Leaving

"I've checked your vitals. I think you'll be just fine." Eliza said with a caring smile as Darah returned the same. The morning lights peaked through the windows.

"Do you think I can return home today?" Darah asked eagerly. 

"Oh. I'm not sure about that. I'd advise you to take one more day of rest." Even though Eliza didn't care much about it, Ryu had still ordered her to take great care of this girl. What was their relationship anyway? Eliza couldn't help but wonder. 

"So… Do you know each other?" Eliza asked while keeping her eyes on the syringe poking into a medicine bottle. 

"No not at all…" Darah exclaimed suddenly.

"Really? Strange…" Eliza gripped her hands tight on the syringe as she went towards Darah. If they didn't even know each other then why was Ryu out the room a whole day watching over her. That wasn't how he was. He had known Eliza for years and he wouldn't even let her complete a sentence for god's sake. She bit her teeth, trying to contain a sulking expression.

Darah hissed in pain as the syringe tip sank into her skin but relaxed when it pulled out immediately. 

"Do you know anything about him?" Eliza asked again and this time it confused Darah. She couldn't understand what she was trying to know. 

"Um… besides from the fact that he's extremely vigilant, I know nothing else." Darah said with a frown. 

"Oh really? You don't know he kills people?" Eliza threw the syringe into the bin. It seemed she was disappointed in her own question. Darah was silent. 

"He lives a dangerous life. Like a thriller movie. I've never seen such dual personality as his before. All the hate for his enemies, is just as strong as his love for his family. But I can see him paying for what he's doing one day… And I hope that day never comes." Eliza gazed out at the window, watching children playing down over the hospital ground covered with freshly mowed lawn.

 Darah felt bad looking at her. It was almost like she could feel her disappointment as Eliza kept her gaze locked to the outside view. She must've known him for years to feel concerned about his choices. 

"Ryu has been cold to me for years but I take that as a sign that I'm the only person he can trust in difficult situations. That whatever he says, I'll still be there."

"He trusts you." Darah smiled faintly. She still recalled how Eliza helped her on her first arrival in the mansion. She couldn't be more thankful for her presence.

"Yeah. Maybe…" Eliza smiled back at her. 

Darah sank into the sheets. Going back home will be a new beginning. I will no longer live in fear. Whatever comes, the moment I reach home, I'll be a changed person who can face anything head on… 

By evening, Eliza had granted the permission for Darah to leave. Lyra was arguing with Ryu over the phone as he stood in the outer ground, waiting for the brown eyed girl. 

"I get that things can be dangerous. But Darah has done nothing wrong to live like she's in jail."

"Jail!? Are you kidding me? She has the best, branded clothes, top tier food served to her on bed in time along with meds all with the help of my head servant. And you call it jail?" Ryu scoffed, kicking a pebble over the lawn. 

"Look I get it. That we did this for her safety. But she deserves to be left alone now. She has her own life too, just like us." Lyra sighed. 

"The only reason I kept her for long was because she saved your life. No one has ever done that… They usually scurry away like cowards." Ryu was actually in awe when he thought back to that. He had never seen a woman fight back so threateningly, that she didn't even bother about the bleeding wound on her arm...

"I bet she's my saviour ninja in disguise! I just… I don't know she has a special place in my heart, Ryu." Lyra said dreamily as she leaned over her couch. Ryu had a playful smirk on his lips as he heard her say that with such admiration. Well he had to take great care of a person his sister seemed to adore. 

Hearing footsteps behind, Ryu turned around, cutting the call. He met eyes with a dainty looking figure clad in a yellow summer dress which was flowing over her body. Her eyes shined under the sun and widened at his sight, her cherry red lips breaking into a shy smile. He thought he was seeing a new person for a while. Eliza noticed his gaze stuck on Darah's and coughed lightly in irritation. Ryu broke his gaze from her, feeling surprised at himself. 

"I'm ready." Darah grinned and it was the happiest Ryu ever saw her. But he didn't like the smile for some reason. He figured it was because she was heading home.

He said nothing and walked towards the car. Darah was confused, following him like a lost puppy, two guards trailing behind them.