Chapter 11

A few hours passed by in silence.

Leiko's eyes were glassy from the tears she was holding back. Akio worked beside her, close enough for them to be constantly brushing up against each other. It comforted her, even though it couldn't push away the sob that was stuck in her throat.

Haru had been sent out on an errand to speak with the village Chief a while earlier. They had been expecting him back since then. As he walked back, he tried to hold his head up, but his gaze constantly slid to the ground.

Hana frowned at the sight, and decided to spare Akio the problem.

"Haru! Finally! We were starting to think you'd ran away with your lover."

The Cadet's eyes met the Gunner's and he forced a smile. But he wasn't a very good liar – to be fair, nobody was, to Hana – and was missing the characteristic reddening of his cheeks. She played along.

He muttered something of an affirmation. She shot him a look that said 'come on, you can do better than that'. It seemed to give him strength.

"Come on, I'd never leave you guys."

He grinned. The Gunner smirked, and he understood it was encouragement.

"What'd you do without me?" he finished.

Leiko wasn't quite aware of anything that was happening around her. Akio was trying to, but most of his attention was drawn to the black hole of sadness and anger that was currently his girlfriend. He simply shot Haru a look. The boy's eyes darkened. Hana's frown went entirely unnoticed.

Everyone got back to work.

Leiko seemed to snap out of her pain as the sun set. She stood up in a sudden movement, almost startling Akio. She looked to him as his eyes were full of questions.

"I'm going to go talk to Kyoko. We can't let this get in the way of our mission."

The Commander's heart grew tenfold. He got up as well, hovering near the Hammer wielder without actually touching her. Like he was scared, or didn't quite know how to express the sudden emotion that took him. She smiled at him.

She stood on her toes and planted a kiss at the corner of his lips. He watched her as she left, a storm of feelings brewing inside of him.

Hana's frown, once again, went entirely unnoticed.

"You know, it's pretty ironic."

Kyoko jumped, immediately turning around to face the intruder. Leiko gave a vaguely apologetic smile.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, the venom in her voice rolling off of the Ace like water off a duck.

Leiko smiled again.

"I used to come here when I was upset. I'm from here, you know?"

This hill overlooked a valley that slowly transitioned into forest. At sunset, the rays of orange light would pierce through the trees and taint the world in a comforting glow. Leiko could distinctly remember all of the times she'd come here with Eiji and trained until the sky was filled with stars.

Kyoko seemed like she was taken off guard. Her gaze slid back to the horizon.

"Yeah, Eiji told me."

There was a certain bitterness in her words. Leiko chose to ignore it, because it was easier to do so.

"Anyway... Listen."

They both took a deep breath.

"I know for a fact you're making a terrible mistake. And I know for a fact that I'd much rather stop you than not. But... In the end, we're here to protect this town, whether I like it or not. And us hating each other is not helping. And Akio's already stressed out enough over everything... I don't want him to have to endure this."

Kyoko remained silent, even though the Ace could clearly see the million words bordering her lips. She continued.

"I'm angry, yes. I'm upset over this. But... Let's give him a break. He's been through so much... The very last thing I want is for him to have to cope with more loss, more pain. If you're not going to cut all ties with Eiji, well... Let's at least pretend we're both okay with this, alright?"

There it was. That weird glow in the Kindred Hunter's eyes. Like a bitterness, a pain mixed up in some sort of happiness. It was like hope, but it despaired. A duality that shone in her night sky-coloured irises. Leiko didn't understand it, but it suddenly resonated inside her like never before. She couldn't quite stand it, and her gaze snapped away before she could force it not to.

Kyoko looked away too. For a second, she had feared the Hammer wielder could see right through her.

"Leave. Please."

There was some sort of abandonment in the way she spoke. The 'please' rolled off her tongue like she'd simply let it slip. Like it was her last resort. Leiko sighed.

"Alright. I'm counting on you. Please be there tomorrow morning."

She left before any sort of answer could come. She didn't expect one.

The sun was still sliding under the horizon, yet from the night sky were raining tears that crashed silently on the grass.

Hideaki walked up to the Aces as they were coming back to the ship. He looked a bit less tired, and in his face shone the satisfaction of a job well done.

"I've figured out the rough location of the Gore Magala!" he said.

Haru had found his strength and gave a bright smile. Hana seemed satisfied. Akio looked like a bit of weight was lifted off of his shoulders. The Lancer continued.

"I'll spare you the details of how, exactly, I figured this out, but the Gore Magala's nest should be somewhere in the forest, relatively close to where we fought the Frenzied Lagiacrus. Tracking it from there should be a piece of cake, especially for Kyoko. Oh, and we received a message from the Guild. They'll be sending two of their best hunters by flying ship. It's the best they can do with such short notice."

The Commander nodded.

"Perfect. Thank you, Hideaki."

He turned to face everyone.

"Things are going fairly smoothly. But do not let your guard down. We still have no idea why the Fatalis is heading here, and we don't want any surprises. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. Hana shot Haru a look and grabbed his wrist, dragging him away to who knew where. Hideaki gave Akio a comforting smile. The gratitude that shone in his eyes for a second was quite enough thanks.