Heroes of Dreamland Rewritten, Book 3: Stars Amidst Darkness

Chapter 18

Meta Knight | メタナイト

I close my eyes tighter. My gloves lay in my lap, balled up into cloth fists. I sit on the tatami section of my room, next to the low table. The clock on one wall quietly keeps ticking.

It has to be past one in the afternoon by now. As long as I don't look, though, I don't know for sure. As long as I don't look, Sakura has extra time to get away.

My heart twists inside me. I wince deeply at the pain. I don't want to hurt her; I could never want to hurt her. I keep hoping and praying that she'll have found a way off planet by the time I come looking for her. She has to find a way to get away; she just has to. I can't do this, not when the very thought of killing her all but kills me. Not when the mental image of her looking at me in betrayal as I corner her is even worse. Not when the thought of the life going out of her eyes and her pained gasp as my sword pierces her heart is unbearable. Not when I can't even bring myself to imagine the sight of her body fading away because of my actions—

I gasp at the raging twinge of emotional anguish that shocks through my body. I don't want to do this. I wish I didn't have to do this.

Sakura, please. Please have gotten away by now. Please be safe.

Someone knocks at the door, forcing me to open my eyes. My heart sinks at the sight of the clock.

It's only five after one. I only bought her an extra five minutes.

I hesitate for a moment, ignoring the knocker. Who says I have to go after her now? I told her I'd give her twenty-four hours, but... I could wait longer. It's not exactly like anyone's holding me accountable. Honestly, I could wait forever. Who would stop me?

Before I can think much farther, the person at the door knocks again. "Meta Knight?" Kirby's young voice calls out to me. "Can we talk to you for a minute?"

I sigh. "The door's not locked. Come in."

Per the norm, Kirby all but slams the door open and rushes in. As always, Bandanna Dee is right on his heels. Kirby comes over to stand on the opposite side of the table from me, sapphire eyes a bit worried. "Meta Knight? Do you know where Sakura is? I'm worried about her and I can't find her today."

I feel my throat grow tight. I can't bring myself to look him in the eye. "I don't know where she is at the moment, no."

The child frowns, leaning onto the low table. "You seem really upset. Your eyes are blue on the edges." I wince a bit, trying to turn so he can't see my eyes, but he just moves around the table. "Now they're all blue." He's quiet for a moment, frowning deeply as he tries to think. "Something bad happened to her, didn't it?"

I feel my heart twinge all over again. "Kirby—"

"Something was wrong with her yesterday." He shakes his head, looking worriedly down at his paws. "I know it." Bandanna Dee anxiously paces the room over by the door. Kirby keeps talking. "She seemed so afraid, and she healed so much worse than normal. My paw still hurts a bit."

"Kirby," I start again, but stop right after. I don't know what to tell him. What should I tell him? What can I tell him?

Kirby looks up at me. "I'm scared she's run away. I'm scared that something's wrong, and instead of asking for our help, she just ran away." He clenches his paws into fists, blinking his eyes rapidly to fight back tears. "Meta Knight, we have to go find her. We have to help her. She's like a sister to me and Bandanna; we can't lose her."

Bandanna nods fervently at that last part. He comes over and puts a paw on Kirby's shoulder. The two of them stare expectantly at me.

I just keep staring down at my gloves, unable to meet their eyes. I need to go find Sakura, yes, but it's not for the reason they're hoping for.