A/N: WARNING: This chapter has some gore. I don't think anyone cares, but I felt it best to at least warn you.
I am also going to reiterate that the main character is really fucked up in the head. I do not agree with his actions whatsoever, and while his personality might be somewhat based on mine, his is exaggerated to the point of being a serious mental illness.
I will discuss that in more detail in the Author's Note at the end of the chapter.
For a long time, I sat there, holding Yuri in a tight embrace. She cried quietly, which just broke my fuckin' heart. I didn't even know what to say. I couldn't just spout out some bullshit like "It's gonna be okay.", because it wasn't okay. Yuri's whole family was dead. I wasn't equipped to help with that. So, I kept my dumb mouth shut for once.
This went on for a while. Awkwardly, I stared up at the ceiling as I continued to hug her. I guess I was waiting for her to... cry herself out.
Wow, that sounded way better in my head. Oh well.
Eventually, her soft sobs became near-silent sniffles, and she pulled away from me.
"Thanks for that." She said, a shaky smile on her face. "I really needed a hug."
I sighed. Part of me wanted to ask exactly what the hell happened, but I didn't want to upset her even further.
A smaller, more hateful part of me was wondering why I even gave a shit about her feelings. I shoved that feeling deep inside, ignoring it. I could be a piece of shit later. There was no time for that now.
Still, I felt compelled to fill the silence with... something.
"...Yuri." I finally said, after what seemed like hours of quiet, but was actually only a few seconds. "I'm not going to pretend to know what you've been through in life, but I do know that bottling up your feelings and emotions are... unhealthy."
She chuckled quietly for a moment.
"Heh... You're starting to sound like Micaela." She said, her voice still a little wavery. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
I chuckled too, for some reason. I wasn't sure why, but that was just funny to me.
"Then Micaela sounds like a very smart woman." I quipped.
Yuri nodded.
"She really is." She said, the tone in her voice becoming slightly more stable. "I don't think I've ever spoken to someone who was as wise as her."
I raised an eyebrow. That was the first time I think I'd ever heard Yuri praise someone. It was... interesting.
"Normally I'd tease you for kissing her ass," I began. "But I don't think I've ever heard you compliment someone like that before."
Yuri smiled, and said: "Well, I'm not one to lie either."
I chuckled again.
"No." I said. "No you aren't."
*LINEBREAK*
After a couple more days, the illness that once teemed within me seemed to disappear. I was more than a little relieved, because I was going to go crazy if I had to stay in bed any longer.
Yuri was finally training me. She hadn't started teaching me how to fight just yet, though. Currently, she was just helping me get my body to a more proper level.
Of course, the training was absolutely torturous. Though, I couldn't argue with the results. My level of growth was nothing short of astounding, and frankly, that was a little worrying to me.
Was this because of the monster blood? Yuri had mentioned that I had a small amount in me, so that could have something to do with it. However, something still didn't seem right to me. Yuri didn't seem to notice anything bad though, so I tried to shake off whatever unease I had.
I didn't really have many conversations with Yuri during this time. I was usually so tired by the end of the day that my brain was just lukewarm soup. Thankfully, the training sapped most of my anger, because it fucking hurt.
The training made me smell awful too, so Yuri decided I should start taking weekly baths. She had an old tub stored away in her basement (I didn't know she had a basement until then.) that could hold a decent amount of water. Of course, I had to go get the water myself. Yuri always kept a watchful eye on me as I went to and from the nearby river with buckets of water. Wisely, none of the other monsters in the village made a move.
I initially thought that we'd have to boil the water, but apparently the river was kept clean by some form of magic. I was dubious, but it looked fine, so I trusted her judgement. Still, I did voice my concerns. Yuri was somewhat surprised at my knowledge of germs and how they work. Honestly, I didn't expect her to know what a germ was. This was the middle ages, for fuck's sake.
Soap was also very cheap in this town, apparently, because it seemed that Yuri liked to buy in bulk. Whatever, you won't hear me complaining, anyways.
I should probably point out that when I bathed, that was the first time I really processed my reflection since I woke up here. Sure, I'd probably seen it before, but this was the first time I'd really inspected it.
Long story short, it wasn't me. It wasn't even a child version of me. My hair was a dark, almost Auburn color, and it was far longer than I'd normally allow. Of course, I'd already noticed the hair in the corner of my vision, but I was at least hoping that my face structure would be similar to my original body. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.
"...Fuck." I muttered, feeling a large pit begin to form in my stomach. I was a filthy fuckin' bodysnatcher. No doubt about it.
I tried to kill that train of thought before it could develop, but I wasn't successful.
... Like, did I just yeet some poor kid's soul out into the great beyond? What happened to him?
Maybe this body was spontaneously created for me. That's probably untrue, but hey, there was a chance that it was the truth. As long as there was hope for that theory, then I wouldn't let myself get too upset.
...Yeah, that whole idea is just me trying to prevent a serious mental breakdown. It works though, so I'm not gonna stop.
...Anyways, sitting in a tub of cold river water is... unpleasant, to say the least, so I tried to be as quick as possible. I only spent around five minutes in that tub, and it was awful.
When I got out, I put on the only other pair of clothes I had, which was exactly the same as the first pair. Yuri had bought them about a week before, after realizing that I'd literally never changed it all my time of knowing her.
I want you to imagine that smell. Picture it invading your nostrils 24/7. That's what I was dealing with.
So, when I came out of the bath actually smelling clean, I was happy. Truly happy. I knew it wouldn't last long, so I savored it, basking in my own scent.
Yuri looked at me like I was a freak, which was a fair reaction, but it still pissed me off. I was too tired to start something though, so I just went to bed.
As soon as I hit the sheets, I was dead to the world.
*LINEBREAK*
I dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the fist that was swung my direction. My attacker turned and launched another devastating blow, which I avoided by jumping backwards.
She leapt towards me, fist extended, but I jumped to the right, just barely dodging her attack. However, she expected this, spinning on her heel to divert her momentum in my direction, she drove her elbow into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I landed at the ground, and stared up at my attacker.
Yuri crossed her arms, and looked down at me, her expression neutral.
"Your footwork is terrible." She said bluntly. "And your reflexes aren't great either."
For the past couple of weeks, Yuri had been teaching me how to dodge, on top of all the strength and endurance training I was already doing. It was... demanding, to say the least. According to her, dodging was the most important skill a person could have. I didn't necessarily disagree, but I wish she would've gone a little easier on me. Every hit that landed shook my entire body, and left a nasty bruise.
It was brutal, but effective. I was already far faster than I'd been as an adult. Of course, that wasn't really an impressive comparison, seeing how in my old life, I was a lazy fat fuck.
Of course, I was far from perfect. Out of twenty hits, I'd dodge around seven or eight. In my defense, Yuri was fucking fast.
There was a certain way your feet was supposed to move, according to her. I didn't quite get it, but apparently you were just supposed to do it until it became muscle memory.
"Alright." Yuri said, interrupting my thoughts. "Let's try that again."
I sighed, and got up, wincing as I felt my torso throb from all the blows I'd taken.
"Ah, shit." I grunted, as I turned towards Yuri, readying myself for another beatdown. "Here we go again."
*LINEBREAK*
I rolled to my left, dodging the vicious kick that was aimed for my head. Landing on my toes, I jumped backwards, avoiding the follow-up punch that nearly smashed into my face. Like a machine, Yuri advanced, her eyes scanning for any hint of vulnerability in my stance.
She sent a quick right cross for my head, which I ducked under, before leaping backwards again, trying to make some distance between us. Yuri noticed this, and stepped forwards, determined to not give me any breathing room whatsoever.
She dashed towards me, her fist cocked back for a quick jab. I twisted around it, backpedaling to her left. Seamlessly, she used the momentum of her punch to transition into a devastating kick. If I hadn't seen the move before, I would've absolutely fallen prey to it. Thankfully, my multiple attempts had, if nothing else, clued me into the way Yuri fights. Narrowly, I avoided it, her foot missing me by mere centimeters.
After that, she didn't continue her relentless assault, deciding to give me a break.
"You've really improved." She said, the faintest hint of a smile gracing her lips. "For someone your age, you've become incredibly skilled at dodging."
I felt a bit of warmth in my chest upon hearing her praise, and I couldn't help but crack a grin.
"Well, after getting the shit kicked outta me this long, I'd certainly hope so." I chuckled.
It had been about four months since I'd started training. Yuri had successfully beaten the muscle memory into me, so that was... nice, I supposed.
"Make no mistake, you are not nearly as good as you could be." She stated, shifting back into her stoic self. "But, you are still a child, and we have other things to cover."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Are you finally going to teach me how to punch things?" I asked, trying my best not to sound excited.
She nodded, and I grinned again.
Boy, now this was gonna be interesting.
*LINEBREAK*
I dashed forwards, my right arm cocked back, ready to deliver a devastating haymaker. My target, which was just a scarecrow, offered no resistance against what was about to happen to it. My fist collided with its head, busting it open. Straw and cloth exploded into the air as the ruined figure of the scarecrow fell onto the ground.
It was now six months into my training. I was learning to hit things. It was fun. That strength training we did every day was really starting to pay off.
I should probably mention that just because I'm focusing on hitting stuff, doesn't mean I've neglected other aspects of my training. In the mornings, I still work on my strength and endurance. At around noon, we switch to dodging. After about an hour or two of that, we focus on hitting stuff. We continue on that until it gets dark.
Yeah... My usual day is pretty boring. The only interesting part is getting to destroy targets with my hands. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that this training is literally the key to my survival.
...Anyways, I learned that Yuri's fighting style isn't official whatsoever. Apparently, It's just a cobbled together mess of oldschool boxing, and karate. In fact, most of the karate stuff is just in the footwork, so almost all the attacks she throws are just... standard punches. There's no real secret to them, so they're (relatively) simple.
At first, I was a little bummed, because there weren't any sort of special moves. When I half-jokingly mentioned that, Yuri chuckled.
She was vaguely familiar with some Cursed Sword Techniques, so she at least knew what I meant. However, her reasoning was actually pretty sound.
"Why not just make every move a special one?" She had said/asked. "If you're not hitting your opponent with everything, then why are you even fighting? Don't necessarily go for big attacks all the time, but always make sure you're doing damage."
The logic was somewhat barbaric, but it made sense. I definitely didn't disagree with it.
"Your attacks are powerful, but you have a tendency to always go for the big, slow moving ones." Yuri observed, snapping me out of my thoughts. "While it is best to defeat your enemy as quickly as possible, sometimes you need to whittle them down with quick strikes and jabs."
...What can I say, I liked hitting stuff as hard as I could. That might be disadvantageous when fighting someone faster than me, but right now I'm just smashing targets.
Apparently, Yuri noticed my slight overconfidence, as her eyes narrowed.
"Fine, then." She decided. "From now on, you shall be facing me."
I felt whatever sense of satisfaction within me crumble away to nothing. Great, I had to avoid getting hit, and I had to try to hit her at the same time.
This was going to be one hell of a workout.
*LINEBREAK*
The months passed by rather quickly. As the air grew colder, I began to feel a quiet nostalgia rumbling within me. Old memories of me spending time with my family would surface, and I would get pissed off, knowing I'd never see them again.
The season of winter always held a special place in my heart. It was a time that my family loved dearly. Often, we'd play in the snow, or build snowmen, or go sledding. It was just something we did.
So, being without them really hurt, and that made me really angry. I poured almost the entirety of my focus into training, hoping to take my mind off of things. Yuri seemed to notice my distress, but I blew her off whenever she asked. She didn't much like that, but I didn't really care. I wasn't fond of talking about my feelings.
One morning, as I walked into the kitchen, preparing myself for the day, Yuri stopped me.
"So, I've been talking to Micaela." Yuri said.
I raised an eyebrow, wondering why this was something she had to tell me.
"Okay...?" I muttered, a little bit bewildered. "Where are you going with this?"
She sighed, her shoulders sagging for a moment.
"We were discussing how you've been in a bit of a bad mood these past couple of days." She said. "Micaela suggested that you might need a change of scenery, so I've decided to take you on a little errand I have to run."
I blinked. That wouldn't help, but I wasn't opposed to the idea. I hadn't really left the village in, well, ever.
"What do you have to do?" I asked.
Yuri pulled a letter out of her pocket, showing it to me. It was just a standard, wax-sealed letter. There wasn't really anything noticeable about it.
"Well, it's really just a favor for Micaela." She said. "She needs me to deliver this letter to her sister in Ilias Village."
...That sounded like a terrible idea.
"Yuri, I don't mean to be rude..." I began slowly. "But how in the hell do you plan to get into Ilias Village? You're a monster, and last time I checked, those shitheads don't really like nonhumans."
Also, Lucifina was alive? That was... odd. At least now I know that we're a good bit away from the main storyline. I had plenty of time.
Yuri shrugged.
"I've got a couple coats I can use to hide myself." She countered. "I'll probably look conspicuous, but they won't know immediately what I am."
That was... interesting logic. I mean, she could also probably just slip in at night. Ilias Village probably didn't have that many guards.
"Okay." I said. "Just, if this goes poorly, I told you so."
She shook her head.
"You worry too much for a child." She said. "It'll be fine."
Those words did not fill me with confidence.
*LINEBREAK*
I trudged quietly through the snow, walking beside Yuri as I stared ahead at the path in front of us. I was bundled up in a coat that was way to big for me, but it kept me nice and warm. Yuri was also wearing a coat, except hers had a hood on it. It was pulled up, hiding her face and ears.
"You look kind of like the guy on those neighborhood watch signs." I said absentmindedly, before realizing that those signs probably didn't exist here.
Yuri turned to look at me.
"What?" She asked, slightly confused. "I'm not sure what you mean."
I sighed, internally screaming at myself.
"Basically, it's a sign with a stereotypical suspicious-looking person on it. It basically tells you to report anything strange." I explained. "They aren't really a thing around here."
She nodded, accepting my bogus answer. Hell, she probably knew I was lying, and just didn't want to raise a fuss about it. She was smart like that.
...God, this was boring. We'd been walking for over an hour, and all I'd seen so far was snow and trees. I was starting to get annoyed. I couldn't read the book I had brought with me, either, because I had to focus on the road. Conversation wasn't really something I was good at, so most of the walk would probably be spent in silence.
I wanted to blow my fucking brains out. We still had so many hours of travel ahead of us, but I wasn't sure if I could take much more. Honestly, a small part of me wanted something to attack us, just so I could break out of the monotony of travel at least for a minute. Alas, whatever monsters that might've been around were too smart, as Yuri was fucking terrifying.
My eyes shifted from the road, to the trees around us. Yep, they were trees alright. They didn't have any leaves on them, either, which made sense, considering the fact that it was winter.
...You know, I never liked leaves. Like, once it starts getting cold, they just fucking spread everywhere. You can try to rake them away, but more will appear. This wouldn't have been an issue for me, if the damn homeowner's association that I lived under didn't demand that I keep my yard clean.
Actually, you know what? I don't hate leaves. I hate, no, I despise the dictatorship that is the homeowner's association. They hate individuality. So what If that tower I wanted to build violated all kinds of city codes, it's not like that's the reason they denied it. No, they just want me to be a sheep. I wanted to spray weed killer on my lawn so I wouldn't have to mow the grass, but they barred me from doing so. "Oh, but the runoff will get into the water and make it poisonous!" Nobody gives a shit about that! You just want me to needlessly work for no fucking reason because it amuses you!
...Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit on that last one, but you get the idea. If it were up to me, I'd be living in a cabin in the woods, far away from whomever might decide to bother me. Unfortunately, I didn't really have a choice. I had to live in town, because that was the only way I could get to my job on time without leaving at four in the morning.
That was probably the one thing I liked about being in this world. I didn't have to deal with those H.O.A bastards.
Anyways, I'm going to go back to focusing on the road, because if I continue on this train of thought, I might get so mad that I pop a blood vessel in my brain.
It was a well-traveled road. I couldn't tell what all had walked on it, because there were so many different kinds of tracks. Looking at them for too long made my head kind of dizzy, so I tried not to focus on them.
Every breath I took seemed to hang in the air. I mean, it was really fuckin' cold, so that made sense. That's just something that happened around this time of year.
Suddenly, I was assaulted by memories of pretending to be a dragon, laughing as I blew steam from my mouth. I sighed, chuckling quietly to myself.
... Don't look at me like that. Everyone's done that at least once. I might be a violent sack of shit, but I still had a childhood. It was just mostly filled with with unyielding rage, is all.
...Maybe I should talk to a shrink. Though, I don't think that would really do anything, considering the time period. Hell, I'd half expect them to pull out the knives and try to carve a hole or two into my head, under the guise of "Letting the evil spirits out."
That was a real procedure for thousands of years, if you didn't know. It's called trepanning, and it's fucked up.
I didn't want to get a medieval lobotomy, so I decided to keep my problems to myself.
I was brought out of my musings by distant crunch sound. It was enough to make Yuri stop. Her eyes narrowed as she stared ahead, silent and unmoving. After a moment, there was a distant scream, and another crunch.
I felt a pit form in my stomach. That sounded like the scream of a child. Part of me wanted to rush over there and intervene, but the smarter part of me decided not to. I had no idea what was over there. For all I knew, I could round the corner directly into Black Alice. That almost certainly wouldn't happen, but you get the point I'm trying to make.
"...Stay here." Yuri whispered quietly, her expression seemingly turning to stone. "In fact, conceal yourself in the woods for a moment. If I don't return in ten minutes, run back to the village."
I nodded, backing slowly into the trees. Yuri looked serious, and I didn't really want to piss her off anymore than she probably already was. Though, I didn't want to miss out on the action, so after she went down the path a bit, I slowly followed, taking care not to step out onto the path.
Eventually, the path became a slight hill. Gingerly, I peeked over it, trying to see if it was clear. Let me tell you right now, it wasn't.
What I saw down there made my blood boil. I bit down on my tongue, trying desperately to keep my rage in check.
There were four humans, all dressed in shitty leather armor. Three of them wielded short-swords, but the leader, who was fuckin' giant, wielded a big, bloody warhammer. He was the only one that stood out, because he had a large blonde beard. It was actually somewhat impressive.
Whatever, that wasn't what pissed me off. The thing that really ground my gears was the dead monster girls on the side of the road (They looked like goblins, but I couldn't quite tell from where I was). Specifically, the one that was literally smaller than me. It was a fucking child and her mother, both killed by these level one Skyrim bandit-lookin' motherfuckers.
Yuri stood before them, unmoving. She still had her hood up, so they didn't yet know for sure that she was a monster. They were probably suspicious though. I mean, who just walks in the woods on their own? That's just asking to be attacked, whether or not you were male or female.
I was close enough to hear their conversation, so, like the nosy shit I am, I listened intently.
"...Why have you done this?" Yuri asked, her voice as cold and sharp as the arctic wind. "Why did you kill these people?"
The leader laughed heartily, his voice carrying throughout the forest. He sounded... Scottish. Like, he sounded like Fat Bastard.*
I would've laughed, had the situation not been so terrible.
"Why, they're monsters lass!" He exclaimed, as if he were explaining to someone that the sky was blue. "They ain't people! You must not be from around here, if you consider those rotten things to be on the same level as humans!"
I saw Yuri's fists shake somewhat, and for just a moment, I thought I saw a glint of metal under her coat.
The Scottish man seemed to notice her anger, as he took a more guarded stance.
"Say, lass..." He began, gripping his warhammer. "Would you mind pulling down your hood for a second?"
Yuri complied, much to my shock. The man, upon seeing that she was an Elf, recoiled backwards, falling into a rudimentary combat stance.
"I knew it!" He roared, spittle flying everywhere as he did so. "You're just a filthy monster! I'll cru-HRK"
Yuri interrupted the man with a dagger in his throat. With a flick of her wrist, she rent his neck from ear to ear, before kicking him away, leaving him to drown in his own blood.
She turned to the next person, who barely had time to bring his sword up before she was on him. With one hand, she knocked away his weapon, before slitting his stomach open with her blade. In a fluid motion, she sliced upward, tearing through his ribs like butter, until she found and destroyed his heart.
The third man tried to attack while she was preoccupied with his partner, swinging his sword down upon her with all the force he could muster. Yuri saw this out of the corner of her eye, and used the corpse of the second man to block the attack. In a flash, Yuri plunged her dagger into the third man's forehead, and dragged it down until his face was completely split in two. She tossed him away like trash, before turning to the final man.
The fourth man had decided to turn and run. Unfortunately for him, Yuri didn't seem too merciful today. She picked up one of the dead men's swords, and tossed it towards him. It went straight through his back, running him down the middle. Yuri stalked over to him, and grabbed him by the hair. She stared directly into the man's terrified eyes, before slitting his throat with such force that she nearly beheaded him.
The entire fight had lasted around eight seconds. I was too stunned for words.
That was absolutely the goriest thing I'd ever seen. I felt sick, and yet, a large part of me loved it. I wanted to see more. Yuri, in that battle, was one of the most wonderful things I'd ever seen. If I weren't so distracted, I would've been absolutely disgusted with myself. However, my brain didn't really comprehend that right then. It saw red, and that was good.
I was so caught up in my musings that I didn't notice Yuri approach until it was too late. She saw me, and her expression changed to one of severe panic. Desperately, she rushed up to me, like she was afraid I would run away. As she got closer, I noticed the slick stains of blood that seemingly covered her from head to toe. It made her outfit look better, in my opinion.
"Alex, close your eyes." She said, her voice filled with a disconcerting amount of fear. "Don't look at me. Just close your eyes."
Why was she freaking out? Where did all that stoicism go? It was fucking badass, so why was she suddenly acting so scared?
"Why are you so... jittery?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion. "Is there something on my face?"
If she was panicked before, she was horrified now. She looked at me again, this time noticing my total lack of fear or disgust.
Now that I think about it, she also got a bit worried when I saw her beat the shit out of that dark elf. It made sense to me at the time, but right now, I just didn't get it. My mind felt kind of cloudy, actually. All I could focus on was the red color that stained her coat. It was a nice, rich hue that seemed to completely outshine anything else.
"Alex..." She began quietly, kneeling down so she could look me in the eye. "Please tell me you don't enjoy the sight of blood."
I blinked, barely able to process what she was saying. Jeez! I felt lightheaded. I could barely think about anything other than that wonderful color.
"...It's pretty." I muttered, speaking more to myself than her.
Yuri's face went white as a sheet. She was acting like she'd just heard the most horrifying news, which didn't make sense to me. I just told her that I liked red, for fuck's sake.
"That fight was nice." I said, staring absentmindedly at the bodies behind her. "It everything look so much better."
After that particular comment, Yuri's face settled into a resigned expression. Faster than I could react, she gently placed her hand on my forehead.
"Sleep." She commanded, her voice practically ringing with a strange, powerful energy.
My mind fell into darkness, my last thought being that of the stains on the ground.
A/N: Well that was... interesting to write.
Okay, so the main character's mind is steadily growing worse. This is intentional. Of course, you'll have to find out my plan for next chapter. Also, I feel I should say that I have never enjoyed seeing someone die. That's never been something I'd wanted to see. I've got some anger issues, but they're manageable.
Anyways, I've finally got a new computer, so that's nice, I guess. I got it for around $400, so it's not great, but it does its job. It's way better than my last one, which was still running Windows XP up until the moment it died.
I've been pretty sick these past few days, so I apologize if this isn't as good as my previous chapters. I'm still a little out of it even when writing this. I could just wait and read over this when my mind is clear, but I don't want to delay this any longer. If there's any glaring, serious plot-related mistakes, I'll fix them later. Right now, I just want to get this out.
*Fat bastard is a recurring character in the Austin Powers franchise. He is played by the same man that voices Shrek (I think).
