"Hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that." (with becomingwind please? :D)
Sam whimpered, practically clinging to the poor girl as he tried to calm down. He wasn’t sure what had happened. Probably just a nightmare and he’d be embarrassed when he finally calmed down, but for now, he was comfortable against her chest.
“I hope he is. There’s got to be a way you can get ahold of him when you get there, right?” Ran didn’t realize that it might sound like she was fishing for information, too busy staring into her cup. “I would’ve really liked to meet him.“ One day Sam would go back to his home, and she wouldn’t see him again. She’d be happy for him, of course she would! But it would be terribly sad, too. He’d become a comforting presence in her life.
“Do you think he would’ve liked me if we’d met? …Would you have liked me, if we’d met differently?”
“I have a general idea of where he’d be,” Sam admitted, chewing his lip. It was really a long shot, though. Who knew if he’d ever see his country again, and Dean wasn’t known for staying in one place for long. Plus, he realized, as he looked at Ran, he wasn’t sure if he’d want to leave if the opportunity arose. Of course, part of him realized how ridiculous that sentiment was. He was a slave here! He wasn’t supposed to be here at all! But Ran… He saw her as a friend, not an owner.
“I think he would’ve,” he mused. Dean liked basically everyone, if they were kind. And Ran was definitely kind. “And… Yeah. I think I would’ve liked you, too.”
“A general idea should be enough, right?” No matter how big America was, surely they would be able to find each other… It would be too cruel to think that Sam might get all the way back to his home country but never find his brother again. Ran sipped her tea, ducking her head at the thought that he would have been her friend, even in a different lifetime. “Thank you, Sam. I know I would have liked you, too. I’m really, really glad that you’re my friend.”
She set her cup down quietly on the table. “I think… tomorrow, I’m going to call someone over. Miwa-san is really good at technical sorcery. If there’s a way to open the wards to let you through, she’ll be able to find it.” Ran looked away from the table, at the deceptively normal-seeming wooden kitchen door. “If we can’t force our way through, we’ll have to go around to get you out.”
“I don’t know when we’ll get a chance to use it, or how long it’ll take Miwa-san to work up a solution. But when she does… be ready, okay? I’ll take you as far as I can, until you can get away for sure.” She’d promised him weeks ago… she would be with him every step of the way.
Sam’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’d really do that?” he asked. Sure, she’d promised, and she was very kind, but the thought of actually getting out, of going home… “Your family wouldn’t approve,” he warned, not wanting her to risk herself. “Letting me go free… That’s not an easy task.”
Ran looked back at him quizzically. “No, they won’t be happy at all - not Mom anyway. But in the end it’s just a matter of money, and for my mother it’s a matter of pride. ...It’s not like she’ll beat me or anything!” Though certainly she’d be punished somehow, but Ran wouldn’t worry Sam with that if she could help it.
“Hinata will help because she knows it’s the right thing to do, and Kanon’s not a big fan of the auctions, though she won’t tell me why.” Ran gazed at the wilted tea bag at the bottom of her empty cup. “It doesn’t matter if it won’t be easy. I promised you, Sam.” She made herself smile at him, because this wasn’t about her. “Besides, easy things aren’t worth doing, right?”
Pause. “...Wait, I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to go...”
