I brushed the dirt from the horse, running the brush through it's smooth clumps of pale white fur.

"Good girl." I whispered as I returned the brush back into the sack.

I grabbed the reins and began leading the horse with me towards the village, there was something there. Something that was important to me but now it was gone, I needed to find out what I was missing.

My hand lightly hovered over my sword as I approached the village. The village was nearly destroyed and withered away. The only occupant there was some old man splitting wood on a tree stump/

I kept on pushing through the fresh snow, putting my hood over my head as the hail began to get more fierce as I kept on pushing through the dark muck. Beast raided my campsite the night before, I was lucky that I kept my sword in hand so I could defeat the majority of them.

But by the time they were defeated, nearly all of my food was stolen. My blade was chipped and dulled, I needed to repair my things.

The only functioning weapon that I had now was the sword, but that was it. I was only left to my own devices but the real question was what I was supposed to do now?

My memories...were gone, I couldn't even remember my name.

My heart began to stir, started to burn from my inside like a violent flame. I pressed my hand against it, feeling the strange sensation spread throughout me.

A week ago I woke up somewhere deep in the woods, there was nothing around me. Only my clothes and this sword.

This sword...chipped...dulled...but strong, a sword like this would need somebody strong to truly wield it.

I was maybe six foot three. The blade was about six foot, the guard was in the shape of a rectangle, and the blade was slender and straight.

This sword must have killed many enemies...ripped them in half, maybe even decapitated their very souls.

But there was nothing on it...a simple design, only crafted by hard iron and no magical elements. But I knew what this blade could do...this very sword could destroy beasts and men alike.

Even without my memories guiding me. I knew that this sword was a part of me, it was as connected to me as my arm to my body.

Without the sword...I was nothing.

I began walking towards the old man, my boots crushing through the deep snow. "We don't have anything here." The old man responded as his grip tightened around his axe

He would elegantly swing his axe down, and split the wood in two. I removed my hood, I didn't want to give off the impression of a bandit.

"Hi...I need information."

He turned around to me, I saw a baldheaded man in his late fifties. His greying beard was long and looked like a messy bush, but it was his eyes.

His eyes were a steel blue...the eyes of a warrior. "What do you need." the old man chuckled as he struck another piece of wood down in the center

I took a deep breath. "Do you know...who I am?" I asked

The old man twitched for a second and his chuckle turned into a laugh as he turned around to look at me.

"Who am I? Kid what the hell is wrong with you." he said as he stared deep into my eyes

It lasted for a second until his eyes widened. "I remember you...you and your old man were hired mercenaries for us, during all those bandit raids, I should be thanking you."

"My old man?"

"Yeah...wait kid are you ok, wait are you actually being serious?"

I nodded my head, he picked up his axe and struck it straight into the log causing a massive thunk that could destroy that very same log.

"Your friends went off to the capitol...listen I don't really know you kid, but you and Tatsumi were good friends. Maybe he will be able to give you some help"

I stared down at my shoes; the capitol was a place that I had never been. Or maybe I had been there, but I just couldn't remember. It was a messy place, full of horrible people and disgusting nobles.

"Thank you." I said as I began to dig through my pocket to offer the man change but instead he shook his head no.

I waved him bye as I pulled back down my hood and pushed through the snow. "Wait kid."

"Yes."

"That sword of yours, it's massive and has a lot of power to it. But I would advise for you to get it repaired when you head to the capitol...cracks in the blade…are truly a horrible thing for a swordsman."

He stared at me, parting me with wisdom as me and my horse pushed through the cold hellish mountains towards another hell. But instead of beast and nature, they were replaced with men and stone.

Three Days Later

It didn't take me long to make it to the capitol, after finding someone connected to my past. All I could do was head straight towards them, nothing would stop me from finding out who I was.

This emptiness that I carry in my heart...maybe if I find out who I am, maybe I will be able to feel happy again.

When I arrived at the city gates, I paid the toll, which was very expensive, and I placed my horse inside of a stable. I lightly ruffled the fur of the horse's neck; I opened the massive door and began walking the streets of the capitol.

Poverty, public executions, and the guards were bullying anyone that they saw looked defenseless. But all the gore and everything didn't faze me, it was like I was already predisposed to horrible things like this.

I didn't like that feeling, so I turned away from the mob gathering around the corpses. Stay quiet, don't say anything, don't do anything out of the ordinary.

Just look at your boots and go one step at a time. And it worked for a little bit, until I raised my head to see an argument.

Maybe the little child was not paying attention and without looking he slammed his drink into the officers back, maybe he was just having a nice day before this moment.

Maybe his mom told him to get some fresh air, poured him a drink and told him to run off and play with his friends.

Now that very same officer was staring daggers at the boy as he examined his armor that reeked of lemonade, it was a horrifically hot day today, so the smell was probably unbearable.

The yellow over the iron breastplate looked nasty. "An arm, an eye, or a leg. Would seem fair."

The officer was bald and had an ugly smile as he said those words. The crowd instantly backed up as the man drew his sword and the young boy quivered in fear as he tried to backup, but the crowd wouldn't let him.

Was this the true horror and ugliness of the capitol? How people with power could do anything they wanted towards the weak?

It was horrible, but I was in that crowd, my eyes scanning to see if anybody was going to help that poor boy out, but nobody did.

I felt sick as I watched the man raise the blade over his head

I felt sick as the man did a practice swing across the boy's hair, little strands of brown hair carried away by the wind.

I felt sick as I saw a horrific smile spread across the man's face.

But I was a coward, what could I have done when my legs were frozen stiff?

My blade unsheathed itself, and my legs began moving but they didn't feel like my legs. And determination and courage went deep into my body, spreading like pleasant waves of heat as I slammed my sword into the other man's blade.

His sword sputtered and twitched like it was a piece of tin as he was sent flying, but my blade remained strong.

Even dull...chipped...cracked, it remained strong. The crowd gasped as I took a stance, I gripped the leathery handle with both of my hands as the man struggled to get up.

"What are you doing, Run!" I screamed out towards the child as he broke through the crowd and began running

I quickly reached into my satchel and wrapped a bandana across my face, the only thing that man could see were hazel eyes and jet-black hair.

He finally planted one foot in front of another and took his own stance. "Well what are you waiting for...fight me!" he screamed

I inched a step behind me, then I quickly holstered my sword and began sprinting through the crowd. For a second, I thought I was home free...but then I heard a familiar voice start screaming.

"Oh god." I muttered to myself

Why did I do that? I was just supposed to keep my eyes on my shoes, but what was I supposed to do?

Let that poor kid lose a limb over some spilled lemonade?

No... when I see Tatsumi later, I will tell him this story and he will agree with what I did. Wait Tatsumi and me?

Why did I assume that he would be on my side? That was the only thing he was to me in my head, a name without a face.

What was I even doing here?

There were probably hundreds of Tatsumis in the capitol and I am searching for one. And that's if he even made it to the capitol, for all I know he could have died from some dangerous beast or just got sidetracked on his way here.

I hid in an alleyway for a second. Catching my breath and avoiding the patrols, until I heard a bang come from overhead.

A yellow thing...that just appeared but now was gone, it looked like a clump of fur was holding a brown bag of money.

Maybe the heat was getting to me. After waiting for about an hour behind the alleyway I pushed through the garbage and began asking anybody for a Tatsumi.

The search lasted hours, I didn't know what he looked like, so I gave off vague things I knew about him. It was basically him being from a village along the countryside, but nobody heard about him or just simply ignored me.

Until I spoke to a couple of guards...they gave me the address to some estate where they heard that a guy by that name was staying.

It was the only clue that I had. And I thought it was better than nothing, so I ventured out towards the estate.

It was nighttime when I got there and I was feeling strange, there was nobody protecting the doors. Wasn't it wealthy families usually protected?

As I cut through the woods, I began hearing things. Gunfire...the moment I heard the clicking I began pushing myself through the woods.

I ignored the branches that were cutting along my face as I burst through the clearing. And I saw a massive barn structure. There were four people, one of the guards that looks vaguely like the one that gave me directions.

He fired off his rifle and the figure avoided it, my mouth dropped as she was able to outmaneuver the man. I saw as one bullet gracefully flew straight between her long hair, but she cut him down like he was nothing.

I was too far away...but as one of the figures turned around. A blond girl with very strange features, and a boy with brown hair.

"Tatsumi." I whispered out

Maybe I was ten around this time, me and my dad just dealt with the bandit situation at Tatsumi's village. My dad was probably getting the payment for defending the village, so I went towards the river.

I was cleaning all the muck and blood off of the sword. Even though I was ten, my father still made me carry the thing around.

My father whose face I can't remember was my partner, me and him fought in many battles together the moment that I could walk.

And this very same sword that I held in my tiny little hands back then, is the same sword that I am using with these hands.

These hands filled with scars and bruises which I can't recall. Two men, I killed the night before.

They weren't good, but if I wanted to eat supper, I had to do my job. Father was a good man...but he never taught me anything, then using this sword.

Killing...was all we could ever do, and I was content with it. To give my life to this task until I would eventually die in battle.

I didn't enjoy it...but I still wielded my sword for others. Maybe I was just stupid that day, maybe dealing with shock after killing those men the night before.

So, I decided that a quick way of cleaning my armor would be to just keep it on, so I entered the river and I was immediately fighting the current due to the armor weighing me down.

I was crying and screaming. Trying to keep my head above water as I struggled to stay afloat, but then I heard a voice that wasn't my own.

"Grab on!" a voice yelled out to me

And I gripped it with all of my might, feeling the sword cut deep into the palms of my hands as I forced my head out of the water.

With both of our strength we were able to get me back to shore, I was coughing up a storm and shit. Still crying and both of my hands bleeding, I was relieved that I wasn't going to drown and be the meal of some water beast at the end of the river.

I asked the boy how I could ever repay him.

"Don't sweat it" tatsumi said with a smile as he got up and offered his hand

I stared up at the boy, looking back now nothing really hasn't changed. He was still trying to save people, and I bet that he still had that childlike smile.

When I took his hand, staining it with my old blood-soaked hand. I saw two other children begin running towards us, but they didn't have faces or names.

But they were special towards me...I could tell that our bond was strong and tight like a knot. But what was the word...friends.

The girl was about to strike at Tatsumi, he was going to protect that girl. I wouldn't let her kill him, and with a strength that I never knew I had before I leaped through the bushes and slammed the sword into her own blade.

A horrifying sound came from both our blades as sparks shot off from the iron. "Tatsumi." I said as I turned to look at him

"Benjamin." he muttered as he pulled out his sword

"Don't worry buddy, I will deal with this. And when we're done, we have to talk about a couple things."

He nodded his head as he roughly took the girls hand to protect her. Night raid, the terrorist group that has been terrorizing the empire for years.

I didn't care for revolution. My friend needed me, and I would cut down anyone that would stop me from getting back my memories.

The girl...the one which I had to fight was...beautiful. Her silky black hair, her intense red eyes, and her slender body.

How could a girl that pretty learn how to kill? I leveled my blade in front of me, getting my stance ready.

I needed to be smart, my sword could possibly cut through hers if I put enough of my own strength into it.

No, even if I pulled a move like that, she might not block with her sword again. Instead she might dodge, if she could dodge a gun bullet then she sure as hell could dodge a slash from my sword.

She was struggling to stand up, the hit from my sword must have dazed her more than I thought.

But she still got ready...her freaky sword made me afraid. That damn thing gave off a bad vibe, and I sure as shit didn't want it to touch me.

But if I used my trump card...no, it wasn't an option. If I went overkill and lost control, I could accidently kill Tatsumi in the process.

This battle...would have to be between swords.

If I put all my weight and strength into this slash, maybe I could destroy her blade and get a hit. Or if I am too slow, I could give her a perfect opening for her to decapitate me. A brief mental image flew throughout my head as I saw my head slide off of my neck and splat across the floor.

I was scared...scared...scared, what was I doing here? I'm a coward, but my legs tightened up as I readied my blade.

If this goes wrong there is a chance that both of our hits could hit, we would both be dead. It just depends on one's luck, I was playing with my life.

"Hey before we fight and one of us dies...can I tell you something."

"Sure." she said hesitantly as she didn't break her concentration

"I'm not really good with this...but I just think...I just think…"

She kept on staring at me

"Can you quit it, for at least a second."

"Quit what?"

"Staring...it's making it harder for me to say what I want to say."

I could feel the heat rising around my face after each word.

"No, you're just trying to distract me."

"No, I just think that your...your...really."

She kept on staring

God I really am a poor excuse for a man, I can't even work up the courage to tell a girl that I find her pretty.

"Fine whatever." I said

A blond woman appeared from the brush behind us as she grabbed the girl's neck, whispering something to her.

Before I could even think of attacking the girl, she put her sword back into her scabbard as her and the blond tall girl began walking to Tatsumi.

I didn't understand what was going on. Just like that and the fighting was over?

She approached the barn and punched the door saying something to Tatsumi as he bolted inside the barn. I reached out to call his name, but I couldn't do anything.

I could hardly remember him...and I thought of him as my friend, I slammed my palm across my face.

Why was I so naive, even if we painstakingly piece all the pieces back together? That doesn't mean that everything will ever be the same.

They were having a conversation with each other. But I was the interloper, a stranger staring through a private window.

Did I really think that one person could hold the key?

He walked out of the barn and slashed the girl he was protecting with his sword.

"What the fuck." I muttered as I took a step back

A figure emerged from there, carried by the tall blond-haired woman as she rested him across the soil.

"Ben!" Tatsumi yelled towards me as I ran towards the fallen man

His face was unrecognizable as he stared at us. Tatsumi grabbed one of his blood-soaked hands as I stared at him.

I hated myself...who was he?

A friend, an ally, a brother?

His bandaged body was dirty, and blood smeared, his nose and mouth were frequently staining his clothes.

What was I supposed to do?

He was a stranger?

Like the people I walked by through the capitol, I don't know."

He reached his hand towards me and with both hands I grabbed it. And before I knew it I was crying, not tears of sadness but empty tears.

My body was telling me to cry, telling me how I should be sad. But my mind was blank, there was nothing in my head telling me to care for him.

But I still held his arm as he muttered words to Tatsumai. Until he was dead, and all that remained was the cool night air and the silence.