Shiratori Haruto
“We’re gonna destroy this whole town.”
“W-W-W-What…?” The soldier beside him murmured in shock. He stood a step away from Katsuki on his left, his arms flung open beside his waist and his right leg behind his right one. The sun had set and it was dark all around them as they stood in front of the wide white building made with bricks and paints. “Sir, why?” He asked.
Katsuki turned to his left, looked at him with his streamlined angry eyes. “The hero is still free, remember. That’s what we were here for. And tonight, we’re gonna slaughter this town, just as we were supposed to.”
“B-But sir, t-to kill everyone…”
“Those were the orders of the king,” He replied boldly as he looked into the scared eyes of the soldier. “Are you defying the order of the king?”
“N-N-No, s-sir…”
“Then get your lazy ass moving,” Katsuki turned to the front. “Restrict the entry and the exit of the people of this town. And call the reinforcements.” Katsuki moved his hands inside the pockets of his trousers. “At midnight… we’re gonna start the attack.” He then turned left at the soldier again. “No one should be able to see the sun tomorrow. Got it?”
“Y-Y-Yes…”
“Good.” He turned to the front and started to walk. “These filthy people are better dead for the kingdom anyways.”
***
I was sitting in front of a round table, with Itsuki on my right, and Airi and Ichika on my left. My bored narrowed eyes were fixed aimlessly at the people talking and having fun in front of me. My right hand was on my cheek to give it support, and my left hand lay dead on the table. A white plate lay in front of my hands, a little messy with two or three rice particles stuck at it, and a brown bowl empty, with some streaks of brown liquid in it.
“What, really?” A feminine voice said.
“Yeah, really,” I heard Itsuki’s voice replying.
I turned my eyeballs to the right, and looked at Itsuki’s head tilted to the right. He had a huge grin on his face as he stood among three girls with some cute voices, who were laughing and listening to his stories. “Well, this fame has got onto his head…” I thought.
“And I never thought I’d be able to defeat a bear this huge!” Itsuki told them. “But, in just a matter of time, it was down on my feet.”
“You really are so strong, Takemura-kun,” The small one at the center commented in awe.
A little taller one behind her said, “Yes, we can’t even imagine being in front of a bear and even trying to give it a fight.”
“Ah, that’s nothing…” Itsuki shyly turned his head down and scratched his hair. “You see—”
“It’s late at night, Itsuki!” Ichika shouted from across the table from my left. My bored eyes opened and I turned to the left. “We should go back home now.”
“What?!” Itsuki dejectedly replied. “But we just arrived here! Let’s have some fun and—”
“It’s been a whole hour since you’re here, mister!” Ichika scolded him. “We have to rise up early tomorrow for practice. Kabata anyways is red hot right now, so we gotta be completely prepared before our next meeting.” She stood up from her seat as I moved my head a little up, looking at her rising up and walking from behind towards us, lumping a little because of her injury. Airi, who sat on my right and on her left, looked at me with her bored eyes, turned them up at Itsuki, and then stood up. She turned back and started to walk away. I turned my head back and looked at her back moving away. “Come on, Airi is sleepy too!” I heard Ichika scolding her, my eyes fixed at Airi.
***
“Hmph!” Itsuki pouted as he walked down the empty lane with wooden houses on both sides with orange bright lights coming out from them beneath the shiny moon and stars. Just behind Itsuki, Airi and Ichika walked, and on their back, I walked. Ichika had her right arm on Airi’s shoulders. Airi yawned a little as she turned her head to her right, away from Ichika’s face. I had my face tilted down a little, my hands in my pockets. Between us were just the sounds of our footsteps. Suddenly, Itsuki turned his head at the back at Ichika and broke the silence, “Don’t tell me now that you were not jealous of the female attention I was getting!”
Ichika, a little angrily, said, “Oh?! Really?! You feel I would get jealous?!”
“Then who else?!”
“Can’t you see Airi?! She’s so sleepy right now and you were just having fun!” She angrily replied.
Airi, her eyes a little narrowed, turned to her left at the two fighting, and replied in her low sleepy voice, “Stop fighting, you two…”
I turned my head to the left at the street connected to the road where we walked and continued to walk for a second. I then turned my head up, and noticed that there was no one. “Wasn’t I following them?” I thought and turned my head at the back, and noticed the three walking straight at the road, arguing. “Guys!” I shouted.
Suddenly, the sound of the footsteps of the hoofs of an animal dashing hit my ears. I turned my head at the back, noticed a soldier in his red robe upon white pair of trousers on top of a brown horse running quickly with a sword in his right hand. As he dashed, he quickly moved his sword a little down and slashed it upon Ichika, who was on the left of Airi. With the sword stuffed inside her back, he quickly left the sword and continued to run away on top of his horse. “ARGH!” She shouted. I then turned my head to the right, from where that man ran in front, and heard many more footsteps of the hoofs running quickly. On top of some buildings on the left, the fire was spreading out quickly, fumes all over the dark city.
Katsuki had his sword in his right hand, his bold, streamlined, and angry gaze fixed at the front. He then turned to his left, looked at one of the wooden houses, moved his right hand up, and slashed it down with full throttle. The small sword was enough to split down the whole house into two, and then suddenly blast it. The fire raged upon the woods in front of his angry fierce eyes.
“That… was when we saw the real powers of kazi.”
