Marionette

Chapter 14

It was really a large pit, but the water was clean. 

This was the place we bathed, located in one of the camp's corners. 

There were no tents nearby for obvious reasons. 

I did not expect anyone else to be bathing at this late hour, but as I walked there, I saw a slender form with silver hair splashing around. 

It was Yui. 

There were no official rules regarding when we should bathe or with whom. After all, we were a thousand, and there was only this one pit. However, there was an unspoken rule that all Legionnaires followed. 

We all bathed straight after training, but women went first. This is how we avoided disaster. Furthermore, even though the pit was large enough that twenty people could bathe simultaneously, none of us stayed in for more than five minutes, or else we would have unending queues. 

I stood there for some time, questioning if I should proceed any further, but I had not bathed for a week, and it was super late, so I had no option. 

At least, that is what I told myself. 

Yui was facing the other direction, so she did not notice me. 

"Hey..." I said to her. 

Horrified, she covered her breasts, even though I could not see them, and sank under the water.
She then popped her head out and slowly turned and faced me. Or, to put it more accurately, she was eyeing her black tunic lying on the grass beside me. 

"Are you done?" I asked. 

Yui, her mouth underwater, shook her head. 

"Okay, I'll wait nearby until you finish," I said, walking towards a nearby tree. 

"Wait...," said Yui. "I don't mind, as long as you bathe on the other side..." 

Thanks to the full moon, I could see how red her face was. 

I had not talked to her all week. Well, Yui kept talking to me, but I never replied. I just lay in bed, facing the other way. 

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming urge to play a prank on her. 

Maybe my conversation with the captain had brought me back to reality. 

"Oh, okay," I said and made to remove my tunic before her. 

"HEY, GIVE ME A WARNING!" she shouted, covering her eyes with her hands. 

"I'm just kidding," I said, laughing. 

"Idiot!" 

"No, but actually cover your eyes now, 'cause I wanna get in." 

Yui did as I said. 

The water was nice and warm. 

I felt my muscles relax and soften. 

"Can I open them now?" 

"Yep." 

She uncovered her eyes and stared at me silently. 

"What?" I asked, not bearing the awkwardness. 

"Are you feeling better?" she asked. 

"No, but I've got things to do," I said. "Can't stay in bed forever..." 

"Right..." she said. "I'll need to thank the captain then." 

"Hm? Why?" 

"Because he managed to do what I couldn't do all week... and it only took him an hour to do so..." 

"I'm sorry..." I replied. 

Yui then swam to me. 

She was covering her breasts, but I'm not going to lie; her hands were not large enough to hide everything. Yui's body was beyond graceful. 

I looked elsewhere shyly. 

"It's so funny to see a man with a great beard be so startled..." she said teasingly. "Where did all that confidence go? You were about to undress before me moments ago..." 

What was she up to? 

"That was just a joke..." I reminded, defending myself, still not meeting her eyes. "I wasn't really planning on doing that." 

"Anyway, you don't have to apologise to me..." she said. 

That was when I made the mistake of looking at her. 

Her silver hair shone in the moonlight, her hazel eyes stared at me with unending kindness, and her velvety lips formed the gentlest smile I had ever seen. 

Yui got closer. Mere inches separated us. 

"I care deeply about you, Marco..." she said softly. "You're the only reason I am still alive. Who knows what I would have done on that first night if it had not been for you." 

I said nothing, my eyes fixed on her angelic face. My heartbeat rose. 

She moved in even closer until our naked bodies touched. 

Her skin was so smooth and soft. 

"Marco, I love you..." she said, her eyes shining purple momentarily, as they did when she used her powers. "I want to be with you..." 

Yui closed her eyes and puffed her gorgeous lips ever so slightly. Her large breasts pressed on my chest, her delicate hands resting on my shoulders. 

My heart skipped several beats. 

But, as I watched this literal angel going in for a kiss with me, her face shapeshifted into that of a terrified Hobgoblin's. 

I was back in that hut. 

I open the door and walk in, sword in hand. 

A female Hobgoblin, trembling on her knees. A baby in her arms.

"P-please! Spare my son!" Those had been her last words. 

I shut my eyes and shook my head, and when I opened them, I was with Yui again. In that pit, seconds away from the most perfect kiss I could ever get. 

But her lips did not land on mine. They landed on my palm. 

"Huh...?" said Yui surprised. 

"I'm a monster, Yui..." I said, crushed. "This might sound like a cliche, but I don't think you realise who you are trying to kiss." 

Yui backed away, looking beyond hurt and embarrassed, covering herself again.
"What do you mean...?" she asked. "If you don't like me, then just say so..." 

Like? I loved her with all my heart, and yet... 

"I do not deserve love, Yui, I'm sorry..." 

"No, I should be the one to apologise..." said Yui, shedding tears, "I'm sorry I put you in a difficult spot. Goodnight." 

She then swam to the opposite side of the pit and picked up her tunic.
I turned my head to give her some privacy. 

When I turned it back, she was nowhere to be seen. 

I knew I had hurt her, but I was confident I had done her a favour in the long run. 

It did not matter that I, too, loved her and wanted nothing more than to be with her for the rest of my life. 

The point was that Yui deserved someone much better. 

Not a despicable killer that had made a deal with the Devil.