by Honie Jar
“What’s wrong?” There was a look of concern on Genkei’s face and his big brother instinct rose. A part of him knew that it concerned Shichiro but he did not know to what extent and now it seemed like it concerned Harumi. “Do you know if there’s something wrong with her?”
Questions spilled out of him without remorse seeing as he found it easier to ask a friend rather than his own twin. There was less pressure and the guilt that was there previously wasn’t accountable anymore since this wasn’t Midori he was talking to.
“I might have pushed her to do something she shouldn’t have done...” Harumi was sputtering out and the bubbly attitude she had was now melted away into one of concern. Harumi knew that Midori was doing better now but she couldn’t help but think back to the time of when she, Midori and Serara were all together that night comforting her. Her heart squeezing painfully so in guilt. “I—”
Genkei could see that she was struggling, and it was eating at her. But this didn’t suit Harumi who was always upbeat just like him. He reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, a soft pat to reassure her that this wasn’t the case.
“It’s okay, Midori isn’t petty enough to blame others.” A small reassurance that did little to settle the situation. That only created a misunderstanding for Genkei who believed that Harumi didn’t understand how Midori was.
When that wasn’t the case.
“That’s not what I’m worried about!” Harumi argued as she felt the frustration build between her, she lodged the words that she wanted to say in her throat. No matter how many times she tried to voice what was in her head she could not find the answer she was looking for no matter how hard she searched.
Both of them had come to a stop in their walk towards their destination. A brief break they allowed themselves because of the conversation at hand. As they were trying to convey what they were feeling, but they had rendered it to a pause as they both were trying to find the words that suited what was running through their minds.
“Then what is it—” Before the question was finished Genkei felt a chill down his spine. His gaze instantly shifted towards the side as he remained fixated on who was emitting a monster-like aura. Immediately he saw a familiar vine reaching out for her. “Watch out Harumi!”
Without delaying a second between them, Genkei retracted his hand from her should and wrapped it around the hand of his katana. Quickly, he unsheathed his weapon and used his katana to slice through the vine to prevent the creature from capturing her. Already assuming a guard position to keep her safe as he moved left and right, trying not to remain stagnant.
“What is that?” A tone of disgust taken by Harumi. Any other moment and that would have been found amusing but given the situation that was not the case. Instead, it truly highlighted the feelings being felt.
That being a creature or rather the creatures that surrounded them were a triffid. A giant carnivorous plant monster located either around this area of the clock tower. If only looked closely at the monster they would notice that it has a large tooth-filled "mouth" in the middle of its head, surrounded by four petals, with teeth growing on the edges, and four green and pink leaves sprout in between them. The head was connected to a thick green body that ends in multiple ground-covered roots. Numerous vines with budding pink flowers grow from its body.
“That’s a triffid, haven’t expected to see one.” Genkei answered with resentment despite it being a normal ranked monster he knew that wasn’t just the case level wise. With a quick inspection, he saw that it was level 56 oddly enough. Usually, they would be around the 40s but this was not the case. Genkei knew that they had to get rid of this creature since it would cause trouble for those under the level requirement for the Blue Forest. Genkei pulled up the UI on the triffid.
He cast a quick glance towards Harumi, a brow raised. “Ready?”
The question was a mandatory one, but both of them were beyond ready. Their high levels would also make this challenge a walk in the park. That is what they believed as long as they followed the required builds for their characters.
“You betcha!” She called out as she ran towards another direction to avoid the attention of the triffid, her fingers plucked at her harp. A skill was being prepared as she struck at her harp faster and faster.
“Samurai Challenge!” Genkei quickly cast Samurai Challenge, a taunt skill exclusive to the Samurai class that allowed him to have the impression of a tank despite being a samurai. The skill itself had a range of about three meters. That being said, the skill did no damage towards the Triffid, however, it gives the enemies the impression of being hit hard. The triffid’s attention now was hyper-focused onto Genkei without care for Harumi giving her the chance to attack the plant from the side. “Harumi, attack! I’ll get the triffid’s attention!”
That was the only signal that Harumi needed as she quickly hopped closer towards the Triffid. Lashing out with a few normal attacks of where she plucked at her harp but she needed more. So she thought of the many skills she could play to lash out some damage.
“Elegant Act!” Harumi had her attack prepared one that was filled with elegance as it was an elegant attack in the form of dance. Her body was busy twirling around as she played each note without a flaw found within it. The damage dealt against the Triffid was normal, but this skill boosted her evasion for a period after usage. Which made it easier for Harumi since she was more inclined to be a front-line bard as Genkei guarded her.
“Let’s keep going!” Genkei yelled as he deflected all the attacks that were made towards him. Finding himself easily dodging the attacks that were trying to hurt him or at least trying to render him unable to move.
“I’ll speed up your attack, Genkei!” She called out to him as she made sure to constantly move around. Her fingers expertly plucking at her harp without a moment of fear seizing her heart. She had faced far worse monsters, and this creature seemed hardly worth the effort of her utmost care. A quickly yell made as she finished the casting of her skill. “Etude Sword Speed!”
As she cast her skill, a few plucks onto her harp that took two seconds to activate. She knew that this alone would help Genkei by a great deal. The skill raised the weapon attack speed and accuracy of her allies. Yet this meant she could not cast any more spells in the meant time because of this, a red-colored note appeared beside Harumi to show that, however, she could see that Genkei had a sword icon above his head meaning it was working.
“Big Whirlwind Slash!”
Using one of his harder to use skills due to the long cooldown. This allowed Genkei to execute many amounts of slashes against the Triffid with the aid of Harumi’s buff. With his attack speed sped up he could slash more of the triffid which lessened the creature's ability to drag them towards its mouth. However, one vine remained, and it was sneaking around to capture Harumi to which Toyah could notice quickly, however, not fast enough.
“Ah, Genkei!” Harumi yelled out in surprise as she slipped from her spot, her harp fell from her hand as the creature dragged her towards the mouth it connected the vine to. The entrance to its body pulsating and waiting to use her as fodder for their growth.
The Triffid was a tall, mobile, prolific and highly venomous plant species. Meaning that once she was within range, then death would meet her halfway, poisonous fumes were already escaping the mouth of the monster but luckily that wouldn’t last for long.
“Watch out!” Genkei instinctively called out for her, his feet moving quickly as he quickly attacked the vine that was dragging her to hell. His hand reaching for hers that was outstretched to him and he pulled her up. She was on her feet and she dashed towards her harp that had been dropped to the side. “Are you okay?”
“Mm!” She nodded as she dusted off her body before she plucked at the strings again, she reflected the determination in her gaze. She shared a brief look with Genkei and both of them nodded their heads.
They attacked simultaneously, her melodies with his slashes were enough to take down the plan
t that was releasing rancid fumes with the intention of taking them down as much as they could. But they could evade the fumes by keeping a fair distance. Finally, they both did crashing blows against the plant that rendered it dead leaving behind drops that neither of them cares for.
Both of them heaved a sigh of relief.
“There. That took some time.” Genkei mused to himself with a perplexed expression as he wiped his katana clean from the green juice that was slathered all over it. The plant’s blood remained until he used a cloth that would remove the fluids from the steel.
As he did that, Harumi went up to him and tilted her head. Teetering back and forth on her feet as she waited for him to pay attention to her. She had placed a forefinger on her lips as she tried not to interrupt him. But he was teasing her at this point as he slowly wiped his sword clean to where he could see the reflection of his face. A quiet battle but she couldn’t hold it in any longer as she chattered away.
“That was easy, don’t you think?” She finally proposed to him as she clutched the handle of her harp. Though it was easy there were a few rough moments where either of them could have become nothing but food for the plant. Not that Genkei would ever mention that.
Yet Genkei was thinking of other things, he could see why younger leveled adventurers would find going through the route difficult. To immediately face something that is a high level without meeting the conditions would be daunting. He looked around, his gaze searching for an answer but was only met with foliage and trees along with an assortment of rocks. There was no real answer yet, but he felt they weren’t far from it.
“That’s probably not the problem here.” He mumbled to himself as he sheathed his katana back into the scabbard. A frown creasing into his face as the corners of his lips tugged downwards. Looking at the spot where the creature once was, realizing that they weren’t close to the location they were heading to just yet. “Though it’s odd it would appear this far in, usually they’re closer to the Blue Forest.”
He made a small note as they walked farther into the forest. Their body aching from the exhaustion they felt. A rare feeling but it was hard to ignore since they had been walking for the most part and battled. Harumi was already feeling weary, and she knew it wasn’t because she was tired.
Hunger dominated her thoughts not that she would ever admit to that.
“Something is up.” She replied quietly, almost without focus before she pointed towards a small spot in the forest that had a clearing. The perfect spot to make a fireplace without there being a problem of a forest fire happening. Harumi looked at Genkei with expectation and excitement. “Shall we rest here for a bit.”
The answer was obvious since he could see how much she wanted to rest. Looking at the sky the sun had already set. The rays of light fading away and disappearing into the background as the shade of the leaves only darkened the forest as the sun was slowly becoming replaced by the moon. The concept of time had always happened far more quickly in Guardian Quests a fact that he still couldn’t grow accustomed to. So he nodded and set his bag down, a breather wouldn’t hurt for either of them.
“It is getting dark so we should just camp here instead of walking more.” Genkei agreed with little of a fight, giving her a smile. As soon as he did, she immediately dropped her gear and ran around gathering materials for a fire.
This made Genkei want to laugh at her actions but he didn’t. Instead, while she gathered he pulled out the tent that was within his inventory. Pulling it out and easily setting it up along with some protection stones just in case creatures wanted to attack them while they were resting.
“I set up the tent, you can use the tent later for when you rest,” Genkei called out for his partner and she came back with the needed materials for the fire at hand.
With the help of Genkei, they could create a rather simple fireplace that was big enough to warm them both up well without attracting the attention of others for now. They had to keep a relatively low profile since this mission was of a high priority and being found out wasn’t good. Both of them took a seat by the campfire that burned as they added more foliage and sticks to it to make the fire burn more so that it would last for a long time without having either of them to tend to it.
“Sounds good to me!” Harumi finally replied as she searched through her inventory, pulling out ready-made meals that were still fresh. They were home-cooked curries that were a classic favorite dish that neither of them could say no to as she shows him the plates. “I brought some food from Nyanta-san, hehe.”
A smile covered her face greedily as she licked her lips. Genkei could already imagine her bugging Nyanta-san, the head chef and senior member of their clan. He was an odd werecat but there was a kindness within him that made Genkei strive to be as manly as him one day. It also helped his cooking skills enamored him.
“Ahh! I’m excited, I’ve been getting hungry.” Genkei called out as he reached for his plate of curry and rice, grabbing the spoon offered to him as he shoveled the food into his mouth in glee. There was a brief sense of happiness that could be sensed as he ate.
For a few minutes, both of them were silent as they ate. The warm food filled their stomach as they savored each bite. This was a rare treat for both of them seeing as they usually had to buy their own food or make it. But Nyanta was kind enough to hand some to Harumi for their trip. That being said they finished it rather quickly, the noise of the spoon scraping against the plate echoed loudly in the forest. They wanted every bite of the curry.
“I’m stuffed, he always makes the best food,” Harumi said which earned her a hum of approval from Genkei as she placed her plate down onto the floor along with her spoon, Genkei followed her actions and stacked their plates. They heard the noise of plates clattering against one another for a second before she looked at him with a grin. She picked up her harp and waved it towards him with a small glimmer of hope in her gaze. “Shall I play us another song?”
The suggestion wasn’t a bad one and Genkei was more than happy to hear her play a song.
“Yes, that might not be bad..” He agreed as he leaned towards the fire, the campfire’s warmth felt around him and eased the soreness he was feeling on his body. A sigh of relief heard from him as she plucked at her harp.
This time around the songs he played was more upbeat. There was something about it that soothed his heart and he couldn’t help but nod along to it. He even heard Harumi hum, a few words here and there as if she was singing a song familiar to her. But before he could even ask her to speak up she had silenced herself as the song ended. She carefully placed her harp to the side and for a few seconds, she said or did nothing. Until Harumi confessed to Genkei about what she once aspired to be.
“Did you know I always want to be a musician?” The question was suddenly placed in front of Genkei that he didn’t know how to respond other than look at her. Expecting more from the conversation was about to happen but nothing was given as she looked at him.
Waiting for him to reply.
“Aren’t you one?” The look of perplexed confusion on Genkei’s face was enough to make Harumi giggle. It was true she was a musician but not the type she wanted to be. The dream she had was not supposed to manifest within the game but it did.
Harumi sat there by the fire; her hands outstretched and the fire danced near her skin. A warmth that could burn her if she wasn’t careful enough. For now, it was enough to strip the chill from her bones off her body. She stared into the fire and a series of emotions of her the real-life she once had entered her head as she remembered a man that was once the source of her admiration—her father.
“In real life.” She clarified to him, a glance spared his way, but he looked sheepish so he didn’t return it to her. Remaining fixated on the fire in front as night fell around them. There was no longer a source of light other than the campfire they had together. So she kept talking about real life a topic many didn’t want to touch on. Harumi couldn’t help but stare at him in a curious m
anner, her eyes were locked onto him. “It seems you really enjoy this one right? This life... I love it, it gives me time to enjoy things without a path being denied.”
“Same here.” Genkei couldn’t help but stare at his legs, his hands touched the top of his knee as he remembered the real life that rendered him immobile. Memories of him being permanently seated on a wheelchair or bed with no hopes of a life that would allow him to move without help from a person. A smile touched his face and for a second he felt emotional since this was something he hadn’t expected for himself given the fact he was paraplegic before. This second chance at life offered him that regardless of how others viewed the world. “I’m able to walk the path I want to be on.”
With that brief explanation and where his gaze remained, Harumi was aware of Genkei’s past. Though it was a guess since he didn’t want to share the matters of his personal life to any deep extent. Not that she minded since she too suffered in her real life.
“We’ve both suffered enough but do you not miss your real life?” She remembered the idolization she had for her father. A part of her hoped that he was doing fine since missed him by a great deal even if their relationship wasn’t at its best because of her health.
“Would I miss a world that has taken more from me than this one that has given so much?” Genkei countered, but he didn’t mean for his answer to come across strong however it was presented that way. It hurt that the tone he took was harsher than one would expect from the usually happy-go-lucky boy. There were a few seconds between them of silence but there was no helping that anymore. What was said has been said. But they were the truth of his feelings, there was no other life he wanted than the life he was living in.
“You’re right...”
“Do you miss the real—” He inquired but before he could fully question her any further, she gave him a sharp answer. The truth of her feelings slowly beginning to spill out without remorse. There was no use for her to hold on to the frayed tethers of the past that were going to snap apart anyway.
