A/n: thank you sm for 1K!! I'd never thought there will be a book that I write will reach 1K in less than a month. I'm so glad that you guys like my story!

And last chapter before I hand my phone to the wardens :D

❝ 𝙸𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗. ❞

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Bang!

Doom jumps out of the way, dodging the door that flies to his way.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His footsteps echo through the silence of the atmosphere. He stops his feet in front of the crimson cane who looks at him in shock as his golden eyes look down at her.

"You told me not to die..." He crouches and gently scoops her into his arms. "So it's only fair if you don't die too."

(Name) stares at him with wide, teary eyes as he holds her in his arms gently. "M-Mash..." her breath hitches, tears streaming down her face.

The black haired teen hums as he takes her to the others. Putting her down beside Rayne, he brushes his thumb on her cheek, wiping away the tears.

"It's okay. You guys get some rest," he stands up, his back against them as he glances back. "...and leave the rest to me."

Rayne takes out a magic handkerchief, but the crimson cane stops him. "It's futile," she mutters shakily. "Nothing can cure my inner injuries."

The sword cane bites his lips. "Then..." he lays her down with Orter's help, who rushes to them right after Mash leaves. Rayne spreads his hand above her head, his magic power is transferred to her as the desert cane copies him. Finn also makes his way to them, ready to assist the crimson cane with his Butterfly Sanitatem.

"(Name)-san..." he whispers, tears at the corners of his eyes. Butterfly-shaped lights gently kiss her skin, healing the wounds she received in the previous fights.

(Name) smiles gently at the younger Ames and reaches out her hand to caress his cheek gently and wipes away his tears. Finn takes her hand on his cheek and keeps it to his face.

Mash saves her. (Name) is saved. Orter can't describe how grateful he is because of that.

He takes off his coat and folds it before putting it under (name)'s head to make her comfortable. He retreats his hands, only for her to grab it.

"...What's wrong?" He asks softly. The warmth of her palm around his wrist makes his heart flutter, and he's aware of it. He's not a fool. He's just in denial.

"Hold my hand," (name) closes her eyes. Orter softens his eyes and removes her hand from his wrist before taking hers in his gently.

That smile on her face. He'd die for it.

He remembers all the time he spent with her. All the books he borrowed from her. All the words he read when she tried to attempt suicide. All the attention she gave him while he was reading on the rooftop that night.

That night, her empty eyes shone under the moonlight before they finally flashed some life.

That night, he fell in love with her.

He didn't believe in love at first sight until he experienced it himself. He wouldn't believe that he did experience it until it was (name) who he fell for.

He gives her hand a gentle squeeze. His lips purse into a thin line as he adjusts his glasses, his head hangs low.

Rayne witnesses the scene silently as he continues transferring some of his magic power to the crimson cane. His eyes soften at the sight, he knows letting her go is the best thing.

If only fate isn't too cruel for the two of them.

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Mash manages to defeat Doom, and now he's fighting against his own father, Innocent Zero. The older man transforms into a new look, a look that sends shivers down their spines.

"Here I go." Mash mutters as he sprints towards his father, ready to attack him again.

But Innocent Zero walks past him, too fast for them to see him taking Mash's heart. Mash coughs out blood as he touches his empty chest.

"Huh...?" He mumbles as he falls. The others watch in shock and denial as his friends call out to him. "M-Mash..." Finn whispers shakily.

Even in the absence of his heart, Mash manages to send one last attack at Innocent Zero, but the older man counters the attack twice as hard.

Mash hits the wall with a painful crush as he mutters his last words. Apart from the cream puff thingy, he also manages to apologize to the crimson cane.

"So...rry, (na...me)."

It hurts. Seeing the person she sees as a brother figure dying like that while she can't do anything.

They manage to escape from Innocent Zero with someone's help. Dot supports Mash with Finn using his Butterfly Sanitatem to heal him as Rayne takes Ryoh while Lance backs them up for a run. That leaves Orter taking (name) in his arms, leaving her in a flustered state, if she's not so weak right now.

(Name) looks at the back where they leave Innocent Zero.

'Domina...'

"But I want to fight for Mash too," Domina frowned. "Why won't you let me come along?"

"You can come along," (name) corrected him. "But later. You can't let your brothers see you. Plus, we need you to back up if anything goes wrong. Make sure Innocent Zero doesn't expect your comeback," she grinned.

He huffed as he tried to protest. "But-"

"Just follow my plan," she cut him off. "Listen here, Domina. I know you want to be useful for Mash. But please, just follow the plan. If all of us worked out at the same time, who's going to back us up?"

She had a point. Domina lowered his head before sighing. "Fine," he nodded his head.

(Name) smiled, her hand reaching up to rub the crown of Domina's head gently, making him flinch at the sudden contact. "....." His eye twitched as blush crept to his cheeks, embarrassed at the childish treatment. She chuckled at his reaction.

"Please don't die, Domina."

Sorry, (name). Maybe now... I can call myself your friend with pride.

Can I, Mash Burnedead?

(Name)'s breath hitches as she widens her eyes. Her eyebrows furrow before she closes her eyes.

'Domina...' she purses her lips into a thin line.

Suddenly, they come into a halt. "The road is blocked! It's gonna take some serious magic to clear this!"

(Name) yelps as the sand pushes her towards Lance, startling the poor teen. Orter uses his sand to get rid of the boulders that block the way, his hand bleeds even more.

"Well? Get going." He mutters as Dot thanks him. But as he is about to join the others, he stumbles. He glances down at his hand.

"Orter?" Dot calls out to him as he hums. "I'll be right there." Ryoh glances back at the desert cane in worry. 'Orter...'

"It's okay, Lance, I think I can walk myself now." (Name) murmurs as the blue haired teen hesitates. "Are you sure?" She smiles and nods her head as he releases her.

They continue their run until roars of monsters that Innocent Zero sends after them reach their ears. "We'll never outrun them! Not with all these injuries!"

"Graviole!" Lance casts his magic, but he barely does anything to them. His power is all spent, and they're outnumbered.

They are not in the condition to fight. And they have Mash to think about too. They can't possibly face such immense numbers and win.

"Crap! They're on us!" Dot curses. Suddenly, he catches someone at the corner of his eyes.

The floor between them and the monsters explodes, parting the ground into two. Their eyes widen in surprise as Orter stands at the monster's side.

"Orter!" Lance calls out in worry as Dot joins him, "What are you doing?!" He exclaims. (Name)'s eyes stare at the desert cane widely, her breath hitches in shock.

Adjusting his glasses, he replies curtly. "I'll handle them." Dot furrows his eyebrows, "But look at them! Plus, you're hurt!" He screams, trying, wishing for the desert cane to change his mind. "This is irrational, Orter! You'll die!"

The desperation in his voice touches Orter's heart slightly. To know that there is at least someone who cares about him makes him a bit happy.

"Irrational? Hardly." He mutters. "My decision is based on the reasoning that protecting Mash Burnedead is the most logical thing to do." He finishes. "Now go."

Swallowing his saliva, Rayne turns around. "Hurry and get moving." He himself feels heavy to leave his comrade fighting those monsters alone. But they're in a rush.

"...Orter!"

The desert cane glances back at the red head. "You'd better survive! There's still a lot to teach us!" He exclaims sternly.

As the monsters run to him, he closes his eyes. "Dot Barrett. Lance Crown." He calls out to his temporary students. "Good job... taking down the third brother."

Dot is almost crying as Lance looks away painfully. Slowly, they start to get going. "You'd better catch up!" The red head threatens as he forces himself to leave.

They run towards the other way as Lance gasps, noticing an absence. "(Name)!" He turns back to see her at the edge of the broken road that Orter made.

Her hand spreads out, a monster that is the closest to the desert cane stops its steps, his whole figure shaking. Its skin becomes paler each second, starting from the tip of its fingers to the shoulder.

The monster's blood is compressed into the core of the blood pumping; its heart. It gasps out for air as it falls on its knees.

"Burst." (Name) clenches her fists as all the blood in the monster's body rushes back to everywhere, faster than its body can handle. The blood rushes until it bursts in its blood vessel, killing the monster.

Orter widens his eyes as he looks back at her, his eyebrows furrow, his mind pondering why she is still there.

(Name) takes out her wand as the droplet marks disappear and shifts into a line under her right eye. "Changeas." She switches her place with the dead monster, which is in front of the desert cane.

Orter narrows his eyes as he grabs her wrist. "What the hell are you thinking? Go back with them!" He hisses angrily as the crimson cane narrows her eyes. "And let you die alone? Do you think this is effective?" She snaps her hand back to her, simultaneously releasing the grip on her wrist.

"Listen here, you four-eye bastard. I'll only say this once and don't make me repeat it." She steps forward to him as she pokes his chest with her index finger harshly. "If anything, it's you who should be going back with them. I'm getting weak! I will be no help but a burden for them!"

Orter is taken aback at her remarks. This is the first time he has ever seen her yells at him.

"If you think you can sacrifice yourself on my watch, then think again. Use that smart brain of yours." She grabs his collar and pulls him closer to her so she can scold him face to face. "I would never let you die alone. You hear me? And you'll never get rid of me."

Once again, she manages to catch him off guard by her bluntness and the closeness that makes his heart skip a beat. He needs to bend slightly as she is quite shorter than him because her grip on his collar is quite tight.

As she releases him, he clears his throat and adjusts his neck tie. A sigh escapes his lips, irking the crimson cane even more.

"What's with the-"

She cuts herself off when two of Orter's sand drills go past her. She instinctively looks back, where the monsters are impaled by the sand.

Sweats trail down her cheek as she stares at the dead monster right in front of her. If Orter is a bit late, she would've been crushed by the thorny bat in its hand.

"Get rid of you? I could never," she turns to him when he speaks, only to come face to face with the desert cane who stands close to her.

His hand reaches out to her as he caresses her cheek gently, making her heart beat faster. "I don't even want to get rid of you." His golden eyes adore her (eye colour) ones. Those loops in his orbs are like a spell that hypnotises her, to stay in her place as he leans in.

Soft lips press against her forehead for three seconds before Orter pulls back. "I don't deserve you," he whispers. "You can't die here with me, (name)."

The crimson cane grabs his retreating hand and keeps it on her cheek as she leans into his warmth. "But I want to," she mutters softly.

"You'll fall if you stay with me."

"If it means falling for you, I'll gladly fall again and again."

A/n: This book will end at chapter 25 and I'm scared to end this book 😭 but I'll surely write more mashle fanfiction in the future. I'm planning to write a rayne x reader after this too. Or maybe mashle x one piece? Idk. I'll make a poll later :D