Diminishing light

Getting down on my knees, I instantly pulled Saki in for a hug. Tears were uncontrollably flowing down my face, seeing her in such a beaten state. 

"I'm so sorry Saki… Only if I were quicker, I-I could have protected you." Guilt invaded my body, if I had run a bit quicker or even broken the rules a little to get here, I could have stopped April. But no, I let Saki almost get beaten to death, left in her own blood. 

"Ma-." 

"You! Call the healers right away!" I turned, glaring at the scrawny receptionist, demanding he call for help immediately. I didn't want to leave Saki's side, especially since there was no easy way to call for help.

  The receptionist caught a glimpse of Saki and instantly realised what had happened. He shut his mouth and quickly left to hopefully call the healers. 

"It's okay Saki, hang in there." I look directly at Saki's barely open eyes, trying to make sure she stays conscious. The last thing I wanted was to lose one of my only friends who, even from my past life, was able to understand me. Yeah, he was a bit of a brat at times, but he never questioned me. 

"L-Lyra." Saki tried to lift up one of her arms, but she was too weak. So I took her hand and placed it on my cheek. I hoped that this way, even if she couldn't see or hear right now, she could at least feel it was me. 

"Yes, it's me. I am here." I tried my best to not let any more tears fall, but it was uncontrollable. 

"P-please don't cry, I-I'm okay." Saki gave a very weak smile, which only made me want to cry even more. 

"No! No, you're not." It pained me to hear Saki still trying to act strong like things were completely fine, but they weren't. She was covered in her own blood and barely alive while giving me a damn smile. 

"Haaa, it was m-meant to be… So please don't worry about me."

"..." I didn't know what to say, and to see Saki's perspective as being so against herself broke my heart. I knew the Saki from my previous life was treated terribly, but to think it is already this bad.

'Am I too late?' Another fear began to develop as I was aware of the suicide attempt Saki made, and if this world follows a similar timeline to my previous one, then...

'I-I can't let that happen .' I needed to stop thinking so negatively, as surely I still have time before it's too late. There must be something I can do. 

'Saki did always complain about wanting a girlfriend in the past and now that he is a girl, maybe I can be by her side now... Is this even ethically okay?' I felt a nervous pit in my stomach thinking about entering a relationship, but I felt like this was the only way to make sure Saki didn't have a mental breakdown. 

The only thing that stopped me from dating Saki before was just because I wasn't attracted to men. 

'I can think about this later, it would be wrong to force this upon her now.' Pushing the thoughts to the back of my head, the healers should be arriving soon, so there was no time to be thinking of this kind of thing. The last thing I wanted to do was take advantage of Saki, who is most likely in a terrible mental state. 

"The healers will be here soon Saki... Also, how can I not worry? Who decided that you deserved this?" The words finally came to me as I came to realise just how absurd her statement was. 

"The world, if I'm meant to be seen as the world's punching bag, then so be it." It was a good sign that Saki was becoming more comprehensive, but the mental aftermath is really showing. Saki wasn't just beaten physically, but her entire mind had been chipped away at. 

"I refuse. Only you can decide who you are, not some bitches that harass you for no reason." I was slowly getting more frustrated with all the self-deprecating comments. It pissed me off so much that April would go to these lengths just because Saki is a peasant. 

The academy may be prestigious but by no means was it a noble only one. 

"If I hear another comment beating yourself up, then I will ruin my status as a noble to make sure you are never hurt again." Even if Saki listened to my threat, I would still ruin it, but I needed Saki to stop hurting herself and I know she doesn't want me to sacrifice anything for her. 

"i-I… I'm sorry, i-it j-just hurts so much. I want it to stop, I want to just live normally. Lyra, please help." My words hit her like she had just been smacked in the face and had a sudden realisation. Tears burst out of her eyes and she started to hug me tightly. 

It hurt to hear her plea and admit to the pain, but it motivated me more to ensure her safety. 

"It's okay, I understand." I wanted to return the hug, but I was aware that after a beating like this, her entire body probably hurt from just moving. I'm honestly surprised that she has this much strength, but it made me hopeful that Saki is still holding on. 

*

<10 minutes> 

Saki had peacefully passed out in my arms and a couple of healers finally arrived. They were stunned to walk in on such a bloody scene, but they didn't waste any time healing Saki. 

Luckily, her injuries were just bruises and fractured bones, but there was only one major concern the healers had. Saki had been hit directly in the head, so there might be some damage that they can't heal. 

It was an unfortunate reality of this world that, despite having magic that can heal most things, brain injuries are ones that are impossible to mend. Due to how healing magic works, unless you understand the complexity of the brain, it is impossible to heal.

However, since Saki seemed to be okay in the sense that she was functioning okay, I doubted there was anything to worry about for now. 

"That will be 250 Gennite." Paying the healers for the call-out fee was a lot cheaper than I thought. I expected an extortionate amount, but I guess health care in this world isn't so bad. 

"Thank you and I recommend you watch over her. I'm not sure what happened here, but seeing how she has latched onto you, the last thing she wants is to wake up with you not there." With the final advice from the healer, they made their leave. 

I had planned to take Saki home regardless, but it's reassuring to know it's the right thing to do. 

"Let's get you more comfortable and out of these bloody clothes." Slowly lifting myself off the ground as well as Saki in a princess carry, I exited the karaoke joint. I gave the receptionist one last glare to make sure he didn't bother me, as well as a warning to not be so negligent for any future victims that may come here.

*

Walking through the streets with a girl in my arms in bloodied clothes was a lot more awkward than I anticipated. I had gotten many strange looks, but thankfully Saki had moved so that it looked like she was holding on to me, so no one questioned if it was a dead body. 

The only other annoying part was that the walk back to my house was sooooo long. Saki wasn't heavy by any means, but as time went on, I really felt it in my arms. However, I still persevered and finally made it to my front door.

The mansion I lived in wasn't anything spectacular, but enough to intimidate any passersby who weren't snobby nobles. 

Opening up the gate with my foot as it was unlocked around this time, I walked through the front garden and conveniently, one of my maids was tending to the flowers. Spotting that I had a person in my arms, she rushed over with a worried look on her face. 

"M-Miss Owlvil, are you okay? Who is this person?" She instantly saw the blood and started panicking thinking it was mine at first.

"I'm fine. This is my friend Saki, who had been beaten up by a noble. I just had her healed so right now I'm getting her a change of clothes and taking her to my room." When I explained to the maid what I was doing, she had a shocked look when I said Saki was beaten up, but I didn't want to explain the details. 

"I-I will go get her some extra clothes then. Please head inside miss." The maid bowed and quickly rushed inside ahead of me, already knowing the task I was going to give her. 

Also, no one should be home right now, so it saves me an encounter with my father, who if he found out Saki was a peasant, would absolutely throw me out.

'Alright, to my room.' 

*

<Saki POV> 

Slowly waking up, I found myself lying on something extremely comfortable. The last thing I remembered was Lyra busting down the door to the karaoke room, so I expected to still be on the cold, hard ground.

Opening my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar room, but what grabbed my attention was the feeling of something holding my arm. 

"Lyra?"