A Promise Through Pain

Paritraan placed his index finger on his lips, signaling the girl to stay quiet. His sharp gaze reassured her as he swiftly cut through the ropes binding her. With a nod, he motioned for her to step out of the car quietly.

 But fate had other plans. As she shifted, her foot knocked against something—a metallic clang echoed through the still night. The arguing men turned in unison, eyes narrowing at the car.

"Who's there?" one of them barked.

Their eyes landed on Paritraan, standing protectively beside the girl.

"A con artist?" another sneered. "Looks like he was trying to steal her for himself!"

The men, who had moments ago debated whether to kill the girl, now found a new target—Paritraan. One of them suddenly raised a gun and fired.

Paritraan reacted instinctively, pulling the girl into a tight embrace, shielding her with his own body. The bullet struck his back.

Pain shot through him like a thousand needles piercing his skin. The suit absorbed most of the impact, but the force still stung. He hadn't tested the suit's resilience yet—this was its first real challenge.

The criminals froze in shock.

"What the hell? "That should've gone right through him!" one of them exclaimed.

Their hesitation quickly turned into anger.

"Forget the girl—kill him!" another ordered.

Realizing they planned to frame him for the girl's death, Paritraan clenched his jaw.

"Anahata, I need help," he murmured under his breath.

The girl, still pressed against him, thought he was talking to himself.

Anahata's voice echoed in his mind. "You'll have to compromise your identity."

"No time to worry about that now. "A life is at stake," he replied firmly.

 As the men surrounded them, the blue emblem on Paritraan's suit pulsed. The material shifted, expanding, stretching—before enveloping the girl along with him.

The suit fused them into one entity, forcing them into an even closer hold. The girl gasped, feeling the strange sensation of the suit tightening around her form. The blue emblem slid on her back, while Paritraan's mask shifted onto the back of her head.

The criminals, stunned for only a moment, then fired. Bullets rained down. 

Paritraan braced himself, angling his body to take the brunt of the assault. Bullets slammed into him, the suit absorbing the impacts, but each shot sent spikes of pain lancing through his body. The girl flinched as a few bullets struck her as well. The suit dulled the force, but she could still feel it—like long, sharp needles stabbing into her flesh. 

Unlike Paritraan, she had areas where the suit fully shielded her. 

A realization hit her between the bursts of gunfire. Some parts of her body—her back, the back of her head—were completely protected by the reinforced blue layer of the suit. But Paritraan… he had no such relief. He was taking all the pain, shielding her completely with his own body.

Tears welled in her eyes—not just from pain, but from the weight of that realization. 

Whether from instinct, fear, or something deeper, she clung to him tighter.