Volume I. Chapter IV. - This is farewell

[March 30th, 1215]

I woke up a short time ago - the dreams I had still make me feel uncomfortable. The first one seemed too real, though. What... was it about again? There's also this strange mark under my right eye now, which my sisters made sure to point out. But I haven't had a chance to see it for myself yet. I feel like I've been cursed somehow, after all that's happened in just one day.

I rest my head on Charlotte's thighs - they're like pillows. We are in one of the underground shelters. Frankly, we were lucky to get out of the battlefield at all. What were we thinking? Taking on a monster like that. As a result, Himari is gone and Lena is covered in bandages with a broken leg. Somehow, I've managed to escape with only a few cuts and bruises.

I inspect the area with my eyes, looking for familiar faces. What about Hidiku and Enmei? Are they all right? There are a lot of people here, mostly students. After looking around for a while, I see them sitting next to each other at one of the four walls. Their pitiful expressions are a direct reflection of how they feel, and Enmei's forehead is also wrapped in the white bandages.

Should I try to talk to them? I could cheer them up, if only a little. I pause and think about how I left Hidiku alone, subconciously reaching for my heart. Suddenly I'm not so optimistic about talking to them.

“Leave it, Yuuna. They need some time alone.”

Lena says as she sees me looking at them warily. Her leg is supported by two strong sticks wrapped around it. They are supposed to keep her bones in place.

"How is your leg?"

"It's nothing serious. It will probably leave a scar though."

I jump a little when I hear her say that. Lena likes to wear skirts, but she giggles in response.

"Don't worry about it. It will be like a trophy, I guess."

I suppose that's true. Still, it would be a shame to spoil her smooth skin. She always knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"So, what happened to Himari? And what are we waiting for? Can't we just leave?"

I express my curiosity, but at the same time I'm dying to get out of here. The air is terrible and it's freezing.

"I moved her to our cellar with Hidiku's help. He wanted to give Himari a proper burial as soon as we could get out of here. It was always freezing in the cellar. I'm sure it'll be fine".

Charlotte replies with a slightly displeased look. But we don't know how long we'll be here.

"Have you been home? Did you see mum and dad?"

"Unfortunately, no. But I'm sure they're fine. Our parents are a tough couple."

She reassures me almost immediately - I really hope she’s right. I gaze upon her steel katana lying next to her. Charlotte and Hidiku made sure to pick up our gear on the way back. They got my weapon too. I then redirect my gaze toward a book strapped to my eldest sister’s waist.

You could say it's her 'weapon'. Unlike the usual ability to control certain elements, like me with my electricity or Charlotte's power to control fire, Lena can summon weapons from God knows where. Apparently there are a lot of these weapons, called 'cursed objects', but you have to collect them before you can use them.

So far, my sister only has one weapon, which was given to her by our relatives, so it's pretty much like an arsenal. However, it requires a great deal of energy from the user, so Lena can't use it for too long.

In general, we don't know much about controlling our powers. At school, we were mostly taught the basics and hand-to-hand combat. Our teacher said that we would learn more about our abilities once we enrolled as cadets. I wonder how that will happen now that our school is gone.

"There's this guy, claiming to be one of the commanders of the military base in the capital, who has ordered everyone to stay in the shelters. I think they want us to wait until everything is clear outside.”

Charlotte adds with her now carefree attitude. From the nearby stairwell, footsteps fill the hall. It's a group of three armed men, definitely soldiers, judging by their uniforms. Among them is the boy who saved us from certain death.

"That's him, the one I’ve just talked about."

Charlotte says as she looks at a tall man standing in front of the other two. He peers through the open area in front of him and shouts.

“Attention, please!”

All eyes are on the three soldiers.

"Thank you for your patience. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gerald Losk, and I am one of the commanders of the military base in the capital city of Taiyo. We have come here under orders to escort everyone to safety. Unfortunately, due to the limited space on our transporters and the potential risk of attack, we prohibit any kind of luggage. But first I need you to form two groups.”

The two soldiers accompanying this man step forward as the commander extends his arm first to one of them, then to the other.

"Those of you who are fourteen or younger, pregnant, disabled or seriously ill, please stand here. The rest of you, please move over here."

Few people disobey his orders, and those who do tend to murmur discreetly. Morale is low; everyone is desperate to escape any potential threat that may still linger. Commander Losk continues his speech, addressing the latter group.

"Thank you for following my instructions. You can now follow us outside, where the convoys are waiting. The escorts for the second group will arrive shortly after.

That means my sisters will be leaving me behind because of the age difference. They both walk up to me and I look at them with a slight discomfort in my gaze.

"I guess I'll see you later."

I say, trying to force a smile. Lena takes my hand as she nods at my comment.

"Take care of Hidiku while we are away."

Oh, right. Enmei has to go with them. Charlotte slaps my shoulder with her usual carefree attitude.

"Try not to bawl your eyes out."

I stare her down with an unamused look; Lena lets out a sigh.

"Alright, let's go. We don't want to get left behind. See you soon."

My older sisters wave at me and I'm left behind. Now Hidiku is the only person I know here. He's standing a little further away from me. Quite a few people separate us, but I manage to reach him.

"Hey, Hidiku, how are you?"

He looks at me sadly with a hint of surprise.

"I'll be alright."

But he doesn't sound all right. I want to apologise to him, but maybe this is not the best time. I'll do it later. Another two soldiers in our city's uniforms interrupt us, asking for our attention.

"Attention, please!"

It's still early in the morning. The sun is barely warming the land. The crowd of townspeople marches out of the hideout and continues down a valley with the two soldiers as our guides. Then I notice that we are walking down a path that leads out of town.

I assume that's where the convoys are stationed, until we make a turn that contradicts that idea. So where are we going? - That will soon become clear as our advisors show us a confiscable building made of the same material as everything else nearby. It's the orphanage, and from the looks of it they're using it as a home for refugees.

It seems we will have to wait a bit longer. Wait, something very important has slipped my mind! Himari is still resting in our basement! If we enter here, they will most likely keep an eye on us, making it difficult for us to go home without getting caught. And if we tell them about Himari, they’ll probably try to do something about her themselves. I won’t allow it! I grab Hidiku’s arm and pull him out of the crowd.

“Yuuna, what are you doing?”

Hidiku queries how I respond to the shift. I look at him with a tad of anxiety.

“Let’s get out of here. We still have to take care of your sister.”

His clueless expression remains. I know he can’t help it right now, but It’s kind of starting to tick me off.

“Just come! We can come back later.”

I sneak him away from the original destination.

———

As we walk through the destroyed streets, the sky is slowly filled with the color of gray, adding to the Hikone town’s feel of ruin. Building after building. We walk through the town, pass a structure that used to be our school, and even further until we finally arrive at where I used to live. Seems like they have already cleared up most of the corpses left behind the demon’s rampage.

Hidiku’s home is somewhat further, but it can be seen from here. Both of our houses are still standing. I look at Hidiku; he can’t take his eyes off his home.

“Hey, I’m going to check out my place.”

I don’t answer him, only react with a nod; He then walks off on his own. I enter the building and locate the trapdoor covering our basement’s entrance. I then grab the handle, It’s pretty heavy. There was always someone to help me with it, but I manage. A sudden wave of frigid air hits me directly in the face and my body is now covered in goosebumps. I let out a sneeze, I might have just caught a cold.

As I descend the stairs, my eyes are met with my own reflection in the mirror at the very end of the staircase. I can now see the mark beneath my eye my sisters were referring to earlier. It’s like some kind of symbols aligned beneath each other. Just how did it get there?

I turn on the light switch and continue walking through the basement as dust particles reflect the light all over the place. It doesn’t take me long to locate the wooden table Himari is lying on. The image brings in thoughts of discomfort I never wanted to think, but mainly her last moments. I haven’t realized the odor of her decaying corpse can be this strong this soon. I will need Hidiku’s help if I want to move her.

I return outside just in time to meet Hidiku on the street. He brought a shovel and an old stretcher with him.

“Did you find them?”

I ask with concern. But to no surprise, the boy shakes his head in denial. The look in his eyes has degraded into deeper anxiety.

“I’m sure they are just hiding in one of the shelters, or maybe already on their way to the capital city by now.”

I’m barely able to finish my sentence when I notice him gazing past me. Something has caught his attention, or rather someone. I look behind as Hidiku walks past me - it’s an adult, but he’s dressed strangely. All black, they’re wearing a coat with a freaky mask resembling a crow’s beak and a pair of goggles attached to it.

Worried for my friend’s safety, I decide to tail him. The person seems to be taking some sort of notes as they stand before one of the remaining corpses. Are they perhaps… They notice Hidiku and let out a sturdy male voice through their pitch black face cover.

“What are you kids doing here? It’s not safe outside. Return to the shelter.”

“I’m sorry, we will leave. I just want to know if my parents are alright. Have you seen them?”

Hidiku answers the adult. My guess was right, he belongs to the clean up crew. His job must be to note every corpse left behind.

“What’s your name, boy?”

The man asks him. His sheer voice caries a deep sense of intimidation.

“Hidiku Sato. My parents name’s are Rin and Stetson.”

As we stand before him with great tension, the clean-up guy glares into his list of written down names. It takes a bit to find them, even lists through a few pages during the search, making the wait much more agonizing.

“I’m sorry, kid. Unfortunately, I must inform you that we have found your parents too late.”

Hidiku’s eyes widen with disbelief. I can’t imagine how he must feel right now, but my emotions aren’t stable right now either. I need to know if my parents are alright.

“Sir! My name is Yuuna Argento! Could you please check for the names Leonard and Julia?”

Without an answer, the man begins the search through his demoralizing notes yet again. In the meantime I take hold of my heartbroken friend’s hand, hoping he receives some comfort through my gesture, even if only a tiny bit.

“I’m sorry, but it’s the same case for your parents.”

Hearing his words, I suddenly feel as if though my heart has been pierced through by a burning metal rod. I’ve feared this answer and even expect it to some extend but hearing him say it out loud makes it feel that much realer all of a sudden.

“Are you two here alone?”

“N-no. My parents are with us. They are just checking out our house right now. The names I’ve asked for were relatives.”

I lie to the masked adult as I try to hold back the slightest droplets of tears with all of my remaining strength.

“Alright then. Be careful and make sure to hide somewhere safe until everything is cleared up.”

We were given our last instructions by this person as a group of people covered in black coats take away the corpse lying next to us. I let out a slight ‘Yes, sir’ in response. Thankfully he doesn’t know everyone has already been transported.

I’m reaching my limit when the clean up crew finally leaves the scene, and shortly after I fall to my knees - Hidiku follows in my footsteps. Uncontrollable streams of tears run down my face as I let myself cry my eyes out while Hidiku kneels next to me, staring at the ground in silence - the shock was too much for him, especially after already losing his sister.

We are left in this state for a good while. I can’t tell how long we have been sitting here by the time I’ve ran out of tears to shed. It’s probably noon by now… Hidiku abruptly hits the ground with his fist in anger, then again, and again. He does it several more times until his hand is covered in his own blood.

“Why did it have to end up like this? If only I was stronger. Then maybe at least Himari would still be alive!”

I sniff in with my runny nose as I kneel next to him, I decide to try and finally say something. Even if it helps just a bit, it will be worth it.

“It’s not your fault, it’s nobody’s. We weren’t ready for something like this…”

As my response has triggered something inside of him, the boy stands up and grabs me beneath the collar before lifting me up. What’s happening? Did I say something wrong? I can barely touch the ground with the tip of my feet. He then proceeds to yell into my face.

“Oh yeah!? The military isn’t ready to fight a demon!? If they are not then who is supposed to fend them off? Who is supposed to protect the people if they can’t? How can you tell me that nobody is at fault?!”

He puts a sudden halt to his rage once he realizes the state he’s putting me in.

The expression on my face is clear as day when droplets of tears I thought were depleted run down my cheeks. The moment he grabbed my collar, fear took over me. Hidiku is a kind and a gentle person, he wouldn’t do as much as hurt a fly. I’ve never seen him like this and now that he became physical with me… I’m scared.

As I glare directly into his blue eyes and tremble over this newly discovered side of my childhood friend, Hidiku concludes his furious speech and let’s go off me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

My sight is directed back toward the cold gray foot-way with my bangs serving as a cover for my swelling eyes.

“What’s that beneath your eye?”

He asks me curiously after somewhat calming down his temper. I shake my head as I’m not sure myself.

“I don’t know. It was already there when I woke up. But that’s irrelevant right now. Let’s get your sister before someone finds us.”

I answer him before walking off to pick up our deceased friend. It’s hard to describe what I’m feeling right now. There’s a lot of mixed emotions, I don’t think I can keep this up for much longer.

———

After a fair amount of struggling to get Hidiku’s sister out of our basement we finally succeed and are ready to move her away. We’ve decided to bury her on a hill with a cherry blossom tree on top. It’s the same cherry blossom tree that I like to nap under, just a bit further from our house. All of us used to play there when we were younger.

Unfortunately, carrying someone isn’t as easy as we have imagined. We had to make a few stops along the way to dodge a few people and replenish our strength. We haven’t eating anything all day either. Though we make it to the top of the hill eventually and once we do, we get straight to digging the hole just beneath my favorite pink tree.

There’s only one shovel for both of us so we take turns. During one of my breaks, I wipe off the sweat covering my forehead as I let my mind drift off into the land of endless thoughts. What is it like to die? It’s a question I’ve asked myself several times by now. Does a person just fall into an endless sleep absent of dreams? Or perhaps, if there are demon’s, surely they must come from Hell. So does that mean Heaven does exist? It’s a thought I’ve always been fascinated by.

I soon snap out of my daydreaming and lay my eyes upon a field of flowers surrounding the small mount.

“I’ll be right back.”

Giving Hidiku no chance to react, I swiftly make my way down into the flower garden. I’ve decided that I want to make flower wreath for Himari, and so I get to work. By the time I’m done, the skies turn golden with waves of a chilling breeze sweeping my long hair in the air. It’s a sensation that has felt nostalgic to me year by year. I climb back up just when Hidiku is about to finish digging.

“Ready?”

He asks me with somewhat of a stoic expression on his face. We then pick Himari up as the cherry blossom rains down on us with a small amount of its petals and slowly place her body down into the gaping hole. It only now occurs to me that this is our last time seeing Himari.

It really gets to Hidiku and for one last time, his emotions swirl up within his aching heart. I’ve already been bawling my eyes out for the past two days, so there’s not much left in me. Even so, I firmly wrap my arms around my mourning friend’s rear and comfort him as I spill my last tears for Himari.

Once our composure is regained, I place Himari’s soul stone on her chest before we bury her in the previously dug up soil. A few rocks we find around are placed on top instead of a gravestone with one of them having the girl’s name engraved in it. I then hand over Hidiku the crafted wreath before giving a short speech.

“She might have been your sister, but to me she was like an older sister too. Kind an caring, but also brave and strong. Who knows what would have happened to Enmei if she didn’t run off to save him. She lead the demon away from the shelter, saving all of us by doing so…”

“And at the end of it all, she has sacrificed her life to save mine. To the very end, my sister was a true hero. She was my hero.”

Hidiku finishes the speech as he takes the flower ring and places it on top of the homemade gravestone.

“What now?”

I question our options. The boy sets his gaze into the far distance. A town that once had life filling its streets, now standing in ruin.

“Let’s leave this place.”

His answer catches me by surprise.

“What are you talking about? Where do you want to go?”

He then looks me dead in the eyes.

“Back at the shelter they’ve separated us into two groups and took the more capable, healthier portion of the town. Why is that? Isn’t it more important to take care of the children? More importantly the ill and pregnant? Unlike this dump of a town, the capital city has the means to take care of these people, yet we are the ones to stay behind. Think about it, Yuuna. I don’t know what they are doing, but they sure as hell aren’t trying to help the people of this town. Besides, we know where they are taking everyone. We can get there on our own.”

At first I was hoping he’s joking, but this guy is dead serious.

“So then what? Where are we supposed to go? It’s nothing but dark forests surrounding Hikone beyond its gates. We would be practically begging to be eaten by demons.”

Hidiku pauses to my response. I kind of figured that he didn’t think this through. I get how he feels but I’m not desperate enough to throw away my life.

“There’s this master dad told me about, living somewhere in the forest. Dad used to be his disciple. I’m sure he can train us. I don’t know about you but I want to become strong, real strong. And one day I’ll take revenge on the demon race for what they have done to us.”

Hearing what Hidiku said, I can’t help but sink deep into my own mind. Knowingly flooding my consciousness with past memories of this unrecognizable person now standing before me. Was he ever this determined in anything? His words inspired me.

“Alright, I’m with you. But how do we find him? The forest is too big and dangerous to search through.”

“Apparently, his place should be somewhere north. The same direction of the towns main gate. That makes it much easier. It’s been a while since the demon has been defeated, I’m sure the guards are cleaning up all of the demons near Hikone as usual. We should be fine as long as he lives relatively close.”

That’s only ‘if’ he does… It’s still a gamble, but what he said are facts, or at least for the most part. But more importantly, the plan now sounds much more realistic. I let out a deep sigh.

“Let’s just hope you’re right.”

A mild smirk forms on my friends face. I bet I just stroked his ego.

“That settles it. Let’s move out, we might just make it by nightfall.”

And so we head out. The main gateway is guarded by a couple of soldiers but it’s not hard to get past them, especially in the chaotic state the town is in right now. Along the way, Hidiku picks up a katana that has been just laying on the street in its sheath. A pretty smart move from him. I doubt he would be able to defend himself with just his bow, if anything were to attack us.

Soon enough we reach the border of the dark woods before taking a last look at the town.

“I guess this is goodbye.”

I pronounce as I give my last farewell to my birthplace, and up till now, my home.

“This is the start of our new life. Now let’s go, it’s getting dark.”

Hidiku enters the darkness of the deep forest as there’s no time to waste. I stay behind for moment longer to recollect my memories of the place we are leaving behind. So much has happened here, especially in the last two days. But it’s time to leave our old life behind, and with it, all of the bad memories.

I follow Hidiku’s lead as we make our first steps toward a new journey.