Tales of a Lost Sword 8

Episode 8 To Continue!
The peaceful day in Ellinia continues undisturbed, the sunlight reaching the moderately-sized home at a slight slant. Trails of ivy run up and down along the walls of the home, the freshly painted red tiles of its roof decorated with fallen leaves from the trees surrounding it. More leaves cover the trail of gravel and dirt leading up to the house. A pleasant column of gray smoke floats out of the chimney on the roof.

Kunai steps up to the entrance of the home, his footsteps crunching slightly on the ground. He peers at the painted green door with a bit of uncertainty. He sniffs the air, a tiny hint of surprise on his face. With a deep breath, he reaches forward and knocks on the wooden door.

After several moments, Ryuu opens the door. He stands at the doorway for some more seconds, staring silently at Kunai, a look of thorough embarrassment on his face.

Kunai glances at Ryuu questioningly. “Ryuu, what’s wrong? Your face is all red.”

“Ah…i-it’s nothing,” Ryuu stutters. He sighs, as if resigning himself to acknowledging his visitor. Ryuu steps aside, allowing Kunai to step into the cozy interior.

Kunai peers about at the surroundings of Ryuu’s home. The entrance hallway is surprisingly homey, a stark contrast to Ryuu’s utilitarian office. A few pair of shoes litter the floor near the door, while several umbrellas and hats are stacked haphazardly on the side. The heads of several monsters line the wall, along with a photo of the former Joukai.

“It’s kinda warm in here. What smells so nice, Ryuu?” Kunai asks upon entering.

Ryuu proceeds to grow redder, his eyes clearly avoiding Kunai’s. “It’s lunch,” he mumbles.

Kunai raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you knew how to cook, Ryuu. I remember it was always one of the others who cooked for us back when we were journeying throughout the world.”

Ryuu ignores Kunai. He steps into an adjacent room, where there are two sofas and a few mismatched chairs haphazardly gathered around the room.

Kunai jerks in surprise as he notices that the room is not empty. Mira and Ophelia are seated side-by-side on one of the sofas. The two of them look up as Kunai and Ryuu enter the room.

“Ah! Kunai!” Ophelia cries, her eyes glittering. She dashes up to Kunai, grabbing him by the arm. “Thank you for saving Mira! I don’t know what I would’ve done if Mira was…if Mira…if she…”

Kunai blushes as Ophelia begins blubbering, her eyes two balls of watery crystal. He shakes his head, patting the girl on the back and attempting to shake her off. “It’s…it was nothing.”

“It really wasn’t, Ophelia,” Mira says from the couch, having not moved an inch at all. “He got captured trying to ‘rescue’ me and then he goes and gets himself almost chopped into pieces before Ryuu rescued him.”

Kunai sighs. “Gee, one is blubbering over me, the other could care less.”

Ryuu takes a seat on one of the chairs, signaling for Kunai to take a seat as well. Kunai sits down, staring about the room, first at the two girls, and then at Ryuu.

“So Ryuu, you invited me to your place to meet up with the comrades you selected for me on my mission…” Kunai starts. He turns to the two girls. “You didn’t choose these two, did you?!”

“Don’t say that like you don’t want us!” Mira shouts.

“What mission?” Ophelia asks at the same time.

Ryuu sighs, grumbling under his breath for a bit. “No, Kunai, I didn’t appoint these two. They’re just students at the Academy; they wouldn’t be ready for this sort of mission. They just happened to show up in order to thank us for saving Mira.”

Ryuu clears his throat, his face growing serious now. “No, the person I chose for you is…”

“Yo! What’s up?” a voice says from the hallway. A Bishop with short brown hair steps into the room, leaning slightly on his Kage.

Kunai’s eyes widen as they fall upon the familiar face. “You…Zack! What are you doing here?”

“I called up Zack to aid you on your mission,” Ryuu says. “He was the only one available, actually.”

Zack pouts, glaring at Ryuu. “Don’t say that like I was your last choice, Redheaded Gorilla!”

A nerve twitches in Ryuu’s temple. “Don’t call me that.”

“Oh, scary!” Zack cries. He strides into the room, taking a seat across from Kunai. He looks Kunai straight in the eye, his own eyes glimmering. “Long time no see, Kunai. Ya look even stronger than the last time I saw ya.”

“R-Really?” Kunai blurts out. ‘That’s funny…if anything, I feel weaker.’

“Anyway,” Ryuu interrupts, “like I said, Zack was the only one I could find on such short notice. Ideally, I’d like for you to go with a three or four member team, but with so little time to prepare and us in such a hurry…”

“Zack will be fine,” Kunai says, a frosty determination having taken over his face. “I think you might be right in suggesting that three or four people might be better, but two is enough. Although…what happened to Silver? And Sasha?”

Ryuu shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Silver has been doing her own thing in the Rift World…as for Sasha…well, she…”

“Ryuu, lunch is ready!” Sasha says, stepping into the room, cradling a newborn in her arms. Silence falls.

Ryuu lowers his head, hiding his face with his palm. His ears appear as red as his hair.

Kunai’s eyes widen, as his jaw drops. He suppresses one snigger. Zack grins sheepishly to himself, his face pointed away from Ryuu and Sasha.

An awkward silence falls as Kunai, Ryuu, Sasha, Zack, Mira, and Ophelia each take their own seats behind the dining table. An impressive feast is laid out on the table, as steam rises pleasantly over the group.

Kunai, sitting next to Ryuu at the head of the table, turns to him. “Why didn’t you tell me you married Sasha?”

“It never came up,” Ryuu replies in a low voice.

Kunai lowers his voice as well, until it is barely audible over the clink of cutlery from the others. “What about Ayame?”

Ryuu’s eyes grow cold, as he pierces Kunai with them. “It was time to move on. I needed to finally move on and live my life, Kunai. That’s what Ayame would have wanted as well.”

Kunai nods, his dark eyes cold and grim. He turns to his own plate of food. “I understand.”

“Kunai,” Zack says at Kunai’s other side, his mouth stuffed to the brim with food, “so ‘e need t’tok ‘bout ur tip.”

“Er…I think I got that, Zack,” Kunai replies uncertainly.

Zack swallows. “We need t’figure out an itinerary so that we know where to look for this Anti-Paradox thingamabob. We’d waste a lot of time just wanderin’ around aimlessly.”

“I was thinking about starting the search in New Leaf City. A big city like that, we’ll probably hear a lot of rumors. Someone there might be able to give us a lead.”

“All right,” Zack grins, “then I guess we launch the search for this Anti-Paradox thing there!”

“What’s an Anti-Paradox?” Ophelia asks in the slight pause in conversation that follows. “If there’s anything we can do to help…”

Ryuu lowers his fork, his expression serious. “Forget it, Ophelia. I don’t want you or your sister to get involved in this. This is dangerous stuff. Your mother would kill me if I put your lives at risk by getting you involved with our affairs more than you already have.”

“No fair!” Ophelia cries, her face falling.

Mira grits her teeth, furrowing her eyebrows. “That’s not fair, Headmaster Ryuu. We’re your students; this is exactly what we’re training for! If we’re not allowed to get involved, then what’s the point in completing our training anyway?”

“That’s exactly the point,” Ryuu growls, “you’re not finished with your training yet. You’re not ready to handle this type of danger. This is the real world we’re talking about, not some simulated exam. There are real world consequences if you screw up.”

“But if we don’t get any real world experience now, then once we do leave the Academy, we’d still be useless!” Mira protests, slamming her fist on the table. “Besides, from everything we’ve heard, the Four let you guys do all sorts of things before you were even done at the Joukai Academy!”

“This is different!” Ryuu cries.

“I dunno, Ryuu dearest,” Zack interrupts, just as the situation appears to grow tense. “Ya did say we could use more’n two people, and we got two willing participants here.”

“You don’t need to be so stubborn all the time, Ryuu,” Sasha chips in.

Ryuu sighs, folding his arms. “I don’t like where this is headed at all. Very well. Kunai, you’re in charge of this mission. This is your decision.”

Kunai nods grimly, turning his attention to the two girls sitting across from him. He stares them down. “Can you two fight?” he asks Mira.

“Of course,” Mira cries, “I’m one of the best fighters in my class, and Ophelia is a bit of a klutz on the battlefield, but she’s one of the best mages I know.”

“Okay,” Kunai says slowly, “I’ll look forward to your help.”

“Yay!” Ophelia exclaims.

“That’s a relief,” Mira says at the same time.

Kunai stands alone at the threshold of Ryuu’s house. After several moments of staring at the opened entrance, Ryuu appears at the doorway. He leans against the door frame, a tired look on his face.

“Even though I don’t approve of you taking two of my students on a dangerous journey, it’s your choice, Kunai,” Ryuu says. “I trust you enough not to let them get killed, which would result in their mother killing me. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care and tread carefully.”

“You would understand a little bit more how mothers feel now, eh, Ryuu?” Kunai teases.

Ryuu’s face grows red as an apple. “Look, it’s bad enough that you’re making fun of me for it, if someone like Arai were here—”

Both Ryuu and Kunai throw their eyes to the ground at the sudden mention of the name. Ryuu is the first to break the silence. “Sorry, Kunai.”

“No,” Kunai mutters, his voice low at first, “I think I understand a little how you feel. You’ve got to move on from the tragedies that happen, no matter how painful…because otherwise, you’ll never be able to move on.”

“Yeah,” Ryuu nods, his eyes still cold. “Sorry about not inviting you to the wedding, Kunai. Even though it was really small and low-key, I would’ve—”

“Heeeeeeeeeey!” Zack shouts from afar, waving his arm enthusiastically. “Time t’take off, Kunaiiiiii!”

Kunai turns, waving to Zack. He turns back to Ryuu. “All right, time for me to leave. It’s gonna be weird taking off on a journey without you, Ryuu.”

Ryuu smiles grimly in response. “In the five years since I last saw you, Kunai, you’ve done plenty of adventuring on your own. You’re more than capable of handling this alone. You don’t need me anymore, Kunai.”

Ryuu suddenly gives a start. “Oh, wait, Kunai.” He strides back into his house, and returns momentarily with a large, slightly dusty tome. “I’m in charge of handing these out now…” He hands the volume over to Kunai, who takes it with some slight confusion.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a skill book for Night Roads,” Ryuu answers, “I’ve compiled all the skills into this book here. You haven’t yet completed your Fourth Job Advancement yet, right Kunai? Normally the process is lengthy and complicated, but given the circumstances, I’ll have to award it to you in an abbreviated fashion. Defeat your clone, Kunai. Once you do, I’ll promote you to Night Road. This is your Fourth Job Advancement.”

Kunai bites his lip, tearing up suddenly. Ryuu jerks back in surprise. “Thank you…thank you for all you’ve done for me over the years, Ryuu,” Kunai says. “I’ll definitely come back with Myou.”

Ryuu grins, a look of pride and determination in his face. “That’s what I like to hear, Kunai. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yeah!” Kunai shouts, turning and sprinting to join Zack, Mira, and Ophelia, who have gathered outside the gate to Ryuu’s home.

Ryuu watches the four depart down the road far into the distance. He sighs, staring as they turn into tiny specks against the tree-lined horizon.

‘Kunai…when did you develop a habit of lying? You haven’t moved on at all. The only reason why you’re taking those two girls with you is because they remind you of…’

The two graves lay silently side by side, a stream of sunshine poking free through the canopy of forest trees and shining directly on them. A butterfly floats gently around the two graves, landing on the tiniest of flowers growing in the space just between the two graves. A peaceful silence surrounds the entire scene.

Suddenly, footsteps crunching on grass disturb the silence of the clearing. The butterfly takes off into the air, disappearing into the haze of golden-white sunlight. A pair of boots appears from out of the forest of trees surrounding the clearing. A heavily bandaged man with crimson red hair emerges from within the darkness of the trees. Strapped to his back is a rifle.

He narrows his eyes, staring at the two graves. He whistles, putting his hands in his pockets. Suddenly, he looks down and picks up a single strand of purple hair from the grass.

A wild, malevolent grin appears on his face.