It was hard to tell if there was any malice underlying that stranger's words; However, Esther thought it best not to determine such as it would only be superficial.
She watched the man's smile deepen, as he enthusiastically rose up from his seated position atop the slope and stretched and cracked his four limbs and joints.
The individual was slim and tough-bodied. A young man with unkempt jet-black hair that jutted in all directions.
Most of his clothing was yellow, except for the thick red cord tied around his waist and the gray tattsuki bakama hakama.
Partnering with those, he had scars of different kinds littered across his midriff and arms; Which, due to the light clothing of a short sleeveless haori, which was cut halfway to appear small, and Dou and Kasasuri samurai armor, which covered his chest and hips, accentuated his awe-inspiring body build even more.
However, it was the two intricately designed gauntlets—engraved with weird tribal symbols that extend up to his forearms —that left the biggest impression.
'Were those supposed to be ceremonial?'
The man lowered his weapons slightly.
Esther tried to focus her lines of sight to examine them but, the glittering points of his tightly fitted gloves cached the light of the setting sun as they fist bumped them both into each other, causing a short but high pitch clang to reverberate within the forested space.
They glowed like a rising dawn.
"Let's see, 2,000 from 34? That would give...1,966. Alright,"
And, he then after.
"Let's begin." With an uncontained swell of delight. "Show me just how dangerous a warrior, the reaper of death really is." Festively grinned and ambled down the slope.
Power radiated from his smile. But, no soon after uttering that—the sound of his light footsteps halted.
"Going back to the topic at hand...."
The distance between him and them was still far from arms reach.
His head suddenly tilted, an impromptu "Mmm" let slip from his mouth, and, with his eyes quietly closed, he then continued.
"We shouldn't be doing something as foolish as this with that kid so nearby." He told Ryuuji, and in the next moment, opened those dull blue-black hue eyes.
As if the spirit of time refused to proceed, Ryuuji was stuck unmoved, wearing an icy glare, and a deathly serious gleam. But the man did not wait for his reply.
"In the first place, you can't protect her if you can't protect yourself. That's why you must have her relocate, even if you don't want to. Besides, as things stand, an exchange between us would most definitely result in her becoming an indirect casualty."
It was like finding out why the sea was colder than the land in the summer.
"Jeez, you guys are so carefree."
With that said, Ryuuji could only sigh. He paused for a fraction of a second, then gave a curt response.
"Fortunately I've only had the displeasure of only working with one of you." He said tonelessly. Which, in a way, made the man's mouth boldly twitch upwards.
"–––––"
Esther felt her brows reactively skewer at that. Something inside of her soul cracked. However, it was not so simple. What it was that made her recoiled was a tad bit different from the norm expectancy; And because of that, she became swept up in the two's ubiquity of a conversation.
YOU ARE READING
So the wind blows
Mystery / Thriller'Why' Was a question Esther never thought herself seriously asking. Her life was supposed to be simple. She wanted it to be extra ordinary, but all that changed once her fathers secret came to light and slowly unraveled some painful truths about hi...
