The Night Everything Changed

The rooster’s crow pulled Kei out of his restless sleep. He sat up slowly, one hand pressing against his queasy stomach. His jaw tightened, and he avoided the light peeking through the barn door.

Tomorrow. It had to be tomorrow. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a shaky breath.

He made his way out of the barn and started his chores for the day. He dropped a pitchfork twice before noon. One of the farmhands raised an eyebrow; another chuckled behind a hand. Kei kept his head down, sweat beading even in the cool air.

Kent’s voice had an extra bounce to it as he strode over, his grin a little too sharp. “You’re shaking like a cornered animal, Kei.”

“Ah, well, it’s nothing.” Kei forced a laugh, but it came out brittle. His gut churned as he fidgeted with the hem of his tunic.

Kent rolled his eyes. “It’s clearly not nothing. Why are you so fidgety this morning?”

Heat rose to Kei’s face. He looked around to make sure Heidi wasn’t nearby. “I’m going to tell Heidi how I feel tomorrow.”

Kent blinked in surprise, and the other farmhands let out exaggerated coos. Then he grinned. “Lover boy’s finally going for it, huh? Good luck.” His tone was a bit on the condescending side. Kei frowned and continued with his chores.

Later he picked at his dinner without eating. Kent and Heidi chatted nearby, their laughter too easy. Kei stared at his bread until it blurred. “What if she rejects me like Akari? I don’t think I could live here anymore.” He gripped the table edge, knuckles pale.

Heidi looked at him. “Are you alright, Keisuke?”

Kei nodded quickly. “Yeah, just a stomachache,” he said, trying to sound convincing.

“Alright, if your stomach is still off tomorrow, tell Papa, and I’m sure he’ll give you the day off.”

Kei nodded. “Thanks, Heidi.”

After dinner, he ran his usual training routine: laps around the farm, burpees, pushups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks. As he ran, he observed Heidi and Kent feeding the chickens again. Smiling, and close together.

Afterward, when he lay down on his makeshift bed, he let out a sigh—the same pit in his stomach. “Am I really about to put myself out there again? Maybe I just haven’t learned my lesson?”

What if she laughed? Or looked at him the same way Akari had—with pity. He could still see Akari’s sad smile, still hear her gentle apology. But maybe… maybe Heidi would say yes. Maybe she’d smile and take his hand. They could build a life together. Maybe.

“Maybe I’m just not cut out for this,”  he thought, burying his face in the crook of his arm. His breath hitched. A cold weight sank deeper into his chest.

Kei shifted under the thin blanket, kicking it off, pulling it back, groaning softly into the straw. Sleep refused to come. He got out of his makeshift bed and stepped out of the barn. He went around to the side to take a leak. A soft giggle slipped through the night breeze. Kei froze, his pants half pulled up, ears straining.

His face slackened. Eyes locked forward, unblinking. His gut twisted, bile rising as his breath caught in his throat. A buried wound tore open like someone had driven a hot knife straight through his chest again. His knees buckled. The pain hadn’t dulled—it had waited. He staggered back, clutching his chest as the pressure exploded behind his eyes. Blood spilled from his nostrils, hot and sudden.

Kent strolled past, hand in hand with Heidi, his grin stretched smug across his face. Kei’s gut roiled. His fists trembled. They disappeared beyond the rise, swallowed by the night. Then came the sounds—soft, breathy moans carried on the wind, followed by low, rhythmic grunts. Kei didn’t move. Couldn’t. Each sound slammed into him like a blow.

Tears blurred his vision, but he didn’t wipe them away. The pressure in his chest twisted cruelly, like the blade had turned. He didn’t resist. He let it hurt.

His fists clenched so tight they trembled, jaw grinding until it ached. “That damned traitor…” The words scraped out of his throat like broken glass. Each moan was another lash across his heart, echoing through his skull until he could barely think. This was hell, and it had her voice.

He turned around and stormed toward the barn. He stuffed his clothes and coins into his bag with shaking hands, drops falling onto the fabric—some tears, some blood. He picked up the pendant last, holding it like it might burn him.

He looked at the pendant as tears dripped onto it. He walked up to the house and silently entered the kitchen. He lit a lantern with shaking fingers. After finding a piece of parchment, some ink, and a pen, he wrote:

“Thank you, Gerald and Helga, for your hospitality. Thanks to you, I’ve truly been able to grow stronger. It is with great sadness that I announce that I am leaving immediately. I can’t contain the spirit of adventure within me any longer. I’m going to Telwin, to become an adventurer.
This pendant is a parting gift for Heidi. I hope she likes it.”

A drop of blood fell from his nose and bloomed red on the parchment, tears soaking in beside it. He didn’t bother wiping either away. He placed the pendant on the parchment, blew out the fire in the lantern, and exited the house.

As he walked up the road toward the city, he sobbed as the sounds of Heidi and Kent’s lovemaking reverberated through his head.

“That damned… traitor,” he choked out, voice splintering between gasps for breath. Heidi’s moans continued to echo in his mind like a cruel chorus. He clutched his skull and screamed into the night, dropping to his knees as the grief ripped through him.

“That damned traitor,” he muttered through it all as tears and blood leaked onto the ground. “He knew I loved her, and he took her from me anyway. Fucking bastard!” he cried into the night.

Time passed. He eventually got back onto his feet and continued down the road. He walked for hours until the sun started to rise. As he approached the city and got into the queue, his eyes were bloodshot. People looked at him as he clutched his chest and as blood dripped out of his nose. They didn’t know what to make of him. He looked pale from the blood loss.

As he approached the front of the line, the guards gave him an appraising look. One raised his eyebrow and said, “You’re with Gerald down at the farm. What are you doing here?”

Kei muttered, “I’m here to become an adventurer.”

The guard sighed. “Alright. Go see a doctor while you’re here, you look rough as hell, kid.” He let Kei pass.

He wandered through Telwin, wondering if they’d found the note—if they even cared. He clenched his teeth.

“That fucking bastard,” he muttered as he slammed his fist into a wall.

It passed from morning to afternoon as he explored the city. He stumbled upon a tavern. He walked in and slumped down on a seat at the bar.

The barkeep took one look at him and could tell he wasn’t in the best frame of mind. “You look like you just got dumped.”

Kei gritted his teeth. “Just get me a damned ale. Hurry it up!” he barked.

The barkeep sighed and poured him one. Kei slowly sat there, sipping his ale.

“Fucking bastard,” he muttered to himself while gritting his teeth. “I hate you, Kent. I hope you rot in hell.”

Fury burned behind his eyes, causing people to stay far away from him as he drank his sorrows away. “Fuck this world, it’s just as rotten as the last. What kind of hero can’t even get a girl?” He slammed down his ale, and the one after that, trying to drown out his sorrows.

One week later:

Satori approached Gerald’s market stall.

“Wow, you’re looking down, Gerald. Helga yell at you?”

Gerald looked up at him. “Right, you’re here for some moonshine.”

Heidi manned the stall. Satori could tell something was up by the way her eyes drooped.

“Seriously, what happened?” His face scrunched. His eyes pointed.

Heidi turned around. Gerald sighed.

“Keisuke left the farm abruptly a week ago. We can’t find him. He said he was going to become an adventurer, but we haven’t seen him at the guild either. The note he left us had blood on it.”

Satori’s eyes widened. “He just up and left?”

Heidi sniffed in the corner. Gerald sighed.

“I have a few theories. I think he may have found out about a romance between Heidi and Kent.”

Satori let out a sigh. “I see what’s going on.”

Heidi turned and looked at Satori as she fought back tears. “I didn’t mean to hurt him, but he never made a move…”

Satori raised his hand. “I understand.” He let out a long sigh. “I’ll find him and make sure he’s okay. But you owe me for this, Gerald.”

He nodded. “Make sure he’s okay, Satori. Keisuke was important to us. If he won’t come home, at least make sure he’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a full case of the good stuff for this. You know where I live, Gerald. Just deliver it.”

Satori turned around and walked away. He clicked his tongue. “Damned idiot. Running off with a bleeding heart and no plan. Just like you did, Haruki.”