Heart of a survivor × Chishiya Shuntaro

Chapter Thirty Eight

Everything happened so quickly for Takara, like the world had sped up during the moments she'd meet her demise. Her eyes had completely clenched shut, bracing herself for whatever death pit she was about to fall into.

For Chishiya, the events unraveling in front of him happened in slow motion, every millisecond dragging itself out. Before his mind could process his bodily reaction, his legs forced him into a sprint towards Takara's falling body, his body lurching forward with his hand outreached to grab for her.

A forceful grab on Takara's arm stopped her body from plummeting any further, her eyes shot open to see Chishiya holding onto her with all his strength above her. Feeling his grip slipping, he quickly opted for holding onto her with both hands. If she had been any heavier, he would have fallen into the abyss with her. The two briefly held heated eye contact, stress evident in both of their faces.

Takara's survival instincts kicked in as Chishiya clung onto her forearm with depleting strength. Quickly, she grappled onto the ledge of the opening to relieve Chishiya of some of her weight. From the strain on his face, she knew he only had so much stamina to keep hold of her.

Hesitantly, Takara peeked a glance at what was below her. A dozen metal spikes protruded out of the darkness below, sharp as knives. Takara's stomach dropped at the reality of the situation, and the doomed fate she merely escaped. If Chishiya hadn't been with her, she'd be dead.

Chishiya hoisted Takara out of the pit with the last bit of strength he had, Takara pushing against the stone floor with her other hand to help lift herself out. Once Takara had been pulled up, she fell on top of Chishiya rather ungracefully. A groan escaped Chishiya's mouth as his back hit the ground, softening Takara's fall.

The two shuffled around, trying to compose themselves. They both turned to face each other, their faces were mere centimeters apart. Both of them were breathing heavily from adrenaline. With her chest against his, Takara could feel his heart beating fast. The pair locked eyes with each other, both trying to regain some composure. Neither of them spoke for a moment, the air between them thick with tension.

"Thank you," Takara said, barely above a whisper.

The ghost of a smile crossed Chishiya's face, nearly going unnoticed by Takara. He broke eye contact with her first, bringing her out of the trance she hadn't realised she'd been under. She really could get lost in those dark eyes of his.

After collecting herself from her brush with death, Takara started to stand back up, dusting herself down once she was back on her feet. A few seconds after her, Chishiya was standing next to her once again.

Without meaning to, their gaze met again, unsaid feelings bubbling under the surface of their facades. Takara felt like she was at a tipping point, her affection for the boy in front of her bubbling up over the walls she had built up.

He simply nodded at her, an acknowledgement of what had just happened but also as a signal for them to start moving again. Chishiya's cold exterior seemed to never waiver.

Takara's heart sank a little in her chest at his nonchalant actions, yet she always knew he had walls up that were double the size of hers. There was no way that he would make an advance first. It had to be her.

Chishiya began to turn away from her in the direction of the other door, but Takara stopped him from doing so by grabbing his wrist. She felt bold in this moment, which was probably the adrenaline running through her veins. Takara gave in to letting her heart act instead of her head.

Takara knew that if she didn't act upon her feelings now, she never would.

Chishiya looked down at Takara's hand wrapped around his wrist and turned round to face her. He had a slightly confused expression across his face.

Before he could ask why she stopped him, he was swiftly met by Takara's lips on his. It was a soft kiss, yet somehow filled with unsaid passion.

The kiss lasted a few seconds before Takara pulled away, looking up from his lips, feeling hesitant to meet his eyes. Slight worry had etched itself onto her features, scared of rejection.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

She was cut off by Chishiya going in for another kiss, more heatedly this time. One of his hands tangled itself into her hair, while Takara placed her hand at the back of his neck. Butterflies blossomed in Takara's stomach as he returned the kiss, all of her unsaid affection for him pouring out as she deepened the kiss.

A few blissful moments passed, and Chishiya pulled away from Takara, slightly out of breath.

"Don't be sorry" he said, his signature smirk appearing on his face.

Takara watched as Chishiya turned away from her again, walking towards the sun door and leaving her to linger in their shared moment of affection. As Takara stood there motionless, a realisation dawned upon her.

She was done with the petty feuds, the pointless bickering. She didn't want to pretend to hate him anymore. She couldn't.

Because in that moment, she had everything she had been waiting for. And nothing else mattered.

~

Hey guys, I'm here with another (short) update, sorry it's been a while!!

How are we feeling about the kiss?!?! It's been a long time coming, I didn't put slow burn for no reason in the tags lmao hopefully it's not anticlimactic

Kind of hate my writing at the moment it's just kind of meh in my opinion but I'm hoping some of u might enjoy reading it

Anyways I'm gonna try and get another chapter out in a week or so and try my hardest to get more frequent with updates

Thank you everyone that's still reading and also for all the votes and comments, I love reading them!!

Until next time <3