"...re be a better way to go about this? Maybe I should ask Sensei after all?"

A bright, youthful voice was the first thing to greet him in the morning. Opening his eyes, he would have enjoyed seeing the rising sun, but it seemed that the sun rose behind him in this position. Regardeless, he could tell that it was far later than he usually woke, so he felt grateful to whoever had come by to check up on him. Or so he would have liked to believe, but the lack of any further greetings seemed to suggest that whoever had woken him did so by accident. Even so, he would remember to thank her as soon as he was able to speak. Or walk, for that matter. Fortunately, it seemed that he had some better control of his arms as well as head now, which meant that full-body motion must not be out of his reach.

The bright voice continued to monologue, somewhere in the tall grass beyond the beach, but he could not make out anyone in the sea of emerald. He could somewhat recall a gem-like girl who had promised to send help last night, but the voice in the grasss sounded nothing like her. Had she forgotten about him? She didn't seem the type, and more than that, he remembered the powerful emotion in her eyes. Then maybe she had gotten into trouble? Such an idea filled him with dread, and would perhaps have urged him to force his unmoving body into action, but soon another girl stepped out of the grass. With a cute, fresh beatuy, fit for her girlish voice, she seemed the font of youthful energy and innocence. Still preoccupied with her self-conversation, it seemed that she had not noticed him yet.

"He'll force me to listen to him all day! A master scholar must not be confined to some room and receive lectures!", she said, as if giving a speech. So self-absorbed was she, that even with him trying to move out of the way, she continued to walk, until –

"I'll just find Cinnabar and force her to – WAAH!"

Tripping over his extended legs, she fell face-first into the sand, her butt cutely sticking out, up into the air. His focus, however, was rather on her slender legs, which had cracked upon impact with him, pieces of gemstone flying off, reflecting the light of the sun with a leaf-green hue.

"Mou! No way I tripped over some random rock...I'll get back at you for th-!"

Whatever she was going to say seemed caught up in her throat as she blankly stared at him, clearly unsure of how to act upon findinging that it was a person, not a rock, that she had walked into. For his part, the sword similarly stared back, taking the time to take in her appearance. The most striking aspect was her hair, followed closely by her eyes. Just like the red gem-girl from last night, this one had both hair and eyes which seemed cut out of prescious stone. A beautiful mint-green colour, with the same too-perfect white skin. First the mutliple moons, and now gem-people, just where had he ended up?.

"C-Could this be my grand discovery? The key to showing everyone how useful I can be?!" She said, having snapped out of her confusion, and now sporting an excited expression. "I'll show that stupid Morga that this master scholar is not to be mocked, and she'll get on her knees and pray for my forgiveness! And Sensei will let me join the others in combat too!"

With complete disregard for her battered legs, she stood up, feeling uplifted by dreams and fantasies. A-And was that drool coming from her mouth?! "YOU!" she screamed, pointing at him with an outstretched finger. Off-handedly, he noticed that her fingernails were the same colour as her hair and eyes. "You're gonna be my new helper, whether you like it or not. Feel honored!".

Oh, he did. He wanted to be helpful in any way possible. He just wished he could express his gratitude. Judging by yesterday, such a thing was likely beyond his capabilities, but he had grown a bit stronger, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to try. Steeling himself, he spoke. "H-Hono...red". Just like before, it was a grating sound, so unlike human speech, but this time he had been able to manage a word. Proud of this small success, he gazed back at her. Once again, she was staring blankly, unsure of how to react.

"...Okay, didn't expect you to speak, but I guess that's fine too". More serious now, she examined him up and down. Either she didn't like what she saw or she was in a bad mood, because her expression dropped. "I suppose this isn't something I can be careless about, huh. Best bet would be to call Sensei aftter all". She turned on her heel, ready to head off, and yet more small amounts of gemstone fell from the "wounds" on her legs. Anxious, the sword sprung into action without thinking.

"Le-Leg..."

Hearing his voice, she turned once again. Letting out a small "hmm?", she looked at him attentively.

"L...Legs"

Weakly pointing down, he spoke with great effort. It seemed to work, much to his relief, because she quickly glanced down and let out something between a groan and a sigh. "Not agaaain!". Grumpily grumbling to herself, she picked up the fallen pieces, and with a "T-This doesn't usually happen! I'm actually super strong!", she was off yet again, tiny fragments still falling from the cracks in her legs.. Honestly, she didn't need to feel embarassed. He was happy to help, though he still couldn't help but be worried about the condition of her wounds. Did it not cause her any pain? If so, she hadn't shown it.

Calling out from a distance, she spoke while pushing aside strands of long grass, "I'll be back with Sensei and the rest in a bit, so just sit tig – WAAH!", but once again failing to look where she was walking, tripped over something. Or someone, judging by the cry of surprise from another voice. Strangely, it sounded like the girl from yesterday...

"Are you blind as well as dumb, three and a half?!" the voice screamed, while the green girl merely groaned back a response. He made a mental note classifying her as an airhead, before speaking out.

"O...kay?"

"AH! The person from yesterday! I was supposed to get help, but I ended up falling asleep"

Well, that cleared up his earlier musings about her. Another one classified as an airhead. Was this how these gem-people normally were?

"You were supposed to get help? You mean I am supposed to get help!. Don't steal my grand discovery and new helper!".

It was almost nostalgic, hearing these two fighting over him, but now was not the time for that. Either one could've gotten hurt from the impact, especially considering the green girl still had her injuries from earlier. He called out once again.

"O...kay?"

"...I think we're oka – CINNABAR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEGS?!"

"Stop screaming right into my ear you brat! Don't you know I'm weaker than even you?"

"No way! But I've a hardness of three point five, how much lower can you go!?"

"Well, I'm a two. Just don't go rubbing it in..."

"Woohoo! I'm not the weakest!"

"..."

"...Uhh, I mean, don't worry Cinnabar, I bet there's other things you're good at! Haha...ha..."

Again, there was a lack of pain in either of their voices, and judging by their relatively relaxed conversation, no one was likely to be in serious danger. Letting out a sigh of relief, he allowed himself to relax. The sky was a beautiful, clear blue, and the lack of clouds made it seem impossibly large. While their arguing in the background was less than ideal, he nonetheless felt at peace. That is, until he noticed something strange.

It was…well, it was difficult to describe. Like a deep black shadow in the sky, it appeared slowly, but then quickly began growing, flowing larger and larger on the horizon. It vaguely reminded him of one of those tests psychologists used with people, rorsch-something. Uncertain of how to act, he decided to notify his would-be saviours. Mustering his strenght, he shouted.

"SKY"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Stopping in the middle of an argument, they both quickly glanced around them, until they saw the strange shape. Their worried gasps made what felt like a knot in his stomach.

"A sunspot...", the red girl, Cinnabar, said, as if thinking out loud. "And just when both me and the idiot have our legs broken. What should I do?..". Her voice, more and more panicked, seemed to worry the other girl greatly.

"I-It's fine! The others will probably notice it quickly and come save us, so don't worry!". With words which sounded like she didn't believe them herself, the green girl futilely attempted to lighten the mood.

"...If it comes to it, I'll sacrifice myself"

"NO!"

"NO!"

They both reacted immediately. It was unthinkable to let someone else give their life for him. Not again. Not again! He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if that happened. It was his life that had no value. He was the one who should be sacrificing himself. Not her!

"But if I draw attention to myself then you have a chance! You, with your green colour, can hide in the grass, and hopefully they won't be able to notice you!", she desperately pleaded. "I am the eldest. You're only three hundred years old, and he's barely a newborn! I won't let either of you go for me!". Despite the fear and sadness in her voice, she was resolute. She had made up her mind, and it seemed nothing would convince her. The green girl was speechless, and though it seemed Cinnabar had more to say, a stray arrow interrupted the conversation.

From the shadow in the sky, something emerged. Shapes, whisps, like floating spectres. Soft, cloudy ghosts. Spirits in the shape of people, holding instruments, flowers, and weapons. Arrows nooked on their bows, they had already begun shooting, and the missles flew towards the trio.

Cinnabar rose on unsteady feet, her legs deeply cracked. It seemed as though she would collapse at any moment, but she stood her ground and limped towards the misty warriors in the sky. The other girl, unhappy as she was, followed the plan and remained laying there in the grass, hiding herself in the vegetation. Most likely, she would not be seen by anyone.

Arrows pierced Cinnabar's body, knocking off chunks of precious stone. There was no blood. No flesh or guts hanging out, and no gore to be seen. She was not human, and he was spared having to see another human being die. Even so, it was equally horiffying to see her barely hanging on, riddled with holes, missing both her arms. After a short while, the rain of arrows stopped. A momentary repireve, as the archers were reloading their strange bows, and he was almost ready to feel hopeful. Then, his heart shattered like glass. New arrows flew through the air. One shot pierced her neck, and her head flew clean off. Cinnabar's eyes closed, and her body crumbled underneath her.

"So this is how it ends, huh?"


Author's Note:

Posting two chapters in a row, to start things off well. Hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger, next time we'll see if Cinnabar really gets taken to the moon, and how the rest of the gems react to the situation. See you next time.