Khaos Wars

Chapter 4 - Kazu

Aika started to regain her consciousness. A cold gust of wind blew through her hair. Someone carried her over their shoulder. They had tied up her hands and feet.
Who?
Why?
She could hear their slow, large steps and heavy breathing as they walked. The sharp yet delicate sound of leaves rustling around them made Aika more aware by the second. If it weren't for these sounds she was sure she would lose her grip on reality. She carefully lifted her head and looked around. It must have become pretty late. The dreary darkness that surrounded them made her feel even more lost than before, and for a moment she wished she had never woken up.

That was when the terrible pain from her injuries struck her as lightning. Oh right, how could she forget that diabolical monster? Her head pounded heavily and her whole body ached. She tried to lay as still as she possibly could, though all she wanted to do was to scream. She felt at her bound hands and feet. The rope tightened solidly around her wrists. She could still feel the bracelet underneath; so he hadn't been able to remove it. Assuming he tried. For once she was relieved that it was impossible to remove, apparently no one else could take it off of her either. Nothing she had tried this far worked, it was indestructible. Usually she would do everything in her power to escape, but this time she didn't dare. She was already beaten down and she didn't know what this man was capable of.

Aika looked around and tried to get an idea of where she was. Trees. Hundreds of trees surrounded them, accompanied by the sharp smell of resin. The full moon loomed above them, illuminating parts of the dense forest. This was actually a beautiful and peaceful night. Too bad she couldn't enjoy it.

The stranger suddenly came to a halt. Did he notice she had woken up? Her heart skipped a beat and she held her breath. What followed next was a creaking sound.

Dust shot up from the ground when the huge, bulky door opened. The particles tickled her nose and tried to expose her with a sneeze, but she managed to keep it in. The only source of light was a few candles lighting up small areas here and there. The soft glow revealed cobwebs in the corners and a few bugs running frantically around. A huge, old chandelier hanged from the ceiling in the middle of the room. She imagined how once it must have been the pride of who-ever owned this place. But now it appeared to be nothing more than a home to lots of spiders. She guessed that meant there was no electricity in this abandoned place.

The stranger walked to the end of the room and up a stairway. There were more lights upstairs, making everything clearer. Dirty, red wallpaper with golden ornaments and timeworn paintings of people hanging lopsided decorated the walls. Looking at them sent a chill down her spine, it almost felt as if their eyes were following her. How could anyone live here?

A crunching noise grabbed Aika's attention. The stranger stopped again and rubbed his shoe against the old marble floor before quietly mumbling to himself "damn parasite." He continued walking, his shoes clicking quietly. A poor, squished bug was left behind them. Parasite; that was the same thing he called her earlier.

This guy must be crazy.

"KAZU!" The stranger yelled unexpectedly. It didn't take long before someone else ran into the room they just entered.

"Hey, Takeshi. What's going on?"

"I found this." Takeshi dropped Aika down. She struggled not to make a sound when she hit the cold, hard floor.

"Who is this? Did you hurt her?" Kazu sounded way more humane. Aika couldn't help but feel a slight glimpse of hope; someone cared about her in this god-forsaken place.

"You know me better than that." Takeshi's answered, his monotone voice making her feel uneasy.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you have your reasons. But you will tell me later."

"I will." Aika slightly opened her eyes to see if they still paid her any attention; which they luckily didn't. She looked carefully at them. The one whose voice matched Takeshi's was pale, tall and slightly muscular. His thin, shoulder-length, cyber grape hair matched his purple eyes. He looked older than Aika, but not by much: probably two or three years. His presence was just like his voice would make her believe: strict, authoritarian and irritated. Something about him reminded her of Emiko, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"How are things going with Taiki?" The other one, Kazu, was a bit shorter than Takeshi. By the looks of it, he was the same age as Aika. His short, thick and tousled, green hair made him appear very gentle. Everything about him felt reassuring, yet... he seemed troubled?

"He is still getting used to Tellus." Takeshi answered. Did she hear that right?

"We all are." Kazu said slightly melancholic. What were they talking about? Was there another one of them? What did they mean by getting used to Tellus? This all made her head hurt and she decided not to think about it too much. She didn't understand any of it anyway.

"How we feel doesn't matter, we just need to get the job done. Speaking of job done: I need to report this to the Guardians. Can you watch over that, meanwhile?" Takeshi cocked his head towards Aika and hastily left the room.

After he left, Kazu went to pick up a book about warfare from a dusty bookshelf in a corner of the room. He opened it on a page with a bookmark in it, and sat down in a worn wingback chair a few meters away from Aika. Did he notice she was awake? Should she try to talk to him? She deliberated over what to say for a few minutes. This could be her only chance.

"Just get it over with."

"What are you talking about?" Kazu didn't look surprised Aika was awake.

"I'm clearly not getting out of here alive." Aika knew this was a risky move, but she had to say something. This was her only option; playing on his conscience. Unsurprisingly, nothing they said earlier was of any use to her. Of course they didn't give away their secrets while she was in the same room. Kazu continued to read the book. A few seconds, which felt like an eternity, passed. He turned a page.

"Why do I even bother, it's not like you care." Aika tried once more. Words were currently her only weapon; she was still tied up.

"Not that I don't care... but I don't know what is going to happen either. Don't make such a big deal out of it." Was she wrong about him? Was he just as bad as Takeshi? All the things that had happened this past few days were too much for her. She almost lost her life a few hours ago and for what? To be kidnapped and killed? She'd rather die having fought the monster. A few tears started to form in her eyes, blurring her vision. She looked to down at the ground; she didn't want Kazu to see her tears.

A minute passed and she heard a book close. She glanced upwards and saw that Kazu was walking over to her. He crouched down in front of her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He looked concerned at her for a second before reaching for his pocket. He pulled out a handkerchief and held it towards her. What was the deal with this guy? Cold one second and caring the next. She just stared at him in confusion.

"Oh right!" He awkwardly dried away her tears.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm overreacting. " Aika said. Kazu neatly folded his handkerchief and put it back in his pocket. When she thought about it, it made sense. He probably pretended to be unemotional, but was actually thoughtful and loving on the inside.

Kazu sighted. "I can't just stay back and watch you cry. I have a heart, you know." Now that he was this close she noticed how the ends of his hair slightly curled outwards. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of green she had ever seen, they glowed with such warmth and sympathy. Looking at his trustworthy expression made her feel safe despite the hopeless situation. She wanted this moment to last forever.

Suddenly the door burst open and a young man appeared with a sword in his right hand. He went straight for Kazu. Aika could only watch in terror as Kazu jumped away, but got cut on his upper left arm. The intruder then turned around and freed Aika. Everything happened so fast she didn't get a good look at the man before he turned back to Kazu and pointed his bloody sword at him.
"Koizumi Aika. Hurry up and run away, I will distract him." "Koizumi Aika. Hurry up and run away, I will distract him".