Piercing green eyes opened in the gloom of a canvas tent. Mikuo bolted up from underneath scratchy blankets. Emerald orbs gazed warily around. The room was dark and small and he seemed to be lying on an old mattress. Worse, his leg was throbbing like mad, as if the blood was trying to escape the tightly wound, dirty bandages.
Suddenly, he heard breathing. The sound reverberated around the tiny space, causing the teal-haired boy to shiver. The walls seemed to close in on him. Goosebumps ran up and down his arms. Where was he?
A cough caused him to jump. His head shot to his right, eyes wide and panicked, heart hammering madly like a startled rabbit. His breathing slowed down when his eyes landed on a familiar figure.
It was Len.
The boy's golden hair was tousled and appeared damp. The skin of his arms appeared too pale in the dark tent. Len gave another cough.
"Len, are you alright?" Mikuo crawled over to the boy, his leg still too weak to move about freely.
"M-Mikuo. What happened? Where are we? Where is Kaito?"
Mikuo's face scrunched up in deep thought. What had happened? He remembered being on a grassy plain, eating apples, showing Len some magic…
Oh God. He remembered. A magic spell gone wrong, a giant grotesque flower, piercing needle-like petals, and searing pain.
Mikuo clutched his leg and winced.
"M-Mikuo!" Len got up. "What's wrong? What happened to your leg?"
Mikuo gazed up at Len in disbelief. Did he really not know what he had done? Len's face revealed only worry and confusion. Those multicoloured orbs danced in the limited light.
"Len, do you not remember what happened?"
The boy creased his brows. "We had lunch, and then…you showed me some of your magic. And then I wanted to try, and…and then…"
Mikuo's gaze was hard and accusing.
"…I can't remember."
Mikuo slumped back onto the mattress on his side and sighed. Was he faking it? He doubted it. Len didn't seem to be that kind of person.
"D-Did I do something wrong?" Now Len crawled over to Mikuo, anxiety etched everywhere on his face. "Mikuo, I'm so sorry, I-"
"Don't worry about it, Len. It's nothing. I'm going to get some sleep now." Mikuo's rejection left Len feeling even more lost. Uncertainty weighed down on him like a pile of bricks as he retreated back to the scratchy blanket.
Mikuo seems so mature, I can never understand what he is thinking…
Len's not as he seems. I've got to be more careful around him…
A flash that lit up the whole tent shocked shocked Mikuo out of his half-asleep state. He panted heavily, having just escaped a horrible nightmare.
Miku…
A low rumble seemed to emanate from the earth, and suddenly a deafening crack sounded in the sky. Mikuo felt like his ears were going to be ripped off. The noise was deafening and echoed menacingly around the tiny room. Sinking under the covers, Mikuo felt so vulnerable. His whole body shivered as he yearned for a comforting presence…
The bright lightning was like a whip, shocking the very recesses of his skull. Len clenched his teeth and tightly squeezed his eyes together. Swirls of black and purple danced before him. The rumbling thunder seemed like a low-pitched evil chuckle. He started to whimper as traces of a recurring nightmare haunted him. Or was it a terrible lost memory?
His body froze as he felt a touch on his shoulder. His breaths became shallow, breathing became difficult. In the distance he thought he could hear the stampede of feet and muffled cries of innocent people…trying to escape…
"Hey, Len…" The spell was broken by a familiar voice.
"M-Mikuo?" Len's voice was hoarse, as if he had been screaming. He turned around just in time for another flash to light up the room. Mikuo's silhouette seemed to wobble and for a second Len thought he was becoming dizzy.
Then he realised Mikuo was shivering.
"Mikuo, what's wrong? Are you cold?"
"N-not, really." The teal-haired boy winced as thunder rumbled in the distance. "It's just…" The crack of thunder and lightning seemed to tear the sky in two. "LencanIsleepwithyou?"
"W-what?" Mikuo's breathing had sped up, and Len's eyes were wide as saucers.
"W-wait, Len. It's not like that." Heat rushed into Mikuo's cheeks. "It's just that, when I'm frightened by the th-thunder, Miku was always there to comfort me…" His words faded away as his face became redder through embarrassment.
A particularly loud burst of thunder caused both boys to wince. Len opened his eyes to see Mikuo shaking like a leaf. Wordlessly, he shifted to the edge of the mattress and lifted the blankets, inviting the other boy in. Mikuo gladly complied.
As soon as he was under the covers, Mikuo gripped onto Len's waist and squeezed. Hard. The smaller boy felt his breathing quicken. How did Miku survive this?
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Mikuo squeezed even tighter and Len felt his vision blacken for a moment. A horrible feeling overwhelmed him. It felt like death.
Len took his chance as soon as Mikuo's grip slackened after the rumbling had died away. He roughly pushed the teal haired boy away.
"M-Mikuo!" Len gasped. "There's something I have to tell you…"
When the next bout of lightning lit up the tent once more, Mikuo could see Len was shaking.
"I…I'm afraid of thunder too."
Each boom of thunder became more deafening and frightening. The two boys were soon gripping onto each other for dear life. Sweat was rolling down their temples and their hearts were beating like drums.
Suddenly, lightning shone to reveal two huge shadows upon the wall. Both boys immediately gave shrill screams of terror which rapidly rose in pitch and volume as the wall suddenly tore apart, revealing the terrible intruders…
"…Just what are you guys doing?" A small fairy pulled apart the flap of the medical tent entrance to witness two injured patients gripping onto each other and screaming at the top of their lungs. The aforementioned patients had silenced their irritating voices by now and were staring at her, wide eyed and shivering.
The second intruder entered right behind her, blue hair dripping wet. "Hey guys, awake already?"
Bright rays of sunlight brought colour back to the mountainous area that had been previously engulfed by gloomy rain. Raindrops glistened on the emerald leaves of mountain plants which had sprouted forth from the cracked earth. With the neverending blue sky having finally returned, it seemed everything was right once again.
Unfortunately, it was not so.
Mikuo and Len were sullen faced as one annoying fairy buzzed around their heads, continuously taunting them.
"Wow what a bunch of sissies. Don't think even I could have managed to scream that high. Haha, wow, what is wrong with you guys? Afraid of lil ol' me?"
"Gumi! Stop bullying them!" commanded Kaito. The fairy gave one final smirk before flying back to Kaito who gave a weary sigh. "So guys, how are you feeling?"
"Perfectly fine."
"Like a pile of crap."
Gumi burst out laughing at Mikuo's statement. "Haha, you look like one too!"
Mikuo's hair was tousled and messy, his face red and drenched in sweat. In comparison, Len's complexion had returned to normal, and aside from his hair (which was always messy anyway), seemed completely healthy.
Kaito gave another sigh and shook his head in disbelief at the rudeness of the fairy. Weren't they supposed to be gentle, elegant creatures? He stopped his wandering mind and suddenly became serious.
"Len, Mikuo, you guys are in danger. These people really hate magic and would have killed you unless I help them in an upcoming war."
Mikuo gulped. "War? Against who?"
"Against…Mages."
"…"
Kaito was glad the two didn't appear too fazed by the news. He took their silence as his cue to continue.
"Big Al, that's their leader, wants to train me. I figure it will be a great way to improve my skills. In the meantime, I want you guys to stay out of trouble." The blue haired man gazed at his two companions. "Remember this place is dangerous for you guys. I don't want any of you to be hurt any more than you already are." He automatically glanced at Mikuo's leg.
Len saw the worry on his friend's face and tried to smile reassuringly. "It's ok Kaito. We won't get into any trouble. Who do you think we are?"
The boy's words only made Kaito feel more uncomfortable as he recalled all the troubled he had gotten into. He couldn't help but look back anxiously as he hesitantly made his way to the training grounds.