Like the Eyes of a Cat in the Black and Blue

First, a literal sea.

Then a sea of flames. The thought that perhaps he was still dreaming, that this was a false awakening, was fleeting. Panic seized him, awakening him fully.

His heart leapt into his throat.

"Luna! Luna!" Shuji shouted, as if trying to make himself heard above the flames, scrambling out of bed so fast that he tripped over the sheets and almost fell to the floor.

Of course, he didn't receive an answer.

Even if by some chance she happened to be nearby, because she had noticed this first and was looking for him, for example, she would most likely not hear him. Just waking up, trying to make his voice rise above the roar of the flames.

What the hell was going on, anyway?

Those who had entered the cave that day had died. All except him. In other words, he had no enemies. So what the hell was this all about? Soldiers passing through, war at last knocking at his door? But why did they set fire to a place that could serve them perfectly well as a base, just like that?

Shuji opened the door to the room.

He flew backwards. Propelled by the fire, which burst in as soon as he let it do so. Shuji came to believe he was on fire. And he was, but not from head to toe, like a human bonfire. Just a little on his shirt. He patted himself, smothering the fire, as he writhed around on the floor.

No need to fear death. But dying? That was another story. Burning alive was among the worst in an endless list of horrible possibilities.

Shuji managed to extinguish himself eventually. He ran out into the hallway.

Of course, it was possible that she wasn't there anymore. In fact, that was what he wished. He wished Luna had woken up before he did and was now outside, scared but safe, he wished he was desperately struggling for nothing.

But if she was still in the house, then that was his best starting point at the very least.

How much time did Shuji have?

Until he suffocated from the smoke. He was more likely to suffocate before he burned to death. But that was only in the real world. Here people were stronger, more resilient. If he fell, would it be from a slow suffocation, like being trapped by a snake, or the flames?

In any case, it was only if he fell. He just had to do this.

This was a disaster. Flames everywhere, a real inferno. How long had it been before he woke up? Before his body finally realized something was wrong.

A shadow passed across his field of vision. It was still night, but everything was very clear in the light of the flames, of the closest thing to a home he had in this world burning to ashes.

It was a soldier in armor that covered him from head to toe. And carrying a spear that he thrust towards his neck.

Shuji dodged the blow, jumping backwards. It cut a few strands of his hair and that was it. Instead of the neck, he made a hole in the wall next to him.

With great ease, Shuji ripped the spear from his hands. But not to use it against the soldier, since his ax was far away. He broke it in half against one knee. Demonstrating what he was going to do to his neck right now. A few moments before it happened.

There was no prolonged fight.

Shuji finished things the way he had to in the middle of this mess. Easily, in the blink of an eye. Threw him against the wall with the full weight of his body, roaring, and yes, it was easy despite the added weight of the full armor.

Then, unceremoniously, he separated his head from his shoulders with a single slash. The soldier's severed head rolled off into the cradle of flames.

Unceremoniously and without questions. He had many questions, but he didn't need answers. He just needed Luna to be safe, so he couldn't waste any time!

With the obstacle out of the way, he resumed the search.

Shuji searched for her through the fire and flames. Now he would be the one to hold out his hand to her.

The fire had helped him see his attacker in time, but it also made it difficult to see, as it was everywhere. The smoke did nothing else. It was getting blacker and blacker, thicker and thicker and more annoying.

But at last he found his way to Luna's room, even though he had never gone there.

To get in, he kicked down the door.

There he encountered more enemies.

Soldiers, there was no doubt now. They were wearing the same armor as the other guy, so clearly it wasn't just any crap they had been picking up along the way, but some sort of uniform.

He didn't know what country or kingdom they represented and didn't care.

The important thing was that Luna had been here recently.

He knew because the window was broken. And it had exploded outward, not inward. Someone had smashed it on the way out, not on the way in, in other words.

Luna must have jumped out there recently. He'd almost caught her.

She'd almost been caught.

"Stop right there, you bastards."

A few jumped out the window. Behind her.

But the last one lunged for Shuji.

They collided in the middle of the room. Sword against ax.

But it was much more than that, much more than the edge of steel. Even if it wasn't the only thing or even the main thing, it caused the ground beneath their feet to crumble. He noticed it before it happened, but by then there was absolutely nothing he could do.

"Fuck me." Except for blowing off steam, maybe.

And so they fell with the debris, all the way to the floor below. They fell into the middle of the roaring inferno that was consuming the inn, the closest thing he had to a home in this fucking world.

He hated this world and this dark, empty building. Solitary. But at least he had, or used to, a roof to sleep under. A place for him.

Shit.

Fucking shit.

Shuji drew himself upright and fixed a steely gaze on his opponent.

He had no time to waste, and too much was hanging in the balance. Had his heart ever beat so fast, so painfully?

"Get out of my way."

Shuji had an ice ax. It was, in theory, the best tool to bring this hellhole under control. But that wasn't his goal right now. He just wanted to get to her.

And as usual, the world was doing nothing but putting obstacles in his way.

He was sick of it all.

Gripping the ax with both hands, Shuji smashed it against his enemy's sword. He would say again and again, but it didn't hold so long for it to fit. With the third blow the sword went flying and the soldier stared at his empty hands like the complete imbecile he was; he, all of them, had set fire and kicked a fucking hornet's nest.

Shuji tried to chop its head off, rip the evil out by the roots, so to speak. But the ax stayed buried in his helmet, going nowhere. Or had it?

The guy started screaming, but he could just be a coward.

A coward with quite a bit of strength.

He managed to knock him to the ground, though Shuji kept the ax anyway. A coward with a lot of strength and a complete idiot. Instead of throwing himself at him, or trying to disarm him, he lunged for the sword he had lost, running in a way that showed that no, he hadn't done anything to him, that the blade hadn't gone much further than the helmet if it had penetrated it at all.

Most importantly, turning his back on him.

Shuji threw the ax.

It slammed into the enemy's back hard, knocking him to the ground.

He couldn't afford to turn his back on anyone who was capable of defending himself. Shuji ripped the ax out of his back.

The next thing he ripped off was his head.

Then he walked out of the inn.

Not through a window. The house was already on fire and would soon be a ruin, so he didn't mind smashing his way through a wall as if it were made of paper.

He ran out, followed by flying debris and the cloud of dust that rose up.

It had the added benefit of attracting the attention of the enemies.

Of those... Animals!

He thought he would find Luna sprawled on the floor, and he did.

He thought they would be taking her pants off or would have already done so. But they hadn't. No, they were just trying to kill her. Somehow that didn't lessen his anger at all.

The one that had her pinned to the ground flew away.