Arc 3 - Chapter 69: The Men They Loved

(Kalemonath 13, 45 / 9:01PM)

28 years ago…

Acting like a castle on top of that hill, was the adobe. Overlooking the city of Dodgerock, it glittered into the old teen’s eyes. From his room, he saw it all. Wearing a thin brown jacket, khaki pants, and a cowboy hat, spurs jingled behind his ankles.

‘Talk about restlessness.’

Without glancing at the newspaper on the drawer, the front page displayed the main row of words.

[BEAST-HUMANS ATTACK MILITARY BASE! HAXOUBURG SENDS ARMY TO DISMANTLE THEM!]

The window groveling in a coldish state, it made his own eyes squint upon its chilliness. Unable to see his reflection, only the city was within the realm of his irises. Until he heard a knock.

Hearing his own door sway, the cowboy turned around with raised eyes. Having a hand on the knob, was a boy three years younger than him.

“Need something?”

“Did you also get this envelope? The mailman gave this to me personally.”

David looked down at Kenichi’s hand, and saw his fingers grip a white thin paper. Dropping an arm to his side, he pushed down his cheeks, and trailed his eyes to the floor.

“So you got that same letter. From the looks of it, you’re being drafted too.”

“But it’s only rioting right? Why are they drafting all boys ages 13 or up?”

“Because every country is treating this like an all out war..”

Kenichi felt his eyes darken, making him glance down at the envelope at hand. Seeing his own fingers quiver, he gulped, before conjuring up a subtle smile. As if he was cold, even his own body made him deter with nervousness.

“You’re not going to die. Me, you, and Gabriel are going to be in the same regiment.”

“T-That’s what I’m not worried about.”

“Ok, then what is?”

Kenichi raised a hand toward his head, and scrounged his hair with dull fingers. Feeling flakes upon flakes flow from his hair, he lowered his gaze to the floor. With a little push to his vocals, he cleared his throat, yet his eyes continued to stare down.

“Don’t want to worry Iris and Jenny about all of this.”

“Iris is tough as nails. I highly doubt she’ll run away and cry in her room. And Jenny’s way too energetic for her own good.”

David raised a hand toward his cowboy hat. Taking it off, his hair was shuffled and ruffled in all directions. Having it flounder against his temples, he gave the boy a warm smile.

“They’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. And like I always say…”

Turning his eyes toward the window, he gazed into the city with narrowed eyes. Still having that smile upon his lips, even Kenichi looked upon the city lights. From the smoke, the tension, the climax of it all made Kenichi straighten up.

“Governments love to exaggerate stories. I doubt those sharkies, or long-faces, or buck-teeths, or—”

“I think we get the point David.” Putting the envelope back into his pocket, Kenichi gave himself a little smile. Moving his eyes away from the window, he pushed it on the stack of newspapers. “I should be going to bed.”

“Same here.”

But right as he was about to exit, one man stood in his way.

Being as silent as a mouse, he had his hands in his pockets, and stood like a mannequin. Making Kenichi flinch, the teen gave himself a little chuckle. Feeling his own cheeks grow red, along with a tinge of pink, Kenichi took two steps back.

“Did I miss anything?”

“Nothing much, just words of encouragement.”

“Well wanna hear some encouragement? We’re going to register in a few days.”

Kenichi felt his stomach drop, but he kept his back and neck aligned. Keeping a poker face, David noticed the faintest droplet of sweat forming on Kenichi’s neck. David placed his cowboy hat on the drawer, specifically on the stack of newspapers.

“Does the Boss know about this?”

“I talked about it with him, yeah, but we warned.”

Pulling out his hands from his pockets, he also stared at the window. But unlike those two, his eyes didn’t gleam with the city lights. No, what he saw was a face, his own youthful face.

“Although we have each other, we’re not gonna be a three man squad. Just hope you all are team players.”

________________________________________________________________________

30 minutes later…

Laying on his own bed, in his own room, Kenichi stared up at the wooden ceiling. Feeling the old cotton pinch his back, he didn’t need to see a glimpse upon the city. Although he had that talk, his body ached with energy, or rather…

‘Come on, go to sleep. Anything won’t happen, it’s just a riot.’

He imagined the flames, the gunsmoke, and the pain to which he’ll bring him. Whether it be scars, trauma, or anything he wished he hadn’t seen, he’ll try to overcome such fear. Feeling his body tighten, lock itself in place, the only thing that’ll get him up is a disturbance within his reality.

‘And besides, I’ll get to meet new people. People that aren’t from the—’

He heard a small knock. Sitting himself up, he had his legs hang off the bed, and his hands resting on the cotton. Hearing the door creak, a subtle light fluttered in from the hallway. There came a shadow, a little one that thumped against the wooden floor. Gripping the knob, and releasing it, was a little girl four to five years old. Monolid eyes, black hair, she took a few steps in.

“Oh hey Jenny. Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Iris is being mean again! She won’t let me sleep with Mr. Teddy!”

“Uh, I mean, it’s just a toy right? You could sleep on your own.”

“But it’ll make Mr. Teddy sad! Iris makes Teddy sad!”

“Ok ok. Indoor voice remember?”

Stomping her way toward his bed, she grabbed the edge, and pulled herself up. Her face churned to a frown, and she had her arms crossed over her stomach. Looking like she was still angry, he clutched his hands over his legs.

For a girl that was nine to ten years younger than him, her demeanor always overshadowed his.

“I think the key to not making Iris mean, is to listen to her.”

“But she’s too mean! She’s big and fat! Like a pig!”

“Please do not call her that. Hellfire will rain on all of us…”

“What’s hay-fire?”

“Uh, she’ll explode like a star. Boom. House and village will go bye bye.”

Jenny continued to puff her cheeks. Letting go of his clutched hands, he exhaled air out of his mouth, before hunching his body. Feeling his cheeks grumble down, he shook his head vertically, before lifting himself off the bed.

“How about this? I’ll talk with her so that way you could sleep with uh… Teddy right?”

“Mr. Teddy!”

“Ok ok. Again, indoor voice.”

His bare feet hardening under the wood, Jenny followed along. Walking toward the door, he let Jenny exit first. As the two walked along the hallway, the dim lights burdened his exhausted eyes. But for Jenny, her cheeks loosened slightly, but her lips were still churned to that frown.

“Jenny, can you name a single thing good about your sister? I’m curious.”

“Hmm… uh… she snores funny.”

“She snores?”

“Even father and mother tell her to be quiet. Especially mother.”

‘Not exactly what I call good, but okay.’

Raising a hand to his neck, he scratched softly the more they walked. Feeling his literal cheeks grow heavy, he shook his head, all to make himself appear attentive. Glancing down, her frustration and anger she built up gradually loosened. Her lips straightened out, her eyes remained shallow upon the wooden floor beneath them.

“I know Iris can be mean, and a bit cruel sometimes, but she means well.”

He remembered the memories. Sticks slamming against his cheeks, or his body, it ricocheted like a reverb of a gong. All from one girl, that fifteen year old teen, she was always so harsh on him…

“Jenny?”

“When can I sleep with you?”

Kenichi stopped, as his boots gripped the edge of the staircase. Letting his lips furrow down, he scratched the side of his temple, all with a bit more vigor this time. Without looking at Jenny, he cleared his throat.

“Just continue sleeping with Iris. Listen to her, listen to your dad, just… listen to them.”

Jenny stared at the stairs, her eyes clutched together tightly. While she rested them there, Kenichi patted her head, before walking away. As she began her soft descent, Kenichi on the other hand walked toward his room. Moving a hand toward his hair, he began ruffling with the wavy part of it.

‘She’s only a kid. I think she’ll grow out of it by the time she’s six.’

________________________________________________________________________

(Reverence 6, 59 / 8:04PM)

The two women could only gaze at death incarnate. His chains sparking embers across the ground, it was a clash of illuminating metal.Early night drawing in, the sun began settling into the pinkish horizon.

‘Oh Kenny…’

Jenny finally took a step back, as her fingers stalled against the handle of her pan. Struggling to even take breath, she whimpered out through jumping vocals.

Luna felt her face sour. Breath stuck in her throat, it acted like coal, causing low oxygen to sustain through her nostrils. Creasing her airways with dryness, all she ever wanted to do, at that moment, was to spring her feet into motion. But not in the way she had hoped.

‘I… Luke…’

Kenichi took a step forward. Even when he made his first move, the only thing they did was flinch. Trauma swallowing them whole, Luna herself bit the inside of her cheeks. And most importantly…

‘Please help—’

“Luna…”

—She heard a voice.—

The background noise dimming to near zero, the whisper loudened like a recurring dream. Spinning her head once again, she glanced to her right, her left, and even up at the sky, but she noticed them—

Start to fade.

“Luna…”

Without even moving, her boots were still glued to the floor. But even the metal beneath her feet began to shift. Blinking once, then twice, three times, four, five, six—

The world around her turned white. Jenny wasn’t with her, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were all mesmerized in the same whitish glow. Looking around with dazed eyes, she cleared her throat and screamed into the void.

“Hello!”

Taking a step forward, her boots thump marble, despite nothing appearing below. Her echo tracing deep into the unknown, it wouldn’t bounce or reverberate, not even give it back.

“Anyone! Someone!”

Like a child lost in a mall, she had difficulty deciding what to do. Her breathing still fastened, still grating against her vocals, she sniffled softly… until her body shriveled goosebumps.

“H-Hello?” Her voice crackled with syllables. Letting go of her fists, she heard the soft thump of footsteps. Along with a squeak, she spun her body to look at—it was a boy.

“Ha…”

He was scrawny and pale, and he wore a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans. Having her hands completely run numb, she quivered her lips and felt the needles within her thighs. Feeling her own knees buckle, flashes of memories appeared before her. The books, the talks, the many times he called her…

“A-Armin?”

He was ten meters away. Keeping his walk steady, he carried a brown book within his right hand. Worry and longing replacing anger, she sniffled, while the boy finally reached the 5 foot, 7 inches swordswoman. Like he had remembered, the boy wrapped her waist with his arms, and pushed his cheek to his stomach.

Finally moving those numbing hands, his warmth brought it to her bones. Raising a hand toward his head, he patted his hair… The dam broke. She cradled him like a bear.

Tears riveting down her cheeks, the warmth it brought creased her skin. Wheezing out air, all through her throat, she kept him close without struggle. The cotton of his shirt felt real, his warmth felt passed down. Everything about his being screamed of normalcy.

Pulling back his head, he stared up at the woman whose eyes rung down rivers.

“You know Luna, I don’t have many regrets, but uh…”

Still clinging to the book, his fingers slightly scratched the cover. Moving his arms back, he had his hands settle on her hips, whilst his eyes remained locked on hers. Despite being an inch taller, her whole body radiated so much strength, so much trauma.

“I wish I told you more stories.”

Her tears loosened intensity, which left her to sniffle. Mucus staining her upper lip, her eyes reddened in a pinkish tint. The demeanor she cultivated, the stature she was remembered for; all crumpled in front of her own brother. Still keeping her arms locked around him, her words trailed out like a whisper.

“I should’ve gone with you.” Her face puffed red, and her throat was rattled in so much mucus. So much she wanted to say, wanted to express, it all was held in those raspiced vocals. “I should’ve gone with all of you… I never… why didn’t I—”

“Hey, don’t blame yourself.” Moving his hands, he placed them on top of her shoulders. Feeling her shoulder blades, they hardened by the way he gave her warmth. “If you had gone with us, you would’ve died too.”

“But…”

“And you wouldn’t be as strong as you are now.” His skin held a paler skin tone, yet his eye color and hers were the same. Her reddened eyes and loose nostrils made him grin, as if the sight in front of him was a rare one. Even before she changed, all of her emotions were masked, including sadness. “Me, Dad, and everyone forgave you long ago. There’s no need to worry.”

“Ha…”

“And we all know you can do this.

“But he’s—”

“Strong? Is that what you’re worried about?” He moved his palms down her arms, although her leather jacket covered her skin. Loosening her hold on his body, her old tears stained her tan cheeks. The tips of her fingernails trembling, her strength began to weaken. “Muscles can grow, but there’s a limit to it. You know Dad? Remember those arms he had? Not every man could grow like them.”

She remembered those warm dinner nights, to which her dad cooked spaghetti. Ranging from white sauce to red, noodles to ravioli, his combinations ranged from normal to outlandish. But the key importance to his cooking wasn't to feed. It was to serve, to protect, to cherish.

“Bounds do not exist for the people we cherish. I read it in a book somewhere, but Luna, we could better ourselves not just for us, but for others.”

He moved his hands toward her palms at last. Holding his, and holding hers, it was a contrast of skin. His held a smoothness that rivaled spherical glass, while hers held calluses, old blisters, rough patch skin. Both saw themselves within their own irises, brown locking with brown.

“You are strong Luna. Really strong. But instead of being strong for yourself…” Rubbing her knuckles, the only thing he glittered out was a smile. Just a smile. So much warmth in one face, Luna sniffled again, but no mucus ran down her nose. As their arms and hands drooped to gravity. “Be strong in your own way.”

—The world around them began to crack.—

In the world of white, black scars tainted the white background. The floor, the unseen walls, the never-ending roof, glitched erratically. Like the last of a computer’s life cycle, the world her soul imagined with… her younger brother began to glitch.

“No wait, don’t go!”

“You still have so much to train, so much to learn.”

“W-Wait!”

White crackling in the background, the black began to pop in, yet no debris or chunks were shown in front of her. Trying to extend a hand out in front of her, all she could see was a stretched out boy. She—

She stopped. Having her hand still extended, she glued her boots firm to the white nothingness ground. Feeling strength in her fingers, she wiggled them softly, before pulling her arm back. The silence all too overbearing, even the tears she dribbled were gone.

‘Oh.’ More of the world turning black, it felt like the void began to take shape. Her arms, as well as her back and shoulders, submit to gravity. She collapsed on her knees. ‘They all need me.’ Memories didn’t trace as fast as they did, Feeling her eyes grovel in heaviness, she raised a hand toward her right cheek. ‘They’re gone… they’re long dead… but they’re all counting on me to win.’

Tilting her head toward the roof, she stared at the crumbled roof completely turned to black. Ebbing through the dark, the world around her was lifeless; soulless even. Even when darkness roamed, what lay in her heart was light… ‘Luke’s counting on me to win.’

________________________________________________________________________

She widened her eyes. For the people watching her, it was only a second. But for her herself, it felt like days, weeks even.

Taking a single step back, she eyed the many wooden crates laced with unique logos. All from in back of her, she counted the boxes, before turning her head straight. And upon laying eyes on the ginger-haired man, his chainsaws glittered out embers from the clashing of metal.

“You both looked dazed, so I’ll ask you two again. Surrender now or fight.” The night wind howled violently, as specks of sand trickled onto their clothes. The moisture from their bodies excreted out more sweat. “You don’t have to fight me. You both could just raise your hands and bow down.”

Both of Luna’s knuckles creaked. Pushing her nails into her palms, small rivers of blood washed from the center. Dripping onto the metallic floor, and near the two batons against her boots, she stared down. The wind finally ceased…

To which she stomped with both feet. Making both of her batons twirl and rise, the world around her slowed to the speed of a drunk snail. Small reflections shone onto her face, and into the metallic surface of her batons; as she grabbed both of them with ease.

—Hearing the click of two buttons, four blades glimmered under the evening sun.—

“Like hell you’re taking me.”

Steadying her feet, she slid her right foot back, but kept her body balanced. Her toes loosened with the ground, the metal of her swords were finally shone to the outside world. Kenichi exhaled a large gust of air from his nose, and out from his parched lungs. Taking a step back, he shook his head.

“Guess you still haven't learned.”

“Do I look like a person who learns?”

She smirked.

Dropping her hands down to the height of her waist, her blades twirled. Increasing in velocity, and doubling in acceleration, the air around her began to mold into something different. As soon as she re-learned how to use such swords, she hunched her body forward, and pulsated the air around her.

“I ain’t holding back!”

She lunged straight toward the ginger-haired man. Jenny’s body crumbled to the floor, her eyes widened upon the fight that finally commenced. Having her fingers scratch the metal floor, her breath wavered.

‘D-Don’t fight…’ Unable to muster a yell or a scream, she couldn’t even extend a hand out toward him. Bounded by the floor, she watched as Luna thrust her arms back. And in return, the chainsaws Kenichi gripped already exalted smoke. ‘Don’t… fight…’

Time ticked shortly, it was then when Kenichi finally—felt the clash of pulsating metal; starting their second round.