Yo, guys! My first week at Uni again for my Master's was…illuminating? Also, f**k I have so much studying I will actually have to do…buuuu. Let's pray I have time to translate.

The dorm's fine though. My roommate is studying Korean in the same program I did j.a.panese, so we have no trouble getting along.

Anyways, here's to the start of chapter 12~

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Chapter 12

"Takahito"

As he poured mineral water in the water jug in the kitchen, Eugene who happened to be pa.s.sing by greeted him from the doorway.

"How is Arthur?"

"He's sleeping well."

"…I see."

Entering inside the kitchen, Eugene stood in front of Takahito and fixedly gazed at his face.

"But Takahito you aren't sleeping, right? Your complexion is bad."

Takahito averted his face as if to escape from Eugene's eyes.

"It's alright…I do occasionally nod off."

"Napping on the chair can't take away fatigue. You have to properly sleep in a bed. If you don't do that you will also collapse."

Eugene admonished him with a sombre expression.

"…"

"You're also not taking and eating your meals."

"I don't have an appet.i.te."

"I understand your feelings, but if we collapse, who will look after Arthur?"

Being spoken to by Eugene in an unusually strict voice, Takahito dejectedly cast his eyes down.

"At any rate, since I will attend to Arthur tonight, you have to rest in your room."

"Okay?" Eugene emphasized, and Takahito reluctantly nodded.

"Since the medicine will soon stop working, I will come take a look at the situation later."

At last Eugene gently clapped Takahito's arm and left the kitchen. Left alone, Takahito spilled heavy sighs towards the floor.

As might be expected from a doctor, the things Eugene had calmly said were quite right.

If they both fell their effort would go to waste, he himself understood that with his head.

But…even if he understood that, he could not get into the mental state needed for sleeping and eating.

Even though Arthur is in this sort of condition…

Two days ago.

Having received the notice from Takahito, who had run till the 'Forest House' without dropping his speed even once, Eugene had driven his car till the scene of action. Takahito had also returned to human form, and rode together with him. Coming back to the scene of action, they saw the injured wolf and when they rushed over as if they were falling over Arthur was quite weak, but still breathing.

Even now he could not forget the thousand emotions that had crowded in on him at that time.

Strength had left his whole body, and he hadn't been able to stop the tears that had overflowed from him one after another.

But, he could not have had peace of mind just yet. Things had been a race against time.

The two carried Arthur in his wolf shape and put him in the car, and brought him back to the 'Forest House' with extreme speed.

After that Eugene treated his injuries. Takahito helped him as an a.s.sistant.

Because a large amount of blood had oozed out, while Takahito and Eugene transfused their own blood, they sewed shut the awful wounds. They also administrated antibiotics so that the wound would not fester.

Afterwards Eugene said that if Arthur did not have an especially tenacious body even amongst werewolves, honestly he might not have survived. The comparatively full moon was also a blessing in disguise.

Thanks to Eugene's adequate treatment Arthur's live was narrowly saved, and he slowly returned to human form - now he was under the effect of medicine and continued to sleep, dead to the world.

Carrying the water jug, Takahito climbed the stairs and entered Arthur's room. He approached the big bed that took up one corner of the room, and placed the water jug on the night table.

After he had replaced the fresh water so that it would be there no matter when Arthur woke up, he sat down on the chair that had been his home position for these two days. The chair was placed in a spot from which he could clearly see the sleeping Arthur's face.

Arthur was sleeping just as well as he had earlier when Takahito saw him. Eugene had said that currently Arthur's injured body was boosting its self-healing power by sleeping.

He saw the naked, bandage covered chest regularly moving up and down, and sighed in relief. Even though he knew the man was already fine, he couldn't completely eliminate the anxiety that in the moment his eyes were off the man Arthur's heart would stop.

Takahito gazed at that stubble covered sleeping face without blinking.

The left eye was covered by a bandage as if to hide it away. The left eyeball was completely smashed; there was nothing that could be done about it anymore.

For his sake Arthur had fought with his packmates, and as reparation for that had lost one of his eyes.

Those beautiful amber eyes, it was no longer a complete set of two.

When he thought of that, the tear glands that had gone lax seemed to be about to break out again.

Because of him…from now on Arthur will have to live with just his remaining right eye.

If it was possible, he wanted to become Arthur's left eye.

(If I was allowed to…)

He joined together the fingers of both of his hands, and placed his forehead on them. Takahito hanged his head as if praying. While he was by Arthur's side, he spent most time in this pose. Before he knew it, his fingers were placed together in the shape for prayer.

G.o.d. He knew this was selfish. Doing this will make a lot of people sad as well.

But, he wanted to do that. He wanted to devote his remaining life to Arthur…

Once reciting the wish that he had already repeated tens of times in his heart, Takahito felt Arthur stirring about in the bed and raised his head.

"…uu…"

Arthur knitted his brows and faintly groaned. Takahito rose from the chair with a clank and peered at Arthur's face from above.

"Did his right eyelid twitch?" just as he thought that, it slowly rose. The amber pupil was exposed.

Holding his breath and watching attentively, in front of Takahito's eyes, Arthur incessantly blinked his right eye as if dazed.

Finally, his slightly blank eye focused, and met Takahito's gaze.

"Ta…ka"

"Arthur!"

His emotions were highly strung up, and without thinking he loudly spoke to the sick person.

"Yo…you recognize me?"

"Taka…hito"

The man answered in a hoa.r.s.e voice.

The moment he reliably knew the man's memory was firmly in place, his tear glands broke down.

Fat tears spilled in large drops from the sobbing Takahito, and Arthur looked up at him in wonder.

"Why…are you crying like that?"

"Be…because…because…"

I once thought I had probably lost you.

When he saw the blood-stained Arthur collapse, his heart also froze. It was the first time his body had gone cold in one moment like that.

While he ran to seek help from Eugene, he had to continually fight against the impulse to stop his feet and retrace his steps.

A moment ago, at this moment too, Arthur could have pa.s.sed away.

If he was not present at that place, would he not regret it for his whole life?

While his feet were in a deadlock because of uneasiness and hesitation, what cheered Takahito up was a sense of duty to inform Eugene as soon as possible.

If there happened to be the slightest possibility of saving Arthur, he was the only one who could connect that thin thread. There was only him.

That's why he had gritted his teeth and run. Because of fatigue his four legs tangled and it seemed like his heart was burning, but he continued to run to the limit of his life-force.

While he was returning by car with Eugene as well he didn't have the feeling that Arthur would live, and for a long time sitting in the pa.s.senger seat he had embraced his own spastically shaking body.

That's why, the moment he had realized the man was still breathing he had cried aloud without being afraid of public notice.

Right now again, like raging billows he was overwhelmed by waves of violent emotion just like that time, and in the blink of an eye he was swallowed deeply.

That's that. Poor Arthur.

Also, I HAVE actually finished translating AFP as of today. The last part has been updated on Patreon, so if anybody is interested you can check it out there. Every Patron is appreciated and immensely helps pay my expenses.

Anyways, see ya guys soon~

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