Never Change

Book II: Chapter 48

Yagami sat on a wooden bench on the bridge, his back perfectly upright as his mother had taught him. The scent of jasmine flowers wafted through the air, tickling his nostrils with their sweet, heady aroma. He remained motionless, his dark eyes fixed on the garden before him.

Mother had instilled the importance of meditation in him, from the moment she had generously taken him in from the lower levels of Mistral.

A bee, drawn perhaps by the floral scent clinging to his robes, buzzed near his ear. It circled once, then twice. Then, without warning, it landed on his arm and stung him through the thin gossamer fabric. Yagami didn't flinch.

By the barbed shape of the stinger, the creature was a honey bee. As Kalman had once lectured to him, choosing to sting an animal would be fatal for a honey bee, compared to a bumble bee or a carpenter bee, since the bee would not be able to pull the barbed stinger out of his skin. Trying to pull itself out of the skin would result in disembowlement and death.

The evolutionary purpose of the barbed stinger was to allow the venom gland more time to pump venom into the victim because the barb prevents the stinger from being removed. The venom gland stays attached to the stinger and keeps pumping venom even after the bee has disemboweled itself. In bees, it's fine for an individual to die to protect the rest of the hive.

Similarly, one might say that it's fine for a human to die for the greater good. Necessary, even.

Not long after, the creature seemed to realize that he had no intention of going near their colony. It had made a fatal mistake.

He watched with detached curiosity as the insect struggled, its stinger embedded in his flesh. The bee twisted and turned, desperately trying to free itself. Its tiny legs scrabbled against Yagami's skin, wings beating furiously. It twisted itself in a circular motion, trying to unwind the stinger.

After a minute, it was luckily able to release itself. But he would not let it go so easily.

The boy caught it with his thumb and index finger before it could escape. It wriggled in his grip, but he did not let go, instead exerting a little more force on it.

"It's futile to resist someone much stronger than you," Yagami murmured. "You shouldn't have attacked in the first place."

What was the purpose of fighting a superior force? For a human, the bee's sting would cause a mild discomfort, at best. In a few days, the venom would be gone.

Exhausted from unwinding itself from Yagami's skin, the bee's movements gradually grew weaker in his grip.

He dropped the bee's carcass behind him, into the flowing river. Perhaps it twitched a bit, and then it died.

There's no use in fighting something inherently superior.

A gentle breeze rustled through the cherry blossoms overhead, scattering petals across the ground.

"Cookie, are you there~" a sweet voice called out suddenly.

From behind a small bamboo grove emerged Yoshimoto Nao. Her hands were behind her back, and she was smiling playfully. Her long, wavy, brown hair cascaded down her back, partially held in place by an ornate headband. The white, layered top gracefully hugged her form; the high collar framed the neck, exposing her shoulders. Her flowing skirt was embellished with subtle gold.

As someone who had formed her very own minor house by challenging and winning against a Sword, Yoshimoto was considered the best among the best. Many commoners admired her, but many nobles feared the rapid change.

"Hello."

"May I join you?"

"Go ahead."

The Sword sat down on the bench beside him.