CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.75 'AND ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY'

As the sun began to fall fully behind the horizon, Andrei had found his way to the sparring session between Alpha.1 and Bayashi. He looked down at Suzuko, who sat idly beside Inoshishi. It seemed in the time between his talk, and their reignited passion for the fight, Bayashi and Alpha.1 had missed Saionji's moment of rest. Suzuko moved so that Andrei had a seat beside her, and Inoshishi sat with Phanes draped over his shoulders. Dropping down between the two, Andrei leaned up on the log which Suzuko had found herself, and began to watch the two fight.

Shimoda found his way to the clearing, having been looking for Hattori. When he saw Inoshishi alone, he approached, sitting cross-legged on the other side of the man and tilting his head as he watched Bayashi hone himself against Alpha's blade. "Yo, Inoshi, you seen Hattori anywhere? I owe him a bite to eat."

Inoshishi glanced over, raising his brow as he shrugged. A slight frown formed on his face as he realized he couldn't recall where Hattori said he would be. "Beats the hell outta' me. He was acting all weird before we split off, probably tryin' to go get sweet with that fox-eared girl with the Shikoku folks." He quieted down, then remembered that they all were fox-eared. "Cherry-Fangs? I think that was her name... Here, I'll come with ya', this is getting stale to watch." With that, he rose to his feet, stretching and picking up his polearm to sling over his back. Phanes leapt from his shoulders and into Suzuko's lap, and Inoshishi gave the girl a slight nod, and a smile as she cuddled up to the cat.

As Inoshishi and Shimoda headed down the hill into town, Suzuko looked over to Andrei, her eyes wide under her mask, and a glint in the gemstone circles that allowed her to see. "Aniki... where'd Vivi head off to? Is she alright after you two fought?" She gave a slight frown, simply an innocent worry for her newfound friend. "It was just Ao testing you both, right? Nothing bad happened?"

With a nod, Andrei sighed and gave a slight smile. Still bare-chested, he could feel the scar across his entire lower torso where she nearly cleaved him in half. "Vivi went off to train with Kouriki and that strange half-Chimera, the one with all the stitches. I just needed to get some rest, Ra and I both don't like to strain when we fight... it's mostly for fun, and food on his end..." He gave a wider grin, turning to look at Suzuko. "... Me? I don't particularly like fighting friends, practice or not. I'm too destructive."

Suzuko's ears perked up after hearing her friend's reasoning. This is why she called him 'big bro,' because he was such a good guy... she could tell. A smile formed on her lips, beneath her mask, something which the wicked wooden thing reflected through its own design. Andrei felt his eyes growing heavy as Suzuko watched him silently, though he was unaware. Phanes found himself cuddled even tighter in Suzuko's lap, her tail wrapping around her arms as if to keep her from spilling out and onto the ground with Phanes in her grasp. Andrei felt his eyes close as he layed in the grass, the last inklings of his vision of the vibrant, orange-pink sky reflecting off of the amber pools of life in his head. Soon, he was overtaken by darkness, his very being drawn into a deep yawn as he quietly fell into a delicate slumber.

Later, in the night, when the sun had fallen behind the sky and the moon had taken its place, Andrei felt a gust of wind in his hair, and he was gently rustled awake by the sound of footsteps. He sniffed then wiped sleep from his eyes, raising his arms up to stretch and feeling as a hand latched onto his wrist. Opening his eyes full, he adjusted to the darkness of night, and looked up to see Saionji holding his arm. When the two of them locked eyes, she smiled and tilted her head, seemingly glad to have found him. "I've been looking for you... Andrei," Saionji paused, her eyes glittering in the fiery reflection of Andrei's own pupils, "Could you... follow me? Just for a little bit, I understand if you're tired."

Andrei had never seen Saionji with a strange light to her. As she spoke, pulling Andrei to his feet, she let go of his wrist, raising that very same hand to rub her other arm. Clad in daily training attire she averted her gaze, her fingers grazing the skin on her arms, which was covered in a film of cold sweat. She wore a dirty white tank-top, and a green sash around her chest, alongside some airy-looking cargo pants, and her usual boots. It was a new look for her, one that Andrei didn't mind. He offered a half-awake smile, and shrugged with a yawn resonating from within him. "Sure... Something wrong? Doesn't seem like you're in a rush though..." He tried to ponder what it could be verbally, unaware of the thoughts racing through Saionji's mind.