Chapter 9

LiddoAiren: About Ascion's battle thinking, he's actually special in that regard. No spoilers, but it'll be revealed in the later chapters.

And about [Soul Arrows]... sorry, my bad. I went online to check, and yes, [Soul Arrows] apparently boosts attack. Unfortunately, the last time I played was several years ago, and at that time, [Soul Arrows] did not do anything except giving you unlimited arrows, so your attack was actually higher if you used normal arrows (the ones above the basic 1 meso ones). So, yeah, I'm... a little outdated. It still works out, though, and Kaede will be talking about that soon. Thanks for pointing that out :)

(As a side note, I also just discovered that [Magic Claw] had been removed. I need to update myself...)

That's it, and now, on to the next chapter!

Time seemed to slow as Kaede watched her best friend get flung back, blood spurting out of his wounds. She felt numb as she traced Ascion's short flight, her powerful eyes picking out every detail before Ascion hit the ground.

The glow surrounding Ascion's makeshift staff exploded as its tip brushed against Yuko's shoulder. Ropes of mana lashed at the girl, wrapping around her entire body and immobilizing her.

Kaede watched the magic take effect, but she couldn't capitalize on the opening it gave her. Her entire body felt numb, and the bowstring slipped from her fingers. Her charged arrow lost its glow and missed its mark, skidding off the stone cliff before clattering harmlessly onto the ground.

A sharp movement caught her eyes, and she stared in horror as Yuko easily broke free from her restrains, shrugging off the heavy blow Akio managed to land on her arm.

Akio tried to pull Yuko off balance, but a slash at the hand still latched to her wrist and a well placed kick sent the warrior flying back before she spun around and sprinted for Ascion's limp body.

Kaede blindly tried to grasp for her arrows as she jumped off her perch and shot forward, only to flinch when she realised that she had just wasted her last arrow.

In desperation – and knowing her [Soul Arrows] were useless – Kaede sheathed her bow and drew her knife. It wasn't a combat dagger, it wasn't even a throwing knife; it was a hunting knife that Kaede used for skinning and carving up her kills.

At this point, Kaede was beyond caring. With her sharp eyes, she had seen Ascion jerk back at the last moment, just barely protecting his vitals. She knew he was still alive, if barely.

That would change if Yuko reached him.

Yuko was approximately five meters away from where Ascion laid. She had already crossed three meters in the time Kaede took to draw her knife.

Kaede was still thirty meters away. Her arrows were useless, and she would not reach close combat range in time.

So she did the only thing left to do.

Focusing her mana into her hunting knife, she threw it with all her strength.

The knife tumbled through the air, end over end, but Kaede's uncanny accuracy still struck true. The dagger flew unerringly at Yuko.

Unfortunately, Kaede had never learnt how to throw knives properly. While she knew the theory and had occasional practices, she had never trained seriously in that department.

As such, the spinning knife suddenly tumbled, losing speed before it even struck.

The unexpected move took Yuko by surprise, and she instinctively reacted, skidding to a stop to let the knife pass her by. When she judged that the knife would miss – striking the ground several meters before it would hit her – she bent forward, ready to resume her sprint.

Now that she was barely a meter from Ascion, such a pause was negligible.

At least, that was how it seemed before a giant bundle of fur and claws barreled into her back with a howl of fury.

Akio grunted in pain as Yuko slashed at his hand, forcing him to let go lest he lose his fingers. The next instant, he had to block a powerful kick, and was sent flying back as a result. He could see his attacker already turning away from him, likely to finish off the mage.

'She's going to kill him.'

Mom! Where's Big Sis?

Dad! Dad, what about mom? Dad, no!

…Dad? Dad, why aren't we moving? ...Dad?

'Save him. Don't trust humans. Can't lose another. No. No, no, no! Can't lose another! Save him!'

Akio fell forward, dropping his weapon and dragging his gauntleted hands and heels along the ground to stop his backwards momentum. A single glance up confirmed that Yuko was indeed sprinting towards Ascion's fallen body.

That solidified his decision. As he was now, he wouldn't reach Yuko in time to stop her.

So he called on the power he swore never to use in front of another human again.

His bones shifted. His muscles bulged and grew, causing what's left of his armor to creak as the special straps stretched without snapping. His eyes sharpened, his fingers thickened and his nails lengthened. His ears shifted to the top of his head, becoming pointed as a tail sprouted out of his back. White fur grew rapidly, covering every inch of his body.

With his hands – now more like paws – already on the ground, Akio wasted no time, shooting forward on all fours. He knew it was going to be close. Yuko might reach Ascion before he could reach her. He might not make it.

Then Yuko faltered, jerking back slightly. It was a small pause, but it was enough. With another step, he was in range.

And with a cry that was something between a human roar and a lupine howl, the werewolf pounced on the assailant that was trying to kill his first ever friend.

Kaede blinked as she tried to process what had just happened. She threw her knife, her gambit failed, and suddenly, there was this white something barreling into Yuko, launching them away in a tangle of flailing limbs.

Whatever it was, Kaede spared it no more than a cursory glance before she ran for Ascion's still body.

Kaede stooped down and scooped up her knife as she ran. She skidded to a halt, falling onto her knees right next to the magician. She quickly picked out and identified the scope of his injuries.

That's the thing about being best friends with a guy that spent most of his childhood – and still spends a fair amount of his time – studying medicine. You learn quite a bit yourself.

'Major wounds, four stab wounds. One's in the chest, danger of a collapsed lung. He's bleeding out fast. First priority, the lung.'

Kaede deftly cut off the cloth around the wounds, then cut the straps holding her leather quiver to her back. She needed something solid to patch up the hole in his lung, and was most certainly not about to go looking for a slab of rock to do the job.

She cut out a piece of her quiver, careful to make sure that it was as flat as possible. Then, she dumped her bag - which she was still carrying as she made it a habit to never put it down outside of home - on the ground and reached into it. She pulled out a red potion and proceeded to drench the piece of leather with it.

Ripping off her school shirt, Kaede tore it apart. She ignored the fact that doing so left her upper body covered only by her undergarments, and took a large piece of it to press down against the wound. Taking special care that she wasn't pressing down so hard as to impede Ascion's breathing, Kaede took another potion and poured it over the cloth.

As soon as the bleeding slowed, Kaede used several strips of her shirt to tie the leather right over the hole in his right lung. She remembered not to wrap it too tightly and to leave space for the air to escape. That would hopefully be enough to prevent a collapsed lung.

'This will have to do. Remaining wounds, both shoulders and his right hip. Apply pressure.'

After wrapping the wounds up with what was left of her shirt, Kaede pressed down on them, periodically drenching the bandages with potion after potion. It was going to wreck her budget, but she didn't particularly care.

A piercing roar reminded Kaede that she was still in a combat situation. She took one look, and her jaw dropped.

There was Yuko, still with the gash in her right bicep. Her daggers were still gripped firmly in her hands as she stabbed ferociously… at…

'...Well now.'

A werewolf stood there, seemingly unaffected by the dry Perion heat despite its thick, white fur as it battled ferociously against Yuko.

It looked rather different from the images she had seen in the monster encyclopedia. Its fingers were shorter, for one. They were more human like than the ones in the pictures. Its fur was pure white, gleaming slightly under pieces of its armor-

'... wait a second. Armor?... gauntlets, undershirt, shorts, shoulder pad, knee pads, shin guard… and that shade of white! Akio?!'

Kaede gaped at him for a few moments, before snapping out of her shock. 'Alright, Ascion's more stable now, but he needs a professional. I can't get him out of here while Yuko's there, I need to help Akio defeat her. Questions can come later. For now…'

Kaede scanned the landscape, picking out where her arrows have landed. Most of them were still in the cave. She could run in and look for them, but the cave was now pitch black, the torches having burnt themselves out. It would take far too long to find her arrows and return to the entrance without a guide.

Huh, so that's why Akio could navigate his cave so confidently. He probably has night vision… Focus, Kaede. Arrows… one there, another there… that's it, two left. I really need to carry more than a hundred arrows at a time...

Tugging on the bandages slightly to make sure they were secure, Kaede drew her bow and raced for the arrows. She grimaced as she recovered them. The arrowhead of the first one was a little bent, most likely having scraped against whatever material Yuko had for bones. The second one had a bent tip, no doubt from hitting the cliff face.

She stuffed the second one into her quiver anyway, nocking the first on her bow. Once again, the arrow started to glow as she drew it back, aiming it once more at the fighting duo. Sorry, Ascion. I know you hate killing, but I don't think I can follow through with your plan anymore.

Akio lunged again, swiping at his opponent. He snarled as Yuko blocked with her dagger, her second one stabbing up at him. He leaned out of the way, thrusting his claws forward like a spear, only for Yuko to slap it aside with her forearm before she tried to stab him again.

He could still see the giant gash in Yuko's right bicep, but she easily stopped his attempts at widening the wound. It would have been so much easier if he had just transformed while Ascion was still up and fighting, but no use complaining now.

He tried again, swiping at the large gash in his opponent's arm. Again, she deftly blocked it, retaliating with a slash. He ducked under it, preparing to lunge at Yuko with his claws again, when something unexpected happened.

Yuko hastily jerked aside before a glowing arrow shot past, just barely missing her neck. Akio was slightly taken aback by Kaede's sudden willingness to aim for lethal shots, but he took his chance and lunged forward. He grabbed Yuko by her right shoulder and right forearm, then bit down viciously just under the wound on her bicep.

Yuko immediately started to struggle. She let go of her right dagger and started to stab at Akio rapidly with her left. Akio jerked and twisted his jaws, trying to rip her arm off. He growled when he felt the knife cut through his hard fur, stabbing into his side. Blood gushed out of his wound, but he persisted, gnawing and tugging.

Yuko suddenly jerked back, dodging another arrow. Aided by the sudden movement and the previous injuries to her arm – the blow he landed following Ascion's binding magic came to mind – Akio finally succeeded.

With a final twist and a yank, he tore the entire arm off at the socket.

Akio immediately backpaddled, arm still in his mouth. He whined as the pain finally registered, a paw rising to cover the stab wound in his side. He spat out the arm, grabbing it with his other paw and raising it like a sword.

Yuko had, similarly, stepped back, her remaining arm still raised and holding her dagger. Kaede stepped up beside him, sparing him no more than a sideways glance before she raised her bow, wielding it like a blunt weapon.

In a way, the fact that she still stood by him, seemingly undisturbed by his true race lifted his spirits slightly, even if it was only an act. He let out a challenging growl, raising his new, macabre weapon, ready to continue the fight.

Yuko took a wary step forward, then paused, staring them down. After a moment, she spun around without warning and took off running. Mid-stride, the 'daggers' she had been using realigned themselves along her back. Energy flared between them, connecting the 'daggers' into two sets of five each, forming two wings of energy.

The sudden retreat caught Akio off guard, and he stared in shock for a moment before he howled, lunging at Yuko. He had to know, for sure, if the girl was his sister. Even if he was doubtful, he had to know.

He was too late however. Yuko's wings flared once, and she took flight, flying off into the distance before disappearing behind the mountainous landscape. Akio slowed to a trot, then stopped, his eyes following the girl until she disappeared.

Throughout the fight, his sister's scent didn't waver, nor did it seem to be masking another's.

So it could either be really advanced technology, or she was really his sister.

Akio turned around, trotting back to where he had dropped Yuko's arm in his scramble to get to her. He picked it up gingerly between his jaws, intending to leave it in his cave. He would bring it to Mr. Balrog later, hopefully to confirm if it really belonged to Yuko.

He paused when he noticed Kaede picking Ascion up, bow sheathed on her back. When she noticed him, she beckoned to him. "C'mon, Akio. Help me move this guy. He needs professional medical attention."

Akio hesitated, then darted into his cave. Leaving the arm on the slab of rock he uses as his bed, Akio was about to turn and return to Kaede when he stumbled, his wound burning and stinging.

Ripping his ragged clothing and remaining armor off, he roughly bound the wound with his slightly clumsy forepaws, using his ruined shirt as material.

After tying the makeshift bandage off tightly, Akio turned and exited his cave at a loping run. There he spotted Kaede frowning as she tried to drag Ascion along the path leading back to Perion.

He slowed to a halt beside them, surprising the archer. He nudged her with his nose, tossing his head and trying to gesture to his back. When Kaede just looked at him blankly, he huffed, then proceeded to check Kaede with the side of his body.

The archer yelped, falling onto his back but catching herself quickly, steadying both herself and Ascion before they could slide off his body and hit the ground. Akio flinched as she held on to the fur near his wound, then shrugged again, hoping she got the gist of what he was trying to say.

Thankfully, she did, and she cautiously pulled herself onto his back, dragging Ascion along carefully. Akio winced as the weight of two teenagers settled on his back, but as soon as she was steady, he took off.

Experienced as he was with the harsh mountains of Perion, Akio covered ground in a rapid lope, crossing the long distance between his cave and the town rapidly. He didn't slow down even as he approached the borders of the town, breezing past surprised pedestrians.

While inexperienced in the way of humans, he still knew where to go to treat major injuries. He bulled past the queue to surprised cries and exclamation. Slowing to a halt in front of the Mirror of Dimensions, he shrugged his shoulders to nudge Kaede.

"Ellinia!" Kaede got the message and immediately declared their destination. Akio was off running again the moment the Mirror formed. The dusty surroundings were replaced by a lush forest, the stone ground turning into a thick, uneven branch.

It upset his balance slightly, but he adapted and continued his run. He raced past more startled pedestrians and ran straight for the large, white building he knew to be the hospital.

Being one of the only buildings built on – technically – ground level rather than high up in the trees, Akio reached it without much trouble. He barged through the door and skidded to a halt, then let out an ear piercing howl.

Screams came from all around them as the guards started forward. They stopped the moment he growled, a deep, threatening rumble in his throat.

Kaede placed a placating hand on his head as she slipped off of his back, dragging Ascion along. Akio immediately noticed that Ascion was bleeding much more than when the mage first got on his back.

The small patch of dampness on his back suddenly caused his worry to spike, and he let out an involuntary whine, nudging the boy.

"He'll be fine. He would have lost a lot more blood if you hadn't helped. Thank you." Kaede whispered, before she started shouting for a doctor.

With his worries mollified, Akio felt the fear he had pushed to the back of his mind surface. A glance around him showed the fear and distrust from the surrounding people.

The thought of Ascion and Kaede looking at him in a similar way…

He didn't want that. He didn't want the first few people he liked after being alone for so long to look at him with fear and disgust. The constant burn of the wound in his side seemed to hurt even more at the thought.

Akio suddenly spun around, sprinting out of the building. He didn't look back, nor did he head for the Mirror. Instead, he bounded down the branches, heading for the forest floor.

The thinner, springier branches upset his balance, and he slipped more than once, falling onto the branches below. He shrugged the falls off, quickly getting back up and continuing downwards.

He was off in a dead sprint the moment he hit the ground. Several hours later, he slowed as he reached the borders of Perion.

Akio leaned against the side of a tree as he finally stopped moving. His breath came in huge pants and heaves, exhausted from his long run. The shirt wrapped around his wound was soaked in blood.

He took the bandage off, shifting it before tightly wrapping it up again. The feeling of blood pressed onto another side of his body was unpleasant, but not unbearable. He stumbled along, eventually settling between the gnarled roots of a large tree.

The roots should cover him, and would create noise if anything draws near. Curling up under the thick wood, Akio closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He would finish the rest of his journey in the morning.

If he could muster the courage, he would visit Ascion in the hospital a week later, when the shock of his true race wears off. Perhaps his fear was unfounded. Perhaps neither Ascion nor Kaede would look at him as if he was a monster. Perhaps they could still be friends.

If he could muster the courage to, maybe he could find out.

If only…

Kaede sighed as she flopped onto her bed, exhausted. The day had been full of surprises.

Akio lived in a cave, he had people after him, said people turned out to be from the terrorist organization/ cult the Black Wings, Akio's (maybe) sister is (sort of) part of them, Ascion got stabbed, she had to put her little bit of medical expertise to use, Akio's a werewolf, her phone was fried (likely an EMP), and she was half naked when Akio helped her barge into the hospital.

… That sounded a lot worse than she expected.

Honestly, Kaede had forgotten all about the shirt that she had torn off to bandage Ascion's wounds. She was mortified when one of the doctors offered her a spare shirt to put on.

An hour and a half later, and Ascion was completely healed. Well, mostly. He was still unconscious, but should wake up by tomorrow. He had also pushed himself so hard that his magic systems were burnt out, though the doctor said that he should make a full recovery within a month. In the meantime, he should refrain from all magic for a week or so and take it easy thereafter.

Seems like not even magic can heal everything.

On the bright side, Ascion should be discharged when he wakes up tomorrow, and Kaede can safely say that Akio would undoubtedly be a good friend.

She had liked Akio after Ascion started trying to befriend the warrior. Sure, he was somewhat quiet, but he was nice. He didn't make any rude comments, nor did he question them about the rumors surrounding Ascion and herself. He didn't try to chase them away when he realized that they were following him, and even gave them a chance to explain themselves.

Definitely a nice guy.

Then again, their last… friend, had seemed like a nice guy too. Up until he stabbed her in the back.

Literally.

She had thought that Akio would be like that too, backstabbing them at the last moment. How disappointed she felt when Akio simply turned and ran off after she asked for his help. Disappointed, but not really surprised. Who would want to help the two loser demons anyway?

Then he came back, cloth wrapped clumsily around his wound, and got her to climb onto his back. He then took them across Perion and to the hospital, far faster than Kaede could have managed herself, considering how her phone had been fried and was thus unable to call for help.

Because of all that, she could now safely say that yes, Akio would make for a truly good friend.

But when she tried looking for him after the doctors took Ascion off her hands, Akio was nowhere to be found.

Why would he do that?

…

Kaede sighed and closed her eyes.

She would go and visit Ascion first thing in the morning, and they could talk about that. It was the start of the weekend tomorrow, so there was plenty of time for them to figure out whatever problems Akio might have with them. Right now, though, she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Pondering over Akio's actions would have to wait.

A certain Black Wings base, located in Edelstein

Energy wings flared, slowing their user to a halt. Bismuth dropped the last meter to the ground, standing at attention as her master walked up to her.

"Sir." She saluted as soon as he came close enough. Her missing arm didn't seem to faze her, her face in its normal blank state.

"Your logs?" Gelimer asked.

Bismuth reached up to the back of her head, pulling out the data chip stored there. "Here, sir."

"Good. Go get yourself repaired." Gelimer ordered before he hurried off to process the data.

"Yes, sir." Bismuth said before heading for the repair bay. As soon as she was sure that there were no cameras nor witnesses around her, she grimaced, her blank face crumpling as she tentatively touched her heart.

I have been made to serve Master Gelimer. I must always serve him to the best of my ability. He is the only thing that matters to me. That is what I have known since my creation seven years ago.

Yet… what is this? This pain, this nostalgia… this longing. I have never seen Shinohara Akio all my life. So why? Why do I feel this way?

"Grk!" Bismuth grunted as a sudden pain spiked in her head.

A young boy bearing a striking resemblance to her target, leaping at her. Their laughter as they tussled and fought playfully. Yuko quickly pinned the boy beneath her, baring her teeth in a grin.

'Yuko-neesan! Watashi wa akiramemasu! I give up!' The boy gasped out, his pants and laughs showing off his canines. She rolled off of him, and the two of them giggled as they lay there, spent from their playing.

"Yuko…" Bismuth whispered, forcing herself upright and quickly scanning her surroundings. It seemed like no one had noticed the small episode she just had.

'What was that? Just what was that language? Who is Yuko? Why does it feel so familiar? It couldn't be my name. I have been Bismuth since my creation… Right?'

As a side note, Bismuth is an element from the periodic table.

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