Fate/Infinity Shuffle
Chapter 249 – Solitary:
There was a nervousness inside his chest. For more reasons than one.
Sieg, the Solo Player that managed to climb his way to the top due to exploiting the abilities of his Card that allowed him to fully adapt to any situation, in addition to Noble Phantasms of all sorts of heroes.
But it wasn't just the nervousness of having a match with an EX Rank Team just a few steps before him.
It was probably of what happened a few days prior.
Ibuki didn't like what Hakuno had told her. "Say that again." She requested.
The Ranker on the other side of the phoneline was clearly nervous for following said request. "S-Sieg is facing the last EX Team before you or Mizuki's Team."
"…" A deep breath. "That pipsqueak is WHAT?!"
Hakuno didn't even attempt to follow the conversation, simply turning the phone off and sighing. "They take forever to defeat three A Rank Teams and they blame it on me?"
Jinako overheard as she played a racing game with Mary on the TV of the living room, all three sitting on the couch. "I think it's well-deserved."
"Eh?!" His head whipped towards her. She looked stoic while starring at the silver screen. "You're my girlfriend, you should be on my side!"
"And you didn't tell him that Sieg had a lead on them because?"
"U-Uh…" Hakuno sighed again. "I wasn't really thinking about that at the time." He looked over at the screen on Mary's side. "Mary, if you catch an item box now, you may get the lead on Jinako."
"Here I go!" The girl with a teddy bear resting on her head like some sort of hat started making the turn on the track.
The shine on Jinako's glasses as she adjusted them could almost be heard, as she made the turn as well, drifting to get the item box Mary was aiming for and succeeding.
Hakuno almost gasped at the atrocity.
"T-That's unfair!" Mary yelled, feeling anguish over the lost opportunity. Gritting teeth, she did her best to follow and get ahead of Jinako's character, until a banana peel threw her off course. "Ah!" Then a shell. A bomb. A bump. A lightning. And another shell.
From third place all the way down to tenth.
"…" The two teens couldn't believe the child's bad luck. The two looked down at the girl, whose face turned bright red and a lower lip was being bitten as to avoid letting out any wails of frustration, tears in the corners of the eyes that were on the verge of falling. The two looked at each other and swallowed dry air in a panic.
"M-Mary, honey, it's just a game! You don't need to…" Hakuno felt like his words would be useless.
"I-I'm sorry for doing that, I shouldn't have… Y-You can eat the pudding I was saving for myself!"
Sniffle, sniffle. The little girl's frustration was piling up.
Hakuno and Jinako looked at each other again, worried. It wouldn't be the first time Mary had become like this, it was part of every kid's life. But they always felt incredibly guilty to even allow this to happen.
"…W-We can order pizza tonight! We…"
"…" Mary handed the controller to Hakuno and suddenly rushed towards the bedroom without a word, shutting the door behind.
Hakuno was unable to move for a moment. "God damn it…" He placed his hands over his face and lied back on the couch. "Why did-"
"I shouldn't feel competitive, it's a stupid party game." Jinako was assuming that Hakuno was about to ask why she did that, but no.
"…I need to catch some air."
"Eh?" Jinako was somewhat confused. Why was he feeling guilty? IT wasn't his fault. She followed him towards the entrance door. "H-Hakuno? Are you o-"
"Yeah, I am. I just want to be alone for a minute." He opened the door with one hand as his other was suddenly caught by Jinako. "…Jinako, I-"
"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?"
"…Jinako, just let me go."
"You don't need to feel like that every time she gets sad."
"…Too bad." He whipped his hand out of hers. "I do." And shut the door behind without looking back. As Jinako stayed behind at home, wondering how this could be avoided in the future, Hakuno walked towards the stairs of the building, climbed them down in a quick pace, and walked away from the perimeter. Once he found himself alone in the darkening streets, he approached a lamppost, hit his forehead against it and stayed like that, as his white breath coloured the cold temperatures of the Winter season.
"…If she can't be happy all the time, why did I do that?" His thoughts tortured him. Every time he saw Mary unhappy, visibly and truly sad or angered, there was only one thing he could think. That what he did those many months back, taking in Mary into his life and Jinako's, was only bringing suffering to the little girl.
It was a dumb matter, that was true. It was just a game, and it was a normal reaction. But due to his job as essentially his guardian, every little flaw was like a dagger stabbed into his chest.
A hand was about to push his soul further towards this despair he felt. And it wouldn't be the first time his emotions would be pushed towards a certain direction. Last time that happened, he-
DING!
"Hm?" He took out his phone and read the text message.
'American Pepperoni Pizza'
He raised an eyebrow before seeing the name of the sender. He let out a slight chuckle.
'Alright, Mary. What do you want to drink?'
'Lemon-Lime.'
He let out a chuckle again as he proceeded down the road. His fingers changed from the text app to the phone. And after it rang twice, Jinako picked up.
"Hello?"
"You're apologizing, right?"
He couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly. "Yeah… I shouldn't have acted like that. Driving you away wasn't a good call."
"Well, I'm glad that's the case!" Jinako sounded like she should: the winner of an argument.
"Our little daughter is asking for Pepperoni Pizza. What do you want?"
"…Garlic Butter and Bacon."
"Alright. I'll be back in no time." And after the two said goodbye to each other, Hakuno made his way to the pizzeria.
The pushing hand retracted. It was so close…
Sieg's eyes couldn't look away from the meal on the table that Joana and him had prepared together. A homecooked meal, European cuisine.
Joana giggled a bit, finding it rather cute how he was essentially eating with his eyes. Part of the fun in cooking it was how they did so together, which was a new experience for both.
But Sieg wasn't expecting for it to turn out so delicious looking.
"Joana, I thank you for helping me cook, but this is more than I was planning."
"Well, as much as I don't like it, you did gain the right to fight an EX Rank Team. Celebrating it is a given."
Sieg normally would've chuckled awkwardly and get embarrassed while thanking her for the meal. But instead, a wave of nervousness came over. It had nothing to do with his relationship with Joana or his feelings for her.
"Sieg? Are you okay?" Obviously, she took notice immediately.
He remained silent with a serious face a moment to gather the courage to tell her. "I'm having a surgery next week."
"…Eh?" Joana didn't know how to react to the news. She didn't even know one was necessary to begin with. "W-What are you talking about?"
"The doctor said my heart was getting too weak. And that if I wanted to keep on…"
"You're getting a heart transplant?!" both of her hands slammed against the table as she sprung up. Of course, the boy flinched. "Those are dangerous!"
"E-Every surgery is…"
"But heart transplants are incredibly risky!"
"A-Actually the survival rate is actually good with follow-up care."
"Good isn't good enough!" She yelled, clearly anger. "You can basically die next week!"
"I-I know."
"And you're fighting in two days! What the hell are you thinking?!"
"J-Joana, calm down!" He raised his voice, though not nearly as much as she did. "Why are you angry at me for agreeing to something beneficial for my health?"
"Because! … Because…" Her breathing became ragged and panicked. "I…" Her vision suddenly became blurry was the water built up on her eyes. She fell back onto the seat and let out a long exhale. "I don't want you to disappear."
"But…" Sieg took a deep breath himself. "If I don't this, I'll disappear anyway."
"Don't play dumb for once!" She barked, her hands tightening into fists. Once again, the boy shivered. "Why can't you see that you're important to me?!"
"Because…" Sieg didn't know what to respond.
Of course he knew he was important to her. Just like how she was important to him.
The two grew up together in Romania. Childhood friends, through and through. They did everything together: playing, reading, watching TV. From toddlers to older children. And that's when Sieg was revealed to have a condition. His body would become progressively weaker throughout the years. Fainting would become common. And at some point, even breathing would become difficult.
Of course, Joana couldn't let her friend alone for long especially after those news. She would make sure he was okay as much as possible. When he moved to Japan due to family complications, she followed him without question.
They've had fights, they've had moments of happiness, and they've bonded into the age of teens. And they stuck together. Of course, Joana would drag him out so he could have fun with his life. Even making friends in the process.
But hiding this decision from her felt like a stab through the heart. She wasn't against him getting the operation, but to not even telling her that the possibility was on the desk so they could discuss about it… To think he essentially said 'I may die next week.' was a pain she couldn't tolerate rationally.
"…I don't want to tire you."
"This again?!" Joana barked again. "For the last time, you're not a bother to me! You're my friend!"
Sieg couldn't hold it inside him any longer. "Joana, I don't even understand why you like me!"
Her eyes widened. A completely different kind of pain made its way into her heart.
"Why the hell… do you even like someone who can't do much? Someone that is basically making you keep an eye on him all the time? Why do you…" Sieg's eyes began to water as well. "Why the hell did you make me fall in love with you!? I can't stop feeling terrible because the girl I love is throwing away her freedom for me half the time!"
"…" The emotions couldn't be described properly. All of these pains mixed together into one. But it seemed like it was being soothed away. "…Because the boy I love is in a terrible place." She stood up from her seat and slowly walked towards his side. "I don't want him to die before enjoying life. Before making friends, before going to many places, before… before I get the chance to tell him I love him."
"…" Sieg's lowered head hid away his eyes. A sleeve tried to dry the tears. "Why do you even have to tell me? You've already shown me…" He sniffled twice in a row. "You help me so much… And you're worried all the time. I noticed so long ago…"
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"For the same reason you didn't." The words were rather cold. "So you didn't have to feel as guilty if I suddenly dropped dead."
"…" It was true. To keep the relationship between the two as just childhood friends would save some pain if he were to suddenly disappear from her life. Not that it wouldn't hurt, far from it. But from a situation like this, every bit of pain that could be spared was appreciated. "…Sieg?"
"What?"
"…Could you look at me?"
He was a bit reluctant. Both had been crying, so Sieg would be embarrassed to show his face, and Joana would probably be embarrassed if he saw hers. But ifshe was making the request, he felt obliged to follow. His head turned to the side and up. And he almost gasped to see her smile despite all the tears.
"I'm not going to lie: I didn't imagine my love confession to be like this. I blame you for it."
"H-Hey… come on…" The guilt came back.
"But…" She lowered to be more or less at his level. "I think what's said has been said."
"…There's no going back, huh?"
"Nope." She giggled a bit. And thus, she leaned in. Sieg stopped her, a weak finger pressed against her forehead. Her eyes were shut, so she couldn't see his nervous expression. "What's wrong?"
"I… never kissed anyone."
"I know, silly. You think I have?"
Sieg let out a sigh with happiness mixed into it. He removed his finger and shut his eyes.
The pairs of lips connected for a few seconds before separating. Then, the two leaned so their forehead would touch for a full minute, in complete silence.
"…The food will get cold."
"Alright, alright. Let's eat." Joana let go of Sieg and moved back to her seat. "So we have a week."
"Hm?" He was confused. "For what?"
"To do all sorts of boyfriend-and-girlfriend thing, of course!" Joana pointed out, giggling, making Sieg's face an even brighter shade of red. "I'm sleeping next to you tonight, by the way!"
"W-What!?"
"Oh, come on, we've done that before."
"B-B-But not in boyfriend and girlfriend context!" Forget a week: Sieg was worried he wouldn't last until his battle with the EX Rank Team.
The nervousness of battling against a full Team of EX Rankers after the performance the other two Teams put on. The nervousness of his girlfriend seeing and cheering for his victory. And the nervousness that this could be one of his final days. A bitter-sweet sensation, to say the least.
Sieg stepped forward into the arena, sword ready to be drawn.
Man, I missed this type of chapters.
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Until next time!