Elope by Night (5)
The aisle of the intercity bus was narrow, so the police had all gotten off to avoid getting in our way.
"Lisa, you okay?"
"No problem."
Even with her injured leg, Lisa picked up the carry-on. And she did it effortlessly, like it weighed nothing. She was just that strong.
The moment we stepped off the bus, we were greeted by police and paramedics.
"Let me take the luggage. The bus company will hold it and hand it over later."
The cop said that, but Lisa shook her head.
"It has important stuff inside. I'd like to keep it with me."
"The carry-on's too big. Ambulances can only carry the bare minimum for medical use, so we can't make an exception."
"I see."
Lisa's left hand gripped the carry-on handle tight. Her right hand held my left.
The cop shot her a glare, then eyed the carry-on.
"Hm?"
He blinked, like he'd spotted something. Maybe the blood trickling down.
Whatever. Lisa started walking, dragging me and the suitcase along. Then she suddenly bolted.
"H-Hey? Wait!"
The cop's reaction was slow. No surprise there. He'd been inspecting the carry-on and missed her in that split second. Plus, for someone with a badly injured leg, she was way too fast. And the suitcase looked heavy, so yeah, no one could've predicted this.
"Stop! Where are you going? In that condition...!"
The cop yelled after us, but Lisa ignored him completely.
It was a mountain highway, so off the road was thick with trees. We plunged into the dense forest of trees and underbrush, out of sight, and Lisa finally slowed to a stop.
"Mayuri, hop on my back."
She crouched down, and I wrapped my arms around her neck. Lisa supported my thighs with one arm, grabbed the carry-on with the other, and took off running again.
Her speed was still insane. No, faster than before.
She ran so quick, the cops' shouts faded away. They had to secure the accident scene, so of course they couldn't chase.
Once she'd put enough distance that no cop could catch up, Lisa finally stopped.
"We're safe for now, it seems."
As she said it, she glanced down. Her path was dotted with bloody footprints. Her wound had gotten worse.
"I-I'll heal you, Lisa..."
I slid off her back onto the ground. The cops would track these prints, no doubt. We needed to patch her up here. For the escape, and for her sake.
I tilted my head, baring my neck. Lisa just stared blankly.
"No sucking blood...?"
"I'm not a vampire, Mayuri. Biting your neck recklessly could hurt you."
With those pretty fangs? But she couldn't drink blood? It didn't add up, but I nodded anyway.
"Uh, remember that glass vial I gave you before? The one with my blood."
"From the 'Hell Train,' right? I didn't grab it in my rush to follow you. Should've carried it daily."
"No syringe or anything?"
"Don't have one. Mayuri, can I have your hand?"
Hand? I held out my right absentmindedly, but she took my left.
"Just a little cut on the finger. Sorry."
"Ugh... no choice."
She pulled out a kitchen knife and nicked my finger. Sharp sting. I let her bite down and suck.
Activating Bond Effect with 'Vampire'.
The Bond Effect with Nao works in sequence: recovery, enhancement, rampage, based on blood given. Recovery kicks in with just a little blood, enhancement needs more. Never tested rampage.
With only Lisa mobile, I let her take enough for enhancement. She drained a lot. My head's fuzzy.
"Ugh, anemia..."
"Hop on, Mayuri."
I wrapped around her neck again. Enhanced Lisa was even faster. But that wasn't all.
"Mayuri, switch positions?"
We'd run far and hit a cliff drop from the highway. Not a path for people. The height made me dizzy.
"Lisa, you sure?"
"Should be fine. But you might get hurt."
She set the carry-on down and scooped me up princess-style. First time for that... And then she jumped.
Thud.
The impact echoed huge, but Lisa took it all on her legs. No shock to me, no damage.
"But we left the carry-on..."
"Wait here, Mayuri. I'll get it."
She climbed back up, carry-on in tow. Enhancement was nuts. Didn't feel it fighting the Magical Girl, but her physicals were off the charts.
After that, high fences, rough terrain—none stopped her. Body strong, no need for brains. She bulldozed straight through.
Clack-clack, clack-clack. The carry-on wheels kept rattling.
After all that drama, the sun was still up. A bit early for sunset.
Hard to believe the chaos as we strolled peaceful Gangwon-do streets.
"No cops in sight."
Lisa stayed vigilant as we went. Locals stared, but our beauty and exotic hair—sky-blue for me—probably explained it. No one recognized us.
"Lucky our faces aren't known."
"Yeah."
"Still, just a matter of time..."
The problem? I'm the universe's cutest girl. Lisa's a step below but still top-tier national beauty level. Ryu Harin? Neighborhood stunner.
Point is, our looks were too distinctive.
Fugitive female passengers from intercity bus: two. One white-haired, one blue-haired. Different ages. Blue-haired one looks underage. Possible kidnapping.
...Being pretty's a curse. Everyone notices.
"So we wrap the anomaly today."
Drag it out, our faces hit the news. Then suicide urges like on the bus—but worse. No teaser; full-blown impulse.
"Plenty of time left, though?"
"Yeah..."
Dealer set meet at 3 a.m., not even evening yet.
"We cleared one hurdle. Safe for a bit."
"How about a rest? You look pale, Mayuri."
Better than before, but anemia lingered? I'd been thinking rest sounded good. Hours till 3 a.m.—nap now?
"Yeah, break time."
"Piggyback?"
"...Not on the street."
So, manga café. No sauna with luggage. Karaoke or PC bang too noisy, no better spots.
"Sleep a bit, Mayuri."
Grabbed some manga, into a private booth. Lay down, but no reading mood. Dropped the books, closed eyes.
"You sleep too, Lisa."
"Nah, not tired. Thanks to your blood, probably."
"Huh."
Enhancement? Or my blood heals fatigue too? Didn't matter; her awake eased me.
Me, Lisa, corpse. Weird trio in this space. Felt like my whole world right now.
Crashing away from cops, not home. Odd vibe.
"Feels like we're eloping by night."
She said it again. Almost denied, but...
"Yeah."
Really did. I just nodded.