CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.88 'THE TURTLE'S LAUGH!'

 The road back to the Great Turtle Monks was a somber, quiet one. Those who had survived the battle did just that, they had felt the losses too, and for that, not a soul deemed their one-day war a victory. At the head of the pack, Andrei and Okuri marched beside one another, Andrei having wondered if he had broken that promise he made, to never kill a human being. Had he really betrayed himself like that? As he wondered, Okuri could feel Andrei's feelings through the ch'i he emitted naturally, though it was unseen, it was not unheard. Secretly, it called out, showing the old wolf that this boy wanted guidance, guidance which he might've been able to provide.

"You did what had to be done, Andrei." Okuri murmured, his throat rumbling with the weight of his words. The two locked eyes, but did not turn to face one another just yet. "You Chimera have a stench about you, and you good folk also have scent. While I could pick up the first..."

Andrei nodded, but he couldn't help shake the feeling... the way it had all played out, it was as if that hierophant, whoever they were, wasn't using their own power. They weren't the one, or even ones in control. His faux agreement didn't slide past Okuri, the wolfman sighing and nodding in return. "You wouldn't have had much choice in the matter either way. If that beast had been left to fight any longer, you wouldn't have anybody else to save here."

Even still, Andrei felt as though he had failed in some way. His lips tightened, and he looked down at the ground as he walked, something that he didn't do often, even before he had grown more confident, back when he was a wide-eyed amnesiac and nothing more. Now the sun was too bright to look up to it seemed.

"Okuri... I don't know if it's the hierophant that has me down." Andrei finally admitted, and the wolfman cocked his head in confusion.

"What then, Andrei? Hattori... that wasn't your fault, we should've all been there for him more, listened when he tried to speak." Okuri grumbled, still perplexed, but doing his best to understand the boy. In all honesty, he had never had to be so personal... of course, he had lived in a time where he himself had regretted taking a life, but Andrei would surely have gotten past that by now, right?

Glancing up, Andrei caught Okuri's curious gaze, and the soft eyes in the rugged frame that was the wolf seemed to sift through his thoughts. Able to refocus himself, Andrei closed his eyes and sighed. "It's the scar I gave, Saionji's..." He lowered his head, eyes seemingly drooping, even when closed tight.

The wolf's ears flicked as Andrei spoke lightly, incredibly so. His breaths came out in a low rumbling that caused Andrie to open his eyes, worried he might be receiving some form of judgement. To his surprise, Okuri had a faint smile on his lips. "Hah, hmm... Curious, I don't remember Saiji ever complaining about it. Inoshi even made a comment, and she laughed about it!" His growl echoed into laughter, and he placed a hand on Andrei's shoulder.

Andrei's eyes seemed to change in that moment, his brow furrowing in confusion. He hadn't had much time to talk, with how tired he had been from the overclocking of his regeneration factor to account for Ra's overuse of Install, and how much healing Saionji herself had needed for trying to support the flames of Ra. "Huh? I figured... I thought she'd hate a mark like that, on account that it's so..."

"Painful?" Okuri inquired. "When you care about somebody, the pain is worthwhile. Suffering shows dedication, in training, and in... well, I won't draw conclusions for you, Andrei."

He dwelled on Okuri's words for a moment, and then his face seemed to flush red a slight bit. The mood between the two brightened as his cheeks turned a shade of cherry, and Andrei turned back to face the road to Kiyonoki as the usual banter that followed the Nowhere Generation slowly found a new life among their ranks, and their allies. "Pain shows dedication, huh?" Andrei pondered. "You really think that way, Okuri?"