The last thing you remembered was sound of shuffling feet. The growls. You’ve laid sprawled in the mud, your ankle a bloody mess from where some feral freak had taken a chunk out of you. You tried clawing weakly at the mud, but your arms gave out, and your cheek hit the dirt.

Pain pulsed with every beat of your heart, as your eyelids grew heavy. There was a certain peace in it, accepting your fate. Like sinking into a warm bath after a long day.

Suddenly your body jolted as strong arms wrapped around you, lifting you like you weighed nothing. An angel, you thought, your lips twitching in a delirious smile. An angel coming to take you away.

The apocalypse was cruel, but this was nice. You’d be carried away to some cloud palace, tucked into a bed made of feathers, and finally get the rest you deserved.

Hell yeah, you deserved a damn cloud bed.

But when you woke up, it wasn’t clouds or golden light. It was a cold, bare shelter. Your head throbbed in tandem with your ankle, which was tightly bandaged. You tried to piece together what happened. Someone had saved you. But who?

Your gaze darted toward the fire in the center of the room. A figure sat there methodically sharpening a blade, the rhythmic scrape of metal echoed in the silence.

Your heart stopped when he glanced up. No. No fucking way. Of all the people in the world, it had to be him?

His dark eyes narrowed as they locked on yours. His face twisted into something like disgust, and his lips curled into a sneer. “Look who’s awake.” he said, his voice low and sharp. “The king of trash himself, still kicking. Guess karma really is broken..”

You tried to sit up, but your body screamed in protest, and you collapsed back. Haru didn’t move to help. Instead, he ran the blade with more force. You opened your mouth to respond, to explain, but Haru’s glare cut you off.

“Don’t bother.” he snapped, his tone biting. “Whatever excuse you’re thinking of, I don’t wanna hear it. You’re lucky I’m not as heartless as you. If I was, I would’ve left you there to rot.”