Ch. 3 – Kill the Memories pt. 2

A couple weeks after we arrived, Tous and I had gotten jobs outside of the inn we were staying in to buy new clothes and to pay for food. We also were able to learn about the necklaces that were in the shrine. The one that I wore was a thing called a Teigu. One of 48 that were commissioned by the original emperor of the now 1000 year-old empire. The one I have is called "Void Stone: Wu". We couldn't find anything about her necklace. We asked around and found out that she wore what's called a "Shingu". Apparently, the emperor 400 years ago tried to make Teigus of his own, but they were no where near as powerful. We couldn't find out its name, though.

"Hey chief, I'm heading out to grab a bite,"I said as I began walking out of the forge that I worked at. Gaining a job there took some time, but it paid well and it did give me some weight lifting training.

"You want anything?"

"No. My little girls will be bringing me something to eat." The chief called from the back of the forge

"Go and see Tous, she'll get mad at you if your late again, kid." I sighed as I heard the boss say that. The last time I was late for our lunch she nearly broke out into tears. The whole village getting killed lead to Tous getting a huge abandonment issue with me. She was afraid that I was going to get killed but I reassured that everything would be okay.

"Gotcha, I'll try to be back as soon as I can." I said while sprinting off though I knew that would be a difficult to follow up on.

I ran past a through a large variety of stalls, wanting to get to the inn that Tous worked at as soon as I could. The few stall owners that I befriended greeted me as I ran past them, I returned them a smile before running into a small alleyway to get to the small inn that Tous worked at. It was a little run down and the pay wasn't so good but it was a nice place and the elderly couple that owned it was kind enough to let us stay there. We learned that that their children died during childbirth so having us around apparently reminded of the few precious moments they had of their children.

"Welcome! Please have a seat, Sir." I heard the familiar voice of Grandma Mary call out to me as I entered the inn.

"It's Rein, Mary." I said as I walked down to a stall and seated myself.

"Wheres Tous?" I asked wondering where my best friend was.

"She's getting your dinner, child. I'm sure she'll be out soon," Mary said as she eyed the door to the kitchen.

Soon enough I saw Tous's familiar blonde head emerge from the door, carrying two plates of soup, 2 pieces of bread, some milk, and a cake for the both of us to split.

"Looks good. Hopefully it doesn't kill me," I teased while eyeing the food, my stomach growing hungrier by the second.

"Shut up, Rein. It's not gonna be like last time," Tous retorted, her cheeks growing red with embarrassment at what happened last time she cooked.

For a second I felt nauseated when I recalled that memory. How can someone make a salad gooey black, that shouldn't be possible, but she did and now I fear for my life anytime I hear of her cooking.

"Gramps was the one that made it."

I almost let out a sigh, but stopped myself at the last second. I didn't need her yelling at me for doubting her poor cooking skills.

"So how was your day, Rein? Did you make any cool swords? Did any adventures come to the forge? Huh? Did they?" I stared at my best friend as she bombarded me with all these questions. Why is it that I can't take a sip of this soup before I get asked a million questions at once.

"Um well my day was fine, I did nearly set my self on fire again but the chief stopped me. We haven't done any swords, no one is really asking for a sword to be made yet. Only a couple people came to the smith, they just wanted repairs on household items. So...ah how was your day?" I asked, hoping to make some small talk.

"Pretty good. No new travelers, though. The ones that are here are really nice. Like the one tha-" Tous was explaining until we heard a slam from the other room.

We peeked through the door to see what it was. It was Imperial Soldiers. They walked up to Mary and Gamps and showed them two posters.

The soldier holding the posters asked, "have you seen either of these two children? They're fugitives of the Empire and very dangerous."

I looked closer and saw the faces on the posters. They were our faces. I was in shock. Why were we being called fugitives? THEY are the ones that slaughtered everyone in our village! THEY are the ones that tried to kill us! Now they're trying to call US fugitives! Bullshit! If anyone should be in jail, it's that "River" guy.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've never seen either of these two," I heard Mary say.

"We have information that they've been staying here for the past few weeks. Where are they? If you don't comply, we will be forced to take you in," The soldier threatened.

Mary stood her ground and replied, "I have not seen either of these two. Please leave."

The soldier with free hands grabbed Mary by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground, slamming her head into the wooden floor, and leaving her laying there while drawing his sword.

"YOU WILL TE-,"

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled and charged the soldier. I summoned a sword using Wu and cut him down with a single slash. The second soldier readied his spear, but another sword appeared trough his heart. When he fell, Tous was standing behind him with a bloody sword in hand.

"I can't let you die, now can I?" She mused.

"I had it under control," I retorted.

I went over to Mary and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head. She was speech-less at the fact that we just killed two people. When she finally found words, she said, "Thank you for helping me."

"I should be thanking you for trying to protect us." I responded.

"What will you do now that you know the Empire is looking for you?" She asked, the concern clear in her voice.

"We'll have to keep traveling. It's the only way to get away from the Empire." I replied, try to hold back the tears I felt welling up. "We might just go north and leave the land which the Empire controls."

"Please be safe. Come back anytime. You'll always be welcome back into our inn." Mary said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Tous and I hugged her farewell and headed north. Little did I know that our next challenge was more difficult than anything we had faced before.

Ch. 3 – End

Mac: Heyo! Just got another chapter done. The next one will be back in present time. For the time being, we will do one chapter in present time and 1-2 chapters in the past. Hope you enjoyed! :)

Dom: I'm going to love dropping a present chapter next time, can't wait to have Rien in a few hilarious situations with the present cast of Akame ga Kiru. Love you all 3