Return of the Fallen Volume 3 Chapter 32
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch32
Nunully had been kept busy for several hours but there was one person she could do nothing for.
Lying silently, lost in the recesses of herself, Asuna had yet to awaken. After stabilizing Sam, Asuna was the very next person Nunully had checked on. She had checked her body entirely and found no wound to speak of. Her breathing was normal, her blood was pumping at a constant and steady rate and everything else seemed to be fine. Nunully was stumped and had never seen nor heard of a condition like this in her entire life.
After confirming that she was without an injury and was in a deep sleep, Nunully could do nothing else and decided to help the others who were hurt. Only after several hours did she return to Asuna’s side.
“Ryuta, is there any change?”
Nunully knelt down by little Mei. Mei was holding Asuna’s hand while quietly humming a song. This was the only thing she could do for big sis Asuna and it wouldn’t cause any harm, so everyone left her be.
Kazuki sat on the opposite side of Nunully. Looking down at Asuna he sent a few tendrils of ki into Asuna but he as well could find no difference from before and shook his head.
“Nothing. That attack from Zetsu’s eyes, that colorful light, it was a soul attack.”
Nunully was left confused at this new term. Before Kazuki said more, Shin came over as well.
“How is she?”
Nunully shook her head.
“I see. After that weird light hit her, she just collapsed like a lifeless doll. I was asking the villagers what it was but they didn’t know either. It seems this was the first time any of them had even witnessed such an attack from Zetsu. Geil and the other villagers came to the same conclusion as me. Our fight…we pushed Zetsu pretty hard and he was forced to use that move. What I don’t understand though is Asuna was hit with it and she’s in this state but you were also hit with the same move and yet you got up only seconds after being struck with that weird light. Why?”
There was no reason to hide it from Shin but at the same time, he didn’t wish to explain unnecessary things. If he were to tell Shin that he dreamed about his dead brother and that in order to wake up he was pushed from an imaginary tree and that the impact awoke him, that would be too much. So instead he borrowed Nunully as an excuse and said Nunully told him.
“It was a soul attack that Zetsu used on me and Asuna. Once that light from Zetsu enters your eye, it hits you with an attack that shakes your very soul. This robs you of your consciousness, which in return cuts you off from both your body and your power, making it even harder to break free and awaken.”
“But why the eye though? Does that mean that if we simply shut our eyes Thousand leg Zetsu’s attack will fail?”
“Some say the eyes are the window to the soul ut that could be an old wives tale, who knows. Truth be told no one here knows for sure if the eye is the only way for his magic to get through.”
Shin nodded for a moment but the same question came back to him.
“This still doesn’t explain how you awoke. There must be a reason right? There has to be some clue, something we can learn from your experience to use on Asuna. Is there anything that comes to mind?”
Kazuki wondered where the astute Shin had come from and where the clown went. At the same time, he didn’t mind the Shin, that would actually try and figure shit out for once. Kazuki carefully explained what happened to him while changing and twisting details so as to not include his dead brother.
“When I was out cold, I dreamt of my past. Although it was a dream it felt as real as this conversation right now. I felt pain and terror, desperation and more. I knew it was a dream, I truly did but still, it felt so real. A good amount of time passed in there and I had no clue how to get out. Only after leaping from a cliff and slamming into the ground did I finally wake up. If Asuna is experiencing the same blur between reality, she may find it difficult.”
“Difficult?”
Shin raised a brow questioningly.
Kazuki nodded.
“The fall wasn’t the first thing I tried to escape. I tried my power but for the life of me, I could no longer sense it at all. The number of things I did, in the end, I chose my last resort, death. Death though was actually the right call. Right before I hit the ground in there.”
*Snap*
Kazuki snapped his fingers.
“Like a light, I was back.”
“That was it?”
“Yep.”
Shin raised his hands up in defeat. Eventually, he went quiet and sat down, trying to mull things over and figure something out.
Kazuki thought about the moment he reawakened and remembered the scene in front of his eyes. Sam, Kimi, and Nunully, all three of them had saved his life. They stood guard in front of him and Asuna and held off Zetsu from crushing the two. If Sam didn’t use his strength, Kimi, her barrier of light and Nunully her column of ice, Kazuki and Asuna would have long been dead.
Up to this point, Kazuki had continued to travel with them because they could be useful to him but the way they protected him, the way they were willing to just sacrifice themselves so readily. After being thrown down to earth, Kazuki could trust no one. No one cared for him and he two cared for no one else. His master though was the exception.
Maya was just like a grandmother to Kazuki and although she was harsh at times, her love and care for Kazuki were genuine. After her tragic death, Kazuki’s heart once more sealed itself away and remained like that for many years. Then he came back to Gordonia and met new people. He didn’t feel anything towards these naive young fools at first but now he could no longer say that.
These people would throw there lives away in a heartbeat to save Kazuki and Kazuki knew it. Kazuki for the first time felt a tinge of guilt towards them. Kazuki contemplated whether or not he should tell them all the truth after escorting Nunully to the Rin mountain range.
(Once we make it to Rin, maybe…maybe I should tell them. By then my Mage core will be re-forged and the aura from my compass will be hidden. The danger surrounding us will be no more and then we can part amicably. Maybe or maybe telling them would do no good and would only insight their rage. They might see it for what it really was, a trick. What would I do to the person who lied to me again and again and again? What would I do to the person whom I trusted who repeatedly broke that trust and put me in danger? If it were me being manipulated…The things I would do to that person.)
*Haaa*
Kazuki couldn’t help but release a long sigh. Turning to Nunully he whispered to her.
“Thank you.”
Nunully was caught off guard by this and wondered if she misheard him.
“Eh..um…what?”
“You saved both Asuna, as well as my life back there and I hadn’t gotten the chance to thank you yet. Even though you didn’t have to, even though you could have done nothing, you risked your neck for me. I’m sorry for being a burden. Thank you, Nunully.”
The tips of Nunully’s ears became a shade of pink but seeing Kazuki’s somber expression she quickly calmed down and wondered why he was acting so strange. Still, she stammered her own words and dramatically shook her hands in front of her.
“No no no, If anyone is the burden it’s me. You all are constantly saving me. Because I’m not strong or fast, everyone always has to carry me in those situations. Not only that, most of the dangerous enemies we face, I feel like my ice barely does anything. I…I’m the one weighing everyone down.”
Kazuki’s eyes shot up and he grabbed Nunully’s frantically waving hands.
“What!, that’s just not true. Your ice is amazing. The battle earlier for example. When Sam was in a pinch, you threw a wall of ice in front of him and with that, he managed to kick off of it and propel himself to safety before Zetsu crushed it in the blink of an eye. Oh, speaking of eyes. When Shin was about to be crushed, Your well-timed ice spear stabbed deeply into one of his eyes and that threw him off and saved Shin’s life. And, as I said earlier, you helped save my life, with Sam and Kimi, when I and Asua were almost crushed. Besides all of that, you also look after us and take care of our wounds. You can always summon water when we’re thirsty. Actually when you look at it, your one of the most important members. That’s why your not a burden. In fact, your the furthest thing from it, so stop being so don’t keep hiding away in the corner all the time and speak up when somethings bothering you. Just be honest, I won’t hate someone for being honest.”
Kazuki was originally feeling down and a bit guilty for lying and manipulating but Nunully’s actions reminded him of what she said a bit ago. Ever since she left Tresta, she had been very reserved and no longer seemed like that same confident young lady he had met before but it all made sense to him now. All this time Nunully felt like a burden or that she was in the way. Especially since half the reason they had to flee from Tresta and away from Garn was because she was half elf.
Kazuki didn’t know why but he wanted Nunully to go back to being herself. To no longer be so reserved and for her to just be honest. In his mind at least one of them should be their real self.
Nunully didn’t know what to say after all that. Her head silently fell and tears began to flow from her face as she began to sob.
Mei wasn’t paying attention earlier but now that tears were involved, Mei had to poke her nose into it. She grabbed Nunuly’s sleeve and pulled a few times.
“Big sis whats the wrong, why are you sad?”
Nunully slowly lifted her head and shook her head. Wiping a few of the tears away she smiled and released a charmingly sweet chuckle.
“Nothings wrong and I am definitely not sad, instead your big sis feels incredibly happy right now.”
Nunully looked at Kazuki and her smile beamed even brighter. Kazuki returned the smile.
Mei looked back and forth between Kazuki and Nunully and tilted her little head in confusion.
“Eh, I don’t get it what are you two smiling about?”
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