Takemura Itsuki

Ichika was sitting up with her back taking support from the wooden wall. Her head was tilted down, her hands on her belly, and her eyes a little down. Her right leg was hanging down from the open edge of the carriage. She moved her right leg up, placed it beside her left one which had its knee bent up, and then turned to her hand to the right. “Haruto… is no more… huh?”

It was nighttime all over the city full of wooden and bricked, narrow and little buildings, with smokes rising up from some parts of the town towards the air.  Airi was standing in front of Ichika on the ground, her left hand on the open door of the carriage. Her head was tilted down in despair. “Mm.”

She then turned her head to the front at me, who stood on the ground by her feet. My hands were crossed in front of my chest, my head a little down. I glared at her right foot in front of me, dark spots beneath my eyes, as I turned up and looked at her face. “This place is dangerous right now. Let’s… mourn after we’re outta this shit.”

“How should we get out?” Airi asked in her dejected low voice as she moved her head. She turned to her right at me. “The soldiers are everywhere. One of us should have been driving the cart, and the rest three must have been fighting the soldiers nearby. But…” Airi turned her head down to the ground. “But… one of us is injured, and one is gone.”

“I can fight alone.”

Ichika moved her head up in shock. “What? Do you even know what you’re saying? Can you fight off so many soldiers at once?”

“Still worth a try than dying a shitty death hiding in some corner and then being killed by those scumbags.”

“Bu—”

I moved my right hand to the back at the open door, held it, and then moved it to the front by my side, closing the door. I stepped at Airi, who turned her head up at me confusedly, held her left arm, pushed her back, moved my right hand to the other door, and closed it too. “Itsuki!” Ichika shouted from inside.

“Shut your fucking mouth.” I then turned to Airi in front of me. “Airi, drive the cart.”

“But Itsuki, you don’t get it. You have still no experience of controlling your kazi, and have just used it once.”

“Believe me, Airi. I’m full of kazi right now.”

Airi looked inside my streamlined narrowed eyes with some dark spots beneath. “O-Okay…” She turned to her left towards the carriage and walked away from its side. I moved my right hand on the left side of my waist at the scabbard, holding the grip of the sword. I moved it out as it sliced through the air, and pointed it at the front, looking towards the sharp blade in front of my eyes.

“Itsuki! You won’t be able to fight the—”

“No one asked your opinion, Ichika. Shut your fucking mouth and rest in there.”

“You piece of shit, don’t forget who the leader here is!”

“That’s definitely not someone just stabbed at the back and unable to fight anymore, you damned bitch.”

Airi whipped the horse and it started to walk on its hooves. She pushed the whips to her right, and the horses tilted to the right as they slowly walked. The two horses made a one eighty turn, standing on my right at some distance. I turned to the right, looked at Airi, and then turned to the left, looking at the end of the street. The houses at both the edges of the street were silent, their lights off, and some of them even burning and full of flames. I moved my right leg up and front. “That’s for you, Haruto.” I then tilted my back a little down and started to run. My left hand moved to and fro quickly and my right hand, with the sword in it, was straight to my right. My legs dashed quickly as I ran, repetitively patting on the ground. My eyebrows were pinched in and frowning with rage. “Haruto…” The flame at the right end of my back was still burning in the middle of all those houses. “Why… did you leave me?” I turned right at the T-point and continued running. In front of me was a swamp of soldiers, wearing the same red and black uniforms. The carriage was running just some steps behind me. Airi, who had her eyes at the front, shouted, “Itsuki! Will you really be able to fight them off?!”

“Yeah yeah, just wait and watch how I defeat those scumbags,” I replied back, my eyes focused on the enemies in front of me. Some three to four turned at the front at me, turned at each other, and started to run towards me. The others at the back looked at me with a smile. “Ah! What the fuck is this little guy up to?”

“Wanna suicide, eh?”

“Look at his angry little eyes! Just like a kid who just lost his toffee!”

“That rhymed a little, damn!”

The four approached me with their blades up their shoulders. The first one at the center sliced his blade at me, and I moved mine up in defense. The two clashed. We both took ours back and then we attacked again. The swords clashed again. The one from the left suddenly arrived, slashing his one down at my head. I stepped back and sliced him horizontally through his belly. Then, I turned to the front, and looked at the one at the right still running towards me just behind the former one, who had his sword up his shoulder again for an attack. I then moved my sword up in the air, and then slashed it down from my left to the right. The one at the front directly split into two, while the one at the back had his belly cut down and he fell down on the ground on his knees, his right hand covering his belly.

Airi’s eyes opened wide in shock. “H-He can control kazi…?”