Liohime Kitagami crawled to the other side of the large tree, panting and whimpering as tears formed.

While trying his best to hide his body by shifting his position away from the approaching attacker, he was in a world of hurt, unable to stop the blood from profusely leaking out of his left shoulder.

He glanced downwards, finally noticing the arrow with its head fully engrained into his flesh, and what felt like his skin being burnt to a crisp just wouldn't fade.

SHIT...SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!

Grunting heavily with pain, the world became dizzy to him, and then suddenly, blood began to leak from his mouth and nostrils as he coughed and sputtered.

Wha….huh?

This nauseating feeling….this fogginess in his mind, this fatigue.

Hah….poison…

Liohime guessed that he had been hit with a poison-tipped arrow, one that would slowly torment him to death.

He tried to think of a way out, knowing that whoever shot him would inevitably come looking for his body.

The blood just wouldn't stop, and things were getting dire, but in his heart, he prayed that the healing factor would hopefully keep up.

Think, Lio! Think! Think, think, think!

He didn't want to die here, not in this place.

There was absolutely no way that his life could end here, after trying so hard to reach the third layer of the Paradisus Legion.

Then, he felt the overwhelming pain faintly easing away, little by little.

Make no mistake, he was still in a horrible condition, but Liohime began to exhale a bit quieter, realizing that the regeneration, as small as it was, had begun to kick in.

It was at that moment that he heard footsteps and voiced, far behind him in the distance, and he froze.

"Well, I mean, I saw him drop, but the tall grass and bushes so so fucking annoying, blocking our goddamn view."

"Yeah. Hey, but at least you got a direct shot, and I don't think he will survive that. Still, let's make sure that's what he's really done for."

"Agreed. We can't let any of these outsiders try to take control of our land and beasts. For Kinen."

"For Kinen."

I…know those voices, Liohime thought, as he recognized them as the two Dalquestis tribe members that he had encountered with the Piglet Squad as they were headed to the Killcount camp base.

They knew that I was with them, but still tried to kill me when I was now alone!

Still breathing heavily, Liohime's gaze darted to and fro as he searched for a solution, knowing that the voices were getting louder and louder as they were about to approach him.

Solo surprise attack?

Use Shihon?

Run?

All were risky, but he decided to trust his gut and believe in which he thought was the best option.

I can't afford to stick around here. There are so many people looking for me, and they must be getting closer by the minute. I can't let them catch up to me!

Thus, Liohime, still being lent Shihon's magical powers, decided it was best to run.

He clicked off of the ground, with the arrows still stuck in his shoulder, and dashed forward, bringing sudden attention to himself.

"H-Hey, that's him!!"

"Don't just stand there, stupid, shoot!!"

Just as he ran forward, vines protruded from his right arm as he jumped ahead, and the foliage latched onto a nearby tree in his front. Using this, he swung and propelled his body with increased agility as he barely missed two arrows that whizzed past his body.

In an emergency, I'll use Shihon! But for now, for as long as I have her power, I'll get by!

Thus, the chase began, and as Liohime swung with a zigzag from tree to tree, he was surprised by his new movement technique.

N-Not bad, although I have to keep using only my right arm cause my left is pretty much useless…

Meanwhile the two men were being left behind, slowly but surely.

"What do we do? I'm running out of steam already! We're gonna lose him!"

"Try to time his next swing direction! We can't lose sight of him!

With both attackers using two arrows at a time, they halted and aimed with precision and anticipation, until-

"Now!"

"Fire!"

-They both fired their shots, and one grazed past Liohime's abdomen, with the other two missing completely.

The last one, however…

SHK!

"GRRRUHHHH!!"

…Had pierced through Liohime's left lower leg, causing him to lose his concentration and balance as pain surged throughout his lower body, and he began to fall headfirst.

"[Shih-]"

Too late.

For him, at least, not for the person who had swooped under him in midair and caught him just as he was about to crash land.

"Did you see that?" one of the two men questioned, only noticing a blur, and the other merely nodded.

"Someone else is here. Get ready to kill."

"Yeah."

With Liohime squirming out in pain, he had not realized who had saved him yet, and his body had been placed to rest alongside a giant stone with gentle care, while his rescuer took a few steps back and reached for her bow that had been strapped to her back, hiding herself behind a tree adjacent to him.

She waited patiently for the footsteps to strut closer and closer, ever so closer as she remained as quiet as a mouse, until-

-One had walked right past her, and just as the man spotted a presence close to him at the corner of his eyes, she fired an arrow straight into his skull, stunning the other attacker as he watched his companion get picked off from a specific location.

"So that's where you are…" he mumbled, crouching and keeping his footsteps quiet, until he spotted a shadow emerging from the tree in front of him and fired.

The arrow stabbed through clothing. More specifically, a feminine light jacket.

Before he could do anything else, the figure emerged from the opposite side of the tree and fired an arrow straight into his skull, ending the fight, before she returned to Liohime.

They finally exchanged glances, and Liohime, with forced breathing, finally smiled for once that day.

"Lio."

"...Jolene."

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