A Little Puppy in Love

Holy crap. Should I tell Jiko about this? His crush was clearly batting for the other team. Then again, maybe that'd be too cruel.

"You're late."

GAH- I jumped, nearly dropping Peng who let out an startled "peng."

"Let's go." Jiko had materialized behind me. He turned to leave, but I grabbed his sleeve.

"Not that way!" I yanked him in the opposite direction of Kanon and Ten's little moment. "I mean, ugh, isn't your hut this way?"

"It's right in front of you."

I squinted at the unremarkable wooden structure. "This one? How can you tell?"

"Are you blind like Ten? The arrows hanging on the door?"

Now that he mentioned it, yeah, those were pretty obvious signs.

"Whatever. What's this revolutionary thing you had to show me?"

"Not here." Jiko's eyes darted around before he beckoned me to follow. "Come on."

***

The afternoon sun painted long shadows across the rice paddies as we walked. A cool breeze rustled through the tall rice stalks carrying the earthy scent of fresh soil. Peng dozed in my arms, occasionally mumbling its name in its sleep.

For once, the silence felt... nice. No threats of death, no bamboo spears flying at my head, just the crunch of our footsteps and-

"I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Sorry?"

"I'd like to start over. If that's okay."

"The hell brought this on? You literally tried to kill me yesterday." Wait. "Is this because you want to show Kanon we get along? Because you like her?"

Jiko froze mid-step, his face flushing red. "How- how did you-?"

"It's like the most obvious thing ever. "

"Fine. Yes, I like her."

"Then why not just shoot your shot? Better make a move before someone else does."

Jiko's face scrunched up. "Someone else? Who would-"

"Nevermind." I waved my hand. Better to dodge that landmine, probably.

"I will ask her. But first, I want to surprise her with a special flower that grows where we're heading."

"Is that what you're dragging me out here for? To help you pick flowers?"

"No. But the flower might be there."

"Hold on, so your master plan to win Kanon over is to let a flower do all the talking? That's kind of pathetic."

"It's not pathetic! Kanon's eighteenth birthday is coming up. In Huashan, there's an old tradition of gifting flowers to... to show..."

"Show what? Come on, use your words bow boy."

"To show… romantic interest…"

"Oh my god, you're such a sap."

"Her father started this tradition! The rarer the flower, the deeper the devotion."

"You know what you remind me of?"

"I don't want to know."

"A little puppy in love!" I made exaggerated kissy faces. "Following Kanon around, waiting for a pat on the head-"

"Shut up!" He lunged for me.

I ducked and sprinted into the trees, cackling. The thud of his footsteps pounded behind me as branches whipped past my face. Peng bounced in my arms, now awake and letting out excited "pengs" with each jump.

Left, right, duck under that low-hanging branch- my lungs burned but I couldn't stop grinning. When was the last time I'd played like this? Just running and laughing without worrying about a thing in the world.

After putting some distance between us, I spun around with a triumphant "Ha!"

But there was no one there.

The forest stretched empty in every direction, silent except for the whisper of leaves.

This was just like back then. I came home to darkness. No note, no goodbye, just silence filling every corner of our apartment. I'd searched everywhere, called everyone, but she was gone. They were all gone eventually.

A soft tap against my cheek pulled me back. Peng's round face filled my vision.

"Thanks buddy. I needed that." I squeezed tight, its solid warmth anchoring me to the present. "Now let's find bow boy. He can't have gone far."

The forest stretched around us. I picked a direction that looked promising and started walking. Dead leaves crunched under my feet as we wound between the trees.

A glimmer of light caught my eye through the foliage. Is that…? I pushed through but stopped dead.

This... wasn't right.

Broken walls rose like jagged teeth against the sky. Empty doorways gaped, their wooden frames rotted away. The buildings looked like skeletal versions of the ones in Huashan village, as if someone had taken the village and let it decay for decades.

What happened here? Was this what Jiko wanted to show me?

Crumbling walls towered over me as I wandered deeper into the abandoned village. My footsteps echoed off empty buildings, stirring up dust that danced in rays of sunlight.

Is this what Jiko wanted to prove? That Ten isn't the benevolent protector she pretends to be?

If she really was a Heavenly General... and if what Jiko said about them ruling through fear was true... My eyes traced the destruction around me. The scorched walls. The scattered belongings left behind in what must have been a panic.

Did Ten do all this?

I shook my head hard. No. I was doing it again. Jumping to the worst possible conclusion. Inorin's words floated back to me: You always expect the worst in people. Give 'em a chance.

A crunch echoed through the ruins. My head snapped toward the sound.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered to Peng.

It tilted its head. The sound came again, closer this time.

"Sorry about this." I pried the arrow from its flippers. Its confused "peng?" made my chest tighten, but I needed something - anything - to defend myself with right now.

The arrow felt pathetically small in my grip as I crept toward the sound. My heart hammered against my ribs. This is stupid. This is so stupid. Why am I walking TOWARD the creepy noise?

But then I saw her.

That messy brown bun. The oversized hoodie she practically lived in.

"Inorin?"

She walked toward me, steady and silent.

"Inorin, is that really you? Where did you- why did you-"

The questions jammed in my throat. Two years of wondering, of anger, hurt and loneliness, crashed over me all at once.

She was close now. Close enough to see her eyes. Empty. Black. Endless voids where warm brown should be.

Pain exploded through my shoulder before I could scream.