strongest.

"Let me take these two, and your men and yourself are free to leave."

Ethan looked hesitant, and his gaze fell on Rikka. "She needs to be treated right away. It is better if we take her."

Oh? From the sound of his tone, he is trying to imply that they don't need Haruka but only Rika-chan, even though Haruka is the valuable one. It seems like this one likes Rikka0chan, but Sumire could not miss the strange aura she felt from him.

"It is either both of them or-" Sumire trailed off with a sinister smile. "Or your lives, which one is it?"

Ethan didn't respond to her verbally, but he ordered his men to get going. She watched as the man stole one last look at Rikka before following his men.

It is a good thing they left obediently. She walked over to the two unconscious people- only for somebody to lift Haruka-kun. Sumire blinked once she saw who it was.

"My dearest, you have gotten better at stalking."

Yuhi sighed deeply. "And you, my dear, are too fast to leave whenever something happens. You restrained Kiryu from going anywhere, but you charged in."

Sumire tilted her head innocently, and Yuhi looked even more frustrated. "You carry that one and heal her on the way."

"Yes, yes." Sumire bent down, and Yuhi let go of Haruka for a moment and placed Rikka on her back.

"Yuhi-san, how did you know I would be here?"

"Lucifer told me."

Get that guy; what is the snitching to her dearest for? Yuhi, however, didn't lecture her like he usually would. "I wanted to see for myself."

Sumire immediately understood that he was talking about Haruka.

"This brat had the nerve to make Lila cry, to make her worry so much. If he ended up dying, I would torture his soul."

Her sweat fell. The scary thing is he is actually serious.. But this is Yuhi's way of showing that he cares.