Chapter 459: Return To Chainsfree
Anko passed through the split between places as she charged after Kir.
Or what was left of him, at least. She’d thought life on the streets revealed who a person was when they had nothing left, but now she felt she’d been proven wrong.
Kir... this version of him or whatever he was, truly had nothing. And yet he was kind. Fundamentally kind in a way that she barely remembered children could be.
The pain in her hand and arm kept her sharp as she followed the chaos left in his wake. She ran through the streets, feeling she might be too far behind if some part of him remembered how to escape. But she thanked the gods for the small mercy that he certainly didn’t know he could fly.
Near the end of the street, she had the choice of going right or left, and she went left, only to find Kiryu’s back facing her, his tail on the ground as he stared ahead at a market square.
Not wanting to collide with him, she leaped into the air. A somersault that brought her in front of him, where she hopped to a stop and held up her four hands, putting herself between him and the retreating crowd.
"It’s okay!" she said, trying to push down the pain of her slowly healing arm. Enhancing herself made it faster, but not fast enough that she didn’t bleed as her exertions pushed through seeps of blood where she’d scabbed over. "It’s okay..."
"Ah...nko...?" Kir said with tears in his yes.
"Yeah, that’s right, boss. It’s me. It’s-"
"Get back!" A voice suddenly shouted, and before she could protest, Anko felt herself tugged backward by an unseen force which threw her at the crowd of people who’d gathered opposite the commotion.
"Anko!" Kir said, but someone descended between him and her.