Tales of a Lost Sword 21

Episode 21 The Foil and the Book
Ryuu tracks Kunai’s stare. “Kunai, this is—”

“Fayvard Vincent Ralphus Lunari,” Fayvard interjects, jabbing a thumb at his own chest.

“He was an original member of the Joukai,” Ryuu explains, “and he will be able to help us.”

“Wait a minute,” Kunai says, “I thought you and Arai were the only original members left. What’s going on?”

“That’s what I thought as well,” Ryuu replies, “but it seems that was not the case. I discovered recently he’d been sealed within a book all this time by Grendel.”

“Sealed by Grendel?” Kunai repeats, puzzled.

“Yep,” Fayvard grunts. He folds his arms, staring off into space. “Apparently I was pretty badly injured in some big fight back when the Myougun were hunting down us Joukai and old man Grendel decided to seal me up to save me for another day. Thinking back, he probably just wanted to get rid of me. It didn’t help that I was a constant asshole and always got on his nerves! Hahaha!”

Kunai stares lamely at Fayvard. He turns to Ryuu. “Is this guy really gonna help us in our fight against the Fatalists?”

“Of course,” Ryuu growls. “He was an upperclassman of mine in the Joukai Academy, and he briefly captained my platoon back when I was just starting out as a fulltime member. I think Fayvard’s an asshole as well, but his skills surpass even mine. I’ve never even once beaten him in a sword fight. So I was pretty surprised when I learned that Grendel had sealed him away years ago. He never told anybody about what happened to Fayvard, at least not to me.”

“Hey, who you calling an asshole?!” Fayvard howls at Ryuu, a vein popping in his temple.

Ryuu sighs. “You were just calling yourself an asshole a minute ago!” he shouts back.

“Never once beaten him in a sword fight…?” Kunai murmurs to himself, staring at Fayvard. “He’s that strong?!”

The door into the room suddenly slides open yet again. One of the Kimuras’ servants walks into the room, bowing low to those present. “Master Hiraku is now ready to see you,” he says in a soft voice.

“Yeah, thanks,” Ryuu replies, ignoring Fayvard’s attempts to strangle him.

“Hiraku?” Kunai says. “What are you seeing him about?”

“Remember I said I was coming here on business,” Ryuu answers. “It seems Hiraku has major news concerning the Anti-Paradox. I came here to hear what he had to say.”

“The Anti-Paradox?” Kunai says, quickly drawing out the pendant in his hand.

“Yeah,” Ryuu growls. “In fact, you should probably come to this meeting too. You’ve been pretty heavily involved in the Anti-Paradox business, this is something you probably might want to hear about.”

Kunai, Ryuu, and Fayvard sit down on the tatami mats in the middle of a medium-sized room in the Kimura mansion. Next to Kunai, Fayvard fidgets about restlessly, picking at his teeth with his finger.

Kunai frowns exasperatedly, glaring at Fayvard. ‘Is he really gonna be able to help us?’

The door slides open. Hiraku now steps in, followed behind by a dwarf with a long white beard. Kunai jumps to his feet upon sight of the dwarf.

“George?!”

Hiraku glances from Kunai to George. “Ah, then it would appear that you are familiar with each other?”

George nods. “Indeed. I have worked with them on a few occasions before.”

“Then this will be simpler than I imagined,” Hiraku says, as Kunai hurriedly kneels down again.

“Hiraku,” Ryuu says firmly, staring Hiraku in the eye. “What have you called me here to talk about?”

“Indeed, I have exciting news,” Hiraku replies, “I would like to tell you that we have at last developed a proper Anti-Paradox.”

Ryuu’s eyes widen. “An Anti-Paradox?!”

“Yes,” George growls in a low voice, “as you know I have always been skilled in hybrid seal technology. The Kimura family approached me some time ago with a request to develop an Anti-Paradox. I believe I have created one.”

“Then…” Kunai says, clutching Takuya’s pendant in his hand. “We finally have a real Anti-Paradox we can use? What was the point in defeating Takuya then?”

Hiraku turns to Kunai. “Kunai, your defeat of Takuya was not in vain. On behalf of my family, I thank you for defeating him. He was an unfortunate lost soul. Now that he has passed, his soul shall be free.”

“Unfortunately, the Anti-Paradox I have developed is not fully operational either,” George announces.

“Not fully operational?” Fayvard grunts impatiently. “Then why even tell us you made it?”

“No, it will work,” George retorts. “But it has a fifty percent chance of failure.”

“Fifty percent chance of failure?!” Ryuu mutters.

“Yes, unfortunately I was unable to improve its chances of success by any more,” George replies, “but I assure you that this is the best I could do with current technology.”

George suddenly reaches into his coat pocket, and withdraws from it a single silver ring. “This is the Anti-Paradox. I ask that you take care of it and make good use of it.”

He hands the Anti-Paradox to Hiraku, who proceeds to stride over to Ryuu, handing it over to him. Ryuu shakes his head. “It’s no use giving it to me. Give it to Kunai, he is the one who will need it the most.”

Hiraku then turns to Kunai, holding out the ring to him silently. Kunai takes it with some hesitation, staring at the silver ring now in the palm of his hand.

Kunai stares at the ring for some time. Finally, he speaks. “What happens if the Anti-Paradox fails when you use it?”

George turns to Kunai. “Failure will result in a massive—”

“That’s enough, George,” Ryuu interrupts, getting to his feet. “It’s better if we don’t know what happens if the Anti-Paradox fails. Failure isn’t an option for us. We just have to trust in your work and believe that it will succeed.”

“Very well,” George bows.

“If anything, it’ll probably just make you psycho like that bastard we fought back there,” Fayvard laughs raucously, putting a hand around Kunai and slapping him forcefully on the back.

Kunai looks at the two Anti-Paradoxes in his hands, the ring in the left, the pendant in the right. He takes a particularly long look at the ring. ‘If I use this…there’s a fifty percent chance it may fail. Is it really worth the risk to get back the powers of my sword?’

Kunai clears his throat. “It’s all well and good that we have these Anti-Paradoxes in our possession now, but…I’m not even in position to make use of these yet. I still have to defeat…him.”

Ryuu glances at Kunai. He sighs. “Kunai, can I have a word with you in private?”

“Hm?” Kunai mutters, looking up at Ryuu. He rises to his feet as well. “All right…”

Kunai and Ryuu stand together, side by side, at a balcony on the second floor of the Kimura manor. They look out into the horizon beyond, where Showa Town is laid out before them, reaching out into the edges of the forest of the Mushroom Shrine in the distance. A few crows fly into the air far away.

Kunai stares at Ryuu uncertainly, as the latter glares at the horizon. “Um, Ryuu…what did you want to talk to me about?”

“So you still haven’t defeated your clone?” Ryuu grunts.

Surprised, Kunai shakes his head. “No…”

Ryuu sighs, pounding his fist against the railing of the balcony. “We’re running out of time. The Fatalists will be coming any time now. I’m counting on you, Kunai.”

“How can you have so much faith in me?” Kunai mutters, his eyes pointing towards the ground. “I haven’t been able to win a single battle since I came back. I lost against Soma, I lost against Takuya…the only reason we won those battles was because someone else came and saved the day.”

“You can’t think that way, Kunai,” Ryuu replies in a low voice. “If you lose one, you have to believe you’ll win the next one. That’s all.”

“I can’t win against him!” Kunai howls, punching the air with his fist. “Why can’t you understand that?! There’s no way I can defeat my other self right now!” His eyes bulge wildly.

Ryuu stares at Kunai, taken aback for a moment. Kunai continues on. “And…what’s up with that Fayvard guy?! Can he seriously help us win? I’m starting to think that nothing we do will be enough to beat the Fatalists…they took Ivy and Lily and Ayame away so easily and yet—”

Ryuu suddenly reaches forward and throws a punch at Kunai, hitting him in the eye. Kunai is thrown backward, landing on his bottom harshly on the ground.

“The hell are you talking about?!” Ryuu growls angrily. “This doesn’t sound like you at all. Of course we’ll beat the Fatalists. You’re kidding me if you’re still hanging on to the past like this. And Fayvard may be an idiot, but I’ve already told you he’s stronger than me and that’s enough. If for some reason I weren’t around, he’d be able to take the lead! I’d trust him with my life…”

Ryuu and Kunai gaze at each other silently for several seconds. Finally, Ryuu gathers himself. “I’m leaving,” he says in a huff, stomping back into the mansion inside, leaving Kunai looking up into the air broodingly.

Fayvard stands alone in the room as Ryuu walks back in. “Pep talk didn’t go so well?” Fayvard smirks. “I could go talk some sense into him.”

“No, it’ll be fine,” Ryuu replies solemnly. “I know Kunai best. He’ll figure things out on his own. ‘Scuse me.” Without another word, Ryuu walks past Fayvard and departs from the room.

Fayvard watches Ryuu leave, a smirk on his lips still. “Tch, little Ryuu…one of the things about you was that you never said what you really felt.”

The door from the balcony slides open, with Kunai stepping inside. His right eye is already bruised quite heavily. He looks up as he enters the room. “Ryu—Fayvard?” he begins.

Fayvard turns around, sneering at Kunai. “Yo, kid.”

Without warning, Fayvard aims a punch at Kunai. At the last second, Kunai jumps out of the way. Fayvard’s fist instead crashes into the wall, leaving a hole in it. He shakes his fist violently, swearing.

“WH-WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?!” Kunai shouts, pointing a finger at Fayvard accusingly.

Fayvard smiles sheepishly, still rubbing his fist. “Sorry ‘bout that. But you really pissed off little Ryuu back there, so I was just looking out for him.”

“Wh-what?” Kunai stutters, his entire body tensing suspiciously.

Fayvard steps forward, patting Kunai on the shoulder firmly. “Hey. Listen to me, kid. Ryuu never says what he thinks, so it’s up to me to tell you. He wants you to get over yourself and stop brooding over whatever you’re brooding over. You’ll never get on with things if you let all the bad things drag you down.”

“Thanks,” Kunai mutters darkly, avoiding Fayvard’s eyes, “but I don’t think you’re in any position to understand what I’m feeling right now.”

Kunai stalks off silently. Fayvard watches him leave as well. “Tch, you piss me off…” he mutters to himself.

A slight fog lies over the outskirts of Henesys. The chirping of several birds disturbs the otherwise quiet morning. In town, the townspeople remain either asleep in their homes or silently beginning their preparations for the day. A couple pigs dig around in the grassy plains searching for food.

Out of the fog arrives two figures. The figure on the right holds a massive shield in his hand as he plops down onto the ground. His head of golden hair shines even in the dewy morning fog.

“Whoop!” he cries, slipping slightly on the wet grass. He glances at the shield in his right hand. “Gee, I would look a lot cooler if this shield actually had a sword to go with it.”

“There’s no way Master Arai would let you bring the Sword of Nexon on this mission,” the other figure says. “After all, we are only the reconnaissance group. We won’t need the sword with us. That you’re even holding the Shield of Wizet is a tremendous honor.”

“I suppose you’re right, Rill,” the blonde figure says. “All right…let’s get this mission started!”
—END TWENTY-ONE—