[RP: Monde du Soir] This is the End
So Ren (pretty_kozi ) and I did a log involving our characters Saigo and Zofia respectfully from monde_du_soir . Angst. Fluff. Cuteness and simplicity =]
Title: This is the End
Rating: PG
Genre: Angst/Romance
Series: OC RP monde_du_soir
Summary: Saigo and Zofia realize how much their presence really affects each other.
Notes: Saigo is (c) pretty_kozi and Zofia is (c) me.
His head was clouded, concentration breaking too often with her standing just a few feet away. He'd protected someone before, dodged many attacks in order to keep an innocent safe from a demon's dangerous hand. Zofia wasn't a weakling, and neither was he by any means, but there was an attachment there now that he couldn't let go of. The blood-sucker was too strong, and no place for a young girl to be as Saigo had told her on many occasions before hauling into the midst of a fight. His gun was kicked away, pushing it further from his grasp as he dodged a few of the attacker's moves with his own kicks and punches until the weapon was back in his hands. It wasn't the first time Zofia had seen him in a fight, or the bumps and bruises that came with it, but something about tonight felt different. It felt strange, as if he wasn't so confident with the outcome.
Gripping hold of his gun he held it out towards the pale figure only to find his vision starting to blur. He was getting sloppy and he wasn't sure if it was because of exhaustion or who he was trying so hard to protect. The fight seemed to go on for hours when in reality it may have been only a few minutes, Saigo's strength breaking at each moment. His breath was getting slow, and he could sense that uncomfortable feeling welling inside. Something was wrong. Something was...
It was then that he made a wrong move. It became more than a blow to his pride when the gun was pointed at him. It was a split second and all he felt was pressure hit his abdomen when the blast from the gun went off. It was like a train wreck in his head, a hollowing sound hitting his ears from the gun before he couldn't hold himself up anymore. The rest was a blur as he felt someone drag him, his body starting to feel cold against the ground.
It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fight.
He was bleeding so much; it was more than the other times. There was never a moment before that it was this bad. It took all her will as well as her desperation to drag him to a safe place with her stringy arms toward the empty medical center ahead. At times like these, she wish she was stronger. Physically stronger. Mentally stronger. She bit her bottom; she could feel her chest getting heavy. If she wasn't in the way, he wouldn't have done such a stupid thing like that. It wouldn't have been like this.
"We're almost there!" she told him, hoping he would hear her. Her breath was heavy, sweat and tears intermingled; she was so tired. She had to keep moving forward. He couldn't die. He couldn't die.
Please don't die.
Her voice was faint, a dull drum in his ears as his shallow breath fought to keep up. Saigo didn't weight much, but his height and build was still too much for a girl to pull, especially a limp body. Something wasn't right, and as he felt the blood flow it seemed to be draining him faster than usual. The vampire hadn't left without any parting words, a hearty laugh and musing that he'd finally bid an end to the Angel of Death. Saigo was one thorn in their side since he could pick up a gun and fight back. He started to mumble a prayer under his breath, for once not certain at all at how this would end. Eyelids heavy, he could feel them come to an abrupt stop and the tremble that embraced Zofia's tiny arms.
She paused and looked up at the cloudy skies when it started to rain, before moving on. Good. Then the trail of blood and their scent would be washed away with the water. They would be safe here momentarily. Just their luck.
She gave a faint smile when reached to the empty building, but it quickly faded. Gently laying Saigo on the ground, she went to the little black box and too the gun and pulled the trigger. The door opened instantly then. Putting the gun back in her holster, she went and continued to drag Saigo into the building. It seemed like eternity getting here--maybe it was.
She shut the door and continued to drag his body away from the translucent doors where they couldn't be seen. She breath became heavier, her body feeling heavy from her wet clothes. "We're here. I'll clean you up. You'll be better in no time," she said, trying to give him some hope. But maybe it wasn't her trying to convince him. Maybe she was trying to convince herself.
Carrying his body into one of the rooms, she let him lay on the floor. She didn't have the strength to carry him onto the beds; her priority now was to stop the bleeding and to keep him alive. Standing up, she rubbed her redden eyes and scrambled through the shelves for any old towels and bandages.
Her voice was strong, but he could sense that urgency, that sense of despair hiding behind it. It was what an observer was good at. The rain seeped down his face from his hair, his clothes heavy against him. Opening his eyes gradually, Saigo adjusted them to the lights in the room, the sharp pain in his stomach becoming more clear. Teeth seething, his breath trembled from the cold, dampness around him. Finally allowing himself to see the wound, it was then that he wondered if the old vampire had been right. Was this the end? Was this the moment that every hunter finally faced? All hunters seemed to hold that shelf life of never living to grow wrinkles. Never getting to sit and enjoy a day without fighting, without fear, without constant supervision over those around them in order to keep some peace. But at what price? Cold, thin fingers stuck to the blood of his shirt, it almost seeming hard to detatch it, otherwise the bleeding would keep pouring.
He felt weak, tired, exhausted, and for once...scared. He wasn't ready for this. It didn't feel like time to go just yet. That silent prayer escaped his lips again, his voice deeper, softer and more concerned than it's usual tone. Eyes closed again as he heard Zofia shuffle around the room frantically. He just wanted to see her smile.
Her wet hair clung to her face as she rushed as fast as she could, taking all what she needed. She grabbed the pillow from the bed and placed it under his head. Immediately she started to cleaning up the the wound in his abdomen. He would be better in no time. They were here. They had the tools. They were safe.
My God...there was just so much blood. It flowed so freely and she quickly eyed the trailed of water and blood from his wound that he had left when she dragged his body. Already, the towel was completely drenched and permanently stained in his blood. She threw the towel behind her and got another one and it just as quickly absorbed the blood like the other towel. Why was he bleeding so much? Why wouldn't it just stop?
She rubbed one side of her face with the back of her hand, blood streaking her face. It was all over. It just kept on coming like a waterfall. Her clothes, her arms, her face; they were stained of Death.
She could feel the tears start to crystallize, but bit her bottom lip to hold it back. She had to be strong--but it was so hard. It just wouldn't stop. Please stop. Why would it just stop?
Was there really a God out there like he always ridiculously spoke of? Did faith and hope still exist even in a world as damned as this?
For once in her mind, she prayed. She prayed that he would survive this. That they would survive this. That there was a God--any God that would hear her plea.
First, her uncle. Now maybe Saigo. She hoped not.
She didn't want to be alone.
She didn't want to be alone again...
Never again.
Saigo's hand rested on her wrist lightly, his fingers deathly cold. Dark eyes looked up to hers, watching that bite to her lip. He didn't have any room for sarcasm and wit, not now. All he could think was that for once he realized his own age and the fact that he wasn't the old man inside that he always pulled out. That brooding nature of his was softened so easily knowing that like her there wasn't anyone else to be close to. Somewhere in their clashing personalities he'd grown fond of her, that spunk reminding him that he was only twenty-one. He wasn't just a hunter, there was more to him than that and it was as if it was surficing casually instead of only flecs of it poking through.
"It's okay," he said softly. Hadn't he been preparing for this? Taking each day with himself, with God, knowing that with his human body it was inevitable? So then why did it break to say what he wasn't so sure of himself?
She trembled when she felt her icy fingers touched her and her tears immediately gushed. His words didn't help; especially when it came to the inevitable. It only made her work even harder. It wasn't okay. It just wasn't.
"Don't waste any energy, ya idiot," she told him through her sobs as she continued to clean up the blood, "Don't speak..you'll get through this..."
In the end, she was really just a kid, huh? She never had any friends. Her uncle was her only friend and then he was gone. It had been many lonely years underground with people coming in and out once in a while. And now Saigo was here and it was happening all over again.
Saigo chuckled lightly, a sound that didn't come out often. He was often amused it just didn't always show. "You're not crying over me are you?" He said trying to pull that coldness back out, but he knew. He knew it was no different for her now as it was for him. There was something that had sparked, something in each other's companionship that tugged at the heartstrings now. There was a moment where he wasn't a hunter when he was with her, moments that showed him he was still someone of signifigance and not just a fancy title weilding a gun.
The water streamed down his face, matting his hair to his cheeks, keeping his dark eyes from being hidden from looking to her tear-filled ones. Those icey fingers stayed on her hand, gripping her wrist now. He didn't want this to be it. Not when....
Saigo chewed on the side of his cheek, that stoic, serious face hitting him again. It may be his last words and he couldn't think of anything better to say.
"No, I'm cryin' for no reason! Duh! Of course I'm cryin' for ya, ya idiot," she scolded impulsively, admitting her feeling. How could he be teasing her while he was dying. Why wouldn't he just shut up. Was he doing this because he was already giving up?! "Don't make stupid jokes," she said, her voice much lower this time.
She could fix a lot of things--bring dead beat machines back to life, but human beings were completely different from machines. Because once people die, there's no chance of coming back no matter how much you try to fix them. Vampires didn't count--they were already dead.
"Saigo...you better live," she told him, saying his actual name for once. She lowered her eyes, before she whispered, "I'll hate you forever if ya decide to give up on me like this..."
"I...." he started realizing his words were hung in his throat. And for a brief moment he understood why so many lost their faith, because they started to ask the question of why. Why was it happening to them. He bit back his words, knowing there was no arguing if his body was ready to desert him even if his mind wasn't willing. He thought back to his own childhood. What he'd lost then, and what was becoming of this world---why he'd become who he was because of it.
Zofia was right...there was that part of him that was giving up, and it wasn't supposed to be like that. Saigo was a fighter down to the very bones of his body. Somewhere temptation had hit him to make him lose his footing. His faith.
Saigo released a hollowed breath, his fingers releasing her wrist and curling into hers. Suddenly those words he worked so hard to say, those harsh words of goodbye were lost, and replaced by a small light smile in the corner of his mouth. He nodded in response, eyelids starting to get heavy again. He could feel his mind starting to float, his fingers still far from warm in their icey grip.
Her fingers gently hugged his fingers in response, her heart beating fast and hard inside her chest. After a second, she looked at him, her red-rimmed eyes looking at him seriously. She whispered, "I won't give up on ya just as long as ya don't give up on me."
Taking a deep breath, she continued to further wash his wound to prepare for the bandaging. She continued to trudge along, despite the coldness of the air, despite her physical and emotional fatigue and despite all the blood that covered her small body. It was all will power, but it would be one that would be determined by Saigo's decision and fate. Because right now, he was all she had going for her.
"Is that a deal?"
His eyes closed in and out, breath getting slower as he willed his body to calm down. He said a prayer in his head, feeling that maybe, maybe this would be a lucky break and God would find that it wasn't his time to go. The pain was sharp in his side as she bound his wounds, the roughness of the bandages scrapping against his pale flesh like a rope. That bloody hand left hers in order to let her continue her work, something that she'd grown accustomed to since meeting him. Hopefully this would just be another scar to add to his collection. Fading in and out he managed an answer to her question.
"I want a cigarette when I get out of this."
Zoey frowned at his response. Cigarettes?! Did he want to come closer to death with cigarettes too? But when she turned her head to response, she found that he had already passed out and her temper sub-sided. Typical that he would ignore her...
"Yer such a jerk, y'know that?" she whispered in frustrated tone, her glare light, but her tired eyes soon became solemn as she sighed. She was so tired. She was so worried. Bending her legs, she dug her head into her knees. There was nothing she could do but watch over him as he slept and wait.
Morning After.
Light surrounded him as Saigo's slanted eyes eased their way open. The brightness of the room was overwhelming at first, causing him to slam them shut and then open back up with caution. His chest felt heavy with more than one blanket piled over his body. It was momentarily that he thought maybe he was in heaven, but that musty old smell of the room kicked into his senses and he realized he was very much alive. Sore. Exhausted. In extreme pain, but alive. Dark eyes circled the room nestling over the sleeping girl beside him.
His lanky arm reached out, fingertips still cold to the touch. If he was super emotional he would have shed a tear at the sheer scare his heart had went through the previous night. He'd never been that close to death before, and as he looked up to the bright light above him he silently thanked God for the second chance. His time wasn't now, and there was still plenty for the young hunter to do. Just maybe....maybe this time he needed to open up a bit more. See that even in the blackness of the world they resided in, there was good still alive and well in the world---and maybe he and Zofia had found it in each other. Companionship. Someone to stick around so that neither felt so alone.
Fingers dangled lightly, trying to get the feeling and warmth back in them. He'd give anything to get his body to sit up, but the pain and heaviness on top of him deemed it impossible. Stretching his arm out, those fingertips graced a strand of hair out of her face. She didn't look so much like a kid at that moment.
She hugged her sleeping form in attempt to keep warm from the cold. The simple and light movement of the tresses falling from his fingertips stirred the younger girl. Slowly her eyes opened ever so slightly. At first her sight was blurry as her eyes attempted to adjust to the bright light and to the darker figure lying beside her.
When it did, she saw Saigo there and his familiar "emo" face. Tired. Cold. Hurt. At the same time, there was a light in his eyes that she noticed wasn't present before. She couldn't comprehend it entirely. Still, it was not her main concern, because after after long hours, Saigo was looking back at her. And he was alive.
Alive.
She placed her hand over his, warming it up. Looking up at the older man with worn eyes, she smiled gratefully.
"Thank you..." she whispered to him finally. Those two words were so simple, yet held so much weight in them. So much hope. But it wasn't God that gave her hope, though. She wasn't entirely convinced of that. It was him though. Saigo. He gave her hope. He was her hope. That was something she was absolutely and positively sure of. That was something she knew she believed in. "You didn't give up on me."
The heat from her fingers made his skin tingle, that bridge between them being crossed with the simplicity of where the situation took them. It was something far deeper than affection, and something that neither of them could really clarify. All Saigo knew at this moment was that while his body beaten and bruised, mind still a floating cloud of uncertainty, and faith still as strong as ever---that he was in a very comfortable place right now. More than ecstatic that those grim hours the night before had not wiped him of his breath. His face showed no other movement, those dark eyes still heavily laid on her relieved face.
"Where's my cigarette?" he asked breaking the awkward moment. She could see, he knew she could see that underneath it all this was where he had wanted to be. Heaven wasn't ready for this Angel yet.
"I never agreed to that part of the deal," she said tiredly, a fainted, yet victorious smirk on her lips, sticking. She let out a short girlish giggle, which quickly faded and turned into a simple silent smile. Without thinking, she snuggled closer to him, careful not hurt him. She wanted to hear him breathe, hear his voice and see life in his eyes. That way, she knew that he was alive, right next to her and that it wasn't just a dream.
And it was nice...to lay there right beside him.
Was it merely the companionship they share with one another?
Or was it simply something that was on a higher plane? She could not comprehend it and for once she really did felt her age.
Angels...maybe angels really did exist at least and maybe he was the angel he claimed to be. Not one of death though, no. He was a guardian angel. Her guardian angel. That was much more fitting.
"I'm sorry."
Her small body curled up beside him, a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time embrace him in that very moment. It was as if she were still afraid he was going to slip out at any moment. Her careful closeness indicating that she had to be near him in order to see that he was still alive. That he was breathing and not going to drop off the face of the earth. So many years he'd been fine dealing with the alone status that came with a hunter. All he needed was God, his gun and the reassurance that he was doing the right thing. It became an entirely different thing when there was someone to protect. Someone that was there and not just the shadow looming behind you. The life of a hunter was never easy, and his especially hadn't been a bed of roses from day one. There was a haunting mystery to Saigo, a mystery that was slowly being unraveled by the younger girl beside him. She was tugging at his feelings little by little and now, he wasn't sure where this was going; but it was nice. His head rolled lightly to the side resting atop hers. There was a warmth in a body that no blanket and bright light could give. He wasn't sure he should get used to this, but there was the part of him that was ready to let himself go.
Title: This is the End
Rating: PG
Genre: Angst/Romance
Series: OC RP monde_du_soir
Summary: Saigo and Zofia realize how much their presence really affects each other.
Notes: Saigo is (c) pretty_kozi and Zofia is (c) me.
His head was clouded, concentration breaking too often with her standing just a few feet away. He'd protected someone before, dodged many attacks in order to keep an innocent safe from a demon's dangerous hand. Zofia wasn't a weakling, and neither was he by any means, but there was an attachment there now that he couldn't let go of. The blood-sucker was too strong, and no place for a young girl to be as Saigo had told her on many occasions before hauling into the midst of a fight. His gun was kicked away, pushing it further from his grasp as he dodged a few of the attacker's moves with his own kicks and punches until the weapon was back in his hands. It wasn't the first time Zofia had seen him in a fight, or the bumps and bruises that came with it, but something about tonight felt different. It felt strange, as if he wasn't so confident with the outcome.
Gripping hold of his gun he held it out towards the pale figure only to find his vision starting to blur. He was getting sloppy and he wasn't sure if it was because of exhaustion or who he was trying so hard to protect. The fight seemed to go on for hours when in reality it may have been only a few minutes, Saigo's strength breaking at each moment. His breath was getting slow, and he could sense that uncomfortable feeling welling inside. Something was wrong. Something was...
It was then that he made a wrong move. It became more than a blow to his pride when the gun was pointed at him. It was a split second and all he felt was pressure hit his abdomen when the blast from the gun went off. It was like a train wreck in his head, a hollowing sound hitting his ears from the gun before he couldn't hold himself up anymore. The rest was a blur as he felt someone drag him, his body starting to feel cold against the ground.
It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fight.
He was bleeding so much; it was more than the other times. There was never a moment before that it was this bad. It took all her will as well as her desperation to drag him to a safe place with her stringy arms toward the empty medical center ahead. At times like these, she wish she was stronger. Physically stronger. Mentally stronger. She bit her bottom; she could feel her chest getting heavy. If she wasn't in the way, he wouldn't have done such a stupid thing like that. It wouldn't have been like this.
"We're almost there!" she told him, hoping he would hear her. Her breath was heavy, sweat and tears intermingled; she was so tired. She had to keep moving forward. He couldn't die. He couldn't die.
Please don't die.
Her voice was faint, a dull drum in his ears as his shallow breath fought to keep up. Saigo didn't weight much, but his height and build was still too much for a girl to pull, especially a limp body. Something wasn't right, and as he felt the blood flow it seemed to be draining him faster than usual. The vampire hadn't left without any parting words, a hearty laugh and musing that he'd finally bid an end to the Angel of Death. Saigo was one thorn in their side since he could pick up a gun and fight back. He started to mumble a prayer under his breath, for once not certain at all at how this would end. Eyelids heavy, he could feel them come to an abrupt stop and the tremble that embraced Zofia's tiny arms.
She paused and looked up at the cloudy skies when it started to rain, before moving on. Good. Then the trail of blood and their scent would be washed away with the water. They would be safe here momentarily. Just their luck.
She gave a faint smile when reached to the empty building, but it quickly faded. Gently laying Saigo on the ground, she went to the little black box and too the gun and pulled the trigger. The door opened instantly then. Putting the gun back in her holster, she went and continued to drag Saigo into the building. It seemed like eternity getting here--maybe it was.
She shut the door and continued to drag his body away from the translucent doors where they couldn't be seen. She breath became heavier, her body feeling heavy from her wet clothes. "We're here. I'll clean you up. You'll be better in no time," she said, trying to give him some hope. But maybe it wasn't her trying to convince him. Maybe she was trying to convince herself.
Carrying his body into one of the rooms, she let him lay on the floor. She didn't have the strength to carry him onto the beds; her priority now was to stop the bleeding and to keep him alive. Standing up, she rubbed her redden eyes and scrambled through the shelves for any old towels and bandages.
Her voice was strong, but he could sense that urgency, that sense of despair hiding behind it. It was what an observer was good at. The rain seeped down his face from his hair, his clothes heavy against him. Opening his eyes gradually, Saigo adjusted them to the lights in the room, the sharp pain in his stomach becoming more clear. Teeth seething, his breath trembled from the cold, dampness around him. Finally allowing himself to see the wound, it was then that he wondered if the old vampire had been right. Was this the end? Was this the moment that every hunter finally faced? All hunters seemed to hold that shelf life of never living to grow wrinkles. Never getting to sit and enjoy a day without fighting, without fear, without constant supervision over those around them in order to keep some peace. But at what price? Cold, thin fingers stuck to the blood of his shirt, it almost seeming hard to detatch it, otherwise the bleeding would keep pouring.
He felt weak, tired, exhausted, and for once...scared. He wasn't ready for this. It didn't feel like time to go just yet. That silent prayer escaped his lips again, his voice deeper, softer and more concerned than it's usual tone. Eyes closed again as he heard Zofia shuffle around the room frantically. He just wanted to see her smile.
Her wet hair clung to her face as she rushed as fast as she could, taking all what she needed. She grabbed the pillow from the bed and placed it under his head. Immediately she started to cleaning up the the wound in his abdomen. He would be better in no time. They were here. They had the tools. They were safe.
My God...there was just so much blood. It flowed so freely and she quickly eyed the trailed of water and blood from his wound that he had left when she dragged his body. Already, the towel was completely drenched and permanently stained in his blood. She threw the towel behind her and got another one and it just as quickly absorbed the blood like the other towel. Why was he bleeding so much? Why wouldn't it just stop?
She rubbed one side of her face with the back of her hand, blood streaking her face. It was all over. It just kept on coming like a waterfall. Her clothes, her arms, her face; they were stained of Death.
She could feel the tears start to crystallize, but bit her bottom lip to hold it back. She had to be strong--but it was so hard. It just wouldn't stop. Please stop. Why would it just stop?
Was there really a God out there like he always ridiculously spoke of? Did faith and hope still exist even in a world as damned as this?
For once in her mind, she prayed. She prayed that he would survive this. That they would survive this. That there was a God--any God that would hear her plea.
First, her uncle. Now maybe Saigo. She hoped not.
She didn't want to be alone.
She didn't want to be alone again...
Never again.
Saigo's hand rested on her wrist lightly, his fingers deathly cold. Dark eyes looked up to hers, watching that bite to her lip. He didn't have any room for sarcasm and wit, not now. All he could think was that for once he realized his own age and the fact that he wasn't the old man inside that he always pulled out. That brooding nature of his was softened so easily knowing that like her there wasn't anyone else to be close to. Somewhere in their clashing personalities he'd grown fond of her, that spunk reminding him that he was only twenty-one. He wasn't just a hunter, there was more to him than that and it was as if it was surficing casually instead of only flecs of it poking through.
"It's okay," he said softly. Hadn't he been preparing for this? Taking each day with himself, with God, knowing that with his human body it was inevitable? So then why did it break to say what he wasn't so sure of himself?
She trembled when she felt her icy fingers touched her and her tears immediately gushed. His words didn't help; especially when it came to the inevitable. It only made her work even harder. It wasn't okay. It just wasn't.
"Don't waste any energy, ya idiot," she told him through her sobs as she continued to clean up the blood, "Don't speak..you'll get through this..."
In the end, she was really just a kid, huh? She never had any friends. Her uncle was her only friend and then he was gone. It had been many lonely years underground with people coming in and out once in a while. And now Saigo was here and it was happening all over again.
Saigo chuckled lightly, a sound that didn't come out often. He was often amused it just didn't always show. "You're not crying over me are you?" He said trying to pull that coldness back out, but he knew. He knew it was no different for her now as it was for him. There was something that had sparked, something in each other's companionship that tugged at the heartstrings now. There was a moment where he wasn't a hunter when he was with her, moments that showed him he was still someone of signifigance and not just a fancy title weilding a gun.
The water streamed down his face, matting his hair to his cheeks, keeping his dark eyes from being hidden from looking to her tear-filled ones. Those icey fingers stayed on her hand, gripping her wrist now. He didn't want this to be it. Not when....
Saigo chewed on the side of his cheek, that stoic, serious face hitting him again. It may be his last words and he couldn't think of anything better to say.
"No, I'm cryin' for no reason! Duh! Of course I'm cryin' for ya, ya idiot," she scolded impulsively, admitting her feeling. How could he be teasing her while he was dying. Why wouldn't he just shut up. Was he doing this because he was already giving up?! "Don't make stupid jokes," she said, her voice much lower this time.
She could fix a lot of things--bring dead beat machines back to life, but human beings were completely different from machines. Because once people die, there's no chance of coming back no matter how much you try to fix them. Vampires didn't count--they were already dead.
"Saigo...you better live," she told him, saying his actual name for once. She lowered her eyes, before she whispered, "I'll hate you forever if ya decide to give up on me like this..."
"I...." he started realizing his words were hung in his throat. And for a brief moment he understood why so many lost their faith, because they started to ask the question of why. Why was it happening to them. He bit back his words, knowing there was no arguing if his body was ready to desert him even if his mind wasn't willing. He thought back to his own childhood. What he'd lost then, and what was becoming of this world---why he'd become who he was because of it.
Zofia was right...there was that part of him that was giving up, and it wasn't supposed to be like that. Saigo was a fighter down to the very bones of his body. Somewhere temptation had hit him to make him lose his footing. His faith.
Saigo released a hollowed breath, his fingers releasing her wrist and curling into hers. Suddenly those words he worked so hard to say, those harsh words of goodbye were lost, and replaced by a small light smile in the corner of his mouth. He nodded in response, eyelids starting to get heavy again. He could feel his mind starting to float, his fingers still far from warm in their icey grip.
Her fingers gently hugged his fingers in response, her heart beating fast and hard inside her chest. After a second, she looked at him, her red-rimmed eyes looking at him seriously. She whispered, "I won't give up on ya just as long as ya don't give up on me."
Taking a deep breath, she continued to further wash his wound to prepare for the bandaging. She continued to trudge along, despite the coldness of the air, despite her physical and emotional fatigue and despite all the blood that covered her small body. It was all will power, but it would be one that would be determined by Saigo's decision and fate. Because right now, he was all she had going for her.
"Is that a deal?"
His eyes closed in and out, breath getting slower as he willed his body to calm down. He said a prayer in his head, feeling that maybe, maybe this would be a lucky break and God would find that it wasn't his time to go. The pain was sharp in his side as she bound his wounds, the roughness of the bandages scrapping against his pale flesh like a rope. That bloody hand left hers in order to let her continue her work, something that she'd grown accustomed to since meeting him. Hopefully this would just be another scar to add to his collection. Fading in and out he managed an answer to her question.
"I want a cigarette when I get out of this."
Zoey frowned at his response. Cigarettes?! Did he want to come closer to death with cigarettes too? But when she turned her head to response, she found that he had already passed out and her temper sub-sided. Typical that he would ignore her...
"Yer such a jerk, y'know that?" she whispered in frustrated tone, her glare light, but her tired eyes soon became solemn as she sighed. She was so tired. She was so worried. Bending her legs, she dug her head into her knees. There was nothing she could do but watch over him as he slept and wait.
Morning After.
Light surrounded him as Saigo's slanted eyes eased their way open. The brightness of the room was overwhelming at first, causing him to slam them shut and then open back up with caution. His chest felt heavy with more than one blanket piled over his body. It was momentarily that he thought maybe he was in heaven, but that musty old smell of the room kicked into his senses and he realized he was very much alive. Sore. Exhausted. In extreme pain, but alive. Dark eyes circled the room nestling over the sleeping girl beside him.
His lanky arm reached out, fingertips still cold to the touch. If he was super emotional he would have shed a tear at the sheer scare his heart had went through the previous night. He'd never been that close to death before, and as he looked up to the bright light above him he silently thanked God for the second chance. His time wasn't now, and there was still plenty for the young hunter to do. Just maybe....maybe this time he needed to open up a bit more. See that even in the blackness of the world they resided in, there was good still alive and well in the world---and maybe he and Zofia had found it in each other. Companionship. Someone to stick around so that neither felt so alone.
Fingers dangled lightly, trying to get the feeling and warmth back in them. He'd give anything to get his body to sit up, but the pain and heaviness on top of him deemed it impossible. Stretching his arm out, those fingertips graced a strand of hair out of her face. She didn't look so much like a kid at that moment.
She hugged her sleeping form in attempt to keep warm from the cold. The simple and light movement of the tresses falling from his fingertips stirred the younger girl. Slowly her eyes opened ever so slightly. At first her sight was blurry as her eyes attempted to adjust to the bright light and to the darker figure lying beside her.
When it did, she saw Saigo there and his familiar "emo" face. Tired. Cold. Hurt. At the same time, there was a light in his eyes that she noticed wasn't present before. She couldn't comprehend it entirely. Still, it was not her main concern, because after after long hours, Saigo was looking back at her. And he was alive.
Alive.
She placed her hand over his, warming it up. Looking up at the older man with worn eyes, she smiled gratefully.
"Thank you..." she whispered to him finally. Those two words were so simple, yet held so much weight in them. So much hope. But it wasn't God that gave her hope, though. She wasn't entirely convinced of that. It was him though. Saigo. He gave her hope. He was her hope. That was something she was absolutely and positively sure of. That was something she knew she believed in. "You didn't give up on me."
The heat from her fingers made his skin tingle, that bridge between them being crossed with the simplicity of where the situation took them. It was something far deeper than affection, and something that neither of them could really clarify. All Saigo knew at this moment was that while his body beaten and bruised, mind still a floating cloud of uncertainty, and faith still as strong as ever---that he was in a very comfortable place right now. More than ecstatic that those grim hours the night before had not wiped him of his breath. His face showed no other movement, those dark eyes still heavily laid on her relieved face.
"Where's my cigarette?" he asked breaking the awkward moment. She could see, he knew she could see that underneath it all this was where he had wanted to be. Heaven wasn't ready for this Angel yet.
"I never agreed to that part of the deal," she said tiredly, a fainted, yet victorious smirk on her lips, sticking. She let out a short girlish giggle, which quickly faded and turned into a simple silent smile. Without thinking, she snuggled closer to him, careful not hurt him. She wanted to hear him breathe, hear his voice and see life in his eyes. That way, she knew that he was alive, right next to her and that it wasn't just a dream.
And it was nice...to lay there right beside him.
Was it merely the companionship they share with one another?
Or was it simply something that was on a higher plane? She could not comprehend it and for once she really did felt her age.
Angels...maybe angels really did exist at least and maybe he was the angel he claimed to be. Not one of death though, no. He was a guardian angel. Her guardian angel. That was much more fitting.
"I'm sorry."
Her small body curled up beside him, a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time embrace him in that very moment. It was as if she were still afraid he was going to slip out at any moment. Her careful closeness indicating that she had to be near him in order to see that he was still alive. That he was breathing and not going to drop off the face of the earth. So many years he'd been fine dealing with the alone status that came with a hunter. All he needed was God, his gun and the reassurance that he was doing the right thing. It became an entirely different thing when there was someone to protect. Someone that was there and not just the shadow looming behind you. The life of a hunter was never easy, and his especially hadn't been a bed of roses from day one. There was a haunting mystery to Saigo, a mystery that was slowly being unraveled by the younger girl beside him. She was tugging at his feelings little by little and now, he wasn't sure where this was going; but it was nice. His head rolled lightly to the side resting atop hers. There was a warmth in a body that no blanket and bright light could give. He wasn't sure he should get used to this, but there was the part of him that was ready to let himself go.