Vol 9 Chapter 11 (2/2)
Suddenly, the ain, but her this time, and dashed around on top of the mattresses
Inukashi+ held his breath
A s out of the chute It was not trash It was a s it The black ht for Inukashi+ It latched onto Inukashi+'s hastily extended arm, and squeaked insistently
Cheep cheep cheep cheep! Cheep cheep cheep cheep!
It was Tsukiyo; there was no doubt about it It was the sao to Nezurew hot
”Wake up, old a blinked feebly, still squatted on the ground His eyes were bleary and red His face was sooty, his hair was ood decade
”They're co back Hold onto the ot to his feet in a surprisingly swift
As Inukashi+ and Rikiga held the mattresses down, they felt a heavy i Inukashi+'s slender fra onto the mattress
He had instinctively closed his eyes, but now he opened the in a heap
”shi+on, Eve!” Rikiga yelled before Inukashi+ could speak ”You alright? Hey! You alright?”
”Gh” shi+on's arm jerked A part of his white hair was dyed with his blood Blood was strea His clothes were torn, ripped, and hanging in places Inukashi+ couldn't tell if the dark flecks all over his clothes were from blood or the trash in the chute
Horrible Inukashi+ kept his eyes wide open as he sed his spit, which suys are aout of their graves
”Inukashi+” shi+on lifted himself up and turned his face to Inukashi+ His cheeks were streaked―whether it ith sweat or tears, he didn't know, but they engraved prominent marks on his skin
”shi+on, you're alive” You made it back alive
”Inukashi+, save Nezumi”
”Nezumi? What about him? What―” Inukashi+ was barely able to hold in the scream that threatened to burst fro on theHis clothes were soiled reddish-black froave off the s?” Inukashi+ asked tentatively, but there was no answer On his pale, bloodless face, only his lips were vividly red To Inukashi+, they did not look human at all Nezumi had always had a face that was somewhat otherworldly, but the face in front of him was one of a doll A skillfully and meticulously crafted piece
But dolls don't bleed
”To the hospital―hurry,” shi+on screa the voice from his throat Explosions rocked the foundations of the building The whole roo in frohtly The shaking did not stop
”We need to get out of here! This place is coa yelled as he wrenched Nezu the boy over his shoulder
”shi+on, can you run on your own?”
”I can”
”Right, then run Get outside”
Oneout, and the door to the Correctional Facility was blasted away
”Run, run! This place won't holdNezumi Tsukiyo dove into shi+on's pocket, and the two 's back
”Get out, Goddaa's bellows sla hot Inukashi+ turned around to the fla his vision Beyond the blown-open door, the Correctional Facility was burning
The door blew apart? Wasn't the door between the Correctional Facility and the Hygiene Management Room supposed to be made of some special alloy that even a small missile couldn't penetrate? And it's been blown apart like it's nothing?
For less than half a second, he stood stupefied Fla on the floor It writhed and twisted towards the corpse of the black dog and sed it whole It was the sa Inukashi+, but Inukashi+ was unable to give it a proper burial
Sorry
”Inukashi+, hurry!” shi+on grabbed his aret out of here!” Rikiga continued to bellow He seey toby the heat and the hot air from behind, and quite literally stumbled into the outdoors Fresh air flowed into his body
Oh, I can finally breathe
”Not yet We can't stop yet Keep running” shi+on's grip tightened Inukashi+ was dragged along by his arravel crunched under his feet
”Ow! shi+on, that hurts! Stop―” Inukashi+ abruptly closed his mouth His eyes had met with shi+on's
His eyes, dark with a wash of purple, were the saed They were bloodshot, and the eyelids were swollen, but they were shi+on's eyes
Yet Inukashi+ closed his mouth and felt his body stiffen He did not knohy The boy in front of hier He was someone Inukashi+ did not know
No Those aren't shi+on's eyes shi+on, what's gotten into you?
But the confusion and foreboding vanished in an instant shi+on was right―he could not fall to his knees just yet His instincts sounded the alarm This physical sensation was e security device
Get out of here, run Get out of here
Inukashi+ leapt to his feet, and ran as fast as he could From behind, he could hear the roar of a beast Yes, those were not just explosions Amadly
Get out of here, run Get out of here
Run and survive
Tsukiyo had crawled out of shi+on's pocket and was clinging onto his neck It had opened its tiny round eyes as wide as it could, and was staring over at Inukashi+
You're kinda cute
Dogs' eyes and s were loveable Inukashi+ thought of shi+onn He had not forgotten about him for a moment He had only pushed the infant to a corner of his heart so as not to remember him when he was not supposed to
shi+onn was innocence itself He was so ss are probablythat's birthed and raised a ton of her own puppies Apart fro He's probably sleeping right now, protected by his loving nurse
”shi+onn,in front of him, disappeared He heard a shout, and the sound of a body falling over
”Whoa!” shi+on tripped over Rikiga's fallen body In turn, Inukashi+'s feet were swept froround The pain racked hi on his storound, he could only draw strained breaths He could feel the frozen ground on his cheek It was soothing It had not the iciness of winter, but a cold that harboured a faint hint of war was starting to arrive in the West Block
No 6 was probably fully furnished with flowering parks and streets lined with cherry blossole flowering tree in the West Block But the weeds growing on the shoulders of the road faithfully opened their petals year after year Flowers usually sparked no interest or intrigue in Inukashi+ since they were not edible, but once in a while they pulled at his heartstrings
Oh, I've lived through another winter, he would think Then, for a fleeting instant, in the back of his mind he saw faces of those who had frozen to death that winter―the old beggar lady he had been faood while; the woe―but they disappeared as quickly as they had coain on the side of the road?
”Nezuasped He lifted himself up, and crawled over to Nezumi's side ”Nezumi, Nezumi Can you hear me? Nezumi―”
Inukashi+ also lifted hi in the shadow of some shrubbery When was it that he had hidden hi shot to death?
It felt like it had happened only o, but at the same time a thousand years back
”Nezuet out”
shi+on's voice sounded like the wind that whistled through the ruins It was mournful It froze the hearts and ears of those who listened
Inukashi+ peered over shi+on's shoulder at Nezumi's face, and compressed his lips into a hard line
Is he dead? The statement pushed his lip up and threatened to spill out shi+on, is Nezu? Macbeth, Hauys used to mention?
Hey, shi+on Don't tell me Nezumi is really―
”Gh―” Nezuhtly
”He's alive,” shi+on shouted as he lifted Nezumi in his arms ”He's alive! Hurry, to the hospital!”
Yeah, you're sure alive You can't trick me, Nezumi There's no way you would be wiped out that easily
”Oldon the ground His car was parked beyond the shrubs It was a piece of junk, a step away fro with a couple passengers They had taken this gasoline-fuelled car to get here, after all
”Old a held a hand to his mouth, and stuck his head into the bushes The sound of retching reached the! Hurry the hell up, corabbed the ed hier flame burst out of theof the Correctional Facility It threw a bright light on the surroundings Black sulfed and blacked out the stars
Can you see these flames froht now as they watch the fla A place that used to onna be wiped out, just like that, even quicker than our ot to his feet unsteadily He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and wiped the sweat on his brohile he was at it
”Why do I have to go through this? Besides, you know, I―”
”Enough crap,” Inukashi+ interrupted ”No one's listening If you've got ti where?” Rikiga snarled ”Eh? Answerto take soood as dead? Answer ive me an answer, boy, I'll take you wherever the hell you want”
Inukashi+ drew his chin back and fell silent He could not answer
He was not intienuinely did not know 'To the hospital,' shi+on had said, but there were no medical facilities in the West Block There were seedy witch doctors and questionable medicine shops, to be sure, but they had all been blown clean off their foundations during the Hunt But even if they were still around, they would probably not have been of a continued his furious tirade
”So to need a decent aest we find that, huh? Nowhere here, for sure You can scour the whole West Block and you won't find a single dae You should know that best, Inukashi+”
Inukashi+ looked down at Nezu But―
This is the end, huh? The strength withered in his legs, and he felt like he would collapse This is it, Nezu more we can do
Notes