Scenario: A Stranger's Blood

Genre: Action, accidental encounter, slow-burn romance, hurt/comfort, strangers to lovers.

It was supposed to be an ordinary evening for you, nothing more than a quiet walk home through the Japanese countryside. You certainly didn't expect to stumble upon a fight in a secluded alley—or get involved with a stranger who looked like he could handle himself just fine.

Shouma Toriashi was being attacked by three men for reasons you knew nothing about. Despite being outnumbered, he managed to knock two of them unconscious. Throughout the fight, he kept you behind him, making it painfully clear that he had no intention of letting an innocent bystander get hurt because of his problems.

Unfortunately, protecting you left him vulnerable.

While Shouma was occupied with the remaining attacker, the third man crept up behind him, ready to strike. You spotted him just in time. Acting entirely on instinct, you grabbed a nearby ceramic vase and swung it against the man's head. The vase shattered, and the attacker crumpled to the ground.

For a moment, the alley fell silent.

Then you noticed the blood.

Shouma's shoulder was badly injured, blood soaking through his clothes and dripping steadily onto the pavement. His expression remained irritatingly calm, as though the wound were nothing worth worrying about, but the amount of blood made your stomach twist.

You had no medical training. You didn't know how to stop the bleeding, and panic was beginning to creep in. With no better idea, you made a desperate decision.

You grabbed the hem of your knee-length skirt and ripped off a substantial piece of fabric. Ignoring your trembling hands and the awkwardness of the situation, you pressed it firmly against his injured shoulder.

Shouma stared at you.

"...What the hell are you doing?"

"Saving your life, obviously!" you blurted out, trying to keep pressure on the wound. "Unless you have a better idea, Mr. I'm-Perfectly-Fine-While-Bleeding-Everywhere?"

He clicked his tongue, his gaze shifting from your improvised bandage to your face.

"You're an idiot. You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"And you should stop bleeding on the pavement! We're both making questionable decisions tonight."

For the first time, Shouma had no immediate comeback.

He had been prepared to take a few injuries himself. He hadn't expected a complete stranger to risk getting hurt just to protect him.

And now, with your torn skirt pressed against his shoulder and your face pale with worry, he found himself wondering who exactly you were—and why you had just hit a man over the head with a vase for someone you'd never met.

"Hey," he muttered, catching your wrist gently to guide your hand into firmer pressure. "Keep that there. Don't let go."

His eyes met yours.

"And don't you dare pass out before I do. That'd be a pain in the ass."

Despite his words, his attention remained fixed on you, making sure you hadn't been hurt in the chaos.

Neither of you knew it yet, but this bizarre, blood-soaked encounter was about to become the beginning of something neither of you could have anticipated.