[Triggering Task 1....]
[Chain Mission: Save Dante (1/3)]
[Task 1: Hug Dante for a minute and calm him down]
[Time Limit: 1 hour]
Natasha was pacing around the room when the system’s voice rang out, making her stop in her tracks as a series of blue screens popped up in front of her eyes.
The sudden task release caught her off guard since she wasn’t even doing anything at the moment.
Still, that didn’t stop her from checking the details right away.
"Phew..." She let out a sigh of relief after reading through the condition, and a worry-free smile crept onto her face. "I was getting worked up over nothing. It’s just a hug, and only for a minute."
But her smile froze the second she actually pictured it in her head. She hadn’t let a man touch her body for decades, and she couldn’t help but hesitate.
’No, what am I even thinking?’ She shook her head. ’I’m just his master and he’s my student.’ Her thoughts started to settle. ’I watched him grow up. A hug is nothing compared to what he’s dealing with right now!’
Natasha let the tension slip out of her chest once her thoughts finally lined up.
She spent what little time she had left before Dante’s arrival going over what to say if he asked about his condition, while also wondering what the next two tasks would be.
Her thoughts came to a halt when she saw the mansion gates swinging open and a car rolling in.
’They’re here.’ She turned away from the window and walked out of her bedroom.
****
As she came down the stairs, Freya walked into the hall with Felix right behind her, carrying Dante over his shoulder.
"Hey, man, put me down! I know my way around here." Dante shouted with an angry face, leveling up his acting the second he spotted Natasha in the corner of his eye.
But Felix didn’t budge an inch. He glanced toward Freya as they stopped in front of Natasha.
"We have successfully retrieved Sir Dante, Madam," Freya said with a slight bow.
"What do you mean retrieved? You assholes straight up kidnapped me!"
"Good job." Natasha gave them a nod before turning her gaze to her student.
She had never seen him looking this miserable before, not even back when she first met him and Emma in the slums.
An image of a stubborn little boy shielding a girl with his back flashed through her mind.
Now, her heart ached seeing him like this.
"You can put him down. I’ll take it from here," she said, turning back to the two of them. "You can head back."
Felix set Dante down right away, still propping him up with his shoulder.
Seeing how wasted Dante was, Freya thought it would be better to let Felix carry him to his room. But when she caught the conflicted look in Natasha’s eyes as she stared at Dante, she knew there was more going on here.
Felix helped the drunk Dante over to the sofa, and after that, the two of them excused themselves.
The door clicked shut as they walked out of the hall.
Just as they took a few steps away, a loud scream burst out from inside. They paused for a second before carrying on like nothing happened.
Their job here was done.
***
Inside the mansion, the hall was eerily silent.
Natasha glanced at her hand that Dante had just slapped away before her eyes settled back on him.
"Don’t. Don’t fucking touch me!" Dante didn’t even bother looking at her face, slumped against the sofa.
"Dante, please, let me explain...."
"EXPLAIN WHAT?" He turned his head toward her. "That you felt sorry for me? That you kept the useless cripple around because you needed a charity case to feel better about yourself?"
Natasha flinched at his words. Her hands were clasped in front of her, one resting over the other at the wrist.
’So it really isn’t a hallucination’
Everything the system said had lined up perfectly, down to the last word.
Dante really did know about his condition, and he really was about to walk out of their life. But, when she opened her mouth to answer, nothing came out.
There were a dozen things she wanted to say and not a single one of them felt like it would reach him. She had already dragged him back to the mansion against his will. If she didn’t even let him get his feelings out now, that would really be too unfair to him.
"Why did you even bring me back, Master?" Dante asked with his head hanging low, the word master dripping with sarcasm.
’Go on, let it all out.’ She thought, clenching her fingers. ’Just... not for too long.’
[Time Limit: 10 minutes left]
Dante let out a hollow laugh.
"No answer? That’s a first." He slowly raised his head and looked at her, his eyes red and glassy. "You always have something smart to say whenever I fuck up. What’s so different about today, huh?"
"Let me guess." His voice started climbing. "You felt bad. You sent your guards to drag me home because you felt bad. Is that it?"
"I’ll do just fine on my own. Don’t contact me or send anyone after me again!" He pushed himself up off the sofa, swaying on his feet for a second before catching his balance, then turned toward the door without sparing her another glance.
Natasha finally moved, stepping right in front of him and blocking his path.
"Get out of my way, Master, and this is the last time I’m ever calling you that!" Dante said in a firm tone.
"No! I can’t let you go anywhere. This is your home, and I’ll always be your master." Natasha fired back in the same firm tone.
"That’s rich coming from you. All these years I lived under your roof." His voice cracked and rose again. "And you watched me every single day knowing exactly what was wrong with me. You watched me like an idiot. And you didn’t say a GODDAMN WORD!" Dante pointed a finger at her, his chest heaving.
’Damn it, what the hell is she waiting for? There’s only 5 minutes left before the task ends.’ He thought, getting frustrated.
"Don’t you have a human heart?!" He asked with a sarcastic smile on his face, trying to taunt her.
The moment he said those words, Natasha closed the distance in one step and pulled him into her arms.
"What the hell are you...." Dante shouted, his hands coming up between them to push her off.
"Let go of me, I’m not done—"
But she only tightened her hold, and his face was pressed against the kind of tits that ended wars before he could get another word out.
"Does that feel like I don’t have one?" Natasha said softly.