Starving, thirsty, cold, wounded, trapped - all Mireille felt was enough to blame herself to be so pathetic like she was thinking now. She and Kirika were captured, and worst, separated. What made things even worse was the threat Naomi had given to her. She said that Mireille would be died by next morning. The next morning, now it was already. It was pretty early when Mireille woke up from her sleepless rest. Despite the coldness in the room, the Corsican girl somehow felt refreshed and warmed by the morning sunlight which illuminated by the small window beneath her. The chirping sounds of birds were the only sound she could heard vaguely. Hearing that, it sounded like the best lullaby in the world for her, considering that she would soon enough hear the tedious voice of Naomi. A thought to think of a precaution plan to do if Soldats would truly launch her dead statement had flashed on her mind for many times. But, poor as Mireille was now, she could not push her brain to think of something, or even a good plan. It was not because her body felt stiff and cold. And it was not because of her poor health condition, or her wounded arm. It was also not because of her growling stomach, or her dry throat due to the lack of water. It was because she felt... alone. Ridiculous reason, it seemed. But still, tough it was hard to admit, the blonde felt that she was completely weak, helpless and vulnerable without Kirika by her side. It was only now that she had continued the living day without the Japanese girl by her side, not accompanied by the brunette's impassive behavior. It was just a couple of days, Mireille knew, but she could already feel the hole of need in her heart ; she needed Kirika, immensely. A little whisper from the brunette's lips, or even a short glimpse of the Japanese girl, alive, was maybe enough to cheer her up. The Corsican girl really got the sudden urge to cry just by thinking of her lover. She wanted to know so badly about the Japanese girl condition. Is she lonely? Did she hurt? All that kind of thought disturbing her mind eventually. Wondering as she was, not only once that the thought of dying with Kirika along her side, together felt like acceptable, and alright, almost intriguing. The thought was comforting, and the blonde could not help resisted and drove it away from her mind. She never got the chance to add some more reason to her 'comforting' excuse tough, as the Corsican girl suddenly sensed a suspicious thing was moving from the corner of her eye. Her body tensed slightly, her jaw tightened immediately. Regardless of her being forever weak with her current state whoever or whatever came her way, Mireille viewed the room with a complete cautious, just out of habit. Her eyes darted carefully at all direction. She stared intensely, but minutes later nothing seemed to be moving or sneaking anymore. Maybe she was imagining things. Sighing, Mireille felt dumb to even felt curious or careful like she was just back then. I'm about to die, and I'm helpless right now. What can I do? The Corsican girl lowered down her head silently. Deep in her heart, she hated to be killed, and completely opposedthe thought of dying, even together with Kirika. Afterwards, as her mind fall through a deep conflict and personality, the blonde grew even more and more confused of what to do. She hates Naomi. She despises Soldats. But aside from all the hatred and grudges she hold, she wanted Kirika. This very point made her empty and lonely to the best part. Alone, thinking for a while, she abruptly realized that deep in her heart, one innate personality of her was crying out loud, pushing to break through her 'giving-up' mind. It was none other than her hatred to see herself being weak. The blonde hated to see herself so weak, like now. She wanted to be tough, or rather, she must be tough like she used to be. She had had no parents since she was just a kid. Alone, small, nobody - no one would seek or come for her anymore. That was the thought she always kept since her parents' death. Therefore, she made a decision since she was a kid, that she must learn to protect herself, for she had no other relatives left beside her Uncle, who had already dead now as well. No one could blame her determined will to be strong, for this reason. Knowing this, Mireille grew even more perplexed to do anything. She was not fond to be so weak, pathetic. She was usually strong, formidable, energetic, and.. lively. But what can I do? I don't have my gun, or any weapon to attack. And Kirika isn't with me.. Her mind once again flew to her lover. She wondered what the Japanese girl would do in her state. An answer popped out before she had the chance to finish asking the question. ..She will struggle. She will struggle until the end.. That's Kirika.. Am I the same..? A moment of debating and considering with her heart and thought passed, and Mireille finally came to a conclusion. She had made up her mind. If she were to die in the end, she would accept. But saving Kirika would be her first priority. The life of her lover must continue whatever it would take. That was what she had finally assumed after a long time of consideration. Gaining confidence back to her soul, the Corsican girl laughed inwardly at her stupidity of not thinking and made her decision quicker. It was not her life that matter, it was Kirika's. Mireille did not have the time to think further of what kind of plan would she do, as suddenly the sound of a door being opened roared inside the room. It seemed that Soldats had decided to pay one more visit to her luxurious dusty chamber. The sound of footsteps echoed in the room. Other than that, silence filled up the room. The Corsican girl waited patiently, clenching her fists tightly and sharpened her gaze. A while after, the visitors showed their faces to the blonde. As expected, Naomi was there. And unsurprisingly, the other two men were exactly the same men from last time, Franchis and Martin, she recalled. As the three of them proceeded to half-circling her, Mireille stared at the female Soldats, who was now wearing a white leather jacket and tight black jeans to cover her legs. Seeing this, the blonde remembered her last brutal action - she bit Naomi's leg. She smiled slightly, but kept her eye focus at Naomi. As soon as they stopped moving, Mireille snapped coarsely, "What do you want?!" Naomi looked startled. Keeping the smile on her face, she said, "I just want to see you for the last time, before you die." Mireille grunted, then shut her mouth. "Actually," the female Soldats continued, "I didn't expect you to have this much strength to even speak a word." Naomi glanced at Martin. "Did you give her something to eat or maybe, drink?" The shorter man of the two answered quickly, "No, Madam." "A beast such as her doesn't need food or drink to survive." The man with moustache stated loudly, her eyes flamed anger at Mireille. The Corsican girl snorted. "Like hell I will accept anything you offer." Naomi frowned. "You sure have good health and stamina," she muttered. "not good for our plan." Franchis turned her body and faced his leader. "Madam, should we—" "No." the fake vet snapped. "Not yet." "I heard that the other one has not ready as well." Martin said respectfully. "Somebody had asked the doctor." In the middle of that Soldats conversation, Mireille's eyes narrowed at the view of suspicious thing that caught her eyes. The bald headed man called Martin was holding some kind of black briefcase on both hands ; it hung awkwardly but safely behind his back. As the Corsican girl was about to stare more, the female Soldats walked toward her. "You," Naomi said seriously as she pointed one of her fingers at the blonde's forehead, "are lucky this time." Surprise to see the fake vet's face so close with her, Mireille's eyes widen and unconsciously gulped slightly. "Ma'am," Franchis walked over. "If you want, I can make her" he glanced at Mireille, "ready." "I'd love you to do so, Franchis." Naomi said. "But, if the other one hasn't ready yet as well, it will not do." "..You are too kind to them." the moustache man mumbled vaguely. "No, I'm not." Naomi stared sharply at the man, showing her disagreement. "Do you have any other thing to say?" "No, Ma'am." Frachis said humbly despite her scowling expression and walked back to where he was before. Naomi spun her body and scowled at the blonde. "You two sure ruin my mood a lot." she mumbled. "I will make your death very, very painful as a reward." she halted, as if doubting whether to say the next word or not. "Tomorrow." Mireille replied nothing to this. She had come to realize that her mouth was too dry, and it bean to torture her a little to speak some word. Not to mention that her head, and her whole body begun to ached more as well. It was not that she had something to say, too. "Just by looking at you.." Naomi's voice was cold as it flowed through the air, "makes me more and more desperate to kill you immediately by my own hands." The blonde let out a small gasp. It came to Mireille that Naomi was sure enough in a bad mood today. The way she looked at the blonde was still the same devastating and perilous one, but one thing was missing. Naomi did not have her smile; the smile that used to hang foolishly on her Asian face. It was such an unreasonable reason to bring up, but the missing smile completely remarked Naomi even more as a heartless, cold devil, from Mireille's point of view. Feeling a kind of heavy pressure filled the air in the room, the blonde remained as quiet as a statue. She still maintained the eye contact with Naomi, tough she wished to break it out now, as the latter's eyes were scowling at her in a cold, unfriendly manner Mireille did not want to describe. They kept their position in a mutual silence for a while. Naomi stared closely and sharply at the Corsican girl with the look of a hungry beast, while the blonde glared back tentatively. Tough Mireille found it hard to keep her eyes focus, due to her physical condition. Abruptly and fortunately, Naomi broke the staring competition and turned on her heels, now facing her two comrades, backing Mireille. "Let's go." she commanded sternly as she walked away to the entrance door. Martin and Frachis let out a solemn choir of, "Yes, Madam." before did likewise. Confused, the blonde just watched their leave vaguely and said nothing. Three figure of adult slipped between the old machines, making their way out hastily. Not too long after, the three Soldats had gone in sight, ended with the loud sound of door slammed. Now Mireille was back alone in the cold, dusty room, accompanied by piles of boxes and old machines. Just in case that Naomi changed her mind and came back to kill her, Mireille waited for a long time, prepared to receive a sudden invasion out of nowhere. She waited in silence, but none came to the old smelly room she was trapped in. Puzzled by how to feel, the Corsican girl heaved out a long sigh. Seems like my death 'ceremony' will really be delayed.. Feeling a bit relax, Mireille's mind went through the conversation the Soldats had back then. They said something about Kirika not being ready, as well as herself. What is this 'ready' they were talking about? Then there was the suspicious, secret-looking briefcase Martin was carrying. He did not bring it without purpose, Mireille was sure about it. Her instinct told her something was sneaky in there, might be even dangerous. It was such a pain to admit, but the blonde thought that Soldats really came up with a good plan this time, let alone the disguising act as Kirika's mother. Mireille closed her eyes - she felt like it somehow - and tried to think and concentrate to guess what that Soldats' had in mind. Minutes passed, and morning slowly changed to late noon, almost evening. To the blonde's satisfaction, none of Soldats came to her again while she was doing the only thing she could, which was thinking. Desperately needed some answer, she stayed in silence, ignoring her starving stomach, and her dry throat. If she counted it right, Mireille assumed that she had not eaten and drunk anything since the day she was knocked out in the apartment, which meant about two days. Slowly, the outcome had begun to pain her. Her left arm had somehow eased her in a bad way now ; she did not feel anything other than hardness and stiffness on that arm. In other words, it was possible that the arm itself had stopped functioning or acting properly, as Mireille found it pretty useless to try to move it. Her muscle did not obey her. Her head began to feel like spinning it made her wonder whether she was in a flat room or not. Worse, her whole body felt more and more cold and hard to move. Despite all that, she was shivering. Realizing her condition, the blonde noticed that she may not even have the strength to look up or stare at Naomi again. It was fortunate that she had gained some spirit when the female Soldats came in the morning. The room was dead silence, and slowly returning to its dark self as the night was coming soon, blocking the sunlight through the window. As if things were not worse enough, Mireille felt her head became dizzy, her body heat rise, but at the same time was cold. She may have a fever already. Her eyes felt heavy to open, and her head now lowered idly in no strength. Even breathing was not a simple matter anymore. Her stamina had almost reached its limit. Had Naomi seen her like this, the death penalty might be launched right away. In the middle of her poor circumstance, the blonde caught a rustling sound from the boxes far on her right. Not much different than the first she heard back then. Dust and old as the room was, there was high possibility that here, the room she sat in, was the nest or source of little animals such as rats, lizards, or maybe, slugs. She did not care about it though, as her health condition would precisely need much more attention. Unfortunately the rats, Mireille assumed, quite disturbing her as they were pretty noisy this time. Breathing hard, the blonde sensed that the rats snuffling, sneaking, and rustling audibly as if wanted to annoy her completely. In the middle of all that, while struggling enough to stay awake, the Corsican girl felt like she heard a human voice whispering to her. ..Maybe I've become crazy. Curious, Mireille forced every ounce of her strength left in her body to open her eyes and looked up. She glanced to her right, and surprisingly, saw a slight vision of something big moving. Her vision became blurry right after ; she was no longer strong enough to waste her energy to snoop rapidly. Her eyes fall shut once more. "Mireille!" the blonde felt like hearing someone whispered her name vividly from faraway. ..I don't know that rats talk. The rustling sound slowly changed into sneaky footsteps coming through Mireille's way. This time, she was almost sure it was human footsteps. The Corsican girl wanted to open her eyes, but failed to do so due to the seduction of resting. She felt sleepy, and about to fall asleep in no time.. "Wake up, you lazy woman!" the voice had become rather louder and clearer than last time, a woman's voice and a familiar one, Mireille assumed. Then, she felt someone playing and struggling with the ropes and strings on her arms and her legs. Thoroughly, a brief slash of knife flicked in the air, in her ears, making her conscious again. Eyes shut, Mireille could feel her feet were free to move even without moving them ; they were no longer strapped on the chair. Mireille swallowed the saliva in her mouth and gulped, before pushing her dry mouth to speak, "Who?" "Who else will be here, you idiot?" said the person whose cloth garment rustling through the blonde's skin as the person made her way to cut the rope and strings on her back with no difficulty. Mireille thought for a second and asked tentatively, "..Chloe?" The person cut the last rope which bind the blonde on hands and the backs, then sniffed. "Hmph. Who else?" Later, the rope had completely gone by the blonde's body. It was supposed to be a relief had Mireille not become this weary. She felt her body had now felt utterly heavy and unstable enough. She felt her body swung weakly to her left, ready to crash the floor in no time unless Chloe saved her and hold her figure on both arms. The latter moved very gently and quickly. Unexpectedly, Mireille thought the hands holding her felt nice, strong, and stern. Finally got a nice surface to rest, the urge to sleep once again seduced her. She was about to sleep when she felt a liquid splashing her lips, her mouth. She licked the liquids, despite the little amount of energy she had. "Now drink." Chloe ordered in a strict voice, as one of her hand which grasp the mineral water bottle drew closer to Mireille's mouth. As Chloe gave her best to make Mireille drink a lot, the Corsican gratefully received the liquid she demanded for long time. They stayed like that for a long time, until Mireille had finally finished a full bottle. "Can you.. open your eyes?" Chloe asked softly. Mireille grunted softly, and tried to open her eyes slowly. The vision was blurry as usual, before turning to a rather vivid scene, a view of a purple haired kid looking worriedly right in front her face. The blonde realized that she was being hold by Chloe strongly, and felt somehow ashamed. She hid her blush by struggling to look away and moved her body from the green cloaked girl. "Uh." Mireille mumbled as she moved her body to the floor, using her right hands to push. Chloe let the blonde did so, as she eventually helped the Corsican girl to sit. "Thank you." the blonde finally said as soon as she sat upon the wall. She still felt tired, but not as tired and sleepy as she was before. She felt so much better now. She had at least, drank water. Mireille saw Chloe sat herself beside her, and now searching something in her green cloak. "Here," the purple haired girl said as she let go a piece of fresh bread in her palms. "Eat it." The bread looked delicious on Chloe's hand, Mireille thought, considering she had not eaten anything the past few days. She took the bread and ate it in silence, while Chloe's eyes running through the room, scanning it. "You can eat in ease, I'll sense if someone coming." the purple haired girl stated calmly as her eyes wandered inside the room. "Does your left arm.. alright?" Chloe asked in an unexpected gentle voice. "..It seems dead to me." How come it's alright..? First, it was stabbed. Then, it was shot by that Naomi bastard. Thank goodness it's still exist. "..Oh." Silence once again stretched between them, as Mireille munched her bread and Chloe now staring at her mutely. As soon as she had eaten the bread, the Corsican girl felt more energetic than before. "Thank you, Chloe." she said softly, looking at the purple haired girl. "Uh huh." Chloe mumbled. Mireille was about to ask about how and why the purple haired girl came here, had her eyes not widen as she saw Chloe's face close by. There were deep scratches everywhere along the girl's white, pale face. There was also more than one red or blue mark beneath her eyes. A sticky looking blood mark on the corner of the purple haired girl's lips caught her attention, too. The body, Mireille could not see; it was covered by her green cloak, however. "What happened to you, Chloe?!" Mireille asked worriedly. "It's not important." Chloe hurriedly replied and looked away from the blonde. "You—" "What matters now is," Chloe once again seek something in her cloak, "that you bring this." she offered a white thick envelope to Mireille. "Don't open it while I'm still here." "What is this?" Mireille asked in bewilderment as soon as she took the thick envelope. "The useful information you'll need if the condition gets worse. It is possible that you may not open it." "..I don't understand." "In other words," Chloe said in a hasty tone, "You will only open it if I'm not here anymore. If I have the time, I will explain it to you myself without you have to bother seeing the paper written inside." "..Okay." Mireille replied. "Now can you tell me what happened to.. your face?" she ventured in a soft tone. The purple haired girl remained silent for a while before giving her answer. "Not that much different than your arm." Did not completely get the meaning but decided to say no more, Mireille turned the envelope upside down, swap it to the left or to the right, until she somehow satisfied and slipped it into her pocket. "Now," Chloe stood up suddenly, "Are you fit enough to get out of here?" "I'll try." "Come here, then." Chloe walked quickly and gestured at the pile of boxes on the right. Mireille hobbered; this was the first time she moved her legs, after all. She followed the purple haired girl to the right edge of the room which covered and blocked by plenty piles of boxes in sight. When Chloe stopped walking, the blonde did likewise. The purple haired girl moved some boxes aside, pushed a high piles one of it, and eventually, the Corsican girl could see a big hole hanging on the wall. Ignoring all question on her mind as to why such hole would exist, Mireille grew worried as she realized that they would run away. "What about Kirika?" "She's okay. Soldats won't kill her, I assure you." "What?!" "There's no time to explain." "..I'm not leaving her behind. Never." "We will only leave her until you are healthy enough to fight and kill." Chloe muttered. "You don't think that I'm alone is enough to face them, do you?" "But—" Chloe's eyes met the blonde's. "You must trust me." she said seriously, but in a soft voice. "We'll definitely return and get her back." "I can fight now." the blonde insisted. "You can't. Not with your condition now. We will lose." the younger girl whispered. "You have no idea how many they are." "But Kirika—" "That Naomi won't kill her.." Chloe paused. ".. without you." "Huh?" "Mireille." The purple haired girl called out the blonde's name in a soft tone. "Just believe me, will you?" she asked desperately, almost pleading. Mireille's eyebrow rose in surprise. Chloe seemed really desperate to save her, at any rate. She was quite astonished to see the other side of Chloe she had not seen before, especially since the girl came. The latter's action had been quite astounding, and surprisingly, gentle. Considering, Mireille finally made up her mind and nodded solemnly after a while. "Good. Follow me." Chloe whispered as she lowered her body and walked through the hole which was big enough to the size of a kid. Outside, night had fallen. As soon as she passed the hole, Mireille could see a big grassy field in sight. It occurred to her that they were outside somewhere, standing in the middle of a cold windy night in a large, green field. "Hurry." Nodded to herself, Mireille quicken her pace with all her might, obediently followed the purple haired girl back who was walking her way across the field. For some reason, Chloe did not run, which Mireille felt as gratitude. Watching Chloe's back, Mireille found that she had not got the chance to ask why the girl seemed pretty determined to save her. The answer would not be far from the sake of Kirika, Mireille predicted. She decided to remember to ask for it later when the two of them were resting, other than hurrying escaping as if they were fugitives. Suceeded in passing along the grassy field after some time, the two of them now walked quickly down the side road of an old village, under the shining light of the moon above. The so called village, however, was not in the proper state of be called as one. The village, which Mireille found very unattractive, seemed dead without plants around and worst enough, had no lively sign at all. It was kind of unlikely that someone would bother to live anywhere in here. The village's houses, which obviously abandoned, were pretty much looked like battered as well. Broken doors, scattered glasses, robbed curtains, tainted roofs were visible all along the way. Sneezing and breathing hardly due to the cold and wind, the blonde tried her best to walk faster. The road was surprisingly long and exhausting, as if it had no end at all. They walked in silence - their footsteps, which clattering almost inaudibly, softly down the night street was the only thing heard. The houses were no good view at all as the blonde got a bad feeling just by glancing at one of them – she guessed that it may have some ghosts inside. Shivering, tired, Mireille patiently forced her feet to keep walking. Time after time passed, and the Corsican girl begun to feel very exhausted, as her body was also cold. From behind, she could see that Chloe was also shuddering because of the chilly freezing wind. A thought of Kirika and her resting in the warm, immense bed in her apartment occurred to her mind. She imagined the soft texture of the bed, the fluffy pillow she used to hug, the warmth from the Japanese girl's body.. "Walk faster and get beside me." All of the sudden, Chloe whispered in a low, startling voice. Obediently, Mireille did what she was told and now stood right beside Chloe, and saw the purple haired girl's pale face. Not because of the weather, Mireille noticed, as she was soon enough sensed the same feeling with Chloe. There was someone watching them, somewhere. "Take this," Chloe slipped something metal and cold to Mireille's hand. A gun. Mireille received it carefully. The gun weight felt awkward on her hand at first, but it turned to be comforting soon. It had been two days since her usual gun had been taken from her - two days since she hold a gun, a weapon. Mireille hid the metal thing inside her heavy pocket. Then, despite the situation, the two of them walked casually like before. Whoever the person snooping at them were quite smart and experienced to sneak. Mireille had not sensed anymore the sign of their existence; maybe they had run, or much likely, hiding. The houses were suspicious, obviously, but houses were everywhere alongside the road they walked on. Any houses would do for hidden places. Cautiously, Mireille and Kirika sent their eyes to wander through the village. Nothin happened so far ; none came to ambush them, yet they kept walking further in great vigilance. Abruptly, something shiny came visible to their eyes. Narrowing her eyes, Mireille realized that there was something eerie from the old house not much further on the left and right side of the road. Despite all dusty, taunted condition of the house, the house definitely was unlike the other houses ; all the lights in the house were suddenly on. It was almost as if anyone in the houses wanted their existence to be recognized by turning on the electricity. Chloe seemed to notice it too as her stare kept focused on the same direction as Mireille. The two of them halted for a second, before started to walk again. They did not communicate, as they were pretty much aware of how to act. They had no other option – they would have to walk through the house, for the road was dead straight without junction. No matter what, they got to pass the house to escape. Slowly and cautiously, they walked closer and closer to the house. "Maybe.. they're just some curious villagers." mumbled Mireille, despite her own doubt. "No. Here is still their territory." The Corsican girl squeaked slightly. "Yes. Looks like there's really no way we can escape so smoothly." Chloe gave a pause. "Not as long as Naomi is the one in charge." Mireille gave no reply to this. Experience had taught her that Naomi was not one to underestimate. "There's a wooden bridge right straight ahead." Chloe whispered softly while they kept walking. "Cross it and go further along the pathways and you will see a small town. Go to the inn and rest." "Wha—" "When I tell you to run, you run." Chloe added seriously, facing the confused blonde. "..I beg you." Mireille's eyes widen in surprise and shock. Unfortunately she had no time to say anything, as Chloe grabbed her arms and pulled her in an amazing strength, forcefully brought the Corsican girl to run forward, clearly approaching the trap house. Despite her surprise, her weary feet still followed the girl. As expected, a lot people burst out from the house to greet them, each single one brought a weapon with them on their hands. Seeing how many those people were just in a short glimpse, despite being grabbed by Chloe, the blonde pulled out her gun, preparing to shoot. But she never got the chance - Chloe did not yet stop running. They run passed the people, the house. Amazed at the running speed of the purple haired girl, Mireille pretty much convinced that they would escape without bothered to make harm, had Chloe did not so suddenly stop. "NOW RUN!" Chloe hissed loudly as she roughly let go of the grab. The purple haired girl turned and run back to the houses she once passed, leaving Mireille far, alone. Startled by that sudden release, Mireille almost fall to the hard ground had she not suceeded in balancing and rolled herself. She staggered to her feet, looked back, and noticed that she was not that far from where Chloe released her – the battlefield. The purple haired girl was already in the middle of the fight ; at least ten people were circling her bravely. Launching her knives in prodigy speed while running and dodging, Chloe definitely did well in that perilous situation. One by one, the attackers begun to fall. But at the same time, more and more people emerged from the houses, speed on their feet, eyes focused on the invader girl, determined to kill. The fight continued. No one glanced at the blonde's direction, despite the place she was standing on was only around six meters away from them. Out of characters, and to Mireille's surprise as well, she found herself stood still on her silent place, watching -her gun rest inside her palm, lying behind her waist. She wanted to help the purple haired girl, but something in her mind refused to do so. Then, despite the crucial situation, somehow her eyes got the chance to meet Chloe's. In a brief moment, regardless of how busy she was while striking down enemies, the latter had managed to keep the eye contact for a sufficient time. Their eyes had talked. It was just a short contact, yet the act had helped Mireille made her decision. Somehow, just right after that moment, she turned her body and run at the maximal speed her feet could bring her, to the town Chloe told her before. She run, one hand holding the gun, the other securing her pocket, where a white envelope laid inside.
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