Tales of a Lost Sword 73

Kidnappings and awkward hugs. /chapter
Episode 73 Restless Night
Kunai splashes water onto his face, the images of his dream still haunting him even as they begin to fade. For several seconds, he stares silently at his own frowning reflection in the dark water. Finally he turns away from the tiny stream, finding his way back towards the campsite where a campfire has been set up. Cynthia is sitting alone on a log, tending to the fire as she stares mysteriously into its flickering flames.

She looks up as Kunai returns. “Are you sure you’re all right, Kunai?”

“Yeah…” Kunai sighs, plopping back down onto his sleeping bag. He places a hand to his temple, his palm covering his eyes. The cool air from the stream water evaporating against the warmth of the fire soothes his forehead considerably.

‘Was it a dream or not? If it wasn’t…’ Kunai wonders.

Cynthia looks worriedly at Kunai. A spark flies free from the fire with a crackle. “Is there something bothering you, Kunai?” she asks softly. “You look worried. I…I…may not be the best person to talk to, but—”

“Has Zack still not come back with more firewood yet?”

A slightly crestfallen look sneaks into Cynthia’s illuminated face. She quickly turns away from the firelight, shrouding her face in darkness.

“No.”

“I see.” Kunai leans back on his sleeping bag, gazing up at the multitude of stars in the sky above them. He sighs, his eyes glazing over as he peers into the boundless heavens.

“If I could make one wish on a star right now, it would be to defeat those Fatalists…”

After Kunai’s words, a look of resolution suddenly fills Cynthia’s face. She nods, as if reassuring herself. “Kunai. If it comes down to it, then to get to the Sheath, you can sac—”

“What are you talking about?” Kunai interrupts in a low voice.

“Eh?” Cynthia looks up with surprise. She gazes at Kunai wonderingly.

“I am not going to sacrifice you to obtain the Sheath. No matter what. It’s not just you, either. I’d be sacrificing Mira and Ophelia. There is no way I would sacrifice you three even if it meant defeating the Fatalists. We’ll find another way. I will not follow in Arai’s footsteps.”

Unseen by Kunai, a faint smile of relief creeps across Cynthia’s face. “I see…” she murmurs, staring down at her feet.

Kunai returns to a sitting position, glancing awkwardly at Cynthia. “I’m sorry about your arm earlier…I don’t know what came over me so suddenly. It must’ve been a bad nightmare.”

‘No, it wasn’t…’

“It’s okay.” Cynthia absentmindedly inspects her arm, where white bandages have been wrapped around the wound. “You kind of surprised me, the way you grabbed my arm so suddenly like that. I wasn’t expecting it.”

“I’m sorry, Cynthia.”

“Eh?”

Kunai sighs, staring at the patches of dirt on the ground lit up by the fire. “When I first met you, I was afraid to talk to you. You reminded me so much of Ivy and Ayame. Just looking at you brought back all those memories…but I realize now that you’re a completely different person. It wasn’t fair of me to treat you like them.”

Cynthia glances at Kunai, her bright green eyes revealing very little of the thoughts within. However, a slight frown crosses her lips at the mention of Ivy and Ayame. Eventually, though, Cynthia sighs, and a bittersweet smile creeps back into her face. All this happens only within the space of a few seconds.

“I think I understand a little bit how you feel, Kunai,” Cynthia murmurs, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I was still so young when the two of them disappeared. I never really got to know them very well. I know what it’s like to lose people… My dad was killed by the Myougun Empire.”

“What?!” Kunai looks up, startled by this unforeseen revelation.

“Yeah,” Cynthia whispers back softly, “it happened when I was about six or seven. I don’t really remember all of the details, but…”

“I see. I didn’t know that.” Kunai peers around at his surroundings, at the tall trees towering over them, at the dark, starry sky, and at the fire crackling brightly between them. He suddenly balls his hand into a shaking fist and punches the ground.

“I’m tired of losing people precious to me! I’ve already lost way too many people…” Kunai breathes into his chest, his eyes clenched tightly shut to keep the tears in. “That’s why…there’s no way I could ever sacrifice you as well to get the Sheath! Even if it was the only way!”

Cynthia, startled by these words, blushes with embarrassment, but the light of the fire hides it from view. Kunai turns away from her, looking into the darkness beyond. “We’ll find some other way to beat the Fatalists. I promise. I’ll never let you die because of the Sheath. Not when I’ve already lost three people close to me the same way…and now Ryuu as well…!”

Without warning, Cynthia suddenly comes over to Kunai from behind and wraps her arms around him in a warm embrace. Kunai looks up with surprise, tears in his eyes that no one else can see. He breathes in Cynthia’s flowery scent as the two hold on to one another in the light of the glowing fire.

“It’ll be okay, Kunai…what Fayvard did was wrong. We will definitely not let Ryuu’s death go to waste.”

Kunai frowns from between Cynthia’s arms. The firelight continues to flicker over them. “I know,” he mumbles in a low voice. “Ryuu was my teacher, but he was also like a brother to me…that’s why I cannot forgive anyone, not even Fayvard, for killing him!”

Cynthia lets Kunai go, kneeling on the ground behind him and staring at his dark back. “That’s why you have to succeed him. Forget about Fayvard, Kunai. If Ryuu was your teacher, then it is time to take his place now that he is gone. You’re the only one who can lead us to victory against the Fatalists now, Kunai. Finish what Ryuu could not.”

Kunai turns, looking over his shoulder at Cynthia’s flustered face in the firelight. He stares at her wonderingly, his eyes still slightly glassy but now lit up with a newfound appreciation for the girl behind him. “Cynthia…”

Unbeknownst to both Kunai and Cynthia, a pair of eyes watches them from within the darkness of the surrounding trees. Zack looks on quietly, a smile on his gentle face as he leans against the shadowy silhouette of a tree.

‘There really is no other way to win.’ Fayvard sits still on the ground, leaning against the trunk of a tree as he watches Rill, Silver, Wake, and Mira slumbering in their sleeping bags all around him. A shaft of moonlight breaks through the canopy of trees above them, coming to a stop just over Fayvard’s shoulder.

Quietly, Fayvard rises to his feet, his sheathed sword at his side. The rustle of leaves on the ground is the only sound that permeates the chill night air. He glares at Mira’s sleeping face, pale and peaceful in the cold nighttime air. Fayvard slams his fist against the tree, its bark crackling softly in resistance.

‘Yes…I have to do it! Obtaining the Sheath is the only way to win against the Fatalists. The only problem is getting to the third Anti-Phoneme…that girl Ophelia is still in the other dimension, and with the path back home now shut, it’s not gonna be easy to get to her. I’m going to have to figure out a way to get to her. But in the meantime, at least I have two of the three within reach now!’

Fayvard’s nefarious green eyes glitter in the moonlight as he approaches Mira sneakily, hovering over her from above. ‘Even Ryuu would agree with me that there is no choice. This is the only way to win against the Fatalists.’

Without the others noticing, Fayvard silently stoops down over Mira’s sleeping figure. He places a finger to his lips and breathes out a noxious green gas that slowly envelops Mira.

The sleeping girl winces uncomfortably in her sleep for a moment, before going dead still. Her head nods as the poison takes effect. Fayvard then proceeds to lift her straight out of her sleeping bag, carrying her over his shoulder. With one last glance behind at his comrades, Fayvard departs the scene, disappearing into the night.
—END SEVENTY-THREE—