GARO Fanfic – Exiled’s return, 11

Chapter 11: Vital ordeal


“Kouga!”

The young man surrounded by the Bariri and who strives to protect the unconscious Kaoru sees coming, sideways, the white glow of the flaming Knight Dan. It is his chance. He takes his girlfriend’s body on his arms and, protected by his colleague as he did before to her, he reaches his house.

The horrors stop and come together to discuss.

Kouga leaves Kaoru’s body on the couch and asks Jabi to take care of her.

“It’s a simple concussion, nothing else” the priestess diagnoses. She turns to him. “But I can’t say the same about you”.

Then, Kouga notices the serious look of his four companions.

“Nothing's wrong. Let's go outside before they’d be reorganizated”.

“You're not going anywhere”.

Kouga takes a couple of steps toward Tsubasa.

“We’ll not go through this again, right?”

But there is no challenge in his colleague’s eyes, only a slight sigh moves his chest. Rei speaks.

“Look at yourself in the mirror”.

That is something that Kouga has avoided since returning home. As worried about Kaoru, he had managed to forget his burns, which now seem to start to awake.

“Do it” the knight of the black coat trench insists.

He can not escape from the relentlessness of his peers. Slowly, regretting each step he does, he approaches the fateful mirror of the bureau in the dining room.

Small and large blisters, some parts of blackened skin, and some skin shed at his face greet him. He watches his hands. Many of their blisters have burst by the use of his sword and bringing Kaoru on his arms. Some of them have bled. He knows he should not have looked at: now his pain increases.

Silence.

Soon after, Jabi, Tsubasa, Rei and Akane begin to talk among themselves: both flamethrowers are ready, pity they haven’t been tested before; the knights will fight with sword because the horrors will flee from the Fire and the battle would never end; the priestesses would handle the flamethrowers against the wounded ones; their range is about three meters; and ...

The more they talk, the more they ignore him, his wounds are more painful.

He hears as the others to leave. He does not know what to do with himself. His world collapses.

As a Makai Knight, he has failed.

After a few moments devoted to watch the magnitude of such a disaster, he truly do not know if he could reach to keep anything.

A movement from the couch. Kaoru. How would be able to face her now? How could he face anybody?

“Kouga”.

He looks at her, even without moving from in front of the mirror.

“How do you feel?”

“I’ve got a headache”.

“You’ll get well”.

“Thanks. Again”.

Her beautiful smile touches him, he does not believe to deserve it. Neither to deserve her.

“Thanks to me you remain like this”.

Kaoru lifts a bit to sit on the couch.

“Jabi said that after the battle ...”

“You shouldn’t have accepted her proposal,” he interrupts.

“Why?”

She’s sweet, he thinks, desperating. So sweet! He can not keep talking with his usual bluntness.

“In your current status, your exposure to the Fire has to be a lot greater”.

“But, mixing blood isn’t less risky”.

“It's a proven method!”

His outburst silences the girl. Then, she rises unsteadily. She approaches and stands behind him. She does not talk at once.

“Forgive me”.

The surprise makes him turning his head back a little.

“I was mad because you weren’t there when a horror caught me. I blamed you abut my misfortune, though I knew you’d no way to guess it”.

To protect you is my responsibility, he answers back to himself. I failed. And I keep failing.

“Not even I thought” Kaoru goes on “the possibility that you’re suffering because of me”.

Not only my burnt body but my heart cries out how weak I’ve become. Even Kaoru has noticed it! I'm no use. Only one thing is left to do: offering my life.

“Let to mix the blood”.

He hears a deep sigh behind him.

“Listen to me, Kouga. It’s enough only one of us risks life. Your work is very necessary: you’re Garo”.

I’m no longer, he thinks closing his eyes tightly. But she has not finished talking.

“I am the most dispensable here”.

Kouga's eyes open with such a suddenness that denies the great slowness he turns to face her.

“You know that's not true!”

He spits these words as if it was a curse. One else. Against himself. But Kaoru is the one who he has intimidated, and she remains silent.

Later, she looks down and apologizes.

“I can’t stand you to risk unnecessarily”.

She lifts her hand to touch his face, but she thinks better.

“Oh, it must hurt very much”.

“It doesn’t hurt”.

Honestly he thinks her touch can only be a balm. His silent prayer is heard loud and clear by Kaoru.

Her hand rests lightly on his injuried cheek. A blister bursts and its almost transparent contents moisturizes her delicate hand, sliding quickly down on Kouga’s neck . But they do not care.

“I don’t want you to put your life in danger” she repeats” if can be avoided. Not even for me. I also need you. Can you understand it?”

It is what he told her long time ago, how could not he understand it?

Kouga has forgotten it, but things are like this. Both of them, as individuals, are vulnerable, but their bond is strong, forged with life, blood and death. Nothing can really hurt him as far as this link exists. He collapsed when he thought that Kaoru had left him, but it was not true. He had going through an absurd illusion that had dragged him to the near destruction. His true self did not left him, never, just he stopped believing in it.

It’s enough.

He is Garo, he is strong, he is a destroyer of horrors and therefore those Bariri will be damaged. And, by the tie binding him to Kaoru, he knows she will survive.

The subtle smile playing on his lips is reflected and multiplied by ten on hers. They take hands, strengthful, ro reaffirm the power of their bond.

Breaking glasses.

A horror has gone through the window, one horror with a half of antenna in regeneration. Kouga draws his sword and places himself between Kaoru and the Bariri.

“You again? There's nothing for you in here”.

Something as a rare laugh fills the room. The being from another world is clearly skeptical, and Kouga understands it. It knows they are easy preys: he, unable to wear his armor, and she was ill. The thing the horror does not know is that when a heart is strong, the weakness of the body is less important.

He attacks, and he is close to chop off the other antenna. The horror shrinks and bends them, so that it seems to carry a rare hat, and attacked him back by kicking, clawing and jumping.

Kaoru moves away to give room to Kouga. He deeply regrets not being able to wear his armor. He will reach it again, of course, but now he only can aspire to hurt his enemy with the help of his sword. Indeed, very few horrors that can be eliminated without the use of an armor, so Makai Knights should be able to invoke and wear them. If he could get back enough to light his sword... but he doubts that his adversary allow him that chance. It is gaining ground.

Sideways, he sees Kaoru has taken the flamethrower that the priestesses are adapting to health her. Its mouth is a very short, but as wide as a human body. Kouga starts to put a specific direction to the fight, until the Bariri is accessible to the flamethrower, which is much smaller than those using his peers outside, but Kouga uses its surprise and pain Bariri to cut both antennas touching head, which seems to make him unabled. And Kaoru finishes him off with the Fire.

The couple smiles, pleased with what both of them have achieved together. Suddenly, Kaoru's face shows such an amazement that warns the young man.

“Your skin!”

He wonders if he has lost it all, but she drags him in front of the mirror. The burns are disappearing, as magically as they came.

Kaoru's happiness makes her to jump into his arms. His own,  to push her out enough to kiss her.