Chapter 296: Unfinished Business
Sharp tire sounds resonated as vehicles drove past the highway separating Bastion City from the Qing Clan land.
"HEY! Do you wish to die?" A driver wearing a green cap peeked his head out and screamed at the boy walking on the main highway. "Go to the pedestrian walkway."
The black cloth flapped on Leon’s chest. He shifted his gaze slowly and focused on the driver’s license plate: ’AA-510-B.E.’
The blade of the Hi-no-Kami clicked against the drift shield. Leon shook his head and shifted his gaze forward.
He smiled. A brown-haired little girl with amber eyes danced on the pedestrian side, holding her mother’s arms. ’Lily.’
Leon’s head snapped toward her. He tried to go and grab her, but a ghostly voice flashed in his head and forced him to stop.
"I’m waiting for you, Leon."
The little girl’s mother looked at Leon with pure disgust. She pulled her child closer, acting as if Leon were a monster to be feared.
Leon blinked and nodded once at the silver-grey-eyed lady. He continued toward the Bastion Hospital’s junction.
Leaves screeched under the weight of his boots like tiny snapping bones. He walked on the grass-filled ground at the opposite side of the hospital’s wall.
Skeletal shadows of tall trees lining the road swayed violently. The jagged branches cast long, dancing claws across the asphalt upon his first step.
Horns blasted against Leon’s ears. A passing sedan swerved near him, its tires locking with a shrill on the asphalt. Leon didn’t flinch. He simply crossed the road with his gaze fixed toward the hospital’s entrance.
Nurses looked at him with fear. They rushed to the side as Leon walked past.
Parents drew their children closer to their laps at the sight of Leon approaching. They scolded their children for trying to smile at him.
He stopped at the base of the second floor’s staircase and exhaled sharply before continuing to the VIP ward.
The scent of antiseptic flew into his lungs at the entrance of Room 514. A glass-groaning sound resounded. He pushed the door open and entered.
He walked through the sparkling light brightening the room and slumped into the plastic chair beside the bed.
The curtains covering the window frayed upward and flapped on his face. He shifted his gaze toward Lily’s coma-sleeping face. "Hey, little Athena."
He pulled the Hi-no-Kami and the drift shield from his back. He placed them at the side of the chair and walked toward the bed.
"You are still doing this? Really?" He sat at the side of the bed and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Lily’s ear. "I left for a few hours and you’re still here playing the game of statues."
A dry, humorless laugh escaped him. He leaned forward to her ears. "You missed the show."
He blinked once and placed his palms on hers. "You would have loved it."
He rubbed her skin, then shifted his gaze to her closed eyelids. "The nurses think you are recovering. But I know you’re just pretending for me to carry you."
The beeping sound from the monitor rang out. He threw a sharp gaze at it and back to Lily’s sleeping face. "That’s what you want, right?"
He sighed and blinked at the window. "You just want me to carry you out of here like I used to carry you whenever I come to your room."
He squeezed Lily’s arm slightly while focusing on the birds flying in the sky. "Remember the time you pretended to fall asleep just so I would drag you to your bedroom?"
Two drops of tears leaked out of his eyes. He shifted his gaze to the blue gown Lily wore. "You are not fooling me this time, Little Athena."
The sky outside the window reeled from morning to mid-afternoon. Leaves flew upward with every gust of wind passing through the hospital’s compound.
Two nurses entered the room. They froze at the sight of their reflections in the legendary Hi-no-Kami and the drift shield.
Leon stood up from the bed and walked to the chair after noticing them shaking. "Oh, don’t worry, you’re not the reason I brought them."
The nurses exchanged confused glances, then forced a smile on their faces.
Leon picked up the sword and tugged it at his back. He added the drift shield on the sword. He walked to Lily’s bed and placed his palm on her chest. "Be a good girl, Little Athena. The nurses are here to check whether you are really asleep or not."
Warmth flashed through the skins of the nurses. They watched Leon kiss Lily’s forehead.
They stepped aside and watched him exit before moving on to check the machines positioned beside Lily to monitor her condition.
...
The air in Room 515 felt different on Leon’s skin upon entering.
The Hi-no-Kami and the drift shield remained tugged behind him. He went to the bed and knelt at its side.
Li Mei lay there with pale, deprived skin. Leon lifted her right arm and slowly placed it on his forehead.
"Mom." He pressed the palm on his skin and closed his eyes. "I am sorry I couldn’t come earlier."
Chilled air flew into the room. The white curtain covering the window frayed upward and flapped in the warm air.
Leon remained motionless until the last natural light bled from the sky. Velvet shadows drifted across the hospital’s compound. Streetlight glow flashed in every direction.
A single soft knock clicked against the door, followed by soft footsteps. Zoe’s silver-grey eyes welled up at the manner in which Leon had leant under Li Mei’s touch. "Leon..."
Darian’s face flashed into Leon’s head. The voice resounded in his ears. A smile formed on his face. He lowered Li Mei’s palms gently back on the bed.
A faint black glow seeped out of the grey war suit. It flashed on the blade of the Hi-no-Kami as he rose up.
Green lines spiked violently on the beeping monitor before shifting back to its normal rhythmic flow.
One side of the black cloth wrapped on Leon’s neck flapped on his chest. The other sliced through the air at Zoe’s front as he walked past her.
Zoe turned to call him but ended up shedding hot tears.
Bats scattered across the dark clouds above the hospital as Leon exited. Bone-crackling sounds rattled around him. He shifted his gaze to the circling bats and back at the iron gate entrance of the hospital.
He stepped out and stopped in front of the road. Chilled air flashed on his face and waved his jet-black hair upward.
’Darian!’ Black blazing glow seeped out of his eyes. He shifted his gaze to the junction at the left side of the hospital, leading to the Qing’s safe house.
The gray war suit rippled with every step. Small, jagged flickers of dark ink bloomed across his shoulders as he walked past the first streetlight.
The gray sleeves curdled and darkened around his wrists. They absorbed all the streetlight glow that fell on him until every gray portion of the war suit transformed to black.
He walked past the hospital and stepped into the valley way leading to the Qing’s safe house. His eyes blazed with black fury.
He crossed half the path. The thin red cloth wrapped around the hilt of the sword flapped as the black cloth moved from Leon’s neck and formed a dark, burning halo behind him.