Chapter 30- Pain

Wu POV:

"It seems like he fell asleep, the poor thing. How about, for now, you will take him back to your room in the guild?"

Rush-sama suggested to me, looking at Earth's condition.

"Sounds like a good idea. Do you have anything I can cover him with? I can't let him be seen like this by others."

I said that looking again at the small, cute and miserable figure of Earth laying in my arms. The pain it caused me was clearly visible in my eyes, and my voice shivered as well. Rush-sama looked at me with worry in her eyes before reaching her hand to her magic bag.

"Yeah, here, you can take this blanket."

As she said that, Rush pulled out a blue blanket and handed it to me. I stood up, carrying Earth in my embrace, only releasing one hand in order to take the blanket to cover him.

"Ah! Hand me the cloak he is wearing! It's the one that bastard gave him, maybe we can use it to track him!"

Before I completely covered his body, Rush-Sama suddenly stopped me.

"This? Sure. It's better than burning it like I planned to do. Here."

This filthy thing shouldn't even touch his skin.

I tore the cloak off him with disgust on my face and threw it toward Rush-Sama. She caught the cloak, placed it in a plastic bag she took out with the blanket before, then put everything back in her magic bag.

We exited the private room, and to the relief of everyone in the restaurant, we left it as well. Before leaving, Rush-Sama threw a bag of silver coins to the cashier in the entrance and apologized for the trouble we caused. It wasn't the restaurant's fault after all.

"Thank you, Rush-Sama. I'll pay you back later."

She smiled at me in response and the three of us began walking back to my room in the guild's hostel, Earth being held in my embrace (W/N: bridal style). He felt so light in my arms I was afraid he was about to disappear from my hold.

How could I have let Koshi take him so easily? Am I that weak?

The images of Koshi kissing Earth and touching his body kept flashing in my head, driving me crazy. I felt like I was standing on top of a high cliff, watching Earth falling off it and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

Is it possible he can't even remember my name now, just like Koshi said?

"Oi, Wu-San! We arrived! Where are you going?"

"Huh?"

Rush-Sama grabbed me by my shoulder after I almost walked past the hostel, making me halt.

"He said something that got into your head right?"

She looked me in the eyes with a serious face. I didn't answer her, instead averted my eyes, lowering them to look at the small blue package in my arms. Only his nose and lips were showing in between the wraps, his lips still swollen from kissing with Koshi.

"He said that it was easy to take Earth from me, that Earth probably can't even remember my name now and the worst thing is, he was right. I couldn't even stop him from taking Earth back then...I am too weak..."

As I said that my voice was shivering, my eyes itching to tear up. I managed to keep them dry with a huge effort and extraordinary self control.

"I thought so. Listen..."

She sighed.

"You are not weak! You are one of the most powerful man I know and you were definitely stronger then Koshi!"

"How can you even say that?"

I asked her sullenly.

"It's simple. I used [scan] on you when we reunited and on him when you showed hostility against him at first. His level was high, a magic level of 56, if it was the old you, he would have been able to give you a good fight, the new you however? Not a chance. You have a magic level of 70 now!-"

I have a magic level of 70 now?!

"-If he didn't have the transportation scroll you would definitely have been able to kill him!"

"I guess you are right... but Earth is..."

My voice broke as I looked at him.

"About the situation with Earth, I don't know how close you two actually were, but I'm sure you can make him fall for you again if necessary. So you can't lose your hope, right now he needs you to be his rock, ok?"

She is right, I can make him fall for me again if I have to, but for now, I just need to support him.

I cheered up a bit, smiling at Rush-Sama.

"Thank you. I'm really glad I have you to support me..."

"No problem. You just seemed so miserable it was hard to look at."

Rush-Sama blushed shyly at my words.

I really like this side of her. She never expects to be thanked for the things she does, but she does them anyway.

"Anyway, enter the hostel already, I need to see Maya and tell her why I was late to come back home today."

"Ok, but...Is it possible you will also ask her to look at Earth's body? I'm afraid he might be hurt."

Rush-Sama and Maya-Sama live together in a house they bought, not far from the guild. Even though Leas Town is like a town for beginning adventurers when it comes to the strength of the monsters surrounding it, Rush and Maya are both S ranked adventures, Rush-Sama being this town's guild leader and Maya-Sama being a first class, level 65, healer.

"Of course. Anyway, I gotta go now, I'll come check on the both of you tomorrow, just text me when Earth wakes up."

She handed me half a scroll used for texting between people. All you have to do is tear the scroll, each person getting half of it, and when one person writes on it, the sound of a bell will be sounded from the other half of the scroll and the massage will appear on it for ten minutes, before disappearing from both halves of the scroll. I put the half she gave me in my magic bag and waved her goodbye as she walked away.

I carried Earth up the stairs into my room, and gently laid him on the bed. The thought of his body and clothes being violated and touched by another man ran through my head again, disgusting me. I removed the blue blanket Rush-Sama gave me for him and all the clothes on his body as well, used [cleanse] on his body and dressed him in one of my own shirts with a pair of his underwear I had. Only after doing all of that and burning the clothes I removed from him with [flame flower], I was satisfied and tucked us both under the soft blankets of the bed. Usually we slept spooning up, but Koshi's words of how he probably can't even remember my name, stopped me from doing it now.

He might look like nothing ever happened to him because I used [cleanse] but I know that's not true...damn it! I feel like crying and shouting, I want to lock him up somewhere he'll be safe, what can I do to make sure this will never happen again?

The only thing I did before falling asleep was to listen to his heart beats, his breath, and note every little thing, down to the last detail, in my mind.