Arc Two: A New Life

Chapter Ten

Kill your Oblivion

Awareness came gradually. First were the heavy blankets and smothering heat, and perspiration radiating warmth over her body. Then came the cold light. Discomfort, as the linens were of scratchy cotton.

Cotton?

Memories flooded in, lapping against the walls of her mind and demanding themselves true. But where they memories, or dreams? Tapping into Wind Rider, Inari prayed to find herself in her room on her bed, immersed not in cotton but her wonderful silk beddings.

But nothing happened—Divine Atmosphere: Wind Rider was not on her wrists.

Cue the panic.

Shooting out of the bed, Inari fell atop a muscled heap of fur. It growled grumpily, then licked her face. Jock! She hugged the lion, savoring the familiar outline of his face. His leash was still attached to the leather collar around his neck. Inari took it and had Jock lead her around the room. She held out her hands, tracing the walls, the bedposts, the windowsill, the knobs on the dresser in the corner; nothing was familiar. The hardwood floor was bare against her feet and every piece of furniture she found was naked. No curtains whispering by the window, no engravings on the candleholder sitting lonely on a small square night table, no canopy wrapping the bed in a misty dream. Her surroundings were absolutely foreign, and the door was locked.

And her mother was dead.

Having mapped out the barren room in her mind, Inari darted to the window. She ran her fingers over the cold glass until she found a latch, unhooked it, and pushed the window open. Crisp air flooded inside, bringing with it the fresh scent of woodland pine and freshwater. Sounds of far-off squeals reached her ears. Without knowing how high she was, it would be beyond reckless to jump. If she had Wind Rider, escape-by-window would be a breeze. But she didn't. Inari was stuck.

Turning back into the room, Inari took inventory of her surroundings. There was nothing in the dresser or night table draws. The airy gown fluttering just short of her knees was soft, comfortable, and definitely not from her wardrobe. She was barefoot, blind, but not bleeding. Alive. Jock was still with her, she had been given warm linens, clean sleepwear; a glass of something scentless had been left on the dresser. Inari pointedly ignored it. The candleholder was cold.

Footsteps echoed from beyond her room. A dismal list of options ran through her head. Inari yanked the glass of unknown liquid from the dresser then raced for the door, accidentally running into it. Recovering quickly, she hastily traced the doorframe, determined which way it would open and flattened herself against the adjacent wall. She and Jock would be hidden from the open doorway.

The footsteps stopped outside. The lock clicked. Inari's heart felt like it was strangling her throat.

Slowly, the door opened. "Hello?" A timid, youthful voice called out. "Wha-"

Inari jumped from her hiding place, tossed the liquid in the cup towards the direction of the voice. Following the sound of the liquid hitting it's target, she chucked the glass cup, winning a savage thump and a cry. She opened the door fully and made to leave, but a soft hand yanked her wrist and snapped her back into the room.

Stumbling, Inari tripped over the first body she had fell, landing hard on the floor. Jock growled, but Inari kept his leash firmly at her side. The only possibility she could think of was that she was a captive of Night Raid. If so, a lion, no matter how fierce, stood no chance, and Inari simply couldn't afford to lose her last line of sight.

"My, sleeping beauty's a rowdy one," Lionel said, her voice grinning.

"Ow…Is that why you had me open the door?" Tatsumi groaned from the floor.

"Astute, this one is," Lionel teased. "So, how are ya?"

"I'm soaking wet," Tatsumi complained.

"I wasn't asking you, moron. Did'ya sleep well? Hungry? Ready to talk? Oh, that's right—you're blind. I'm talking to you, Inari."

Yea, she figured. "Where am I?"

"Right to the point, I like that," Lionel said. The floorboards creaked, and from Tatsumi's sudden outburst of surprise, Inari guessed that Lionel had yanked him to his feet. "You're in our base."

She was about to repeat the word "our" with the air of a question, but then Inari supposed there was no point in asking the obvious. Instead, she settled for, "why?"

"Well, we couldn't exactly leave you," Lionel said. "What with you seeing our faces—"

"I didn't see anything," Inari said matter-of-factly. "I'm blind."

"Ah, but you did, didn't you?" Lionel purred.

"Your Imperial Arms lets you read the wind currents, doesn't it?" Tatsumi asked, albeit a bit eagerly. "I wouldn't be surprised if you could describe our faces perfectly."

"If you're going to kill me," Inari growled, "at least give my gauntlets back so it can be a fair fight."

"What makes you think we play fairly?" Lionel teased. Inari flinched at the sudden finger-tap on her nose. The rowdy woman then let out a refreshed sigh as, Inari assumed, she stretched her arms wide. "But we're not gonna kill you. Not yet, anyways."

Again, "why?" Inari asked.

"Well, your friend Seiger is pretty worried about you," Lionel cooed. Seiger! Lionel laughed. "From the look on your face, I'd say I'd got your attention. Your friend took quite a beating, but he'll be fine."

"Where is he?" Inari demanded.

"Washing the laundry with Mine," Tatsumi answered. "You haven't met her yet."

"There's a house meeting later tonight," Lionel continued. "Everything will be sorted out then, so let's say we take it easy? We can introduce you to everyone."

Why were they being so…casual? They treated her like a guest, not a prisoner. Inari decided to test the water. "Can I have my Imperial Arms back?"

Lionel laughed. "Maybe. It depends on whether you join us or not."

"Join…Night Raid?" Inari sputtered. She wasn't sure whether to be shocked at how easy her plan worked or be offended that they would assume she would be willing to even consider allying with the murderers of her family and closest friend.

"Your friend's all for it," Lionel said dismissively.

"Seiger's a Night Raider?" Inari sputtered.

"Well, he's considering it," Tatsumi clarified. "But I'm sure he's more worried about you."

Inari shook her head like her thoughts had clogged, but no stones turned loose.

"Anyways, lets see," Lionel murmured. "Akame's out hunting dinner, Lubbok's at the Capital, Bulat is probably training downstairs. He might be our best bet."

Inari crossed her arms. "You know, without my Imperial Arms, I can't get the most of my introductions."

Lionel laughed. "Maybe so, but we're not that dumb. You want a sword? We'll give you a sword, if that'll make you feel better."

"No thanks," Inari grumbled. Without Wind Rider, a sword meant next to nothing.

"Bulat will probably let you touch his face, if that's your kind of thing," Tatsumi suggested.

"What are you saying, Tatsumi?" Lionel asked devilishly.

The kid sputtered. "That's not what I meant! I just—If you want pictures in your head—no! I mean—"

"It's fine," Inari said quickly. She really couldn't care less.

"Alright then, mister smooth-guy," Lionel purred. "Let's say you and I show Inari here what our resident spearman has to offer?"

Please review if you enjoyed!

I'll be having some chapters soon where Inari spends one-on-one time with other characters. Let me know if there's anyone in particular you want to see a lot of!