Chapter 3: Walking, Walking and More Walking

Reo is in trouble. Reo is in deep, deep trouble. Here he was, with a man he didn’t know, in an unfamiliar world, traveling inside a stranger’s body!

Reo couldn’t believe his luck. How come this happens? Any other day, he’d get it.

Shishigane Reo had that much self-awareness. He wasn’t a very nice person. In his lifetime, he had grown to be a very self-serving human being. He didn’t give a compliment or a hand-out unless it directly benefitted him. So, if this was supposed to be a punishment…why hadn’t it come sooner? Why had he been sent to this strange place the moment he decided to save someone else?

Reo’s shoulders trembled with barely contained rage.

He just didn’t understand. Hadn’t he done something heroic? Seriously!

Yet, he couldn’t deny that it wasn’t a unanimous decision. There had been some doubt…

The thought had crossed his mind. In a split-second of horribleness, he had briefly thought about ignoring the young woman’s delusions – and playing along. Had he played along, he would have been alive to this day. Instead, he opted to challenge her. Reo decided that he was protecting his pride. In the end, as the nation’s treasure, he no longer needed to bend over backward for the orders of a single, insignificant fan – and especially not if he was getting taken advantage of. Yet, the plight of that poor old woman made all the difference. It was one thing if he acted selfishly and drew consequences from it. It was a whole other story if his assistant had to suffer as well.

He hated being separated from his body. The body he had painstakingly cultivated in order for him to succeed! He hated not knowing the real truth behind that day. Being left in the dark, not knowing if he was alive or dead…

Reo was, by nature, a very impulsive human being. These things mattered heavily to him. He wanted nothing else but to jump back into his reality and check up on Kozue’s health. The way that woman phrased her words was more than a little eerie.

In the end, for now, there was nothing he could do.

...Normally, shouldn’t he get compensated for his efforts? Not thrown inside a strange dream. He didn’t even want to think about the alternatives. Nope, they didn’t exist. Today, his only obstacle was keeping up his flawless acting, lest he get killed by the Giant.

 Calling that man, a giant was the natural course of action. Towering above Reo’s pitiful frame (he’d exercise soon, you’ll see!), that man was large and imposing. Dark purple locks pulled into a ponytail, and a beard surrounded his scarred face. His arms were tan. His rippling muscles could be seen from miles away. His shoulders were vast, and, if Reo were to believe the bandits whose names he still didn’t know, they could crush boulders. Boulders. Boulders!

When he heard that line, he was ready to bolt. This all seemed too much for him. And why should he care about the exploits of this man? He huffed as he continued behind the giant. Yet, certain memories of a special conversation haunted his head even as he walked. No, he decided. He didn’t care that this guy swore his life to further his dream. That was...No, he didn’t care!

Firm in his decision, he turned to his side. The whispers behind him had grown fierce. Just what were those bandits doing?

The moment he turned towards them, they would turn away and whistle. He narrowed his eyes at them but continued along the way. And anyway, just how long were they supposed to walk?!

The group’s location was Bicker Street - one of the worst areas in the city. The place was a mess. Dirty roads, old buildings – and all kinds of shady characters lurked around, be it old women or young children. Reo had already encountered several running children in the streets. The adults weren’t much better - guarding their bags with a certain hardness in their eyes. Reo rushed to follow the others. He didn’t want to get lost in the horde. No one in these narrow streets looked dependable.

 Reo was suddenly glad for his companions. While they looked the part, they had knowledge he didn’t. He was certain that if they hadn’t appeared, he would’ve been finished.

Reo took a look at his current state. Zelthar and the bandits didn’t know - they were hurriedly moving down the road, but...Reo hadn’t realized how different life had become. He was inside a whole different body - and he held a new set of circumstances. Zelthar had blabbed a bit about it before, but he hadn’t paid attention! It had something to do with a raven...but that’s where his memory failed him. Sheesh!

 No matter. He’d remember later. For now, he acquiesced, Reo would simply follow Zelthar’s back. Planning would lead him nowhere. And, after all, he smirked, he was a master actor. Things would be just fine.

---

The band of misfits had walked for a while. It was early dawn. Yes, they walked without stopping the whole night. No, they hadn’t eaten. Reo was told during the night that this was common for bandits in this area. When asked why, Kin shook his head in confusion. Reo raised his eyebrow but said nothing.

Reo hadn’t known it, but this city was massive!

The bandits marched behind, leaving only Zelthar and Reo to lead them ahead. There was just one problem: Reo didn’t know the way at all. Zelthar did, and that was a stroke of good fortune – but Reo dreaded being caught. How should he respond if asked? He could never let it slip. It had dawned on him while walking, that the body Reo inhabited, a man named ‘Bell’ (Ha!), was supposed to be an exiled man who had lived in this area for 12 years. 12 years! That’s a long time. At this point, the giant was more of a tourist than Bell!

Reo sighed. Sometimes, when bluffing, it is best to tell the truth. So, seeing no other way, Reo turned to his companion and put a hand on his shoulder: “Won’t you lead the way?”  

Even that had taken several minutes to convince the guy that yes, he didn’t mind walking behind him, and yes, he would like the Giant to lead the way. ‘As a show of camaraderie’, he’d said. Then he did something Reo could never have foreseen.

He burst into manly tears! Big, ugly tears, even. He didn’t stop. Reo took a panicked look behind him, and sure enough, those bandits weren’t paying attention. They were huddled together, inspecting something in the dirt.

 

“Vice-captain, would you say this is a Spotted star-shaped Guinea Pig or a Guinea Pig Spotted Star?” asked one bandit—the dopey one with the blue scarf.

‘It’s obviously the first one...?’ Reo answered in his mind.

“Hmm...that’s a tough one.”

‘It is?!’

“Let’s eat it to make sure.”

“Yay!”

Then they actually started eating it. Reo couldn’t believe it!

Reo shot them an incredulous look. That was the single most idiotic conversation. Now he felt like crying.  

Zelthar picked up the pace exponentially, and Reo had trouble keeping up.

His attention was grabbed by the tearful Zelthar, and once again, his eyes grew fearful. He didn’t know how to comfort people. He was Shishigane Reo! Most people never bothered him with this kind of stuff!

But he didn’t want to upset this guy. What made him sad anyway? Well, thought Reo, if you don’t know, you can always make something up.

In the end, he showered the man with the fakest, most surface-level concern he’d ever shown. What was he supposed to do? Didn’t they make books for this?

The problem was, the more Reo refused Zelthar’s gratitude, the bigger it grew. Reo wanted to scream. ‘It’s not that deep’, he wanted to say. ‘I’m actually a body-snatcher, you know? Please don’t thank me’, but it was useless.

He hated not knowing what to do. But, as he glanced at Zelthar, he decided he hated leaving others behind even more.

Zelthar was determined, and so, the journey went on.

Later, at night-time, Zelthar decided to take a brief break. That’s why they somehow found themselves sitting on a tree stump. Or rather, while the idiot bandits fought to eat the questionable animals they found, Zelthar laid down. Reo’s stomach couldn’t handle the awkwardness and he sat down as well.

They waited in silence. ‘This is so awkward!’ What do you say to a man you’ve never really talked to, who swore an oath to follow you forever?

The answer: Nothing.

Birds chirped. Silence reigned.

Then, Zelthar spoke. “Thank you.”

Reo was surprised, “Huh? I didn’t do anything.”

“Not many men would console another weeping man,” he continued. “A few days ago, I wouldn’t either. But I learned something from meeting you. My feelings feel freer. I have come to respect that. I know I have already said this, hear this, Bell.”

“I am sorry for needlessly challenging you. Time and time again you prove to me you are not like rest.”

Reo paled, “I don’t mind.”

That just made Zelthar angrier. “Regardless. My whole life I attempted to become a warrior…but what did I become? A raving bandit with no place to call home. And not just that…I even challenged a tortured man who had been staying in place for 12 years. Even if I had won, what kind of win is that?”

Zelthar’s eyes sprang with tears once again. “Once more, I am reminded of my failures. As a man, I’ve failed.”

Reo stilled. “Am I right to assume that your participation in this ‘quest’ of mine…”

“It is just another of my pathetic attempts to redeem myself. But Little Raven, how can you redeem the unredeemable?”

The cold breeze of dawn blew between the two men. Reo couldn’t tear his eyes away from the profile of Zelthar, the Giant: a fearsome man, who at this moment, seemed so small and daunted. Waves of shame pooled over Reo. He had stubbornly focused on his own issues, but he was not the only one agonizing over the past.

‘Zelthar…You were thinking about a thing like this all along?’

Even Zelthar was reminiscing sadly. That scary giant, who seemed like he could just take whatever he wanted – he had issues even he couldn’t solve.

“Dawn has come. Let’s continue,” a deep voice sounded, and suddenly Reo was shocked back into the present.

His companion dusted himself off before yelling, “Bandits, we’re leaving again!” Some of them had passed out, others were still hunting for food. They flinched before resuming in lines.

But Reo was distraught. He knew he couldn’t say much to convince the Giant of anything. They were strangers, they had only known each other for one miserable day.

Yet, he knew – Zelthar wasn’t a bad guy. He beat himself up way too much about past events. And, he had definitely lost much that he had previously held dear. Reo couldn’t do much about the past, but…

For as long as they would journey together, Reo decided, he would find a way to show this man the truth.

Maybe then, thought Reo annoyed, would his stomach stop hurting this bad.

One could only hope.