RE:WRITE

23.0 Grayscale_Chapter 5: Coin

I pursed my lips and stared daggers at the back of his head. Then I glared at the other bastard walking in front of me.

And when we were far enough away from the mountain, I exploded.

"You!" I pointed towards Runir. "Why the hell did you take us to a fucking dragon's nest? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

He looked back and smirked, making me grit my teeth.

"And you!" I pointed at Kai. "Why the fuck didn't you do that sooner? I thought I was gonna die! Did you think this would make you look cool or something you little bastard? Well fuck you, all it did was make you look like an asshole!" I panted as I finished my rant.

He didn't even stop walking.

It's funny how stupid you can get when you're angry. I mean, this guy had just told off a dragon and here I was insulting him.

Worse, I rushed forward to punch him.

But before I could reach him, he put a hand on the stone beside him and I flinched, thinking that he was reacting to my sudden charge.

He coughed out blood and fell to his knees.

None of us moved, too stunned by the sudden show of weakness to offer help.

This guy had scared off a dragon effortlessly...or had he?

As he continued to cough out blood and take in great, wheezing gulps of air, Amy finally snapped out of it and walked over to him which prompted Runir and I to follow.

But even as I comforted him and watched the others do the same and even as I saw him drink the water that Runir handed him, I kept feeling that something wasn't quite right.

I couldn't put my finger on it for some reason, perhaps because I didn't know what it was.

I looked at the blood on the ground, which looked real enough. I stared at his face, which was covered in sweat. He was clutching his chest with his hand, tightening and loosening his grip in convulsions.

But something was nagging in the back of my head. I'd seen people in pain before. People who'd lost their limbs, been stabbed by a knife, raped, swindled, robbed, beaten up or people who'd contracted painful illnesses, I'd seen them all. But this felt different and made me feel uneasy.

In front of me was the perfect picture of a man in pain.

But that was the problem, it was perfect. Too perfect.

Or was I just over-thinking things?

"Are you alright Kai? What happened?" asked Amy in a concerned voice.

"...It's okay. I guess using my Ability on a dragon was a bit much, huh." he chuckled, before coughing out more blood.

Amy cast an accusatory glance at Runir, who frowned.

"I apologize. I should have realized that an Ability that powerful would have limits and repercussions. Sorry." Runir said as his gaze fell to the ground.

"It's okay, no harm done. I'll be fine in a couple of hours." said Kai, waving a hand in the air dismissively.

Kai sat down on the rock that he had been leaning on and took a few deep breaths before managing to calm down his breathing.

"I suppose it'd wise to answer some of your questions now. However, I believe it would only be fair for all of us to tell each other about our abilities. Just enough to avoid mishaps like today and to help us understand each other a little better." Kai said.