"i forbid you to die, do you hear me?" you clutch at the silken material of your skirts, silently cursing at the tender flesh it covers, wishing iron and scales into existence though you know it's a helpless, hopeless ask, an ache settling in your chest as hinata watches you with soft, warm eyes.
he drops to one knee, the clank of his armor cracking against stone, sharp and solid as heartbreak.
"if that's what my princess commands."
he lowers his head, ever the willing apostle to his gold-crowned messiah. you reach forward to take his chin and force his eyes back up to meet yours.
"yes," you grit out, forcing back the hot prickle of tears as outside, the battle drum thumps like the baseline beat of a funeral march, "i command you to live, to come back to me in one piece or --" your voice fractures along the fault line of his crooked smile, his dark, adoring eyes.
"or you'll bring me back to life just to kill me yourself, right?" he asks, in a voice that's tender enough to bruise. you nod, pulling back, blinking furiously at anything but him as he pushes slowly back to his feet.
"i'll come back, princess, if you promise me one thing --"
your head whips around at the uncertain waver of his voice, so unlike him it makes your stomach flip. you're about to say something else before he grabs his sword and sheaths it with a sharp shink.
and when he looks back up, his voice is steady when he says --