Alucard and Granger ran down the street side by side while Jay kept her arms wrapped around the marksman's neck, her legs wrapped around his waist since she was afraid of falling or slipping off of him.
"It'll take us a while to find out who did it... But with Rafaela, Freya, Miya and Estes' help, we'll be able to find them faster...!"
Alucard stated as he jumped over a broken cart while Granger side-stepped it, worried that if he jumped he would make the woman on his back feel more pain since her wounds were still fresh due to the sudden movements that she did just to run away from a demon.
The raven-haired woman then shut her eyes due to a dull ache coming from her head, her grip on Granger slowly loosening as the ache started to painfully increasing.
"We're almost there"
Alucard said as he turned to the right with Granger right behind him but the brunette stopped when he felt Jay's grip loosen followed by a pained whimper.
"What's wrong...?"
"H-headache..."
Was her only reply as she buried her head on his back as if applying pressure and blocking out the sunlight would help lessen the pain she was in.
- Shit... It seems that she hasn't eaten or drunk anything... -
"You need to eat... And drink something to rehydrate yourself..."
He mumbled to her as he sat her down on a bench that was nearby while Alucard approached the two in worry.
"What's wrong?"
"Headache... She didn't eat anything before this whole ordeal... I'm quite surprised that the doctor and nurses forgot to give her food and water"
Nodding, the blond frowned as he looked around only to smile and make his way towards a cart that was, strangely, intact and grabbed a bottle of water with a banana.
Making his way towards the raven-haired female, he gave her the things with a small smile on his face.
"Here, we can take a small break... Don't give me that look, we don't mind, right Granger?"
Said male hummed as he looked at the young woman who was staring at the food and drink that were in her hands, a silent chuckle almost leaving his lips when he noticed that she was pouting.
A sigh left her lips as she shook her head, placing the bottle of water beside her and then peeled the banana to eat it while humming in content that she could finally eat and drink something after what seems to be hours and hours of running and fighting.
The two males watched her then looked at each other, Alucard whispering at the marksman with his cheeks pink.
"I feel strange for watching her eat..."
"Then don't watch her..."
"But she looks so...-"
"I don't care... Stop staring, it's creepy..."
"Says the one who watched her sleep...!"
- How the fuck... -
Granger blinked in surprise only to narrow his eyes at the blond as his grip on his violin case tightened, glad that his lower face was covered by his jacket since his cheeks turned red due to embarrassment.
"I was not watching her..."
"I just said it without thinking about it but you admit it...~"
Alucard wiggled his eyebrows at his friend, laughing a bit when the marksman huffed indignantly and punched him on the shoulder in annoyance.
"Shut up... You're the pervert in the team..."
"I'm not...!"
"Says the one who couldn't stop talking about her when you first met her..."
Pouting and blushing, Alucard just returned his attention to the woman who was, now, looking at the two with her cheeks puffed while her hands were in the middle of opening the bottle of water.
The blond male tried not to tackle the raven-haired woman but was failing since he kept on looking at her while Granger let out a sigh and smacked the fighter upside his head to knock him out of his thoughts.
"Oi, it's rude to stare..."
"Ahh... Sorry, it's just you got-ah I'll just do it myself"
Reaching for the young woman's cheek, Alucard gently wiped away the dirt that was on her cheek, the action making Jay blush and look away as she fiddled with the bottle cap until she finally drank its contents.
Granger frowned when he felt his chest tighten when he watched the interaction between the two but he kept quiet about it.
"I think we can continue making our way towards the barrier..."
Jay quietly stated as she closed her eyes due to the sunlight and from the dull ache from her head while Alucard held her to his chest, Granger's eyes narrowing a bit at the action.
The trio then soon resumed their pace but this time it was Alucard that was carrying the raven-haired female on his back while she held his sword for him even though she had some difficulties since it was a lot heavier than the violin case.
"You alright? You didn't have to hold my sword for me"
"I-I'm fine... Don't w-worry about me"
The raven-haired female smiled as she tightened her grip around the sword's handle, afraid that she would drop it.
When the three of them saw the other heroes from afar, they halted and Alucard let the young woman down on her own two feet, smiling as he took his weapon back from her.
"Alucard! Granger! Thank god you're both alright-oh! You also found a civilian! Quickly! Let's get you to Rafaela and the others"
A woman that had her blonde hair tied into a ponytail accompanied Jay - who looked at the two demon hunters in worry with her widened eyes - towards a small group of people that were patching up some knights and some injured civilians.
Alucard chuckled as he placed his sword on his shoulder while Granger watched the two disappear into a tent, his shoulders slumping in relief when he finally noticed that the girl was no longer in danger and that she was in good hands.
"Alucard... Granger... You arrived just in time"
The two looked at Tigreal and nodded, a silver-haired female then walked up to the three with a frown on her face as she held a lance to her side.
"I'm glad that everyone is alright, I saw the girl Tigreal mentioned earlier get escorted by Fanny into the tent..."
Nodding, Alucard rubbed the back of his head as Granger started explaining the whole ordeal to the, now, frowning Silvanna and Tigreal.
"Well, what an adventure that she just had... I feel sorry and worried for her since the whole thing might affect her but from how you explained it... I don't have to worry too much, still, she needs to be monitored because who knows what will happen..."
"About that..."
The blond-haired male whispered as he avoided eye contact when he saw the young woman narrow her eyes.
"Is there something wrong, Alucard? Did Granger not tell me something else?"
"I... Well..."
Sighing, Tigreal decided on saving the demon hunter by placing a hand on the silver-haired woman's shoulder.
"We'll have to discuss it later but for now, we must see if there are still some demons lurking around"
"Hmm... Alright... Do any of you have any ideas as to how those things got inside without alerting the guards?"
"I may have a theory..."
Granger grumbled out as he looked at everyone with his crimson orbs while he placed his pistol back to its holster.
"Oh? Care to share?"
A blond-haired woman floated towards the group with some sort of gun in her hands.
"Kimmy! It's so nice of you to join us...!"
Said female hummed as she looked at everyone only to jot her thumb behind her, pointing at the tent where Jay was brought in by the famous assassin who uses a gear that lets her glide and move quickly by grappling from building to building.
"I think your little friend there needs a face that she can recognize... Because... She kind of went into a... Panic like state-"
Not even letting the blonde-haired woman finish, Alucard immediately bolted towards the tent also ignoring the surprised "what" and "hey!" from the others.
Getting inside, the swordsman's attention quickly went to a struggling and panicking raven-haired woman as a doctor tried on stopping her.
"No! Please! Stop...!"
"Please stay put! We don't want to hurt you!"
"What's going on here"
Jay gasped and looked to where Alucard was, her eyes red and puffy as tear-stained her cheeks.
"A-Alucard..."
"Sir, we are very sorry but she was-"
"Let her go..."
Frowning, the doctor and nurse let go of the young woman and they watched her make a beeline towards the taller male, her arms quickly wrapping around Alucard's waist as she buried her face on his chest while letting out a shaky exhale.
Some people stopped to look at the scene before them but as soon as they stopped, they immediately went back to work when a certain death chanter entered the tent with a dark look in his eyes.
"Oi, what the hell-... What happened here and why is she shaking in your arms"
Alucard just looked at Granger with a pointed look as he continued raking his gloved, left hand through Jay's soft, raven locks.
"I think she's no longer used on being left alone... I don't blame her though... After all that has happened..."
The brunette only let out a sigh as he watched the younger female's arms loosen around the blond male's waist until her knees buckled, putting all of her weight on him thus making the blond-haired male flinch out in surprise as he held the younger woman closer to him while shifting his attention to his friend.
"What happened...???"
He asked him in curiosity and worry but mostly out of sheer panic but the marksman kept his cool even if he was worried himself.
"I think she passed out due to exhaustion..."
He said as he eyed the raven-haired woman that was in his friend's clutches, still ignoring the painful feeling in his chest while watching a doctor walk up to them.
"It is because the medicine that we injected to her earlier has finally worked..."
He said as he told some nurses to take Jay away from the demon hunter's hold and place her on the bed to check up on her, the doctor then turned to the two males and started explaining.
"I also do believe that the cause of such a panicked reaction from her is because of what she has experience in such a short time... But it will all soon go away once she gets proper rest and has consumed the right amount of food... We thank you for your help, we can take care of her now..."
Alucard could only nod while Granger nodded, the two of them started on making their way out of the tent but the marksman stopped and looked back at the unconscious female that was, now, being checked up by the nurses as the doctor wrote everything down on his clipboard. Once they got out, the others looked at them with the same questioning look on their faces and before Granger can answer, Alucard interrupted him.
"She's alright, just got freaked out and needed someone she's familiar with to calm her down until the medicine that the doctor initially injected her finally worked..."
The brunette pursed his lips as his crimson orbs focused on Alucard while Tigreal let out a sigh as his hand raked through his brown locks and this caught his sibling's attention.
"You alright brother?"
Fanny asked as Tigreal nodded, his sapphire orbs moved to the blonde-haired female who was looking at him worriedly.
"Yes but I am just worried for her since she has experienced a lot of things after brought here in Moniyan by Claude..."
"About that..."
Everyone looked up to see Granger cross his arms while his eyes shined in annoyance.
"I'd have to talk with Claude and Gusion once I see them... I have a few questions to ask them about our guest..."
He said as he frowned behind his jacket while Alucard tilted his head and asked the marksman "why?" while the brunette shook his head, a sigh of annoyance leaving him.
"Nothing, I just have some... Questions to ask them..."
Was the only thing that he said as he walked to where he left his violin case.