Phew! This chapter took way longer than I expected! Hope it was worth it!
Episode 2 – Doused Fire
Though shaded from the hot summer sun as he stood underneath an awning, Ryo let out an exasperated sigh of frustration. He ran his fingers through his hair and wondered wildly what he should do next. It'd been three days since he'd returned to his home prefecture of Yamanashi, and in those three days he'd searched practically every block of the capital city of Kōfu, which had a population of around two-hundred-thousand. Even if he did have his ESP – as he was now beginning to call it, thanks to Kento – he still had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for, much less whom.
As Ryo began to stare at nothing, he found himself wishing he could talk with his dad about the struggles of being a Ronin Warrior – if only he didn't have to keep it all secret. Not that it was too hard, since his dad was off every other month on a nature photography assignment, which became a near-regular occurrence when Ryo reached his teens. Yet despite the large amount of time he spent away from home, Ryo knew his father loved him. He was after all an only child, and his dad was pretty much all he had by way of immediate family.
With that thought, Ryo once again recalled that dream he'd had last week – the one that had sent him on what was quickly becoming a wild-goose chase. Not that it was too bad or anything. In fact, there were parts of it he remembered quite fondly.
The first thing he knew, he'd been in a forest, shrouded in darkness and veiled with thick mist, with trees that seemed to go on forever in all directions and stretch to the heavens. Ryo had initially wondered if it was nighttime, but when he looked through the branches, he could see only an expanse of black – no moon, no stars. Nor were there any other people besides him, at least at the start. What is this place…?
Ryo then realized with great alarm that he didn't even have his faithful tiger, White Blaze, at his side. And having grown up in a mostly rural area, he knew what a forest should sound like – birds singing, insects buzzing, the occasional catcall of an irritated squirrel, the steady flow of a stream, clusters of leaves rustling in the wind, and so on and so forth. But there'd been none of that in the silent, black forest of Ryo's dream, nothing except himself, the dark…and fire.
It'd happened so suddenly. One moment, he was alone in the shadowy wood, increasingly tense as he wondered if he'd have to fend off any surprise attacks. The next, Ryo had merely blinked, and he'd gasped as he found himself surrounded by a circle of fire which had seemingly sparked out of nowhere, and appeared to have no effect whatsoever on the trees around him, not even smoke. But while it had startled him at first, once he felt the comforting heat emanating from the flaming circle, Ryo quickly began to feel more at ease and safer than he'd been since the start of his dream.
In hindsight, it didn't surprise him. His relationship with fire was different from the general populace. After all, his armor was the armor of Wildfire. And ever since he'd acquired his original armor over five years ago, Ryo had remained impervious to the licks of flames, smoke, and the like. If anything, whenever he was around fire, everything seemed to make sense and feel right. Such was the case when the fire in his dream lit itself.
But then, though he would've sworn he was alone in these woods, Ryo thought he'd heard his name being called. It was a woman's voice, he knew that enough. And while he couldn't recall ever hearing it before – at least not in the waking world – something in him instinctively recognized it at once. Eager to know its source – yet keeping his guard up in case this was a trap – Ryo headed in the direction of the voice, the flames of the fiery circle parting for him and then guiding him as he hastily searched through the wood.
Every time he heard the echo of his name, Ryo quickened his pace. Soon, he was running, and he was just about to call out in return, when his eyes suddenly landed on a shadowy figure in the center of what appeared to be a clearing. Unlike the near complete darkness that'd marked the beginning of his dream, here, the faintest shafts of light broke through the canopy of branches, illuminating the feminine figure just enough for Ryo to make out her features – and be struck with as much paralysis as recognition.
"No way…" he'd breathed. "…Mom…?!"
Has she been calling me this whole time? he'd marveled in excited panic. But how?! She's dead! And yet she looked exactly like the woman in the photo he'd seen his dad carry in his wallet. Even when Ryo reminded himself that he was dreaming, he still couldn't believe it. And even when he started to, a strange sense of sorrow began to sink deep into him, sorrow which the woman's eyes – just as blue as his own – seemed to reflect back at him.
Having been only two weeks old when she died, Ryo never knew his mother. Growing up, he hadn't thought much of it or really even missed her. He'd just known that he didn't have a mom like his schoolmates did. From what he did know of her, he took after her in both looks and personality, and she loved him very much.
Now that he was grown up, and actually looking at her – even if it wasn't real – Ryo felt a brief but sharp pang of loss at how he'd never gotten the chance to know the extraordinary woman who'd died to give him life. Now he knew, at least in part, what his dad must've felt when he'd lost her, and for a moment, Ryo wondered if he'd ever meet a woman he could love as much as his father loved his mother…
Just then, Ryo caught movement in the corner of his eye. On the alert once again, he turned his head in that direction. At first, he didn't see anything, making him think he was probably just imagining it. But then he caught that same movement again, and through the darkness, past the glowing light of the fire that still burned around him, Ryo's mouth fell open as he glimpsed another woman.
Unlike his mother, he didn't know this one at all. Even with the illuminating flames, he couldn't make out her features, nor the color of her eyes and hair, the latter flying beside her in a breeze he couldn't feel. All Ryo could tell was that she was younger than his mother, closer to his age if nothing else. And the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he was looking at the one girl he'd ever had feelings for. But that theory was soon put to rest as well, not just because he quickly deduced that it wasn't her, but also because her painful loss was still too fresh in his mind.
Though he had no idea who this young woman could possibly be, whether by curiosity or some other force, Ryo felt drawn to her. He took one step toward her, then another, and though she was still too far away, he reached his hand out toward her. His mouth still open, he was about to ask who she was, when the feminine silhouette visibly tensed, and turned and fled like a deer before the hounds. A warning in the back of his mind advised against a new urge of his, yet Ryo couldn't help but wonder what had frightened her. Thus, he gave in and followed her.
When he once more caught sight of the phantom-like figure in the distance, Ryo again ignored the mental warning flash and called out to her, his voice echoing off the trees that seemed greater in number than before. "Wait! Who are you?" Though he knew she probably wouldn't stop, he nonetheless felt disappointed when she kept on running. And so did he.
Whether it ended up being a few seconds or a few hours, Ryo couldn't have said. But in all that time, he continued to pursue the woman, leaving blazing fire in his wake, even when she once again left his sight. Not long after, Ryo heard the neigh of a horse echoing through the wood. And just when he was wishing he had better light by which to see than the fire, he was flooded with it.
After realizing he'd left the forest and was standing at the bottom of a hill, Ryo looked up, and his eyes went wide. The girl he'd been chasing had mounted a rearing and neighing horse, just as shrouded in shadow as its rider against the silvery-white glow of the moon. Like before, Ryo stretched out his hand and called to her. "No, wait! Stop! Where are you going?"
And once again, though he knew it was unlikely she'd respond, he felt even more dismayed this time around as she directed her horse away from him and vanished into the night, leaving him just as alone as he was at the start of his dream, listening to the echo of hoofbeats descending the side of the hill opposite his. Ryo slumped to his knees, angry with himself for allowing the unknown yet captivating figure to slip through his grasp. He shook his head in defeat, wishing he'd never had this dream in the first place. It'd amounted to nothing more than being a great big, aggravating tease.
And he would've continued to think so, were it not for the hand he suddenly felt on his shoulder. Ryo's head immediately shot up, and he froze almost as much as when he'd encountered his mother earlier. Only now, though it wasn't her, it was another ghostly woman whom he recalled as having once been a sort of mother toward him and his fellow warriors. The one who had given them all their new sets of armor – Suzunagi. Ryo didn't know what to feel – he was already feeling too many emotions at once – but Suzunagi gave him a sad smile, one that just barely reached her blue-green eyes.
"You have loved much, and lost much, young warrior," she spoke in a sympathetic voice that had an echoing, ethereal quality to it. "But love lost is not love wasted. A lesser man would've hardened his heart the moment it was first broken. But not only have you kept yours open. You have allowed yours to grow so that it may give and receive more." Though touched by her comforting counsel, Ryo again hung his head.
"Still, what's the point of loving anyone if they're just gonna be taken from me?" he asked in a tone that was close to despair. He then felt Suzunagi's finger under his chin, and allowed her to turn it up so that he was facing her once more.
"You do not know what lies ahead, Ryo," she replied, her voice still gentle but now with an underlying firmness. "You do not know who will come into your life, nor when those already in it will leave, if ever."
At first, Ryo was nothing short of confused. Of course, he knew Suzunagi had the gift of foresight – that she could see into the future. That was how she knew of the Ronin Warriors long before they were even born, long after she'd died. And with that thought, Ryo had a strong feeling he was onto something. With renewed hope, he returned his gaze to Suzunagi, and asked – if not implored, "What do you mean? Do you know who that girl was?" Without waiting for an answer to either question, he asked further, "Who is she? And what does she have to do with me?"
Suzunagi smiled again, and stood up to her full height, the light of the moon behind her lending itself to her already angelic appearance. "The future is not set in stone, Ryo of the Wildfire," she replied. "I can only predict what will most likely happen. You still have your own free will. It will be your desire, or lack thereof, that will lead you to meet this young woman, or not…" And before Ryo could demand of her what she knew, he'd woken up – the forest, the fire, his mother, the mysterious woman, and Suzunagi all gone as though they'd evaporated like mist on a summer's day.
When he and his friends shared their experiences, he hadn't given all the details of his. Plenty of them were too personal. But if anything good had come out of this so far, it was the knowledge that he wasn't alone in being visited by Suzunagi. Still, it wasn't as though any of it had helped in his search for the girl he'd dreamed about.
Suddenly, Ryo was yanked back into the present when a car horn honked loudly on the road in front of him. The rude awakening and frustration at his fruitless pursuit made him groan. How was he supposed to find this girl when all he had of her was a shadow to chase?
Then, almost as abruptly as the car horn, right when he was about to give in to his hopelessness, Ryo thought he'd spotted something that made him pause. At first, just like in his dream, he'd wanted to scoff and tell himself it was just a trick of the light, or his own desperation. Even so, Ryo couldn't help but turn around. And like a magnet honing in on metal, his eyes somehow landed right where they wanted to, leaving him nearly dumbfounded with surprise.
Across the road, Ryo saw three young ladies around his age. But he quickly focused on the one hurrying to join the other two on the safety of the sidewalk. She looked a bit flustered and annoyed, making Ryo wonder – with a bit of a chuckle – if she was the reason for the honk he'd just heard. She hastily pulled herself together, though, and proceeded to follow the other two girls – whom she was probably related to, judging by their mutually similar features – down the street.
She walked not in a pretentious or flirtatious sort of way, but something about her stride seemed to project a sense of self-confidence. More than that, her hair – pale pink like sakura petals and showcasing braided side-bangs – flew in a way identical to what Ryo had seen in his dream. And even from where he stood, he could see that her eyes were a darker shade of pink than her hair, and no less vibrant.
She was pretty, very pretty. But what really caught Ryo's attention was a strange red light glowing on her forehead, one that remained invisible to everyone – including her – except him. And he quickly recognized it for what it was. All Ronin Warriors had a guiding trait which sometimes glowed at the forehead in the form of the respective trait's kanji character. Ryo's trait was "Jin/仁," or "Virtue" in English. From what he could tell, the character on the girl's forehead read as "Yuu/勇," or "Courage" in English. And just like that, almost everything that'd happened before seemed to fall into place.
Could there be more Ronin Warriors? he wondered in baffled amazement. And if there are, might she be one of them?
For a moment, Ryo felt annoyed at how simple this all turned out to be, and proved Cye right no less. Yet even more, he felt immensely relieved that he finally had some sort of sign. But only when the girl got further away did he realize that, however hard the previous days were, it was about to get even harder. From the beginning, he knew he couldn't just walk right up to her, introduce himself, and explain that not only was he a Ronin Warrior, but that she could be one also.
Even so, Ryo knew he had to start somewhere. He had to do something. And he was not going to let his dream repeat itself and allow her to escape him again. As he watched the girl turn a corner, Ryo got a grip on all his misgivings and proceeded to follow in her footsteps, all the while telling himself that however ill this may eventually reflect on him, he would at least have the satisfaction of knowing he'd tried.
Once she'd turned the corner, the young woman with distinctive pink hair walked on, even as she let out a great huff of frustration – and more than a bit of embarrassment. "The nerve of some people!" she remarked, wishing the hotness on her cheeks would just evaporate already. Hopefully the shade would help.
One of the girls in front of her turned around and voiced her agreement. "I know, right?!" she exclaimed in an exaggerated tone. "People can be so rude!" The pink-haired girl then regretted her words, now knowing she might've provoked behavior in the one ahead that might bring yet more embarrassment.
The second, who was taller and older, also turned around and voiced her opinion. "To be honest, I can't entirely blame them," she admitted. "I mean, no one likes getting honked at. But no one likes having a random person just walk out in front of them, either."
Though the girl who'd been honked at had been trying to bury her annoyance, it quickly resurfaced at the suspicion that she was being scolded. "Alright, Anzu, I admit it!" she blurted out. And just like before, she immediately wished she hadn't, or at least hadn't said the words in that way. With another sigh, she added in a steadier voice, "I just got distracted, okay? And before you say I'm just making excuses, don't tell me you haven't done the same thing." After realizing she was missing her own point, the girl then returned to it. "I'm sorry, alright? Seriously."
Fortunately, Anzu smiled softly in understanding. "It's fine, Akane. I don't know what you were thinking about, and it's none of my business. Just watch where you're going next time." Akane nodded back, grateful that she hadn't been probed on what was occupying her. It was something she wasn't exactly open to discussing with anyone yet, not even her own cousins whom she'd been spending most of the day with.
"Well hey," her younger cousin teased yet again, "at least that guy was honking at you for wandering onto the road, and not some other reason."
Anzu stepped in to put a stop to her sister's nonsense. "That's enough, Atsumi," she warned her in a tone similar to their mother's, even though there was only a three-year age difference between them. "We're moving on. Besides, we might wanna think about getting home soon."
"Aww!" Atsumi groaned in disappointment. And that was the last thing Akane consciously heard from her cousins. Although she'd just promised not to zone out again, she found herself returning to what had been on her mind when she'd gotten honked at; only this time, she made sure to just tune her cousins out and not remain oblivious to her surroundings. Not that she was doing it to be mean. She loved her cousins and confided in them plenty of times about plenty of things. But this was one of those things she wished to keep only to herself.
It'd been three days since she'd had it, and yet those days had passed in a blur as Akane couldn't stop thinking about that ominous yet fascinating dream. The one thing she knew for sure about it was that it wasn't like most dreams. This was one of those incredibly rare ones that feel more like a vision than a dream, with everything happening as vividly as though one were awake.
Though not happy to have gone through it, Akane was thankful that the worst part had been in the beginning. It reminded her too much of the nightmares she'd had ten years ago, in which she relived again and again the horror of what she would always remember as the worst day of her life. While she was confused as to why they should return now after being free of them for nearly a decade, Akane still recalled with crystal clarity the pain, despair, and loneliness like it'd happened only yesterday – feelings that no one, especially not a nine-year-old girl, should be forced to experience.
That was how this newest dream had begun. First, Akane had the sensation of being lost in a sea of flames. Though they never touched her, she'd been bombarded with their heat along with the smoke that made her eyes sting as she coughed, and felt them lick at whatever bare skin she had, like hellish jaws ready to devour her. At one point, Akane suffered the sharpest scorching feeling when a piece of burning timber hit her on the shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain and call for the ones who were supposed to protect her.
The next thing she knew, Akane was outside, away from the inferno, judging by the clean air that immediately cleared her lungs. But instead of relief, the darkness that surrounded her filled her with ever-increasing dread, and it quickly gave way to terror when she saw the structure in front of her already going down in flames. Yet it wasn't merely the sight in front of her that filled her with fear. It was the fact that she was alone, while those she loved most were very likely dying if they weren't already gone.
Akane shot forward, but strong hands forced her back, holding her in place as she stretched her hand toward the blazing furnace and screamed. She didn't care that she was a kid. She wanted to run back in and save the people inside, even if that meant getting even more burned than she already was. She didn't want to be left behind while her loved ones were forced to abandon her. But no matter how hard she fought and struggled, Akane felt chained where she was, until she was forced to admit that her darkest fears had come true, and collapsed into tears.
Desperate to escape the nightmare she wanted to banish like a demon, Akane looked from one direction to the other, facing lonely darkness at every turn, until her eyes landed on the figure of a ghostly woman who somehow seemed far away yet close by at the same time. Whatever the case, Akane quickly found a target for her blame and anger that burned almost as much as the fire, and marched forward, ready to lash out at anything that stood in her way.
"Did you do this?!" Akane demanded as she jabbed an accusing finger at her. "Did you bring this nightmare back to me?!" Without waiting for an answer, Akane continued to rant. "I don't know who you are, but do you have any idea how long and hard I've been trying to forget that?!" This time she pointed the same finger at the devastating scene she knew was behind her. "I lost everyone and everything that day, with no hope of getting it back!" Once more, she felt tears spring to her eyes, but she was determined not to break down again.
Instead of being faced with retribution from the apparition, Akane instead was met with kind, understanding eyes, and surprisingly comforting words spoken with a loving tone. "You have not lost everyone, nor everything, child." At first, Akane took offense. She was nineteen now, hardly a child. And yet, as she let it sink in, she decided that those were words she did want to hear. Still wondering who this spirit woman was, Akane took a small step back and got a good look at her for the first time.
Though spooky and mysterious as was certainly befitting of a ghost, the woman had scarlet red hair, and wore it in a most unusual way, with her bangs tied to the front so that they fell across her blue-green eyes, which seemed capable of looking into the heart of just about anyone. The robe she wore was the purest white Akane had ever seen, and she found herself fascinated by the rosary the woman carried, a clear indicator that she'd been a Christian in life. She then motioned her robed arm to the side, revealing an otherwise alarmingly long sleeve, and simply said, "Come; walk with me."
"Walk?" Akane asked, puzzled rather than protesting. "Where?" The woman, who was now facing away from her, didn't answer. She only looked back at Akane over her shoulder, and blinked. Realizing now that it was pointless to expect answers from a ghost, Akane gave in and followed the woman's stride so that they walked side-by-side, the only sound other than their footsteps being the soft, echoing clink of the rosary beads, until the apparition spoke again.
"Like you, I too lost my loved ones to a raging fire," she began, causing Akane to shoot a stunned, open-mouthed look at her. The ghost only gazed ahead, compelling Akane to do the same, and continued. "Whereas the one you suffered was a tragic accident, the one I suffered was sparked by those who hated my family and I for what we believed in. Like you, I was only a young girl. But, unlike you…I did not survive." At those last few words, Akane felt an unexpected pang of sadness, but she knew well enough now to let her new companion continue speaking.
"Yet even in death, I did not immediately reunite with those I lost. Instead, my spirit wandered for ages, filled with anger and the desire for vengeance, only to discover that it was those very things that kept me from what I wanted most – peace, and reunion with my family." Though initially impatient for the woman to get to the point, Akane forced herself to allow the words to sink in, given they came from one who understood exactly what she'd gone through.
"Furthermore, my anger and thirst for revenge were misplaced, and only when I came to that realization was I finally able to rest and be with my loved ones again." The woman then stopped walking, and so did Akane. Feeling the spirit's gaze on her, she turned to face her again. "Akane, much may have changed in the last ten years for you, but there are vestiges of anger you have yet to let go of." Akane wanted to ask the woman how she knew her name, but made herself listen in silence, wanting to know where this conversation – or monologue – was going.
"Life is too short to dwell on anger," her companion continued, "and eternity too long." Suddenly, the ghost somehow managed to place her hands on Akane's shoulders, stilling her in surprise. "Listen to me when I say you have been given something precious that I was not granted." Akane only stared at her with imploring eyes, and this time, the ghost seemed happy to answer. "Life. You survived the fire, Akane. Now, let it refine you into the courageous fighter you were meant to be."
Though touched by the words, Akane couldn't help but look away and scoff in a low voice. "If only the refining process didn't have to be so painful." As she predicted, the woman picked up what she said, and put her finger on the side of her chin, turning her face so that their eyes met again.
"Not all pain is evil, young woman," she said. "And in much the same way, not all fire is evil. Indeed, you have yet to discover the fiercest of all fires." Despite the undeserved comfort she'd received from this woman, Akane paradoxically shivered at the thought of being faced with a more devastating blaze than the one she'd already been put through. But suddenly, the woman looked away, and motioned in the same direction. Akane followed her gaze, and was instantly curious at the sight in the middle of a clearing not too far away.
A thick, red, foggy haze obscured most of the details, but no one needed to tell Akane that there was some seriously heated conflict going on behind it. From what she could see, a small army of shadowy figures shaped as though they were wearing armor seemed to be ganging up on a young man whose features she couldn't make out. Even though she had no idea who he was, she was filled with a tremendous urge to help him. But before she could move, Akane spotted yet another silhouette – this one being a young woman – leaping into the middle of the clearing.
Though she couldn't make out her likeness any more than the man's, Akane sensed a strong recognition that she knew could only mean one thing. "Is…is that…me?" She turned toward the woman for answers. But just as quickly as she'd appeared earlier, her companion had now vanished, leaving Akane alone again – only this time with the dilemma of deciphering the meaning of the puzzling scene. Despite sensing the futility of it, Akane nonetheless called, "Wait! Where are you? Who are you? What does this all mean?" And that was the last thing she recalled before she'd awakened.
She was then abruptly brought back to the present, this time – thankfully – not by a honking car horn, but by the sound of someone tripping behind her. Akane turned around, and her eyes landed on a young man around her age – maybe a year or two older – regaining his footing next to the corner she herself had just turned. At first, she felt suspicious that he was following her, since he wasn't at that corner before. But then, their eyes met, and though she didn't think she could explain it if she'd tried, something about this guy struck her as familiar.
Of course, Akane couldn't remember ever seeing him before. His unkempt jet-black hair fell over his forehead and just past his shoulders, and his eyes were an intriguing shade of blue. She couldn't deny it. He was handsome. And yet, unlike most good-looking guys, he seemed rather innocent, if the way he gasped and turned his now blushing face away was any indication. In spite of his embarrassment, Akane couldn't help but chuckle at how cute it was.
"Uh, sorry," the stranger apologized, his voice attractively husky. "I know, it's impolite to stare." He then dared to face her again, and almost immediately began stammering. "It's just…I…I've…never seen hair that pink."
Akane's eyebrows lifted at his rather charming save, and she wondered if this guy had much experience with girls. Choosing to humor him, she smiled and replied, "I'll take that as a compliment. I get that every now and then." Wanting to say more, she added, "I don't know about you, but I've never seen hair that black."
The young man's blush remained as he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, I guess." As though deciding then that it was his turn to ward off the awkwardness that'd sprung between them, he asked hastily, "Just curious, what's your name?"
After debating briefly whether or not she should say, she ultimately saw no harm in telling him. "I'm Akane. Akane Otani."
The guy smiled, and Akane felt her heartbeat slightly increase at the sight of it. "Nice to meet you, Akane. I'm R–"
Before Ryo could fully introduce himself, the ground beneath him seemed to shake a little bit. And he quickly saw he wasn't the only one who'd felt it. Nevertheless, despite the increasingly confused faces of all the passersby, Ryo faced the now bewildered girl in front of him and asked her, "Did you feel that just now?"
"Y-yeah," Akane nodded timidly, her eyes wide as though she shared his thoughts. "And I'm pretty sure everyone else d–"
Now Akane was interrupted, this time by an even more intense shake. And before either of them could say anything else, the earth at their feet began to shake violently, threatening to rock them off their feet. All around them, the terror rapidly spread through every human in sight like the ripples a stone makes upon hitting water, leading to countless feminine and masculine voices gasping, screaming, and bellowing unnecessarily, "Earthquake!"
Once everyone realized that this disaster was actually happening, many seemed to put their heads together and head to the nearest safe areas. Meanwhile, Ryo and Akane stood where they were, staring at each other in fear. But Ryo's fear quickly turned to suspicion, which in turn became anger, and he shouted at Akane above all the others still screaming in mass hysteria. "This is no ordinary earthquake!"
As he'd predicted, Akane's reaction mixed confusion with panic. "What do you mean?!" But Ryo didn't answer her. Already he was trying to figure out what he should do. He'd experienced earthquakes like this before – ones that happened not as a result of a chaotic clashing of tectonic plates, but of a great evil awakening after lying dormant for eons like a volcano. Whether this was Talpa or something else entirely, he didn't yet know. But he was certain that this was just the start.
Even more pressing was the matter of what to do with Akane now that he'd found her. He'd barely gotten to introduce himself to her, and there was no way she was going to allow some stranger to just whisk her away from her family, however well-meaning he was. The frustration that he'd felt earlier returned in a far more combustible mixture. Fortunately, Ryo managed to keep a lid on it, even when the two girls he saw her with just now hurried toward them.
"Akane!" the older one, whom he heard was called Anzu, yelled at the top of her lungs. "What are you doing?!" She then grabbed Akane's wrist. "We gotta get to the car! We'll be safe there!" At first, Akane resisted, looking as though she might argue, but Anzu yanked her away. "Come on!"
Suddenly, although he didn't know how, Ryo knew immediately what he had to do. Even if the girl for whom he'd searched so long had to leave just when he'd found her, the most important thing right at this moment was ensuring her safety, and that of her family. "Let me cover for you!" he shouted at Anzu, who was still pulling Akane. Without giving either a chance to answer, Ryo added, "I'll get you where you need to go! Just point me in the right direction!"
The other, younger girl – Atsumi – pointed behind him and yelled just as loudly, "That way!" In that moment, Ryo didn't need anything else. He waved at the girls to follow him, and they took off through the still violently shaking city. They went this way and that, Ryo taking heed of the directions he was given on the fly from Anzu or Atsumi as though by instinct. In a way, it was, since he'd now found the one he'd been looking for and would die before letting anything happen to her.
"It shouldn't be too far now!" Anzu shouted. "Just past the next corner on the right!" Ryo nodded, hoping this stunt would recommend him. But more than that, he was relieved that they would all be safe. Even if others called him foolhardy, Ryo had always been one to jump from the frying pan and into the fire if it meant saving somebody, and he always would be. But his train of thought was broken when he heard someone stumble to the ground behind him.
Ryo froze, spun around, and saw that Akane had fallen. But before he could dive in to help her up, Akane stared at something above her, something that caused her eyes to widen and her mouth to fall open in a silent scream. Ryo looked in the same direction, and terror shot through his chest as he saw heavy-looking debris falling in flames, falling toward Akane. He held back no longer. "Akane!" he yelled as he darted toward her, wishing he could simply teleport the two of them away from here and somewhere safe. As fast as was humanly possible, he swept her up onto her feet.
"GO!" Ryo yelled again as he shoved her forward, away from the destination of the debris. He was about to get out of the way himself, when something big and hard struck him on the head, causing him to let out a brief but agonized shout. Time seemed to slow down as he felt himself falling and then meeting a solid floor of rock. And the next thing Ryo knew after that…was nothing… Nothing at all…
As though it were paying respect to her rescuer's efforts, Akane realized the earth had stopped shaking the moment Ryo hit the ground. Other than that, she was struggling to comprehend what'd just happened. All she knew was that once she saw the flaming debris headed toward her, she was back in that burning building all those years ago, alone and helpless. Suddenly, she was again on the ground, but on the safe side, and Akane was certain it was because of the young man now sprawled in a heap on the broken concrete before her.
She was only beginning to acknowledge this when Atsumi let out a horrified shriek. At the same time, Anzu screamed, "Oh man, is he dead?!" And yet, despite the mayhem still around her and the terror she'd felt mere milliseconds ago, Akane somehow was filled with a strange but steady calm. Whether due to instinct, or something she'd learned from her time as a veterinarian intern, she didn't know. What she did know was that she had the take charge of this situation, now.
"Wait!" She held her cousins back when she gained her own two feet. Once she'd gotten air into her lungs and the ground beneath her was steady again, she hastened over and knelt down next to the stranger she didn't know yet felt near-overwhelming concern for. With the careful hands she'd picked up as an intern, Akane pressed two fingers to his jugular, and let out a long awaited exhale of held-in breath. "No!" she shook her head as she answered Anzu. "I can feel his pulse." Though she knew from her cousins' own sighs that they were as relieved as her, Akane wasn't done.
She carefully pushed back the man's hair at the spot where he'd been struck, and felt bile rise in her throat upon finding an ugly, bloody gash. After shoving her nausea back down into her gut, Akane heard Anzu say, "I'm calling an ambulance."
Though the rational part of her told her that was called for, some sense of refusal in Akane compelled her to give voice to it. She turned toward her cousin and shouted, "No, wait! We can't just leave him here!"
Anzu briefly looked at her as though she'd gone crazy, before replying, "What else can we do, Akane?! We don't even know him! If anything, it's kinda our fault that he got hurt so bad." That sentiment gave Akane the excuse she needed.
"All the more reason we should help him then. He saved my life." With surprisingly calm reasoning, she added, "Besides, it might take too long for an ambulance to get here, given how pretty much the whole city is now in need of one. And our car is just around the corner. We can take him to the hospital that way."
After a long moment of begging Anzu to see it her way, Akane once again felt immense relief when her cousin eventually nodded. "Alright, fine. But if he dies on the way there, don't cry to me about it." Despite her tone and words, Akane knew Anzu well enough to know that talking like that was her way of coping with seriously stressful situations. Still, she found herself desperately wanting to prove her cousin wrong.
Hoping that didn't show, she forced a grateful smile and said, "Thanks. Now come on and help me get him in the car."
Initially, Akane took up the young man by the ankles while her cousins took the helm at his shoulders. Immediately, she realized this was a bad deal, given Atsumi was younger and smaller than her and Anzu. And Atsumi quickly voiced her agreement. "Umph!" she huffed. "This guy weighs a ton!" Anzu directed a disapproving frown at her, but Atsumi only replied, "Well, he does! He must have some serious muscle!" A wave of curiosity then swept across her face, and she said a bit too loudly, "I wonder if he has abs."
"Atsumi!" Anzu snapped at her younger sister.
"What?" Atsumi asked innocently. "It's not like he can hear me."
"You don't know that!" Anzu retorted. Akane rolled her eyes at her cousins' bickering, even as she felt the slightest blush at Atsumi's audacious musing. But once again, she found the nerve to take control.
"Guys, cut it out! This is getting us nowhere! Atsumi, swap places with me." She ignored Atsumi's low groan, and though it felt like it would take forever, they soon reached the car at last. "I'll drive," she told Anzu with a look and tone that told her not to argue. "You two just keep his head propped up and do whatever you can to staunch the bleeding." Before long, all three girls had bundled the fallen man into the car without incident, and taken their assigned positions.
But even as they finally began driving toward the nearest hospital, Akane knew in the back of her mind that, although taking him there was the best possible thing for him, parting from this man was going to be very sweet sorrow. Were she asked, she'd say she strongly disagreed with the notion of love at first sight. Still, she felt a connection with him that she couldn't remember ever feeling with any other guy. Perhaps it was merely admiration for how he'd just saved her from near-certain death. But as Akane continued to drive, there was only one train of thought going through her head.
Please be okay. Even if we are complete strangers, your rescuing me says a lot about you. And I couldn't stand it if I was unable to return the favor. So, whoever you are, please… Please, be okay…
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