Track 3

Killer Song

"Who took the extra food?!"

Such were the words that woke Kikuchi Makoto.

She yawned, as though she were tired, when in reality she was just confused and rather injured. About ten yards away was a crowd of people. From what Makoto could see, there were six or so large men and what appeared to be a teenaged boy in the middle. She watched them, now even more confused than she was originally.

There was a period of silence. And then, if Makoto listened close enough, she heard a quiet voice speak a name, a name she couldn't make out, but she was pretty sure it was a name.

Satisfied, the large men raised swords with an angry yell and ran off, leaving the boy sitting alone in the desert. Desperate for answers, Makoto stood on her feet and walked over to him. "Yo."

He was silent. Makoto crouched beside him.

"Who were those guys?"

He was still silent, but now he turned and looked at her. Makoto looked into his eyes. They were completely blank.

He's blind.

"You need anything?" Makoto asked, slightly worried. The boy stood up, slowly, and took one step forwards. Makoto stood as well. "Hey, come on, don't ignore me…could you at least tell me what's going on? When did that earthquake stop? Where am I? Who are you?"

"Earthquake…?" the boy muttered, sounding just as confused as Makoto would have looked if he could see her. "There was no earthquake here."

"Liar," Makoto accused.

He snorted. "I only wish…"

"Wait, what?"

The boy looked at her. "You don't know of my gift."

"Nope. Mind explaining things?"

He smiled at her, only slightly. "My name is Kentaro. I was born blind, and in exchange, I see only the truth."

This somehow only managed to confuse Makoto even more. "So you're magical," she decided.

"Close enough," Kentaro said with a chuckle.

"Now, your next task is to explain what those men wanted with you," Makoto announced.

Kentaro frowned. "…they wanted to know who took all their extra food. They were going to kill him," he told her. Carefully, he took a step forwards, then another. Makoto took his arm to support and guide him.

"And you told them?" she gasped. "How could you tell them?!"

"You say that like I wanted this to happen," Kentaro snapped. "I'm sorry, but being beaten doesn't really appeal to me that much." He grunted in pain when Makoto accidentally stepped on his foot. She quickly moved off.

"…I'm sorry," she said quietly. "That really isn't fair at all…someone should teach those guys a lesson. Why, I'd be happy to do it myself if I knew what I was doing!"

Kentaro smiled a bit wider. "Would you, now…"

"I'm serious. I'll be like your personal bodyguard."

"You really mean that?"

"Definitely!" Makoto giggled and pumped her fist in the air. "It's settled! From now on, I'm your constant companion! Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it!"

Kentaro's smile was the widest it had been so far.

~*xXxXx*~

Makoto began to stay with Kentaro wherever he went. For a while, nothing happened that bothered them, but Makoto had a gut feeling that would change soon. She stayed by her master's side at all times, prepared to fight off anyone who threatened his safety.

And that was exactly what she sensed she would have to do when the same group of men from before asked him where the last source of water could be found. It was summer, and in this barren wasteland water was hard to come by. And yet, Kentaro had told Makoto that the only water left connected to a faraway orphanage. If these men got to that water, it could put the orphanage in danger.

The men pestered Kentaro for a long time. He remained silent for as long as possible, but after a while the men became impatient and began to strangle him. Makoto watched in fury, fingers playing with the knife by her side, but she didn't move from her place a few yards away, watching the scene unfold.

"Tell us where the water is, right now!" one of the men demanded. "We know you know where it is!"

Kentaro only coughed loudly.

"Are you going to continue to ignore us?!"

"…i-it's…over west," Kentaro spoke at last. "…not far from here is a large oak tree. If you dig…by the roots, you'll find the water."

The men smiled deviously and released his neck. He coughed violently and gasped for air. Laughing, the men gave him a hard pat on the back and sauntered off. As soon as they had left, Makoto ran to Kentaro's side.

"…just tell me what to do," she hissed. "I promise I'll make sure they never reach that orphanage. I'm trained for this, really."

"Killing is much different than simple fighting," Kentaro murmured. He reached towards his bodyguard, and Makoto tipped her cheek into his hand. He rubbed her face gently. "I want you to kill them."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Makoto smiled slightly and let her hand wrap around the handle of her knife. Now was the time she would finally prove her skills to the boy she'd come to love. Now she would show him what his knight could do.

~*xXxXx*~

This is it.

The thought guided Makoto's steps as she slipped stealthily through the shadows, the dull knife gripped tightly in her hand. The men she targeted were laughing and sharing stories, completely oblivious to her schemes, with only a couple of lanterns to light the night. Makoto felt she would have no problem getting to them with the darkness on her side.

She waited for the right moment, poised behind a wall and ready to strike, imagining how proud Kentaro would be when she told him of how she'd killed them all in a single go.

When the time finally came, Makoto darted from behind the wall, quick as a flash, and slashed the first man she saw in the back with a cry. She felt her hands tremble slightly from the recoil of the strike, but she pushed through it and attack her victim one more time to ensure his defeat. He gasped in alarm and fell forwards, bleeding heavily out of the wound on his back. Satisfied, Makoto was about to move on to the next one when the light of the lanterns suddenly swung towards her. She yelped and shielded her eyes from the light. The next thing she knew, she was lying facedown in the dirt, held in place by two of the men. She grunted in annoyance.

"Aren't you that boy's little sidekick?" one of them taunted. "Aw, look at that. You thought you could kill us?"

"I did kill one of you," Makoto replied triumphantly. She started to struggle, but it was no use. The man who had spoken to her chuckled darkly and pulled out a small knife.

"I'm gonna make sure you won't meddle anymore."

Makoto opened her mouth to speak, but what emerged was a loud cry of pain when she felt the knife slice through the tendon in her right leg. She tried again to protest and again released an injured yell when her other leg was also sliced through. The men laughed and Makoto moaned.

"Leave her here," the man who'd attacked her ordered. His companions released her and took up their lanterns. Makoto watched them walked away with blurred vision.

Sniffling loudly, she made a choked crying sound and hoisted herself up on her elbows. Slowly, one hand at a time, she crawled away towards Kentaro to deliver the news.

So this is it, huh…there's no way I can run off with him now…! How am I supposed to keep him safe?

~*xXxXx*~

"K-Kentaro…!"

The blind boy looked in Makoto's general direction. She crawled over to him and rested her head against his leg, crying loudly. He reached down and stroked her hair gently.

"What happened?"

"I-I got one of them." Makoto wanted to give him a bit of good news before she broke the bad news.

Kentaro's blank eyes narrowed. "And the others…?"

"They got away."

"They got away?!"

"…they…m-my legs…" Makoto broke off in a sob. "I'm sorry…I-I'm sorry! I won't be able to take you along and run away…I can't protect you…!"

"Tell me what they did."

"Th-they cut the tendons in my legs. I-I can't walk—"

"Once you've killed one person," Kentaro interrupted, a fearless look in his unseeing eyes, "killing two or three is easy."

Makoto fell silent. After a moment, she forced herself to stop crying and push past the pain. "…alright. I'll try," she murmured, rising shakily onto her legs. She wound up falling against Kentaro, who chuckled and hoisted the girl onto his lap. Makoto blushed and leaned against him happily, praising her luck that the boy she'd fallen in love with was blind and therefore couldn't see how masculine she looked.

"That's all I can ask of you," Kentaro promised. "I'll point you in the right direction."

"I'll follow you. Always."

True to his word, the enemies always came from whatever direction Kentaro pointed. And true to her word, Makoto cut them all down. Her legs still hurt and she couldn't walk properly, but through sheer willpower and stamina, she managed to kill every man or woman who threatened Kentaro's safety.

To protect you is my only purpose in life.

~*xXxXx*~

"Have you heard the legend?"

One man sat at a table in an old tavern. There were two other men and a woman with him. The men nodded, but the woman cocked her head curiously.

"What legend?" she asked.

"They say there's an impregnable castle not far from here," the man began. The woman nodded in interest. "The master of the castle is blind, and his lone knight can't even walk right."

"Impregnable castle, you say?" The woman blinked. "But he's blind, and his knight can't walk."

The man laughed. "That's right. It's the love between them that's brought about such a miracle," he murmured.

The other men at the table made sounds of agreement, and the woman looked up towards the ceiling, a wistful look in her eyes.

"The love between them, huh…"

Little did they know, the castle of legend lay just outside the city gates in a barren desert. It was an old, breaking building, but it was what Makoto and Kentaro called home.

And it was their love that had brought about that miracle.