Page 162 of A Soul to Touch

She spun her head to him, her teeth gritted and revealing a bruised cut she had across her cheek.

“Worry about yourself, Faunus!” She reached forward, leaning on one knee and a foot, to undo the binds on his legs and then wrists. “I’m not the one fucking dying here, I don’t think. My arm looks really bad since I popped most of my stitches, and it’s black, but I’m not the one with half my damn face falling off!”

When he was freed, she stood to put space between them. He didn’t like it, didn’t like she was trying to hide from him, run from him when he wanted to check on her well-being.

“I shouldn’t have been so careless. I knew about your crack, but I thought we could protect each other. You protect me while I protect you. I thought everything would be fine, but if I hadn’t wanted to lure Demons here, none of this would have happened. I’m so freaking selfish and stupid.”

“Are... are you limping?” he asked as he made his way to his paws. He was unsteady, like his equilibrium was off, but he adjusted to it swiftly.

Nothing prepared him for the new onslaught of pain that would bombard him once he’d risen as far as he could stand in her small home. He raised his hand to touch his skull, wincing at the sting that movement brought, but he just bore with the pain so he could physically inspect how bad it was.

His tail curled downwards. It was bad, really bad.

“Faunus!” Mayumi shouted as she turned to him. “Why aren’t you angry with me?”

He stilled as he stared at her. She stared back with her little brows furrowed, as though she was awaiting something.

His white orbs turned blue at the sight of her. They deepened even further when he took a step towards her, and she stepped back.

He was right, she was limping. Her face looked haggard, tired and hurt, pale and crestfallen. But no matter how far she limped back, even when her arse hit her dining table, Faunus didn’t stop chasing her.

He gently slipped his clawed fingers under the soft lines of her jaw until he’d cradled underneath it and the base of her skull with his massive hands.

“Because, Mayumi,” he rasped as he lowered his skull, turned it slightly, and pressed the side of his forehead against themiddle of hers. He winced when even that little contact caused pain. “You are alive. That is all that matters. You fought against me and won, no matter how. I would rather my skull be broken further than to have come to my senses and realised I’d killed you.”

He darkened his sight, relieved to know that she was here when he had almost ended her life. He didn’t know how, but if she said he’d almost done so, then he knew she must have done everything in her feeble, little human power to overcome him.

Despite the sickening pool of terrible emotions swirling within him, he couldn’t help the pride he felt.

While holding firmly onto her precious head, cupping the underside of it completely, he resisted when Mayumi began bashing against his chest. She beat it, slapped it, tried to push him away, but he refused to let her go – just like he hadn’t truly been able to from the moment he first met her.

At the same time, the cool wash of his magic radiated between them as he took her wounds for himself.

“No!” she yelled, her hits becoming more aggressive the more he healed her – it was like he was giving her strength to do so. It only made him realise how badly she was hurt. His knee threatened to buckle, and his arm was in agony. “It’s not fair!”

“Quiet, my adorably fierce hunter,” he said in a gentle, soothing tone. “Everything will be fine.”

He knew it was a lie, but he just needed her to calm down. She’d obviously spent the last twenty-four hours spiralling, and he couldn’t bear to see her this way when she was usually so reserved and controlled.

Her slaps softened before she eventually fell against him.

“But it’s not fine,” she muttered, gripping at the fur of his chest. “I feel like I’ve killed you.”

Leaning back so he could face her, he found her colour had returned significantly. That fact alone made him feel better.

With the back of his curved claw, Faunus tenderly pushed a clump of tangled hair behind her ear.

“I know this would have happened to me eventually since I already injured my skull further chasing the winged Demon. I always knew what my end was.” He drew his claw down her fragile jugular so he could feel it pulsing with life. “I always knew my future was limited. This is not your fault, Mayumi. It is no one’s fault but my own, and the choices I made that led me to being trapped by the Demon King.”

Somehow, her brows furrowed even further, this time her lips pouting along with it. He found her sadness charming because it showed just how deeply she cared for him.

“But–”

“You can choose to dwell on this, but nothing will change it. I have chosen to just... live, so long as it is by your side. No matter how long that may be. That is all I have wanted since this happened to me.” Faunus pressed his forehead against hers once again. “I do not wish to taint whatever time I have left with you with misery.” He skated his claws down her side with a warm chuckle as he added, “When I would much rather it be filled with pleasure.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Mayumi muttered, tipping her head forward. “I can’t just forget what’s happening, Faunus. My mind wants to find a solution. My heart wants to fixate like it always does when I’ve decided upon something.”

“Can you not decide on something else?” he asked, using a fore knuckle to lift her head back up. “I have never seen you in such long, flowing clothing.”

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