Fire and Water | A Blue Eye Samurai Story

Chapter 19

A/N: After what feels like a century of waiting, I present to you chapter 19! Thank you all so much for your patience and support. These last couple weeks have been super cramped for time since I just moved, but I still managed to get this lengthy chapter out to you! I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter and I already have a portion of chapter 20 written. Be on the lookout for it, but also don't count on it being posted this week 😂

"Mizu?" A memory of her eyes drifting down to the same lips she'd once kissed plays through her head. The feeling of her chest tightening at the sight of him comes back to her as if it were yesterday. Her cheeks flushed with heat and her eyes filled with desire as he said, "Darling." A memory she didn't think she would have resurface at a time like this continues. His lips had curled into an upward smile and she knew there was no taking her eyes off of him. Her eyes lifted back to his beautifully red-covered gaze and all she saw was a deep sense of calmness.

Suddenly the image shifts to a windswept chase through a field. The world moves in a slow-motion speed and she looks just beyond her to the same man she had fallen for at the castle. A dark green poncho flows elegantly in the wind as he rides away on horseback. As she chases after him on her own horse, a small burst of laughter creeps up into her throat. His short hair blew around in the wind and she remembers the sight of his tattoo on the back of his neck. He rode off in front of her so quickly that he outpaced her by several yards. Once he had reached the tree line, he pulled on the reins and turned his horse to face her. She continued to race towards him at full force when she realized that he was...laughing? The sight of his overjoyed expression was enough to make her double down and confess her feelings right there. Seeing how much fun he was having brought a warmth to her soul that she didn't think she was capable of feeling. If he wasn't wearing glasses, she might've sworn she could've seen tears of joy falling from his eyes. His overjoyed gaze locks with hers as he continues to laugh from his horse. She finally pulls back on her reins just in time to hear him call out, "It's been a while since I've rode a horse like that." The laughter finally releases from her core and she joins him at the tree line. She begins circling him as he says, "I clearly won though." His rosy cheeks lifted with his genuine smile and she could see his perfect rows of teeth shine in the sunlight.

His smile, his eyes, his face, and his entire figure fades from her view. The world around her starts to cloud and blacken in a matter of seconds. Large swirling streaks of shadow race towards her and the eyes in her mind feel as heavy as an anvil. The trees, snow, and beautiful bluish-orange sky are rapidly overtaken by the shadows that dart towards her. The horse she was riding disappears as the shadows finally reach her and surround her entirely. A surge of exhaustion purges whatever memory she was experiencing and the world of the past disappears completely.

Ringo wheels the cart he was pulling close to a small building and puts down a stand to prop the cart upright. He walks over to a set of doors and begins banging on them with his arm.

"Hello?" Ringo calls out to the person he believes to be the occupant of the small building. "Hello in there!" Ringo stares at the wooden doors in hopes that they will open for him. "Please. You have to help us. I have dying people or...maybe they're already dead. I'm too scared to look, but I'm trying to save them, even though I'm really mad at one of them." Ringo turns around and gives an unconscious Mizu an angry look. Ringo's face softens slightly as he takes a moment to understand that she's incredibly wounded from the castle. "I think you know him." He turns back to face the door in pure desperation to save the two samurai. "Please! I've been walking for days, and bad guys are after us, and I don't know where else to go."

As he receives another absent response, he turns back to the cart and watches both unconscious warriors. He sighs and his shoulders droop in defeat as his brow starts to furrow tightly. "What do I do!?" he shouts to himself as swings his arm for the handle of the cart. His arm hits the handle and the remainder of Mizu's sword slips from the cart and clatters to the ground. The unique sound it produces echoes off the stone path on the ground and Ringo glances down at the sword. A sudden noise from behind the door gets closer and it opens to reveal a short, white-haired man. His eyelids remain closed and his aged face pokes through the doorsill. Ringo slowly turns towards the man as he begins to speak.