Return of the Fallen Volume 4 Chapter 22
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch22
As Reya raced forward, she raised her ring and followed a bright arrow pointing in a certain direction. Her foot pressed heavily into the ground crushing it beneath her. With each step, her body covered nearly 100 feet. Her frame was large for a woman let alone a man, yet her speed left a myriad of blurs and after images in her wake. Her strength and speed made her a towering figure to most and one could say she was unafraid of anything, that is except her master.
It was due to this fear of her master that left her with a face full of fear. She had one mission and one mission only. She was to retrieve her master’s property, a golden compass. The mission was not at all difficult. The reason being is that her opponents were weak and her master had even given her a way to locate the item she needed to bring back.
Fighting up to this point had been a breeze for her and everything seemed to have been going well. She had killed all of her opponents except for two and she got caught up chasing one down. This was her mistake. She had been chasing Muteki for a bit when her master appeared before her and chewed her out. To disappoint a being with such power was not something a normal person could bear. She gave up her chase of Muteki at once and headed back toward Kazuki, except Kazuki had fled long ago.
Reya felt no worry though and used the tool her Queen Fera had given her. However, she soon found a problem. She had been following the arrow that pointed to the compass’s location but the arrow for some reason began to fade. She had no clue why this was and increased her speed to er utmost limit.
(This can’t be. The arrow is fading. This can’t happen. It was gifted by her majesty herself and imbued with her power as well. It cannot be a problem from master because master is perfect. It must be her runt of a brother. Yes…it has to be his doing, there’s no other explanation.)
Reya had just passed the village she had last seen Kazuki at but saw no signs of him. The arrow floating above the ring was still pointing into the distance and Reya didn’t hesitate to chase after it. However, after traveling for only another minute or so, something inexplicable happened.
The bright arrow hovering above the ring flickered like a lit candle in the wind before the light went out. Reya stopped in her tracks stunned.
(NO! This…This is impossible!)
Reya leaped into the air and two flesh-covered wings erupted from her back and she flew up high into the sky. Her red crimson eyes scanned the horizon in every direction. No matter where she looked though, she could discover no trace of Kazuki.
(He couldn’t have gone far could he? Damn it, why did I have to chase that fool for so long?)
Reya began to get a bad feeling.
(If master finds out I have failed again…my death will be all but guaranteed if I return and even if I don’t, she ordered me to kill myself.)
Reya was absolutely loyal to Fera but the thought of killing herself…A feeling of powerlessness sunk into her.
(Noooooo!)
Reya screamed within her mind. She couldn’t give up. There had to be something, some clue. Reya landed on the ground and thought for a moment.
(That fat one. He gave chase northeast. Yes, as long as they did not change course maybe, maybe there’s a way.)
Reya was about to rush in the direction Abura had gone when she found something in the snow.
(This is…footprints.)
The path these footprints went was slightly off from the direction Abura went but a thought came to Reya.
(These are his companion’s tracks, they have to be. Kazuki fled with that bird creature, whi8le his friends left on foot.)
Reya originally thought Kazuki couldn’t have made it too far but He had escaped on a bird and Reya witnessed the speed of it which was considerable. Thinking about it, she realized Kazuki could be on the other side of a mountain, and without her guiding arrow working she could only wonder uselessly after him.
(He’s smart so even if I followed after him perfectly, he could easily hide himself in the mountains and I could walk right past him and not even know it. On the other hand, if I am even a single step off to the left or right with the distance being as far as it is, I could wander in the wrong direction for hundreds of miles. No, I cannot allow this, I cannot follow after him blindly. Those people that separated from him, however, may have a clue or two of his whereabouts. Maybe they might even know where he’s headed. I could even take one or two as a hostage.)
Reya didn’t know if this was a good plan or not but right now she was desperate. She could chase after Kazuki blindly but she didn’t even know if he was still going in the same direction. For all she knew, he could have turned left heading over the mountains and toward the sea. In that case, it would be nearly impossible to find him. The only choice she felt she had right now was the people on foot.
(Since they traveled on foot, they either can’t fly or are too injured to fly. In either case, I should be able to catch up with them soon. Even if their no help it shouldn’t take long to figure that out. Finding them will only take a few minutes and if they can provide nothing I’ve only lost a few minutes.)
Reya was gambling here but there was nothing else she could do. Observing the tracks carefully, Reya ran ahead, following them closely.
—————————————————————————-
“Where are you going!?”
A call from behind didn’t stop the marching of feet. Instead, the person marching ahead ignored the person behind and kept trekking through the snow.
A hand reached out and grabbed the person in front. A voice filled with aggravation resounded out.
“Shin! Why are you ignoring me? I asked you where you were going?”
Shin turned back and faced a pissed Asuna.
“Why do you care?”
“What!”
Asuna left eyelid twitched in annoyance. Shin though threw her hand off his shoulder and turned around, once again marching forward.
Asuna grabbed him a little tighter and spun him around.
“Don’t walk away from me!”
Shin snapped at her.
“And why the hell not! Who are you to stop me, huh!?”
Danny sat not too far away and couldn’t keep silent anymore. He felt Like Shin was being a jackass when right now they needed to stick together.
“Shin, what’s wrong with you?”
Shin looked over and looked at Sam and Kimi lying unconscious next to Danny. His expression changed slightly.
“I’m not the one with the problem. You all are.”
Asuna barked back.
“What was that? We’re not the ones marching off in the snow to god knows where.”
“I’m not going god knows where so just mind your own business.”
Asuna crossed her arms over her chest.
“Hmpf, then where are you going, huh? Care to enlighten little ol us? Where could you possibly be going in a time like this when your friends need you?”
Shin was about to say something but then shook his head.
“You wouldn’t get it.”
Asuna spread her arms out and shouted.
“GET WHAT! look where we’re at, look what’s going on. What kind of bull shit are you spouting right now? Stop being an asshole for once in your life and just speak clearly. What selfish crap is circling the toilet drain in that thing you call a brain?”
Danny could see that tensions were getting high and tried to calm things down.
“Asuna, that might be too much and Shin, we’re friends right? How are we supposed to know what’s eating at you if you won’t even talk?”
Asuna couldn’t stand the wayShin was acting right now and didn’t want to deal with it after everything that happened but she became pissed at Danny as well with his almost passive attitude given the situation.
“Are you serious right now? We just escaped all those monsters and Sam and Kimi are out and seriously injured. Right now we need to be one and get through this together but Shin is marching off on his own. Not only that but you are being a weak coward as well Danny. Doesn’t any of this bother you? Where is your anger, wheres the outrage? Shin is being selfish and abandoning us like were nothing to him, like we didn’t go through all those messed up things together. No…I don’t think so. He’s not just gonna walk out on us like that.”
The wind howled through the nearby trees after Asuna spoke as though they reflected her temperament.
Danny felt her words like deep cuts and he yelled back.
“You think I’m a coward, you think I’m not angry?”
Danny shook his head in frustration.
“How can you be so blind Asuna. You know nothing of what I feel but I guarantee you beneath this face is a boiling rage but as you said earlier, now is not the time. After what just happened…”
Danny sighed deeply and calmed his raging heart.
*Haaa*
“It’s not appropriate to call anyone anything right now, otherwise it’s your words that will divide and separate us that much sooner. So I would much appreciate it if you hold that tongue of yours for just a bit if you could.”
Asuna’s face twisted but she held her comment back. Danny was right.
Danny faced Shin and spoke calmly.
“Shin, I don’t know what’s going on but can you do us a favor and please tell us so we can move past this like adults or rather if you’re going to continue to act like that just tell us straight up like a man so we no longer have to waste time.”
Shin gnashed his teeth before he slowly opened his mouth and spoke coldly.
“Asuna you speak about me abandoning as though we didn’t experience all that crazy stuff together like we didn’t share life and death. In the end though, didn’t we all do exactly what you’re saying to Ryu…Kazuki.”
Asuna and Danny both froze on the spot at those sharp words. Shin’s fist clenched tightly before he raised a shaky hand and pointed angrily at Asuna.
“Did you not see what I saw. No…The Mind Frey showed it all clearly but you seemed to turn away from the truth. All this time I felt I couldn’t understand Kazuki. I thought he was full of himself and kind of an asshole but that wasn’t it. It’s because we are similar. He hides his pain and jokes around…I. He was an orphan, never knowing his parents and then he was taken in by a family only to be betrayed by his own mother and sister. For fuck’s sake, they killed his brother in front of him and stole his power.”
Asuna swallowed dryly and Danny felt a sting of pain in his chest.
“He then came to our world, to Earth and what happened. He found acceptance once more and opened his heart to that old lady that trained him and then again his heart was ripped out of his chest when she died sacrificing herself from some creature from this world. Even after Kazuki escaped to Earth, those people he once loved that betrayed him, still refused to let him go and let him live in peace. Tell me, what would you do if your mom or dad murdered your sister or brother in front of you and then tried to murder you. What would that feel like?”
Tears began to collect at the corners of Shin’s eyes and a few streamed down his face as he continued.
“I’ll tell you what it feels like. Everything becomes twisted up in you. Your heart is shredded to pieces and your lungs fill with fire. Your mind breaks, your soul breaks. You cry every day, you don’t eat because for some reason you can’t fathom why this has happened to you and you can no longer think properly. You blame yourself because that’s what kids do. Nothing matters after that. You become cold and then numb to everything and everyone. Isolated to the world. Your world becomes filled with darkness and everything becomes an ocean of black. You sink into that ocean and drown in it, hoping that it kills you for real so that you no longer have to be a part of this world where things like this can happen.”
Asuna and Danny were completely lost for words at this revelation of Shin’s.
Shin slowly wiped the tears from his face and spoke coldly.
“I was lucky, at least that’s what I tell myself now because I had other people in my life that still loved me, still cared deeply about me and slowly they pulled me out of that ocean of darkness. I could once again open my heart and feel. I could smile, I could laugh and things got better but that feeling, it never truly goes away. So I have to deal with it. I tell stupid jokes and I fuck around because I want others to feel good as well. No one should have to ever feel like that.”
Asuna and Danny shared a look with one another and started thinking about Kazuki. A mix of emotions roiled about within them. Hate anger pity sadness. They felt it all but it still wasn’t enough to erase Kazuki’s deeds in their mind, rather they now understood a small fraction of him. That’s when Shin hit them with another blow.
“Kazuki felt that once I’m sure after his brother died but he somehow was pulled out of that ocean by that granny Master of his. She did that for him and opened his heart once more but then it happened again. I barely managed to get out of that place I was at one time but Kazuki had to experience that pain twice. Tell me, Danny, Asuna, have you ever gone through anything like that?”
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