Kazuya gave her strength, but he also causes her to get angry. The reason why he tried to hold her tightly was simply because he was hiding something. After walking for a few minutes, Lyn could no longer feign ignorance. That"s why when she saw him staggering, Lyn immediately made him sit down on one of the nearby rocks. It wasn"t a comfortable place to sit. But if they walked any longer, than Kazuya would surely collapse. She won"t allow anything bad to happen to him."Stay still," Lyn instructed as she took out a medical box from her bag. It only had the basic stuff inside, like some healing potions and ointments. Still, it was enough.
"Ah, as expected of you, Lyn. You"re clumsy, so you still carry bandages with you."
"Be quiet. I don"t want to hear that from you.
"Thank you."
Kazuya extended his arm out and loosened his robes. When she saw the wound, Lyn wanted nothing more than to look away. However, she didn"t want to look like she was escaping. Besides, it won"t do her any good. Lyn quickly examined the wound. It looked like a ma.s.sive cut from a sword.
"How did you get this?" Lyn inquired.
"A chase, they set a trap. It was quite cool. This large sword appeared out of nowhere."
Lyn didn"t bother inquiring anymore. She drew her hand back and returned to Gabrielle"s side. She watched as Kazuya slowly got up and trailed after them.
Now shouldn"t be the time to reminisce. Besides, Lyn needed to focus on the task before her. But as they continued walking, Lyn couldn"t help but think back to certain memories.
"What"s with that nickname?
I don"t have that letter in my name?"
"Eh. But it"s really cute, I think it suits you. "
"If you just wanted to call me cute, you could have just said so. "
She is happy to see him. If possible, she wants to be able to treasure this moment. However, now that they are in this place, there is something she has to do, even if there"s already no hope in connecting the three of them together.
No sooner had they arrived at the top of the mountain path; she saw a log house. "Perfect, it"s still there," Kazuya said.
"Where is this"
"Getting the jade is easy, but the security is tight. I know someone who can provide a secret route without giving us much trouble."
Lyn frowned when she hears his words. "What do you mean it"s easy?"
Kazuya sweat fell, "Hey Lyn, you do realize the only way we can get the jade is to steal it, right? Trust me on this one."
Indeed, it doesn"t seem like they have a better plan right now. Lyn supposed she would have to put aside her morals. Lyn glanced over at Gabrielle; it surprised her that her friend wasn"t saying anything about this.
…..
Two hours later
Lyn somehow managed to stand up. But she was forcing herself to do so. Her legs felt like jelly; she couldn"t move at all. The tunnel felt like it would collapse at any moment, and block away the only remaining source of light. She has to get to the exit quickly. Otherwise, she won"t be able to breathe here.
Her heart pounded faster and faster. It felt like her heart would pop out of her chest.
Her throat felt parched. Her chest felt very tight. Not to mention, she felt very dizzy. Lyn didn"t understand what was going on. But she knew one thing was for sure. "Right now, she is alone." Lyn doesn"t remember the last time she was alone. Ever since she met Kazuya and the others, Lyn has not been alone.
"Lyn," a familiar voice said through the darkness.
It was a single voice among the murky darkness. Wasn"t it just her and the darkness? Yet, now Lyn realized somebody was there with her. Due to the darkness, it was difficult to see who was there.
The darkness seemed to dissolve like rain, replacing it with a normal-looking room. Huh? Lyn should be relieved that the darkness had vanished, but instead, it only lead her to panic.
She blinked several times to ensure she did not just imagine things. Lyn didn"t understand what was happening. She blankly looked at her surroundings. It looked like she was in a normal room in an inn. Lyn could hear the bustling sound of people rus.h.i.+ng about.
"Aren"t they in the middle of a lockdown?" Lyn doubted Kazuya would bring her to town. But this is undoubtedly an inn. This isn"t the log cabin from earlier; Lyn glanced over at the window only to spot the mountains. It seems like she is still in the mountains. Kazuya is -- Lyn"s vision adjusted, and she realized Kazuya sat beside her. He was watching her every move but kept a reasonable distance between them.
Once their eyes met, he spoke slowly. "It"s December. You are not in s.h.i.+ma"s domain. Your in M region with me. You are safe. Repeat it."
This was the first time she ever saw Kazuya act this way. But she understood the reason why he was uneasy. Lyn still felt a bit strange.
"So It"s …it"s December and not June. I"m not in the s.h.i.+ma domain. I"m in the mountains with you….in the M region. "Lyn repeated each of his words slowly, even though she doubted what she was saying.
Kazuya continued speaking slowly, "What did you think of just now?"
Lyn closed her eyes tightly. It felt like she was still there. Still living that vivid nightmare, so she wrapped her arms around herself. She was trembling and sweating badly.
"I was in that tunnel, and that person tried to…" Lyn stammered. Just saying those words brought the memories back to her. Lyn didn"t realize how much of an effect it had on her until recently. But she thought she could keep it under control.
"It seemed silly to even think of something that happened a long time ago."
The tears which clung to the edges of her eyelashes spilled over. Lyn felt stupid having a mental break down like this. However, she couldn"t control herself.
"I see, you were triggered when you saw the tunnel."
Triggered? So that"s what this was. That"s normal. Lyn often got nightmares of the past. But how come this one felt so different?
"You still seem upset, Lyn," Kazuya trailed off awkwardly. "I think I need to get closer, do you want that?"
Was he asking permission to touch her? Her first instinct was to flinch away. After everything that happened between her and Rhys. It felt strange being with Kazuya like this. Is it okay? Isn"t it wrong? With everything happening, it was hard to settle the matters of her heart.