A Dramatic Encounter!

“Mayumi…” he uttered as he held back tears. She’d been with him since he was just a child, always there for him. And for that, he had given her life. They would only have a short time together in this world, but, she was everything he wished for. Her big hazel eyes staring right through him, still trying to figure out where she was. “It’s okay” he held out his hand to her. “This is what it’s like to be a parent? She’ll be in that cute phase! She’ll dance around giddy and laugh, she’ll give me hugs and tell me when she grows up she’ll marry me!”

…

“Ew…”

She slapped his hand away and stood off her own strength, keeping her distance and scowling at him like he was some strange pervert that was trying to hit on her.

Arata’s heart broke. “Ah… it’s the rebellious phase… great…”

*-*-*

“Here” Arata said as he passed her the bow. “If you need more arrows I can draw them, just, try not to go crazy”

She snatched it away. “Hm.” The sass irritated Arata enough to go red.

“I wrote you to be sweet and gentle, instead you’re so mean! You deffo get this from your mother!”

Mayumi kicked the legs from under him and he hit the ground hard, he was then greeted with a drawn bow in his face. “You aren’t my father. And you sure as shit have never had a woman even so much as look at you. So do me a favour, Virgin…”

“That’s a little harsh” his response was met with the drawn bow getting closer.

“You want protecting? Fine, you move when I say so, you stop when I say so, and, most importantly, you shut it when I say so. Oh, and anymore talk about me being your daughter equals my foot in your ass. My parents are in Draconia, they always have been and always will be my parents, no matter how much of me you created. Do we have a deal?” She kept her bow on him and a glare for extra convincing, of course, Arata was happy to nod away. She loosened the bow and took the arrow back as she walked away, giving Arata the space to stand without any help. He looked perplexed for a moment.

“Well… I drew your parents as well so, does that make me your grandpa?”

A good kick to the midsection was enough of an answer.

She was scouting ahead, checking the tree line for movement but was satisfied no presence was found. He still had his radar in action, commanding them forward but to keep the perimeter around them. For now, it was about finding a source of food, and locating the other warriors so that they could properly move around them.

Height was key to the plan, and they’d found themselves at the top of a waterfall overlooking the western side of the map. “Alright, we should be safe for now.” Mayumi advised, relaxing her death grip on her bow. “We need to make camp. Rest up for tomorrow.”

“You think we could see the other six from here?” Arata asked as he peered out to the edges of the world.

Leona was already gathering sticks for a fire as she spoke to him. “Not unless you have a telescope hiding away…” she turned, feeling a disturbance in the force, and there he was, holding a telescope he’d just drawn like he was on one of those tv sales shows, with a big annoying grin on his face. “Of course you have one.” She sighed.

“Nothing but more woods” he complained. The cliffside they were camped upon was basically right in the middle of the eastern half of the wooded world they inhabited, and, other than the central point which the portal called home, was the only real place of note. The heart looked like it had once been home to something, it had a sort of reddish-purple wood carved with patterns that presumably were houses, but the planks were broken and rotten. There was also red and blue and yellow fabrics thrown about, this was probably a lively place at one point but now it just felt empty.

He was ready to give up and veered away from the heart and saw movement. Instinctively he lowered down, whatever it was it was close. It wandered out of the cover and there he was. The hammer, gleefully plodding along with murder in his mind. “Found one.” Arata announced. “Luckily he’s going the other way.”

“Good. Keep looking”

Only the dark green of pine filled his vision once again, almost like he was a lone ship in a sea of nature. He focused on the grey or brown, the soil and stone. Eventually, white appeared only for a moment and he kept his eye on it. It was a long, pristine cape attached to another competitor with a silver long sword at his waist. His armour was pearlescent trimmed with silver and an engraved falcon at the chest. His hair was shoulder length and auburn. He was young and yet held an aura of a well seasoned warrior. He stood out in these woods, but he was probably the same in his own world, a person of great importance and regard. “Found one, the Sword.” Arata noted. His gaze had stuck on this knight for a moment, he felt as though he had seen him somewhere but, he couldn’t quite remember.

When he did look away, another popped into his vision. Not the person at first, but the blade, reflecting the moonlight as it collided with the tree. Its owner appeared from the shadows and collected it only to throw it once again. This one was snake-like, he kept to the shadows, and Arata felt the same killer instinct from him as he had from Täter. He was shorter than the knight, his clothes simple and dark, his hair cut jagged and coloured dark. This was a person to fear, and yet Arata couldn’t look away… and when this assassin seemed to look his way a cold bead of sweat rushed down Arata’s spine.

“Found anything?” Mayumi asked as she finally lit the fire.

“Just two, the Sword and the Knife.”

She looked into the woods to the east, knowing there was a very good possibility the others they were missing could be stalking them there and then. “Three more missing… the Axe, the Staff and the Spear.” Arata hadn’t responded to her, she was getting used to the stupid remarks and “witty” comments but strangely he was not his annoying self. He was deep in thought, worrying about those others. “You’ll be fine, as long as you do what I say we can avoid them all and you can escape tomorrow.”

Arata nodded, appreciating her words but his mind was still wandering. “The Sword, The Knife… I’ve seen them before. This can’t be anything running in USJ currently and I can’t remember any battle royale series like this at all. Are they really manga characters? Maybe they’re real and this is an actual parallel world…” he continued pondering, sat by the fire as Mayumi kept guard. The night was darkening and sleep was ready to take him. Sleeping would have been a pain but he could barely keep his eyes open anyway, so, one last look at the time remaining. “22 hours left…”

…

The barrier was breached.

He’d set up his barrier haphazardly in the moment, but when one of the figures was destroyed, it relayed back to him… and right now, there were three gone in quick succession all close together, something was coming.

Arata jumped out of his slumber, Mayumi was still on guard keeping her eyes north-east and hadn’t seen him awaken. “They’re here!” He gasped and she turned, eyes wide. “They’re through the barrier!”

“Where?” She asked as she rushed over to him.

“South-East”

As he spoke, they heard the branches close by shake. Without hesitation, Mayumi nocked an arrow and fired with pinpoint precision, only to hear the arrow deflect off metal.

It took a few seconds for this stranger to appear from the shrubbery, keeping their distance enough for Arata to only see a silhouette.

“Come out or I’ll shoot again.” Mayumi commanded.

This silhouette took the step forward. She was tall for a woman her age, clad in leather armour and tying her red hair back in a loose knot. It had been the tool that deflected the arrow that concerned the duo, and there it was. An elm staff handle with a steel blade skilfully screwed in at the end. This was the Spear

*-*-*

As the first night ended, and the moon began to descend, it’s mirror on the lake was disrupted by the red.

“All that beautiful armour, and still just a bag of water underneath. One prick… and it all just flows out.”

The sword dissolved into the waters, as the knight bled to death. And stood over him, an assassin with a blackened knife.