The Mysterious Man

“You pretty much know how the rest goes,” Natsu had recounted her entire experience in Aethelheim, “Not really interesting, isn’t it?”

A pit that reached the depths of hell contracted inside my stomach. How could she call her stress and suffering boring? Not everyone could take all of that in stride. Not everyone could bear what the two of us had gone through in this world.

“Don’t say that. You’re the strongest person I know from our world. If anyone could become the general of a country in just 2 months, it had to be you.” I smiled gleefully at her.

“Doesn’t mean much when the person next to me achieved the same thing.”

We both laughed aloud at the absurd nature of our lives. How would our friends and family react to this wild adventure of ours? If I had to guess, they wouldn’t believe even a speck of it. It was that crazy.

As we laughed, I suddenly felt a tight warmth on the front of my body. Natsu’s arms wrapped around me like a claw. She kept her petite head beside my head, our cheeks touching. Her silver hair formed a silky blanket, covering both of us.

“I’m just so glad you’re alive and here with me, Aki. I don’t know how much longer I could bear through all of this,” she cried, her tears of joy soaking my shoulder. Seeing her caused the dams in my eyes to open as well.

“Me too, Natsu. I’ve thought about you every day since I’ve been sent here. You don’t understand how relieved I am that you’re here with me and safe.” I held onto her slim frame. It felt more muscular than before, but she was still a frail girl in my arms. I was scared of letting go of her.

“But it wasn’t all hard. I met some amazing people that I want to introduce you to. There may be some bad blood between them and you, but I know it will work out when I vouch for you. Without them, I would have probably run away from it all. “

“Then I’ll introduce you to my friends, too. They’re a little eccentric, but they’ve got a big heart.”

I imagined Yukino, Riku, Chiyo and Mr Arakawa meeting her in my mind. Natsu would become fast friends with Yukino for sure, given how similar they are. Chiyo would take some time to warm up to her, but Natsu would be able to break down her emotional barrier. Mr Arakawa would probably act cold to her but show some small acts of kindness over time. And I was definitely keeping Riku away from Natsu with a 10-foot pole. Even Mr Hide would adore her like his own daughter.

From Natsu’s point of view, her friends seemed fun and nice, too. Anastasia would easily get on everyone’s good side, except maybe Chiyo. She would probably plan a murder every time Anastasia interrupted her. Stephen would terrify everyone at first, but his heart of gold would make him friends easily.

But wait, something didn’t add up. I recalled the events of the past day. We had been in No Man’s Land fighting in the Sovereign’s Tourney.

Oh right. Mr Hide and Stephen were dead. I would never see them again. Those imaginary memories I foresaw would never come true. Our sins in war took the lives of two sincere people. I couldn’t blame Natsu or Mr Kurokawa for their loss: they had to do what they did. But the pain remained anyway. I didn’t even know the condition of Yukino and Riku.

Then I realised. Natsu didn’t know that Stephen was dead.

I felt sick. All the blood from my face drained in a second. My arms, still holding Natsu, turned cold. Natsu, realising something was wrong, raised her head and looked at my face worriedly.

“Are you alright? Your face is pale,” Natsu asked. She kept a hand on my cheek, trying to feel its warmth.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No need to worry.” I placed a hand on her head, petting her. I smiled at her as well, trying to quell her worry.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Footsteps clacked on the concrete floor. The two of us readied ourselves for a confrontation. But our weapons were absent. It was then that I noticed that all of our injuries had been bandaged and healed. Especially Natsu’s cuts. Did the source of the footsteps do this? Could he be considered an ally?

As the footsteps got louder, beads of sweat poured from our foreheads. Thoughts and strategies zoomed in my mind of a counterattack. A hooded figure, camouflaged in the dark walls, quietly passed through the door. Natsu and I had hidden behind the door. It was the only strategy we could have devised in such a short time.

The hooded man searched around the room, looking for its resident, Natsu. We slowly tiptoed behind him, waiting for our chance to attack.

“It’s useless to try to attack me now. I know you’re behind me.”

Before we could register his words, he suddenly turned. I threw a punch where he stood, yet he grabbed it effortlessly. Natsu then kicked him in his free hand, but he caught that, too. I awaited a fatal counterattack, but it never came. Instead, he shook off his hood, revealing his face.

A scar covered the bridge of his nose. His eyes were pitch black and had similarly black eye bags. A pitch black mop of shoulder-length, unkempt hair was tied in a bun with a few strands of white hair poking out. His pale skin lacked nutrition. Yet he was strong enough to grip my fist with ease.

“Relax, you two. I’m not here to fight.” His voice was deep yet easy on the ears. He seemed soft-spoken.

“Then why did you bring us here?!” Natsu shouted out. No matter how hard she tried to move her legs, his grip wasn’t budging.

“To tell you the truth about the Sovereign’s Tourney.”

All strength in my hand had dissipated. How did this man know about the Sovereign’s Tourney? He couldn’t have been a member of Aethelheim’s or Aogiri’s army, as neither Natsu nor I recognised him. Judging from his appearance, he wasn’t from Ashenfall either. Who was this man?

He let go of the two of us once he realised our hostility had disappeared. The man walked through the door, beckoning us to follow him.

“Follow me. This isn’t the place to discuss such things.”

Emotionless wasn’t the right way to describe him. From his constant sad expression and heavy way of walking, I presumed he was extremely depressed. The man in front of me was an enigma. His past and purpose were a mystery. Hell, we still didn’t know his name.

Natsu and I nodded to each other and followed him warily through the corridor of darkness. We went down a set of gaudy and dilapidated set of stairs that curled around the side of the building. If I had to guess, we were in some sort of abandoned hotel.

The lobby was smaller than I expected. It only comprised a front desk that seemed to have been burnt scorch black in the past, and a bunch of rotten sofas in the corner. Everything in this building seemed peculiarly modern, at least compared to Aogiri.

The man pointed towards a certain closed room. Natsu slowly creaked open the door, causing the hinge to scream in pain.

I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing.

On one side of the room, Riku, Mr Arakawa and Chiyo stood apprehensively. For some reason, they were staring daggers at the opposite side of the room. I turned to where they were looking. It was the blonde church Sister of Aethelheim, the person Natsu called Anastasia.

My emotions took control of my entire body. Without any hesitation, I ran towards my friends and grabbed them all in a group hug. It was great to see the dumbfounded expression on their faces before they realised what had happened.

“Thank god you three are alive!” I shouted out with happiness, tears forming in my eyes.

“If you think a little girl with magic is enough to kill me, then you’re greatly mistaken, my friend!” Riku hit my back with a tight slap and a bright smile. Though it was painful, I appreciated it.

“Young man, though I’m old, I don’t have the urge to die just yet.” Mr Arakawa gave a light smile.

“I’m disappointed you think I’m that weak. I’ll have to test my full power on you to prove it then.” Chiyo had returned to her emotionless self and gave a worrying threat.

On the other side, Natsu and Anastasia were in a tight hug, tears flowing down their petite faces. It made me feel emotional.

“Now that everyone’s here, I’d like to begin.” The mysterious man called for everyone’s attention as he closed the door behind him.

His voice stole the happiness from Riku, Chiyo and, especially, Mr Arakawa. The three of them glared at the man with contempt. It seemed that they recognised him. The plot of his backstory thickened.

“That’s not true. Princess Yukino isn’t here yet.” Mr Arakawa retorted.

“Even, Stephen. He doesn’t like being left out of discussions.” Anastasia added.

“I’ll explain their condition later. What I’m about to tell you is important and has to be heard now.”

His icy tone silenced the rest of us.

“First, I’ll introduce myself to those who don’t know me.” He threw off his cloak, revealing that he was wearing familiar red-shaded armour.

It was Aogiri’s armour.

“My name is Masao Suzuki. I was the winner of the last Sovereign’s Tourney.”