Chapter 29
Haruki laid Cinder down on a stone bed, applying first aid to her wound...
"Hey... How are you feeling?" Haruki asked as he wiped Cinders wound...
"I've been through worse... but do tell me why you're feeling so charitable..."
Haruki sighed and didn't speak further...
He materialized everything cinder needed, he sew the wound shut, and asked Ars on what to do next.
*cough cough* "What is this fake charity!? Haruki! Do you think I'm stupid!?"
Cinder slowly sat back up, Haruki supported her.
She grabbed Harukis collar and said "Answer me! *cough* I don't need your help!!"
Haruki didn't speak he gently held cinders hand and he gently laid her down...
Much to Cinders surprise... She glared at Haruki but, if she wanted to survive...
She just laid there to recuperate...
Haruki asked Ars if he could materialize food... which to his surprise Ars responded with a menu... free of charge.
He made food for the both of them.
Haruki put the plate near Cinder. "Eat..."
Cinder just scoffed and turned her back at Haruki.
Haruki held her by the waist and made her lean towards his chest...
"Cinder... you're going to die if you keep this up..."
He tried to feed her, Cinder was so surprised.
"What the h.e.l.l is all this? I thought you wanted to kill me? I thought I'm just a p.a.w.n to you? why the h.e.l.l are you being so nice to me!?"
Haruki stopped speaking, He just fed Cinder silently...
Cinder had no choice but to eat... letting Haruki spoon feed her...
She soon dozed off, because of the medicine Haruki gave her...
Haruki laid her back down and covered her with a blanket...
He sat back down on a stone... He started a fire to keep them both warm...
He thought to himself... 'What the f.u.c.k an I doing??... What Corvus did to her suddenly angered me...'
'I felt guilty for letting her get hurt...'
' it's probably because I don't want what's mine to be hurt...'
'even if this woman is evil....'
Suddenly he heard a voice inside his head... a very familiar voice.
[Is she though?? is she truly evil? that she doesn't deserve a second chance like you?]
'What the f.u.c.k!? Gluttony! How are you inside my head!?'
[Hehehehe relax kid, I can't do nothing to you in this state... you devoured me... when you did, you didn't just absorb my powers... my consciousness was merged with warmonger...]
[Yes, you may have prevented my revival, but you also prevented me from dying...]
'f.u.c.k... *sigh* whatever...well this is your temple right? Tell me how to get out...
[Ehh... When you Chased after Corvus the entrance collapsed... So we need to go through the exit]
Haruki looked at cinder...
'Ill go after she wakes up...'
[You like her don't you? Her s.p.u.n.k reminds you of someone?? Hahahahaha, you f.u.c.king suck...little pansy...]
'Tsk, buzz off and do you know how to shut up?'
[Sigh... You know when I merged with Warmonger I saw your memories...
I gotta say you're a real piece of work...]
Haruki ignored Gluttony and he shut his eyes to get some rest...
A few hours pa.s.s, Cinder finally woke up.
She slowly sat up, looking at Haruki, wondering what the h.e.l.l is up with him...
Why did he help her?
Why?? after all she has done... she wondered herself if she deserved all this...
She was shocked and Happy at the same time, when Haruki got really angry...When she got stabbed by corvus.
She felt weird, she wondered what that feeling was...
it was different from the hatred she felt, whenever he's around she was p.i.s.sed but not to the point that she'd hate him...
Haruki slowly opened his eyes...
Cinder immediately looked away.
She wondered why she did that, normally she could glare at anyone without flinching...
Haruki went near her...
She could feel her heart beating faster...
Her face heating up...
She thought to herself...
'Am I... no it can't be...'
'Do... I... have a fever!? it's probably that yes...'
He put his hand towards her forehead.
"You're hot...why don't you lie down?"
Cinder was speechless...
'How shameless could this kid be!? She's injured for f.u.c.ks sake...'
[Hahahahahah, look at her! she's weirded out by your words!!!]
Haruki continued to ignore Gluttony.
"Do you have a fever? why don't you take a rest first and eat, then we try and go to the exit..."
Cinder thought to her self...
'Ohh, that's what he meant...'
Haruki opened his scroll to try and contact Neo, and he was surprised that there is signal here, but it's faint...
'What!? remnants signal towers are very advanced compared to ours...'
Should've contacted her earlier...
He told Neo they were okay and they would be moving towards
Neo asked him about corvus and he told her he was buried under the rubble.
Haruki then went near cinder to find out that she has finished eating and was staring at Haruki.
Cinder asked him...
"Are you ready to talk now? What are you?"
Haruki was silent thinking what to tell cinder...
She suddenly spoke...
"I wasn't talking about your origins I want to ask about how you can transform into a wolf... and your semblance... how???"
Haruki then said...
"It's like corvus' weapons... I could summon them and they have their own powers, while corvus collected treasures... I on the other hand could materialize my own..."
Cinder was doubting what Haruki told her, but it's better than nothing at Least.
"Tell me Haruki, why did you join us? you could've ran with Neo 5 years ago and Roman would've let you..."
"Me and Neo were young, we can't do s.h.i.+t in the real world, we need backing..."
Cinder laughed... "You're powerful enough! What's the difference if you ran away!? you could have started a new with her!"
Haruki furrowed his brows.
"Power is different from money! What s.h.i.+t would it do? other than make others want it!?"
"And what!? Return as vagrants on the streets!?, begging!? I am sick and f.u.c.king tired of begging!"
"I have lived a path of blood it's no use regretting what might have been...I chose this path because I didn't have any other choice! Neo would still choose to work for Roman, She owes him that much...
He was like a father to her... He helped her when no one else would... And that's what she means to me too."
Cinder looked down and said...
"Why then!?... if you're just reluctantly working with Salem... why!? why bother saving me!!!? if you just left me for dead... you could've easily killed corvus!"
Haruki couldn't speak further, he looked away... then he slowly spoke.
"You... you remind me of someone..."
Cinder laughed Hysterically.
"Hahahahahahahaha!!! you expect me to believe that kind of melodramatic bulls.h.i.+t!?
Do you think I'm that stupid!? what I remind you of your dead sister!? your dead lover!? f.u.c.k!! Don't give me that c.r.a.p!!!"
Haruki looked down...
'You remind me of myself...'
Cinder didn't expect to react this strongly... because deep down she knows that's what she's doing... and she hated it...
it reminds her of a time of powerlessness, a time where she was still whole...
Before she shattered and became sharp shards that could hurt anyone that came near.
A bitter memory she kept bottled up all those years...
A silent yearning of a better time.
Haruki was just looking solemn, he looked at her and said.
"You remind me of someone, so hungry for power, so consumed with revenge even unaffected people get hurt in the process... you don't care about the means... you only care about the end result."
Haruki sighed and continued.
"Fueled by the hatred, Fueled by the yearning of your past... It's a never ending cycle of suffering... it always ends the same!!
Enemies on all sides, you try to fight back but each time you fight back... your guilt pulls you back, giving them the chance to keep hitting you until you're down.
and you finally snap, killing everyone, even the people that try to stop you... then you stop feeling guilty, you just keep killing!!
And then eventually you stop feeling... Just waiting for the death you deserve, like a demon king sitting on his throne waiting for the hero to come and slay him..."
He looked straight at Cinder.
"I don't believe in the innate goodness in people... it's just for appearance sake, they hide their true motives, while they sing you praises... I never trust them until I see the real them.
But revenge? it f.u.c.ks you hard, you get so detached and apathetic, at the end of it all, after standing at the mountain of corpses.
You ask yourself... was it worth it? was it worth doing all this c.r.a.p, was it worth it losing everything!? Just to satisfy your f.u.c.king vengeance!? was it worth it!?
You try to justify your actions but no words would come out... they're already gone!!! So what is the f.u.c.king point of it all!!??
Even if you wanted to cry no tears would come out!! you've been hollowed... an empty husk filled with pointless hatred and bitter regret."
Cinder was silent... she couldn't refute what Haruki just said... She looked at him, wondering how, how can this young man experience so much, then it came to her...
She was the same...
A fragile girl trying to push everyone away.
Trying so hard to appear powerful so she wouldn't get hurt again.
Cinder sighed as she laid back down, thinking of what Haruki said to her.
[Bravo!!! Magnificent!! Outstanding performance by Mr.Haruki!! Hahahahahaha!! I guess you couldn't stand seeing someone else going that road!! If I could just eat popcorn right now!!]
'Shut the f.u.c.k up gluttony...'
[Aww, don't be a buzz kill, I really enjoyed watching that... REVENGE!! a tale as old as time... hahahahahaha, it never gets old! it still manages to crack me up! Hahahahahah!]
'Good G.o.d... just thinking I'd be stuck with you, gives me a headache.'
[Don't be like that kid! we could be buddies! and I can tell you how to defeat each sin! how bout I prove myself to you... I get you out of this temple? you try and trust me a little bit, Okay??]
*Sigh 'Whatever...'
Haruki then sat down looking at cinders back...
He thought to himself, 'hehe what the f.u.c.k did I just do? giving advice to her???'
[Got affected by what I said?? Be honest with me kid... you like her don't you, but your pride always gets in the way... You know deep down she could change. So why not take this chance and live a little?]
Haruki ignored Gluttony at just continued sitting down.
it's been a whole day since they were stuck inside the temple...
Cinder was feeling a little better, so Haruki opted that they move, He helped her walk...
Lending his shoulders to her.
They went deeper into the heart of the temple.