He sat hunched, knuckles raw and bleeding from where he'd shattered the table, the splinters a jagged crown of self-inflicted punishment. The world outside, with its constant threats and fresh casualties, felt distant, muted by the roaring tempest within him. He was a useless, incompetent leader, a failure who couldn't done anything despite having that system. The thought churned in his gut, bitter and metallic.
Suddenly, the door opened and a sliver of light pierced the gloom. Before he could react, Honami Ichinose slipped inside, her presence a stark contrast to the darkness that consumed him.
"Riku!"
"Leave," Riku bit out, his voice hoarse, devoid of its usual command. He instinctively tried to yank his hands under the makeshift table, but the movement only sent a fresh wave of agony through his shattered knuckles.
Ichinose didn't flinch. Without a word, she calmly closed the tent flap, plunging them back into a dim, confined space.
"I can't hear you." She feigned ignorance.
"I said leave! I'm not in the mood of jokes" Riku roared, pushing himself to his feet, a desperate attempt to create distance.
"And you think I'm joking?" She was bolder today.
She came towards him, and kept coming
Riku took a step back, before he could take another step, she lunged, her arms wrapping around his chest.
"Now I won't leave you until you've calmed down!"
The impact sent a jolt through him, and he stumbled backward, momentarily disoriented. Her grip was unyielding, a steel band against his tattered clothes.
'how is she so strong?'
"Let go, Ichinose! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Riku snarled. He thrashed, trying to pry her arms away, but she held on with a tenacity that belied her gentle appearance. Her breasts were on his chest, he could feel her breath in his ear.
The more he struggled, the tighter her embrace became. In his frantic efforts to break free, his footing slipped on the uneven ground, and he lost his balance. He braced for impact, but Ichinose, still hugging him, went down with him.
They landed in a tangled heap on the rough dirt floor, Riku half-sprawled over her, his injured hands trapped between their bodies. It was utterly, excruciatingly embarrassing. Her legs, slender yet strong, were entangled with his, pinning him. He could feel the soft curve of her hips pressed against his, the subtle give of her breasts against his chest. Every attempt to shift, to create space, only seemed to meld them closer.
"Let go, damn it! This isn't a game!" he snarled, his face flushed with a mixture of anger and mortification.
"I'm not." She stated boldly.
He could feel the rapid thump of his own heart against her.
Ichinose remained unnerved, her grip unwavering. He could feel the steady rhythm of her breathing against his chest, a stark contrast to his own ragged gasps. Her silence was more infuriating than any argument.
His breath hitched as he felt the undeniable pressure of her breasts against his chest, soft and yielding, yet firm. As he struggled, trying to leverage himself away, a peculiar sensation jolted through his body – a warmth, a sudden, unexpected awareness that had nothing to do with his physical pain. It was a fleeting, unwelcome spark in the ashes of his despair, and it infuriated him further. He felt a blush creep up his neck, a humiliating betrayal of his own resolve.
Realizing the futility of his struggles, Riku finally ceased his efforts, his body slumping against her. The sudden cessation of movement made their proximity even more pronounced. He could feel the subtle shift of her weight, the light brush of her clothes against his.
"Please, i beg you... just let me go, Ichinose," he rasped, his voice devoid of its earlier fury, replaced by a weary resignation.
Her grip, however, tightened even more.
Her voicewas soft but clear, resonating against his ear. "No. You'll run away from me."
"I won't," Riku muttered, the lie tasting like ash in his mouth. He felt the tension in her arms, a subtle tremor as if she were debating his words.
Slowly, cautiously, Ichinose began to loosen her hold. First, her legs untangled from his, then her arms unwound from his chest. Riku immediately pushed himself up, scrambling to his feet, putting as much distance as he could between them in the cramped space. He moved towards the tent flap, eager to escape, to breathe.
"I have... I have other things to do," he mumbled, his gaze fixed on the exit, desperate to flee the suffocating intimacy.
But as he turned, Ichinose's sharp eyes immediately caught sight of his raw, bleeding hands.
"Not like this."
She moved with a sudden swiftness, grabbing his wrist before he could pull away.
"Your hand," she stated, her voice firm, leaving no room for argument. Despite his protests, she gently but firmly tugged him towards a small, shallow basin of water near the corner of the tent, kept for washing.
"It's fine, Ichinose! Just leave it!" Riku said with an expressionless face, thinking about the past.
She ignored him, her touch surprisingly gentle as she submerged his mangled hand in the cool water. He winced as the water stung his raw skin, but her touch was surprisingly soothing. With meticulous care, her fingers, soft yet precise, began to work on his hand, picking out the embedded splinters one by one. Each extraction was a tiny pinprick of pain, but he was her captive at this moment.
Once the splinters were removed, she tore a strip from her dress. She meticulously wrapped his hand, binding it with a surprising dexterity.
"I can get you some proper first aid, better bandages," she offered, her gaze direct, searching his face.
Riku pulled his hand away, his expression a mask of stoic indifference. "No. It's fine." His voice was flat, devoid of emotion, as if the pain and the care were equally meaningless.
Ichinose's brow furrowed, a flicker of frustration crossing her usually serene features. She reached out, her fingers pressing firmly on the bandaged wound on his hand. The pressure was insistent, meant to elicit a reaction, but Riku remained impassive, his eyes vacant, fixed on some unseen point beyond her. He felt nothing, or rather, he allowed himself to feel nothing. The physical pain was a dull echo compared to the agony in his soul.
"Riku!" she exclaimed, her voice sharp, a desperate plea for him to show some sign of life, some flicker of emotion.
When he still offered no response, a new, determined glint entered her eyes. Before he could react, her hands moved, quick and decisive, cupping his face. Her palms were surprisingly soft against his stubbled cheeks, and he felt the warmth of her skin. He blinked, startled.
before he could even process, her head moved, and her lips descended upon his. It wasn't a gentle, tentative kiss. It was a forceful, demanding press. The sudden contact was a jolt, a shock to his system. He felt a clean, strawberry like scent that was uniquely hers. Her lips were soft, yet firm, pressing against his with an urgency that stole his breath.
Riku's eyes widened in utter shock, his mind reeling. The numbness shattered, replaced by a surge of pure, unadulterated surprise. His body reacted instinctively, a sudden, powerful push that sent Ichinose stumbling backward.
Ichinose landed on her backside, her head hitting the rough ground with a soft bump. She looked up at him, a surprised, slightly dazed expression on her face.
"What the hell was that?!" Riku roared, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and bewilderment. He felt a furious blush creep up his neck, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.
Ichinose, rubbing the back of her head, looked at him with an unyielding gaze. "I'm trying to get a reaction out of you" Her voice was calm, almost annoyingly so, despite her unceremonious fall. She pushed herself up, brushing the dirt from her clothes.
She stepped closer, her eyes boring into his, intense and unblinking. "I know, Riku. I know about Shuvi." she continued, her voice low and steady. "And I know you only love her. But she's not coming, Riku. She's not here. She probably doesn't even know you exist in this world, this time." Her words were blunt, brutal, ripping open the deepest wound in his heart. "You can't keep waiting for someone who isn't coming. So forget her." She shouted.
The words struck him like a physical blow, each syllable a shard of ice in his chest. His beloved Shuvi, the only beacon in the desolate darkness of this world, reduced to a figment, a delusion. The thought that she might not know him, that she might never come, was a torment he refused to acknowledge.
A furious, primal rage surged through him, eclipsing all other emotions. "Enough!" he snarled, his voice raw with fury. "I don't need your advice! So don't bother me anymore!"
With that, Riku spun on his heel and stormed out of the tent, leaving Ichinose alone in the oppressive silence, the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the air.
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This one is especially for Tarek Janane