Hagane
21. Resolve
He has to win this fight.
His world has shrunk down again.
There's Orga. Kudelia. Atra.
The three most important to him
and they're all there.
He has to protect them.
That's all there is.
That and him and Barbatos's
tough embrace.
They dance on the battlefield.
They block the strikes.
Too close.
They fight back.
Too light.
They needed more.
Speed, fluidity, talent
he doesn't have
because he's just a wild kid
with an implant.
His mind doesn't have the answer.
That's fine. His body does. He feels it
tingling through his fingers, from his spine.
He feels the blood run down one eye.
He feels one hand clamp onto metal
and die. That's oaky; he has another eye
and another hand, but there's only one
Barbatos, and only one Orga,
one Kudelia, one Atra
And only one way he can protect
them all.