A Friend From The Past

In the bustling center of the town, where the sun beat down mercilessly on the dusty streets, I found myself in a wild pursuit. The person I was chasing seemed to be deliberately obstructing my path, knocking over pots and pans from the market stalls that stood in their way. But I was determined to catch up to her, leaping over obstacles and dodging around obstacles with unbridled determination.

My heart pounded with adrenaline as I chased her, the hot pavement burning beneath my feet as I sprinted relentlessly forward.

At this breakneck pace, I was struggling to keep up with her. I didn't expect her to stop or slow down. Doubts began to creep into my mind - was she really who I thought she was? Why was she running away from me? There were so many unknowns, but I didn't give up the chase.I knew that when this chase finally came to an end, I would have the answers to all of my questions.

The road we were on seemed to stretch on forever; we had been running in one direction for what felt like an eternity.

As fate would have it, our path was suddenly blocked by two horse-drawn carriages. With the road ahead obstructed, my quarry had nowhere left to run.

I knew it was only a matter of time before I caught up with her. But she showed no signs of slowing down; even as she saw the carriages blocking her way, she picked up speed and continued to run.

Just as I was about to call out to her to stop once more, she deftly hurled knives at the locks on the carriage doors with unerring precision.

When both wagons were unlocked, the barrels rolled out of the wagons and came toward me. My prey darted to the left and disappeared down an alley, leaving me alone with the approaching barrels. I couldn't run or jump over them; I had to find another way out. As I approached the alley, I saw an unfinished gazebo to my left. With a well-placed shot and some power, I could use it to my advantage.

I fired at one of the arbor's legs, causing its roof to collapse in front of me. Supported by its remaining legs, the roof hung in the air. Seizing the opportunity, I ran up the sloping roof and jumped onto the roof of a nearby house. I now had the upper hand; from my vantage point above, I could follow my prey's movements and get close to it. It didn't take long for it to realize I was on to it.

She seemed to be frantically looking for a way to get me off his tail, but I was determined not to let him go. As I increased my speed and prepared to attack her from above, she suddenly turned left onto another street. The buildings to my left were too high for me to reach without Ryuu or Shou's help. The walls were smooth and featureless; there was nothing for me to climb.

As I reached the edge of the rooftop, I gathered all my strength and leaped towards the opposite building. Mid-jump, I realized that even with all my might, I wouldn't be able to make it across. But it was too late to turn back; I had already committed to the jump.

Instead of landing on the adjacent rooftop as I had intended, I found myself hurtling towards an open window on one of the building's upper floors.

"Oh no! When I broke the window and burst into the house, I was met with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The children were screaming in excitement while the adults looked on in horror. I kept running and called after them to show them that I was sorry. "I'm sorry," I shouted. Saying those words took some of the regret out of me, even if it wasn't much.

But I had to do it to catch her. I was going through the houses one by one, watching the person I was chasing through the window. I didn't give up. And the best part was that she didn't see where I was.

We were approaching the end of the street when an old man caught my eye. He was eating in one of the houses that I entered, so I called out to him as I ran past so he wouldn't be scared. "Bon appetit, old man," I said.

Slowly, he answered me with a smile on his face. "Time is young but also fast," he said.

When I entered the house at the end of the street, I jumped out of the window and fell straight into the street. Luckily, the person I was chasing was right below me, right to the right, making him an open target. I managed to catch him in mid-air by jumping on him.

"I finally caught you," I said breathlessly.

She struggled and tried to stop me from opening her cloak, but that didn't stop me. In one move I lifted her cloak because I had to know. Was this the person I hadn't seen for so long?

"Lena, is that you?" I asked in disbelief.

She took a good look at me and realized who I was. She smiled and answered me.

"Hiroshi, it's been a long time," she said.

It had been a long time since I had seen Lena. How could this happen? I thought she was dead like the others. Apparently, there was a lot I didn't know. I asked her to get my answer.

"But how could this happen? I thought you were dead," I said.

As Lena was about to open her mouth and speak, we started to hear voices coming from the other side of the street. It was the soldiers themselves. Lena turned her head towards me.

"I'll tell you everything, but we have to get out of here," she said urgently.

Even though I hadn't seen her for a long time, I knew I could trust her. She was more than a friend and would never think the worst of me.

I did as she said and got off her. We left quickly and were already gone by the time the soldiers arrived where we had been. Lena made sure we were safe by taking us up to the roof of a high house. Seeing that it was quiet, Lena was ready to talk.