Last Preparations

Did something happen?

For some reason, everyone on the other side covered their faces. I could see varying shades of red on each person’s fair complexion. At first, I was confused. Then I turned towards Yukino, whose face was twice as red as they were. That was when I realised.

They overheard us…

“Don’t you know how to give a man and woman some privacy?” I asked in a deadpan way. The betrayal I felt was too great to bear.

“Hahahaha, well, sometimes curiosity gets the better of us, doesn’t it, Chiyo?” Riku bumped his shoulder with Chiyo’s, trying to get some support.

“Don’t lump me in on this. Yours and that blonde child’s ears could not have been any closer to the door.”

“At least hand me a bone, Chiyo!” Riku cried out. His betrayal was way worse than what I felt.

“Why snitch on me too?! A young maiden can’t be blamed for listening to such a beautiful love story!” Anastasia retorted, “And don’t call me a child!”

Chiyo ignored their pleas and stood silently as the two rats- I mean Riku and Chiyo cried at each ear of hers. Mr Arakawa and Misao sighed at their stupidity while Natsu giggled in the corner. My heart warmed up watching former enemies getting along. It proved that the Sovereign’s Tourney did not need to exist.

“Mr Suzuki. Where’s Stephen? Is he in another room on this floor?” Natsu asked Misao.

He looked at her with a haunting expression.

“Stephen? Who’s that? You were the only ones that I found alive on the battlefield. There was no other general.”

“I can’t believe that! Stephen was the strongest out of all of us! There’s no way he’s dead!” Anastasia shouted after overhearing their conversation.

Natsu and Anastasia still did not know what had happened to Stephen. I gave a glance at both Chiyo and Mr Arakawa. Both of them had conflicted expressions. After all, we were the reason that Stephen was dead. My stomach sank to the depths of the world, unable to bear the weight of my guilt.

However, Mr Arakawa was brave. He went up to Natsu and Anastasia and fell on their feet. It was my first time seeing the dignified master of Aogiri’s generals put himself down to someone else. Not even to the emperor.

“I did it. I killed your friend.” Mr Arakawa’s words were succinct and emotionless. Yet, I could feel the regret in them.

Their faces were bleached aghast. Anastasia’s eyes shivered with sorrow and anger. On the other hand, Natsu stood still with her eyes shut as she clutched her elbows. Her entire body was rattling, trying to control her emotions.

“How could you!? He was such a kind soul! Why did you take him away from us?!”

Anastasia fell to the ground and continuously punched Mr Arakawa. Though her strikes weren’t strong, Mr Arakawa still flinched at her attacks. Yet, he didn’t lay a hand on her, letting her release her grief.

“He was my enemy at the time. I had to.”

“Aaaahhhhhhhh!”

Anastasia’s cries of grief spread throughout the room. None of us dared to interfere. We continued to watch the hopeless events in front of us. I did not doubt that Stephen was a good person at heart. But war was war. And in war, there were always casualties.

A slim hand held on to Anastasia’s shoulder, telling her to stop. Natsu and Anastasia’s emotional connection was enough to communicate without words. Anastasia kept her fists above Mr Arakawa, but they never fell down.

“Anastasia, that’s enough. We even took the lives of their friends. Both sides are equally guilty.”

“I know that! I know! But I can’t accept it!”

“No one is telling you to accept it,” a sudden voice interrupted.

Everyone’s eyes stared at Yukino, the source of the disturbance. She looked at Anastasia’s wavering eyes. Her determination was leaking throughout the room, trying to envelop the sorrow.

“Carry that pain with you. Use it as your strength against the ones that caused all of this.”

Yukino raised her fist towards Anastasia.

“All of us lost precious comrades because of the selfish desires of the ones above. It is time we usurp their position and bring peace to all our lands. I choose to end the Sovereign’s Tourney forever!”

Her voice carried valour. It was as though the room brightened from the flames of her heart. Anastasia stared blankly at her at first, but then wiped away her tears and stood up.

“I’ll make King Alucard pay for what he’s done!” She screamed as she fistbumped Yukino.

Our goal was finally set. I turned to Misao, curious about his reaction. For the first time, since I met him, he smiled with joy.

“Thank you, everyone,” he said, showing his appreciation by bowing to us.

We all returned our gratitude with a smile. Although we all had slightly different reasons for our decision, we were going to band together for this one goal.

“Let’s begin the plan for our final battle,” I announced.

—---------------

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye inside the 4 walls of our makeshift meeting room. Everyone’s throats and minds were exhausted from our preparations. A rough plan had been agreed on, but there was no guarantee that it was going to work out. We were unsure of the true strength of both Emperor Nobunaga and King Alucard. Their powers may have been greater than we could ever imagine.

Chiyo and Anastasia were the first to leave, saying they had to discuss some plans regarding their magic. Natsu and Yukino left to practice some swordfighting techniques before the big day. The only ones left were us men.

“Aki, may I speak to you in private?” Riku asked all of a sudden. He was surprisingly sincere and straightforward, unlike his usual mannerisms. What could he want to speak about?

“Of course, bud. Let’s go to the rooftop.”

We climbed the narrow, winding staircase. Its creak was the sole sound between us. Being with Riku had never felt this awkward before. My heart was racing as I pondered what he wanted to say.

Unlike the extravagant view of the stars from our military base, the clouds completely covered them, concealing their beauty. We could only revel in the chilling breeze of the night. The two of us lay on the rooftop, staring at the ash grey sky. It complemented the rest of the darkness of Ashenfall.

“So what did you want to talk about?” I finally asked, unable to wait any longer.

“Just wanted to thank you,” Riku admitted.

“For what? I haven’t done that much.”

“Are you serious? We would have never come this far without you.”

He may have been right. Yet, I refused to think that way. It was my fault that Mr Hide, Stephen and several other important people to us died in the war. Riku, Yukino and Chiyo were almost at death’s door because of my plans. Yes, we might have survived, but I couldn’t guarantee that they would in our next battle either.

“But was following me the right decision? We lost so much because of my plans.”

“Hmmm… I never realised that you were such a hypocrite, Aki.”

That sudden insult jolted me up. I stared wide-eyed and angrily at Riku. But he remained relaxed, his eyes still staring at the clouds.

“You’ve told us time and time again that you’d have our back. And I’m eternally grateful for that. But even when we said that we would support you, you refused to accept our help. You chose to hold the burden of the battle instead of sharing it with all of us.”

I was taken aback at his words. He was completely right. I was only listening to my friends, never letting them listen to me. But that was because I felt guilty for sharing my thoughts. Why would anyone suffering want to hear my own? It felt like whining.

But that was hypocritical. I was doing exactly that for all my friends.

“I’ve thought about the mistakes I made in the battle, too. If I were stronger, Mr Hide wouldn’t have needed to sacrifice himself to open that dome. I’m telling you this now because I trust you with my burdens”

He gripped his fist tightly. I could feel the pain and regret emitting from his hand.

“So let me take yours too. Don’t think I’m weak, Aki. I can easily take all of your burdens.” A confident grin was plastered on his face.

I couldn’t help returning the same grin.

“You think you’re that strong? I’m afraid you can’t even handle half of my self-depreciation!” I joked.

“How dare you underestimate me! Bring it on! A teenager’s existential thoughts are nothing to me!”

The rest of the night was filled with our mindless chatter, with little sprinkles of heartfelt words mixed in as well. Riku’s company eased the worries in my heart almost completely. He was the best friend I could have ever asked for.

“So, how’s the marriage plan going with Yukino? I'd better be your best man,” Riku suddenly uttered.

Never mind. I wanted to kill him.

—-------------------------------

We were all standing in the middle of the lobby. Our previous wounds had healed completely, our armour and weapons had been repaired, and our determination had never been higher. It had been exactly one day since the Sovereign’s Tourney.

It was now or never. All of our preparations have been made. Only executing the plan was left.

“Misao, you sure you’ll be okay?” I asked worriedly. This plan fully depended on his teleportation magic. If he ran out of mana or got exhausted, we’d lose.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life. Trust me, I won’t screw up,” affirmed Misao. He gripped his scythe tightly. His black eyes had regained all of their light.

“The cycle ends here. We’ll end the Sovereign’s Tourney here and now!” Yukino shouted like a battle commander.

Our cheering filled the silent streets as the sun began to rise, painting the darkness with tinges of orange. That marked the start of the operation.

“Are you ready, Kurokawa?” Misao asked me this time.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” It wasn’t just an affirmation to the others. It was one to myself as well.

With a tap of Misao’s fingers, I was immediately transported. The last thing I saw was Yukino’s worried expression.

—---------------

“We’ll be fine. Even if they somehow find out the truth, they have to come straight here. We’ll kill them and take their mana if that happens.”

The moment I said those words, I felt a presence in the area. Even King Alucard recognised the foreign entity. We turned towards the same direction at once.

A single man stood in the midst of the corpses. He donned dark armour, a mixture of traditional Japanese and western pieces. At his side was a katana. His eyes glowed purple with stars taking the place of pupils. It complemented his earrings with the same design and colour. The young man’s mossy hair flew with the wind.

He had finally come. The man I was expecting.

“Mr Kurokawa. Glad you could make it,” I announced.

He gave a confident smirk. It was as though our meeting was planned from the start. So he knew everything…

“Greetings, your majesty. It’s been quite a while since our last meeting, “ Mr Kurokawa greeted, then looked at King Alucard, “You must be King Alucard of Aethelheim. It’s an honour to meet you.”

Unlike me, King Alucard struggled to keep his expression neutral. He looked at Aki Kurokawa as though he had met a ghost. Every fibre of his being was tense..

“Judging from your behaviour, I presume that you know all about us?” I asked Mr Kurokawa.

“Pretty much everything. You shouldn’t forget to hide the evidence when cleaning a crime scene, if you get what I mean.”

So Misao Suzuki was still alive. That explained everything.

“Are you not going to ask about my motive? Your reaction is disappointing me. I expected my true nature to be more shocking to you.”

“Don’t need it. Killing you now is faster and easier.”

The feeble and weak-minded man from 2 months ago had disappeared. He puffed out his chest in confidence and was willing to quip back at me. I was proud of his progress. It made killing him and taking his mana that much more satisfying.

“Then I believe no more words are needed. Alucard! Prepare yourself,” I brandished the blade at my side towards my former champion.

“Don’t order me around. I’ll kill that boy with my own bare hands!” King Alucard had finally gathered himself. He too pointed his blade at Mr Kurokawa.

Would he finally end this facade of his? Would he finally cry in fear at the hostility of two leaders of a nation?

No…he laughed. The damned man laughed.

“Let’s end this, Emperor Nobunaga!” He shouted, still smiling.

We rushed at each other, blades in hand. In sheer attack power, one stroke of my blade would rip him in half with ease. Mr Kurokawa was a tricky fellow. I had to predict his attacks.

But I was too late.

I felt a tap on my back. In less than a second, my vision had altered. I was falling between two pitch-black buildings. Above me was a familiar face: a man with a scar between his eyes and pitch black hair.

Misao Suzuki had teleported me.

I couldn’t help but laugh. This final battle was going to be fun!