The Fourth Floor

Yusato leaned in closer to Mira, parting and puckering his lips. His heart rose the closer her face came. Her sweet scent filled his nose and he closed his eyes as Mira did the same.

Thump. Thump.

His mind went haywire at the thought of what was about to happen next. His first kiss. His stomach bubbled up in excitement.

Then the door slammed open.

“Who’s ready to go the next floor?!” Saria shouted, carrying a bouquet of flowers in her arms.

Azalea leaned against the door with her arms crossed. “Looks who’s all better now.” She rolled her eyes, but made a small smile nonetheless. She shot a quick glance at Yusato and Mira who were now sitting on opposite edges of the bed, their hands firmly planted at their sides.

“What were you two doing?” Azalea cocked her eyebrows.

“Nothing!” They both shouted in unison.

Mira bumped her knees together, her face tinged a light shade of pink. Yusato couldn’t bring himself to look at Mira and so he kept his eyes locked on the door instead. “We were just resting.”

“Whatever.” Azalea tossed her hair behind her. “Well, if you’re all rested up now, then let’s get going. We’ve got work to do.”

“You’re right.” Yusato stood up and dusted off his pants. He held out his hand for Mira without thinking which she happily took.

Realizing what he just did, he jerked his hand away, stuffing it into his pocket. He whistled innocently before walking out the door in a hurry.

“Oh right. Before I forget.” Azalea motioned over to Mira. “We need to stop at this city’s blacksmith shop. I got you something that should at least help you defend yourself.”

***

At one of the dinners in Beveous City, Tomoki, Azumi, and Mahina were enjoying a plentiful meal. Chunks of boar meat lined their plates along with plenty of baked potatoes and salad. The fancy chandeliers lit up the place with a nice warm light.

Tomoki munched away at his dinner, his gums smacking loudly in the dinner. Normally, this would bother Azumi and she would have to tell him to mind her manners. But right now she didn’t care about that at all.

Azumi’s plate was full of untouched food. Her fork twisted around in her lettuce as she sighed.

“Azumi?” Mahina asked her as she stopped eating a piece of her boar meat. She set her fork and knife down and wiped her chin with a napkin. “What’s wrong? You haven’t eaten anything all night?”

She slumped down in her seat and sighed again. “It’s Yusato.”

Mahina stopped dabbing her face with her napkin and Tomoki’s chewing grinded to a halt. “You’re still thinking about that loser?” Tomoki swallowed his food after asking that.

“He’s not a loser,” Azumi said, as her elbows tucked into her sides. “He was our friend.”

“And he ended up being a loser. He couldn’t even take care of that weak dragon by himself.” Tomoki nonchalantly waved his fork around.

“We left him, Tomoki. We ran away when he needed help.”

Tomoki’s nose crinkled, his voice growing progressively rougher. “Run away? I didn’t run away. All I did was save our lives. It’s not my fault Yusato couldn’t hack it.”

Azumi rubbed her ears and then tucked her hands at her sides. “I still think we should’ve went back for him.”

Tomoki’s fork pierced into the last piece of boar meat on his plate. “Well, what’s stopping you now?”

“I was just saying. We all used to be best friends. We grew up together. It doesn’t feel right without him here.”

“It’s been a year and now you’re saying this?”

Mahina faced Azumi and gently rubbed her shoulder. “It’s because we saw him recently, right?”

Tomoki groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re on her side too, sis.”

“I’m just asking,” Mahina said.

The waiter came over, probably to ask if they wanted anything else, but Tomoki just waved his hand at the man, shooing him away.

Azumi nodded. “He seemed so sad and defeated.” Her fingers tapped on the edge of the table. “He barely even talked to us.”

“That’s his problem.” Tomoki took a long sip of his drink. Then, he stood up and clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s get going. We’ve gotta make it to the top of this thing and get our hands on that reward. You coming, Azumi? Or would you rather be with your old boyfriend?”

Azumi stared down at the food on her full plate. She felt dizzy and lightheaded the more she thought about Yusato and what happened to him.

It was her fault. She looked him in the eye and left him to die. That ate away at her day in and day out. She could barely get any sleep or eat because of what she did. Thinking about that was like a poison that was slowly killing her.

And so, it was best to not think about it at all. Yes, that had to be it. If she pushed it to the back of her mind and ignored it altogether, that would be a proper antidote. That was the best course of action.

Pushing her hands against the table, Azumi got up. She kept her clammy hands pressed firmly against pockets. “I’m coming.”

***

Yusato and the others made their way into the fourth floor. A rocky mountainous terrain spread out before them.

“Oh great…” Yusato sighed, looking up at the massive mountain in front of them. It spiraled around and reached high into the sky. “We’re gonna have to climb that thing, aren’t we?”

“Yep,” Azalea gave an affirming response with a smirk. “Scared?”

“Scared? No. Regretting every one of my life choices? Yes.”

“Good to start somewhere.”

Mira was carrying the shield she got from the blacksmith on her back as she walked inbetween Yusato and Saria. “This is gonna take forever.”

Saria held her hand against her forehead, scanning the large mountain. “Looks fun to me.”

“Of course the nature freak thinks its fun.”

“Yep!” Saria agreed, clapping her hands.”

The four of them trekked up the mountain. Yusato sweat and panted all throughout the long arduous trip. It reached a point where he could puke out his guts at any minute.

He stopped a few times to clutch his chest and catch his breath. However, he wasn’t able to stop for long as Azalea and Saria kept moving. Eventually, they came to the peak of the mountain.

Waiting for them at the top was a massive gray creature with curved horns and glowing red eyes. It held a sharp axe in its hands and swung it down without warning.

Yusato’s jaw dropped as the axe came straight for his head. “A minotaur?!”