Bleed Out (Nao x Reika)

original

“Nao!”

The scream tore through the air, piercing and heart-wrenching. Or rather, more accurately, as blood tore through flesh and inspired desperation. The thought caused a morbid, amused chuckle to escape through her dry lips, and she leaned against the wall of the school building and slid down to the ground, legs finally giving out.

“Nao! No!”

No, she wanted to say in return. I should be saying no. Don’t scream for me. It’s not that bad. But her lungs were tired, her mind was fading, and words could not escape from her throat.

“No. No. No. No–”

A trembling form disturbed the dirt between her legs, and the sound reached her ears and her eyes weakly fluttered open. She took in wide blue eyes, panicked, pained, wild with fear, and only managed to summon energy from some deep unknown abyss inside herself once she saw the tears.

Her jaw fell open, and she croaked, “It’s okay.” Dragging her arm up from her side, she laid a bloody hand on Reika’s cheek and gently brushed a few blue locks back behind delicate ears. “It’s okay. Shh.”

“It’s not,” Reika sobbed. She clutched Nao’s green vest, so familiar and so alien, alien because she had never seen it stained with red. Raw emotion pulsing through her veins, pupils shrunk so deeply in fear, she cried, “How can anything be okay when you’re hurt like this?”

“Everything is okay as long as you’re safe, Reika,” Nao smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She wanted to put on a brave face, but god, her wounds hurt like hell and the blood was beginning to cake in her hair and down her forehead. Playing the martyr was supposed to be the epitome of being a hero, but it really, really sucked when it came right down to it.

“But how can I be okay when you’re not?” Reika whimpered. Warm wetness seeped through the green vest and dirtied her hands and sleeves, and the weight of finality set in her stomach. Too much blood had been lost. No one was around. There was no time. “How will I ever be able to be okay?” she whispered, and she stared deeply into Nao’s rapidly fading gaze.

“As long as you’re alive,” Nao wheezed out, her eyes open but nearly seeing nothing now, “you can learn to be okay. As long as you’re alive, fight. The others... should...”

“I understand.” Her forehead brushed against green bangs, and her eyes narrowed. “I understand, but I don’t think I can ever be okay without you.”

Her thumb caressed the skin under Reika’s eyes, and she spent the next few moments committing Reika’s beautiful visage, stricken as it was, to her mind. When she went out, she wanted to go out with love instead of pain. And so she asked, “Can you promise me one thing, then?”

Nodding, Reika fought to keep her lips from shaking.

“At least try for your chance at happiness,” Nao gasped out. “Just try.”

Their gazes locked, but Nao could not see anymore. Heart breaking, she let her tears fall, comforted that Nao couldn’t see her lose to her pain. With no strength left, she said, “I promise.”

Her hand fell to the ground with a quiet, final thud and stilled.