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TODSAG Chapter 3: Giving a Hand
🕑 Added 2024-08-07 08:19:34 +0000 UTCThird Person P.O.V
"I… I'm sorry, I didn't know anything about your situation, and yet I was hasty in speaking, I apologize if my words hurt you." Leek said as he bowed slightly to show his sincerity.
Ning'er looked at Leek without answering for a few seconds, but deep down, she understood that this had been an excuse to vent, for a long time she felt pressured, burdened by her own situation and that she had selfishly used the boy in front of her as an outlet, yelling at him for problems he hadn't caused, even when his advice seemed to have been given with good intentions.
"No, this isn't your fault, it's just that… I thought I could finally show my family that I was more than just a bargaining chip, but it seems that luck refuses to smile on me, you had nothing to do with the problems I face." She returned the apology, knowing it was the right thing to do.
"Look, I… I don't really know if it could work, but I think I can help you. I've never tried it, but technically ki should be able to, if not cure you, at least help your situation"
"What?" Her eyes snapped open, and a very small light in them that had disappeared began to shine again. "You... can you really do it?"
"I'm not sure, but I can try, what do you say?"
Ning'er's eyes began to shed tears again. "Please… hic… please help me!!" She begged as she tried her best not to get her hopes up, but failed after the first second.
After all, Ning'er still wanted to believe that her situation could improve, that she could not only dream of her ideal future, but make it a reality.
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Third Person P.O.V
"So, are you ready?" Leek asked, sitting cross-legged in front of Ning'er.
"Yes." Was all the girl said, but that simple word was loaded with the enormous will she had used to endure the pain every day and get to where she was now.
With the girl's confirmation, Leek nodded once and stretched both hands out in front of her. "Please take my hands, technically it should be possible without touching us, but I don't have enough experience to do it that way"
Ning'er felt embarrassed, after all, this person was the first boy outside of her family that she had allowed to touch her hand, and now she had to do it again, but this was to help her, so she would never be so mean as to think badly of someone who had selflessly offered her help.
Their hands moved forward, and when their palms touched Leek intertwined his fingers with hers, this time Ning'er couldn't help it, her cheeks turned red, her heart beat like a drum in her chest, and her mind described the feeling even before she was aware of it.
'Do all men's hands feel this way?' Ning'er thought a little lost in the sensation, Leek's hand was bigger than hers, but not too much, some parts had calluses showing that he knew well what effort was, but there were also soft parts which showed that he was not a fool who neglected his body, but gave it the best care possible.
But what caught her attention the most was how... warm it felt, somehow it was comfortable, and without realizing it, her fingers slowly intertwined with his.
With their hands holding each other, Leek spoke again. "Now I will intertwine my ki with yours, you may feel a little strange, but I need you to relax and as much as possible, try not to reject me"
Ning'er came out of her daydreams and paid attention, then nodded, knowing that what she was being told was incredibly important.
"Very well, now close your eyes and synchronize your breathing with mine, once you've done that you must concentrate on feeling my energy." Leek finished saying, closing his eyes, an act that was imitated by the girl.
Once she was deprived of the sense she depended on the most, Ning'er sharpened her sense of touch, and through her hands, she felt the movement that Leek made when he inhaled and exhaled, so little by little she synchronized with him, both taking deep breaths.
Ning'er then concentrated her mind, and using her soul force, she searched for Leek's peculiar energy, and it didn't take more than a few seconds to find it.
And just as he had said, his energy was surrounding her, slowly covering her, it was as if she was in a bathtub while someone filled it with hot water, it was comfortable, so she didn't have to strain herself to allow him to cover her completely.
Leek's ki made its way until, similarly to when they had appeared in that dark space, she felt as if the boy's energy and hers were two ropes, his being the one that approached hers and began to advance as they intertwined.
"Hn." The minutes passed, and Ning'er made a quiet sound, the sensation was more relaxing than any massage she had ever had, so this feeling took her a little by surprise.
But it was then that something changed, it was as if she had a wound on her skin and someone ran a finger through the sensitive area.
"I found it." It was all he said, and she didn't need to know more, his words made her understand that Leek had probably located the harmful energy he had told her about.
"Please relax, this won't be comfortable." He said and gave her a few seconds to prepare, and in response, she squeezed his hands a little tighter, showing clear nervousness, but in no way rejecting the energy belonging to another person that was now inside her.
The sensation she felt next was painful, quite a bit, but also somewhat satisfying, as if she could finally remove a thorn that had been stuck in her flesh for a long time.
She felt the pain from the bruise on her foot reduce until it disappeared, leaving only a slight feeling of pressure and a slight tingling feeling as proof that it had ever existed.
"Ah." A sigh of satisfaction came out unconsciously, and she felt like getting some sleep, finally getting a proper rest after everything she had been through, but Leek's voice caught her attention again.
"That was just the first one, I have found two places where this energy is concentrated, the one I removed was the smallest, can you continue?"
"Y-yes." She tried to make her voice sound as firm as possible, but it came out as a weak whisper.
"Are you sure?" Leek's voice sounded a little worried. "You don't need to overexert yourself, you can take a break"
Ning'er shook her head with her eyes still closed, rest? Now that she was so close to curing the ills that tormented her body? If it was to be healthy again, she could endure a little more.
"I'm fine, let's continue, please." The last part was said with a pleading tone as she tightened the grip between their hands due to nervousness.
Leek sighed in defeat before saying. "Fine, I'll continue, but make sure to ask me to stop if it's too much for you"
With that said, Leek turned his attention back to his task, directing and using his ki in this way was proving to be an incredibly challenging task for his ki control, generally speaking, he would say that this was even more difficult than the first fight he had against that huge blue gorilla.
But he still didn't give in, sweat accumulated on his forehead, and his eyebrows furrowed, the only reason he had been able to enter his ki into Ning'er's body and move his energy there was because she was consciously allowing it.
And even with that advantage, controlling his ki so that it simply ran through hers looking for anomalies was complicated, it was as if he were passing the tips of his fingers over a loom looking for some knot or anomaly while his eyes were closed, focusing solely on his sense of touch.
The first concentration of energy he had extracted was a job not of brute force, but of care.
First, isolating that accumulation of negative energy, then covering it with his ki as if it were a detergent that dissolved a stain, which was uncomfortable, because said energy gave him a cold sensation, as if he were hugging a huge block of ice, trying to melt it only with his body heat.
But the most difficult was undoubtedly the final part, because after getting rid of the negative energy there was a "void" in the girl's energy, and he didn't know if this could have negative effects on her, so to avoid problems, he decided to fill the space he had left behind with his own energy.
So Leek had to leave part of his ki in this empty space, in that way, his own energy would act as a patch, but to avoid any rejection from Ning'er's energy, the only thing Leek could do was to do it little by little, letting both the girl's body and energy get used to his ki and make it their own.
And now that he was working on the second cluster of negative energy, he felt fatigued begin to reach him, this time, the concentration of energy was larger and denser than the previous one.
It was like comparing a tennis ball to a soccer ball, the difference was not abysmal, but it was evident and considerable.
Because of this, he controlled his breathing as best as possible, taking deep breaths and letting the air out slowly and calmly to avoid exhausting himself so soon.
The minutes continued to pass, and with one last touch, this cluster of energy was completely destroyed, and the void it had left had been filled with his own ki.
"Ah." Both Ning'er and Leek let out a tired sound, the latter falling backward while the first fell forward, but before Leek's back hit the ground, one of Leek's hands that was now free moved back, placing his palm on the ground and stopping his advance.
But this caused him to be half-reclined, and what was more, Ning'er fell leaning on his chest while both still held one of the other's hands.
The exhausted breathing of both of them was the only sound they made, and Ning'er, who was using Leek's chest as support, almost curled up on pure instinct, feeling comfortable and pain-free after a long time.
With red cheeks and glassy eyes, Ning'er moved her head slowly, she was still lying on top of Leek, but now she was looking into his eyes.
"I-" Was all she managed to say before she felt her body heat up, an unknown heat covered her entire body, and without her even trying, a kind of aura covered her, one similar to Leek's, but before she could express her doubt something even more surprising happened.
Boom *
Ning'er's aura exploded, sending the tired Leek flying, who rolled a few meters before ending up with his face buried in the grass and his butt raised in the air.
"Ouch." His pitiful moan was heard before Ning'er ran towards him.
