To My Sunflower - Chapter 71

The drive to the safe house was quiet.

Hinata felt a stillness within himself as he thought of Akira and the things he would say to end their relationship.

It was because he loved him that he had to set him free.  He could already picture their argument and Akira’s words trying to dissuade him.  It had to be done.

Overwhelming light poured through the front windscreen as they neared the top where the house was.

Hinata squinted and blinked to readjust his vision to the light. His eyes widen. They reflected the sight of fire against the blackness of night.

“Rika.” His voice croaked as they ambled out of the lorry.

A slowness of his pulse. Short breaths filled with fear. He coughed at the stench of charcoal. Struggling against the heavy feeling of smoke filling up his lungs.

Unable to feel his feet at the sight of the supposed safe house burning into ash.

Strange wooing noises and deep cry overwhelmed his hearing. The sky crackled and boomed over his head. Rain fell to douse the fires. Nature’s miraculous timing.

“Honda-san! Aiyama-san!” Hinata realized his feet when the burning was quelled by the torrential rain. “Ishigawa-san!”

Hinata sprinted through the steaming remains of the log cabin. Pressing through the beating rain that made his kimono heavy with his runs.

He frantically called out for his family. Feeling apprehensive when no one was answering to his calls.

“Hin… ata. You’re alive.” A weak voice cried out from a clearing of burnt tree corpses and soil that was stained with more than water.

“Honda-san!” Hinata scrambled to Akira’s side. “No! Wh… I don’t…”

He struggled with his words at the sight of Akira bleeding out on the ground from a gash wound to his stomach.

“We, we were spotted.” Akira spat blood to the ground. “They found us. One kempei was wounded. One I thought shot you.”

Tears streamed down Hinata’s eyes. He held Akira, balancing him on his lap as he unwrapped his obi to bandage his wound. He was able to secure the wound from further damage.

“G… Guns. They… came.” Akira gurgled. “I made sure Yuri could take them… away.”

Hinata held the man tight to his bosom. “Can you walk?”

“You’re s… safe. I’m happy.” Akira’s hand tenderly caressed Hinata’s cheeks. His eyes were glazed with delirium. “I love you.”

“Save your breath and walk.” Hinata said as he and Rika helped Akira stand.

They carefully assisted him back to the lorry and into the passenger seat.  Hinata administered the painkillers, that Rocko had given him, to Akira. Riko passed him cloth that he could use to dry Akira and keep the wound from seeping.

The wound had fortunately stopped bleeding. Akira was clammy with a fever. He needed proper medical attention before he went into a cold shock.

Hinata hastily dried himself the best he could and wrapped his arms around Akira to keep him warm with his body heat.

“He should survive until we reach Kominato-sensei.” Rika said. “He must’ve fall asleep.”

Hinata started talking about anything that would keep Akira awake.

She set the lorry into motion and drove down the roads back to the makeshift hospital.