"Guhaaaaah."With a gasp of fresh air, the surroundings changed. His vision was no longer tainted red and fading to black. Instead, Hiro found himself standing where had he been probably only a couple of minutes prior. He was back somehow. That was good. That meant he wasn't dead. Had he just imagined it all? Was it all some sort of extension of this seemingly long acid trip?
No.
That wasn't possible. He knew that that wasn't the case as soon as the girl, 'Aerith' she said her name was, called out his name. They had stood here before. She even brought up those two people that they had met before
it happened. Fuck.
FUCK!
It still hurt. Hiro could feel the blades piercing his skin and the bludgeon ending his life. He was no stranger to getting hit in the face, but a lethal swing was something different. It had imprinted itself on his psyche. That one moment was something that he wasn't going to forget for as long as he lived.
However long or short that might be.
But he had to think. There had to be a way out of this situation. What happened? An ambush. He could still feel the rush of bodies flooding out onto the streets. Was there any warning? Any signs? Hiro dug through his mind, hoping to remember if anything had happened to signal they were about to get jumped.
. . .
. . .
. . YES!
A flash of inspiration passed. When they were walking down the streets, those windows had been open, but just before the ambush they were pulled shut. But why were they chosen? Details. He needed to think of the details. The rags of his attackers stuck out in his mind. They were poor. Very poor. It was obvious by his clothing, and partially by his companions and the other two that they had met that they were well off. Fine materials and fabrics. Obviously they would be targeted in a slum like this. Now. What to do?
Every instinct in his body told him to turn tail and run. But to where? They were already heading in the direction that seemed toward the wealthier districts before then. The other direction would probably just lead them even further into the slums, and that would only spell disaster.
Hiro took a deep breath to straighten out his mind and still his pounding heart. He couldn't panic. Calm. Think it through calmly. Those bandits weren't trained, and he was sure he could handle a couple of them in a fight. He just had to worry about another large ambush like before.
If that was the case, he had to move fast. Aerith probably had the right idea. They needed contacts in the area. And someone that could handle themselves on the mean streets like this. It was only now that Hiro took a moment to glance over at his remaining companion. The little chuuni girl who reminded him of darker times. She seemed worried and unsure. It only then crossed his mind that she must have been in an even worse state than he was. She didn't even have the power to fight back. It must have felt terrible.
The tension drained a little from his frame and his eyes softened from their usually short glare.
"We have to go help. Those two people are our best ticket to a safer situation right now."His voice was soft, but firm. With one swift movement, he grabbed Chieko's hand and took off running down the road. In the same direction they had gone prior. It didn't take them long before they made it to the area they had just been ambushed and passed it. The window was still open and he didn't see any sign of attack yet.
He kept running. He made sure to keep a pace that the younger girl could maintain, but they had to meet in an safer spot. He had to move faster. He wasn't far behind Aerith when she made contact.
He ran past. He made sure that when he passed, his voice could be heard, but he was not so close as to trigger any protective response out of Vasilis.
"I saw signs of an ambush up ahead. Care."He did what he could. The most important thing to do now was get to safety with Chieko.
And so he ran. If Chieko was too tired, he would pick her up and carry her, but they had to get to a safer area.
He ran.
