EPISODE 1: Dragon Awakens — CHAPTER 1: Twilight of Fate — PART 3

Yui was Bastion’s best friend. Always had been.

When they were little kids on the playground, he’d made it his mission to defend her from bullies.

Now, apparently, it was her job to defend him.

“Sorry for getting you harassed by busybodies.”

She shrugged. “You can make it up to me by doing movie night this Friday.”

“I don’t think my parents will let me this time.”

“Then I’ll be the one to ask.”

That would probably work. Bastion’s parents had always adored Yui.

「C’mon, let’s get going,」 Yui said with a grin.

The sun was already hanging low on the horizon.

How long was I asleep?

“All right, all right. Let’s go.”

Yui only came up to Bastion’s chest when they stood. She’d always been short—that hadn’t changed in high school—but somewhere along the way, her style had. Her black hair now fell past the edge of her scarf, and her violet eyes were framed with just enough shadow and mascara to stay under the teachers’ radar—maybe even subtle enough that only Bastion would notice.

At some point in middle school, she’d suddenly become a confession magnet, earning at least one per week. In high school, the number had only gone up.

She’d turned down every single one.

Was that really what Sakamoto challenged Bastion over? Did he think beating Bastion in a fight would earn him the right to date Yui?

What a damn moron.

Bastion picked up one last rock and plopped it into the river.

“Bastion, aren’t you supposed to skip those?”

“I guess I’m not in a skipping mood.”

“In that case,” Yui said, skipping in a half circle around him, “what movie do you want to watch?”

Bastion shrugged as they started plodding away from the riverbank. “I don’t know.”

“What about It Came From the Dungeon 4?”

“Haven’t we seen that a dozen times already?”

“A classic’s a classic, no matter how many times we watch it.”

Bastion chuckled under his breath and shook his head in disbelief. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s plan for Friday, then. I’ll buy snacks.”

“Yay. It’s a date, then.”

Bastion pursed his lips. “Just so you know, that word has more than one meaning in this context.”

“I know,” Yui said with a cheerful grin.

That made Bastion feel unexpectedly bashful—a rare emotion for him.

The walk home was mostly quiet. Kitayama-ku was technically a ward of Meiroshima, but it was the last stop before you hit true inaka country. There were no crickets this late in the season, but a few sparrows flitted through the trees, their songs carrying clear over the nearby mountainside.

And somehow, Bastion knew this wouldn’t last forever.

What do I want to do with my life?

“Say, Yui,” Bastion broke the silence.

“Hm?”

“What are you planning to do after high school? Like, what do you want to be?”

She blushed slightly, then gave him a teasing smile. “Bastion, you’ve never asked me something like that before. Could it be you’re actually thinking about the future?”

“I guess,” he said. “I just… I don’t know what I’m gonna do with mine. So I thought maybe I could get ideas from hearing about yours.”

「I see,」 she said, looking up at the sky. "I don’t know, Bastion. For a while, I thought it might be fun to be a magic researcher. I mean, Magecraft is pretty neat, and I’m not half bad at Dragonscript.

“Or I could try being a teacher, or a nurse. I don’t know. I still haven’t made up my mind. Heck, if I could choose any career, I’d want to be a professional wrestler, for sure.”

Bastion burst out laughing.

「Don’t laugh,」 Yui protested. 「Pro wrestling is really cool. I want to be able to do those crazy flips and elbow drops.」

That only made Bastion laugh harder. He had to stop walking and double over.

Yui pouted at him, trying her best to look annoyed, but the longer she kept it up, the harder Bastion laughed—until she finally started laughing too.

By the time he was done, Bastion’s side ached and face hurt.

When they finally calmed down, Yui looked away and tapped her fingers together.

「But really, all of those things would just be side-quests, you know? Just stuff I do along the way.」

Bastion frowned. Those were awfully ambitious side-quests. 「Then what do you really want to do with your life?」

「If I tell you the last one, you have to promise not to laugh.」

「It’s not professional Sumo, is it?」

“Bastion. Promise.”

He took a deep breath and nodded. 「Okay, Yui. I promise not to laugh.」

「I want to be… ahousewifeandamom.」

Bastion blinked. She’d said the answer so fast that he hadn’t quite understood it.

「Eh?」

Yui sighed, and this time, she spoke clearly. 「I said I want to be a housewife and a mom.」

She kept her eyes averted, clearly embarrassed.

“Oh,” Bastion said. He wasn’t sure why that surprised him. Yui had never mentioned it before—but like she said, he’d never asked.

「I know it’s old-fashioned, and I know some people think it’s dumb to want that sort of thing, but someday, I want to build a big family with lots and lots of kids.」 She smiled shyly. “And to have a wrestling championship belt hanging from my wall.”

Bastion grinned. “That’s awesome, then. I support you entirely.”

Her smile caught the sunset just right—soft, glowing, and more beautiful than he’d ever noticed before.

「So,」 she said, planting her hands on her hips, 「you got me to admit something super embarrassing. I hope it helped. Did you get any ideas for what you’re doing after high school?」

Bastion clasped his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. Huge, puffy clouds rolled overhead, crimson in the setting sun.

“I don’t know,” he said at last. “It’s so hard to imagine anything beyond this, you know? Not everything is perfect, but being with you, and with my friends… It’s hard to think about the future when all I want is to cling to the present.”

“I see…” Yui was quiet for a long while. “I think I get where you’re coming from. Everyone’s so focused on what’s coming that we forget to enjoy what we have right now.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“But if we only focus on keeping things the same, we might miss out on a future that’s even better than the present.” She skipped ahead a few steps, then turned around and grinned at him, hands clasped behind her back. 「You know, not all change is bad.」

Bastion couldn’t help but smile. “I guess you’re right again.”

Yui started walking forward, head held high. “Please, praise me more.”

“You’re brilliant.”

“Yep.”

“And intelligent.”

“Indeed.”

“And witty.”

“When the occasion suits me.”

「And beautiful.」

Bastion froze the moment the words left his mouth. He hadn’t even thought about it—just blurted it out.

Yui came to a slow stop before turning to look at him one more time. The delight on her face was mesmerizing.

「You really think so?」

Bastion swallowed, mouth suddenly dry.

“Ye—”

「KUROSAWA Bastion!」

Both of their eyes widened at the same time as they turned to find the source of the shouting.

Near the end of the road, standing beneath a tree by the river, was a familiar figure.

Takahata Yuki. Also known as The Mustang.

Yui’s older brother by one year.

Like Bastion, he wore a boys’ gakuran uniform—though it was from a different school, since he’d been too stupid to get into Northern Meiroshima High. And that was saying something, considering Bastion wasn’t exactly the thickest book on the shelf.

「You dare stand so close to my sister?! Have you no shame?」

「I’m going to kill him,」 Yui muttered, burying her face in her hand. 「I’m going to slip arsenic into his curry. Then he won’t be anyone’s problem anymore.」

「Go on ahead, Yui,」 Bastion said, stepping toward her brother.

「Can’t we just ignore him?」 Yui begged.

「We both know he’ll keep yelling until either I deal with him, or the police arrest him.」

She groaned. 「Just… try not to damage his face too much. It’s all he has left.」

“I’m not making any promises.” Bastion cracked his knuckles.

Honestly, timing aside, the interruption felt almost fortuitous. After all the frustration and setbacks of the day, Bastion was really in the mood to put someone’s face into the pavement.