The Saros Cycle

VI - Nostalgia

VI - Nostalgia

He was trapped. The remnants of the house pressing him against the ground. Shadows surrounded him. Touma tried to breathe, but his mouth and nose were filled with ash, with a metallic taste of gunpowder and blood. Somehow, he found the strength to push himself, to emerge from the shadows and debris.

What he saw was hell. Fire. Flames consuming the entire village. There were no screams anymore, there was no one left alive. Right in front of him, witnesses to the destruction, two figures observed everything. A man and a woman. Marked in blue. Touma felt a new fire awakening within him, a force that helped him stand up. The man, the one from the church. The one who destroyed his village, the one who killed everyone. He lunged toward the figure, reaching out with his hands, and...

Touma's eyes shot open, feeling a scream about to escape his throat. His heart pounded forcefully, causing his head to throb as if it were about to split in two, while the images of the dream faded from his mind. He was so lost in his memories that he didn't notice anything until a few seconds later when he tried to move.

A faint metallic tinkling accompanied his movement, and he felt the cold dead weight of chains around his arms. 'What the heck?' Touma thought, pausing to examine his situation, trying to reason despite the headache. He was seated on a firmly anchored metal chair. Several chains held him tightly all over his body. Moreover, he was wearing a strange black suit. Touma tried to free himself, but his efforts were in vain.

"Where am I?" the young man said out loud, scanning the room. The building was made of wood but looked neglected, covered in a thick layer of dust. The only window was broken, and it seemed like no one had lived or visited there in years. The door was in front of him, closed, and he saw no trace of his belongings or his travel companions.

The memory of Lily and Isis made him jump and struggle against his restraints again. Where were they? How had he ended up there? Who had tied him up and why? The boy's mind was a whirlwind of questions as he wrestled with his chains.

Before Touma could think of anything else, the door swung open abruptly, and the sound made him look up. A man dressed in black entered, holding a heavy-caliber gun, and eyeing him warily. He wasn't the same person he saw at the church; he didn't have the marks and looked older, his eyes were gray, not red, although they were equally intense. Touma had to avert his gaze.

"You're awake," the man said from the doorway, holstering the gun. In his other hand, he held a glass with a clear liquid that foamed. "I imagine you don't feel well. Here, this will alleviate the headache."

The boy was wary, but his throat was dry, and indeed his head was aching. So, when the stranger approached him with the glass, he drank, recognizing the bitter taste of medicine and feeling relief almost immediately. Touma swallowed it all and relaxed a bit as his head stopped throbbing at last.

"Who are you?" Touma asked.

"My name is Frank Castle," he replied.

Clearly, he wasn't much of a talker. Touma frowned; the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't recall where from. This Frank fellow didn't seem friendly, though much less hostile than the stranger at the church. And he didn't have the marks. Touma decided to trust that last part at least.

"Where are my friends?" he asked quickly.

"They're sleeping," Castle replied, staring at him for a few more seconds before continuing. "If I wanted to harm them, or you, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You can relax."

"... I understand," the young man said, cautiously. He was right, but then why was he tied up? Touma didn't want to lose his calmness again. He needed answers. Besides, he didn't feel capable of fighting this man as he did with the other stranger at the church.