Twenty minutes had passed since the innkeeper had left the room. Kaito, with difficulty, lifted himself up and sat at the foot of the bed. His body was still numb, and the arm in a cast tingled. Even his head throbbed painfully, but he still managed to stand up.
"Everything hurts..."
He moved slowly through the room, his steps uncertain. He reached the door and opened it cautiously.
(The old man isn’t here… Where did he go?)
He went down the stairs, holding onto the handrail, and arrived in the hall. The room was dimly lit: the curtains were closed, and the only light came from a faint lamp on the table. There, with an open bottle of whiskey in front of him, sat Mr. Hauromi. The glass, already filled, trembled between his fingers.
Kaito approached.
"Don’t you think drinking that whole bottle alone will harm you?"
The bartender didn’t turn around.
"Maybe… but right now, I need it."
Silence fell between them. After a few moments, Hauromi sighed and spoke again:
"Listen, kid, do you want advice from an old man? Leave this place and forget everything that happened."
Kaito didn’t respond immediately. He sat at the table, right in front of him.
"Where are my blades?" he asked in a serious tone.
Hauromi glanced at him briefly, then took a sip and replied with a tired voice:
"They’re still near the warehouse. Why?"
Kaito stood up slowly.
"I’m going out for a moment."
The bartender stared at him, incredulous.
"Are you insane? You can barely stand! You can find blades anywhere."
Kaito stopped at the inn’s entrance and, without turning completely, slightly turned his head.
"Those blades… are the only link to my past. They are irreplaceable."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He said nothing more. He opened the door and left.
Hauromi remained still, his gaze lost in the void. Then he sighed and poured himself another glass of whiskey.
"Kaito… what the hell happened to you?"
Kaito retraced the path he had followed with Yume to the destroyed warehouse. The pain throughout his body didn’t subside, but he didn’t care.
Upon arriving at the place, he stopped for a moment, letting his mind relive the battle with Shirogane. His eyes fell on the large crater that had opened in the ground upon impact.
He approached.
There, inside, he saw his blades.
With trembling hands, he knelt down and picked them up. The metal reflected his face.
"Here they are… I’m glad."
It was at that moment that a memory resurfaced in his mind.
He saw a young man, barely in his twenties, with long gray hair, wearing a kimono, and with deep red eyes.
"Kaito, stop. Do you understand that you can’t act like this?"
Kaito smiled, recalling that fragment of the past.
(What would she do… in this moment?)
His gaze became melancholic. Another image took shape in his mind. Yume.
He clenched his fingers around the blades, then turned and started walking back toward the inn.
---
Hauromi was still sitting at the table. The bottle was now empty. He held the glass in his hand, his gaze fixed in the void.
"Yume… I can’t do anything for her… Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!!"
With a sudden movement, he threw the glass against the counter. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering across the floor. The bartender was breathing heavily, his hands clenched into fists.
Memories of the days spent with the girl he now considered a daughter resurfaced in his mind.
"Old man."
Hauromi turned abruptly and saw Kaito standing at the entrance.
The boy was staring at him.
"Kaito..." Hauromi murmured, noticing a different expression in his gaze.
Kaito approached, walking with determined steps.
"You told me to forget everything and leave, right?" he asked, his voice firm.
The bartender remained silent.
"But I won’t."
Kaito stopped a few steps away from him and looked him in the eyes.
"Before Shirogane and Yume left, he said that in two days, he would leave for Shinkase."
Hauromi’s eyes widened.
"That means he’s still in town. The only fast way to leave here is by train."
The bartender immediately understood what Kaito was implying.
"You want to go get Yume back? Are you crazy? Look at yourself! How do you think you’ll manage in this condition?"
Kaito didn’t look away.
"Don’t worry. I’ve already fought him, I know what to expect. And if I manage to find Yume on the train and she heals me… I’ll be able to fight again at full strength."
Hauromi lowered his head. Tears began to silently fall down his face. When he spoke, his voice was broken, almost unrecognizable.
"Kaito… I realize it’s selfish of me to ask you this..." he hesitated for a moment, then clenched his fists.
"But please… save Yume!"
Kaito didn’t respond. But he didn’t need to.
Hauromi saw his expression and understood that he would do it.
The boy gripped his blades tightly.
The battle wasn’t over yet.
---
TWO DAYS LATER
In an old, decaying house on the outskirts, with broken windows, holes in the walls, and a large amount of mold, there was Shirogane.
"Yume, wake up."
The boy was sitting on a worn-out armchair, with the stuffing visible. In front of him, a small table and a fireplace no longer in use. To his right, a sofa where Yume was lying.
The girl woke up instantly at his words.
"Shirogane, is it time already?" she asked, going from lying down to sitting up.
"Yes, the train will arrive soon, so let’s not waste time."
Shirogane got up from the armchair. Yume did the same, and the two left the doorless shack.
They kept silent the entire way to the station.
"Alright, we’re here..." said Shirogane. Then he turned to her.
"If you try to escape this time, I’ll kill you."
Yume looked at him.
"I know that very well."
She got on the train, while Shirogane handed the tickets to the conductor.
The train was an old model, divided into various identical cabins. There were about twelve tables, each with two sofas. This pattern repeated for eleven more cabins.
"Let’s sit here."
Shirogane sat down. Yume did the same.
"Shirogane… what do you want to do in Shinkase?"
He looked out the window.
"Haven’t you figured it out?... Tsk… Shinkase is a very advanced city, but it also has a dark side..."
The girl instantly understood.
"You mean human trafficking..."
Shirogane smiled.
"You guessed it."
The train had been moving for three minutes when suddenly the alarm started blaring.
"What’s h
appening?"
Shirogane looked out the window. Yume did too.
Then she saw him.
There, on the tracks, with two blades in hand.
Kaito had arrived.