Rest Assured

The breeze of the air flows through our veins as the birds chirp around us. Other than that, silence revolves around us, and at that time, Aimi stuttered first before stating her point.

"He's being controlled."

"By what?"

"Not by what, but who? There's only one suspicious person I'm careful of."

"Mayumi?"

"No, impossible. And if I suspected you, I shouldn't be telling this right now."

I can feel the aura of distrust around her. "You mean…"

"That girl, he might have something in hiding," she said with a sullen look on her face.

Yeah, it seems that Kenshin is paying attention to Saori the whole time. But still…

"No, you're wrong. Saori is just an innocent girl brought in here accidentally. She doesn't deserve to be here. If there's something, you might have overthinking things" I replied.

"I've known Kenshin since we were kids. I know when he's his usual self and when not."

"I knew Kenshin is a nice guy, but we can't involve someone innocent here."

"What do you know about her?"

"She's Mayumi's victim once. I don't want to repeat that again. I swear by myself that I'll protect her no matter what."

She suddenly gasped and asks with a stutter. "Victim? Of what?"

"Bullying, abuse, same as mine. Now I feel what her situation was, I need to protect her from it."

She swallowed hard after knowing about the incident with Saori. Her furrowed eyebrows turned drawn. Her husky voice soothes her while she lightly rubs her forearm.

"I… I don't know about it. I'm sorry… It definitely won't happen again," Aimi stuttered.

"It's fine. I always have mistakes, every day. That's the sole reason our family is in chaos right now. Everything should be blamed on me. It's all my fault. If it wasn't me…"

She rubs my back the moment I nearly drowned in my emotions. It's really good, the feeling that someone will be there to comfort you the moment you were down. "Don't worry. You still have two important things: time and hope."

"Thank you, Aimi. I might have a strong body, but I'm still a kid learning to fit his shoe."

"It's alright. There will be a day that all negative things will be washed away. We're still young. We can still have our own families after we escape this hell."

I sniffed and wiped my nearly-teared eyes with my sleeves. "I deeply appreciate your concern."

"But still, I can't be wrong with my guess. Kenshin won't unreasonably move without any plans. Still, that moment earlier is the most suspicious cause… Oh!" Her pupils dilated after a realization.

She continues. "I'm sorry, I blamed Saori, knowing that three people are in there."

"Three people!?" I flinched back because I don't understand what she was saying. It turns out that we didn't consider our enemy as a person. In fact, we shouldn't be the ones treated as humans, but as zombies.

"If that's the case, then maybe Kenshin doesn't want us to spread the plan because he's planning to negotiate with our enemies," she said and stands up with a wide grin and eyes that were star-sparkling. "I DO REALLY UNDERSTAND HIS INTENTION! IF THIS KEEPS UP, I'LL BE HIS EQUAL!"

"You might be able to become a telepath in the future! Congratulations! If only…" My joyous praise to Aimi suddenly stopped and got dominated by fear after we hear some rustling in the bushes beyond the forest. I stand up and ready my stance for the upcoming danger.

I went in front of Aimi to cover her using my body as a shield. The bushes continue shaking like it's shaken by a cheerleader, though I wish it was a cheerleader. My trembling made my confidence vanish from the terror of the unknown. Moments later, a part of a living body appeared out of it, a hand… a person's hand. It's covered in dirt and minor wounds.

"Aimi, get back!" Though I can't see the body it is connected to because it is blocked by the bushes, the hand tried its best to grip the ground and carry the rest of its body. The covering fear within us, which make our wrinkling foreheads stop, fades and is replaced with worry.

"Ikeda, look! It's a person!" Aimi shouted, pointing towards the head of the person that appeared from the bushes. Is this reborn of Athena? I can see it much more painful than childbirth. I quickly ran towards that person to help her.

She smiled at me while her eyes, whose covered with black circles underneath and her bangs that cover nearly half of her face, fights its shuttering. Before I came near her, her grip loosen. Her head fell down to the ground with reassurance. She lost consciousness before I can talk to her.

She's still alive, but there are too many wounds covering her arms and back, which is shown from the blood on her clothes. Her fatigue might be the same as the 24-hour overtime of a person, but the cause of her weakness is very obvious.

"Aimi! Help me here! We need to treat her wounds!" I shouted as I check the woman's pulse which is still beating. I carried her by pulling her arm on my back. Aimi did the same on her other arm.

It's just an hour, I think, after Mayumi and Kenshin's quarrel when we got to Aimi's temporary house. Kenshin caught our attention the moment we opened the door in hurry.

"What happened!?" Kenshin asked with a frozen straight neck that only rotates horizontally.

"Medicine! Is there any medicine!? First aids!? She needs treatment, quick!" I shouted.

"Aimi, go to the warehouse. Bandages, gauze pads, cotton rolls, bantam strips, alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide, bring me those. After that, you help me apply the medication," Kenshin ordered.

Mayumi and Saori suddenly rushed toward the door to check the ongoing panic. "What's happening!? Who is that!?"

"Mayumi! Saori!" I exclaimed.

"You two, good you're here. Help me with the medication. I'll explain everything later," Kenshin added as he puts a wet cloth on the woman's forehead.

"What are you planning to do with her?" Mayumi asked.

"I have a valid and obvious reason. Rest assured, she's going to be fine."