ã€ŠHalcyon Heartã€‹


 Chapter 1: Prologue

    A world of smiles, the carnival. Everybody seemed to be having fun in such an unnecessarily eventful place. It was a little overwhelming. Even from the entrance, the sounds of people chatting, children laughing, games being played, rides zooming by¡­

    They¡¯re late.

    ¡°Hey, Yu!¡±

    That familiar, gravelly voice. As if he doesn¡¯t care how loud he is. I turned around to see a plain orange button-up with an extended collar, along some huge, dark forearms in my peripheral vision. Far too close for comfort. I jolted back a bit and looked up to see Garald¡¯s toothy grin. There wasn¡¯t a thought behind those beaming eyes, given plenty of room away from his bleached hair which seemed to defy gravity. He didn¡¯t even have a lot of it, which leaves him without the excuse I have. Even from here, I thought I could see hair gel caked onto it.

    Before he could say something dumb, I decided to break the ice myself. ¡°I was waiting in the spot, you know.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Yeah, I forgot to tell you that I moved the meeting spot. I forgot to tell the others, too.¡±

    ¡°So you just.. decided on your own?¡±

    He seemed to brush off my remark with a chuckle, earning himself an annoyed look. Garald noticed and gave me a few pats on the shoulder. A bit too rough when considering my skinny frame. Not like such a muscle machine would sympathize enough to hold back.

    ¡°I already found Barb, though! She¡¯s waiting at the spot. The new one, I mean. Not the wrong one that you were waiting at.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±

    That seemed to get a laugh from him. ¡°Anyway, anyway¡­ Did you see Rubi on the way here? She didn¡¯t text us.¡±

    I glanced around without moving my head too much, as if I expected her to materialize at the sound of her name. With a bit of a smirk, I answered him, ¡°Nah. Think she took the long route?¡±

    ¡°She so would! Haha!¡±

    Okay, it wasn¡¯t that funny.

    ¡°Friends!!¡± Yelled a high-pitched yet straightforwardly steeled voice. The two of us turned around to see a short, thin, bespectacled girl with long, light brown hair, wearing a medium-length skirt and a casual blue top. She revealed a wooden sword and smacked the tip into the ground with a determined look in her eyes.

    The same as usual. What do you think we came here to do? Fight aliens? You don¡¯t have to bring that thing. It¡¯ll be hard to keep track of. None of these thoughts left my lips, though.

    ¡°There she is! You¡¯re late! That¡¯s unlike you.¡± Garald tilted his head at her, seemingly concerned for a bit before easing up when she smiled back at him, clearly not bothered by anything. ¡°Training went a little long. Thanks for the concern, big guy.¡±

    ¡°Ooh! Still doing that Hemuh stuff?¡±

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s H. E. M. A. Historical European Martial Arts. Pretty cool, huh? I brought up teaching Kendo as well and showed the other students some techniques. I¡¯m a novice, though¡­¡±

    My lip twitched a bit before I chimed up in order to bring their attention back to what we came here for in the first place. ¡°Come on, b.. big guy. What are we here for..?¡± Damn it, that was so awkward. My voice cracked a little near the end of that sentence. His reaction was one of shock, only adding to my embarrassment, before revealing how happy he was to hear that with a playful punch to the shoulder.

    ¡°Ever calculating, eh, Yu? Yep, I brought you here for a good reason. Come on.¡± He grabbed both of our hands and started a dash in the opposite direction, almost sending my scarf off with the sudden speed. Rubi kept up in spite of her skinny limbs, although it took her a great many more steps to reach his stride. I had to run in a rather unsightly manner to keep up, trying to hold back my heavy breathing so as to not embarrass myself. A memory of Rubi came to mind, telling me that trying not to exhale only makes one more exhausted and that I should just breathe naturally. Alas, I kept up the front, only causing my exhaustion to increase.

    As we approached the ¡°spot¡± that Garald had decided for us, a tall girl leaning against a pole came into view. She chewed what I assumed to be bubblegum and gave us a stern face, as if she were angry with us for making her wait so long. Her furled lip revealed more of her large, ring-shaped piercing protruding from the lip. Normally I would think it to be gaudy, but she made it work. Garald released our hands and suddenly sped up towards her. I could see the muscles in his calves tense up, as if exploding with energy off of the ground. His speed now was so fast, I was shocked that what we felt before was just a light jog for him.

    Rubi smiled and timidly waved with her hand raised only slightly, ¡°Good evening, Barbara.¡±

    ¡°There they are. Gloomlord and Ninja Girl.¡± She didn¡¯t react to Garald¡¯s dash, popping a pink bubble and sucking the gum back into her mouth. Rubi replied, ¡°I think Samurai is more accurate,¡± but it seemed like only I heard it. Barb pulled her hands out of her pocket and brushed her pink hair out of her eyes before tensing up her large biceps and kicking forward to meet Garald¡¯s enthusiasm with a mean clothesline. It knocked him off the ground and onto his back with a thud, causing her to give a smug grin as she looked down at him.

    ¡°Seriously, Ninja and Samurai are nothing alike¡­¡± Rubi began, but trailed off as if she realized that nobody was paying attention. I was, sort of. I didn¡¯t bother to let her know, though. Nobody cared to learn the distinction like she did.

    Garald pushed himself to his feet with very few, strong movements. ¡°So, dudes. Today is super special. You remember why?¡±

    Silence. Barb gave a glance to Rubi and I, who didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Oh, come on! It¡¯s the one year anniversary of the first time all four of us met up!¡±

    Even more silence. I was so befuddled that I decided to be the one to break it. ¡°Ehh? That¡¯s it? We all knew each other before that. Even then, I don¡¯t remember the day I met you guys¡­¡± I trailed off as I gazed over at Rubi. That was a small lie, but not relevant to the topic.

    ¡°Yeah, but never all of us at the same time! Look, I got these tickets for cheap and I wanted to use ¡®em.¡± He exhaled and scratched the back of his head as he was forced to give a more genuine reasoning.

    That¡¯s what I thought. Who remembers something so arbitrary? The fact that we met each other at all is good enough, in my eyes, but someone like him always has to assign something arbitrary to a feeling in order to keep the feeling from fleeting, I guess.

    ¡°So, which ride first?¡± He addressed us all once again with enthusiasm. Not knowing anything about carnivals, I gave the area near us a quick scan, hoping someone else would speak up in the meantime. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Rubi did. ¡°Look over there. That shooting game, where you hit the target with pellets. Looks fun!¡±

    A little morbid, don¡¯t you think? Isn¡¯t it weird how normalized it is to have a faux shotgun in the middle of an amusement park with children and parents? Who would want to hold that thing?

    ¡°Looks sick, sure.¡± Barb was closer, so she got to it first and started firing as if she were born for it. So noisy. Rubi looked annoyed, but it faded quickly, at least as far as I could tell. Garald was unable to wait and had already taken up a separate game booth, dunking his head into a bucket of water for some reason that I didn¡¯t care to think of.

    Rubi tugged on my sleeve and eagerly pointed at the basketball hoops surrounded by assorted animal plushies. I slowly turned to her and responded to her pointing with slight condescension, ¡°Have you ever even touched a basketball?¡±

    She huffed and released my arm, stomping towards the small booth. ¡°No! Have you? I just want the animals.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, ¡®cause you can do anything you set your mind to, right?¡±

    She paused for a moment before pouting childishly and continuing her strive. I decided to stay back and watch. A few people gave her a surprised look, as if they didn¡¯t expect such a small girl to take on the task. The thing that shocked me was when she proceeded to miss all three of her shots. Not often I saw her fail like that.

    I walked towards her and put a hand on her shoulder to indicate that I wanted her spot. I slapped some cash on the table and palmed the ball, only to drop it when I tried to lift it up. I expected it to stick more. Rubi¡¯s chuckle caused my brow to tighten with frustration. I decided to use two hands the next time I picked it up. I tried to remember how the players on TV would do it. Garald had shown me a few games before and excitedly commentated, so I knew the basics. I lifted the ball above my head with both hands, flicking my wrists with all my arm strength. Shit, I forgot the jumping part.

    To my disappointment, the ball landed only a few feet in front of me behind the counter. My other two shots did no better, despite my jumps. I fell to my knees and lowered my head, somewhat exaggerating, but my legs really were tired. Rubi crossed her arms triumphantly, as if my failure was a victory for her.

    ¡°Whatever¡­¡± I pulled myself up and dusted my hands off on my shirt. It was like she had totally forgotten the plushies existed. Barb entered my field of vision with an oversized piece of cotton candy attached to a stick featuring massive bite marks taken out of both sides. I wonder if she swallowed her gum again. I told her that was gross and unhealthy.

    I thought to myself, how did I end up around these people? They talk to me like I¡¯m on the same wavelength as them. It¡¯s not that I dislike them, the opposite actually. They¡¯re the only thing I get out of bed for. If not for them, I¡¯d have dropped out of school by now. Garald and Barb saw me sometime around the start of my first year of High School. They were second years, and already had a friend group of third years. They decided to sit next to me while I was by myself. Of my own volition, obviously. They were noisy, and by the end they were talking to each other more than they were talking to me. I liked it, though. They weren¡¯t going out of their way to act differently just because I was quiet. I still appreciate that, I guess. I already knew Rubi in Middle School, but that story is too long for the moment.

    Barb signaled to Rubi and me from afar that they were getting on the ferris wheel. Garald was already there, waiting for us with an impatient look on his face. I¡¯d never been on one before, and I wasn¡¯t a fan of heights at all. Rubi seemed more excited than I had seen her in a while, and turning my head away stubbornly, I knew I couldn¡¯t deny her this.

    The higher that little booth got, the more I could feel my lunch trying to find its way out. Rubi¡¯s eyes sparkled as she watched the little people below us. Did she feel like a Goddess up here? Looking down on regular people? Somewhat fitting for her.

    ¡°This is just as cool as I thought!¡± Garald¡¯s face pushed into the glass, surely to the joy of whomever was going to have to wipe it later. Barb grabbed his hair and pulled him back, looking like she was about to yell, but in actuality she just wanted to see what his big head was blocking. Garald gave me a look that seemed to jokingly ask for help, but I closed my eyes and laughed quietly, opening one to see his reaction, which was comically exaggerated sadness.

    I wished I could share their enthusiasm about it. Even putting my sickness aside, this was not an interesting ride. I was still having a good time, though. It would be hard to tell from my face, especially taking the scarf over my mouth into account, but seeing the three of them enjoying themselves so much, and not in spite of me being there was something I¡¯d give up the world to see. What we were doing didn¡¯t matter so long as they reacted in such a way. That was my entertainment for the trip.

    After stepping off, Garald and Barb split off before I could say anything. Rubi held a hand to her mouth and giggled at their excitement, starting to walk off, to which I took some big steps forward until I had caught up and began matching her pace. That sure didn¡¯t help my headache.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to go find something to do?¡± She looked up at me with an inquisitive glint to her eyes, glasses shining as the sun started to lower in front of us with the waning day.

    ¡°Oh, I was hoping the four of us would have stuck together more, but I guess that¡¯s too selfish to ask. I don¡¯t really like this place, but I like you guys.¡±

    ¡°Huh? You could have suggested a place that all of us like. It would be the same.¡±

    ¡°Anywhere I picked would hardly be better. I don¡¯t like any place in particular.¡± I took my eyes away and put them on the path we were walking, hopefully indicating to her that I was trying to end the conversation. As anticipated, she continued, unsatisfied with that resolution.

    ¡°Are you sure? I think you just haven¡¯t found somewhere that you really enjoy yet.¡± She said with what I interpreted as a bit of self-righteousness. Naturally, somebody like her, somebody who lives her life with conviction and has no regrets, would think that everybody has a ¡°favorite place.¡±

    It was at this point that I couldn¡¯t avoid thinking of the first time that I met her. A kid being bullied by three older students, a girl telling them that they must become model members of society, and a bored me that had no intention of helping the kid or her. I decided then upon seeing her act so full of herself that I wouldn¡¯t be friends with someone like her. So what happened? She didn¡¯t change. In fact, some time after we started hanging out, it was like she started throwing herself into trouble more often. I even had to carry her home once after she ran into a dark alley to stop a mugging. She didn¡¯t even consider that she would be forcing me to join her flaunting of justice by doing such a thing. Why was it that I saved her then while I just watched that kid get bullied about a year prior? All those kids getting bullied, actually. Her mere existence made me feel like I was a bad person for not being the hero those kids needed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ever going to find that place. I don¡¯t think it exists. That place is just wherever you, Garald and Barb are. Is that not good enough for you?¡±

    I almost felt bad for the way that she looked at me after I said that. She wasn¡¯t upset with me, it was some other kind of self-conscious sadness and confusion. Like she suddenly felt sorry for me. I clicked my tongue and started walking faster. I didn¡¯t want her pity. That was the opposite of what I wanted. Pity is a feeling that special people give to the unfortunate.

    ¡°W..well¡­ Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to upset you.¡± Rubi stopped walking and stared at me, seemingly assuming that I would stop walking just to hear her talk about how bad she felt.

    I lowered my head in exhaustion before turning to face her with my hands in my pockets. ¡°What¡¯s up? I¡¯m not trying to make you feel bad. This is just natural for me. I¡¯m not interested in that kind of stuff. This place is temporary, but even if you guys leave, I¡¯ll still have memories of this trip. Do you think that makes me wrong?¡±

    ¡°No! Not wrong¡­ It¡¯s.. kind of sad? You don¡¯t seem sad about it, but¡­ You don¡¯t enjoy doing anything that isn¡¯t related to us, do you? If you would just¡­¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to say that I haven¡¯t tried hard enough, are you? That¡¯s what it sounded like earlier. I haven¡¯t found it yet? Only somebody who has had their personal utopia for as long as they remember could think that. Do you know why you¡¯ve never had to think about that? It¡¯s because you¡¯re special. You believe in something so strongly that you can live your whole life fighting for that, can¡¯t you? I can¡¯t!¡±

    The two of us stared at each other for a few long seconds. I panted, unsure as to why I had gotten so heated. Rubi turned around and lifted up her glasses. I noticed a tear as her face left my field of vision and suddenly felt like an even worse person. There she goes, trying to keep me from worrying by hiding her emotions. Maybe the fact that her and I were similar in certain ways was what made me stick with her this whole time.

    Staring at the back of her head as I began to regret my words, thinking of what to say, I noticed her holding her head in her hands. I reached a hand out but paused and slowly retracted it. Did I really deserve to offer a hand to her when I¡¯m probably the reason her head hurt? She grunted and fell down onto one knee, causing me to finally open my mouth. ¡°Hey, Rubi, what¡¯s wrong? Did I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I was¡­¡±

    Now I was the one feeling bad for myself, no matter how at fault I may be. This seemed like more than a regular headache, though. Not that I would have doubted that I could make someone hurt so much, but what happened next seemed to deny that assumption.

    ¡°Yu, this¡­ Something is¡­¡± As her pain seemed to take her voice away, I moved a hand to touch her shoulder, only to feel nothing as said hand passed through her body as if she were a hologram. Immediately after, her body began to turn into small particles and vanish into the air like dust being blown away in the wind. I stood in disbelief, mouth agape. I couldn¡¯t even muster tears with the different conflicting emotions flying through my head.

    ¡°Rubi..? Hey¡­ That¡¯s not funny. Are you really going to make me feel like that much of an asshole?! RUBI!!!¡±

    I stared at the empty space which once had her in it for what felt like ages until a firm grip around my arm pulled me out of it. It was Garald, looking concerned for me. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the yelling? Are you good, man? You look awful! Did that stomachache get to you?¡±

    ¡°Rubi is¡­ Shit!! Oh, God¡­ She vanished right in front of me¡­ Like dust¡­ I couldn¡¯t do anything¡­¡±

    Garald showed me a genuine look of worry that I didn¡¯t see from him often. I realized then how pitiful I must have looked to worry such a carefree guy so much. He held my shoulders and steadied his gaze so he could look at me, trying to give me confidence by covering his own concerns.

    ¡°Look, dude. You¡¯re flipping out. What do you mean she vanished? Is your head okay? People don¡¯t just.. do that. But you wouldn¡¯t be this freaked out if you didn¡¯t believe it¡­ I know you¡¯re not a liar, man. It must be¡­¡±

    Barb¡¯s shout cut him off. ¡°Guys! Check this out. Shit¡¯s crazy¡­¡± She grew quieter as she approached us and presented us with her phone screen. She tapped it and a video started playing of some reporters in another country standing beneath a giant black object in the sky. It definitely didn¡¯t resemble any human creations. Especially being so high in the air with no visible support. I was too afraid of the implications to hear what they were saying.

    ¡°Man, what?!¡± Garald burst out his worries. ¡°Is that a frickin¡¯ alien ship? No shot!¡±

    A white noise began to overtake the bustling of the carnival. I shot up to my feet and scrambled away from them, oblivious to their calls for me. I tripped on my way to the entrance and fell on my face, scarf unraveling from my neck and leaving my mouth in the dirt. Before I could get up, the hand in front of me began to vaporize into the air, just like Rubi had. My breathing sped up, but I had already exhausted myself to my limit, closing my eyes and digging my fingers into the ground in anger as I allowed whatever may happen next to happen.

 Chapter 2: Blue Flower

    My senses slowly returned to me, and my vision was the last to come. Likely in part thanks to this completely alien location I found myself in, surrounded by countless people brushing against each other. I stood up, thankful that the crowded bunch had given me room to lay down in. A needlessly rough pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and jerked me awake, as if I wasn¡¯t already.

    I recognized Garald¡¯s voice. ¡°YU! What the hell is this? I¡¯m sorry for doubting you!¡±

    I put my palm to my forehead and rubbed it to help my brain adjust faster. When I finished, I blinked a few times as my eyes slowly got used to the bright interior, some unknown light source illuminating the pitch-black steel walls, floor and ceiling of whatever this room was. Well, the one wall I could see. I assumed the other end of this space had one too, however far away it may be. The blurry face beside Garald would soon be recognizable as Barb. I was glad to see her, but that just made me more concerned that only one of us was absent.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ I wouldn¡¯t believe me either.¡±

    Garald seemed ready to cry behind that stern stare. ¡°That makes it worse! I want us to trust each other..!¡±

    I winced at his unabashedly straightforward remark. ¡°¡­Me too. I think you were right to be cautious, though. It¡¯s not like this kind of science fiction stuff happens often.¡± I turned to look at Barb, who seemed similarly concerned, though a good bit more composed than the other.

    She spoke while tapping her phone, ¡°There¡¯s no service here, but I saw more news outlets talking about the UFO.¡±

    ¡°So it is aliens?!?¡± Garald screamed. Barb sighed, ¡°No. Well, maybe. UFO just means an unidentified flying thing.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Where did the O come from, then?¡±

    Barb raised her brow at him, giving him a look of slight disbelief. Normally I would have enjoyed their comedy routine, but as I scanned the whole crowd, I couldn¡¯t see a single sign of Rubi. She was taken before us. What did that mean? Was she in a different situation?

    ¡°HEY!¡± An unknown woman¡¯s voice rose up among the crowd. ¡°Does anyone here have a single clue where we are?!¡±

    Why would they? I admired and pitied her attempts at communicating with such a large group. To no surprise of mine at all, nobody replied, simply muttering amongst themselves.

    After an awkward silence, a frail voice that sounded like it belonged to an older person rose up, causing me to turn my head in the direction. He had raised his hand to signal he wished to speak. ¡°I was watching the news with my wife before I was brought here. It was a live report on an unidentified flying object, larger than anything I¡¯d ever seen. Do you think it¡¯s related? I think it was a lighter color than this room, but¡­¡±

    As he trailed off, Barb spoke with her phone in one hand. ¡°I saw it on Twitter, too. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a coincidence. They said there was no way something like that could fly, so who¡¯s to say it didn¡¯t have some other unheard-of technology like what brought us here?¡± There was no internet connection, but she seemed to have saved the page she was scrolling for reference.

    Before anyone could draw any conclusions, the wall suddenly opened up to reveal another room, but of greater interest was the mysterious, white figure that exited. It seemed to shuffle its lower body in order to move, so I deduced that it was alive, but everything about it was unnatural. It seemed roughly 9 feet tall with no limbs. It had what looked like a head, with only one eyeball and a sideways open mouth like a puppet. They looked like they were carved by a child rather than being a part of its biology. If such a phrase as ¡°biology¡± even applied to this thing. Of significant note was the way that its body bent like a lightning bolt, with two orifices lined on the inside by tooth-like spikes on the left side of its body, on what would be its head and torso. Upon closer inspection, the spikes coming out of those entrances seemed to move organically like the legs of a centipede. Nothing about this abomination was natural.

    ¡°Hello~o! Everyone! How are you on this fine morning? Or evening, or night. Time of day doesn¡¯t really apply where you are now, anyway! You catch my drift?¡±

    Not a single noise left the crowd. Somehow, what looked like hundreds, maybe thousands of people, were all silent. I saw no mouth movement, or anything that would indicate speech, but it came from the direction of the white thing, and it boomed far louder than a human¡¯s voice could.

    ¡°Um¡­ Hello? Hola? Bonjour? Konnichiwa? Guten Tag? Assalamu Alaikum?¡± It continued, extending one of the spikes in its left orifice to the length of an arm, causing a few people to cower, although it only meant to wave at us. It was mimicking human behavior far too well. Although, if it were truly human, surely it would recognize that now isn¡¯t the time for such joviality, right?

    From the same entrance, a group of people followed behind it, smaller than the crowd I was in but still seeming to be in the hundreds. I immediately noticed Rubi¡¯s small frame near the pale being and I felt a massive weight off of my shoulders. I watched her walk forward until her and the others were standing in a row in front of the figure. All those shapes and sizes up there prompted me to give another look at the bigger crowd I was in. It seemed like every portion of the world was represented in this room. It must not have been only the places near the ship as I would have assumed.

    ¡°Attention!¡± Rubi declared loudly, as intimidatingly as she could with such a high-pitched voice. ¡°You all have¡­¡±

    ¡°You all have been chosen!¡± A man in the line had cut her off, speaking in a deep voice. He was taller than even Garald, with a huge, imposing body. His poor shirt was struggling there. ¡°Chosen to be¡­ Ack!¡±

    Both the bodybuilder and Rubi received playful smacks to the top of the head by the figure¡¯s extended tendrils. They retracted into its body quickly as it coughed to bring attention to itself. Something gave me the impression that ¡°coughing¡± was not a natural bodily function of this thing.

    ¡°These dunces only learned the situation half an hour ago, so I will explain.¡± The creature gestured with its body as if to show it was speaking to us. ¡°Hi. I have no name, and I am from a distant planet, which also has no name. Well, it especially has no name now, considering it got exploded. By a big meteor, or something. I dunno, I was out buying groceries. Anyway, I want to live with you guys.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe the revelations it was dropping on us with such nonchalance. Aliens exist? I mean, I probably could have guessed that, but this is way too much! It felt like it was skipping a few details, but I guess they weren¡¯t exactly relevant to our situation at hand.

    ¡°I can tell you¡¯re all wondering why you¡¯re here. I don¡¯t want to bum at any of your houses in specific. I just wanted to integrate into your society naturally. I¡¯ve made it so that every one of you can hear me in whatever language is most convenient to you. Don¡¯t try to comprehend my powers too hard or your head will explode!¡± It spoke in a cheerful, childish voice. ¡°Our people tend to do this when we¡¯re separated from our home. You know, hop somewhere else. And, uh¡­ Guess who¡¯s permanently separated?! Haha¡­ Ugh¡­¡±

    I glanced over at Rubi to try and see how much of this she already knew. Her expression was kind of awkward, as if she had already anticipated that the thing would ramble on like this.

    ¡°So!¡± The being proceeded. ¡°To my main point. I.. hate you. I¡¯ve absorbed all of you peoples¡¯ culture, language, even that which you carry deep within your soul, and you people are reprehensible.¡± Its tone suddenly seemed to shift to a calm yet disgusted one. I felt a pressure that I had never felt before, as if that thing¡¯s sheer hatred would crush me where I stood. Rubi¡¯s expression seemed to tell me that she had been told this, too. How could she be so calm?

    ¡°As easy as it would be to destroy this planet, this place is nice and inhabitable. It¡¯s just.. you people. I want to make this place more like my ideal world. How my planet would be right now. You wretched little animals are going to start agreeing for the first time! I know it¡¯s difficult, not being at each other''s throats, but I would like you to fight for my amusement! Wait, my amusement isn¡¯t the main reason¡­ Fight to decide the law of Earth! You¡¯re all going to shred each other apart, and the survivor gets to decide what moral code everyone else will agree to live by! With a little bit of pixie dust and my gross bodily fluids, nobody will be able to disagree with you. Not even me! Well, I could disagree, but I don¡¯t care that much. I¡¯m just going to go by whatever the winner declares and then I¡¯ll live here. I¡¯ll mind my own business, so I won¡¯t interfere in your human lives. That is, unless the winner declares that I must interfere. That would be weird, though. Just saying, the winner is like your new God. Any questions?¡±

    We¡¯re supposed to kill each other..? I immediately began to glance around at the people around me, who were mostly doing the same. Suddenly, everybody was suspicious of one another. Well, except for one. Among the row of people that Rubi was in, I saw a man with dark, slicked back hair gazing at the alien with an expression that I couldn¡¯t decipher. It seemed blank, yet also something akin to excitement was hiding in there. His pitch black eyes threatened to swallow my soul if I stared into that abyss for too long. He stood out amidst the frantic emotions. This guy, whoever he was, was happy. I found myself transfixed by him and I wasn¡¯t entirely sure why.

    ¡°Calm down... These guys aren¡¯t gonna jump us with just that knowledge.¡± Barb grabbed my arm and Garald¡¯s and pulled us closer, as if trying to protect us. My eyes met with Rubi¡¯s and I could see in her eyes that she wasn¡¯t worried. If she heard about this before us and isn¡¯t agitated at the moment, it must mean the fighting won''t start here. It¡¯s too cramped, anyway.

    My eyes wandered still. Making sure everyone else felt the same about saving the fighting for later. One man in the crowd seemed to be slowly turning purple in the face the longer I stared at him. Holding his breath from the stress, maybe?

    ¡°Alien! Stop reveling in their fear and continue with the explanation.¡± Rubi smacked the tip of her wooden sword into the ground as she barked at the white figure. Alien, huh? It felt too comedic to accept as fact, but I guessed that is what you¡¯d call it.

    ¡°I have a name, you know¡­ Well, nothing that translates into any human language.¡± It remarked smugly. Didn¡¯t it just say it had no name earlier? How much of what it¡¯s telling us is even true? Without any visible movement from the alien, our surroundings instantly vibrated and were replaced by a new one before I could comprehend it. I felt nauseous from this sudden shift in environment and it looked like I wasn¡¯t alone in that. A few people fell over.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    The area we found ourselves in was a wide, empty, grassy plains, with some scattered trees in the distance. Before us was a massive stone wall, stretching as far as the eye could see. It didn¡¯t look like it circled, so I wondered what the point of it was.

    Atop the wall was a row of people that I couldn¡¯t discern alongside the alien, who spoke to us from a great distance upwards, yet it was transferred directly into our ears as if it were right in front of us. ¡°This is your battlefield. We¡¯re in the back of my ship here and I¡¯ve replicated a composite version of your planet by absorbing its history. Even the sky is fake! Looks pretty real, though. This wall here stretches around the whole planet. Non-combatants will watch from up here where I am. Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll get cameras and can¡¯t be hurt from stray attacks. Oh, but none of you will ever get to watch from here. Hehe¡­ As your captains were trying to say, you all have been chosen by your gifted pals to join them in this war. You will be fighting until you win or die, or until your captain decides to surrender. Although, I¡¯m pretty sure your captains won¡¯t be doing that any time soon.¡±

    I was worried by this especially. Was it blackmailing Rubi or something? Even if it wasn¡¯t, I struggled to imagine her surrendering, but this is a much larger scenario than anything she¡¯s been involved in. It must be blackmail. I want to ask, but what if part of the blackmail prevents her from telling us about it?

    ¡°The onlookers I mentioned will be¡­ Everyone on Earth! Don¡¯t worry, the walls are big enough, and I¡¯ll let everyone bring a bed or something. I¡¯ll even provide them with food and drink. Not you guys, though. You¡¯ll catch it yourself, hunter gatherer style. Sounds fun, right? You kids like survival games? Except the enemies are your fellow man! Haha! I¡¯ll give you warning before the battle, though, so don¡¯t flip out.¡±

    The alien vanished and reappeared in the middle of the group, causing a large amount of the crowd to panic and disperse in fear. The people on the wall alongside the alien had also been warped behind it, revealing that Rubi was indeed among them still.

    ¡°Hey, hey! Stay close, now. I¡¯ll take you all to your starting points when I¡¯m finished. So, about the winner deciding your morality and stuff. The captains of this battle are the people on your planet with the strongest conviction. No bias on my end! I don¡¯t know any of these people. Only people with a certain level of mental conviction reacted to my initial wave. Those are the ones who came first. Then, I allowed each of these people to select up to three teammates. This was the second wave. You get it? So be a good team if you wanna live! Oh, and those waves¡­ Well, they¡¯ve done something special to your bodies. I won¡¯t spoil it yet. Your captains will show you, or maybe they won¡¯t! Have fun!¡±

    A handshape emerged from the blob¡¯s body and waved to us cheerfully as my surroundings once again shifted to that of a serene riverside surrounded more closely by trees with the wall only slightly visible in the distance. I was getting sick and tired of having my brain thrown around like this, closing my eyes and leaning my head back, for once reveling in the wind blowing my hair out of my forehead.

    I lingered on that last thing it said. Maybe that guy with the purple face was experiencing symptoms. If it¡¯s something that noticeable, maybe we should be focused on that aspect.

    I heard Garald and Barb greeting Rubi, but I didn¡¯t look. Even though I felt like I understood the situation well enough, I couldn¡¯t get over my swarming emotions. What kind of arbitrary factor is ¡°conviction?¡± How did the alien even determine that? It¡¯s not like you need conviction to be a good person. Well, the alien probably doesn¡¯t care if the winner is good or not. If having conviction is the deciding factor, then what am I doing here? Did Rubi honestly think that picking me will make me start fighting for something? Hopefully she didn¡¯t. I would like to think she knew me better. This sort of bright-eyed thinking is beyond me. I¡¯m not so conceited as to think I could make any positive change in the world. Well, here¡¯s Rubi with the golden opportunity to change the world right in front of her, just because she felt like doing it. An alien has made her fantasies a reality. How convenient for her.

    ¡°Yu! Are you okay?!¡± Speak of the devil. The short girl shook my body as best she could with those weak wrists. It wasn¡¯t much of a shock, but I opened my eyes to look at her. Her eyes were worried and hopeful simultaneously, sweat drops falling from her face while her lips quivered to hold back a smile. Of course she¡¯s enjoying this. She didn¡¯t even look like our argument earlier had left any impact on her. Not like I wanted her to be upset about it or anything.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m okay¡­ How are you..?¡± My wispy breath left me, and she quickly replied. ¡°I¡¯m good! This situation is scary, but I¡­ I can finally¡­¡±

    ¡°I meant, how are you so accepting of this? I¡­¡± My voice trailed away, being reminded of the end of our carnival trip and not wanting to get angry with her again. Who the hell was I to tell Rubi that her goals are too correct? It¡¯d just be projecting my issues at that point. ¡°Sorry¡­ Today has been.. long¡­ I¡¯m really sorry for raising my voice at the carnival, too¡­ It was wrong of me to put my problems on you.¡±

    As I finished that statement, I saw that she was glaring at me with a firm brow and fiery eyes. I averted my gaze to avoid embarrassment, but Garald and Barb were staring at me just as awkwardly. I was hoping they would speak and take some of this burden off of me, but as anyone would, they left me to my devices.

    Rubi spoke at last, her voice no longer as concerned as it was back on Earth. ¡°I understand, Yu. Don¡¯t get so down. I acknowledge your apology. There¡¯s nothing wrong with showing vulnerability to a friend! Seeing your weakness makes me feel more confident about our friendship, actually. I feel like I understand you better now. I am glad you can share your troubles with me.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t speak as I took in what she had said. That sure was a predictable answer, but in my self-loathing I was unable to foresee it. Only someone like her could get over it so quickly, and after that view me as some sort of victim, like I wasn¡¯t just a sad loser lashing out at a good person. I started wondering if maybe this battle wasn¡¯t as contrived as I initially thought. If somebody like Rubi won, maybe I would be able to believe in something as strongly as her.

    Garald snapped me out of it unintentionally by yelling out, ¡°What did he mean about our bodies?! What¡¯s gonna happen to us?¡±

    That reminded me of my earlier thought process, before it got swallowed by the others in my head. ¡°Oh, yeah! Uh, I saw a purple guy¡­¡± I stuttered a bit before taking a deep breath and continuing with a much calmer tone. ¡°His face was slowly changing color. I thought his breathing was impaired, but thinking back on it with our current information, it looked like he was mutating¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain what I can.¡± Rubi announced as she took a seat on a tree trunk that had been knocked over beside the river. The rest of us followed her example.

    ¡°So, I watched the other captains, and it seems that most if not all of them have developed special abilities. They were secretive of the specifics after we were told that we would be fighting each other, but I witnessed a couple of them at work before you all showed up on the ship. Just to give you an example, one of them could reinforce their body by transforming into steel, or so it seemed. Another could freeze people by looking at them.¡±

    My mouth was agape. ¡°L-Like some kind of comic book..? Is this a joke?¡±

    Rubi returned my disbelief with an unwavering gaze. ¡°I¡¯m serious. From what I can gather, the powers relate to our convictions, like the alien mentioned briefly. Whatever it did to resonate with our brains that way, it also must have brought out our inner selves into these powers. Like the alien said, there was no bias on its part. The waves that it sent from its body naturally react to who we are and turn that into some sort of supernatural ability.¡±

    I still couldn¡¯t take this completely seriously. How can it tell all of that about us as people? Does that mean morality is some sort of physical thing, like our cells are? Or is that alien¡¯s physiology somehow linked to its spiritual existence?

    Garald looked stumped from the way he crossed his arms and tilted his head. ¡°Okay¡­ I won¡¯t think too hard about it. It¡¯s just like a video game, or something. But how do we know what our powers are? And does everybody get one or only you captain guys?¡±

    ¡°That I do not know.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Some of them reacted immediately, as if it was a natural part of them. I still don¡¯t know what mine is¡­¡±

    I was more shocked by that than I probably should have been. I assumed that having strong morals would make your power awaken earlier, based on the contrived conditions in which they are born. Maybe that is still true, though, and hers is such a powerful ability that she simply can¡¯t use it yet.

    Rubi stood up and slid her wooden blade into a mini rope sheath tied to her skirt, keeping it on her in case she needed it. ¡°I presume that if you look into your own heart, you¡¯ll find your ability. That¡¯s what they¡¯re created from, after all.¡±

    Now, how am I supposed to do that? Ugh. I¡¯m totally not fit for this sort of stuff. I looked at the others, still sitting, to see that they had both closed their eyes. Their faces were tight with concentration. Rubi seemed pleased by how quickly they had taken to it. I didn¡¯t even bother. I couldn¡¯t begin to comprehend how to ¡°look at my heart.¡±

    Under his breath, Garald said, ¡°I wanna turn into steel¡­ I wanna be an iron man¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works. Besides, you just heard her say someone else got that power. That did made me wonder if two people could have identical powers, though.

    Opening an eye to look at me, I saw Barb with concern on her face. ¡°You don¡¯t think you can do it?¡±

    ¡°Um, no, I¡­ I¡¯m just procrastinating. I¡¯ll do it later.¡±

    She was clearly not pleased by that answer. ¡°Come on, kid, don¡¯t lie like that. I know you¡¯re not one to take kindly to this spiritual junk. I mean, I¡¯m usually not, but I do a little introspection from time to time. My mom used to meditate a lot, and for all the dumb shit she did, I thought that one was worth picking up.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Meditation? You? Wow. Didn¡¯t take you for the astrology type.¡±

    ¡°Shut it!¡± She barked. This caused Garald to jump, who then crossed his arms tighter in annoyance. I chuckled under my breath, which seemed to cause her to ease up.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid, by the way.¡± I relaxed my arms at my sides and leaned back as far as I could without falling into the river. ¡°You¡¯re only a year older than me.¡±

    Barb smirked and replied, ¡°Stop acting like such a moody kid, then. You¡¯re not too old for this yet. You can stand to open your heart a little before you graduate and sell it to capitalism, ya know?¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ You seem confident we¡¯re getting out of this alive.¡± I dug my fingers into the wood.

    ¡°Of course, we will. If these powers are based on the soul, do you know any more soulful bunch than us? If you did, I¡¯d call you a liar.¡± She remarked as if it were fact. When she said it like that, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a weight loosen off my shoulders. ¡°Besides,¡± Barb continued, ¡°It¡¯s just my philosophy to treat every situation like I¡¯m gonna get out of it alive, ¡®cuz if I¡¯m gonna die anyway then it was probably out of my control to begin with. Don¡¯t lose your shit over things you can¡¯t change. If it¡¯s meant to work out, it will.¡±

    Hearing those words from her, it was hard to dismiss them. I didn¡¯t know Barb as the type to think that wistfully if it wasn¡¯t true. She can be even more blunt and depressing than me when the situation is dire enough. I let out a breath of relief and loosened my grip on the trunk. This, I quickly realized, caused me to fall straight back towards the open maw of the river. However, before I could move my body, I saw that Garald had sprung up and caught me, but he had moved too suddenly to stop, and both of us fell into the water with a loud splash.

    I swallowed a ton of water as my chest hit the bottom, but I shot my head out and was able to cough most of it out. Garald pushed my stomach in roughly to help out, but I only choked more, trying to hold my laughter in until after I was out of choking range. Garald seemed fine, aside from his ruined hair and clothes. I tried not to lock eyes with him out of embarrassment at my stupidity. Barb and Rubi had gathered by the riverbed, Barb extending a hand out to Garald. When he gripped her, however, he yelped and pulled his hand away.

    ¡°Ow!! You zapped me!¡± He yelled. ¡°I thought that only happened with metal¡­ Wait, did I really become a metal guy?!¡± Barb looked at her fingertips in surprise. She didn¡¯t even entertain the idea that he was a ¡°metal guy.¡±

    ¡°Electricity¡­ Hey, let me try it on you again.¡±

    Garald jumped backwards and extended his arms to keep her at a distance. ¡°Hey, no way! That hurt!¡±

    Rubi cut in by snapping a twig off of the log, dipping it in water and pointing it at her. ¡°Here!¡± She tossed it high into the air, to which Barb stepped forward to grab it, causing an electric shock to fry it and vaporize the small leaves on it. She immediately dropped the stick, as it was now charred and smoking.

    The shorter girl nodded her head and grinned. ¡°Yep! That¡¯s it! Electricity. Makes sense, doesn¡¯t it? You don¡¯t let people get too close to you, but you¡¯re super strong underneath that thorny veneer!¡± She turned to stare at Barb intently, who reacted by blushing a bit. ¡°Well, I mean¡­ I¡¯m not as cool as that¡­ It¡¯d be presumptuous to say it fits me¡­¡±

    I glanced around us to check for enemies and also to give myself something to do that didn¡¯t involve watching them. Garald reacted so quickly even with closed eyes that I considered it may have had something to do with his power, too. I brushed off the thought as mere conjecture based on emotion. I was jealous that mine had yet to awaken, even though I wasn¡¯t particularly trying.

    When I heard Rubi¡¯s voice, I turned to see that she had set up a tent, or maybe it was already there and I had been too distracted. ¡°Everyone! This was waiting here, along with some basic tools for gathering and preparing food. We¡¯ll need to get our own tools soon enough, though. These don¡¯t cover everything.¡±

    She dropped a wooden crate in front of her so that we could see into it. Aside from the tent that she had already taken out, I saw some hard wire, string, a small knife and a bundle of wood and sticks. Talk about the bare necessities¡­

    ¡°Ooh!¡± Garald eagerly stuck his hand into it to dig around. ¡°We could make a fishing rod with this, I think. My old man taught me lots of fishing tricks, including survival in the wilderness.¡±

    Rubi clasped her hands together excitedly. ¡°Awesome! That¡¯s your job, then. I want us to find a way to chop wood ourselves, but for now, we¡¯ll set up a campfire with this. Hopefully one of our powers proves itself capable of gathering materials. We can discuss that after we get this fire started. It''s cold out here. Especially for you two, I imagine.¡±

    My eyebrow raised at her in annoyance. I wasn¡¯t quite ready to joke about that yet, I was ready for a fun outing so I wore my nice clothes. Well, as nice as I owned, anyway. Garald had already stripped to his boxers and started arranging the wood to be burned. He left his clothes at a safe distance from it to dry them quicker.

    Once more, I let out a sigh as I started doing the same.

 Chapter 3: The World is Yours

    Rubi listened to the alien¡¯s explanation intently. She was quick to catch on and accept the situation. In fact, so were most of the others, from what she could tell. If what it said about gathering the people on Earth with the strongest conviction was true, then these subdued reactions supported it, as though they were ready for this day to come.

    ¡°So, any questions?¡± Before the alien could fully finish that sentence, a loud stomping sound came from behind Rubi, causing her to turn around and see a gargantuan man of Asian descent pushing the crowd aside without a single look towards them. He was almost as tall as the alien, maybe taller. Once he was within range, he dug his foot into the unknown metal making up the ground with great force and reeled back his arm. Whatever the floor was made of, it looked hard, but his foot had managed to crack it a good deal. His fist turned gray, and his arm expanded in size as it swung forward with a gust of wind behind it. Suddenly, his fist froze. A much shorter man stepped in front of him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Without taking his eyes off of the brute, he walked closer, as though he was confident he wouldn¡¯t be attacked. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare take this opportunity from me,¡± growled the smaller one. ¡°Your body is beautiful, but if I must sacrifice it, I won¡¯t hesitate.¡±

    They both stared at each other angrily until the alien pushed them deeper into the crowd with two extended tendrils. ¡°No violence yet, you two. Although, it''s lucky you stopped him. I would have turned his arm into paste if it came any closer.¡±

    This caused the big guy¡¯s face to contort into a horrible, angry smile, trying to hold himself back from either laughing or exploding at that remark. Seeing that the situation was under control, the little guy turned away, hair returning to its natural position.

    ¡°If I win this thing, can I crush you into a bloody pulp?!¡± The large man cracked his knuckles, seeming to be no longer restricted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t bleed, and you couldn¡¯t touch me anyway, but sure, if that¡¯s part of your wish!¡± The alien cheerfully answered.

    Rubi felt tiny among these monsters, but she stood firm regardless. This was her chance to do what she had wanted to do for as long as she could remember.

    ¡°So, that¡¯s what happened.¡± Rubi crossed her arms as I watched on in confusion. I didn¡¯t quite get the point of the story, but it did help me imagine the kinds of people I may be fighting soon. I didn¡¯t really want to think about running into any of those freaks, though¡­

    Garald nodded his head repeatedly. ¡°Mhm¡­ So the tall guy with the dark hair is the strongest?¡±

    ¡°The little guy stopped him without touching him, so I dunno.¡± Barb chimed in, adding a few more sticks to the soon-to-be bonfire that we were sitting around.

    What, are you guys comparing your dads or something? I wrung my clothes dry away from the sticks, folding them and laying them down to my side. I tried to get a view of the people atop the walls but it wasn¡¯t much use. All I could see was a few huge buildings. They really did transfer all of civilization onto this ship, didn¡¯t they?

    I wondered if now would be a good time to ask Rubi why she hasn¡¯t mentioned surrendering yet, but I couldn¡¯t rid myself of the anxiety that she may be in a situation which I would worsen by asking. The way the alien said it, that the captains wouldn¡¯t be surrendering any time soon, must have been a warning to the more perceptive among the audience that asking about it would be dangerous for the captains. It can¡¯t know them well enough to ascertain their motivations just like that, so it has to be a message.

    ¡°So, why aren¡¯t we surrendering?¡±

    My heart stopped, out of both fear and disbelief at how inconsiderate Garald was being of the situation at hand.

    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Rubi looked up from her wooden sword to reply to him. ¡°Well, see¡­ All of the other captains agree on this, we believe that it would be irresponsible for us to give up this opportunity to better the world. I don¡¯t agree with Alien¡¯s motivations, but if I may impact the world then I have a duty to. If everyone just believed in love and justice, then I think we would be a lot happier. Not only would crime fall, but the reasons people have to commit crime would cease to exist. No more greedy practices which force people out of their homes, into the streets and then into jail cells¡­ No more manipulating desperate people into situations they can¡¯t get out of¡­ None of it will exist.¡±

    She paused, eyelids lowering a bit, raising her hand up to stare at it before gripping her fist solemnly. That look in her eyes was threatening.

    ¡°Although, some of the captains seem to believe in a false justice, and there lies another reason I cannot quit. Deciding not to improve the world is one thing, but by allowing one of them to win, I would be actively allowing the world to become worse! It¡¯s too heavy a burden. I cannot just ignore it. You all understand, right?¡±

    I was speechless. I didn¡¯t initiate the conversation but I still felt like I should have been able to say something. Was I dumb enough to assume she was a person who would only do this if forced? I should have known there was no chance Rubi would ever quit.

    Barb smiled and put her hand on top of Rubi¡¯s clenched fist. ¡°I hear you, sister. I¡¯ve always felt a similar way about unfair systems but I¡¯ve never had the guts to act on it. If I didn¡¯t support you to the end in this, it would be like admitting my feelings were never strong enough in the first place. At least now I can support someone who does have the guts. You better not make me look like an idiot for believing in you.¡±

    Despite my reservations, I enjoyed seeing them share this moment. It was as though we were still back home. Barb was fine with the fact that she wasn¡¯t special like Rubi. I wished I didn¡¯t let it get to me sometimes. At least Barb has those strong feelings in the first place. I agree that the word would be better if such things didn¡¯t exist, but I would never feel so strongly about something so far out of my reach.

    Garald abruptly pulled the two of them in for a hug. ¡°You two are so sweet! I¡¯m sorry for suggesting it. I¡¯ll be the pillar that holds us all together! You too, Yu. C¡¯mon, get in here!¡±

    My eyes widened in surprise. I had almost forgotten that I had a say in this. Being spoken to directly, I avoided direct eye contact as I scoured my brain for answers. Arguing with them now would be ignoring what they wanted, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself from considering how selfish Rubi was being with us. Although, on second thought, I seem to be the only one with reservations. All of my instincts were telling me that this was the stupidest idea ever, but when I saw them all in agreement over this, I was only left with the conclusion that I was too weak to do what was good for the world. In the past, I considered Rubi an idiot for dragging me into fights she couldn¡¯t win, but I had to consider how different the stakes were here. Everybody would like to be the one to change the world, but she was among the select few who could do it now. Taking into account how I viewed her as some sort of elitist in the past, it¡¯s funny that a cosmic entity has come along and proven me wrong by choosing her as a captain.

    I lowered my head and allowed myself to be absorbed into his massive arms. Maybe I wasn¡¯t strong enough to do something for the sake of mankind, but I¡¯m just weak enough to commit myself to something entirely for the sake of some people I like. This was my friends¡¯ resolve and so it was mine, too. I would make sure to help them in whatever way I could if it meant seeing them happy. A world without sadness may not be possible, but I¡¯d like to see them try. I¡¯d use whatever power I had to push them along that path.

    Power. Me. Laughable, like I¡¯d have any. Superhuman or not. People like me don¡¯t just get power. Power goes to people who want it enough, I¡¯ve learned. I¡¯ll just offer my 1 to their 99. It¡¯s better than nothing. Worst case scenario, I can be a pretty good sacrifice.

    I know they wouldn¡¯t like to hear me say that, just as I would hate to hear them say the same, but if there¡¯s one thing I can say positively about myself, it¡¯s that I don¡¯t make friends with just anyone. They¡¯re all special. I¡¯m not so altruistic that I would feel bad for random people. They¡¯re the kinds of people who would. Even for someone as selfish as me.

    I would be upset if certain people left my life. Not because of what¡¯s best for them, but because it would negatively affect me. Truly the lowest of the low, huh? Well, I can¡¯t change that, or I would have by now. So I¡¯ll do whatever is needed of me. They deserve to be happy and see their goal to its end.

    Whatever that end may be, if Rubi succeeds or fails, I¡¯ll be glad I was able to see it through with them.

    Before I could open my mouth to ask Rubi a bit more about the previous topic, I felt a ringing in my head, shortly followed by an annoying voice.

    ¡°Okay, ladies, gentlemen and everyone in-between¡­ The moment you¡¯ve all been waiting for! Let the killing commence!¡±

    Everyone in our group reacted at the same time. I figured we had all gotten this sent into our brains. Rubi gripped her wooden sword and looked around vigilantly. Barb moved to her back and faced away from her, twirling the knife we had gotten from the box in her hand. She looked like she was used to handling one of those. ¡°I¡¯ll watch your back. You keep your eyes up there.¡±

    Garald looked confused but eventually took up a stance to the left of them with arms outstretched. His face told me he had noticed something approaching but took a bit longer to fully process it. Before he could formulate a sentence, he smacked Rubi¡¯s back and pointed aggressively in front of him. I gazed around with a dumbfounded expression and, before I could figure out where to put myself, a man to the left of us sprung from the bushes. I could tell he was unarmed, but Garald still shot forward and wrapped his arms around the other man¡¯s, just in case he had a weapon. Smart of Garald to plan his retaliation around the fact that his reaction speed isn¡¯t very fast.

    The look on the man¡¯s face was one of fear. He was physically imposing, maybe larger than Garald, but he seemed to have exhausted himself running here. Garald easily overpowered him, grunting and pushing him forward in the lock until he fell onto one knee. Barb and Rubi watched but made no immediate action as he didn¡¯t seem to be a considerable threat anymore.

    ¡°Ugh! Shit, shit!¡± The stranger whimpered as he looked around at our camp and tried to pull himself away from Garald¡¯s hold. It did not work. ¡°Rubi, what do we do with him? Wanna tie him up while I hold him?¡±

    ¡°Unnecessary.¡± The short girl approached the invader and smacked him on the head with her wooden blade, causing him to wince and grunt loudly. ¡°Ow! What¡¯s your¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already beaten, that was just a reminder. Go back to your team and tell them to leave us alone!¡± Rubi¡¯s words were met with a sinking look of despair from him. He started to pull his arms even more frantically. ¡°Hell no, man! I¡¯m not going back! Let me go, I¡¯ll leave!¡±

    Garald looked at her with even more concern now, like he was about to release him but was waiting for confirmation. Rubi sighed and nodded. When Garald¡¯s arms released, he was immediately shoved back as the man ran away in the opposite direction from which he came.

    My heartbeat slowed down a bit. That was more tense than it needed to be. If that hadn¡¯t gone so smoothly, I would have been completely unprepared. ¡°That guy was¡­ Shit, I guess the seriousness of our situation hasn¡¯t really set in yet¡­¡± I clenched my stomach with one arm and nervously smiled.

    Barb gave me a pat on the shoulder with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding a weapon. She had a welcoming expression. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t get into fights a lot, do you? It¡¯s only natural. We¡¯ll help you all the way.¡±

    I smiled at her, feeling a tinge of regret. I¡¯m going to be even more useless here than I anticipated. Barb and Garald fight all the time at school and Rubi is as unwavering as expected.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Garald crossed his arms as he scanned the area while he spoke. ¡°That was super weird, though. Right? Was that guy waiting to bum-rush us? Maybe he was in a panic from the situation. I don¡¯t blame him¡­¡±

    Rubi glanced around as well before stopping to close her eyes. ¡°Hmm¡­ He was afraid of something, for sure. He did not come at us prepared. Maybe he thought his muscles would carry him through things and was surprised.¡±

    ¡°So, uh¡­¡± I raised my voice. ¡°What are we going to do about that? I mean, people attacking us out of nowhere. Is that going to happen a lot? We should have some hidden shelter¡­ Where can we find that?¡±

    Rubi shook her head. ¡°Those walls looked inconceivably massive. I believe we have been separated by enough land to where this won¡¯t happen too often. We must not let our guard down, but sleeping should be fine if we alternate guard duty.¡±

    ¡°I.. still want somewhere safer. For myself. I want to get ready to help you guys¡­¡±

    The short girl looked back at me with a look of genuine confusion and innocence. ¡°Huh? You aren¡¯t ready right now? You look like how you did when you saved me from those muggers in grade school.¡±

    My reaction to that was one of bewilderment. To think that she thought of me as someone so reliable¡­

    ¡°Like¡­ Wait, you admit that I saved you then? You berated me for stopping you then¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a child anymore. I can handle now what I could not then. I thank you for looking out for me. Now, we¡¯re going to look after each other.¡±

    She seriously thought of me like that. How could she possibly lack the self-awareness to realize how far below her I am? I was a little flattered, at least. ¡°Thank you, Rubi¡­¡±

    She responded with a wide smile before turning away with a flick of her hair to face the others. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to teach you guys a few techniques, though. Is there anywhere one of you would like me to begin? Garald, I noticed how you moved to disarm that attacker. Very good! I think we could polish that move up, add some more finesse rather than brute strength. You prefer to fight with your fists, I¡¯ve observed, so you never want to be at a disadvantage against an armed enemy.¡±

    Garald looked at his arm with a conflicted face. ¡°I thought it was pretty effective, but you¡¯re the smart one here, so sure.¡±

    ¡°And Barb, we need to get your ability working as quickly as possible. I believe you¡¯re going to be our strongest asset for the start of this. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not the most fit to train you in that regard¡­ However, I¡¯ll teach you what I know about the properties of electricity!¡±

    Barb nodded and pumped her fist. ¡°You got it, boss. It¡¯s my power so I¡¯ll try to, er.. feel it out or something. I won¡¯t let you carry me all the way.¡±

    When Rubi turned to me, I flinched as I expected to feel self-conscious about whatever she was going to tell me I sucked at. ¡°Yu, I want to teach you basic self-defense techniques. We¡¯re going to find your unique strengths.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t as bad as I expected. I nodded and looked away, hand on my hip. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t waste too much time on me. The others are way better than me in a fight.¡±

    I struggled to find a time to ask her more about her motivation, as I had wanted prior. It seemed inappropriate to bring it up now. I got the gist of it, anyway. I just wanted to try and gauge how invested she was in this, if it really was a necessity for her. Now that I¡¯m thinking about it more, trying to make her stop would be pointless, anyway.

    ¡°Barb and Garald, follow me. You two will be quick. Do you know how to fish, Yu?¡±

    I stared ahead with a dumb look on my face. ¡°¡­Yeah, I do.¡± I lied. Rubi replied with a smile and turned away. Garald gave me a look of concern as though he already knew I wasn¡¯t very good. I remembered when Garald tried to teach me and it didn¡¯t go so well¡­ Thanks, buddy¡­

    I moved to put my dried clothes back on and pick up the rod that Garald had been working on. As I lifted it up, I couldn¡¯t even tell if it was ready to be used or not. It looked enough like the fishing rod I used back on Earth, but it was made with far less materials and craftsmanship so to what extent it was complete was up in the air. I decided to give it a go, reeling it back and tossing it forward, sending the hook into the water. This wasn¡¯t so hard. It didn¡¯t have the spinny thing on the side that I would use to pull the string back to me, so I figured that part would be manual.

    I sat in patience for several minutes. Nothing was biting. Suddenly, a realization struck me at the same time as a great annoyance.

    You¡¯re supposed to put something on the hook¡­ Ugh.

    By the time I heard the three returning, I had caught no fish. Even after I went and grabbed a bunch of worms off the ground¡­ The sun was reaching its lowest visible point in the sky, casting a sunset more beautiful than I had seen in a while. Maybe something about being in nature makes it look nicer. Garald appeared first in a light jog. He took the rod from me as well as a worm from the pile beside me on the knocked over tree. Before I knew it, he had pulled a fat, green fish out of the water and dropped it on me before dashing off to meet with the others again. The way it flopped around startled me, but I held it tight.

    Garald came in alongside Rubi and Barb, pretending to be amazed by the fish I was holding. ¡°Woah! You got a big one! Great job, bud.¡±

    I appreciated the effort he was making, but this was quite belittling in my eyes. I sighed and let my eyelids droop. ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±

    Garald took the fish from my hands and held it up to Barb and Rubi. ¡°I know how to roast it, but... Barb, you¡¯re good with a knife, so¡­¡±

    Rubi held her hands out as she awaited the fish to be relayed. ¡°I learned how to prepare fish in a survival setting in a class once. I should be able to cook it. Your help is appreciated, though! May I have the knife, Barb?¡±

    Barb nodded and handed it to her casually, though Rubi grabbed it with great caution, as though she expected it to explode at any minute. I chuckled. Barb put her hands on her hips once they were empty and walked past me towards the orange river I was just fishing from.

    ¡°You done?¡± She glanced up at me. I nodded and she kneeled down to extend her index finger toward the water. A sudden jolt made her recoil. ¡°Hm¡­ So, I guess it¡¯s constantly coming out of me, but in too low an amount to do anything unless it comes in contact with something conductible.¡±

    I watched her silently, thinking of something I could add that would be helpful. Not much, it turned out. ¡°So, if you want to use it in combat, you need to carry.. water? Or some kind of conductible weapon¡­¡±

    ¡°That last part would be helpful, but unlikely. The knife we got has a rubber handle so I couldn¡¯t send my electricity through it to the blade. Maybe we could modify it¡­ That would take a while.¡± She scratched her chin in deep thought. I pondered for a bit, scraping through my memories of science class for anything that may help. ¡°We could dig in the sand under this water for gold or something, right?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Nope. Even if we can find some, to get enough to make anything out of would be impossible.¡±

    I let out an exhausted sigh and let my head fall over into my hands. Knowing that we could be attacked at any moment made me even more stressed about the lack of progress. ¡°So, uh, did your training go well?¡±

    Her eyes were still on the water for a bit before she looked up and stared at me as if she was too deep in thought to hear me. ¡°Oh! Yeah, it did. Pretty good. Garald is good for now, but Rubi wants to practice with me alone to figure out how my ability works and ways we can use it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I know it¡¯s a lot of pressure on you, being the first one to awaken to an ability, but¡­¡±

    She grinned and stood up, dusting off her clothes. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, this is hardly the most pressure I¡¯ve had put on me. I¡¯ll shock you guys in no time!¡±

    ¡°Haha, hopefully not literally¡­¡± I smiled at her and turned back to face the water as she walked away in search of some inspiration, I assumed. I was the same way right about now. I stared into the serene river as if I was waiting for it to tell me what to do. I almost couldn¡¯t believe it managed to flow so calmly in such a situation. I wished to mimic it. If only I didn¡¯t have to care about all of this.

    My meditation of sorts was broken by Garald rushing behind me, grabbing my shoulder. ¡°Bro, I heard some people outside the camp. I think a team is surrounding us.¡± He whispered. My eyes expanded and I gulped as he started to run silently back to the center with the girls, motioning me to come. I was hoping there wouldn¡¯t be any more attackers this soon, but with how large this event was, obviously there would be. I noticed that they had tucked our food in the tent to prevent it from getting dust knocked towards it during a fight.

    They had taken on the same position as before, and having had time to think about it prior, I slipped in between Rubi and Garald. I figured they would need help more than Barb, if I could even muster enough strength to help them in the first place.

    ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, they¡¯ll notice that their surprise attack failed and flee¡­ They can definitely see us.¡± Rubi whispered and gripped her sword tighter. ¡°If my assumption is right and everyone got the same starting equipment, one of them will be holding a small knife. Garald or I will disarm them, depending on which direction the knife wielder comes from. Remember Filipino martial arts, Garald. I just taught the basics to you.¡±

    Garald nodded to her, paying extra attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, a woman with a knife jumped out from behind a tree directly at Garald. Rubi was right. The woman wasn¡¯t nearly as big as him, so I surmised that she must be confident in her skills to take him head on. As soon as I noticed this, I gave Garald two pats on the back to signal that I wanted us to take her on together. Garald didn¡¯t turn to look at me, but the way he dashed to her right made it apparent that he understood my signal. I ran towards her mostly as a bluff to make sure she couldn¡¯t focus entirely on Garald. I heard two more jump out behind us, an unarmed man and an unarmed woman charging at Barb and Rubi.

    Garald was clearly the more threatening among the two of us, so the armed woman focused on him, jabbing at him twice and grazing his arm, which he had maneuvered around hers in a lock that straightened out her arm. She struggled and moved her leg back as if to kick him, but he moved his leg closest to her behind it, tripping her onto her back and using the back of his forearm to push against the flat side of her knife, knocking it onto the ground, although cutting his arm a bit in the process as the edge pushed into his skin. It was barely enough to cause bleeding, thankfully. I quickly picked up the knife and turned to see how the others were doing, and I saw Rubi desperately turning back to yell to us, ¡°There¡¯s another member hiding!¡±

    I gasped at this revelation in almost the same instant I heard a footstep behind me, not quite from Garald¡¯s direction but moving towards it. I spun around to confront a fourth member who had thrust a knife towards Garald, which forced him to fall onto his back to avoid it, keeping the woman locked down no matter what. Why not let her go and prepare to fight? Maybe he would rather keep it one on one than one on two. But from this position he¡¯ll be stabbed for sure! Unless.. he expected me to save him? From a guy with a knife? An older and bigger guy, too. Did he really have faith in me to get him out of this situation? No way he¡¯s that stupid!

    There was no time to think, he was going for a second attack on the defenseless Garald. To clear my mind of doubts and anxiety, I yelled as loud as I could and tackled the man with my shoulder, knocking him onto the ground along with myself. I looked up to see that he was still holding the knife, but he had been taken well off guard. My shoulder had been hurt a lot by that move, though. I had almost no time to think or prepare for it, and the force required to knock him over with my weak body was more than I was ready to take. As the man pushed himself up, I heard a loud snap and a woman yelling coming from Garald¡¯s direction, followed by him sprinting toward us, throwing his foot towards our attacker¡¯s face as though he were kicking a football. This sent his head flying back into the earth with a thud that would almost certainly rattle his brain. I looked towards the woman and saw that she was holding her arm in pain. I was a little surprised that Garald had it in him.

    I noticed Rubi swinging her sword at a much taller woman, gradually doing some visible damage as shown by the assailant¡¯s expression, but almost all to her arms, as she was blocking most attacks. Rubi¡¯s height meant she could only aim so high. I ran to help, assuming that Barb was doing alright, and if not then Garald would help. However, just then, I witnessed Rubi flying above the girl¡¯s head in one leap, swinging her wooden blade down on her head with a loud noise, sending her face forward into the dirt.

    Barb took this chance to thrust her arms forward and push her opponent over, forcing him to trip over his downed teammate and hit his back against the ground. Barb looked at her palms with disappointment. I gathered that she intended to give him a shock but wasn¡¯t able to control it well enough. Rubi pushed her foot down on the man¡¯s chest and pushed the tip of her sword against his throat.

    ¡°Leave us, now! Do not bother us again.¡± She spoke with a booming voice, surprising all of us a little. I surmised this was to instill fear and encourage them to agree, but it could have just been proverbial chest pounding.

    ¡°Tch¡­ Are you really going to let us go?¡± He spoke both skeptically and in disbelief. Rubi nodded without a word. The man scoffed and tried to push her sword away, to which she pressed it harder against his throat, forcing a gag. He coughed and smacked her sword a few times to show that he was giving up.

    ¡°Okay, okay!¡± He looked over at the man with the knife that Garald and I had taken down, presumably their captain. Said captain rubbed the back of his head and slowly stood up, clearly still dazed. ¡°We will leave¡­ We won¡¯t bother you again, assuming you don¡¯t think we¡¯re lying.¡±

    The four of them went on their way, the captain helping the woman with the broken arm by allowing her to lean on him. I turned to my allies to see how they felt about it. Rubi was still watching them with a stern gaze to make sure they truly did leave.

    I let out a loud sigh as if I had been holding my breath, dropping down to my knees before setting into a sitting position on the ground. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡±

    Garald showed me a look of concern, but I waved him off. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Just exhausted¡­ You got cut, though. Are you fine?¡±

    The big oaf looked down at his arms as if he forgot that it even happened. ¡°Oh, right. It just grazed me a few times. I¡¯m good!¡±

    I felt worse about the fact that I wasn¡¯t able to stop him from getting hurt. I probably shouldn''t say that, though. Rubi tucked her sword back into her makeshift sheath and rubbed her hands together to ease any tension. ¡°You did great, Garald! You actually are a quick learner in some aspects!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be offended if I wasn¡¯t so proud of myself right now!¡± Garald casually remarked while pumping his fist in the air excitedly.

    I rolled up my sleeve and took a stroll over to the river, gathering as much cold water as I could in one hand so that I could splash it on my bruised shoulder. Some got on my shirt. Not a lot, though. Tired of this shirt getting wet. The moon had now become visible in the reflection, though it wasn¡¯t incredibly dark yet. After doing that a few times I went back to see what the others were doing. Notably with the food. The constant anxiety was doing a great job of making me forget, but I was really hungry.

    ¡°I know exactly what you¡¯re walking this way for!¡± Rubi¡¯s face gleamed. ¡°The fish has been cooked to the best of our ability. Garald is a great help.¡±

    I sat down, all but prepared to eat, when she stood up and walked around me to grab my upper arm tight with both hands. ¡°Ow!¡±

    ¡°I knew it. Here, get it closer to the campfire. Heating it will speed up the flow of blood and accelerate recovery.¡± She pulled me to my feet and walked me back around the fallen tree to sit me down beside said fire. I gulped, unsure about putting my arm so close to it. ¡°I-I can manage¡­¡±

    ¡°What if we are attacked again? You will be a hindrance! We need your top performance!¡±

    Blunt as ever¡­ I took my shirt off once again just out of fear that the fabric might catch fire. Unlikely, but I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling. I moved my shoulder closer to the flames, arms shaking as they held me just narrowly above the red-hot death pit. The heat intensified, causing me to wince. It stung.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to hurt, but this will make it heal faster. The overall pain is lower.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about overall pain, I care about right now pain..!¡± I whined but didn¡¯t object to it. I knew this was probably better than splashing some water on it. My heavy breathing and sweating must have weakened the flame, because it was getting much smaller. Rubi tapped my arm and signaled me to get back. She broke off a few twigs from the tree and tossed them into the fire, which immediately exploded into an inferno. I jumped back with a high-pitched yell, then looked around to make sure nobody heard that. Barb and Garald¡¯s attention was pulled towards us in concern. Rubi didn¡¯t seem as worried as us. In fact, her eyes were wide open and sparkling as she watched the fire shoot upwards, spreading its cinders through the air until it was gone with the wind just as quickly as it was born.

    ¡°This is.. my power.¡±

    My head slowly turned to her. ¡°W-What? That was? How do you know?¡± I asked her, but there was no way that was normal. She didn¡¯t even turn to look at me, staring at the empty space in front of her as if she could still see it, something invisible to the rest of us that burned brighter than the sun.

    ¡°I know it. This is my passion. This is my strength. This is my purpose.¡±

    I gulped at the seriousness of her words. A familiar expression from back at the park graced her face, one that I knew too well, but this time it carried a different aura to it. It was an expression of raw emotion, an emotion that almost scared me with the child-like pureness of it¡­

    Excitement.

 Chapter 4: Were in this Together

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I am an alien.¡±

    ¡°Be serious.¡±

    ¡°Do I look un-serious to you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Haha! I like you, human.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you human?¡±

    ¡°Not proudly.¡±

    ¡°Really? Weird. You¡¯re an exceptional human, if that makes you feel better.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t particularly. Do you like humans or am I an exception?¡±

    ¡°Well, judging from your reaction, it wouldn¡¯t upset you to say I hate humans.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t. That makes me very interested in you, actually. Your abilities are far above humanity¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Are you jealous? Does your human body hinder you?¡±

    ¡°Somewhat. I¡¯m more limited by my human brain, though.¡±

    ¡°Wow! You¡¯re smart. What¡¯s not to like about your smart little brain?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll stop. If you want to fix humans, why not try to win my little competition? Then wish to make them as strong as me!¡±

    ¡°I know you can¡¯t do that. I don¡¯t want to do that, anyway. A fundamentally flawed species with power is no less flawed. Although, if I could make them stop pretending to be flawless, that would be interesting. Maybe I would get to see the true nature of somebody for once.¡±

    ¡°Yeesh, tough crowd. So, you believe in that stuff, huh?¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t believe in anything.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a first. You¡¯re not the cheeriest fellow to be around. Regardless, I think you could make use of a special alien¡¯s wish-granting powers, right?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. We¡¯ll see what happens after I have waged my war.¡±

    ¡°War? Against who? Or what? Now you¡¯ve got me all curious, human!¡±

    ¡°Sit back and watch. Your game will be the perfect grounds for our end times.¡±

    ¡°You think highly of yourself to be able to do such a thing.¡±

    ¡°No. They will do it to themselves.¡±

    ¡°Scary stuff. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Yu!¡±

    My eyes shot open as I heard Rubi calling my name from outside the tent. I was asleep for so long that I didn¡¯t even remember going to bed. I let my eyelids close again, taking a deep breath before sitting up. I thought the pit in my stomach would be gone when I got some sleep, but it remained. Looks like I¡¯ll need to confront that. Bummer. I can¡¯t even tell what specifically is making me feel that way. Maybe it¡¯s the absurdity of this whole situation.

    I stepped out of the tent and shielded my eyes from the sun. It feels like it¡¯s been forever since it was this bright. Probably because yesterday afternoon felt like forever.

    I looked over at Rubi, who was stretching her arms and yawning. I felt the pit in my stomach deepen. Was she why I felt so bad? I was a little concerned about her reaction to her power awakening. I immediately shook my head. How stupid. How would I find a way to blame her in such a ridiculous event? All things considered, she¡¯s been handling it very well. Like she¡¯s been preparing for it.

    ¡°Good morning, Yu. You took longer than the others to wake up, so I started their training before yours. You don¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    I blinked at her rapidly in an attempt to adjust my vision to the light once more. I almost couldn¡¯t believe there was actually daytime in this place.. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I figured I would get in their way if we did it at the same time, anyway.¡±

    Rubi looked unhappy at my self-deprecation. She walked away from me towards the trees, which in the light I could now see led to an open area beyond the foliage. ¡°That¡¯s not it. You require different training from them, but after a few private lessons I expect you will be on the same page as them. Just because they work out or play sports doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re at an insurmountable advantage. We¡¯re in the wild, basically. Think of it that way.¡±

    No response left my lips. She said it so sternly that it actually made me feel better.

    ¡°So, we can start after you eat, okay? I¡¯ll be waiting.¡±

    I sat on the tree-couch we had claimed and leaned over to grab a plate of cooked fish. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever rest? Sheesh.¡± I took a bite out of it, intentionally aiming for the smaller pieces. I don¡¯t like taking big bites. ¡°I hope we can get some berries or something besides meat soon.¡± Speaking to myself, I ate the rest of it without complaint. It wasn¡¯t bad that this was the only immediate thing I had to complain about right now.

    I later made my way to the clearing Rubi had declared our training ground. I popped my neck and stretched my arms while walking. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t aim for my stomach until that fish digests, ¡®kay?¡± I was only half-joking.

    ¡°Haha! You had better block well if you want it to digest before you chuck it up!¡± That reply didn¡¯t bode well.

    ¡°Hey, I thought this was basic training. I¡¯ve never done this before.¡± My eyelids drooped but she crossed her arms and laughed haughtily.

    ¡°I joke! Come on, I thought I was the one without a sense of humor.¡±

    It was seriously too early for this. I let out a sigh of exhaustion as I stood at what I guessed was a decent distance from her. ¡°So. How do I fight? I¡¯ve never done it before.¡±

    Rubi brought a hand up to her chin and hummed as she thought to herself for a moment. ¡°Well, as with Garald, I¡¯m going to have to pick a martial art to train you in. Although, I think for you, we¡¯re going to go with a few different ones.¡±

    ¡°Different ones? B-But¡­ Don¡¯t masters of these things spend their whole life learning it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to master any of them, silly.¡± She extended her index finger and waved it as she spoke, as though giving a lecture. ¡°Garald already has a keen fighting sense. Second only to me, which is impressive considering how untrained he is.¡± My first reaction to that was to think of how bluntly she said such a thing, but before the feelings could materialize I decided that it was merely an objective understanding of the situation and didn¡¯t warrant any negative reaction.

    Rubi continued, ¡°You need to make up for your smaller frame. Not to mention you aren¡¯t a natural fighter, or a fighter at all for that matter. Teaching someone with natural instincts like Garald multiple different martial arts will just cloud up his instincts, since he¡¯ll be trying to overwrite them with what he¡¯s been taught. He learned how to disarm an enemy and how to grapple better, which is just making better use of the basic techniques he used already in wrestling. If he dedicated his life to mixed martial arts, it would probably benefit him to learn them, but we don¡¯t have that time. I have a few ideas for you, and they start with a knife. The three of us agreed before you woke up that you would be the one with the knife.¡±

    My eyebrow twitched at her comment. To stop myself from immediately rejecting, I closed my eyes and lowered my head with my hands on my hips. When I looked up at her to speak calmly, I could see that she knew what I was going to say. She spoke before I could. ¡°We aren¡¯t looking down on you, Yu. We decided it was the best way to split up our resources and time. Barb has a power, Garald doesn¡¯t like using weapons, I have a weapon and a power, so that leaves you with the knife. You also require the most training, and the time required to make you strong is shortened by virtue of you having a weapon. It would make you a hindrance to the team not to have it, and I don¡¯t mean that as an insult to you. I think most people here are like you. Getting into fights isn¡¯t a common thing for a lot of people.¡±

    My lips opened to let out a sigh. She could tell I was exhausted by this talk. Too many thoughts were going through my head, about how much better this would be if I could have stayed home and not had to worry about this, and if they had picked a much more capable teammate. I finally spoke. ¡°If you ask me, I think one of you having the knife is better for our chances of survival. Instead of limiting yourselves to buff up the weak link, level yourselves up as much as possible and then let me stay out of your way. I¡¯d probably trip over you or something and get us all killed¡­¡± I almost mentioned my plan to be a sacrificial pawn when the time comes, but decided that nothing would come from it besides making them worry. It¡¯ll happen when it happens.

    ¡°No!¡± She stomped towards me and smacked her wooden blade against my stomach. ¡°Do you really want to ignore the hard work that must be done? Do you want to leave us a teammate short from the very start?! I know you¡¯re not that selfish!¡± I flinched and instinctively avoided her firm and angry glare.

    ¡°...Damn.¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything to that.

    She exhaled, looking a little embarrassed. ¡°That is, if we¡¯re using your logic. When someone else says it, you start to see how ridiculous it is, don¡¯t you? That sort of logic isn¡¯t how we friends view each other. We¡¯re here because we all want to live and spend time with each other! Isn¡¯t that why you¡¯re here, Yu?¡±

    I was actually almost a little stunned by that. With the clarity her words offered me, I remembered why the pawn tactic was a bad idea. I just wanted an excuse to get out of this early, didn¡¯t I? I blinked at her slowly with wide eyes before finally giving her a reply. ¡°I¡­ Yeah. I understand. I do want the same, trust me. That''s all I want.¡±

    That sort of cleared up the bad feeling I had in my stomach. I still couldn¡¯t figure out what was making me feel so bad earlier, but I figured it was inevitable with the situation we¡¯re in and all. I had the feeling that there was something bothering me that I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on. With my emotions in a panic like they have been, it makes sense. There¡¯s a million things to be bothered by right now so I won¡¯t let it get to me. Hearing her word her feelings in that way really put it into perspective for me and helped ease some of my issues. ¡°Okay. If I have time to wallow in my feelings, then I have time to work for you guys. If I¡¯m going to fail anyway, I may as well try.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly what I had in mind, but that¡¯s pretty positive by your standards, so thank you!¡± She pumped her fist up in excitement, a sentiment that I didn¡¯t share as I sighed at her unintentional insult.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get started. Do I need to go get the knife?¡±

    Her eyes lit up as she tossed her sword onto the ground and entered a boxing stance. ¡°No, actually! Step one is fighting without one!¡± I gulped at how eager she seemed to beat my ass. I tried to mimic her since I didn¡¯t know what a good fighting stance to take on was. Wiping some sweat from my forehead, I asked her, ¡°So, um, are you going to tell me what to do, or¡­¡±

    My voice turned into a shrill gasp mid-sentence as she started dashing towards me, weaving from side to side in the same stance as before. I panicked and started backing up, only to hit my back against a tree. I watched her kick herself high into the air with an arm brought back ready to swing at me. Without much thought, I tried to grab her legs, as my immediate judgment was that she couldn¡¯t move them in the air, but she used her other arm to grab my wrist and lift her legs up higher so that I couldn¡¯t reach them. The wrist she had grabbed belonged to my dominant arm and I couldn¡¯t reach her with the other one from this angle. My brain shut down as it tried to process what to do here. As a defensive instinct, I shoved my head forward to try and catch her arm or chest or something, but she released me after pushing herself off of my arm and fell down my back. She grabbed my scarf and pulled me down with her. The sudden force sending me back rattled my brain a bit and hurt my spine. She made up for her lack of physical strength by bringing me down with her weight and gravity. I hit the ground hard and coughed. My breath escaped me for what felt like a solid minute but was likely much shorter. She had stopped herself from landing too hard with her hand, though she still scraped her knee and palm on the rough ground. She stood up, panting loudly, and pushed her bleeding palm against her other arm for comfort.

    My breathing was too fast for me to talk. I tried to get out fractions of a sentence each time I opened my mouth. ¡°Th¡­ That was¡­ That was.. uncalled.. for¡­¡±

    She lifted up her palm to look at it, seeing that the blood had dried up. She shook her hand and patted her shirt with it. ¡°It helps a lot to see what level you¡¯re at right now. It also helps to know how quickly you react to danger. That might influence what I teach you.¡±

    I stretched my arms and back on the ground before rolling over and slowly standing back up. My legs were weaker than I expected they would be after that. ¡°How the hell did you move like that? Are you a monkey or something?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve been feeling really energized since this thing started. I did train against bigger opponents constantly back on Earth though.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. What sort of training lets you do a frontflip over somebody? Deciding not to think about it too much, I finally managed to catch my breath. I was thankful that there weren¡¯t any mirrors here, because my back was probably really bruised. I felt like such a thing should have left me more exhausted, but it wasn¡¯t actually that bad. ¡°So, did laying me out tell you anything, Teach?¡±

    She smiled. ¡°Despite your sarcasm, it did. You aren¡¯t as slow as your inactive lifestyle would lead one to believe.¡± Ouch. ¡°Your first response, to grab my legs, wasn¡¯t a bad one. Your opponent is very unlikely to jump that high in your fight, but your reaction to something so bizarre was satisfactory, considering most people would have expected a more straightforward fight. Your second response to headbutt me was clearly wrong, but I don¡¯t think many people would make two good decisions in a row against that attack without much experience. You should have stopped yourself from landing so hard, though. I was able to make a perfect land and likely would have done serious damage to you in the time it took you to stand up.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I figured. If we were in a life or death scenario, I probably would have gotten up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but don¡¯t use that as an excuse to slack on your training. If your response to such a scenario in training becomes to give up, then your reflexes will dull.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, Master.¡± I snickered at how bossy she was being. She must love being a teacher. She walked past her sword and picked it up, resting it against the tree she had just pushed me toward and disappearing into the forest. When she returned, she had our knife in one hand and two twigs bundled together in the other. She put the knife on the ground beside her sword and handed me a twig. ¡°Here. I¡¯m going to go over the basics while the two of us hold these sticks. Unfortunately, there¡¯s no rubber sheath for the knife or something similar. I guess the alien doesn¡¯t want us to get too much training in with this. It was likely meant to be used for food only. Although, I imagine an element such as weapons being introduced does make the game more exciting for a twisted onlooker¡­¡±

    I accepted the slightly less effective twig-knife from her and flicked my wrist a bit while gripping it to see how it felt. Not very good, given how it was rough and made of wood. She held her stick in front of her with one hand as though it were a sword. ¡°So, Yu, here¡¯s something to always remember: Knife fights don¡¯t exist. If you encounter an opponent with a knife, run or disarm them, even if you have a knife. If you attempt to rush someone like that, both of you armed, it will almost certainly result in two deaths or two critical injuries.¡± If she had told me that earlier, I probably would have taken note of this fact and planned to use it later. ¡°When I teach you knife techniques, only use them against an unarmed opponent. Don¡¯t worry about the fact that you¡¯re picking on the weak, alright?¡±

    ¡°Morbid, but sure.¡± I shrugged. ¡°So, what, do I drop the knife when I¡¯m fighting an armed enemy? Sounds stupid.¡±

    ¡°No, no. You hold onto the knife, but you¡¯re going to learn how to knock a knife out of someone¡¯s hand while holding a knife yourself. Whether armed or not, you will approach an armed opponent the same way. A knife will stop them from approaching you too quickly, and in their moment of indecision, you can flee or disarm them or call for help.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I paused, wondering if I should continue the thought I was about to vocalize. ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me not to kill them? Just get the knife out of their hand?¡±

    She seemed taken aback by my response, like it was unnatural to think of killing such an enemy in this instance. ¡°Um¡­ Yes, I suppose. Most martial arts aren¡¯t designed for killing, and self-defense techniques are taught under the assumption that killing an opponent would get you in trouble with the law, so¡­¡±

    She paused. It was as if she were just now realizing that something like the law didn¡¯t exist here. I replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t think your morality was dependent on the law. Since when has that been the case?¡±

    ¡°Oh, hush, you know that¡¯s not it. I just.. didn¡¯t want to reach the conclusion that we have to kill people here¡­ Let¡¯s try to avoid it, okay? As long as we can, anyway.¡±

    Some part of me told me I should push further, but I decided to hold off on it. She didn¡¯t seem to break a sweat in the last two battles. Hopefully that wasn¡¯t making her lower her guard and think she could save everybody if she wanted to. ¡°Okay, whatever. If I¡¯m about to die, though, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes.¡±

    ¡°I get it. That¡¯s alright. Honestly, I was more worried that you would be the first person to give up and let something like that happen. I¡¯m glad to know you¡¯re ready to keep fighting to the end!¡±

    Does she ever think about how messed up the things she says are?

    ¡°Only if you do the same.¡±

    A little over two hours passed. Rubi taught me how to hold the knife properly, how to use it, how to get a knife out of someone else¡¯s hand and keep my advantage¡­ I totally didn¡¯t internalize all of it, or most of it, but it didn¡¯t seem as hard as I had made it seem in my head. Although, we didn¡¯t learn any unique martial arts, just general knife stuff. I guess that¡¯s to be expected on the first day. I still feel pretty weak, but I could probably stop another high schooler from killing me. She told me to meet her again tomorrow to train with the other two as well. So it¡¯s gonna be even more exhausting, basically¡­ I wasn¡¯t about to complain, though.

    I came into view of the tent and saw that Garald and Barb were preparing and catching food respectively. As I sat on the tree and used the collar of my shirt to wipe the sweat off my face, I felt thankful that nothing unexpected had happened today. I guessed that the other competitors had time to sleep on it and realized we¡¯re all better off gathering ourselves before we break out in war.

    Rubi returned from washing her face off in the river and sat in the middle of the three of us. Barb turned towards us from her fishing spot and decided to pull the bait back up and set the rod aside. ¡°Ugh, can¡¯t figure this shit out. Fish are afraid of me too, huh?¡±

    Garald continued cutting up a fish, but Rubi decided to speak anyway. Garald tuned in after he had finished the sloppy but passable chopping. ¡°So,¡± she began, ¡°We need to discuss our strategy. I¡¯m sure a lot of other teams already know what their plan is. I think that¡¯s why we haven¡¯t been attacked today. Most of them decided that their best bet is to wait it out or to set up a trap that we haven¡¯t noticed. Hopefully that hasn¡¯t happened yet, but daily check-ups of the area are required in case of tampering or enemy scouting.¡±

    Without moving my head, I glanced around the borders of our little clearing with concern. It hadn¡¯t come to my mind, since none of us should have the means to set up something like a trap. Garald raised his hand to speak. ¡°Why are we assuming everyone thinks that way? If it were me, I¡¯d try to knock a bunch of dudes out at the start before they started developing powers.¡±

    ¡°I think there will be some people who do that and we must remain diligent for something like that,¡± Rubi continued, ¡°but the majority of people brought probably don¡¯t have much combat or survival experience. Early on, the people who were already strong are favored, but the longer this drags out, the more people will awaken their powers, and we can¡¯t predict what those will be. Two of us have already seen the signs of a power blossoming, but we can¡¯t know how many others have also noticed their powers. I would like to do some scouting in teams to assess this. Two of us go scan for other teams and see what their progress is looking like. The other two stay behind and make sure our belongings aren¡¯t stolen. If we find a camp nearby of people without any powers or non-combatants, we tell the others. We can then decide after gathering information if we want to take it slow or go on the offensive. If we encounter a team we can take on and decide that we must fight them, we¡¯ll either form an alliance with them or subdue them.¡±

    Most of that sounded reasonable. This time, I raised my hand lazily to speak. ¡°If we defeat them while they¡¯re powerless and then leave them unattended, wouldn¡¯t they be more likely to target us once they have their powers? Since they know we¡¯re serious threats now. That, or for revenge.¡±

    Rubi seemed hesitant about replying, as if she knew that me bringing this up now had to do with our small disagreement during training. ¡°I thought about that. If everyone agrees it is necessary, then we can tie them up and dig a hole for prisoners or something.¡±

    ¡°And what, keep them fed until we win? That¡¯s a little absurd.¡± I tried to keep my voice down, but this was starting to get on my nerves.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to be starving. We can gather more than enough food to live. All we¡¯d be sacrificing are unnecessary snacks in-between meals. If it¡¯s between that or killing people, I think I know what¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Can you determine that after only one or two days? What if our food is stolen or goes bad or any other number of factors we can¡¯t account for? Besides, if we want to win, it¡¯s not enough to only eat what¡¯s necessary. We need to be healthy and in good shape. It¡¯s not worth the risk!¡±

    Garald and Barb didn¡¯t chime in. They seemed to both understand that we needed to hash this out. I took a deep breath and spoke once more. ¡°This is a situation nobody here has ever been in before. People will panic. If there¡¯s a chance to kill someone, they¡¯ll do it, because not killing means your chances of dying increase. I¡¯m not some sort of murderer who wants to do this, but nobody here wants to do this! Maybe you¡¯re interested in the end goal, but how many people are going to die before you get there? Whether you do it or not, someone will kill them. When you¡¯re the last person standing, do you think it will be because the others gave up? No. They¡¯ll be dead. If you didn¡¯t kill them, then you¡¯ll be another body in the pile while someone else gets the prize. If you¡¯re serious about your goal, if it¡¯s not just something to make you feel like a good person, then you can¡¯t halfass it. Everyone else here is serious.¡±

    Rubi¡¯s expression was conflicted. She wasn¡¯t really sad or angry with me, but she wasn¡¯t pleased. She looked down and clenched her hands together in front of her, deep in thought. ¡°Your head isn¡¯t in the wrong place. Those are all reasonable assertions.¡± She spoke without looking up. ¡°What do you two think?¡± She turned to Garald and then to Barb as she talked. I felt a little bad that I hadn¡¯t thought to ask them. The two looked at each other as they were both taken aback by the discussion.

    Garald answered first. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill people, man. I think I agree that we shouldn¡¯t unless we have to for self-defense.¡± Barb responded, ¡°I think in a situation as crazy as this, what Yu said IS self-defense. This shit¡¯s serious, you know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get that¡­ I¡¯m not fully on Rubi¡¯s side. I think we¡¯ll probably have to kill eventually, but¡­¡± Garald looked like he didn¡¯t know what to say after that. Barb scratched her head and leaned back in a more relaxed position on the ground. ¡°Okay, well I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve gone over all of the factors. When Rubi mentioned subduing them, I guessed she meant capturing them or breaking their spirit and sending them off. Both sound stupid to me, but the second option would take less resources than making a prison, watching over them and feeding them. To be fair, let¡¯s discuss the pros and cons.¡±

    I gave that a thought. Letting them escape meant they could develop a plan for revenge with knowledge of our fighting styles, or worse, they develop abilities. Capturing them meant we took up resources keeping them alive, as well as room in our camp for a prison that we don¡¯t even know what it would look like or be made out of. We would probably have to keep them separate to make sure they don¡¯t help each other escape.

    I decided to think the rest of it aloud, as I felt myself reaching a conclusion. ¡°Well, making allies is smart. If they say no to an alliance, then while they¡¯re captured they may decide to agree later. But working directly with another team is too dangerous. An alliance in this case would have to be information sharing and not actively fighting as a team or anything like that. Am I wrong?¡±

    The three of them nodded. Rubi had lifted her head up now and begun to speak. ¡°I agree with Yu. I think a ceasefire is safer than joining battles together. They can always take advantage of the chaos and backstab us. Every captain wants to win, but I hope that when they realize how they¡¯ve been overpowered by us, they will compromise on their ideals to keep themselves alive. Of course, we won¡¯t tell them that we plan to keep them alive. The threat of death is necessary to get through to some people, just don¡¯t take it too far. We won¡¯t torture any of them.¡±

    I agreed and clasped my fingers together, hunching over and laying my chin on the platform I¡¯d made with my hands. It was taking energy to keep this up. Barb, having prompted the most recent question, chimed in. ¡°We can¡¯t tell what kind of false info they¡¯d start feeding us.¡±

    Garald countered her skepticism, ¡°Better than no info, right? If they¡¯re telling the truth then that¡¯s cool, but if not then we can like, guess why they¡¯re lying or something. Basically it¡¯s not a huge downside. As long as they¡¯re busy lying to us and not busy plotting to kill us.¡±

    Barb didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°Sounds naive as hell. We have better things to do than worry about interpreting bullshit. I don¡¯t think the info sharing thing is a big enough deal to justify the chance of betrayal. I mean, how much info can we realistically share around here? It¡¯s pretty much just the locations of other camps. Creating a map would be helpful but I think it¡¯s lower on our priority list.¡±

    ¡°If we kept making enemies and not finishing them off,¡± I said, ¡°we would have to take prisoners eventually. If we take any near the start, then they¡¯re likely to develop powers later under captivity and blindside us.¡±

    Garald replied calmly, sitting up straight with an expression as if he had plotted the whole thing out in his head, finally. ¡°Yeah, but even with powers, they¡¯ll be tryin¡¯ to get us 1v4 so we probably beat them there, even if they do give us trouble. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have to take too many prisoners this early on. I think if we find someone who is that hard headed, they¡¯ll already have powers.¡± It was a bit of a leap in judgment, but I understood the perspective.

    Rubi looked like she was holding herself back from interrupting. Either that or she couldn¡¯t think of what to say to us. I decided to speak up on her behalf with my fingers covering my lips slightly. ¡°Rubi, what are you thinking about this?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I think you all have valid concerns¡­ Whichever one we go with, it will be difficult anyway. I¡¯m ready to put in the extra effort for this but I shouldn¡¯t force you all to as well¡­¡±

    The group went quiet. I couldn¡¯t tell if we were reaching an agreement or not. ¡°Rubi, I don¡¯t think your plan is entirely stupid¡­¡± I spoke hesitantly, making sure I knew what I was saying before it came out. ¡°I understand where you¡¯re coming from. I¡¯ll fold on this. Let¡¯s see what happens and then decide based on the next few days or weeks. It¡¯s going to be a less crucial decision here at the start. If we get put in a scenario where one of us thinks we have to do it, then we¡¯re allowed to, right?¡±

    Rubi didn¡¯t respond. Her gaze shifted away from me for a second until she looked back and responded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s okay, Yu. I trust you all to make decisions like that if it becomes important, but please respect my wishes to preserve life unless forced otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± We all accepted her conditions. Garald stood up and walked over to her so that he could put a big hand on her back. ¡°Sorry if that was a lot of pressure, Rubster. We know you¡¯re doing your best to be the team leader. Just remember you don¡¯t gotta carry everything on your own. We¡¯re doing this for you, too.¡±

    The short girl looked up at him with a somewhat surprised look. Suddenly, a tear fell down her cheek, then another. She lifted up her glasses and moved an arm to wipe them away, but her eyes were still a bit wet when she returned her stare. ¡°Yes, I know¡­ Thank you for reminding me, Garald, and thank all of you for having such a meaningful discussion with me. Even if we didn¡¯t resolve this how we would have liked, I feel like we gained a lot from this.¡±

    Barb and I nodded in agreement. I smiled as I stood up and walked past the two of them. I could tell that Rubi saw my smile. I didn¡¯t want to get all sentimental over it, especially since the two of us didn¡¯t exactly reach an agreement as much as we did a compromise, but I felt good about how we all got our feelings out there and reached a conclusion that involved all of our input. I fell to a squat beside the campfire, where two plates with chopped fish had been left for Rubi and I by the others. I felt happy that they considered to prepare our dinners for us since we had been busy. That brought the thought to my mind, though, that Rubi must be exhausted. She trained Garald and Barb together and then me separately. She didn¡¯t show any visible exhaustion, but I thought that her tears earlier must have come in part thanks to how much she¡¯s been going back and forth between all of us today without rest.

    That sucks, I thought to myself. Getting good with this knife is the first thing I can do to make sure she doesn¡¯t have to work so hard for us. I was still a bit conflicted on if she should be participating in this thing or not. She¡¯s doing this for her own vision of justice, which is a little conceited, but when I see her pushing herself like this I can¡¯t really view her as selfish.

    After eating, I spent the rest of the afternoon practicing knife techniques by myself.

 Chapter 5: Where this Flower Blooms

    The moon rearing its head through the clouds was reflected in the beads of sweat glazing my face. I panted loudly as I flexed my fingers to ease their tension and gripped my knife harder. It still felt wrong to call this ¡°my¡± knife, but I had to accept that they had given it to me. I was putting in this much effort to become efficient at using it. If I didn¡¯t think of this as my weapon, then I would only end up using it worse.

    I practiced stabbing in the air towards an imaginary opponent. After a few minutes of slashes in a wide X motion, I tossed the knife into my left hand. Without any break in momentum, I stabbed in the side of where I imagined the chest would be, then in one swift motion I moved to slash where the lower stomach would be and then stabbed in the side opposite to which I had attacked earlier. Doing this with my non-dominant hand was really putting a strain on my muscles. I repeated this for a while, trying to ingrain it into my memory by making it an exercise. This was also good for working on my abs and arms, I heard. Those could certainly use a lot of work¡­

    Near the end of that training drill, I started to incorporate some straight down slashes as well as some crescent-shaped slashes up the side, swapping hands every once in a while. I remembered Rubi telling me that a knife in this world is not guaranteed to be the same kind of threat it is in our old world. It is more important that I learn to vary my attacks since I¡¯m more likely now to run into an enemy who can last long in a confrontation with an armed foe and is confident in doing so. If my opponent is the type to be less affected by knives and adapt to my swings after I repeat the pattern a few times, then catching them off guard is even more important than it would be normally. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t be able to read a pattern from me at all, but I¡¯m assuming that my opponent is more perceptive than me in any instance just so I don¡¯t get caught lacking.

    I stopped, lifting my head up to the sky as I took deep breaths and loosened the grip on my weapon. After letting the dark blue, dotted sky sink into my eyes, I shook my head and then let the knife drop from my hand. I leaned against the nearest tree and looked back to the camp to make sure that the other three were still awake in case of an attack. It did make me a bit anxious to be in our training spot alone at night. A bit more than ¡°a bit,¡± actually, but lessening the burden on Rubi was my reason for staying up to practice. Lessening the burden on all of them, actually. Would there be a point to any of this if I had to ask them to cover my ass at night just so I¡¯m not scared? As long as I¡¯m asking them for help, they¡¯re being limited in what they can do. I know they¡¯re going to worry about me if I can¡¯t take care of myself in a fight. If they do that, they¡¯ll die for sure. I couldn¡¯t live with myself if my weakness caused that.

    I let myself slide down the tree trunk and landed on my butt. I couldn¡¯t keep myself on my feet anymore. I picked up a cup made out of wood that had been carved out of a tree by Barb. Really impressive. There was water from the nearby river in it. I drank all of it in a flash. The desire for a refill was what finally made me give up on this night of training and return to the tent with the weapon in-hand.

    Rubi seemed to be doing better. That was good. As I walked by her, Barb tapped my leg and gestured at me with her hand. She was sitting with her legs crossed in front of the knocked over tree. ¡°Gimme. I asked for guard duty first so I could carve out a little knife holder while everyone slept.¡±

    I lowered myself so I could put the handle in her hand safely. ¡°This cup feels great, by the way. Thanks.¡± I left the comment as I took said cup back to the river and scooped up some more water with it. Garald from beside me tossed his soaked shirt at my face.

    ¡°Yo, I just got done washing it, so go ahead and use it as a towel before I hang it up to dry.¡±

    I chuckled as I gulped the rest of the water in the cup down and hooked the wet rag with my fingers. ¡°A little gross, but guess we can¡¯t be picky.¡± I buried my face into it and wiped hard, trying to get that sweat out. I then ran it across my hair, although I knew I would have to really rinse that later. ¡°If this place is based on Earth, I hope we bump into a nice hotel with a bath in it.¡± I said dryly.

    Rubi replied to me from behind us, revealing tactlessly that she had been listening to everything. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t base any of my decisions on it, but the introduction of the knife makes me think that the alien may feel the need to spice things up if things stagnate. Maybe it will make us battle over things like luxurious shelters.¡±

    ¡°I hope.¡± I scoffed. That¡¯s something I wouldn¡¯t mind getting into a fight over.

    Garald smiled as though he had come up with a bright idea. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all agree to stop fighting until the alien gives us guns or something? That¡¯d be awesome.¡±

    I blinked at him, no words spoken. ¡°Garald, I think that would make it worse.¡±

    ¡°Haha! I¡¯m joshing, man. Imagine, though.¡±

    I swallowed my spit and smiled awkwardly. He can be hard to read sometimes as well, surprisingly. Barb was doing what looked like a really good job on the holder she was cutting out. I was surprised that she was so adept at arts and crafts. Guess she always was the creative, artsy type among our group. I stood around for a bit with nothing to do, about to say something before Barb spoke up without looking away from her work. ¡°So, we were going to scout around? Should we do it during the day or at night? It¡¯s pretty late already.¡±

    Garald looked like he hadn¡¯t considered the question before, but Rubi replied quickly. ¡°We should do it during the day. I believe that most people will want to play a conservative game at this point. It¡¯s too early for us to worry about playing around weird powers. Tomorrow is day 3, so I think if we run into other teams, it¡¯ll be more likely during the night, where everyone has the same idea to scout then¡­ We want to get a good idea of how many teams are near us and what the members are like. To do that, we want to find them while they¡¯re preparing. Once the sun falls, they¡¯ll use the advantage of darkness to scout without worry of being seen-¡±

    All of her rationalizing was making my brain hurt. ¡°So, like, we do the opposite of what everyone wants to do.¡± Barb cut off Rubi¡¯s monologue.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Yes. It will be harder to get around under the sun, but there will be less people out scouting.¡± She said.

    ¡°Should we really think nobody else has powers?¡± Garald said. ¡°Half our team got powers already, plus you told us about those scary guys on the ship when we first got here.¡±

    Rubi was a little surprised by this. I, for one, had just assumed that it wasn¡¯t unnatural for Rubi and Barb to awaken their powers given their personalities, but the perceived normality of it made me forget that every other captain chosen was allegedly chosen for the same reason as Rubi. Garald was ahead of us here.

    ¡°W-Well¡­ We can¡¯t make use of our powers at the moment, so it¡¯s safe to say that any enemies who happen to have awakened to one won¡¯t be able to pose a serious threat. None of the people we have encountered thus far have had the same menacing aura as the two captains I saw on the ship, nor did anyone else who stood among them. I must assume they are exceptional people who awakened early. Their teammates will likely be much weaker, so they would have to go solo to get very far. I can¡¯t imagine why anyone would do that in this situation. We¡¯re most likely going to be safe from them, for now.¡±

    Such confidence¡­ I decided there was nothing we could do about such powerful people anyway, so I would go along with this plan. She was probably right about it being mostly safe.

    ¡°I want to train you all some more tonight, but not being able to tell the time is really frustrating¡­ Normally, I would look for the North Star and try to calculate the time, but the stars here don¡¯t actually make up any constellations. It¡¯s uncanny¡­¡± She sounded worried, as though what she had learned for survival was coming to be inadequate.

    ¡°Even if we could tell what time it is, you don¡¯t need to do anything else tonight.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s late, so let¡¯s sleep, then get whatever training you want in, then go out on that scout. Cool?¡±

    Rubi sighed and got up to walk towards the tent. ¡°Alright, I am pretty tired¡­ But tomorrow is going to be intensive compared to what¡¯s been happening now! We¡¯re going to start our offense, no more defending. Is anyone going to complain?¡± I was relieved she didn¡¯t look upset. She looked pretty hyped up, in fact. We all jokingly replied, ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    With that, she went to bed first with Garald and Barb following. I came in behind them, but Barb stopped me before we entered, presumably to not be heard by the others.

    ¡°Yo,¡± she began, ¡°I just wanted to let you know that I get it. As much as I can, anyway. I appreciate you being considerate of Garald and I getting to say our piece earlier today, when we were talking about killing n¡¯ stuff, but we know how personal this stuff is getting for you two. Don¡¯t get me wrong, no way in hell I¡¯m letting you two make all the decisions around here, but don¡¯t feel bad about baring your feelings in front of us, even if we have nothing to say. If you feel like you need to set Rubi straight, then do it. We¡¯ll help when we feel the need to, of course, but letting you hash it out is better than trying to provide rational advice.¡±

    Judging from her reaction, I must have looked pretty stupid with my eyes wide open like that. I gathered myself and replied quickly. ¡°Oh, right¡­ Thanks, Barb. I¡¯m sorry for making this about me when the situation is so serious¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I said we don¡¯t care, so do whatever you need to do. Nobody¡¯s stoked about being here. We¡¯ve all got to process it in different ways. You and Rubi have always had a weird relationship, so we¡¯re not thrown off by this.¡±

    Despite her trying to cheer me up, it made me embarrassed that Rubi and I getting into these fights has become such a trend that she noticed it even before we came here. I guessed from what she said that she must be pretty anxious about being here too and still decided to give Rubi and I the space to have our childish squabbles.

    ¡°Haha¡­ I¡¯m thankful. I love all of you guys. When I get in arguments, you know it¡¯s not¡­¡±

    She turned her back to me as she responded and stepped into the tent before I could reply. ¡°I know. We love you, even with all that teen angst. I trust you to get over it and quit being a baby.¡±

    I wanted to get another word in, but I realized that it wasn¡¯t going to lead anywhere besides me justifying my actions to nobody. As always, she knew just the right things to say in the bluntest way possible.

    The next day, I stood next to Garald and Barb in the training field with Rubi standing across from us. The sky was still faintly dark. It was earlier than we usually wake up, but it¡¯s better than doing this at night. The knife was lying next to the cup of water and Rubi¡¯s sword. It was in the sheath that had just been completed.

    I was as eager as I was nervous. I was doubtful that I could hold a candle to any of these battle freaks, yet happy to finally be working together with them in some tangible way that didn¡¯t involve some debate. Knock on wood.

    ¡°Garald, Yu, come forth.¡± Rubi said. ¡°Barb is the most balanced fighter here, so first I want to see how you two do as a big fighter and a small fighter. Try and take the other person to the ground.¡±

    The two of us followed her order and stepped forward, turning to face each other. I caught Barb snickering from the corner of my eye, causing me to stare at her. I wouldn¡¯t let her have the enjoyment of watching me get destroyed. Even if Garald was many feet taller than me¡­Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Aight, bro, here goes!¡± He opened his arms wide, seemingly leaving his chest wide open. I raised my hands up to hide my face behind my clenched fists. I wasn¡¯t ready to fight without a weapon without instruction from her, but I should have expected it. I was beginning to see that she has a very ¡°trial by fire¡± mentality when it comes to this stuff¡­

    I knew his arms were far longer than mine. I couldn¡¯t rush in as if he were vulnerable here. If he suddenly closed his arms in, he would grab me before I got to him. Besides, he was staying light on his feet, stepping left and right in-place slowly so that he could kick off the ground if needed. I was starting to notice how different a fight was in a situation like this where I can calmly analyze my opponent compared to a surprise attack like before. I clearly took too long, since Garald shot forward and closed his arms towards me.

    I tried to apply my knife training to this and squatted. His arms brought a gust of wind with them as they missed me. I wrapped my arms around his leg and straightened my legs back up, but he didn¡¯t fall on his back like I had anticipated. In fact, I was stopped by his weight and sturdiness before I could go all the way back up.

    When fighting with a knife, an attack to the legs can¡¯t very well be powered through. But grappling is different, especially from someone who isn¡¯t trained in it. Garald was more than ready to put his wrestling experience to the test, though. Since my attempt had left me bent forward with my legs up, he was able to wrap his arms around my abdomen and lift me off of my feet with ease. As if I were a feather, the world went upside down.

    ¡°Okay, okay, I lost! Quit it!¡± I panicked as I smacked his arm. He halted, holding me up in a position that was ripe for a piledriver. On that hard ground, I was almost certain to break my neck. Barb laughed while she held her chest. Garald dropped me and I adjusted my scarf to stop it from falling off. I looked at Rubi with a look of embarrassment in my eyes.

    ¡°You knew that would happen¡­ Shouldn¡¯t I be using a stick or something?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to simulate a real fight with a knife without hurting someone.¡± She said. ¡°Good judgment, Garald. Most people would be anticipating the fall too much to counter so quickly. You must be confident in your strength. Just remember to have a plan in the event that somebody does manage to overpower you.¡±

    The big guy nodded. She turned to me and continued. ¡°As for Yu, it was a little unfair but it¡¯s harder to get a baseline on you than it is for those two.¡±

    A little. I scoffed. ¡°Is my training just going to be me getting smacked around forever or are you going to teach me something?¡±

    ¡°Hey! Doing a bit of training by yourself doesn¡¯t mean you suddenly forgot that I showed you the basics, right?¡±

    We shared a laugh, hers a bit more cheerful than mine. ¡°Okay, Yu, I¡¯m going to teach you some more Kali today. Specifically open hand techniques.¡±

    I tilted my head and she responded before I could ask what that meant. ¡°Knifeless techniques. It takes what you learned while wielding the knife and applies it to hand-to-hand combat. It¡¯s not the best technique, I¡¯ll teach you something else later, but this is the easiest way to apply what you already learned. It should be the fastest way to get you fighting with your bare hands.¡±

    She instructed me in swinging my hands similarly to if I were wielding a knife, but with my hands positioned to hit them with chops and elbows instead. She showed me that I could clench my fist and hit them with the bottom of it instead of my knuckles, in the same motion I was practicing my knife swings in earlier.

    ¡°Punching is dangerous. Especially for thin people. The odds of hurting your knuckles as much as if not more than your opponent are high. Even higher if you hit them in the face. Punches to the body are fine, but for your frame I think we¡¯re going to focus on the face.¡±

    She took a wide-legged stance and struck out at the air in front of her, making her hand linger in the position it had hit to show me what it looked like.

    ¡°Aim for the face with these to stun them. They can do serious damage, maybe a nosebleed that will clog up their throat and make it harder for them to fight. These are to disorient them so that you can get them with a knee to the ribs.¡±

    Once again, she demonstrated by pretending to grab something and thrusting it down into her knee. I held back slight laughter at how weird and impressive her balance was to hold that pose for so long.

    ¡°You do not want a knee to be interrupted or countered, since your balance is really easy to disrupt from this position, so strike them in the face first. You¡¯re going to have to analyze whether or not you should knee them in the ribs, stomach or face. If you¡¯ve got them stunned enough to bring their head down into your knee, that will finish a fight against anyone without powers, or if not it will put them in a position they¡¯d be hard pressed to defend from. A hit to the ribs can be just as deadly, but it shouldn¡¯t be relied on as a finishing move. It¡¯s more likely to be conditioning for the finisher, dulling their reflexes.¡±

    I was really trying to focus on this, nodding my head as I tried to remember everything she was saying. To ensure I did, I ran through a few of the drills in my head while I waited for her to continue.

    ¡°Would you two like to try again?¡±

    Garald and I turned to look at each other, and Garald replied for me. ¡°Yup!¡±

    ¡°Then go ahead.¡± She stepped back and playfully held her hands towards us, as though giving us the stage.

    Garald faced me and took up the same stance as before, clearly confident in it since it worked before. I brought my hands up to my face with more distance between them than before, but less like a peek-a-boo boxer and more like I was holding two knives. I considered what I had just learned. Without getting to practice it as much as I would like to, I could only think of how it would work in concept, but I felt like I got the idea. Despite that, what would work against a normal person was hard to imagine working against someone this huge. The open arm stance must also be some sort of intimidation tactic. It works.

    I decided to step in as a feint, causing Garald to tense up and almost bring his arms down, but stopped very shortly after. I didn¡¯t expect that to win me the fight, but he was more perceptive than I thought. I slid my foot out and leaned in to his left side, trying to make it look like that was my target. He leaned in the same direction and tried to grab me with the nearest arm, leaving the left one away for defense. Before he could grab my arm, though, I was already moving away and going for the middle.

    When he noticed, he used the fact that his body weight was already leaning left to dodge that way, since trying to shift himself in the other direction would take too long. I didn¡¯t slow down, though. I found my way to his back and shot my hand out to chop the side of his stomach. He grunted loudly and swung around quickly. He was clearly disoriented, as he wasn¡¯t expected me to chop at his face. I had to aim up to hit him. A one-two. This made him stumble back, so I grabbed both of his wrists and pulled as hard as I could while my knee shot up into his stomach. He hunched over my shoulder in pain, but without any hesitation, he clenched his arms around me and easily pulled them out of my grasp.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s the spirit!¡± He was getting into it now. I went for another knee to the gut, but with how tightly my body was being held, I couldn¡¯t generate any force by twisting. He twisted his body and sent me into the dirt alongside him. The force made me lose control of my limbs for a split second and he had already gotten me in a chokehold. His legs wrapped around mine and squeezed while his arms gripped my head.

    ¡°O-Okay, I got it, this is the part where you break my arm and kill me¡­ I lost.¡± I spoke with a slightly high-pitched voice thanks to my throat being pressed up against his meaty arms. He released me and let me roll off of him, slowly getting up and wiping the dirt off my pants and shirt.

    ¡°Sorry if that was too rough, dude.¡± He held his hand out. I took it and smiled. ¡°Man, I hit you way more. Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I barely felt it!¡± That didn¡¯t make me feel better as he expected, but I appreciated it.

    Rubi looked a little stumped. She held her chin and contemplated what to say. ¡°Uh¡­ You did better that time, Yu.¡±

    I stared at her. Surely, she would say something constructive. Some time passed and she spoke again. ¡°I think we should work on making sure you don¡¯t have to fight big people like Garald in the near future. Until we can teach you some better moves.¡±

    I stared at her harder. She looked back at me meekly.

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± I said.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She said.

    ¡°...Thanks.¡±

    We stood awkwardly.

    ¡°Okay, you two can keep practicing if you want!¡± She changed the subject. ¡°Barb, remember what we discussed last time we were out here? We should try to find out how your electricity is triggered and how we can bring it out manually. I would liken you to an electric eel and compare you to their anatomy, but there¡¯s no way you developed an electric organ in only a couple of days¡­ It doesn¡¯t hurt you when you shock someone, right?¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± She exhaled in annoyance, holding the tips of her fingers together and trying to get them to zap each other. Nothing happened.

    I glanced at Garald. ¡°I¡¯m going to practice by myself.¡± Garald nodded and looked as though he were guilty of making me want to stick to myself. ¡°Don¡¯t look like that, I just want to watch what they¡¯re doing.¡±

    Rubi sat on the ground and started drinking from the cup. ¡°You don¡¯t feel any different when you drink or touch water?¡±

    ¡°When I put my hands in the river, it feels kind of tingly, but nothing when I drink from it. Sometimes my lip tingles where the water touches but that¡¯s rare.¡±

    They pondered in silence. I started swinging with a closed hammer fist in an X motion in front of me, stepping left and right occasionally, though my focus was sometimes taken by their conversation.

    ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t really talked about it¡­¡± Rubi started. ¡°...but I think my power makes flames stronger rather than creating them. It¡¯s possible that your power just takes what¡¯s already there and makes it stronger.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve tested your power alone?¡± Barb said. I related to her tone, feeling left out of something important.

    ¡°Yeah, I couldn¡¯t figure out how to make fire out of nothing, but when I rubbed some sticks together, I could make it into a great big one by focusing on it. Do you have any way of manipulating your electricity like that?¡±

    Barb looked down at her open palms and closed her eyes. She started straining herself, gritting her teeth, but sighed when nothing came out.

    Rubi stepped closer. ¡°Hey, fire is a plasma, right?¡±

    ¡°I guess?¡±

    ¡°Hold your hands out!¡± Rubi did the same, and they held their hands with a bit of space between them. Rubi stared intently at the opening. Suddenly, a spark appeared and vanished between them, causing Barb to jump back with a gasp. Rubi simply smiled and started laughing.

    ¡°Woah! I knew it! Haha!¡± She clenched her fists together before holding them open again for Barb. ¡°Try it again! Be ready for it, try to sustain it once it appears.¡±

    Barb nodded hesitantly and did so. The same happened, faster than last time, but Barb didn¡¯t stand back. The spark was only for an instant, but then multiple appeared, like fireworks. It only lasted a few seconds, then they were just staring at empty hands.

    ¡°Guess that¡¯s it.¡± Barb said, but Rubi grabbed one of Barb¡¯s hands, which made a loud crackling noise and caused Rubi to yell in shock as she pulled back.

    ¡°H-Hey, moron, are you okay?! What did you think would happen?¡±

    Rubi was panting. ¡°Just m-making sure¡­ Heh¡­ This is amazing!¡± She rubbed her hands together to ease the sting.

    Barb ignored the weird girl and shifted over to grab the knife out of its sheath. She touched the flat part of the blade with a finger and observed a spark.

    ¡°Hey, Rubi. Think we could, like, supercharge this thing? The handle is rubber, so if we can charge up the blade, then it wouldn¡¯t hurt the wielder.¡±

    Rubi nodded. ¡°Not a bad idea. We can try it, but there¡¯s nothing to keep the electricity in the blade. We would have to produce a lot of electricity to make it ¡®supercharged¡¯ without melting it.¡± She chuckled.

    Barb blushed. ¡°Yeah, I knew that¡­ Just thinking out loud¡­¡± She did not know that.

    They both put their hands on either side of the blade and formed some sparks. Rubi grit her teeth before eventually pulling back and yelping. ¡°Yow!! Okay, not gonna work¡­¡±

    Barb held the knife up to look at it closer. There was no residue of electricity on it like she had hoped. Maybe in the future, the electro-knife will be real.

    Garald and I had one more match before we ended for the day. It ended with my ass on the ground, as expected. Rubi finally came up with some advice at the end, though. I should use my long legs more. I liked how that sounded, but she was the one who said that it¡¯s hard to keep your balance while kicking. I guess that¡¯s one of those other martial arts she wants to teach me later.

    As we all walked back to the camp, Rubi stepped ahead of us and started talking. ¡°So, guys, I was thinking and do you remember what I said at the start? When we first got here, I mean. I said we have to look inside ourselves to understand our powers.¡±

    The three of us seemed unenthused compared to her.

    ¡°Like I was saying, we should try to understand how Barb and I got our powers so that we can help Yu and Garald! Barb¡¯s power comes from her rough exterior, I bet. She¡¯s like a rose that pokes anyone who gets too close, but she¡¯s full of vigor and the desire to do what¡¯s right! She¡¯s like an electrical outlet that you can¡¯t touch, but you know that the outlet is essential for keeping everything running. Am I right?¡±

    Nobody had anything to say to that. Barb eventually replied. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already say that the other day? I¡¯m glad you see me that way, but how does that help me?¡±

    Rubi held out her sword and twirled it around like a baton. ¡°In my case, I¡¯ve got a real fiery personality, wouldn¡¯t you say?!¡± She just ignored Barb¡¯s question. That explanation was even vaguer than the last one.

    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± Garald said.

    We stopped walking in the camp and split off. I extended a hand to Rubi as she faced away from me, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say anything. After all the times I¡¯ve made a big deal out of nothing, I hesitated to say anything. If I was having this many doubts and nobody shared them, I must be overthinking it.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yu?¡± She turned her head to ask me. I gulped. I guess I was staring at her back for a while there.

    ¡°Nothing, just thinking¡­¡± I averted my gaze. I had suppressed the feeling in order to focus on giving her the help she needed, but her lackadaisical attitude on things like this just couldn¡¯t sit right with me. Saying this now would only increase her burden¡­

    ¡°I recognize that look. You think I¡¯m overstepping my boundaries.¡±

    I froze. ¡°Um, not quite¡­¡± She was more perceptive than I expected her to be, but this expression was broader than that. Although it¡¯s probably true that it¡¯s the same way I look at her when I feel the way she said. ¡°If you want me to be honest, I think you¡¯re having too much fun with these ¡®powers.¡¯ I can see you working hard, so I didn¡¯t pay it mind at first. I was just reminded¡­¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not just doing it for fun! I told you, it¡¯s important that we-¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know, I get that¡­ When you first awakened to your.. thing. Your expression was a little startling. Like your gaze was only focused on one thing. I was waiting for someone else to mention it but I guess nobody saw it as a problem¡­¡± My voice trailed off. As always, I was jealous, whether I noticed it or not. ¡°I can¡¯t tell, I mean. I can¡¯t tell how serious you are and I feel like an asshole for doubting you¡­¡±

    She considered her words carefully. Seeing that, my suspicion that it would be more weight on her than she needed was confirmed. At that point, I wanted nothing more than to just cut the conversation short and go to bed. Of course, I couldn¡¯t sleep now when we were about to go on our midday scout.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how I can prove it to you¡­ I am happy that I get this opportunity, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s hindering my decision-making skills. I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯ve come off as childish, though¡­¡±

    ¡°Agh!! It¡¯s fine, forget I said anything! I¡¯m sorry!¡± I rubbed my forehead with my palm and started to walk away toward the trees lining the river.

    She replied despite the distance I made. ¡°It¡¯s okay! I¡¯ll try to be more considerate!¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± I rested my hand against a tree trunk and tried to focus on the calmly flowing water.

    Just go with the flow, Yu. Following your feelings gets you in stupid conversations like that.

 Chapter 6: Beast Test

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about something. What exactly separates us from animals? We¡¯re not necessarily smarter, some animals can process more information than us or have longer attention spans. You don¡¯t look very interested in what I¡¯m saying. Have you heard this bit before? I¡¯d still like you to hear me out. You¡¯re a better listener than most. Anyway, I think it¡¯s our ability to deceive. At some point, humanity developed something other animals didn¡¯t have: a sense of cruelty. We tear each other down to gain money and power, even knowing that we¡¯re dooming hundreds or thousands of others to death just so that we can succeed. Is it inherent to us? It¡¯s possible that there was one cruel human at first who had more influence than the others, and so the rest of us changed to be like them. But why is it that even after we¡¯ve multiplied for so long, no group or individual has decided to change this? If cruelty was a ¡®defect,¡¯ it wouldn¡¯t have spread so quickly and rooted itself into our nature like this. So, it must be by design. Perhaps mother nature realized that, in order to be at the top of the food chain, you must use and manipulate all at your disposal, even your fellow man. Were we destined from the start to rule over the world? Why did only we develop that deceptive nature? Why are we the only animals that can lie? It¡¯s hard to say. When I say ¡®we,¡¯ I mean purely in the biological sense, of course. Seeing as I have realized all of these truths, to call myself truly ¡®human¡¯ feels disingenuous. It feels equally wrong to call myself a transcendent being, what with you standing right in front of me, but I¡¯m definitely ¡®something else.¡¯ Hey, stop looking at me like I¡¯m being pretentious. This is true. Humans are defined by their inability to realize the cycle that they¡¯re in. Look at any religion or mythology borne by humans and you¡¯ll see this trend. Death and rebirth, forever wandering it. On the subconscious level, they realize that to ascend this cycle is to attain Godhood, but they know they can¡¯t do this while remaining human. As thus, they seek death, to leave behind the physical body. Humans can¡¯t get what they want as long as they are human, is what these stories say. The inability to realize their cruelty is a large part of what it means to be human. I¡¯ve fully accepted this fact. I do not deceive, nor do I manipulate. I don¡¯t want to die, either. I haven¡¯t fooled myself into believing some made up ideology about how the world should be. Humans were born to deceive everyone. They even deceive themselves into thinking they weren¡¯t. They all have the self-awareness to realize and deny this purpose, but none of them do. Such beasts¡­ That said, there¡¯s only so much I can do in this world of man without taking on the role of man. I¡¯ll play my part in this game of yours until the end and show them the uncomfortable truth. Are you interested in seeing a wild card, Alien? Watch closely. You¡¯ll get to see that ¡®war¡¯ soon enough."

    Sweat fell down my face as I followed closely behind Barb, surrounded by trees and bushes. The sun was still high in the sky, so we had to be extra careful to not be seen by anyone. Rubi had convinced me that doing this during the day was better than night, and the logic was sound, but now that I¡¯m here, I have to admit that being hidden by darkness makes me feel a lot safer.

    Barb was holding two sticks, as Rubi had instructed. If we found ourselves in a situation where our only option was to fight, she would rub them together and try to apply a spark to them. I struggled to imagine a scenario where we would be forced to fight yet also have the time to do something like that, but it wasn¡¯t my place to argue. Worst case scenario, we have two sticks that don¡¯t do anything. Not really a burden on us.

    We continued slowly and silently, taking occasional glances below us to make sure we weren¡¯t about to step on a twig or something that would make noise. Our job was to identify where any enemy camps were and tell Rubi so that we could draw a map in the dirt of our camp. We had been doing this for almost 20 minutes now and there were no signs of other people. This really was in stark contrast to day one. It sent a shiver down my spine to consider that the people who panicked on the first day must have had something horrible happen to them to scare them back into hiding, or worse¡­

    Barb startled me by throwing her hand to the side and pointing forward. I squinted and noticed an opening similar to the one we had claimed. As we got closer, there was a tent and what resembled the remains of a campfire. We scanned the area but didn¡¯t see anyone. I gulped. Was Rubi wrong about our theory that everyone would be in their camp during the day? Maybe they had the same idea as us¡­

    She gave me another hand signal: a thumb pointed back to indicate that we should back up. I remembered that we had come here to locate camps, not players. Even if they aren¡¯t here, they¡¯ll have to come back here eventually. We turned around and I let Barb take the lead again.

    The distant, faint echo of a snapping twig made my hair stand on end, trying my best to not scream. I looked up to see if Barb had noticed. She did. We stood still as ice, waiting for any further noise. If it were something big like a person, surely it would make more than one sound, right? A concept I hadn¡¯t considered started to enter my head. Did this place have animals in it? Oh, wait, we ate fish earlier. How was that alien capable of recreating organic life like that? I guess plants are technically life, so I should have been impressed the moment I saw the trees, but they¡¯re less complex probably¡­

    ¡°GET DOWN!¡± Without warning, Barb shouted at me and shoved me with her shoulder. I hit the ground with a thud. My breath accelerated as my eyes darted around for signs of what exactly she was talking about. Only seconds after I had fallen, I saw a man with a facemask standing over my previous position with a knife in his hand. He scoffed.

    Barb wasted no time in engaging him. She tossed one of the sticks to my feet and kept the other in her hand. The stick was rather blunt since it was from the pile that we used for our campfires. Our assailant¡¯s eyes shifted from her to me and back again, uncertain about engaging the both of us. He jumped away right as I got the idea to try and grab his leg. Clearly he hadn¡¯t discounted me just yet. I stood up and started taking deep breaths as I pulled my knife out of its sheath. I considered grabbing the stick, but dual wielding isn¡¯t in my training yet. Those sticks really did end up being pretty useless. The distance between us eased my surprise, as did the fact that we had the numerical advantage. I remembered my training with Garald and took a moment to try and analyze the enemy. He was similar to me in build, with blonde hair and a mean scowl. His shirt and pants were both tightly fit and dark. How convenient. Must be why they sent him on recon. That made me wonder, though, if he seems so specialized for this, then does that mean he¡¯s the only one? It wouldn¡¯t shock me if his teammates split up to take on another task since he¡¯s more than qualified for this one on his own. It¡¯s a great way to manage time and effort.

    ¡°Based on his looks, this is his job. He may not have any backup around here.¡± I kept my comments short, just enough to give Barb the info I gathered.

    ¡°Always be ready for it, anyway. Just in case.¡± She said. My eyes narrowed at our opponent. My arms and legs entered the stance I had practiced so extensively in the last couple of days. My knife was extended forward, threatening to counter any attempts at approach. The man clearly was unsure of how to handle this. He backed up slowly. Barb and I pushed forward at a similar speed at first, then faster. He leaped into the air with impressive height and grabbed an extended tree branch, pulling his body up it and vanishing into the leaves like a ninja.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Barb grunted. She started running toward the open camp and I followed shortly. Staying under the trees when the man is so adept at traveling through them would be like asking to get assassinated. I felt a sense of relief when Barb ahead of me entered the camp successfully. That must have been why I didn¡¯t notice the body dropping onto me from above. I tried to turn around, but he was already on my back and driving me into the ground. I felt his knife pierce the skin in my lower back, but a loud, blunt smack made him pull away. Barb had tossed the slab of wood and was running towards him before he could gather himself again. He growled and quickly stabbed me once again, closer to the spine. I screamed. When Barb had almost gotten close enough to grab him, he kicked off of me like a launching pad towards her. He grabbed her shoulders and used the force of his flight to knee her in the stomach. The two of them tumbled forward, but he recovered much faster and was already up on one knee. She didn¡¯t take too long to get up either, not giving him any room to take advantage of his attack.

    My whole body felt hot, like someone had just pushed hot iron right into my back. I was lucky that the second attack was more shallow than the first, since he was already preparing to move when he did it. I¡¯ve taken punches before, but never a stab wound. The mental shock was as great as the physical shock. I thought I would be ready for an encounter after experiencing it twice and training for it, but this was beyond anything I could have imagined. This person was ready to seriously injure me. If they had dug any deeper into my spine, couldn¡¯t that have paralyzed me for good? I didn¡¯t want to think about it but it was stuck at the front of my mind. I just came so close to losing everything at the very start. Even if I survived that, I would never be able to help them like this again.

    Like this¡­ Like this¡­ Help them¡­ This is all I can do. This guy almost took away the last thing I have to offer to my wonderful friends: my body. I was ready to throw it away for them before, but not like this. Sacrificing my body and throwing it away are two different things. How would me dying here benefit them in the slightest? It wouldn¡¯t. I have to get up and beat that guy, but any time I tensed my muscles, I feel the fire in them explode. I slid my legs forward and tried to lift myself up to a sitting position, but even having my abdomen indirectly moved made me want to scream. I panted and glanced up at Barb, who was in the middle of a close quarters fight. Despite this, she didn¡¯t make any risky moves. She was almost entirely on the defensive. Seeing her narrowly avoid that knife made me scared. So scared. I couldn¡¯t take it. I shut my eyes and buried my face in the dirt. I moved my arms with great effort and pushed myself up, screaming into the dirt. I finally managed to get myself up on all fours, but I couldn¡¯t yet balance myself with just my torso.

    Barb yelling made me gasp and look up. She had taken a slash to the arm, but she still seemed capable of moving it. Rubi told me the points to aim for with a knife, the points that would have the highest likelihood of incapacitating an opponent. That slash was eerily close to a vital muscle. I screamed again, but this time in frustration rather than effort. Both of them turned to look at me, but Barb took the greater pause and suddenly lost her distance from the attacker. He lunged at her, but she reacted quickly. Her leg shot out like a bullet and shoved him back with a donkey kick, but not without him managing to slash down her leg. She grit her teeth and fell down to one knee, rubbing her palm over the wound. I started crawling towards her, but the man got up before I could make any distance. The more I moved, the more I could feel how deep the first wound was. I was lucky he didn¡¯t hit where he probably wanted to, but he still got me totally off guard. Barb clenched her fists and made a face that told me she was trying to generate a shock but probably meant nothing to our opponent.

    She didn¡¯t try to stand up, but I gathered that standing now would hurt her a great deal. The man was on his feet, though. He approached her, not even looking at me anymore. I picked up the knife I had dropped and chucked it at him like a spear. He jumped away. The knife smacked into a tree and fell flat. He was highly agile, but that made him create more distance than he needed. Barb smacked her legs interchangeably, presumably to keep the injury quiet. She shut her eyes tight and then stood up firmly.

    Seeing her get up despite the wounds, I grunted and drooled a bit in extreme concentration as I put all of my power into my legs to lift myself back onto my feet. I felt the wound open and drip blood down my back and onto my pants. It was as though an immense weight were trying to keep me glued to the ground, but I growled and clenched my teeth as all of the power I could ever harness into this one leg lifted me off of the ground.

    Not like this¡­ Not like this¡­ I don¡¯t want to leave them yet! I want to be the one who saves them!

    With stomps that felt heavy enough to shake the earth, I finally stood beside her. I didn¡¯t bother to wipe the dirt or spit off of my face, nor the blood from my back. The attacker¡¯s advance halted when he saw that the both of us had stood back up. Most of his face was hidden, but we could tell he was shaken. He seemed particularly spooked by me. What kind of face was I making just now to scare him like that? Whatever it was, I couldn¡¯t relax my facial muscles even if I tried.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to keep going, albeit slower than before. His expression relaxed. He must have realized we don¡¯t have much steam left in us. I knew that we needed to escape. What we had to seek out was an attack that would either force him to retreat or give us an opening to flee. The latter was probably unlikely, given how hard it would be for us to run like this. There was no way to send a signal to the others. Rubi and Garald were making sure nobody invaded the camp while we were off.

    I tensed my legs up to see how quickly I would be able to dash for the knife over there. This made it clear to the enemy what my goal was, though. When I decided further caution was pointless, I dashed towards it. In the same instant, he sprung towards me. His launching speed was insane. He caught up to me before I could grab it, but Barb had also jumped into action. She grabbed the arm with the knife in it and pulled him closer to her so fast that I heard a pop come from his shoulder. He was still able to yank his arm back, but he didn¡¯t begin slashing at her despite how close he was. His arm hung low, although he tried to hide this.

    I retrieved the knife and ran towards him with it. My vision flashed white for a moment. I nearly fell forward until I just barely managed to catch my consciousness and force it back into my head along with my anger. I thrust my blade towards him repeatedly, far sloppier than in my routines, but Barb rushing him from his right side added enough pressure to make up for my lackluster assault. Even brute force worked in moments like these, but I had to remember that he had a knife too. He swapped it from his injured arm to the free one and started dodging my swings more confidently, as though he were now conscious of his ability to counterattack. Rubi told me that knife fights were dangerous and pointless, but what the hell am I supposed to do here?

    The answer was this. The thing I¡¯ve been doing, buying time. Barb ducked deeper into his right, now knowing that his knife was in the opposite hand and he would be unable to suddenly strike at her. I remembered what I was taught, like I did at the start of the fight when I calmly analyzed him. It was way harder to make calm choices in this case, but my brain was working overtime. I slid to the left, anticipating that he would flee that way to escape Barb, or if he didn¡¯t then he would attack me suddenly and this would dodge that while letting Barb finish him. He ended up fleeing, just like I imagined. He was visibly shocked that I had moved with the exact same timing as him, like I was completely copying his movements. I swung in a clean arc motion to take advantage of his confusion, and his chest was grazed. His reflexes were good enough to dodge backwards in time, but I had fulfilled my purpose in making sure he didn¡¯t get a chance to attack. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I felt something odd, like adrenaline shooting right into my brain. I was surprised at my ability to outsmart and read him completely. It felt good to do such a thing. It felt like what I might imagine a weightlifter feels after performing some Herculean rep. I knew adrenaline could cause your strength to skyrocket for an instant, but I had never heard of it increasing your concentration like this. Regardless, in this state of focus, I was able to discern that his next move was going further back and then attacking one of us. I was in front and Barb was to the right. His reflexes were good, I had to admit, but nobody could keep calm in this situation. I had shut down his attacking options. His emotions would get in the way of his reflexes. They would fight for control over his mind. It was only natural, but reaching that conclusion in such a dire moment made my blood pump faster.

    At some point, I forgot that we were aiming for retreat. Thinking about retreating would only make my movements noncommittal right now, anyway. Even if I end up running, I need to come at this like I¡¯m trying to win. Keeping my head still, I glanced down at his feet. Sure enough, they were moving back. I tried to stab his right thigh but my physical abilities were not on par with my brain, and he evaded. At last, his opportunity to attack had revealed itself. ¡°Shit!¡± I growled. I realized that I had gotten way too ahead of myself. He raised his arm up high as if he were getting sick of this and were about to impale me with all of his might. Following us without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Barb slipped into his side with the defenseless arm and punched right into his ribs. He spat in pain and ceased his strike, her liver shot clearly working.

    ¡°Damn it!!!¡± He shouted as he flung his arm in a wide motion that aimed to catch both Barb and myself with a crescent-shaped slash. A clear desperation move. I managed to wrap my arm around his, but it didn¡¯t stop his assault, only slowed it. That was all we needed. Barb used his open, unsafe stance to switch from a boxing stance to a karate stance. She twisted her arms clockwise in a way that would add as much momentum to her swing as possible. That flying weapon of a leg hit him right in the neck, the side that his arm was unable to lift to defend. I felt his arm lose its force at the same time as I saw sparks fly out from her ankle in the spot that she hit him.

    Barb lowered her leg down into a wide legged stance in case he managed to recover from that, but he did not. Now that he was frozen, I hugged his arm tighter and pulled it behind him, getting the other arm in there too. His eyes were empty, and he fell to his knees without much resistance. I took a shaky breath as I allowed most of the tension to leave my body. I felt like I was coming off of a high. I sunk into the ground. She pulled his facemask off and tossed it away, presumably to identify him. He was a young adult. Still older than us, though.

    ¡°Is.. Is he.. conscious..?¡± I barely managed to ask. I was still in a bit of a daze. She shook her head and stood over him with one hand on her hip. She tried to look casually annoyed to offset her pain, but it was too obvious.

    ¡°This damn twig gave us such a hassle? I can¡¯t imagine what it would have been like if he had his buddies with him¡­¡± She hacked up some saliva and spat it to the side.

    ¡°Do we bring him back?¡± I gulped. The pain I had felt before was slowly coming back now that the adrenaline was leaving me, but it was somewhat eased by how dizzy I felt. Probably from the lack of blood.

    ¡°I guess. What a hassle¡­ If Rubi saw that fight just now, I wonder if she would still make such unreasonable demands¡­¡±

    I put my knife back into its sheath. We worked together to lift him onto Barb¡¯s back, but her leg couldn¡¯t handle all of that weight and we ended up dragging his body instead.

    ¡°You switched styles so neatly, Barb. That was really cool.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I mean, I do watch a little MMA¡­ Rubi helped me hone it.¡±

    I smiled, trying not to pay attention to the pain. Barb grunted and almost fell down on her injured leg.

    ¡°You okay? I really don¡¯t know about this¡­ If we weren¡¯t injured, sure, but¡­¡± I thought about the alternatives. Let him go back and heal, or¡­ deal with him.

    Barb exhaled and relaxed, no longer attempting to stand up as she let him lay limp over her back. ¡°Rubi won¡¯t know if we just handle him and leave¡­¡± I shivered. I looked at the man, his eyes now closed as though he were sleeping.

    I replied, ¡°We could, like, break his leg or something?¡±

    Barb sighed and rolled him off of her, trying not to wake him up. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t learn how to execute an unconscious opponent, haha¡­¡± Her laugh was weak, like she realized how morbid of a comment it was. ¡°Well, I could step on his leg or something. Prop him up and I¡¯ll kick down. Are you alright with that, Yu?¡±

    I felt stupid to be worrying about the fate of the guy who almost killed me and my friend. It¡¯s not like we were going to kill him. A lot of people are happy with only one leg¡­ Shit, that¡¯s dark. I nodded. Barb lifted him up and put him on his back awkwardly. She lifted his left leg up and used a tree to keep it up at about a 90 degree angle. Perfect for destroying it.

    ¡°Hey, before we do this¡­ Do we know what his power was¡­ er, is?¡± I asked. ¡°He was moving really fast. Maybe his legs are just really strong?¡±

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s natural or thanks to his ability, he won¡¯t be doing much without one of his legs.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply. I wasn¡¯t asking that to delay the act or get to know the guy. I was only wondering if we could make use of his power or something if we managed to discern it. That¡¯s all it was.

    ¡°Well, Barb, you¡¯re stronger, so¡­ You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡±

    She looked slightly worried but didn¡¯t object. As she stepped forward, we heard distant footsteps through the foliage and lifted our heads up like deer in headlights. We exchanged a quick look, then I immediately started booking it towards our base. I assumed Barb did the same, but I heard a loud crack and a bone-chilling scream. Barb managed to catch up to me, not giving me even a glance as we ran for our lives. It seemed that she was like me, too scared to pay attention to our brains yelling at us to calm down and treat our wounds nicely.

    One of my steps ended up being too strong and caused my leg to freeze up, sending me tumbling forward onto my face. Barb stopped and pulled me up to my feet, which made my muscles scream, but I moved her arm away to indicate I was fine to go on. We continued running, though I was a bit behind her. Embarrassing, considering she got her leg cut and I didn¡¯t.

    I couldn¡¯t hear anyone following us. They must have stopped to care for their teammate. Barb slowed down, breathing fast until she came to a stop and fell to the floor, rolling onto her back to rest. I fell too, though I made sure to keep my back off the ground. I put my face into my hands for numerous seconds and calmed myself down as much as I could.

    I tuned my hearing into my surroundings as much as I could. There was nobody here but us. I could tell that we were close to the base. It was way faster to run back than it was to sneak out.

    ¡°Did¡­ Did you¡­ Uh¡­¡± I muttered a question to her.

    ¡°I think¡­ His leg bent back, but I had to flee and was under pressure, so I can¡¯t say it¡¯s broken¡­ He might recover¡­¡±

    I felt relieved, oddly. I couldn¡¯t say if it was correct or not to disable that guy. I would have to think about that more once I¡¯m not in such an intense situation. When I tried to in the moment, all I was met with was a headache.

    We broke into the clearing, alerting Rubi and Garald to our return, and stopped walking, hands on our knees. They ran up to us and let us lean on them.

    ¡°Treat Yu¡­ They got stabbed in the back.¡±

    Rubi held a hand up to her mouth as she walked to my back and lifted my shirt up ¡°Oh, gosh¡­ Hey, Garald, can you bring Barb down to the river?. We need to dilute the wounds.

    We allowed ourselves to be taken, dragging our legs a bit. We stripped, saving the essentials of course, and dipped the parts of us that were injured in the water. It stung. I got out shortly after, not liking the idea of water getting into my body through the holes. Barb got out too and we both wrapped our clothes around the places that were cut. Seeing as her wounds were more spread out, she wrapped her arm with her tank top and her leg with her jeans. I silently lamented the huge opening that had been made in the leg of her favorite pants. They were cool looking. Rubi grabbed the ends of my shirt and pulled out, causing it to tighten around my torso. ¡°Ack! Hey, not so tight, I¡¯m wounded¡­!¡±

    ¡°We need to stop the bleeding. This is harder to stop than a wound to a limb. Not to mention, it¡¯s deep. I gathered some tree sap and various plants that are good for treating bruises and cuts. I¡¯ll apply some to you after the bleeding has stopped.

    I sighed. I reached back and wiped up some blood with my hand. There sure was a lot of it. I got up and dipped myself in the water, keeping the wound itself and my shirt above the surface. In the meantime, I looked over at Barb, who was tightening the makeshift bandage around her arm and wincing. The bleeding there had already stopped, it seemed. Her leg was not so well off.

    As I stared at her injuries, my mind wandered to the fight we had just finished. What the hell was up with me? First I was useless, then I was in the zone¡­ Why was I suddenly so prepared? Did the pressure of a real life or death situation make me snap?

    I didn¡¯t have the time to finish the thought. Rubi bundled a handful of leaves and some sticky syrup stuff. She unwrapped Barb¡¯s leg and rubbed the gooey stuff along the cut like a lotion of sorts. ¡°I scraped some birch bark, but I haven¡¯t had time to cook it yet. It makes pain killer tea.¡±

    I was always shocked by how prepared she was in every situation. ¡°When did you gather all those different things? Were they in the same area?¡±

    ¡°Ahh¡­ Well, I couldn¡¯t sleep the other night.¡± She giggled, not looking up from her work. ¡°I wanted to explain to you guys what all of them are for and how to use them. I¡¯ll do that soon. If the pain gets seriously bad, you can chew on the inner bark of a willow tree. It¡¯s basically aspirin. I got some of that, too. It can also make tea.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡± I said, absentmindedly. After several minutes, I checked my wound with my hand. There was no blood, but I still wanted to reach under the wrapping to feel it. I resisted. ¡°Do you think my wounds are closed yet?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll take a while. For real, that willow bark is in the tent.¡±

    I felt a little sick at the thought of eating wood. ¡°I¡¯ll bear with it¡­¡±

    A little less than an hour passed. We had explained the scuffle to Rubi and Garald. The wrapping around my torso was gone and I had received some of that mysterious stuff on it that Rubi had explained but I hadn¡¯t retained. Barb and I were now resting in the tent, the other two sitting outside. They were probably gathering food or medicine or something that I was incapable of helping with right now.

    ¡°Fuck¡­!¡± Barb snarled and pounded her fist into the dirt once. I could tell the pain was adding to her frustration. ¡°We barely even beat that guy! Both of us! He didn¡¯t even look that strong. We did way better in our last fight.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s annoying. He must have been way stronger than he looked. Also possible that the last team we got jumped by wasn¡¯t very strong. Teams who jump into fights thoughtlessly are probably going to be less of a threat than the ones that hang back and let enemies come to them.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your breakdown, nerd!¡± She punched the ground again and hurt herself, grunting and rolling over. I resisted laughing.

    After some silence, I stared at the flimsy roof of the tent and let my mind wander to my previous thoughts. Best to confront this now, I guessed. That flow state I was in¡­ As much as I didn¡¯t want to ask the question, was that me.. Having fun? What the hell was fun about that situation? There¡¯s no way that was it. I was terrified. I tried to put myself back in the place I was then. I let the emotions flow back, or at least the ones I could remember. I really couldn¡¯t tell how much of it I had forgotten in the heat of the moment.

    The feelings sunk into me. I wanted to try and get myself back into the ¡°zone,¡± but I couldn¡¯t muster up even a fraction of that energy. I guess that¡¯s to be expected. Aside from that crazy feeling, the objective memories I could gather were telling me something worrisome about myself. Was it possible that I was enjoying the feeling of being useful? It was like I was in some kind of fantasy where I was the protagonist. In this fantasy, I was a hero who was stopping a villain from reaching the people I love. Is this how Rubi feels? Is that why she was so excited about seemingly childish things? Is she the protagonist of her world? I¡¯ve never felt something like that before. Even in our fights up to this point, in my head I was the side character who existed to keep the real protagonists safe.

    This time, I was actually useful. I messed up, but I actually helped. I don¡¯t think Barb could have won by herself. As wrong as it felt to take her frustration positively, she affirmed that earlier. Wait, no, I can¡¯t gloss over that. That IS wrong. I¡¯m getting happy that Barb was frustrated, and happy that Rubi and the others were in danger. In the moment, I was thankful that such danger had shown itself and given me a chance to prove myself. In my heart, I longed for a situation that would force me into the hero¡¯s role because I knew I could never muster up that kind of confidence by myself.

    Just like I thought, I am the worst person ever. Such childish egocentrism would just get me in danger if I kept it up. What am I going to do if this train of thought makes me overlook potential threats so that they can become a problem I have to deal with and make me look cooler? An inflated ego leads to overestimating yourself. Hell, that¡¯s literally what happened near the end. If I was a bit stronger, I could have managed that¡­ But I¡¯m not, end of story. It was as Barb said, as a duo we barely managed to beat him. If I got myself into a 1 on 1 situation like that as a result of my big head, I¡¯d be toast.

    That settled it. Rubi¡¯s protagonism is childish. If she was displaying traits of a person like me, then I have to do what I can to put her on the right path. Nobody can recognize garbage traits like I can. I mean, I¡¯m practically made out of exclusively those.

    I remembered the look on the attacker¡¯s face when I stood up. I couldn¡¯t have seen my own face, but it must have been frightening. Covered in dirt, spit, blood¡­ Like an animal. Would I be able to live with myself if one of my friends looked at me like that? What if Barb had stopped to look at me at that moment? Did I look like a pathetic person who wanted so badly for their existence to be validated that they would form a power fantasy out of a disaster? A pathetic person who valued the concept of saving their friends more than their actual friends? A pathetic person who only kept people around if they could reflect all of their trashiness onto said people?

    Whatever. I won¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯m locking it away for good.

    Just get stronger. Become confident in my own strength. Remember that I exist for them. Without them, I¡¯m nothing. Without me, they¡¯re the same.

    When I put it that way, it got harder and harder to doubt that Rubi was the protagonist of this world. Do I have any right to stop her? Well, saying I want to ¡°stop her¡± is wording it like it¡¯s more dramatic than it is. If every other captain here is like her, then they probably have similarly lofty ideals. I doubted Rubi¡¯s assumption that everyone here who doesn¡¯t share her ideology is wrong. I¡¯m sure there were plenty of captains here who would make the world just as good as Rubi would or better, just in a different way. Garald and Barb, despite lacking lofty ideals, were still incredibly invested in this. They could be considered protagonists, too. Far more than me, at the very least.

    All that thinking hurt my brain. I don¡¯t care about who is going to make the world a better place. That¡¯s just the kind of piece of shit I am, I¡¯ve come to realize recently. It was a waste to think about who is the most correct when the only outcome I care about is the one that affects my friends. To care about people I don¡¯t even know would be to assume I¡¯m some kind of virtuous person. Only those people get to care about things beyond their personal world. When I put it like that, I was embarrassed at myself for how hard it was to make the decision on what to do with the attacker back in the forest. Do I really think I can help more than three people at a time? I¡¯m already failing to do what I need to do for them. Even if someone with a greater sense of justice than Rubi shows up, I won¡¯t hesitate to use them to further Rubi¡¯s goals. That¡¯s my selfish wish. It¡¯s all I can do and all I need to do.

    From now on, I won¡¯t allow myself to think I¡¯m a saint. I can¡¯t change who I am. If I need to, I¡¯ll become a beast for their sake.

    My loathing was disrupted by sudden fast footsteps outside. I immediately worried that the attacker¡¯s friends had come for revenge, but I couldn¡¯t tell if there were more than two people out there just yet. Barb rolled over too. She held her hand out to tell me not to speak, like I didn¡¯t know that already.

    Hearing Rubi¡¯s voice confirmed what was occurring. ¡°Halt! Your surprise attack was a failure. Are you here for revenge?¡±

    There was an uncomfortable silence. I got the impression that they weren¡¯t going to engage her in conversation like she expected.

    Damn it, of course they followed us. They knew now that only one of them could handle two of us. It stands to reason that three of them could handle the other two of us now that Barb and I were incapable of fighting. Luckily for us, though, they probably expected us to send our strongest on recon and leave the weaker at camp. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to guess who the strongest in our team was, but what I did know was that I was the weakest. Rubi and Garald as a duo would be far stronger than Barb and I.

    ¡°Hey! She¡¯s talkin¡¯ to you! Can¡¯t even have a civil conversation?!¡± Garald barked at the intruders. I really wanted to stick my head out or at least peek through the entrance, but if they saw me and realized that we were a weak point, then they would use us as hostages or something. I did everything I could to remain still.

    ¡°Well, we won¡¯t be attacking first, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re waiting for.¡± I heard her blunt, wooden sword tap the ground. ¡°Violence isn¡¯t our cause, but if you attack us, we will defeat you. That¡¯s your last warning.¡±

 Chapter 7: Neighbors

    The world stood still for a moment. Nobody made a noise. From within the tent, I couldn¡¯t tell if those outside were getting ready for a fight or not. The silence worried me nonetheless.

    ¡°Well? You¡¯re not trying to threaten us, are you?¡± Rubi spoke with confidence.

    At last, I heard an unfamiliar woman¡¯s voice speak up. ¡°No, we¡¯re not. We just want you to know we take attacks on our teammates seriously.¡±

    ¡°Same here!¡± Rubi sounded slightly frustrated. ¡°We got it worse than you guys. If anyone is serious about this, it¡¯s us.¡±

    I winced. It sounded like she was making it worse. Although, showing weakness to another team is unwise¡­

    ¡°To my understanding, you were trying to enter our camp.¡±

    ¡°You want us to just sit here and wait to be attacked first?¡±

    Seriously tense. I really couldn¡¯t tell if this was a good idea or not. Thankfully, the other captain sounded at least a little reasonable. I hoped she wasn¡¯t the type to get into a fight when it¡¯s avoidable.

    ¡°There¡¯s only going to be one winner of this thing.¡± The stranger spoke. ¡°That¡¯s why each of us decided to attack the other.¡±

    I gulped. That doesn¡¯t bode well. Rubi was quick to reply. ¡°That¡¯s right. Although, you seem like a reasonable person. Might you be interested in a truce? I think it¡¯s inevitable that other teams are going to come to the same conclusion, that teaming up is the best way to survive. My team is currently forming a map of the area, so why don¡¯t we share it with you in exchange for relevant information from you? You know, if you notice any oddities near you that we wouldn¡¯t be able to spot from over here. Don¡¯t go out of your way for us, but we¡¯ll agree not to attack each other. The info sharing will only happen if we bump into each other on patrol or something like that. For everyone¡¯s safety, since we don¡¯t have complete trust in each other yet, we¡¯re not going to be living close by. Don¡¯t visit the other¡¯s camp unless it¡¯s necessary. Do you like those terms?¡±

    I was slightly surprised that Rubi was able to do something like that. I mean, she was so set on being the winner, but I guess she isn¡¯t stupid. This was a good decision.

    ¡°So at what point do we stop being a team? Like I said, there¡¯s only one winner.¡± The other said.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± You really didn¡¯t think of that before offering?! ¡°I¡¯d say until the moment our interests conflict? Be it at the very end when it¡¯s just us two, or earlier.¡±

    ¡°I want at least some kind of insurance that you won¡¯t suddenly attack us.¡±

    ¡°Okay! No attacking without warning. If the truce is called off, we have to let it be known ahead of time that we can¡¯t work together anymore.¡± Rubi stated so casually.

    The captain didn¡¯t sound so convinced. ¡°And if we didn¡¯t stay true to our word? What¡¯s stopping us from taking you out after you¡¯ve outlived your usefulness?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your friend¡¯s broken leg enough of a response to that?¡±

    Nobody spoke. I felt sweat drip from my forehead.

    ¡°Alright, and if you don¡¯t stay true to your word, we¡¯ll kill you guys.¡± The captain stated calmly, though it was without a doubt a threat.

    It felt like I could hear Rubi pop a vessel with the tone she followed up that comment with. ¡°Fucking try it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have any words for that. Not like I needed them, but I couldn¡¯t believe she was this heated. They stared at each other for half a minute. The other captain was the first one to say something. ¡°I get the feeling you¡¯re a trustworthy girl. I¡¯ll go along with this.¡±

    Rubi inhaled once and replied in her usual voice. ¡°Great. Barb! Yu! Come on out, if you¡¯re decent.¡±

    I jumped in place. I exchanged glances with Barb, who stood up with the tent¡¯s blanket wrapped around her. I left my torn clothes covering me, however much they were able to.

    We came out to stand beside Rubi and Garald. I tried to look confident in front of the three enemies, or rather, new teammates? Rubi waved us towards them. ¡°From left to right: Yu, Barb, Rubi, Garald. How about you guys?¡±

    The other captain looked like she wasn¡¯t sure about sharing this information. She sighed and agreed. ¡°I¡¯m Kassy. Behind me are Beck and Marlon. The guy you messed up is Tyler.¡±

    I took in all of their appearances. The two men behind her looked unremarkable, but I would have assumed the same about Tyler if not for our first meeting being with him on top of me.

    ¡°These two described Tyler¡¯s appearance to us, so as long as he doesn¡¯t change his outfit, we¡¯ll know not to mess with him.¡± Rubi said.

    ¡°Right.¡± Kassy spoke in a low voice. ¡°We won¡¯t hurt you, either. Right, guys?¡± The two behind her nodded without speaking. They really didn¡¯t seem to trust us. Did they think that letting us hear their voice would give us a tactical advantage or something? Lighten up. ¡°We¡¯ll let Tyler know.¡±

    As they turned to leave, Rubi waved to them casually. ¡°Let him know we¡¯re sorry, too!¡±

    ¡°Save it.¡± Kassy replied coldly, passing a glare by us before she and her lackeys made off for their camp.

    ¡°Damn, talk about tense.¡± I exhaled when they were squarely out of earshot. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡­¡± I turned to Rubi but I silenced myself when I saw her gritting her teeth and clenching her fist. Her teeth were digging into her lower lip. I couldn¡¯t see her eyes in the shadow cast by her bangs, but maybe that was for the better.

    ¡°Uh, Rube?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± She sounded angry at me before she corrected herself, loosening her fist. ¡°Oh! Sorry. Haha! Just thinking about something.¡±

    I swallowed nervously. ¡°Um¡­ Okay, sorry for interrupting¡­ You really don¡¯t mind teaming up with them? You didn¡¯t even ask them what their wish was.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t, did I? I guess I figured that if I asked her that and she said something bad¡­ If a fight started, we wouldn¡¯t win with only the two of us.¡±

    That¡¯s more like the Rubi I knew. Considerate yet concerning. What would she have done if Kassy said something disagreeable, though..?

    ¡°Having someone with a body like Garald¡¯s is really helpful for intimidation tactics.¡± She continued. ¡°If they had determined they could beat us, I don¡¯t think they would have accepted. It helped that they don¡¯t know about our powers, or if we even have them. We¡¯re lucky she didn¡¯t propose exposing our abilities as one of the conditions.¡±

    I listened without replying. I wondered if the others had seen her expression earlier. I guess I should be happy that she was able to hold back for our sake.

    ¡°I was too nervous to speak, but I¡¯m glad you got that feeling from me!¡± Garald laughed out loud.

    Rubi smiled calmly and looked at us. ¡°You two lay back down. Do you feel better?¡±

    Barb and I both nodded. She smiled and waved us bye as we returned to our tiny home. I tried to lay on my back, but it still stung to do so. I laid on my stomach instead, crossing my arms in front of me as a pillow for my head.

    Minutes passed with me staring at the ground. The way the grass poked up around the blanket we had put below us to try and emulate something close to a ¡°bed.¡± How generous of that white blob to give us something so luxurious. I wished we would get some more tools, at least.

    My mind wandered, as was all it could do. I couldn¡¯t shove my brain into an activity right now. Being completely useless felt bad but I decided that hating myself for this wasn¡¯t helpful to anyone. If I wanted to be useful, I needed to take the energy that would be going into hunting or something and put it into strategizing. Not like I¡¯ve ever been a tactical mastermind or anything, but even someone like me can come to some conclusion, right?

    I may have been assuming too much that everyone here would have the same reaction I would to an alliance proposition because I didn¡¯t expect our first attempt to be a success. They were young so maybe that''s why they were more trusting? Young people use the internet more so I would assume them to be more distrustful, but also generally adults are less tolerant¡­ Too hard, can¡¯t guess based on age.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I spoke without moving my head. ¡°Do you wonder what it¡¯s like for the spectators? Can they see everything at once or is it like a reality show where they only get to see the good bits that the director shows them?¡± I chuckled. Barb turned to look at me.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been kinda stressing about it¡­ I hope Mom and Dad aren¡¯t being shoved into a little room or whatever.¡±

    My eyebrows raised in curiosity. ¡°You have been? This whole time, you mean? I never noticed.¡±

    ¡°Well, not the whole time. Our own situation is stressful enough¡­ I can¡¯t shake it, though. I¡¯m not a momma¡¯s girl or nothing like that! You¡¯re saying that like you haven¡¯t given it any thought, but I know you have!¡±

    She was just being her usual funny self, but it hit me just then that I really hadn¡¯t thought about it at all. Were Rubi and Garald just as worried about it too? They never talked much about their parents so I assumed they were like me and didn¡¯t care about them. All those TV shows and books about warm familial bonds just came off as wish fulfillment shit. Damn it, am I weird?

    ¡°Uh, I was just joking. You don¡¯t have to think about it.¡± Barb had clearly noticed an expression on my face that I hadn¡¯t. I was embarrassed, gathering myself quickly. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Barb, I was just considering¡­¡±

    We didn¡¯t move or talk for a bit after that.

    My parents¡­ What do they look like again? They said bye to me when I left for the amusement park that day, so I know they¡¯re alive at least. I remember the annoying smell of cigarettes, too. Compared to that, the campfire didn¡¯t smell bad at all.

    Oh, right, the fire. Those sticks we brought to the fight didn¡¯t work out too well. I need to get back to thinking of plans. Not all of Rubi¡¯s ideas are going to be hits. I thought long and hard, trying to force a good idea in place of what I was thinking about prior.

    ¡°I got it! Alliances! I should go scout for some teams that seem agreeable.¡±

    Barb seemed startled by my sudden eureka. I pushed myself up with my arms suddenly but a jab of pain in my back made me fall back down. ¡°Ugh, damn it. I¡¯m not going anywhere like this.¡± I sighed. I put that frustration into brainstorming. If I find someone who seems trustworthy, is it really enough to just form a network of alliances? That seems like too much effort. The constant threat of betrayal. Why wouldn¡¯t you take the chance to stab another team in the back? If it¡¯s just Kassy¡¯s team then we only have to worry about her and the other three, but I highly doubt we could keep tabs on a double digit number of players who are all a risk to us.

    Barb could see that I had been unusually pumped up and decided to indulge me. ¡°Well¡­ That might be a good idea. We need to heal a bit more but that¡¯s something we could do before we¡¯re fully healed.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± I blinked. ¡°Oh, yeah, I mean we could. I figured you would do something more involved or useful.¡±

    She looked at me with a confused face. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we both do it? We¡¯re in the same situation.¡±

    Right, same situation¡­ Well, she was physically stronger so she would probably recover faster. She was less injured than me, too. Wait, am I implying that she didn¡¯t try as hard as me? Well, I am so pathetic that I would have to try extra hard to do what someone like her may consider easy. No, no, she was clearly pushing herself to the very end. I could only get up because of her encouragement. Damn, stop thinking about it! Even if she is way beyond what I could hope to achieve¡­ Shit, I¡¯m still thinking about it.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°...True¡­¡± I muttered lifelessly.

    ¡°Hm. Whatever you¡¯re thinking about, I¡¯ll help out. Physically, too.¡± She returned to her casual laying pose, no longer looking at me. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should feel happy that she showed me pity or feel ashamed.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I slowed my breathing down and emptied out my brain. Maybe it would be best for the team if I do this on my own. They might ask where I am, though. I shouldn¡¯t be gone for that long but if it¡¯s a daily thing then they¡¯ll want to know. I could get Garald to cover for me. Hm¡­ He¡¯s the most likely to agree to it but he¡¯s also the most likely to fold to questioning.

    ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re thinking about doing it on your own, I¡¯ll drag you home.¡±

    The way she interrupted my thinking made me jump. I looked over at her with a face that completely betrayed my intentions.

    ¡°Er, not home, but¡­ You get what I¡¯m saying.¡± She corrected herself.

    When my thoughts had unscrambled enough to reply, I chuckled, ¡°You watch too much anime. You¡¯ll ¡®drag me home?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Quiet, punk! I was trying to be genuine!¡± She gripped her fists on the blanket as if she was about to throw it at me before she realized that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea for either of us.

    I laughed. ¡°I know, Barb. I appreciate it.¡± The last vestiges of laughter left my lips with that heartfelt reply. Fine, I supposed it may be a good idea to tell them about it, but I would still insist on doing it alone. The thought of avoiding Barb since she was the best at reading my emotions left my head as soon as it entered. If that¡¯s how I¡¯m going to think about my friends then why do I even have them? What an annoying brain I have.

    ¡°Hey, Garald.¡±

    After sleeping through the night, I felt myself able to walk again, albeit with a limp. Garald offered me a shoulder before we even started talking, but I insisted that I could handle it. Although that would have been nice¡­

    ¡°I wanted to run this idea by you before I told Rubi. That¡¯s cool, right?¡±

    He grinned at me. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m glad you trust me enough.¡±

    I smiled awkwardly and continued. ¡°I was thinking about scoping the place for teams to make alliances with.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t we already taking scouting missions? Can¡¯t we do that at the same time?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess¡­ I want something to do apart from that.¡± My eyes drifted away as I realized that I wasn¡¯t making much sense.

    ¡°Hey, I won¡¯t tell you not to as long as you aren¡¯t pushing yourself too hard. I know you¡¯re a tough cookie, but even you need to rest after those injuries.¡±

    He didn¡¯t have to lie to me to make me feel better, but I wasn¡¯t about to make a scene of it. ¡°Thanks, I guess. That was my initial plan, but I thought about it and... I wasn''t sure if acquiring new teammates is a great idea right now. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s very smart to have a whole web of alliances, you know?¡± I explained to a nodding Garald. ¡°I think looking behind our backs constantly is going to be more trouble than it¡¯s worth. I¡¯d rather have a lot of enemies than a lot of untrustworthy allies.¡±

    ¡°I dunno if I agree with the logic, but go on.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ It¡¯s like, uh¡­ As it stands, everyone is our enemy, correct? Kassy is our ally, but in some ways that¡¯s worse for us, since we have to second guess all of her actions. When her team was our enemy, we just had to beat them. Not that beating them is easy but it doesn''t require us to overthink things and put ourselves in a bad situation. You get it?¡±

    Garald lifted his hand up to rest his head against the back of it. ¡°I see where you¡¯re getting that, yeah¡­ You¡¯re a little jaded but I¡¯m not gonna say you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    As always, it felt nice to explain my thought process to such a good listener. ¡°So that thought process made me wonder if it would be smart to slip into some camp by myself to gather intel. I don¡¯t know if Rubi would agree with me, so that¡¯s why doing it alone came to mind.¡± I omitted the part about me wanting to do it to prove myself. This wasn¡¯t wrong, either. I was suspicious of how Rubi would react to it. She¡¯s the type to believe herself capable of managing a whole organization of teams in this game. Once again, I disliked feeling like I was hiding things. ¡°I¡¯m going to spend the rest of today planning what to do. So, want to come with me tomorrow? I think I¡¯ll be able to walk then.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, buddy, Rubi and I are going to collect more berries and stuff tomorrow. You could always come with us and scout it out there.¡± He replied considerately.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Nah, I¡¯d be too anxious of her noticing my motives¡­¡±

    ¡°When ya say it like that, Yu, I don¡¯t like us going behind each others¡¯ backs like this. I¡¯ll think about it, but I won¡¯t snitch without talking to you first. You and her both push yourselves too hard.¡±

    ¡°You think that too? I¡¯m not a kid.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m not just gassin¡¯ you up when I say you¡¯re tough. I can¡¯t imagine how hard it is, having all that stuff on your mind. You guys gotta be tough for that. If I said I feel bad about how easy I¡¯ve got it, you¡¯d laugh at me, heh.¡± His eyes drifted away as he scratched the back of his head.

    I stood silent. He didn''t mean for what he said to be meaningful but I was suddenly deeper in thought than I was before. How long has he felt this way? Is it only now coming up because of the intensity of the situation and our heightened emotions? Suddenly, he looked shocked and waved his hands at me. ¡°Oh, no, I¡¯m not trying to dump my stuff on ya! I wanted to show my sympathies¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fine, Garald. You really are an impressive guy. Don¡¯t go along with my dastardly scheme if you¡¯re not feeling it.¡± I turned my back, closed my eyes and gave a casual wave back to him. I felt like I had been utterly humbled.

    So negative feelings can come from positive situations, huh? Can I even call his situation a positive one? I could say he¡¯s lucky that he doesn¡¯t have to go through the thought spirals I do or the delusions of grandeur that Rubi does, but how does it feel to be ¡°normal¡± in that way? I had never considered him as a normal person, what with how admirable and inspiring he was in both physical ability as well as his optimism. When I thought about it in that way, though, he was so impressive that I struggled to imagine him having the messed up thoughts that us weirdos had. Is it lonely to live in that world?

    I turned my head to see if he was still there, but he had left for the training field. I sighed. I guess Rubi isn¡¯t the only one carrying the burden of this team. I don¡¯t know where I would be without him. As always, he didn¡¯t talk about himself much, but that bit he casually slipped in has got me thinking that he¡¯s more relatable than I thought. Relatable in the way that opposites are relatable, I guess. I wondered how much more he would be willing to talk about himself if he opened up. Wait, what am I doing trying to play armchair psychologist with him? He¡¯s clearly got himself put together. If I tried to apply whatever messed up stuff I¡¯ve got going on to him, I bet I would ruin it or at the very least give him some harmful ideas. He¡¯s a great friend as he is so I bet he knows what¡¯s good for him more than I would.

    I¡¯ll see if I can go out with him on a scout or something one of these days. I need to make sure he doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m undermining his friendship.

    I spent the rest of the day doing nothing besides thinking about the plan for tomorrow. I asked Rubi to check out my wounds again just to make sure I wasn¡¯t going to spend the next day incapacitated as well. Luckily, it seemed like I would be fine after another good night of sleep. I stood up from the riverbed near the end of the day and continued my physical therapy. Stretching my arms, back and legs as much as I could. It hurt, so I used that as an excuse to not stretch as much as I could have. I realized that I needed to go through with my plan ASAP and really stretched my sides. I leaned a bit too far to the right and stumbled out of my posture. Luckily I didn¡¯t fall. Suddenly tightening my legs up like that made them feel sore.

    This feeling sucks. Can¡¯t do anything. Doing nothing. Nothing.

    Is this any different from how I was before? The day prior to the alien¡¯s arrival, this was every day of my life. Why do I suddenly feel bad about it? I used to feel guilty about having bad grades or not having a part time job, but one day it stopped. At some point I got too used to it. In a similar situation, like this one, I might be going through the same process a second time. This time, however, I have experience. Not with fixing it, but it¡¯s more experience than nothing.

    Maybe now I¡¯m trying to make up for the failure I was then. That¡¯s not a bad motivation, if I say so myself. Self-improvement is the motivator behind all great successes, I think.

    On my way back to the tent, I saw Rubi exiting it and wiping some dust from her hands. I assumed she was carving up some tree bark for more medicine. A model Girl Scout.

    ¡°You and Garald are taking the night shift again?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, you and Barb are hardly in a position. Garald and I will take turns doing it solo. I¡¯ll nap, then he¡¯ll wake me up and nap while I watch. You get the idea.¡±

    I nodded and walked past her so that I could clumsily roll over into bed. We should steal some more blankets from the next team we beat up. That¡¯s not cruel, right? It¡¯s not something they need like food or water. For the second night in a row, Barb and I were going to sleep having not done anything. Not that I blame Barb for her injuries. She earned a bit of rest, but thanks to us being stuck here, Rubi and Garald kept their activities close to camp, gathering herbs and berries and such. Sticking their heads out and getting into a fight would be stupid right now. Although even if their opponents were greater in numbers, imagining those two losing wasn¡¯t something I could do easily.

    It took me a while to get to sleep, likely because I was used to being more active and tiring myself out lately. When I inevitably awoke, I stood in the middle of our camp and stretched some more. I was surprised by how much a good night¡¯s sleep could do. Even though I still felt like I could fall over at the slightest push, it was better than yesterday. I was prepared to leave even if I hadn¡¯t recovered this much, anyway.

    Garald was up, keeping guard duty while Rubi slept on the other side of the tent. His eyes looked tired. I wondered if he had neglected waking her up to take her shift.

    ¡°You good, Garald?¡±

    He snickered and straightened his posture. ¡°No worries, dude. I¡¯ll be ready for the scouting later.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, wouldn¡¯t it be bad to bring out three people?¡±

    ¡°Oh. I guess that¡¯s true. You and I could go.¡±

    ¡°Did you think about my plan?¡±

    Garald exchanged looks between me and the sleeping girl behind me for a second. ¡°Yeah, I wanted to know if you figured out exactly what you¡¯re gonna do.¡±

    ¡°Ah, um, I think I¡¯ll just try to gain their trust and make them tell me what their abilities are so we can crush them if we need to. I could also try to grasp if they have a schedule that would make their team split up at certain times of the day.¡±

    Garald seemed slightly concerned but didn¡¯t object. ¡°It is our survival on the line, so I can¡¯t say it¡¯s wrong. That does sound smart.¡±

    ¡°While I was trying and failing to sleep, I reached a really obvious conclusion¡­ I was thinking about our talk. I remembered feeling like you were weird for asking Rubi about quitting, but it hit me that there¡¯s nothing stopping a team from quitting if they¡¯re about to die. So, we just need to show them that we are willing to kill them. They¡¯ll have no choice but to surrender and leave the game. Less enemies for us. The sooner we do it, the better. If we wait until all the other teams have fully developed their powers, they might be too much for us to handle.¡±

    He didn¡¯t respond, the same serious expression. ¡°The alien was real confident that nobody would surrender, though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I figured that was because of their conviction but anyone would realize it¡¯s better to live than die. Dying means your ideals amount to nothing.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ I guess I¡¯m worried that he would punish them for leaving, or something¡­¡±

    I sighed and put a hand on my hip. ¡°If that happens, there would¡¯ve no way we could have guessed, so it can¡¯t be our fault. We¡¯re already being merciful by allowing them to surrender in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m overthinkin¡¯ it. We¡± He admitted. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be an issue with Rubi. Wanna tell her?¡±

    ¡°For me, personally¡­¡± Rubi suddenly spoke up as she rose from her nap. ¡°I would die before I surrender. If the other captains are like me, as the alien implied, then that won¡¯t work.¡±

    I gulped. ¡°Oh, good morning, Rubi¡­ You were listening?¡±

    ¡°If you must know to be convinced,¡± she continued without confirming my suspicion, ¡°the method of surrendering is to go back to where you and your team spawned in and stand in a rhombus shape with all of the materials you were given gathered around you, or as much as you can in the case of used materials or stolen knives. I believe that the method is so meticulous in order to make it difficult to force on someone.¡±

    I replied, ¡°Is it that hard? We probably won¡¯t be fighting that far from their camp.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re assuming that everybody spawned next to their camp. We may be an exception.¡± She said. ¡°Much more notable, though, is the nature of this arena. If it truly is planet-sized, or at least close, then eventually we¡¯re going to chase out everyone in this forest and we¡¯ll have to move out. Other teams will do the same. We¡¯re going to travel far from our original camp and our later opponents likely will too.¡±

    ¡°That''s a good point, but it should work for now at least. We can worry about what to do later when we get there.¡± I said.

    Garald spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m with Yu, that seems to be the most peaceful way to resolve things.¡±

    ¡°The most peaceful way is to form alliances, obviously.¡± She gave the exact response I was hoping she wouldn¡¯t. I lowered my head in slight annoyance. ¡°Rubi, not even you can handle that many different teams at once. Even with¡­ Or should I say, especially because of, y''know, how your brain works. You¡¯ll get overwhelmed.¡±

    She looked a little offended but didn¡¯t say it. I felt bad for bringing that up.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m not going to be childish about this.¡± She stated calmly. ¡°I¡¯ll let you do it until we get out of here, but I don¡¯t want you getting yourself into dangerous situations. Violence isn¡¯t a necessity. And no matter what, don¡¯t underestimate a captain¡¯s conviction.¡±

    I wanted to point out how reluctant she was to accept Kassy¡¯s proposal, but I didn¡¯t. Kassy could always be an exception, anyway. I doubt Rubi would be so difficult with every captain. Then again, Kassy didn¡¯t act too far beyond what I expected of your average captain.

    I can always change my plan later based on new info. I¡¯ll just go through with this one. Rubi and Garald stood up. The shorter of the two turned back to look at me. ¡°You and I will go. As the captain, I¡¯ll oversee this plot of yours. Not that I distrust you. It¡¯s simply my duty.¡±

    I walked towards the training field after retrieving the knife from inside the tent. ¡°Sure thing.¡± This was why I was hoping she wouldn¡¯t find out. I guess I should have expected that she wouldn¡¯t let such a plan pass her by undetected.

    Garald let out a sigh. ¡°Sorry, bro. Have fun.¡±

    I waved my hand at him to show that I had no hard feelings about it. Rubi followed me into the open field. ¡°Are you going to watch me exercise, too?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Can¡¯t I? If we¡¯re both going out, I want to work out too.¡±

    I said nothing in response. I started off with stretches once more, but this time I tried to get back into my daily knife swinging training, or at least what was once daily.

    ¡°Just so you know, you¡¯re not going to do any fighting. We flee at the slightest sign of danger.¡±

    Once again, my eyes rolled and I didn¡¯t reply. I found myself getting back into the rhythm, but it tired me out faster than usual. Well, it was as she said, I probably won¡¯t have to do any fighting today. As I finished up my figure eight motions with the blade, I tucked it into the wooden sheath and rested myself against a tree. Rubi was swinging her wooden sword in very elegant motions, clearly not exhausted at all. I looked to my left and right when I realized I forgot to get the wood mug, but Rubi had seemingly gotten it, filled it with water and left it right by this tree as though she knew I would rest at this exact one when I was finished. This girl is something else.

    I had finished almost all of it when Rubi came by and held her hand out, the same one she just wiped her sweaty face with. I stifled a laugh and handed her the mug. I almost felt bad about drinking as much as I did, but anyone would agree that I needed it more. The river¡¯s not very far off if you don¡¯t have multiple stab wounds in your back.

    With that, we were off. Rubi took two sticks with her, the same as she had given to Barb. I guess with me in this condition, her being overly cautious isn¡¯t unwarranted. She had made progress on the map while I was out, apparently, and was leading the way. ¡°It would be unwise to stray too far from what we¡¯ve already mapped out. Let¡¯s look for teams within our map that we haven¡¯t seen yet.¡±

    I nodded. So far, the only other camp we had on our map was Kassy¡¯s. This would be a chance to know what places to avoid in the future, even if we don¡¯t end up finding a team that looks overly trusting.

    We found an open clearing like the one in our camp. My eyes strained trying to look at the dirt, but Rubi whispered to me and held her hand in front of my face. ¡°Footsteps.¡± So we were thinking of the same thing after all. Yeah, that pretty much proved that it was a training area. We couldn¡¯t say if it was close to their camp for sure or not.

    We circled around it very cautiously to confirm, and in my case, so that I could try to scan their captain if they were here. We couldn¡¯t find anything that seemed like a camp. It¡¯s possible that they set their tent up deep within the trees for protection. Wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea.

    Rubi pointed to the right and started to walk, while I followed. We¡¯ll mark it on the map as ¡°probably a camp.¡± After what was probably half an hour of walking and taking mental notes, I could smell smoke. My nose was pretty sensitive to the stuff. I tapped Rubi¡¯s shoulder and walked forward with her behind me. She was clearly a little uncomfortable with letting me take the lead but she said nothing.

    The two of us got close enough to see a camp not unlike our own, a circle conveniently devoid of trees with a tent and a bundle of charred wood outside of it. Like I thought, there was no fire, but it must have been put out recently. The sun was well in the sky by now, so why would it have only been put out recently? Did they leave it up overnight? For it to be done that late, they must have had nobody guarding their tent at night or else that person would have put it out when the sun was up. Maybe they all left the camp without putting it out? That¡¯s a fire hazard.

    Whatever the reasoning, I had a feeling this team might be a good target. I gave Rubi a glance and she seemed to feel similarly, although she looked more concerned about their negligence than anything. A difference in how we view the world, I guess. If someone isn¡¯t going to take this thing seriously then I¡¯m not about to let them be the death of me.

    We inched ever closer, one step at a time, making sure not to snap any twigs or something. Having to keep steady like this was beginning to put more of a strain on my muscles. Rubi tapped my shoulder and walked ahead of me. I could tell she wanted me to stop getting closer. I lowered my head and stopped walking. I could see the camp well enough from here anyway. I noticed in the distance what seemed to be a person sleeping in a ball inside of a bush, but I couldn¡¯t tell. It may have been some supplies they left in a bundle instead. I wanted to alert Rubi to it but I didn¡¯t know how to without making a noise.

    She wasn¡¯t able to get that much closer until the tent started shuffling and a hand brushed aside the entrance. Rubi and I both stood as still as we could. Rubi immediately started to back up with the slowest steps I¡¯d ever seen. The man that came out of the tent was tall, though somehow not imposing. He seemed to have just woken up, if I were to interpret what that comically loud yawn meant. When Rubi¡¯s backstepping put her next to me, I started to do the same, but I couldn¡¯t keep my breath completely quiet. Thankfully, we were probably too far away to be heard as long as we kept the volume down.

    The man stretched his limbs one after the other, following it up with a few squats, bending his knees, as though he were putting on a show that seemed to say, ¡°Look at me, I¡¯m stretching!¡± The silhouette in the bush rolled over but was still mostly hidden. Did that person have the same idea we did? They didn¡¯t look like a member of the same team, since they were hiding like that. Not good.

    ¡°Good morning!¡± He announced loudly. I wondered for a second if he was talking to us, but it seemed like he was talking to nobody in particular, or maybe to the whole world. The hidden person began to stand up, causing me to speed up a bit without realizing it. Rubi noticed and decided to follow, leading the both of us to turn around and head home.

    I looked back after a few minutes to make sure we were in the clear. ¡°You think they were gonna fight..?¡±

    ¡°Wait until we¡¯re back.¡±

    I swallowed my tongue and kept quiet for the remainder of our trip.

    We entered the clearing of our camp and gathered Garald and Barb to explain what we saw. Barb seemed slightly annoyed that she was the only one who didn¡¯t know why we were gone. Damn, that¡¯s right, I forgot I only told her the beginning of my plan¡­ I''d tell her later.

    ¡°The guy seemed pretty carefree.¡± I said to everyone. ¡°I want to go back there and see if that¡¯s the vibe of the whole team. I got the feeling it was, based on the campfire thing. I don¡¯t know if that guy¡¯s the captain. I also want to know what¡¯s up with the silhouette we saw, if they¡¯re a teammate of his or not.¡±

    They agreed that sending another scout to gather info on that team was a good idea. Even if we didn¡¯t go through with my plan, knowledge is power. I told them that I wanted to be a part of it, but Rubi didn¡¯t seem convinced. She probably noticed how hard it was for me to sneak around.

    The day was still young, so after we dispersed, I drank a lot of water and tried to calm myself down by laying beside the river. The sounds calm me. Maybe I should try that meditation thing Barb mentioned.

    I decided I wanted to know more about that team. If they were all like that man, then it seemed too good to be true. Someone like that is the easiest to gain the trust of.

 Chapter 8: Lame Claim to Fame

    I sat in the middle of the training field¡¯s entrance, unsure of what to do next. I wanted to get some exercise but I also couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I needed to go back to that camp right away. We weren¡¯t noticed as far as I could tell, but what if they¡¯re more alert now? And what of that stalker? Maybe if I try to show up now, they¡¯ll be in a fight already. Although, if I wait too long, then I could still end up walking into a fight. That risk isn¡¯t going to go away, so it¡¯s no use trying to predict it¡­

    I smacked my face with both hands and stood up, shaking my head back and forth. No more wasting time thinking about it. The smell of cooked fish over a campfire drew my attention away from my worries and onto Rubi.

    ¡°Hey, Rubi.¡± I approached her. She looked up with a blank face, still roasting the fish even while looking at me. ¡°Since I¡¯m, uh, mostly better now, can you train me again? You mentioned in our first training session a few days ago that you want to teach me multiple martial arts. Do you think I¡¯m ready for that?¡±

    She looked to be deep in thought, but then turned back to the fish she was roasting and pulled it back to inspect it. Seemed cooked enough to me. She put it into the wooden crate that contained our supplies at the start. She then stood up and faced me. ¡°Yeah, probably. You¡¯d probably get bored if you practiced the same knife routines every day, right?¡±

    ¡°Not really, but I do want to get stronger as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Okay, just don¡¯t get too hasty. I¡¯ll show you a secondary fighting style that doesn¡¯t involve weapons. Follow me.¡± She wasted no time in leaving to the open field. I dug the sheathed knife out of the crate and followed after her.

    ¡°Alright, Yu, I did some thinking about it. Do you know what Muay Thai is?¡±

    My eyes opened up a bit. ¡°Oh, yeah. Well, I know it from a video game¡­¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s fine! You¡¯re not the tallest person, so I think this would be good for you to learn. Your upper body is already starting to learn how to defend itself with Kali. Muay Thai¡¯s upper foundation is close enough to Kali, so you can probably combine them. In fact, Silat Melayu is an existing martial art that is similar to a fusion of those two.¡±

    ¡°Uh huh¡­¡±

    ¡°By the way,¡± she continued, ¡°your ¡®system¡¯ refers to the different martial arts or forms of inspiration that combine to make up your self-defense core. Today I am mainly going to show you how to use your lower body with Muay Thai.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ Hey, wait, I thought Muay Thai was for tall people with long limbs.¡± I questioned.

    ¡°Oh, fiction highly exaggerates it. I mean, if you fought a tall Muay Thai user as a short Muay Thai user then you would probably lose, but in a self-defense or mixed martial arts setting, focusing on close quarters combat while using powerful knee and elbow strikes can even the playing field against someone who has longer limbs and wants to keep you at a distance with them. It is a martial art that is focused on the body¡¯s natural mechanics, not overpowering the enemy.¡±

    I nodded with my mouth open. I was surprised to hear that, but it did fill me with some excitement to get started. I wondered if I would be able to do flying knees by the end of this.

    ¡°Try to forget whatever silly notions you have of the art, please. I¡¯m going to show it to you from scratch.¡± She smiled awkwardly. I gulped. It was as if she saw right through me¡­ ¡°Roger that.¡±

    ¡°Good! Okay, take a stance like this, please. You may keep the knife in your hand. As I said, you could blend this with Kali if you¡¯re experienced.¡±

    Experienced was not a word that applied to me, but I appreciated her optimism. I watched her shift to a new stance. Her hands were raised in front of her like in the knife moves she had shown me before, except the hands were open and straight. Her left foot was planted on the ground in front of her with her knee raised up. The tip of her shoe was the only part of her foot that was touching the ground. The other leg was planted firmly behind her.

    ¡°From this position, my right leg is supporting my balance while my left leg is prepared to shoot up to attack or step aside to defend. When dodging like this, make sure your legs never cross each other like this.¡± She showcased this by taking a step to the left with her right leg, causing it to end up behind the other. ¡°All it would take is a light shove to get me off my balance when I¡¯m like this. Never end up like this.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°So, you see, this light footedness is good for evading knife attacks. Muay Thai is not designed for combat against armed foes like Kali is, but it should help you alongside what I already taught you. This fighting style focuses a lot on manipulating distance, which is crucial against an opponent with a blade. If the opponent has a knife and is expecting to fight from a distance, you can throw them off their game by suddenly approaching and putting them at a range that is too close for comfort. Up close, shift to Muay Thai. From afar, shift to Kali. You can use kicks to get your opponent off of you and then slash at them with the distance you created. Moving on, you see how my ribs aren¡¯t guarded right now? My arms are all the way up near my head. In your case, your hands will probably be lower while holding a knife. I think a higher stance is good against armed opponents, though. You never, ever want to block a knife with your arms the same way you would block a strike. The opponent is likely to aim for your stomach with a knife, and having your arms down there just means that there¡¯s more surface area for them to hit and it¡¯s harder for you to dodge. As for them striking at your face or neck, in an emergency you would much prefer for your arm to be cut than your throat. With your arms raised, you can also strike at your opponent¡¯s face more easily, although don¡¯t be afraid to shift your arms into a lower stance when the situation calls for it. Remember, don¡¯t let this new training overwrite your Kali experience.¡± I lazily nodded along. She raised her left knee up until it almost touched her elbow. Then, she shot it out in an incredibly fast kick before instantly retracting it back into that one-legged stance.

    ¡°Woah.¡± I watched in awe. Even that small leg of hers seemed like it could pack a punch with that move. Before she could instruct me, I tried to copy it, kicking my right leg in front of me and almost falling over thanks to my poor balance.

    ¡°Not like that, Yu. Raise your knee up like this first.¡± She lowered and raised her knee a bit to emphasize the positioning. I copied her. She continued her lesson. ¡°You need good balance for this. If that¡¯s an issue for you, I¡¯ll design some training for you that will improve it. You¡¯re right-handed so being able to cover your other side is valuable. Anyway, is your left leg your strongest leg? That¡¯s the case for most people. Try that one. After you¡¯ve raised your knee up at a 45 degree angle, you may then strike. Afterwards, return to this position and keep your knee up.¡±

    I watched her as sweat dripped from my forehead. I breathed in and lifted up my left knee this time, holding my arms out at my sides to help me balance. I then attempted a kick, but it was too forceful and I stumbled forward onto my feet. My left did feel a bit stronger, as she said. ¡°Damn¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll give you some solo training for your balance that you can do while I¡¯m gone.¡± She clapped her hands together once and shook them, dropping them to her side as she kicked her feet up in place to warm her legs up. ¡°Can you see how this would help you, though? This kick is called a teep.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can.¡± I said. ¡°I remember you commented on my skinny frame when you first showed me the knife stuff. Is working on my balance supposed to make me more nimble?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± She seemed proud that I had picked up on her methods. ¡°Your durability is lower than the rest of ours, so if you can master swaying and dodging swings, you¡¯ll be unstoppable.¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­ Does sound kinda cool.¡± I snickered quietly.

    ¡°The teep is basically for determining range, keeping the opponent away or putting them off their balance. When it comes to doing damage, you want to use knees and roundhouse kicks.¡± She demonstrated what she was talking about. The knee strike was about the same as when she lifted it up to prepare for the teep, just with an extra thrust added to it which resulted in it looking much more like a sharp angle. Her roundhouse kick almost sent her spinning with how much force she put into it. She stopped herself once she had spun back around to facing the direction that she was prior by planting her foot.

    I tried to remember my training session with Garald and Rubi a few days ago. I tried using knee strikes back then. I copied it a couple of times, but I had to put my foot on the ground every time to stop myself from falling over.

    ¡°Looking good, for a start! Here¡¯s something that applies to Kali as well, but Muay Thai also uses elbows. A potential tactic is to strike with a backwards knife and elbow them with the followup. You know, like this.¡± She picked up a stick and twirled it so that she was backhanding it, the long side coming out of the bottom of her clenched fist. She swung it in a sideways arc in front of her, quickly thrusting her elbow out at the same time. ¡°If they dodge the knife by leaning back or something, this can hit them. It¡¯s not a lot of extra movement but be careful you don¡¯t get punished for it regardless.¡±

    Rubi dropped the stick and brought her hands back up with loose, open hands. ¡°This is hard to do with a knife in-hand, so for now only try this when you¡¯re unarmed. Muay Thai has a focus on parrying, so go ahead and strike me.¡±

    I looked down at my fist and blinked twice. Without much pause for contemplation, I jabbed at her with my right fist, but her left palm thrust out to push my arm away at the same time as her body dodging to the left.

    ¡°See? This is why my hands are open. This ties back into why the stomach is seemingly unguarded. You bait them into taking what seems to be an opening, then you brush their strike aside, and at the same time you can step in, grab the back of their head and boom!¡± She imitated the situation she just described, pretending to brush aside a strike while stepping in and putting her hands on the back of an imaginary head, following up with a knee.

    ¡°If you were fighting someone else who uses kicks, like a fellow Muay Thai user, then catching a roundhouse kick aimed at your ribs would put you in an incredible position. This open hand position is also for chopping. Remember, you could hurt your knuckles badly by trying to punch too hard. Chops are safer for you to use and can be just as damaging if you hit them in the neck or somewhere equally vulnerable like a nerve cluster. Anyway, parrying a knife strike can be followed up by any of the disarming techniques I showed you in the past. Very good to do. A downside of a seasoned Muay Thai fighter being attacked by a knife is that Muay Thai often teaches you about toughness. We¡¯re going to be focusing on a version fit for smaller people, as well as for fighting against armed enemies. It¡¯s easy to do this without compromising the core of the art.¡±

    My image of a Muay Thai user was a 7 foot tall monster so hearing this made me feel like I wasn¡¯t getting the strongest version possible, but it was probably the best I could ask for.

    After that, she gave me a few training routines. Mostly repeated teeps with some knees and roundhouse kicks thrown in there. At some point, she made me incorporate switching legs, but that was way easier said than done. Even though my injuries hadn¡¯t bothered me yet today, this balancing act did make my back burn a bit.

    ¡°Look, Yu, you always want to be ready to swap your planted leg and your loose leg. Think of it like that. One leg is always ready to strike while the other is supporting your weight, but they are always prepared to switch places depending on what position you need to strike from. Mix up your approach. Catch an opponent off guard. A knee to the stomach or a roundhouse kick could seal the deal!¡±

    I followed her directions and tried my best to live up to her standards. After many clumsy kicks, she left me with some meditation poses that all involved balancing on one leg. ¡°See how long you can stay up like this. Clear your mind, too. We can go back to that camp in a couple of days. I want to see if you can master these moves enough to be trusted on a solo mission. No offense, Yu.¡±

    I grunted, but I understood her concerns. ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll try my best.¡± If this was what it took to get her blessing then that¡¯s just bonus motivation. I was already going to try mastering these, even without her encouragement. Not like I needed her blessing to do it, but it made things easier.

    I spent the next few hours drilling her lessons into my mind and body. I didn¡¯t even realize how much time had passed until I was done. I doused my face with water from the river. Garald and Barb were standing near the edge of the camp with Rubi facing them.

    ¡°You remember the map?¡± Rubi tapped both of their shoulders with her wooden sword. I looked over to it and saw that she did in fact carve the new spots we discovered into it. The two nodded and walked off into the woods. Rubi then came to sat beside me, prompting me to turn my attention back to the water so that it didn¡¯t seem like I was staring at them.

    ¡°They¡¯re going to scout. I asked them to see if they could give us an update on that camp but not to get too close. It¡¯s not their main objective, if it¡¯s too dangerous then they¡¯ll just keep going. You seem pumped up with the practices I gave you, so if you keep those up then I¡¯ll go along with your plan. You wanted to befriend them from the inside and learn info about them, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the gist.¡± I cupped some water with both hands and drank it. ¡°Whether or not we send them home will depend on what I find out.¡± I fully intended to take them down, but this was the best thing to tell Rubi. It isn¡¯t a lie. I wasn¡¯t 100% sure that I wouldn¡¯t find something to change my mind while I was there. Only 99%.

    ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t want to question your resolve and I know you already said that you plan to stay alive with us, but if I get the feeling that you¡¯re trying to throw yourself into danger then I¡¯m not letting you go.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡­ Ugh. I know why you¡¯d think that. I¡¯m not that kind of selfless person. At the end of the day, I protect you guys because I want you around, not for your own sakes.¡±

    She looked like she wasn¡¯t convinced by that but didn¡¯t push it. ¡°Whatever you say.¡±

    I was a little frustrated that she wasn¡¯t taking my words at face value. I ignored it and went back to my training once I felt that my body had rested enough. I still couldn¡¯t stand on one leg for very long, so that was top priority. All of this training with such a close deadline made me feel like I was getting ready to go out to war. Just had to remind myself that getting into a fight out there is the worst case scenario. I need to try avoiding it. This is just to prepare myself for the very worst.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    My meditation was interrupted by the sounds of Garald and Barb returning and greeting Rubi. I lowered the leg that I had lifted up in a yoga pose and jogged towards them. Garald waved and wasted no time in breaking down their discoveries.

    ¡°We found a long strip of land beyond the camp you guys were looking at. There¡¯s no other teams there from what we can tell.¡±

    ¡°Did you look into the camp?¡± I couldn¡¯t wait for the rest of the lecture.

    ¡°Uh, I was just getting there. There were three people in the camp, two of them were sparring.¡± Garald informed me.

    ¡°Really? Three, huh? I wonder if one of them was the stalker¡­ Usually your camp has either two or four people, but one person leaving alone is odd¡­¡± I pondered. Barb gave me a look as if to say, ¡°Is that right?¡± I gulped. I guess it is possible that a fourth team member could have gone out by themselves¡­

    ¡°Did you see a tall guy in a stupid outfit?¡± I pushed further. The two scouts shook their heads in denial.

    ¡°Nah.¡± Barb said. ¡°We couldn¡¯t tell who the captain was just from looking.¡±

    Rubi spoke next. ¡°And you¡¯re certain the fourth member wasn¡¯t tailing you?¡±

    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t be certain, but we¡¯re pretty sure,¡± said Garald.

    I thought about their report for a bit. Now I wanted to go and solve the mystery myself, but I worried about what would happen if I got into a fight with a team of four at this point. That couldn¡¯t end nicely. Even if I got enough training in this new style, would I be able to? I needed Barb with me to even beat that one guy. Should I assume everyone on this new team is as strong as him? Shit, I¡¯m second guessing this plan now¡­

    I went back to the open yard, feeling sufficiently rested to continue my practice. Garald ended up joining me, doing things like pushups instead of practicing any specific techniques. I guess for someone like him, that¡¯s what¡¯s best. I looked down at my flat stomach and wondered if I should be doing more workouts like that. What I was doing currently was still a workout. My arms and legs got really sore after every training session. If I kept this up, I¡¯d probably see some muscle building. Now that I¡¯m thinking about that, this balance training I¡¯m doing is starting to hurt my core.

    In anticipation for being able to leave tomorrow, I trained myself to my limit that night before going to bed. When I woke up, I rubbed my eyes and tried to sit up, but flinched and fell back as I realized that my abdomen area was incredibly sore. Barb was already up and turned to me. I waved my hand at her to tell her that I¡¯m fine. My hand on my chest probably told her that it was just post-exercise pain.

    Some time passed and I stood up. I felt like the injuries on my back had returned to me, but I couldn¡¯t tell what was from the inside and what was from the outside. I walked outside, stretched my arms and legs out, rotated my upper body and let out an annoyed sigh as I realized that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to do any traveling in this condition, especially to a dangerous place. Rubi, who was awake on guard duty outside the tent, looked up at me. ¡°Feeling unwell? Only natural. The previous drills I gave you didn¡¯t involve the muscles as much as these. It¡¯s all a part of learning martial arts, my student.¡±

    She looked smug. I tried to squat beside the burnt wood pile but I fell onto my butt and winced in pain. That little stunt made my legs scream in pain. I fell over on my side and steadied my breathing before I lazily reached into the crate for some meat. I gripped a handful of cooked fish chunks and started eating it. Rubi giggled at me. ¡°You look like you¡¯re dying over there, Yu!¡±

    I huffed and turned away, licking my fingers clean once they were hidden. Garald yawned loudly and sat up. ¡°Mornin¡¯, y¡¯all¡­ Hey, are those two healthy enough to take on the night shift again? I¡¯m getting sick of it¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still gonna be doing it a lot.¡± Rubi rebutled. Garald sighed.

    I laid limply on the grass. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can do the mission today. I really want to hurry up and get into that camp¡­ Ugh!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, dude.¡± Garald said. ¡°The situation couldn¡¯t change that much in just a couple days.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that apply to me too, then? I¡¯m training my ass off over here¡­¡±

    ¡°Er-¡± He went quiet. ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    I stared up at the clouds in the sky for a bit longer. I looked over to see if Rubi was still around. ¡°Hey, boss, do I need to rest or can I keep going?¡±

    ¡°Not a great idea to work out like this.¡± She answered. ¡°Easier to tear something. I have ways to treat it, though. Taking a cold bath in the river would help you. How many days has it been now?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ve had way more to worry about than my hygiene¡­¡± I blushed and folded my arms over my chest. I was always bad about missing showers back on Earth and I hated having it brought up. I would have done it last night, though. I got really sweaty after that training, but I was too tired. I turned away without a word and did just as she suggested. I brought one of the towels from the crate with me. It did feel very soothing. I kept my arm on land just in case my legs cramped up and I got carried away or something.

    When I got out, towel wrapped around my body as much as it could, Rubi approached me with a very matter-of-fact expression. She held out her palm to show me a handful of cherries. ¡°Here. They contain antioxidants that help with tense muscles or soreness.¡±

    I looked at her like I wasn¡¯t sure if they were edible, but the expectant look on her face made me unable to deny them. So I took a handful and started chewing on them. ¡°Is it better if I chew a lot or swallow now?¡± I spoke through the mush in my mouth.

    ¡°Um. I don¡¯t think it matters. If you want, you can keep chewing. Just make sure you swallow as much as possible and it doesn¡¯t stick to your teeth.¡± She said. Her face turned to look around her with her hand resting on her chin in contemplation. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve seen a lot of different wildlife around here that I don¡¯t think would be growing so closely to each other. I don¡¯t think this area we¡¯re in is based on any specific forests from Earth, but rather a composite of every forest in the world.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± I swallowed my food. ¡°I mean, I never thought about it, but I probably would have guessed that. Maybe the alien wanted to reward people who can spot useful plants? Make it more interesting?¡±

    ¡°Plausible. I¡¯m wondering how big this forest is. If it has no direct Earth counterpart, does it go on forever? When we were standing in front of the wall on the first day, it was mostly an open field. I wonder if that¡¯s a different biome or if it¡¯s just a part of the forest that happened to lack many trees.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll think about that when we get there.¡± I tried to get her mind off of it. Thinking ahead is good but I didn¡¯t see the point in worrying about this right now. ¡°What can I do for now?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? You shouldn¡¯t be doing anything. Just rest.¡±

    I groaned. ¡°Again? Seriously?! I¡¯m gonna lose it if I have to stay still for another day!¡±

    ¡°Maybe not the whole day. You could feel better by the end of it.¡±

    This was too much. Too many convenient excuses to do nothing. That¡¯s all my life has ever been.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get too down about it.¡± Rubi sounded worried. ¡°You can spend the day planning what you¡¯re going to do once you get into their camp. You could wash everyone¡¯s clothes in the river if you want, or catch some more fish for us.¡±

    ¡°Chores? I guess that would be better than nothing.¡± I won¡¯t be doing the fishing, though. Not after last time.¡±

    She laughed and I didn¡¯t resist the impulse to join. I got up and walked towards the edge of the forest, making sure I stayed in the camp as to not be ambushed. I couldn¡¯t find any big branches, which was a bummer. I thought that since most of the pain was in my lower body, I could lift something heavy so I didn¡¯t feel so left out. How frustrating. I decided to spend the next hour or so washing our clothes in the river. I truly wondered how ¡°clean¡± they would get in water like this. I supposed getting the dirt and blood off of it was better than nothing.

    By nightfall, I had started to feel a bit more comfortable moving around. I tried doing some balancing practices, but quickly fell over. ¡°Hmph. I guess I could play up the idea that I¡¯m an injured straggler to make them sympathize with me?¡±

    Barb was fishing a bit away from me, but still close enough to hear. ¡°Don¡¯t make up too many lies, or it¡¯ll get hard to keep track of them all and you¡¯ll have to make up more lies to cover them.¡±

    ¡°I know¡­¡± I rolled over onto the grass and stared up at the cloudy sky. The sun was starting to retreat for the night. Tomorrow, for sure, I would be going on a solo mission. I probably shouldn¡¯t be making myself sound so cool. It¡¯s something anyone could do, just don¡¯t say anything stupid and get killed for it.

    ¡°Bah, still not as good as Garald¡­ I swear he got way better when we got here.¡± I heard Barb grumble as she dropped another fish in her pile beside her. It seemed like she caught enough to me, but she kept going. Despite being the oldest, those two were never going to outgrow that phase, were they?

    I woke up a few times during the night. The anticipation wouldn¡¯t leave me. The anxiety. By the time I woke up the last time and couldn¡¯t fall back asleep, I figured I had gotten about 5 hours of rest. Could be worse. Even if I couldn¡¯t sleep anymore, I remained motionless in the tent for another hour or so, thinking about what I was going to do today. I started to wonder if somebody who could be so cheerful and careless in a situation like this would really be as safe a bet as I thought. Assuming that guy¡¯s personality really is what I¡¯ve gathered, then maybe he¡¯s some kind of lunatic who would kill me for doing the slightest thing¡­ Nah, I watch too many cartoons. If a guy like Garald can be here then why should I assume there¡¯s nobody else?

    The others started to get up and at last, I followed them. I retrieved my dried clothes from outside the tent and put them back on. I had a hefty meal, or hefty by our current standards, while Rubi tried to drill in certain berries and plants to keep an eye out for at the last minute. I followed along as best as I could.

    ¡°Yu, don¡¯t try to do anything stupid. I know you said you aren¡¯t going to sacrifice yourself or something, but please, really try not to¡­¡± Rubi stared into my eyes with a resolute look. I couldn¡¯t look at her straight on, so I replied while looking around me at anywhere that wasn¡¯t her face. ¡°Yeah, promise¡­¡±

    ¡°Good! I really would like to go with you, but they would get suspicious if they thought we could beat them. Besides, I can¡¯t make Garald and Barb do all the work around here. Come back safely, and as soon as possible. They¡¯ll probably force you to stay in the camp until they trust you enough.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Are they really gonna believe that my whole team got killed this early on..? Maybe I should tell them I got abandoned or something.¡±

    ¡°I doubt a captain would do such a thing. Their captain must also know that. You could say that you got lost?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

    She stared at me for a bit, and I tried to show her a confident expression but I wasn¡¯t sure if she bought it. ¡°You should have a solid plan, you know.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just say that I got lost and I think they intentionally got away from me. Sound good?¡± I sighed.

    ¡°I guess¡­ I still don¡¯t think a captain would¡­¡±

    ¡°It leaves it ambiguous, maybe my captain was mean or maybe I was stupid and really did get lost. I think the open-endedness makes it a good shot.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I like your reasoning.¡± She smiled. ¡°See? I wasn¡¯t doubting you, I just wanted to make sure you weren¡¯t rushing into it.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°I know, Thanks for double checking.¡± I stood up and went for the entrance, which Garald and Barb were already waiting at.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t hear from you in 5 days, we¡¯re gonna come make sure you¡¯re still good.¡± Barb said. I had no objections.

    ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Garald said such a clich¨¦ line with such a straight face. I tried not to laugh, as I could see he felt strongly.

    ¡°Thanks, you two. I won¡¯t be gone for long. I need to do this to prove myself. I know it might be dumb, but trust that I¡¯m not going to put myself in any unnecessary danger.¡± And just like that, I said such a clich¨¦ line, too. It¡¯s infectious, I guess. Garald seemed the most touched by my reply.

    Rubi put a hand on my shoulder and walked in front of me to stand beside the others. ¡°Yu, we can¡¯t give you any suspicious items like a horn, if we even had one of those, but if you need urgent back up, yell as loud as you can. Hopefully we would be close by and could run towards you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll remember that. I would practice my screaming if it wouldn¡¯t alert everyone in the forest.¡± I laughed to myself. ¡°Well, I ate a good bit this morning, just in case they don¡¯t let me have any food right away. I would bring stuff with me, but if I¡¯m supplied then it makes me look suspicious.¡±

    The others agreed. I walked through them but Garald stopped me with a fist to my chest. I looked at him in confusion until I realized he was offering to bump fists with me. Smiling, I returned it. Barb gave me one, too. Rubi gave me a tap on the back with her sword, almost like she was knighting me.

    ¡°See you, guys. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I waved to them, showing them a joyful grin before turning my back to them.

    My smile was genuine, but there was a worry tugging at my heart. That pessimistic side of me that couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of this being my last meeting with them. I couldn¡¯t listen to it. I remembered what Barb said, about stressing over things you can¡¯t change. If I really did never see them again, then it¡¯s over, so I need to be prepared for the future where it isn¡¯t over. Thinking about what I would do if I lost them is like thinking about what you would do if you died. Nothing. You would just die.

    About halfway to my destination, I stopped to do some workouts.  It helped me get stronger, sure, but mostly to tire myself out. If I showed up full of energy, they may not be as likely to trust my story. I did some knife swings, although there was no knife in my hand so it looked like I was awkwardly boxing some invisible creature. After that, balance. I stood on one leg with the other one outstretched. My hands were together in front of me in a praying position. I was getting to be able to keep that position up for longer and longer. I wondered how close I was getting to the average adult with all of this practice.

    I dropped my limbs and dropped to my knees, taking a breather. Eventually, I got back on the path and kept walking. The trees started to get thicker. I wondered if this was the right path. I saw more light than usual and when I got closer, there was indeed the clearing that I remembered. My thought process at this point was how to introduce myself to them without coming across like an enemy. As I got closer, I once again saw nobody there. Not even the bush that had the stalker in it. I was still pretty exhausted from earlier, but I didn¡¯t want to play it up too much at the risk of being obvious.

    I took a deep breath and poked my head into the opening, taking a closer look at my surroundings. I stared at the tent and noticed some movement. Another few breaths followed until I worked up the courage to step my foot on the dirt and walk forward. The movement in the tent stopped. Then, a head poked out. I stood awkwardly and waved at him. His eyes were wide, like he wasn¡¯t sure what to do about me. I must not look like an enemy, but you can never be too cautious.

    ¡°Um, hi!¡± I called, trying to raise my voice despite my reservations. ¡°C-Can we talk..?¡±

    Another head popped up behind the man¡¯s. They looked at each other and then stepped out so that I could see them. They didn¡¯t get close to me just yet, but we could hear each other from this distance. A man and a woman, very casually dressed with normal-looking faces and hair. I wanted to assume that neither of them was the captain, but that would be too presumptuous. It¡¯s not like every captain is going to look like a cartoon character. Average people have strong convictions too.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Yu, I was¡­¡±

    Click.

    I froze up. If the noise didn¡¯t tip me off to what was happening, then the cold, hard muzzle of a handgun pressed into the back of my head did.

    ¡°Damian? Maya? Who¡¯s this chap?¡± I heard a man talking from behind me. It almost sounded like the large, clownish man that I saw in their camp, but it was a much deeper voice this time.

    ¡°They just showed up.¡± The man in front of me replied, a casual look on his face.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± He seemed to be observing me closely, despite the fact that he could only see the back of my head. I was now becoming more certain that this was the same man from the other day. Did I horribly misread his character?! I really thought he would be the carefree type!

    ¡°They don¡¯t seem like a threat.¡± The girl, I assumed Maya, said. ¡°Your choice, though.¡±

    ¡°Answer my questions, Yu. Turn around and put your hands up.¡± I did exactly as he demanded. His eyes were wide, almost frantic, but his demeanor was calm. His hair looked like a white powdered wig, the type they wore hundreds of years ago, but pale blond more than it was white. He continued speaking, ¡°Why are you here? Are you a captain?¡±

    ¡°N-N-No.¡± I stuttered out. ¡°I¡¯m not a captain. My captain abandoned me, so I¡¯ve been wandering. Well, I guess I got lost, but I¡¯m p-pretty sure they wanted me to get lost so they could ditch m-me.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ We¡¯re supposed to believe you?¡±

    I had no idea how to reply to that. Is there even a good reply to that? My heart skipped a beat or two. I inhaled loudly and replied. ¡°I c-came here knowing that you would mistrust me and that you would be perfectly capable of killing me if you wished. I had no other options. I would die if I didn¡¯t come here, so I d-decided to put my life in your hands and humbly beg for your hospitality¡­¡±

    I had never spoken so cordially before. I felt like my heart was stuck in my throat, I barely had time to think before saying whatever words I thought would stop me from getting a bullet in my head. Who the hell brought a gun in here, anyway?! Is it the same rules that let Rubi keep her sword? What bullshit!

    ¡°Sorry, but we¡¯re not running a charity.¡± He pushed the gun against my forehead harder.

    My breathing became faster and faster. ¡°Please, I¡­¡± I knew it. I¡¯m so sorry, you guys.

    BANG!

    My life flashed before my eyes in the instant before my eyes opened again and I realized that I was unharmed. The gun that was pressed into my forehead had been pulled back to make room for a flag with the word ¡°Bang!¡± written on it sticking out of the hole where a bullet would have come.

    ¡°Good one, huh?¡±

    ¡°Wh-wh-wh¡­¡± My half-words escaped my mouth in loud panting. I was now beginning to try to comprehend what he had just done. Was that some sort of joke? No, he couldn¡¯t have. Seriously?

    ¡°You okay, kid?¡± He sounded a lot more like the way I remembered him now. I turned my head to see that Damian and Maya were staring at me with beads of sweat on their faces.

    Realizing just how unserious the situation had become, I fell onto my knees and immediately started breathing as hard and fast as possible to return the oxygen that I had just lost from being breathless for so long. I could feel my head getting light and I leaned forward to rest myself on the ground. I wasn¡¯t even looking at those three anymore. They could be holding an actual gun to my head and I wouldn¡¯t have noticed. Too much had happened at once.

    The giant of a man squatted in front of me with a stupid grin on his face. Was he enjoying my suffering? ¡°Hey, that wasn¡¯t too much, was it? Oh, I¡¯ve met kids like you before. You¡¯re the type to be deathly afraid of haunted houses, aren¡¯t you? My apologies, I should have put a content warning before that little goof. I¡¯ll be more considerate with you.¡±

    I was too frustrated that he had made me put up my guard that much to mince my words. ¡°Is this funny to you?!¡±

    The corners of his mouth lowered into what may be considered a frown compared to how it looked before, but was still a smile by most peoples¡¯ standards. ¡°The joke? Of course! Your reaction? Not so much. I was inconsiderate. May I make it up to you with a napkin to wipe your tears?¡± He held out a red cloth.

    I sniffled loudly to retract some snot back into my nose. ¡°I¡¯m not.. crying.. but thanks¡­¡± I grabbed the cloth and wiped my face with it. When I lifted my head, I noticed that it was tied to a blue cloth, with a sliver of a yellow cloth peaking out that was tied to that one.

    ¡°Hey, keep pulling! Don¡¯t be a debbie downer!¡±

    I did not indulge his joke one bit. I released the snot-covered napkin and let it hit his green overall straps, dangling from the other napkins. He seemed disappointed.

    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t disrespect our cap-¡±

    ¡°Maya! It¡¯s quite alright. The child¡¯s reactions are understandable. We should be trying to make up for it with hospitality, not yelling.¡± He returned to me and grabbed my wrist without waiting for me, pulling me to my feet which only made my head spin more. ¡°My name is Wilhelm, but my friends call me Willy! You¡¯re one of those friends, by the way. So, I¡¯m Willy!¡±

    My eyes were half-looking at him and half-looking into space. ¡°Right¡­ Will¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you go shortening it more¡­!¡±

    ¡°Damian! It¡¯s quite alright. Will doesn¡¯t sound bad, either. This one doesn¡¯t seem the joyous type, so I guess they wouldn¡¯t want to call a grown man like me such a whimsical name. Although, the whimsy is why I prefer it to Wilhelm, you see. But now that you¡¯ve said it, I also prefer Will to Wilhelm, though not as much as I prefer Willy.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I stopped listening somewhere near the start of that monologue. ¡°Does this mean I can stay with you?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t want to make you sad. How would I fulfill my dream if you were?¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Dream, huh¡­ Guess you are the captain¡­¡±

    ¡°Ohoho! Do I remind you of your previous captain? Oh, wait, maybe I don¡¯t want to be like them!¡±

    ¡°Nah, you two have some things in common, I bet¡­¡± At least Rubi isn¡¯t a total psycho¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll hope you mean that positively!¡± Willy gave me a rougher-than-necessary yet playful smack on the shoulder and turned around to face the woods. ¡°Hey, Mikey! You can come out! They are no threat!¡±

    I moved my head to try and see who he was talking to past his tall figure. I saw a silhouette slowly reveal itself to be a middle-aged man with slicked back, black and gray hair. As he approached us, my eyes must have widened as my hair stood up on end like a cat¡¯s. This unmistakable energy coming from him, this miasma of indecipherable emotion, that meaningless smile¡­ I remembered it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that, Wilhelm. My name is Michael.¡±

    He was the man I saw when I arrived at the alien¡¯s ship. The one with the pitch black eyes.

    Wasn¡¯t he a captain, though? What is he doing with these guys? I thought I had safely found the best team to take advantage of, but at this moment I was devoured by the feeling that this was the worst possible group of people I could be affiliating myself with.

 Chapter 9: Shut-Up and Smile

    ¡°So, what do you find funny?¡± Willy asked.

    I stared at him with an apprehensive expression. I struggled to talk to him casually after he nearly gave me a heart attack. I could still feel my chest recuperating. ¡°Nothing¡­ Please stop asking.¡±

    ¡°Everyone laughs at something! Maybe¡­¡± He dragged his last word while he contemplated. ¡°Are you into dark humor? Maybe the gun thing was too far. Would you find that funny if I did it to someone else or do you think it¡¯s a bad bit in general?¡±

    The way he was looking at me gave the impression that he was genuinely asking, but it was still creepy. Something about him wasn¡¯t like Garald at all.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not funny in any way. Everyone in this thing knows they can die at any moment. It¡¯s messed up to prey on that.¡± I decided to reply to him seriously, since he was showing me hospitality by letting me come into their tent and snack on some kind of cooked meat.

    ¡°I see¡­ I should have been more considerate. I forget that people are still afraid of death.¡± He giggled.

    ¡°I think most people are.¡± I replied nonchalantly.

    ¡°Yes, yes, it is sad.¡±

    It seemed that no matter the tone, his smile wouldn¡¯t vanish. What a weirdo.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to start with you, kid! I¡¯m gonna brighten your whole life up. I¡¯ll find what makes you happy if it¡¯s the last thing I do.¡±

    ¡°What makes me happy..?¡± I thought that answering that might be a bad idea if my plan is to keep my cover as an abandoned traveler. Besides, I shouldn¡¯t tell him things he doesn¡¯t need to know, even if it seems harmless. ¡°I wish you would stop, but I know what you captains are like.¡±

    ¡°Hoho! If you know it¡¯s worthless to make me stop, then you¡¯ll be saving me some time by dropping the resistance!¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to go along with it!¡± I noticed myself raising my voice and quickly returned to my prior relaxed position, coughing into my balled fist. ¡°Th¡­ Thanks for the food.¡±

    Willy smiled and stepped outside. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll get to meet Sonya soon. She will be so happy to have picked up another stray cat.¡±

    ¡°Another¡­¡± Oh, I guess he means Michael.

    Michael¡­ That guy. He¡¯s still outside. What the hell is a captain doing here by himself? Did he have the same idea as me? No, it¡¯s too bold to send your captain when there¡¯s a great chance that someone saw you at the start. Did his whole team really¡­?

    I tilted my head to see outside of the opening in the tent. I didn¡¯t want to put myself in front of them more than necessary. I¡¯d rather keep away from them until they trust me. Although, if I don¡¯t hang out with them, won¡¯t it be harder to get their trust¡­ Well, Willy sure seems to trust me, despite how I talk to him.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I froze. I heard his voice before I heard his footsteps. Michael lowered his head into the tent and entered, sitting beside me. I tried not to make it obvious that I was afraid of him.

    Afraid? Was that the right word? I wasn¡¯t sure if I was scared by him. In a way, I was, but I wasn¡¯t physically intimidated by him. He didn¡¯t look much stronger than me.

    ¡°Hi. Michael, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You are Yu.¡±

    ¡°I am¡­¡± Should I have used a fake name instead?

    ¡°Interesting. I¡¯m very happy I got to meet you so early. This can¡¯t be considered anything more than a twist of fate.¡±

    I turned to look at him when he said that. His eyes were looking straight at me and yet not, as if they saw something on the back of my head. His smile wasn¡¯t as large and obnoxious as Willy¡¯s, but it was definitely less genuine.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Do you know me?¡± I tried to sound normal.

    ¡°Not exactly¡­ I saw you. When we were on the ship.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah? Funny¡­¡±

    ¡°You saw me too, right?¡±

    Gulp¡­ ¡°Yeah. Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to stare.¡±

    ¡°No worries. I didn¡¯t see you staring.¡± He said. ¡°I could tell from your reaction that you knew me from somewhere.¡±

    Once again, I tried my best to keep up the pleasant tone despite him saying such a thing. ¡°And you¡¯re sure I didn¡¯t know you from before this game started?¡±

    ¡°Quite unlikely.¡±

    Neither of us spoke for a bit. He didn¡¯t stop looking at me.

    He broke the silence. ¡°I like you, Yu.¡±

    My composure was shattered as my head quickly turned to him. ¡°W-What?¡±

    ¡°You remind me of¡­¡± He paused. ¡°...what my child would be like if I had one.¡±

    I was completely dumbfounded by that. I scoured my brain for possible replies. ¡°Thanks¡­?¡±

    ¡°Was that weird? My apologies. I was simply eager to meet you. I thought I would have to travel a lot further than I did.¡±

    ¡°You wanted to see me that badly..? Did you abandon your team for that?¡± I inquired.

    ¡°Oh, no. Not at all. They all died, just a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± This guy really seemed like he had no feelings. Three people that he personally chose are dead and he¡¯s chatting about it like this? That comment about his child was seemingly contradictory, though. Not to mention how interested he seemed in meeting me, more than even his dead allies. Maybe he does care about things, but his sense of what to care for and what not to care for are backwards¡­ I decided to scan him for answers. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to hear that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I didn¡¯t know them or care for them at all.¡±

    So blunt, too. It was odd. His face betrayed a total lack of emotion that would be associated with lying, but the way they came out made me unable to doubt him. Why would anyone lie about such a thing?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too open with someone you just met..?¡± Both he and Willy were getting me to open up more with their bizarre but straightforward personalities. Maybe that¡¯s part of their trick¡­

    ¡°Oh, I guess we did only just meet.¡± Did he seriously forget?! ¡°I feel like I can trust you, though. I can¡¯t say what it is, but I get a certain feeling from you. From the first time I saw you, you stood out among the crowd because of how much you didn¡¯t stand out.¡±

    I gulped. We both got a feeling from each other¡­ I wondered how much of his comment about ¡°fate¡± earlier was a joke.

    ¡°In a good way..?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I want to find out.¡±

    Right¡­ ¡°Well, keep me updated.¡± I laughed stiffly.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll let me.¡± With that, he left the tent. I wanted to ask him how much of that he told the others, but I couldn¡¯t think of a way to say it without being suspicious. Those other two¡­ Damian and Maya, I think. They seem to have their heads screwed on tighter than their captain, but they listened to him without question. Wonder if that¡¯s a trend¡­ Doesn¡¯t matter. Damian and Maya won¡¯t let me get away with whatever I want. They must be keeping their eyes on me and Michael.

    I remained in the tent, not touching their blanket or anything, just in case it gave off the wrong idea. I had decided not to step out unless I was called, and they didn¡¯t call on me for a long while. I was almost getting worried. Were they deciding on what to do with me? Maybe the two sensible ones were trying to convince the captain to get rid of me. I heard a third one returning from scouting alone, presumably the girl that Willy had mentioned earlier. I didn¡¯t want to risk seeming suspicious to get a look at her, though. If I stayed here then I¡¯d learn about her eventually.

    ¡°Oh, Yu! Yoo-hoo!¡± I winced at the sound of Willy¡¯s annoying voice piercing my eardrums. I waited until he continued with his intentions. ¡°Come meet Miss Sonya!¡± Taken aback by this, I decided to appear from the tent. I saw a new face, a tall woman with big, puffy, bright blue and pink hair. What¡¯s with this team and having weird hair?

    Her eyes lit up when she saw me. Before I knew it, I was flung off the ground, but instead of flying and landing on my head, she was holding me tight with her arms wrapped around my abdomen. She stared up at me with giant, gleaming eyes. That was all I saw because I actively ignored the sizable cushioning pressed into my stomach.  ¡°You¡¯re just as cute as I was told!¡±

    ¡°Ah, hey- What the..!¡± My arms were extended out, frozen as I tried to fathom what was happening. Oh, I thought, so she¡¯s like that tool.

    ¡°Sorry, Willy told me you were an introvert, but I couldn¡¯t help myself!¡± She dropped me suddenly onto my feet, which rattled me a bit. ¡°I¡¯m Sonya¡­¡±

    ¡°I heard.¡± I cut her off without thinking while I gathered myself once more.

    ¡°Heehee! Jeez, Willy, you really know my type, huh? Are you picking them up on purpose for me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Mere coincidence.¡±

    My face got a little red. ¡°Type?¡± Am I the same type as Michael to her?

    Sonya firmly placed both of her hands down on my shoulders. ¡°Oh, not like that! You¡¯re far too young for me.¡±

    Willy interrupted my scattered thoughts, ¡°She likes playing mother, dear Yu, so don¡¯t be mean.¡± He laughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it either!¡± She growled at Willy, although I could tell she was being playful. Her eyes shot over at me to check how I reacted to their interaction. My reaction was none at all. Despite the fact that she was partially putting on a show, she felt authentic in her feelings. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how to compare her to Willy. Was I just biased because she said she liked me? No, I¡¯m not that simple. I still couldn¡¯t explain it, though.

    ¡°Well, at least Yu is easy to tease. Mikey is rude and not in the fun way¡­¡± Sonya pouted. Upon being reminded of him, I scanned the area for a moment until I saw Michael staring at me. I shivered. What a creepy guy.

    ¡°I am not rude.¡± Michael lifted his hand up, palm flat and tilted his wrist back in a surprisingly charming pose. ¡°I¡¯m fully capable of being kind to people when I see fit.¡±

    See fit? I almost laughed at the lack of self-awareness in that comment.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not fit now, I don¡¯t see when it ever will be.¡± Willy shrugged.

    ¡°You¡¯d be shocked.¡± Michael grinned and walked away. I couldn¡¯t tell if the cold feeling I got from his expression was really there or just my imagination. Thinking about it, he told me that I was special and that was why he was talking so openly with me. I wondered if he felt the same about these two and that was why he had teamed up with them. Well, I wouldn¡¯t feel very special if there were this many other special people¡­

    ¡°Hey, Willy, are the other two warming up to our guests?¡± Sonya asked.

    ¡°Afraid not. They¡¯re treating Yu about the same as Mikey.¡±

    I scoffed. A part of me really didn¡¯t want to push it and try to make friends with those two, but I knew that if they remained mistrustful of me that my job would be a lot harder.

    ¡°Damian especially isn¡¯t liking it. You know how he is.¡± Sonya sighed.

    I made a mental note to be more wary of him. I didn¡¯t want to leave now, since they had called me here and I didn¡¯t want to seem too eager to get back to something. Willy suddenly approached me with a few long steps.

    ¡°Yu! Forgive us if Maya and Damian are rude to you. They¡¯re just worried about me. I wish they would believe in me more, but know that they are not unnecessarily judgmental people like you may think.¡±

    I responded awkwardly. ¡°Oh, no, I understand. They sound nice if they¡¯re worried about their captain.¡±

    ¡°I prefer to think of myself as their friend, but I think the thought of me as their captain is putting too much weight on them. I wish they¡¯d take my advice more seriously¡­¡±

    He almost looked sad. I still struggled to tell what kind of emotions I was supposed to be getting from him. ¡°Well, let me know if you want me to do anything.¡± I added. ¡°You can keep spies on me, or whatever you need to do.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no need. I trust you. Do whatever you want. I would like it if you could help us out, though.¡±

    What is with people handing out their trust to me so easily today..? ¡°That right? Haha¡­ Well, I¡¯ll see if I can do some chores for you.¡±

    Still, I didn¡¯t want to do anything that the other two might find suspicious.

    As I left Willy¡¯s line of sight, I walked to the edge of the camp and scanned the forest surrounding it. I was curious if any of the berries or herbs that Rubi showed me would be around here for me to collect as a sign of good will. A hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back, causing me to let out an embarrassing yell as I turned around, eyes wide. It was Maya.

    ¡°What are you so jumpy for? You weren¡¯t trying to hide anything, were you?¡±

    ¡°N-No, I¡¯m just¡­ sensitive about my back¡­¡± I shuddered. For a moment, it felt like the old wound I got from the ninja guy was burning again. She didn¡¯t seem to think I was lying.

    ¡°Sorry about that. You know, when Michael got here, we made him do some sparring with us. It¡¯s only natural that we get to know how you fight, if you want to freeload off of us.¡± She gestured behind her with a thumb. I saw Damian leaning over the river to drink some water with his cupped hands.

    ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind.¡± I followed her hesitantly. Damian wiped his lips and glared at me. Michael was already sitting a distance away from us, watching with his head in his hands.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Michael is a pitiful fighter, but at least he¡¯s a good doctor. Are you going to provide us anything in exchange for our hospitality?¡± The man asked me. I gulped.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been training a lot, lately. I had a really good teacher.¡±

    Damian raised an eyebrow at me as he started stretching his arms. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I could also maybe show you how to carve a cup out of a tree for drinking water¡­¡±

    Everybody looked at me in surprise for a second.

    ¡°From a tree..?¡± Maya broke the silence. ¡°That sounds¡­ gross.¡±

    ¡°...Okay. Sorry.¡±

    Damian gently hit his balled fist against my chest before backing up to create distance between us. ¡°That can come later. Come on, show me what you got.¡±

    I nodded my head and took up my newly trained Muay Thai stance. I was without the trusted knife, so I held my hands at a distance apart in front of my head and one leg raised slightly. Damian seemed surprised to see this.

    ¡°You¡¯re rather short and skinny for that, huh?¡±

    ¡°Heh. Want to find out?¡± Since he was being a little playful, I responded in my own somewhat stilted way, still unsure if I should be talking to him like that.

    Damian hunched his back forward and held his hands open in front of his chest, aimed at me. His form looked a little more trained than mine. It made me feel that he wasn¡¯t hiding anything, which made me feel better about revealing my style so early. Part of me wondered if I should hide my style until the time we fought seriously, but I¡¯m too inexperienced. They¡¯d notice for sure that I was holding back and would probably reach a conclusion about my loyalty.

    He didn¡¯t wait for a bell. He lunged toward me, causing me to take a couple of steps back. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and used the newly lightened leg to thrust a kick toward him. He moved to the side slightly and let my leg graze his ribs so that he could wrap his arms around it and twist, causing me to lose balance and immediately hit my ass on the ground. To my surprise, he didn¡¯t stop there. He wrapped his arms around mine and put it behind my back while his legs locked around my hips, crushing me into a pretzel.

    ¡°Ow! I give!¡± I yelped as I tapped his side repeatedly with my other arm, crushed under my weight but just barely able to move my wrist. He sighed and released me. We both stood up.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t stop me from grabbing you and you didn¡¯t do anything when I did.¡±

    ¡°I know¡­¡± I rubbed my hips. I hoped they weren¡¯t bruised.

    ¡°I¡¯ll never trust you if you aren¡¯t going to take this seriously.¡±

    Was he testing me? Maybe he wanted to make me slip up and reveal my plan? I glimpsed over at Michael to try and gather from his expression if they had given him this treatment too, but from the calm smile on his face I could immediately tell that trying to make him crack on anything would be pointless.

    ¡°I am taking this seriously. I¡¯ve been serious since we got here.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t about to try entering the zone I was in the other day, but I would give it all I reasonably could. It¡¯s not like this is life or death, but they need to know, or at least think, that I¡¯m serious. I brought myself back into the memories of calmly analyzing my opponent. I watched Damian lower himself into a stance again. My body lowered too. I didn¡¯t copy his stance, though. There was still room for my leg to shoot up if necessary.

    I wasn¡¯t as comfortable using my leg as I was using my knife. I decided to think of this as a continuation of my training. Besides, it¡¯ll be a good shock when they get to see me fight with a weapon for the first time in our real fight.

    He thrust himself towards me again, arms circling me from each side in an attempt to trap me. Before those arms could get too close, I took one step back with my planted leg and swung my loose leg up with a slight curve, aiming for the side of his head with the small space between his arms. It was a very tight turn, given that if I touched his arm he would probably grab my leg and flip me over. I grit my teeth and tightened my leg muscles to keep it in the trajectory I imagined, but my arc was a bit too wide, allowing Damian to bring his nearest arm to wrap underneath my leg, then grabbing it with the other arm and ripping me off of my foot in much the same way he had in our first exchange. This time, he didn¡¯t follow up with a grapple. He just watched me stand up.

    ¡°Ugh! Damn¡­¡± I coughed. ¡°You know I wasn¡¯t coming at you the same-¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I could tell. Your instincts are pretty good to aim for such an opening, but your body can¡¯t keep up with them.¡±

    I wanted to tell him it wasn¡¯t instincts, that I was trying to process all of that information in my head as fast as possible, but I didn¡¯t feel like arguing about it. Especially when I just failed. Instincts might play a part in it, but before this whole thing I¡¯d only ever been in one or two fights in my life, none of which being recent, so why would I have any sort of instinct for this stuff?

    ¡°You¡¯re being pretty nice to me, considering how suspicious I am.¡± I didn¡¯t feel the need to mince my words. His mistrust for me was already so high.

    ¡°Fists don¡¯t lie like people do.¡± Damian stared down at me coldly. Michael chuckled after hearing this, loud enough for me to hear.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re distrustful of everyone? Makes me feel better. I thought I did something to upset you.¡±

    ¡°Not everyone.¡± He lowered his arms, releasing tension. ¡°Is that really the best you can do? You¡¯re not good at that style, you know.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s just something I picked up recently so I wanted to try it. In theory, it should be the best I can do, but I¡¯m too new at it.¡±

    ¡°You said that as if you had a method of fighting before this.¡±

    ¡°Well, I learned how to use a knife but our knife was taken when my teammates were taken by surprise.¡± I lied brazenly.

    ¡°Sorry to hear that.¡±

    ¡°I learned some unarmed techniques, though. Pretty sure it was called Kali. I started learning Muay Thai but I should¡¯ve known I wasn¡¯t good enough to learn two at once. I only just started learning the other one!¡± I complained in a lighthearted way. I hoped to make the mood a bit better.

    ¡°Figure it out. If you¡¯re gonna fight with us you better not die in our first mission.¡±

    I gulped. I guess they would want me to join them on expositions. Even if I¡¯m potentially hostile, they couldn¡¯t turn down the extra hands. With Michael and I here, this team was relatively huge.

    ¡°We¡¯ll need all the help we can get, what with me being the only combatant and all.¡±

    ¡­Huh?!

    ¡°What¡¯s with that look? Are you saying your whole team was full of fighters?¡± He frowned.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Kinda, yeah. I guess I just assumed¡­¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± He wore a shocked face. ¡°No wonder somebody who looks like you was able to learn so much in such a short time.¡±

    ¡°Hey, no need for jabs¡­¡± I huffed. ¡°But seriously, Sonya was so strong, shouldn¡¯t she¡­¡±

    ¡°Why should she have to fight?!¡± He barked at me. ¡°Can you tell me she¡¯s got the heart for it? Even after just one meeting, you should have known.¡±

    I paused. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡± Once again, my own team got in the way of my perception of these people. Were my friends really that odd?

    That seemed to have gotten Damian in a foul mood again, as he took on his fighting stance and glared at me. I raised my fists in front of me in a more familiar but less impressive stance like what I used when I first started training.

    Damian continued, ¡°The only reason I¡¯m allowing myself to begin to almost trust you is because we won¡¯t sustain ourselves the way it is now. Maya is trying her best despite not having an inclination for it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be interested in how she and I compare.¡± I remarked.

    ¡°She¡¯s probably got you beat.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell if that was an observation or an insult. He ran in suddenly, low like before. Low stances weren¡¯t something I had trained to take down with this style before. In my surprise, I lowered my hips so that my arms could reach him without having to adjust my attacks, but I quickly realized this was a mistake as he shifted even lower to pull my left leg and drop me on my butt once more.

    ¡°That was the easiest one. What kind of awful balance was that?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t say go!¡±

    ¡°Worthless excuses.¡±

    This asshole¡­

    Damian continued to speak. ¡°Whoever taught you must have thought you were never going to get put on the floor. Did you learn even a little bit of grappling?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not a grappler though¡­¡±

    ¡°Too simple! The real world is more complex.¡± He didn¡¯t let me finish before butting in. ¡°Like what happened just now, you¡¯re going to get taken down even if you don¡¯t train for it. For you to beat me, you have to do your optimal move on me several times. For me to beat you, I only have to do mine once.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rub it in¡­¡±

    ¡°Not what I was doing, you dumbass! Your moronic teacher didn¡¯t even¡­¡±

    Gritting my teeth in annoyance at his attitude, I stood up and grabbed the scruff of his shirt roughly. ¡°Watch your-¡± He grabbed the outside of my arm before I could realize how aggressive I had become and forced it off. Moving my arm in the direction of his free hand, he grabbed the inside of it so that both of his hands were holding my right arm in place. Because my upper body had been twisted by this, I couldn¡¯t hit him with my left fast enough. I noticed that this position was primed for the knees I had been training lately, so my left leg that was newly turned towards him shot up and hit my knee right into his ribs. I noticed that he had tensed up right before I landed it, but he didn¡¯t notice fast enough to stop it. He let go of my arm with one hand, but the other was still gripping me tight.

    ¡°Hey, are you two still training or what?!¡± Maya got up from her seat and yelled at us as she approached. She grabbed both of our arms and glared at us. We scowled a moment longer before we let each other go.

    The tense air was cut by Damian¡¯s next words. ¡°You¡¯re really cocky for a stray. You know we don¡¯t have to keep you here, right?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s how you want to talk about my friends then I¡¯d rather fend for myself.¡± Our fight suddenly being separated left my heart beating with a sense that I needed to complete it, but now I knew that it would be childish.

    His angered face lightened up, only a little bit. ¡°Even if you¡¯re an arrogant kid, it makes me feel like I can trust you more knowing that you won¡¯t hide your feelings just to get on our good side.¡±

    I didn¡¯t feel very happy to learn that at the moment, even if it was bringing me closer to my goal. ¡°Who¡¯s the arrogant one? You think you¡¯re better than my teacher?¡±

    ¡°If your teacher isn¡¯t trash, then you must be the one wasting all of their teachings! If you can knock me down then I¡¯ll say you two aren¡¯t bad.¡± He took his fighting stance again, not saying another word. I understood the weight of the situation even without him saying it.

    Thinking about it, Rubi probably hasn¡¯t considered the situation of being on the ground like that since she¡¯s so small and fast. That may have blinded her from realizing that she should teach me about it, or maybe she wouldn¡¯t be able to teach me even if she thought to. Even if she¡¯s very straightforward in her view of the world, I wouldn¡¯t let some guy like this talk shit about her. I can criticize her because she¡¯s my friend. He doesn¡¯t even know her. He can¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll make sure he can¡¯t.

    He was waiting patiently for me to approach him. He must know as well as I do that kicking him as a first move would be difficult if he¡¯s watching me this intently. I stepped in with my right foot, trying to tempt him into lashing out at it. I reeled back my fist to swing at the side of his head just to make sure he didn¡¯t find my bait too obvious. He watched my fist intently until the moment it struck forward, which he dodged effortlessly by dropping low. In the same movement, he would lunge at the leg I had extended. I knew it, he wouldn¡¯t expect me to be able to make a decision in such a short moment. I shifted my right leg back and planted my left leg forward, switching their positions as well as my stance. I used the momentum of my upper body rotating to punch down at his head. However, he launched himself towards my chest faster than my fist could reach him and trapped the moving arm with his own. He slipped behind me and brought my arm with him, pinning it behind my back. He then kicked the back of my knee so that I would fall onto it.

    He was panting loudly. ¡°Not bad. You already showed me earlier that you¡¯re willing and able to make sudden, sharp movements like that when you tried to kick me earlier. I was expecting you had a plan. You¡¯re the kind of person whose brain kicks into high gear when you¡¯re under pressure, am I right?¡±

    I was frustrated that the best move I could think of didn¡¯t work. Without any knowledge of the matchup, that was the best I could do to beat a grappler like him. It was totally different than training with Garald. Garald relied on his instincts and his size, but this guy wasn¡¯t even that much bigger than me. He had way more muscle, but I got the feeling he could do this even to someone as big as him or bigger. ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡± I replied.

    ¡°It was confirmed just now, but I was curious. So that kick before wasn¡¯t instinct after all, you were watching me like an animal on the hunt. Maybe you could call it instinct, then. Manual instinct?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but you¡¯re making it sound way cooler than it is.¡± I sighed.

    ¡°Yeah, true.¡± He chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s something you should try to hone if you want a chance at beating me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want tips from my enemy right now. It doesn¡¯t mean anything unless I beat you with Rubi¡¯s teachings.¡±

    ¡°Enemy is a bit harsh, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    I realized that I said more than I should have. He seemed like he was gauging my reaction but he wasn¡¯t as distrustful as he was at the start. ¡°You¡¯re my enemy until I make you admit my teacher is great.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll accept that, then. No more tips from me.¡±

    Maya sighed extra loud just so we could hear her. ¡°Are you drama queens done? Michael was way easier.¡±

    Damian clicked his lip, annoyed. ¡°Michael was easier because he didn¡¯t give us anything to work with! I don¡¯t know a thing about him, nor do I trust him.¡±

    He didn¡¯t say it, but his words betrayed that he trusted me at least a little bit now.

    Betrayal¡­ I didn¡¯t like the feeling. I pushed it out of my head while I was talking to him and now it was coming back to me along with a sense that I was doing something malicious. I didn¡¯t want to forget that I was doing it while I was talking to them, or else I would feel evil when it returned, but if I was constantly thinking about it then I would be too awkward. I need to be genuine with them. Keeping them at an arm¡¯s length for my own feelings won¡¯t get the job done. I know that this is an acceptable thing to do. My friends and I are in a life or death situation and any advantage we can get is worth it. If I stop myself from doing the right thing just because I feel bad, then I may as well not even be on their team. I need to do the hard things that Rubi can¡¯t.

    After that, I sparred with Maya some. I beat her at first, but then she beat me twice in a row. We stopped after that. Michael didn¡¯t join at all. Damian and Maya spoke amongst themselves about their misgivings, mostly regarding Michael¡¯s apparent lack of effort.

    ¡°So, do you trust them?¡± Michael¡¯s voice suddenly appeared right in my ear. I shivered and jumped back, only to see him smiling. ¡°Sorry, sorry, I thought you could hear me approaching.¡±

    ¡°Do I trust them? Well, it¡¯s not really my place to trust them, is it? We¡¯re the outsiders here.¡±

    ¡°I see, I see. I think you should have some more agency than that, Yu. Are you just here to be of use to them or would you like them to be of some use to you as well?¡±

    I didn¡¯t answer for a bit. ¡°Well, they¡¯re feeding me so I guess I do trust them. It¡¯s not really about that, though. I don¡¯t trust their captain, or I should say I don¡¯t trust his decision making skills. I¡¯m betting on his incomprehensible personality continuing to be beneficial to us.¡±

    Michael smiled again. Like before, his eyes didn¡¯t show as much emotion as his mouth. ¡°Well said, Yu.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that? Don¡¯t smile like that if you¡¯re going to talk in such a monotone voice.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Sorry¡­¡± His smile dropped to a neutral expression very quickly. ¡°I can¡¯t emote very well.¡±

    I flinched. ¡°Urgh! N-No, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m way too judgmental.¡±

    He smiled, but smaller this time. More casual. His eyes were still mostly blank, though. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Yu. I get that a lot.¡±

    Damn¡­ Back at school, I¡¯d be the one getting talked to like how I¡¯m talking to him now. I¡¯m the last person who should be getting onto people for not showing emotions properly. The nasty feeling I got from him back on the ship was mostly gone now, too. I was beginning to feel bad for how quickly I judged him.

    Willy was carrying a few dead rabbits in each of his clenched fists, adding them to the pile of food that Sonya was cooking. ¡°Ah, welcome back! You four were out there for a while. Was it fruitful?¡±

    Damian sat down around the campfire with a grumpy look. ¡°It was something, I guess.¡±

    Maya chimed in, ¡°Yu is better at fighting than Michael but worse than me.¡±

    ¡°Hey, we don¡¯t have a big enough sample size!¡± I yelled from further away.

    Willy gave a haughty laugh. ¡°Splendid! Regardless of fighting ability, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re getting along!¡±

    Damian and I were silent. We refused to look at each other. Is this what he considered ¡°getting along?¡± I thought about what Damian said during training. About how he gained trust for me when I stood up to him. That wasn¡¯t my intent. It wasn¡¯t a play to gain his trust. Just like with Willy in the tent this morning, I found myself falling into their routine, bouncing off of Damian like he was my rival or something. Damn, that felt bad. Maybe it was a calculated move. Maybe I¡¯m more manipulative than I thought. I mean, for this to be my first thought instead of just striking up a conversation with them, I must be a natural liar.

    ¡°Cheer up, you two.¡± Sonya shoved some cooked meat into both of our mouths. Damian¡¯s eyes widened and he spat it out into his hands, blowing his tongue. Mine wasn¡¯t that hot, so I calmly ate it. Willy giggled whimsically. This Willy guy¡­ He seemed like he would be very cooperative if I had come to him with an alliance from the start.

    No¡­ Way too risky. Am I really in a position to lay everything bare to a potential enemy? Even if they might not be an enemy to begin with. I get the feeling that Damian and Maya would do the same thing to my team, even if their captain wouldn¡¯t want to. We¡¯re all just doing our job¡­ No reason to get down about it. If I reveal that I¡¯m a spy now, they¡¯ll kill me before I can even say a word about working together. I had a better chance of doing that before I committed to this bit.

    ¡°So, why do you pronounce your name that way, Mikey?¡± Willy broke my daydreaming with his tactless question. I looked up to see that Damian and Maya were already off to bed. The sky was orange but it was still early to sleep. They take their duty seriously, I guessed.

    Michael replied, ¡°It¡¯s a Hebrew name, so I pronounce it correctly. From my perspective, everyone else is wrong.¡±

    ¡°Oho! Classy!¡± Willy laughed and flipped over the roasting rabbits with a long stick. Both sides were brown now, so he stood up and dropped to a squat with his long, spider-like legs to blow out the fire.

    I was hesitant to, but I started a conversation anyway. ¡°Hey, Will, do they always go to sleep early?¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, they have since they were brought to this ship. When they aren¡¯t training or fighting other teams, they¡¯re resting. That¡¯s one of the things they won¡¯t listen to me about.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± I bit into my fleshy meal again. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any animals but fish around here.¡±

    ¡°Really? These fluffy guys can¡¯t stay away from me! I hope we can find a vegetarian alternative some time soon. I wonder if setting up a farm is possible here. That crafty alien, I wish I had asked it more questions. I didn¡¯t expect our battlefield to be anything like this.¡±

    I nodded along while eating. I doubted that these rabbits were very much ¡°alive,¡± if they were created the same way the rest of this so-called nature was. Michael took very small bites, I noticed.

    ¡°You and the other two make a funny team.¡± Willy said. ¡°Try not to go at each other''s throats seriously. They¡¯ve been on edge ever since Yuto¡­¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± I was suddenly intrigued.

    ¡°Oh, he arrived with Michael. He was a well-built Japanese man. Clearly a bodybuilder.¡±

    My eyes perked up. ¡°Did he have a gray T-shirt and dyed hair?¡±

    ¡°Yes, did you know him?¡±

    ¡°No, but we encountered someone fitting that description. Right when the alien announced to us to begin, he burst into our camp. We subdued him and told him to leave. He stuck out to us for being so scared despite how big he was. I figured it was natural to be scared in a situation like this but he must have been terrified to flee from his team immediately.¡±

    Willy hummed quietly until I finished. ¡°Yes, yes, that must be him. Michael and Yuto both lost their entire teams and teamed up until they met us and asked for refuge.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± I gulped. Was everybody coming up with the ¡°lost their team¡± lie or were people really dropping like flies this early?

    ¡°Oh, yes. It isn¡¯t just you. Michael said that Yuto wouldn¡¯t explain his whole situation to him but when he arrived at our camp and had some food and drink, he spoke. His captain was a man named Kenzo. Even bigger than him. Apparently Yuto recognized him as a regular at his gym but they weren¡¯t friends. He wasn¡¯t sure why he was chosen to be on that team as basically a stranger. The other two men were also bodybuilders. A cold yet smart plan for victory, to simply bring the strongest people you know. He didn¡¯t want to recall what happened after that, or maybe he couldn¡¯t, but we gathered that his other two teammates were killed and an attempt was made on his life as well. We¡¯re pretty sure that Kenzo was their assailant.¡±

    ¡°On his own team?!¡± I gasped.

    ¡°We¡¯re unsure why. Maya and Damian were distrustful of him at first, but they felt bad after seeing how he had been traumatized. They opened up to him ever so slightly. We agreed to protect him from this beast of a man. We took turns defending him so there was never a time where one of us wasn¡¯t watching him. There was always a witness and yet, two nights later when Damian was guarding him, Yuto was shot in the head. We think he was, anyway. There was no noise of a gun nor any remains of a bullet, and although we wasted no time in searching the area, there was nobody. One minute Yuto was fine and the next his head was open. I can¡¯t imagine what poor Damian must have felt at that moment¡­¡±

    I gulped loudly. I was starting to understand what Willy meant when he said that those two were different since then. My eyes slowly turned to Michael to gauge his reaction. As always, unreadable. Surely they considered that Michael was a suspicious person, right? They wouldn¡¯t leave him unattended when they suspect a crazed killer is after them. Not to mention, they showed up together. Although, they definitely would have noticed if Michael had made any suspicious movements given how cautious Damian and Maya are. It didn¡¯t seem like Kenzo needed any help carrying it out anyway.

    ¡°I suspect that this Kenzo person wanted to scare us.¡± Michael said with the usual unfeeling voice. ¡°If he could kill two bodybuilders then are we to assume it was a miracle that Yuto escaped? It could be, but Willy, did you see Kenzo while we were in the alien¡¯s room?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I fear not. I was in the back of the room. There were too many captains to narrow it down to one. You mean you saw Kenzo¡¯s face?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I witnessed him attacking the alien.¡±

    Rubi told us about that, I thought to myself.

    Michael continued, ¡°He was clearly a person obsessed with fighting, or maybe killing. He wanted to beat the alien with his bare hands. I thought he may have been angry at the alien for doing this, which is natural, but he took it out on his teammates.They were all strangers and very strong. Why did he pick such strong men if he wanted to kill them as soon as able? Maybe his victims being powerful is part of the thrill to him. That alien would be the strongest being in the known universe, so the logic is consistent with what I saw.¡±

    ¡°My captain told me about him too.¡± I added. I wanted to see if he would continue to be consistent with what I knew, just in case he was creating a favorable narrative, but it lined up. ¡°She saw the attack on the alien.¡±

    Michael smiled at me, a small one as if he had taken my comment about his grins into account.

    ¡°My, that does make sense!¡± Willy exclaimed. ¡°You chose a good moment to break your silence, Mikey.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m quiet because I¡¯m constantly analyzing the situation. You should be more appreciative.¡±

    ¡°Scary stuff.¡± I added. ¡°What¡¯s your conclusion, though? Did you tell us this for a reason?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. I think he allowed Yuto to escape so that he could warn others of his existence. If everybody knows about him, then strong people may come for him. At least, I assume that is his goal. He proved that Yuto wasn¡¯t lying by killing him once the message was relayed. He wants us to spread the fear on to other teams. Whether we do that or not is up to our captain.¡±

    Willy hummed again as he thought about what to say. ¡°Well, that boy Kenzo has gotten us in a pickle. If we warn others then that will be exactly what he wants, but if we don¡¯t then he may find that we¡¯ve outlived our usefulness¡­¡±

    I thought to myself, if Kenzo was capable of killing Yuto without any detection then is he watching us now? Listening to us? If he is, then now that we¡¯ve said his plan out loud, he must be ready for our decision. I wondered if we had played ignorant a little longer, would that have bought us more time?

    I shook my head to keep the paranoia away. ¡°According to my captain, the big guy¡¯s arm turned gray when he attacked. We assumed that he could turn his body into steel.¡± I said.

    Willy tilted his head comedically. ¡°Steel? That¡¯s a rather inhuman power.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to reply to that. I guess it¡¯s true, then. None of these guys have powers. Barb being able to create electricity changed what I thought was possible. I tried to remember what Rubi told us on the first day. She said she saw the captains using their powers, but she didn¡¯t say that she got any information from the alien.

    ¡°I wish I got to see these abilities up close, but that alien told me that I would start to awaken to some ability very soon. My only standard for an ability is Mikey¡¯s.¡± Willy said.

    My gaze shot to Michael. ¡°You have a power?! Only you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± He looked down at his hands. ¡°It¡¯s not a very impressive one. I can make my fingernails slightly longer and use them to perform first aid. I used to be a doctor, though not for very long.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Was he not going to tell me that? I guess there hasn¡¯t been a reason to yet. He must be wary of me. I guess I was wary of him too, thinking he was a suspect earlier. I don¡¯t know why I assumed he was in the same boat as me. He and I are from different teams, even if his is gone. If he¡¯s a captain, he¡¯s going to want to win over even Willy and I¡­ I say that, but those two haven¡¯t shown me nearly as much drive to win as Rubi. I was beginning to wonder if my expectations for other captains were set too high.

    ¡°Are you thinking my power is not suitable for a captain?¡±

    ¡°Huh?!¡± My face lit up so transparently. ¡°Oh, well, yes¡­ No offense. It¡¯s a wonderful ability, being able to heal people.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I understand why you would think that. I¡¯ve been a rather lousy captain, letting my teammates die before they even awakened to their abilities. I was the first one and yet it was of no help to them. Their wounds were far too deep. That day, I did not mourn the passing of strangers, but I did mourn my lack of passion.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Something told me I wasn¡¯t going to get to hear him open up like that again any time soon.

    ¡°All I can do is treat peoples¡¯ outward injuries, haha! Understanding their mind is something beyond my ability.¡± Michael¡¯s smile towards me was wide, much like when we first spoke.  Those hollow eyes of his were starting to give me a new meaning than they used to. They weren¡¯t scary to me at that moment.

    ¡°Michael, my boy,¡± Willy started, ¡°I wish I had understood you sooner. That desire is exactly what makes you a man¡¯s man. Whether you have succeeded or failed so far matters not compared to the passion you¡¯ve just shown us!¡± He punched Michael¡¯s shoulder with joyous glee beaming from his face. Michael winced, as Willy was much larger than him, but he smiled as well. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    We ended up talking for so long that the sun was nearly out of sight. Willy spoke very little about himself but he was very happy to listen and talk about us.

 Chapter 10: Whistling in the Dark

    Rubi¡¯s consciousness slowly returned to her. As the blurriness of her surroundings faded, she saw that she was in front of a crowd of people she had never seen before. The room was dark, nearly robotic but not like anything she was familiar with, and the floor was cold to the touch. It was nowhere close to the carnival she was just at. Yu was nowhere to be seen. They were being so straightforward with their feelings for once and now it¡¯s been interrupted. She was hoping to get back to them as soon as possible to clear that up. Looking around her for a bit, she realized that everyone was standing straight in rows with an empty path down the middle of them. Empty except for somebody¡¯s leg sticking out.

    She stepped off of the glass platform she woke up on and took the closest empty spot she could see, which was beside an unremarkable older man with dark hair and darker eyes. ¡°Why are we standing like this?¡± Rubi asked the crowd. The man whose leg she noticed earlier spoke, prompting her to look down and see him in the same row as her. He was sitting on the floor and smoking something, with the short boy standing next to him looking annoyed by it. His voice was far more relaxed than she imagined somebody could be in a scenario like this. ¡°A voice told us to make room in the middle. That guy over there insisted we line up like this.¡±

    She looked toward where he had gestured and saw a skinny guy who looked around the same age as her frowning at him. ¡°I don¡¯t like being included among the peons but if we have to stand here, we can at least look somewhat dignified. Damn it, I¡¯ll have a word with whoever orchestrated this once they show themselves.¡± She almost didn¡¯t hear what he said since she was so busy staring at the crown resting on his head. What an impressively egocentric guy, she thought.

    Seeing that there were children younger than her among the crowd made her worried. What exactly were they called here for, she wondered. She decided that her questions would be answered in time and she stood patiently for roughly half an hour. More and more people appeared until the crowd was far bigger than when she had arrived. Her eyes wandered, noticing that the short boy from before was rubbing his eyes and blinking quickly as if to get something out of them.

    ¡°Hey, you shouldn¡¯t smoke in here. We don¡¯t know how long we¡¯re going to be here and there might not be good ventilation.¡± The others in the room were slightly surprised to see Rubi speak up.

    The man gave her a wide-eyed look, like he was impressed with her. ¡°Heh! Sure, kid. If it¡¯s bothering you.¡±

    She smiled and nodded. He puffed into it once and put it out so that he could neatly store it in a small bag he had strapped to his leg.

    ¡°Welcome, you special folks!¡± A voice rang through Rubi¡¯s head. She reacted with shock, as did most of the others. The wall at the far end of the room opened up like a pair of sliding doors and revealed a giant, white figure.

    Several people spoke up at once, including Rubi, but all of them had their mouths covered by long, blindingly fast limbs that sprouted from the creature.

    ¡°Hey, hey, let me talk, alright?¡± It spoke very casually. Its limbs retracted and nobody said a word.

    ¡°Better! Okay so, nice to meet you. I¡¯m an alien and you chosen people are responsible for saving your planet.¡±

    There was silence. Everyone in the room became tense. They stared at the thing in front of them with widening eyes, as though they were children finally being given their most wanted toy but unsure if they were allowed to take it yet.

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± it chuckled, ¡°that¡¯s the response I wanted from you all. Or should I say, if any of you had freaked out just now, I would have sent you home.¡±

    Rubi wanted to know more, but her voice was caught in her throat. She said nothing. Nobody did.

    ¡°You guys are just as awesome as I hoped you¡¯d be! Alright, let me actually explain. That was an intentionally provocative way to say it but it wasn¡¯t wrong. I had to make sure none of you were gonna give me a boring reply. Now, you exceptional few, I¡¯ll start from the top¡­¡±

    I wasn¡¯t given much time to wake up before I was dragged by Damian into another training session. He made me train more often than Rubi had, but I didn¡¯t feel like I was learning as much. Maybe that¡¯s just me being lazy and trying to find a reason why I shouldn¡¯t have to work as hard. Who can say? I thought that training alongside people with powers would make non-powered people easier to beat, but in hindsight that was dumb. The way these guys fought was hardly much different from how Rubi and Barb did, differences in fighting style aside. Those two could only really bring out their powers as preemptive strikes or last resorts and neither of those came up in casual spars.

    Oh yeah, powers¡­ I forgot to ask them about that last night. Willy said something about how Michael¡¯s power was the standard in his mind. It could be that he overrated Michael¡¯s ability or that he really hadn¡¯t seen any powers as flashy as fire or electricity. Did nobody in their team have powers? Were Damian and Maya hiding their powers from me during training? They were the ones who told me not to hold back, so it would be annoying if I learned they were doing that the whole time.

    Willy, though¡­ That makes two team captains I¡¯m associated with that I don¡¯t know the powers of. Some captains awakened their powers as soon as they arrived on the ship, according to Rubi. The lady made sure not to tell us about her team¡¯s powers but Willy doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s trying to keep me at arm¡¯s length. I bet he would tell me if I asked him, but there¡¯s no way the other two would let me be so suspicious. I¡¯ll have to gain their trust more. I need to learn if they have any secret weapons like that or else I could get Rubi, Garald and Barb killed when the time comes.

    I took a breather from training for a bit, leaving the two to spar with each other. I stared at the trees behind them with a blank look on my face. Having been here for longer than a day, I had time to think about my decision to come here. I knew my decision to come here wasn¡¯t for some self-sacrificial plan. I told Rubi I wasn¡¯t going to do that. That said, I felt a little embarrassed at how stupid my reason was for coming up with this. If I needed to do something this elaborate to prove my worth then what¡¯s the point? Wouldn¡¯t my worth have shown itself already if I had any?

    ¡°Hey! Quit spacing out.¡± I snapped back into reality and saw Maya standing in front of me, glaring down with her arms crossed. Was she trying to be scary or did that just happen by accident? Her and Damian have a lot in common. ¡°Someone needs to go on a patrol, so¡­¡±

    Damian interrupted from behind. ¡°I thought we were going? Why would we let this one out of the camp?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that.¡± She replied. ¡°It¡¯s the same logic as when we sparred yesterday. Let¡¯s see how they act in a practical scenario. If they really are a rat, then we should find out as soon as possible so we can take action, so let¡¯s get this out of the way now.¡±

    I wondered what exactly ¡°take action¡± meant in this scenario¡­ As long as I keep it up, I won¡¯t have to find out, I hope.

    Damian growled and rolled his eyes. ¡°Fair enough¡­¡±

    ¡°You can go with them if you¡¯re worried.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not worried! You can do it. Have fun.¡± He didn¡¯t even finish his sentence before he turned his back to us and walked off to camp.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± She looked at me next as she spoke. ¡°Our team usually does patrols as a duo, but since we¡¯ve got 6 people now, I was going to suggest that he come with us. I guess he should stick here and watch Michael anyway. I doubt Willy and Sonya will keep as close an eye on him as they need to.¡±

    So these two are on guard duty, huh? ¡°I don¡¯t mind it. I¡¯ll go.¡±

    ¡°You weren¡¯t allowed to say no to begin with.¡± She stated bluntly, without much malice, but it still made me flinch. She then followed Damian to camp, and I followed her.

    Those two¡­ I felt bad for them. They hadn¡¯t had a very good time this past week. Haven¡¯t we all, though? Not an excuse to be so rude.

    Still, their trust issues are something I need to keep in mind. Not out of pity or anything, it¡¯s just to make the mission easier. If I accidentally hit a sore spot with them, it could all go up in smoke. I reminded myself repeatedly that the choice was between these strangers¡¯ happiness and my friends¡¯ happiness. This sour feeling I¡¯d been getting was going to go away eventually once I had adjusted to the reality of the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Sonya chirped from afar, but I could hear her as if she were yelling right into my ear. At least I won¡¯t have to worry about her finding me out¡­

    The two led me out of the camp, Maya sticking back to keep an eye on me. I walked stiffly, not pleased by the way I was being observed. I wondered if it was because I knew I was guilty or if I would¡¯ve been like this anyway.

    I felt less desire to put my all into this compared to when I was doing it with my friends, but I looked around nonetheless, checking for the reactions of the other two and mimicking them to the best of my ability. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it would be so easy to sneak out and check on the others, just to let them know that I¡¯m doing fine, but Maya would never let me do something like that so soon. It hasn¡¯t been that long so the others are definitely fine.

    Nothing abnormal came up. Nobody spoke, either. I was starting to hope that somebody would say something just to cut the tension. I couldn¡¯t see Sonya¡¯s face but I assumed she wasn¡¯t very worried. Why couldn¡¯t she be this quiet at the camp instead?

    ¡°Let us know if you¡¯re feeling claustrophobic.¡± Maya said. I wondered if I was making it so obvious that I was uncomfortable.

    I glanced back at her for a moment, then turned back to focus on the path ahead of us. ¡°You care?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not heartless. I¡¯m keeping you at a reasonable distance, if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess.¡± Doesn¡¯t feel great, though. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    We walked until Sonya pointed at the ground ahead of us to the left. I didn¡¯t see anything until she kneeled in front of some flowers and started plucking them. ¡°Mikey showed me this! He said they make great medicine.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    So other groups have people who know about that stuff¡­ Makes sense. ¡°Oh, can you guys show me plants I should be on the lookout for?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Maya replied. ¡°Michael said he was going to, but I guess he got distracted.¡±

    ¡°I would appreciate it.¡± I tried to remember what Rubi had taught me about plants to look out for, but I was drawing a blank. Maybe I would notice them if I saw them. We kept walking and I kept my eyes peeled for medicinal supplies. After some time, I signaled them to something hanging from a tree branch. Some red berries.

    Maya picked them and handed them to Sonya, who compiled them with what she had picked. ¡°We¡¯ll show this to Michael and have him confirm.¡±

    ¡°You guys sure trust him more than me.¡± I commented while continuing to walk.

    ¡°He provides us with something useful. None of us are familiar with medicine, so we decided it was worth the risk.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± I decided to end the conversation there.

    I wondered how much longer we would be walking. The patrols I went on before didn¡¯t last this long. Were we not being thorough enough back then? I couldn¡¯t tell.

    Something drew my attention to my left side and I saw two figures walking at a similar pace to us. My eyes widened as they turned to us, returning to me a similar expression. I recognized them. It was the ninja guy and his captain, the girl with the mean face that Rubi struck a deal with the other day. Tyler and Kassy, I think. Their expressions started to change in a way that I might gather from this distance to mean that they were starting to recognize who I was. I pulled on Sonya¡¯s right arm and spun around, not giving them any more time to look at me. I didn¡¯t know exactly how it would happen, but I knew that a close encounter with those guys would totally blow my cover.

    Maya seemed to recognize what was happening and followed my example, now leading us back to camp at a faster pace than before. When my thoughts started returning, I realized how bad it may have been to have them see me moving in this direction. What if they followed us and asked why I was with these people? I technically had an alliance with them, but would they uphold it if I was with another team? Trying to hurt me might risk splitting off the alliance when Rubi found out. However, if they confronted me I would be forced to continue the story that I was no longer with that team, and thus they wouldn¡¯t be in the wrong for whatever they decided to do to me. Furthermore, what if they didn¡¯t believe me? They just saw Rubi some days ago, so I would find it fishy if I were them.

    All I could do was hope that those two weren¡¯t feeling inquisitive and went back home. Even if they weren¡¯t scared of me in particular, three enemies is daunting by itself.

    By the time we were closer to camp, our pace slowed to normal. Nobody seemed afraid of being jumped with so little distance left. Still, I was startled by it more than they were. I had more to be worried about.

    Willy nodded his head as he heard us out. ¡°Oh, my. I¡¯m glad Yu has such a good sense for danger!¡±

    Why do I feel like that¡¯s a roundabout way of calling me a coward?

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Maya replied.

    No, please don¡¯t agree.

    Willy continued, ¡°Deliver what you found to Mikey, then. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll appreciate the help.¡±

    I was still wondering how they could be so trusting of him and not me, but then again who would trust someone as weak-looking as me? I don¡¯t have any skills, either.

    I watched Sonya take the pile of plants to the tent, where Michael was sorting them in a similar fashion to how Rubi would.

    ¡°So, how far along is your map?¡± I asked to the open camp for whoever may decide to answer.

    ¡°Uh, we don¡¯t have one.¡± Maya said.

    ¡°Oh. Really?¡±

    ¡°I have the area memorized.¡±

    Willy thrust himself into the conversation, ¡°Good idea, though! Once we¡¯ve expanded our reach beyond what we can remember alone, I think we should keep some sort of map.¡±

    Maya¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but she nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    I almost wanted to feel proud, but I took the idea from my friends.

    Maya continued. ¡°We didn¡¯t see any good food, though. Maybe we hunted all the rabbits away?¡±

    ¡°I hope not,¡± Willy said, ¡°but if they did flee, we can at least be happy that they realized it¡¯s dangerous to stick around.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I guess.¡± Maya had a little smile on her face when she walked away from us. I moved to the campfire in the center and sat with my legs crossed, realizing that my stomach was empty. Luckily there was still some meat from before, but I was thinking about how I need to be on the lookout for things to eat on my next trip.

    Next¡­ That one was too stressful. Should I even go on another one? I doubt they¡¯d let me be that uncaring. It would be too obvious. That made me wonder if Michael had or ever was going to go on these scouts. He would have a better eye for picking medicine than the people he merely told about it.

    ¡°Hey, Will. Does Michael go on scouts too?¡± I asked while gazing into space absentmindedly.

    ¡°Oh, he did once, but he was terribly tired when he came back. We want to limit the amount of time he¡¯s gone so that he can work on his little potions.¡±

    Oh, right. He has a job. ¡°Makes sense.¡± The rabbit meat still tasted weird to me. At least fish was something I used to eat on Earth, but this was just strange. Also, rabbits are cute and fish aren¡¯t.

    My question from earlier weighed on my mind. It was just Willy and I here. I doubted he would get suspicious, but still, what if he told the others that I asked?

    ¡°Are you interested in something, Yu?¡± He asked.

    Shit, I was staring again. ¡°Ah, um. I was just thinking about asking you something.¡± And now I¡¯m making it look even worse than if I had asked straight up¡­

    ¡°Ask away!¡± He replied with glee.

    As if that mattered with him¡­ ¡°I was curious about, uh¡­ You know, your powers. ¡®Your¡¯ as in your team¡¯s.¡±

    His expression became a bit less cheerful. I was scared of what he might say until it came out. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so distant with us. This is your team too, Yu!¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ Haha¡­ I guess so. Sorry.¡± I could feel my whole body lighten up with that huge release of tension.

    ¡°To answer your question, Damian and Maya don¡¯t have any abilities¡­¡± He was interrupted when Damian came charging in from behind him. I could immediately tell he was mad.

    ¡°I take my eyes off you for a second and you¡¯re already trying to pry for intel?!¡± His momentum didn¡¯t stop, even as he got close to me. I stood up in preparation to defend myself. Damian thrust his hand up at my neck and I reflexively moved back and went to punch him in the face. However, my fist didn¡¯t connect with him, or with anything.

    At least, I thought, until my eyes adjusted and I saw that Willy was standing with his back to me and arms outstretched. My fist was right on his back. I could feel his back on my fist. That might sound like an obvious observation, but it was something that boggled my mind for a second. At the moment of impact, I felt nothing. I wasn¡¯t even sure that there WAS a moment of impact. I may as well have punched solid air, but right now I was touching him just fine.

    ¡°Damian! They were only asking a question!¡± I couldn¡¯t tell what kind of face Willy was making from where I was standing, but he sounded mad. ¡°How do you expect them to cooperate with us if we hide such basic information from them?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s critical information that any other team would love to have on us! If they¡¯re a spy, then they can plan against us!¡±

    ¡°A spy? You¡¯re being far too cautious.¡± Willy lowered his arms and let his hands rest on Damian¡¯s shoulders. ¡°How can I get you to trust my judgment, Damian?¡±

    He didn¡¯t reply to that for a moment. I could barely see Damian¡¯s face past Willy¡¯s tall body. ¡°I¡¯ll trust it when it stops getting us into this stupid, stressful bullshit.¡± He huffed and stormed off in the opposite direction. I felt like I saw something that I wasn¡¯t supposed to see. I thought for a moment about the possibility that my betrayal might shatter the last bits of trust between those two¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking.¡± I said.

    ¡°No need to be.¡± Willy replied in a quieter tone than usual. ¡°I¡¯m not aware of any abilities I may have, but I hear that captains awaken to their abilities faster than most, so I¡¯ll let you know when it happens.¡±

    I gulped. I wondered if he was unaware of the way he blocked my fist. Did that not feel any different from a normal hit to him? I decided that I shouldn¡¯t comment on it. If I know more about his power than he does, even by a little bit, then that¡¯s the best case scenario.

    ¡°So, your team called them powers? That does sound pretty cool.¡± I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood.

    I nodded silently.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± He replied. ¡°We haven¡¯t gotten into many fights yet, but the few we did were all against those without any powers. When you told me about the man of steel, it seemed like such a power wouldn¡¯t be too shocking for you. Are you familiar with such powers? Or do you have an overactive imagination? Do you read a lot of comics?¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± I quickly responded, flustered. ¡°Well, if I do, that¡¯s not relevant.¡±

    ¡°You seem like you read manga.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± My voice rose even higher. I even thought that my scarf fell down far enough to reveal my mouth, so I adjusted it.

    ¡°I¡¯m partial to Osamu Tezuka¡¯s works. Black Jack is my favorite.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that right now. I haven¡¯t even read any of those.¡±

    ¡°Not those? So I was right that you read some others. Although, maybe I was wrong¡­ Could somebody be a manga fan if they are unfamiliar with Tezuka?¡±

    ¡°Have you even read anything that came out in the last 30 years?!¡± Air blew out of my nose. Beyond that, I was surprised he had even read a manga before. ¡°Wait, why am I arguing this? Ugh!¡± I hated that I was so easy to clock as a nerd. I also didn¡¯t want to admit that the oldest manga I¡¯d ever read was from 1999¡­ How uncultured would he think I was?

    ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re a natural straight man, Yu!¡± Willy clapped his hands together in delight. ¡°You don¡¯t even have to try, do you? If we were on Earth, I would try to recruit you!¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ Recruit, huh? What did you guys do?¡± I found the question flowing out before I could consider its strategic benefit.

    ¡°We were traveling entertainers. I guess kids like you would visualize it better if I said we were clowns.¡± He sat on the dirt as if he were about to tell me a long story. It wasn¡¯t exactly what I had come here for, so I interjected. ¡°Ah, I doubt I would go along with something like that.¡±

    He continued as though he had no idea I was trying to change the topic. ¡°No point in mulling over it now, but I like to think you would have at least considered it. Maya and Damian were less prickly back then¡­ What about you? What did you do before you got here?¡±

    I guess I¡¯m having this conversation now. ¡°Nothing. I went to school and then went home.¡±

    ¡°Hm. Maybe I should have guessed that.¡±

    ¡°Can you stop psychoanalyzing me for a second? You¡¯ll always be wrong.¡± I said casually. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s about it. My teammates were friends from school.¡±

    ¡°Intriguing¡­¡± He closed his eyes as if he were contemplating something. Then, he looked at me as if something he had been suspicious of was confirmed. I felt myself tense up. He continued, ¡°Your captain must have been unpopular.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell if I was supposed to be relieved or annoyed that this was the conclusion he reached. ¡°N-Not at all. She had a lot of friends. Are you implying that she would be strange for picking me over anyone else? You¡¯re not wrong, but harsh.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only trying to grasp the big picture. If I can understand you better, I¡¯ll be able to help you.¡± He said such a lame line as if it were the most natural thing.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been talking about helping me ever since I got here. Do you even know what my issue is, or if I have one?¡±

    ¡°You were such a downer when I first met you.¡± Maybe that¡¯s because you made me think I was about to get shot?! I wanted to interject, but I let him keep talking. ¡°Everyone has issues, and you just clued me in on yours. There are a multitude of reasons that someone may act the way you do. Can I guess you don¡¯t value yourself highly? This is a common result of abandonment. Have you been that way ever since your teammates left you?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe how tactlessly he was prying into me. ¡°No, I was like that before.¡± I was annoyed at his assumption that I was like this because of some single traumatic event. How simple did he think people were? Is he even a person?

    ¡°I see¡­ Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d get a bullseye in such a short time. I¡¯ll try to make you feel comfortable enough to open up to me more.¡±

    Unlikely, I thought. ¡°Is that why you picked up Michael and the others? To help them? Is it part of your clown code or something?¡±

    He guffawed at that one. ¡°Clown code? I might steal that line! That¡¯s wonderful. But no, I was already friends with those two. They worked with me, like I said.¡±

    I probably should have assumed that when he said ¡°we¡± it included them, but I struggled to imagine it. The mental image of Damian trying and failing to balance on a ball made me blow some air out of my nose. The thought crossed my mind, then, did Willy assume that some sudden event in this game caused me to become like this because that¡¯s what happened to Damian? I didn¡¯t care enough to ask, though. I was still annoyed at him. I only had to ask for things that would bring us closer to victory.

    ¡°Why are you here, Will? As a captain, I mean.¡±

    He seemed surprised by how serious my tone had gotten. I didn¡¯t notice it until just then, either. I also hadn¡¯t noticed that I totally shifted topics. Regardless, he answered me. ¡°Good question. I suppose you wouldn¡¯t be able to respect me without knowing that. Of course, I was chosen against my will, but if what that alien said is true, then I was chosen because of my desire to change the world.¡±

    My eyes widened at that statement. Did such an ambition really fit his character? He saw that I had nothing to say to that and kept talking. ¡°As someone who traveled abroad to perform for strangers, I¡¯ve seen the difference I can make. Turning peoples¡¯ frowns upside down over the course of a couple hours. It makes me so sad when I see people who think they¡¯re too mature for it, or say they don¡¯t need it. They take life so seriously that they think silly things are worth dying and killing for¡­ I was motivated to become the most recognizable person in my craft, but now I feel like making everyone relax and smile is much closer to reality!¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± I wondered if knowing that would help me understand exactly what that power he used earlier was. I couldn¡¯t see any direct connection between them yet.

    ¡°Sorry, was that boring? You won¡¯t have to hear me just talk about it for long. I don¡¯t expect you to believe me for now, but you¡¯ll see me do it.¡±

    His confidence was staggering. Maybe he is fit to be a captain, after all. I was realizing that being worthy of the status of captain was not necessarily a good thing. My mind drifted to that muscled maniac from the ship. How was he a captain, exactly? The alien must have intentionally picked weirdos for this little ant farm experiment¡­ How frustrating that I had no choice but to participate.

    ¡°That¡¯s the idea, anyway.¡± He said. ¡°I hate the method of forcing us to do battle, but I can relate to the alien¡¯s desire for a world without conflict. For that purpose, I¡¯ll try my hardest. If I won then everybody on the planet would be looking at me. In that moment, I would make them all smile.¡±

    So, he would only use the wish to make them look at him? He thinks he could do the rest alone? What a crazy guy. ¡°I was wondering that. Are you, like, a pacifist?¡±

    ¡°Something like that, yes. Sonya and I are against the idea of hurting people. If you don¡¯t want to partake in Maya and Damian¡¯s training, I understand. In fact, I would prefer if you all stopped, but I can¡¯t convince them.¡±

    This would be a lot easier if he could convince them, I thought to myself. ¡°Is it your plan to make everyone your ally like you did to me and Michael?¡±

    ¡°If possible, yes.¡±

    He¡¯s nuts. I couldn¡¯t say much, though. I was putting up with Rubi. At least she¡¯s not this bad, but it¡¯s picking straws at that point. Despite my efforts to not get involved in this team¡¯s personal conflicts as long as I could avoid it, I found myself frustrated at his worldview. He was like a giant toddler. If world peace was something he could attain in a moment, why hasn¡¯t anyone else done it? I learned from Rubi not to project my worthlessness onto people, but this guy was so clearly blowing hot air. I¡¯m not someone who could figure out what¡¯s wrong with the world, but I doubt it¡¯s people taking things too seriously. This battle is incredibly serious and he should treat it as such. Only somebody who thinks they can get by in life without caring would think themselves able to fix people like he aims to. He was the kind of person who would definitely get corrupted by a place like this, if he weren¡¯t already. I¡¯d be doing him a favor by sending him and his team home. If anybody could create a miracle to save the world, it would be Rubi, a special one. Not this freak.

    Willy stood up. The sun was starting to set, but it was still plenty bright. ¡°Thanks for listening, Yu. Sometimes it helps to have someone listen. You don¡¯t have to answer. Anyway, do you want to see how we hunt? I¡¯ll teach you how to catch rabbits.¡±

    Why don¡¯t you eat plants if you hate violence so much, dumbass?

 Chapter 11: Hyperventilation

    The previous afternoon had bothered me too much to get any decent sleep. The part that stuck in my mind the most was being seen by those two in the forest. Would they go to confirm with Rubi if they knew I was gone? What would I do if they came to ask me directly? I would have to keep up the lie but they could easily confirm it as a lie¡­ I had no idea what to do about it.

    Even during my daily training, I was totally distracted. Damian knocked me to the ground with more force than usual. ¡°Ow! What¡¯s that for?!¡±

    ¡°Are you even paying attention?¡± He glared at me.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s just, those two¡­¡± My words drifted off as my mind wandered.

    ¡°What, never seen another team before? They¡¯re not going to mess with us just because they saw us.¡±

    I wondered if the amount of caution I was showing made me look suspicious, but Maya backed me up. ¡°It¡¯s not good for us to be on any team¡¯s maps, even if they don¡¯t look that strong.¡±

    Damian clicked his tongue. ¡°I know that. Just annoyed at this kid.¡±

    I thought we were about the same age?

    The rest of the training went better, but I was still obviously not performing as well as I could have. We followed it up with another walk through the same place we had checked the other day, with the same people. Damian still didn¡¯t want to go with me. As we approached the location where Kassy saw me, I felt the pit in my stomach deepen. Maya noticed and put her hand on my shoulder, though she didn¡¯t turn to look at me. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright.¡±

    I felt slightly ashamed that I had to be comforted by an enemy. Assuming her words were even genuine. Getting too comfortable around them would be my death. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard, considering their captain wasn¡¯t someone I could ever get along with, no matter what.

    We went further than last time and didn¡¯t see anybody. I thought about just how big this faux Earth was. I didn¡¯t know how many people we were fighting exactly, but it looked like a whole lot. How were we only encountering a few teams so far? Are the others better at hiding than us?

    Even though they trusted me to watch them from the back, I was still thinking about a scenario in which the other team found and interrogated me. Maybe I would tell them that I got separated but make it sound like I assumed they died, so that if they went to confirm and found my team alive, they couldn¡¯t say I was wrong. Maybe they would assume that I was intentionally left behind and stop interrogating me once they think they understand. Yeah, that sounded like a good story. I only had to hope that Barb could figure out what was happening and lead the conversation in the case that they get asked about my whereabouts.

    On the way back to camp, I had a constant feeling like somebody was peering over my shoulder. I stopped and turned around a few times. This earned me a few concerned looks from Maya and Sonya, though it was more like pity than worry. How annoying.

    Willy wouldn¡¯t let me eat without asking what was wrong. I didn¡¯t want to tell him it was half his fault, with the other half being that I¡¯m a traitor who nearly got caught. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± He sounded disappointed. ¡°I thought you were warming up to us. I¡¯ll have to try harder.¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t have to.¡± I replied dryly.

    The other three were seated around us, all eating. The fourth, Michael, was in the corner with a collection of berries and similar items, mashing them together with his hands. Once again not taking part in conversation. The whole thing was incredibly uncomfortable. For me, anyway. I couldn¡¯t tell nor care what the others thought. I focused my attention on Willy as he ate politely, despite having no plate or utensils. I wondered if attacking him while he was eating would give me the best shot.

    As usual, Damian finished quickly so he could leave. ¡°Thanks.¡± He didn¡¯t look back or gesture in any way when he said that. Unable to keep my attention on one thing, I watched him. When he was nearly within reach of the tent, some movement made my eyes shoot open. For a split second, I got annoyed that an animal had gotten me so tense, but almost as quickly as I made the initial realization, I then realized that it was far too meticulous to be an animal.

    ¡°Dodge left!¡± I shouted at the top of my lungs and rose from my sitting position. Damian turned to me and in that moment, the tent was toppled by a knife that thrust straight forward with precision and a clear target in mind. Damian did as I said and only received a shallow cut in his abdomen. The one holding the weapon was quick to slash the knife around himself to make an opening in the fabric. The others shot up in confusion, dropping their food. Michael was at a safer distance and so he gathered the berries to protect them. I heard Sonya nearly choke on her food before swallowing it and stepping back further from the action. I maintained my distance as well.

    ¡°Shit! How maddening!¡± The intruder exclaimed. ¡°I was worried that I hadn¡¯t taken the newbie seriously enough. I should have been more cautious.¡±

    Damian didn¡¯t let the invader escape from the tent like he wanted; he was already lunging towards the side of him that wasn¡¯t armed, the side he dodged to. The attacker shifted his weight to his other side so he could slash at him, but Damian seemed to have predicted that and dove in the same direction. He thrust his back into the attacker¡¯s arm to prevent him from swinging down and hitting him anywhere important. Damian now had him in the perfect position to bring him to the ground and disarm him.

    What sounded like a lightning strike hit our ears when Damian¡¯s advance was halted. The one that seemed outwitted had actually raised his knee at such an angle that it hit Damian at the tip of his chin. The fight with Damian was so short that we couldn¡¯t even reach them before it was over.

    ¡°Predictable.¡± He gloated as he turned to face Maya, who was running at him quickly. Willy was close behind. The assailant didn¡¯t have much time before she got to him, so he kicked Damian¡¯s stunned body towards her to potentially throw her off her rhythm.

    ¡°What¡¯s your business with us?!¡± Willy shouted from behind Maya. There was no response.

    I was vigilant, but I didn¡¯t follow them. I wondered how it could be possible that he would come in here by himself. His teammates must be waiting to perform sneak attacks, just like he had. Getting frozen by indecision wasn¡¯t good but I didn¡¯t have the confidence Maya did to rush in. The intruder looked even more confident, though. As if they were playing into his plan. What gave him such confidence?

    I decided not to think harder than I needed to. I ran towards Michael. My first thought was that those berries were probably important, recalling my interactions with Rubi. The invader had backed away from the two in front of him, turning to watch me. We locked eyes. He looked annoyed, his calm demeanor fading for a bit. I tore my eyes away from him to look out for other attackers.

    My eyes jolted around each corner of the camp, at every bush I could see. Sonya was shivering in place, away from the action. I couldn¡¯t help but remember her strength and feel annoyed at her reluctance. She wouldn¡¯t have to try nearly as hard as us with that physique. Was she an athlete or something? It might explain the stupid outfit. Michael didn¡¯t stand up. He was using a knife to carve a hole in the ground to put the plants in.

    A knife¡­ Wait a minute. ¡°Did you have that the whole time?¡±

    He looked up at me calmly. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell you? Wilhelm disposed of their knife as soon as they got it. This one is mine, they argued with him to let me keep it as long as I don¡¯t use it for violence. They use it to cut up their food, too.¡±

    ¡°I guess that makes sense¡­¡± I didn¡¯t have enough time to be bewildered at that story or by the fact that it hadn¡¯t crossed my mind this whole time. ¡°Well, can we use it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly in a position to break my agreement with Wilhelm. Neither are you. We should do things their way if we want to be accepted.¡±

    ¡°Damn it.¡± I returned my attention to the fight, worrying about whether I would be able to fend off a surprise attack using only my bare hands. At least all of my training since joining them had been for unarmed combat. I took up my fighting stance and rotated around slowly, in preparation for wherever they may appear.

    ¡°Thank you. If your life were truly at risk, I would use this knife to protect you.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that, but I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be protecting you.¡± It felt weird to say that about someone who wasn¡¯t in my friend group. I definitely didn¡¯t like him as much as them, but I felt the closest to him out of this team. Being his protector wasn¡¯t my choice, though. This was just what needed to be done.

    Maya and Willy had begun pushing the attacker back into the trees. He evaded their swings with ease. I noticed that Willy was only attempting to grab him while Maya was throwing punches. Had they ever considered what they were going to do if they had to fight or did the others just begrudgingly agree to their leader to shut him up? How frustrating he had made things.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk this through! Why are you attacking us?!¡± Willy tried to spark up conversation amidst the swings and dodges. The answer to his question was so obvious that it made me feel stupid for even knowing him. I noticed that Sonya had decided to hide in the bushes, leaving only Maya and I as serious combatants, out of the six people on our team. Wonderful.

    I was beginning to get annoyed by the lack of any surprise attacks. Not like I wanted things to be harder for us, but I wondered if I was wasting my time over here. If he truly did come alone, I should be helping them fight him. I wondered if the reason his teammates hadn¡¯t come was because his power can¡¯t discriminate between friends and foes? What if it¡¯s some kind of move with a huge range, like poison?

    ¡°Hey, you two!¡± I yelled to Maya and Willy. ¡°His power has some kind of huge range! That¡¯s why his teammates haven¡¯t come!¡±

    Willy turned to face me out of concern. Maya was focused on her target. They both spread out and backed away from him. The attacker looked at me with a shocked expression which shortly turned into a huge grin. I froze. What¡¯s with that reaction? Was I wrong? Since they had made some distance between each other, he thrust his knife towards Willy while Maya was seemingly unsure of what to do.

    The same was true for me. Was the smile meant to throw me off? This guy seemed like the tricky type, so I shouldn¡¯t fall for his mind games. I wasn¡¯t sure enough to say something, but I decided to run towards him. Willy didn¡¯t seem to be doing too well. Had they not given him any training? He looked like a kid out there, trying to push the armed enemy away. Maya noticed me and decided to help, too.

    We approached him from two sides. With Willy in front of him, the only place he could go to avoid us was back. That was, until I heard Michael gasp in pain. We all turned our attention to him, but I notably lost sight of the assailant when I realized that I had left him by himself without any thought. I got so caught up in my thoughts that I had stupidly allowed his teammates to ambush our medic.

    ¡°Michael!!¡± I started to run towards Michael, who had a man¡¯s arm around his neck. I was dead wrong about the reason why he wouldn¡¯t bring his teammates. Why on Earth did I make such a stupid assumption? My back tingled. With my back turned, I had become his new target. A knife was slashing through the air towards me. I tumbled forward to dodge it, but my landing was a failure. I would have likely been stabbed to death if Maya hadn¡¯t grabbed his arm to pull him back.

    ¡°Let me go! Don¡¯t you care about your doctor?¡± Our attacker yelled. Maya seemed slightly conflicted but didn¡¯t release him yet. I wouldn¡¯t blame her for sacrificing someone who was practically a stranger, but she must have been considering if there was a way to get him to safety without sacrificing anyone.

    I tried to think as fast as I could, but nothing came to mind. Were our only options really to surrender or let Michael die? Maya and Willy must realize the value of a healer, even if they don¡¯t know him very well.

    ¡°Stay down, you!¡± We all jumped when the attacker yelled at Damian, who had begun to get back on his feet and was unfortunately caught before he could mount a surprise attack. Obviously frustrated, he let himself fall back to the ground.

    I watched Michael closely. I hoped that he would send a signal or something, any plan at all would do. I had only just realized how much I trusted his judgment skills. He was smart, most likely smarter than me. Right on cue, Michael did a strikingly unnatural hand gesture, straightening his fingers towards the man¡¯s upper leg.

    I remembered¡­ His power! Excited that I had read him correctly, I smiled and spun around with a kick towards my opponent, powered by that momentum. He just barely blocked it with an elbow, but he wasn¡¯t the largest man, so it still staggered him. He seemed to know where I would aim, even on such short notice.

    Michael extended his nails quickly enough to cut the other attacker¡¯s skin. His grip loosened and Michael slipped through, dropping onto his knee. ¡°Yu! Over here!¡±

    I decided to follow his orders and leave the presumed captain to Maya. Michael still wasn¡¯t in a position to overpower his opponent. It was mostly a distraction tactic, so I came to his aid. Michael pushed his back against his foe¡¯s legs to try and distract him. It bought me the time I needed so that I could get close enough to step towards the opponent¡¯s side and wrap my arms around his abdomen. I was suddenly very pleased with Damian¡¯s teachings, as I wasn¡¯t certain if I could have gotten into a kicking stance straight out of a running stance like that. His posture must have been weakened by that wound on his leg. Still, this guy was bigger than both of us, and as I tumbled onto the ground, he shifted his weight and landed hard with his arm on my stomach. I felt the breath leave my body for a moment.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Michael turned his head to the other assailant and raised his voice louder than I thought he could. ¡°If you don¡¯t listen, this man will die.¡±

    My attacker stopped pressing down on me, clearly concerned. Maya and her foe stopped and listened. The man didn¡¯t seem impressed. ¡°Can¡¯t you see who is winning? At least lose with dignity!¡±

    ¡°Before your friend can inflict any serious damage to mine, he will start to feel the spread of the poison I¡¯ve given him.¡±

    I didn¡¯t believe him for a second, but the weight on me started to lift. ¡°Uh, Captain, he might be right¡­¡±

    ¡°What?! You¡¯re serious?¡±

    Michael smiled rather innocently. ¡°You knew I was their doctor, but you didn¡¯t think I would be skilled with poisons? You must not have prepared very well.¡±

    The only poison I could feel was in his words.

    ¡°I prepared incredibly well!! Shut your mouth! Get over it and kill them already, Ingo!¡±

    Ingo rolled off me, though he still kept an arm over me with a decent amount of weight on it. His other hand was resting over his wound, which was bleeding an abnormal amount. ¡°It¡¯s hot, Captain¡­¡±

    ¡°N-No! No!! Poison?! How did that never come up in my analysis?! Poison of all things! That¡¯s not your ability! Where did that come from?! Tell me now! Did you intentionally hide it? Why didn¡¯t I see iiittt??!!¡± The captain¡¯s face was getting red and he was gripping his hair like a madman. Michael looked so polite in comparison, it was scary.

    ¡°Are you worried that your preparations were meaningless in the face of my superior intellect? Don¡¯t worry, you tried your hardest, even if it all crumbled thanks to such an error.¡± His smile got wider as he spoke, and his eyes didn¡¯t open at all. The captain¡¯s face had become one of pure terror. I mean, it was pretty creepy, but not THAT scary. The thought of being outsmarted had, for some reason, completely ruined this stranger.

    In his shattered mental state, he didn¡¯t notice that Damian had approached him from behind with a rock raised above him. With a heave, he smashed it down into his head. Everyone gasped, especially Willy, staring at the sight as he went limp and blood dripped from the sharp edge of the rock that had made contact.

    ¡°Damian!!¡± Willy shrieked.

    ¡°Did you just kill him?¡± Maya sounded slightly worried but mostly confused.

    ¡°No! Probably? Wh-Why would I be worried about that now?!¡± Damian was a bit flustered.

    ¡°Hauke!¡± Ingo pulled himself forward, but winced and pressed his hands down on his bleeding leg.

    Michael approached the injured brute who had held him moments prior. ¡°Damian, Maya, would you restrain the captain?¡±

    They did as he said. Michael kneeled in front of Ingo. ¡°I will heal you if you don¡¯t fight back while we get information from your captain. It¡¯s in everyone¡¯s best interests if you comply.¡±

    ¡°R-Right¡­¡± Not a word of disagreement from him, or anyone.

    Michael must have been a good captain. I couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of situation would lead to someone as impressive as him losing his team. Maybe that event caused him to become this intense.

    As he walked towards Hauke, he put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Good job on following my plan, Yu.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ Anyone could have followed orders like that.¡± I blushed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not so certain.¡± He continued past me. The next part, he spoke out loud. ¡°By the way, I lied about the poison.¡±

    The sun had long since set, but nobody was able to sleep after that fight. The wounded assailants were bundled together in front of us. Unfortunately, we didn¡¯t have anything to hold them still. Willy hadn¡¯t said a word since we sat down with them. Neither had Sonya. We finished eating, although it had gotten pretty cold.

    Damian took the role of persecutor from Michael. ¡°Are your other two teammates waiting to attack us? Answer honestly or the next rock will kill you!¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Hauke replied, quieter than before. ¡°They were killed.¡±

    ¡°A likely story!¡± Damian didn¡¯t sound so convinced, but I had a fear that they were talking about Kenzo again. I could believe it.

    ¡°We were completely overpowered. The only reason Ingo and I live is because of his mercy.¡±

    Is it mercy? I wonder¡­

    ¡°Hmph. We can¡¯t prove that, so we¡¯ll take you at your word. If we find out you¡¯re lying, then they really are dead.¡± Damian relented. He then turned to Willy. ¡°What do we do with him, then?¡±

    So, I was right. They haven¡¯t had a proper discussion. Well, it took my team a while to figure out what we were going to do, so I can¡¯t be too disappointed.

    ¡°I will handle it, Damian. Thank you.¡± Willy spoke quietly as he sat down in front of the two defeated invaders. Willingly lowering himself to their level. He sat down flat with little means to defend himself.

    I was uninterested in whatever he was going to tell them, so my eyes wandered in search of Sonya. She had come out but was still cowering away from us. Maya was comforting her. ¡°We told you, nobody expects you to fight. Don¡¯t get so down about it.¡± It didn¡¯t appear to make her feel much better.

    She should at least try¡­

    ¡°Yu.¡±

    I jumped. ¡°Agh! Hey! Michael¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± He smiled. ¡°Do you need treatment? Damian refused my suggestion that he stay in bed, but maybe you would be more reasonable?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯d be great. Thanks.¡±

    Michael led me to his corner of the camp. The pitiful hole he dug up for his herbs had been opened once more. I shut my eyes and let him apply me with whatever leaf goo he was gonna use. After having some areas of bleeding lathered, I felt something sharp get stuck in me.

    ¡°Yow¡ª!¡±

    He held my arm down. ¡°It¡¯s okay, grit your teeth. I¡¯m sorry I forgot to warn you. Damian wasn¡¯t squeamish, so it didn¡¯t cross my mind¡­¡±

    My teeth were clenched tight. ¡°What was that?¡±

    He flicked some blood off of his long, sharp fingernail before shrinking it back to normal size. ¡°My power. It hits your¡­ Um, pressure points? I¡¯m not entirely sure. It accelerates your body¡¯s natural healing, though. If you were wondering how I faked the poison trick, I did some healing on the inside of that man¡¯s leg and caused him to produce more blood there than necessary, leading to a slight burning sensation.¡±

    ¡°Woah¡­ Scary.¡± I commented. I was starting to feel better, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a placebo. ¡°Was it necessary to mess with those guys so much?¡±

    ¡°Maybe not, but it¡¯s good to be safe. Seeing as the captain was clearly very prideful and unstable, I jabbed at his weakness. Lying is not always immoral, I believe. My teammates may have gotten hurt very badly if I hadn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You think so, huh..?¡± I was relieved to hear it said like that by someone with more life experience. ¡°They were sure convinced, though. Almost fooled me.¡±

    ¡°Haha, now why would a doctor use poison?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell if he was messing with me or not. A chuckle was appropriate in both instances, so I did just that.

    ¡°On a more serious note,¡± Michael continued, ¡°Words can make things real. When I convinced him that he was poisoned, that they had lost, it became reality. Such is true with any good lie.¡±

    It was so subtle that I wondered if I imagined it, but his eyes looked like they had lowered slightly. Was he.. speaking from experience? I wondered if he was merely pointing out a tool for us to use or if he was commenting on a harsh reality. I wanted to know more about him. ¡°You came up with that trick really fast. You didn¡¯t figure out they were coming before us, did you?¡±

    His face returned to its normal insincere smile as he replied in a much lighter tone. ¡°Oh, of course not

 Chapter 12: Nobodyéˆ¥æªš Home

    ¡°Hey, Yu, pass me seconds.¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­¡± I handed Damian the pile of cooked rabbit meat on a large leaf that I was holding. He took one.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±

    I was almost surprised that he thanked me, but I¡¯m sure he had more on his mind than keeping in-character. So did I.

    ¡°Me too.¡± Maya asked. I nodded and wordlessly pushed the leaf closer to Damian. He took it and passed it to his left, where Maya accepted and took one as well.

    ¡°M-May I..?¡± Sonia watched Maya eat with wide, watery eyes. She was even drooling. She really couldn¡¯t read a room, huh? Maya, who was normally endeared to Sonia¡¯s personality, didn¡¯t react. She moved the leaf over, skipping Michael. Sonia didn¡¯t wait and grabbed three with one hand, causing Michael to lean back in surprise.

    Willy giggled and reached a flat hand out to her, which she looked at for a moment with a full mouth before realizing that he wanted it and giving it over. He took two for himself and swallowed one of them in one gulp. Was that him trying to be funny?

    ¡°I would like another one, as well!¡± Hauke asked cheerfully.

    ¡°Of course, my friend!¡± Willy smiled and gave them to him gleefully.

    ¡­How the hell did this happen?!

    Apparently, after I went to bed last night, Willy spent a long time talking to our captive and they became good friends¡­ or something¡­

    ¡°Hauke, I promise you, a friend of ours will never go hungry!¡±

    ¡°I do not plan to merely steal all of your resources, Willy. I will provide for all of you to the best of my ability. As will Ingo!¡±

    I would have barfed if I wasn¡¯t so tense. Maya and Damian were in a similar position. Michael, as always, adapted to the situation well, although I figured even he couldn¡¯t completely get over how bafflingly stupid this situation was. I really shouldn¡¯t be letting this get to me, but¡­ How was I supposed to accept a new teammate like that? Especially such a shady one!

    ¡°Say, Hauke. Why don¡¯t you tell the others what you told me last night?¡± Willy asked.

    ¡°Ah, good idea.¡± He looked at us and held his hands out. ¡°You all do not need to worry about introducing yourselves to me. I have been stalking you for weeks.¡±

    Weeks?! Does he mean, like¡­ As soon as the game started?!

    ¡°I am less familiar with those of you who joined recently, but I still know things like the schedule of your biological clock.¡±

    Schedule..? Do I want to know what that means..?

    ¡°Your measurements, too.¡±

    ¡°Stop talking!¡± It was too bizarre to keep my reaction internal.

    Michael¡¯s pupils became a bit smaller. ¡°But I only bathe at night¡­ How did you..?¡±¡±

    Hauke cleared his throat. ¡°Sorry, that wasn¡¯t the point I was trying to make. I¡¯m only saying, if need be, I should be able to adjust to your fighting styles. Although, I don¡¯t like to fight unless I¡¯ve had at least a week to study my target¡­¡±

    That¡¯s way too extra¡­ Damian, Maya, Michael and I all stared at him in complete silence.

    ¡°Fear not.¡± Willy spoke up. For once, I was happy to hear his voice. At least, in comparison to that new freak¡¯s. ¡°I know he is genuine. I¡¯ve never been wrong!¡±

    That felt like a remark made to make me and only me uncomfortable.

    Maya rose her voice above my scrambled thoughts. ¡°Willy, are you completely sure we can trust this guy? I mean, I understand trusting the other two, but these guys literally tried to kill us.¡±

    I assumed she meant Michael and I when she said ¡°other two.¡± In spite of the isolating language, I was happy that she spoke up. Strong disapproval from me would only make me look more suspicious. Besides, he wouldn¡¯t trust my opinion as much as his original team¡¯s. He shouldn¡¯t, anyway¡­

    ¡°Everyone is afraid, Maya. Especially this man and his colleague. Are his overly cautious actions not the actions of a frightened man?¡±

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a perfectly adequate amount of caution!¡± Hauke¡¯s annoying voice split my ears.

    ¡°Yes, anyway¡­¡± Willy ignored him. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t be afraid in their position? Their lives spared merely on a whim? Or perhaps by luck? Their teammates were not so lucky. They now carry the hopes and dreams of those two brave friends!¡±

    Hauke began to tear up, but it was in such a pathetic, whiny manner that I was almost certain he was playing it up.

    ¡°I mean, I guess, but that doesn¡¯t mean we have to be welcoming to an active threat.¡± Maya crossed her arms and looked away, as if accepting that the argument was over.

    ¡°I¡¯d call myself an inactive threat.¡± Hauke¡¯s reply got no response, due to the total lack of worth it held to anyone present.

    After a moment of silence, Damian said, ¡°I¡¯m not convinced. Tell us your teams¡¯ powers!¡±

    I wondered what made him think they even had powers, but in Hauke¡¯s case, it¡¯s probably best to always assume he¡¯s hiding something.

    ¡°Ahh, only I have awakened to one. It¡¯s a bit hard to tell you about, though¡­¡±

    Could you possibly look more suspicious?

    Damian stomped his foot. ¡°You expect me to believe that?! How can telling us be difficult unless you¡¯re lying?!¡±

    ¡°Eep!¡± Hauke shrunk back and covered his face with his hands. ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth..! My power has strange rules that I don¡¯t quite understand yet¡­ One of my deceased allies, I told her about my power and she¡­ Well¡­¡±

    Damian approached him threateningly. ¡°You think that¡¯s why they got killed by the musclehead? I know you¡¯re superstitious, but that¡¯s just stupid!¡±

    ¡°No, not that. Okay, okay, I¡¯ll try to explain it safely. I saw her potential, and when I told her about it, she lost it.¡±

    As doubtful as I was of him, I had to give it some thought. It was too interesting of a story, even if it was a lie. ¡°So, did our potential go away?¡± I asked.

    ¡°¡­N-No¡­¡± He looked progressively more worried, as if he expected something terrible to happen.

    I stared at him quietly. ¡°Did it this time?¡±

    He shook his head.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I exchanged glances with Damian. He didn¡¯t seem convinced either, but he was definitely intrigued, brow raised.

    ¡°You¡¯re being too paranoid.¡± Damian scoffed. ¡°Tell us in more specific words!¡±

    ¡°Well, wait.¡± I lifted my hand. ¡°If it¡¯s as dire as he says, maybe we should let him be cautious on this.¡±

    Damian stared daggers at me. ¡°You on his side, loser?¡±

    ¡°Hey, no way!¡± I gulped. The idea that I was agreeing with that loon was scary. Am I that superstitious? Nah, no way.

    Hauke cleared his throat, then fell silent when we both stared at him. ¡°It seems fine, so if it¡¯ll make you trust me¡­ I¡¯ll tell you a little bit more, but only a little! Aside from the fact that I wouldn¡¯t want to hurt you all, it would be disadvantageous of me to weaken a potential bodyguard!¡±

    Could he seriously just stop with the kissing up? Well, I believed the second part of that, at least.

    ¡°Yes, so¡­¡± Hauke spoke slowly. ¡°Let¡¯s say my brain is a computer¡­ It stores information that I see¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, duh!¡± Damian yelled.

    ¡°Eek! I¡¯m getting to it! My brain does it differently¡­ It¡¯s like I don¡¯t forget it, and I process it super hard without trying to.¡±

    I raised my brow at that. ¡°Did you do that before you got here, or is that related to your power?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ I did it before, but now it seems my information has become more specific¡­¡±

    I pondered. Could a power really mutate your brain? That¡¯s scary. Is it possible that our personalities can change? It seems he was always like this, so maybe the mutations correlate to the way we already were.

    Ugh, this is making my head hurt¡­ This all started with an alien. Why am I thinking so hard about it? ¡°So you see our potential?¡± I asked.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Yes, basically. I cannot see the future potential of Yu or Michael, but I¡¯ve been watching the others long enough to see theirs.¡±

    I guess if he tells us, then we¡¯ll start to act with that expectation in mind. It¡¯s like in movies when you change the future because you told someone what happens, so they no longer did the thing that caused the future to end up that way. A bit complicated, but I got the picture.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Damian sounded annoyed. ¡°Can¡¯t you explain more?!¡±

    ¡°Th-That¡¯s it! I really can¡¯t say more!¡±

    I thought that if he said any more, we might become aware of the fact that our powers are determined by our habits, which he can observe. But wait, I already came to that conclusion. Did my potential change? Eh, probably not. ¡°Let¡¯s not push it.¡± I urged, trying to make it sound more like a suggestion so that Damian wouldn¡¯t get mad again.

    ¡°What if he only agreed to be here so that he could keep observing us?¡± Damian sounded frustrated, like he wasn¡¯t sure how to resolve this. I looked around at the others, who had become silent. They didn¡¯t look like they were taking this too seriously, either. Is this just some classic Yu and Damian moment to them? Maya almost looks like she¡¯s about to laugh!

    Sonia shot up and pulled Hauke closer to us by his wrists, causing Damian and I to recoil back in unison. ¡°I know! He just has to prove himself, like Yu and Michael did, right?¡±

    Damian spat, ¡°You think they proved themselves already? You¡¯re no better than Willy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than if they don¡¯t, yes?¡± Willy interjected by thrusting his hand with a raised index finger between us. ¡°Does anybody have suggestions for how Hauke may gain your trust?¡±

    Everyone looked to Damian, knowing he would be the hardest to please, for his response. It took him a moment to notice, and when he did he looked embarrassed. ¡°What, me?! Ugh, I guess, um¡­ Go gather intel on other teams. When we¡¯ve confirmed it¡¯s correct, we might start to trust you a bit. Until then, stay as far away from us as possible!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay away from me.¡± Willy added.

    ¡°Shut up! Not helping!!¡±

    And so, Hauke did just that. Well, I assumed he did. Damian was the one following him around, so I didn¡¯t see what they were doing. Ingo was told to sit still, so that the two of them wouldn¡¯t have any chances to scheme. No point in testing him this early if his captain is already suspicious, I guess. I didn¡¯t feel the need to impose on Damian¡¯s means. His standards are probably a fine thing to go by, for now.

    Then again, he hasn¡¯t found me out yet. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t trust his judgment so much. Or am I good at lying? Nah, I could never be as cutthroat as Michael was when dealing with these intruders last night. That was really impressive. They would¡¯ve caught my lie in an instant.

    I felt conflicted about whether I should follow Rubi¡¯s or Michael¡¯s methods. For once, I started to think of Michael as a captain when I imagined the kind of disagreements they would have. Although, I struggled to imagine him getting into any arguments. Now that I¡¯m thinking about it, Willy didn¡¯t argue with Michael about his underhanded ways, either. Maybe he was too happy that Michael would put himself out there like that for us. Willy¡¯s beliefs are, from what I¡¯ve seen, definitely captain-level, but he seems more willing to compromise than Rubi. Was my assumption about how captains act wrong? Maybe I shouldn¡¯t base it all off Rubi.

    Argh! Whatever. I don¡¯t really know what a captain is like anyway. I¡¯ve only gotten to know three of them. I guess I wanted to know that there were people like Rubi out there, that I wasn¡¯t best friends with a one-of-a-kind marvel. That would be way too much pressure¡­

    I was curious about Willy, though. Why would he do something as assertive as taking his team¡¯s knife from them, but then let Michael settle the situation the way he did? Does lying not conflict with Willy¡¯s worldview? That would be stupid. Besides, even if we don¡¯t have the knife for combat, Michael still stabbed that guy with his nails. What¡¯s the difference? Ugh, I hate that guy. It would be dumb to put myself out there by confronting him on it, though. I wonder if Damian and Maya are thinking about that¡­ If the three of us come to him with that, then I won¡¯t stick out at all.

    Maya appeared from outside of my field of view and waved at me, to which I looked up with a bit of surprise.

    ¡°Hey, wanna train?¡± She asked. I stood up quietly and went to the usual spot with her. I wondered how I should bring it up, if I was going to at all. Maya had gotten notably friendlier to me, compared to Damian. Maybe she would be easier to talk to about it. They have their own misgivings about their captain.

    Although she didn¡¯t use the same fighting style as Damian, the tricks he taught me translated into fighting her pretty well. The two of them rely on using their weight. Maya¡¯s fighting style was basically regular brawling, with some of Damian¡¯s style mixed in.

    I dodged her wide swings back by swaying, keeping my arms low in case she went for a tackle.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t make such wide movements.¡± I commented while lifting one of my arms up to try and hit her face. She had taken a particularly wide swing and I was aiming for a counter hit, but she stepped forward at the same time as she missed. I stepped back to keep the distance between us the same, but my back hit a tree. Had she really pushed me so far with that aggressive assault? I froze for a second, and she went to wrap her arms around the arm I had raised. She succeeded and I fell onto the hard ground, yelping as she fell with her weight on my elbow and shoulder.

    ¡°Oww! You got it, you got it!¡± I tapped the ground a few times and she let up.

    ¡°You must be getting comfortable if you think you can give me advice.¡± She smirked and wiped some dirt off of her arm.

    ¡°Hm.¡± I ignored her and stood up, wincing in pain. Seeing that she was taking a break for water, I followed her with my hands in my pocket, awkwardly trying to start the conversation that had been in my mind.

    ¡°So, do you and Damian¡­ Do you agree with Will?¡± It wasn¡¯t exactly what I wanted to ask, but it¡¯s what came out.

    She seemed surprised to be asked such a thing, but it didn¡¯t last long. ¡°Makes sense you¡¯d ask that. We are hard on him, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°A bit. With good reason, I¡¯d say.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t assume you know what he¡¯s like, ¡®kay?¡± She looked serious, but not angry. ¡°I get that it¡¯s easy to do with him, but we¡¯ve known him for a long time.¡±

    It sounded like deflection to me, but that didn¡¯t matter much. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She paused to drink for a second. ¡°Just don¡¯t be surprised if Damian gets mad at you for bringing that up.¡±

    Why would he get so defensive if the answer was obvious? ¡°Got it. I¡¯m just having a hard time understanding why he doesn¡¯t have a problem with us training to fight like this¡­¡± I struggled to drop the subject, for some reason.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Maya sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a compromise between friends, alright? We haven¡¯t come to an agreement yet.¡±

    Were they really avoiding confrontation about it this late into the game? It must have been a couple of weeks at this point. I suppose I can understand where they¡¯re coming from. Rubi and I got into it about whether or not we should kill people. No violence at all, though? Not even Rubi is absurd enough to make such rules. Are there more captains that impose guidelines like this? I hope not.

    Neither of us spoke for a bit. Maya started meditating at the other end of the square area. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have asked that. It¡¯s not my business to begin with¡­

    Damian and Hauke returned without much fanfare. It appeared to have gone well. Nobody looked injured, either by another team or each other. So that was good.

    I was doing some of the balancing practice that Rubi showed me before I left. I was starting to get the hang of standing on one leg for a long period of time. I would still fall over after about 20 seconds, though. Not to mention, fighting like this is a whole different story. Damian and Hauke¡¯s return brought me out of it, so I decided to take a trip to Michael¡¯s corner within the tent.

    ¡°Hey, can you get me something for my back? The old injuries started hurting earlier when I fell over.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± He started shifting through his very organized collection and then took a leaf, crushed it into paste with his palm and motioned for me to come over. I sighed. I was annoyed that it decided to hurt again now instead of back at the camp. I didn¡¯t really want to show my bare back to people I¡¯m not friends with. Either way, I turned my back and lifted my shirt the bare minimum required to expose the wound. One of my arms remained wrapped around myself protectively, even though I knew it was hardly hiding anything.

    ¡°This thing really is nasty.¡± He chimed in while rubbing the paste in.

    ¡°Who says that to someone in this position..?!¡± My face was a little red. I huffed.

    ¡°I meant your injury.¡± Obviously, dumbass! ¡°Haha, making you laugh reduced the sting though, didn¡¯t it?¡±

    I raised a brow at him only to realize that he was right. I didn¡¯t feel the medicine at all. That is, until he pointed it out and I winced. ¡°Asshole¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sorry. I knew it would be best to let you remain in that state for a bit longer, lest you realize the pain. It felt rude, though. I realized it might have come across as teasing. I didn¡¯t want you to hate me, so I selfishly decided to break the illusion. Forgive me.¡±

    ¡°Whatever.¡± Making such a complicated situation out of nothing. What an annoying guy he could be. It barely hurt, too. ¡°Even I can handle this much.¡±

    ¡°Ah, and I accidentally insulted your strength, too¡­ Today is not my day.¡± It was hard to tell how much he was joking. He didn¡¯t look away from his plants when he spoke.

    ¡°So, I can lower my shirt, right? It¡¯s not gonna rub the medicine away or anything?¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, no. It¡¯s already drying up.¡±

    I tugged my shirt down quickly and left the tent in much the same fashion. Damian, Hauke and Willy were standing in the center of the camp, presumably to talk about his ¡°initiation.¡±

    ¡°So, Damian, do you trust our new friend a bit more now?¡± Willy spoke as chipper as ever.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t enough to prove it. I¡¯m gonna be keeping my eye on him. And on the other three! Ugh, even saying that, there¡¯s really three others¡­¡±

    I wasn''t in much position to agree with him, given my status as a newcomer, but the two new guys really did bother me. I looked around to see where the other one had gone. Ingo, I think. He was cooking some meat while Sonya watched closely and Maya watched notably less closely.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had to cook for Hauke since the others died, so I¡¯m pretty good at this. Your captain¡¯s cooking is great, too.¡±

    Sonya giggled. ¡°I know, right? Ahh, I can¡¯t wait to taste test! I¡¯ll tell you who¡¯s better!¡±

    Maya snorted. ¡°So, only you get to decide that?¡± She smiled, not giving them her full attention still, but enough to make jabs and observations.

    ¡°You guys¡¯ll eat anything!¡± Sonya crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. ¡°I mean, me too, but at least I can tell when food is high quality and when it isn¡¯t.¡±

    Does having a sharp tongue for flavor even matter if you¡¯ll eat everything? I chose not to engage with them.

    Willy continued, ¡°Well, if you¡¯d like, why not take Yu on our afternoon expedition? If you¡¯re fine with doing it twice in a row.¡±

    ¡°Of course I am.¡± He scoffed at the idea. ¡°I¡¯ll go, after I wash myself.¡±

    ¡°No reason to be so eager! Have dinner first.¡± Willy implored. Damian was frustrated, but didn¡¯t argue. Being around Hauke for so long must have put him on edge. He¡¯ll probably keep an extra close eye on me today.

    Whenever I thought about bringing up my misgivings with Willy to Damian, I remembered that it would certainly be a less friendly version of the conversation with Maya. I sighed. I noticed Michael had left his corner for a break. I didn¡¯t want to disturb him, but it was nagging at me. I approached him.

    ¡°Hey, Michael. If you feel the same, why don¡¯t we confront Will at dinner tonight about his whole ¡®non-violence¡¯ thing? It¡¯s been bugging me since the Hauke situation.¡±

    He didn¡¯t react much. ¡°Sure. I take it the others didn¡¯t agree with you?¡±

    ¡°Eh, Maya didn¡¯t. I know how Damian would react.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. If we intend to remain a team, then a captain whom we can¡¯t agree with is going to be a problem. This confrontation was going to happen eventually.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you agree. I mean, Will didn¡¯t even know what he was doing in that last fight. He looked like he wanted to argue with us, but even he knew that wasn¡¯t the time. I want to think he¡¯s been pondering what to do about it since then, but he was so cheerful that I honestly wouldn¡¯t be shocked if he wiped it from his brain. Ignoring serious matters seems core to his thought process¡­¡±

    ¡°Someone¡¯s a critic.¡± Michael giggled.

    Shit, I assumed he felt the same!

    ¡°I feel the same.¡± He continued.

    Right¡­

    Michael started to walk away, back to the lab. That was an awkward point to leave the conversation on, but I couldn¡¯t think of any info I left out, so that was that.

    Willy was patting Hauke on the back, who seemed tired as well. ¡°They always treat the new guy rough, my friend. It means they¡¯re warming up to you.¡±

    ¡°Does not!¡± Damian reappeared, wiping sweat from his forehead with his shirt. I really wasn¡¯t looking forward to walking with him when he¡¯s so clearly frustrated.

    ¡°You sure you want to¡­?¡± I started to speak, but he cut me off. ¡°Yes! Move.¡±

    I went along with it, choosing not to upset him further. His muscles really were developed, though. Seeing him like that made me glad that he wasn¡¯t seriously trying to kill me during training. He probably could.

    ¡°Keep your eyes to yourself.¡± He scowled without looking at me.

    ¡°What?!¡± I was caught off guard. Was he trying to joke? ¡°Uh¡­ Don¡¯t flatter yourself.¡± My retort fell pretty flat. He didn¡¯t reply. We were both silent for a couple of minutes, until we were away from the camp.

    I made sure to keep my eyes active and moving, even though it was boring. While doing so, I decided to start a conversation. ¡°So, what impression did Hauke give you today?¡±

    ¡°Just more of the same annoying ass kissing.¡±

    ¡°Did you learn- Oh, look.¡± I pointed to a baby rabbit running across the ground. Damian stared at me, ignoring the target of my fascination.

    ¡°You want to eat a baby?¡±

    ¡°N-Not what I meant. Let¡¯s follow where it came from and see if we find a nest.¡± I picked up a twig and drew a circle in the dirt to mark where we saw it, in case we have to backtrack.

    ¡°Sure¡­ What were you saying?¡±

    I got embarrassed that I so easily forgot my train of thought. ¡°Oh, uh. I, uh¡­ Oh, yeah. I was asking if you learned anything new. About Hauke, like did he tell you anything important?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Damian¡¯s reply was blunt. ¡°He told me about his teammates, but not in any detail that would help us track or identify their killer.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ Did you internalize any of it?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Equally blunt. I was almost beginning to wonder what the team thought about how little I had told them about my team, but knowing that it wouldn¡¯t have even been remembered eased my mind¡­ and slightly annoyed me.

    We followed the rabbit for a while, with no luck. When we followed the opposite direction, where it was headed, we did in fact find a nest of rabbits. Damian calmly swiped up the two grown ones. He had me hold one while he held the other out and dislocated its neck. I would have preferred not to see that, but whatever. I gave him the second one and he did the same. We ignored the children and went home.

    Everybody gathered and the meal was prepared. I glanced at Michael, who met my gaze. He initiated conversation as we planned. ¡°So, Wilhelm. As our captain, can you elaborate more on your philosophy? Specifically, how you expect us to fend off threats without violence.¡±

    My awkward glancing noticed that Maya was looking at me with an annoyed glare. She must have assumed I asked him to bring it up for me. What a wimp I looked like. ¡°Um, yeah, I was w-wondering, too.¡± I had already planned to join in, but I felt a push from that.

    ¡°Oh, I cannot blame you for this.¡± Willy was deflated. ¡°You especially, Mikey, are justified in asking me. I admit that I was unsure of your methods, but in the end, we all became friends. Your trickery put an end to our fighting. Nobody in the situation, including myself, knew what to do to settle things. I wish I could have been of help like you¡­¡± Willy¡¯s lip started to quiver, like it was only just dawning on him how he had failed to uphold his ideology and had to rely on another captain to do it for him.

    ¡°Thank you, Mikey! With all my heart! I will never fail as a captain ever again!¡± Willy suddenly yelled and dropped to his knees, bowing his head on all fours. Nobody knew how to respond, especially not Michael.

    Before anyone could come up with a reply to that, we heard a loud thud as a knife was suddenly stabbed into a tree as if it had been thrown. I shot up and looked around, only for Maya to speak first. ¡°Th-¡­ The knife just flew out of my hand!¡± She inhaled and exhaled to calm her breathing.

    Michael and I both looked at each other first. He was watching for me, making me self-conscious of my reaction. I coughed and sat down to hopefully get him to stop staring. Maya went to go pull it out of the tree, but as she hovered her open palm over the hilt, it pushed further in.

    ¡°Maya, do you think¡­?¡± Willy¡¯s eyes, no longer facing the dirt, were wide and glistening with intrigue.

    My suspicion became reality. My eyes widened in fear. My heart sank into my stomach. My ears started to ring. My peripheral vision became too blurry to make anything out of it. After long enough, my eyesight wasn¡¯t focused on anything at all, merely empty space. I had forgotten. This team was large. They would soon start awakening powers. They¡¯re acquiring teammates at an alarming rate. A team of numerous powered people who are going to hate me when they realize why I¡¯m here.

    Why I¡¯m here.

    Why am I here? To make friends? There¡¯s no way to apologize now, after all this time. They¡¯d kill me. They¡¯d kill my friends. That, or they¡¯d subjugate us, stop us from winning, make us complacent, get us killed by another team.

    Why was I so interested in trying to figure out this team¡¯s internal politics? Why did I care what Willy thought? Why did I try to change his mind? If he stays weak-willed, then it¡¯ll be easier to beat him. Kill him, if need be. All I¡¯ve been doing here is making it harder to justify killing these people to myself.

    I felt dizzy. I lowered my head, trying not to look suspicious. I couldn¡¯t seem scared. I closed my eyes. Took a deep breath. Let it out. My eyes opened, slowly, to the world in front of me. A new world, where the fake home I had fabricated no longer remained. A world filled only with enemies.

 Chapter 13: War Again

    Immediately after Maya awakened her power, I hovered over the dirt map in the middle of their camp for longer than I could keep track of. Scanning the entire thing repeatedly, as if something I had missed would suddenly appear in front of me. At some point, I wasn¡¯t sure what I was looking for. Every time I got an idea of how to get in touch with Rubi and invade this place, some sort of intrusive thought would pull my focus elsewhere. I had nothing resembling a plan.

    I shook myself out of it for long enough to walk towards the tent, looking around for which entrances were harder to see from here.

    ¡°Yu?¡± I almost leapt out of my skin when I heard Maya call to me in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s like, midnight¡­ Are you on guard tonight?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ I-Is it? Wow, had n-no idea. I can¡¯t sleep so I, I mean I guess I¡¯m uh, guarding.¡± I actually didn¡¯t notice. You idiot, it would be so easy for someone who¡¯s already suspicious of you to realize why you¡¯re frazzled!

    Had to calm down. So I did, kind of. I realized that Maya was still looking at me. I had no idea how long I had zoned out just now.

    ¡°Are you sick or something¡­ Actually, don¡¯t tell me. Go see Michael. Good night.¡± And away she went, saving me the discomfort of having to come up with another response.

    I inhaled slowly and replied in a steady voice. ¡°I¡¯m okay. Good night.¡± I closed my eyes to see if I could visualize the map, and I could do it pretty well. I walked closer to the tent and sat down in front of it, pretending to keep watch for intruders until I felt that long enough had passed and everyone was asleep. Shouldn¡¯t be too long.

    I practiced breathing exercises for something like 20 minutes. This is good. I¡¯m glad I was reminded of my purpose here. I¡¯m not upset or scared about Maya¡¯s power. I¡¯m glad. This is good.

    I stood up slowly and confidently, and then I left the camp just as easily as I entered it. I already knew what excuse I was going to use if it turned out one of them heard or saw me, so I wasn¡¯t worried.

    I, the pawn on the chess board, was finally ready to finish my job. I quietly tried to remember the path back home. My real home, the one I was missing from for what felt like ages. It took me a bit longer than I wanted it to. The sooner I could wrap this up, the better. If Damian or someone woke up and saw I was gone, things could get rough.

    Once I was closer, I stopped sneaking and started running. I figured they could hear me by now and I had no reason to hold back. I wouldn¡¯t want to alarm them, I told myself. My feet sped up, then again, faster. I was sprinting towards that empty circle in the middle of the forest. I could feel the stiffness I had been carrying all night melt away with the wind. The adrenaline running through me almost made me run straight into the wall of meat waiting at the entrance.

    ¡°Yu, dude!¡± Garald spread his arms out wide and high, waving both of them. I tried to stop myself but I kept tumbling forward, to which he leapt forward and caught me before I hit the ground.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± My breathing was immensely strained. I didn¡¯t think I could run that fast. As I was recovering from one of the most physically draining activities of my life, he let go of me for a moment and gave me a tight hug before I fell down. Up off the ground I went, squeezed like I wasn¡¯t in a heightened physical and mental state. No regard for me at all, like the big oaf he is. My neck and head were nearly crushed by his massive arms and equally sizable chest. It was getting difficult to breathe. One would have a hard time finding out what percentage of the color my face had become was blushing and what percentage was asphyxiation.

    ¡°Oh, snap! You good, buddy?¡± He released me and I fell to the dirt like a paperweight. No energy remained in my body.

    ¡°Second person to do that¡­¡± I muttered.

    He tilted his head like a confused cat. ¡°Huh? Oh, you can tell us all about it, man!¡±

    Rubi and Barb appeared behind him. Barb tried not to laugh by putting a fist in front of her mouth and turning away.

    ¡°Are you hurt, Yu?¡± Rubi came closer, but I lifted my hand up weakly to assuage her concerns.

    ¡°No¡­ I just¡­ needed that¡­¡± And limply my hand fell again. I ended up being carried to the tent by Garald.

    ¡°Why are all three of you awake?¡± I asked under my breath. I wasn¡¯t being quiet on purpose, it¡¯s just what was easier.

    ¡°Garald woke us up¡­¡± Barb complained while stretching and popping her limbs. She had obviously hurried out of bed to see me.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Sorry.¡± I let out a loud exhale and didn¡¯t say anything else. I wasn¡¯t even looking where I was being taken. Against my wishes, I remembered why I came here and my heart rate increased. I didn¡¯t have the energy to go into it at the moment and thinking about how important it was sapped my energy further.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Garald asked.

    I furrowed my brow in confusion. ¡°Uh, nothing¡­ How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. Guess even I can read the room sometimes!¡±

    Whatever it may be, I was glad he asked. My chest was right on his back, so he must have felt my heart accelerate. ¡°We.. have to do it soon. The attack, I mean. They have powers now. Uh, not they, I mean her¡­ They already had some powers but, uh¡­¡±

    Garald decided not to let me finish. ¡°Hey, at least let me put you down. You¡¯re not in a state to get that thought out.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Buh¡­ Thanks.¡±

    ¡°As I was saying,¡± I let myself rest a bit longer than I wanted to, something like 20 minutes. I woke up to see they were all gathered around me. ¡°You don¡¯t have to coddle me¡­ My mission isn¡¯t done. This is where the tough part starts. If I¡¯m gone any longer than I have to be, they¡¯ll notice.¡±

    Nobody argued. I straightened my back and spoke as clearly as I could, so I wouldn¡¯t have to repeat myself. ¡°Maya¡­ My, uh¡­ My interpretation of her, the shorter woman. She has awakened her powers.¡±

    The reactions of the crowd were surprised. ¡°So that¡¯s why you came back in a hurry¡­¡± Garald pondered aloud.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded. ¡°Her power has something to do with the way she awakened it, I think. I can¡¯t tell what it is, but she was holding a knife and it suddenly flew out of her hand. I¡¯ll keep watching her when I get back, but we should mount our attack before she has time to figure out any uses besides that. Watch out for flying objects. Very fast ones. It was like she threw a spear straight forward, but it was by complete accident.¡±

    Rubi tipped the hilt of her sword towards Garald. ¡°We need to get up close to her, then. Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°You bet.¡± Garald popped his knuckles like he was excited to be called upon first.

    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll have to hone your instincts. By the sounds of it, a knife throw from this woman isn¡¯t something you can dodge with reaction alone. By the time you register it, it¡¯ll be too late. Is that right, Yu?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much.¡± I recalled the rest of the relevant information. ¡°Their captain, the tall guy with the weird white hair, has some sort of power but I can¡¯t tell what it is, and he doesn¡¯t know about it either. I punched him by mistake and my fist felt no contact, despite physically touching him. I¡¯ve felt him before so I know his whole body isn¡¯t like that.¡±

    Barb and Garald seemed at a complete loss. Barb asked, ¡°What kind of power could do something like that..?¡±

    Rubi spoke up. ¡°It must be wind control. So strong to block a punch yet so precise as to not create any friction with what it touches. Could he truly do that without even realizing it? It¡¯s different from my fire control. I can¡¯t move the individual flickers of the flames. I can only make them bigger or smaller. To have an automatic self-defense system¡­ I need to fight him myself.¡±

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I lifted my hand up to speak. ¡°Are you sure? He¡¯s hardly a combatant. I saw how indecisive he was during an invasion from an enemy team. He¡¯s a pacifist who doesn¡¯t know how to fight. He didn¡¯t do anything besides run forward.¡±

    ¡°His power is incredible, isn¡¯t it? Then his mental strength must be equivalent. To do such a thing with no realization at all. The conviction he must have makes me afraid of what he may do if he believes his team is going to lose.¡±

    I wanted to disavow every positive thing she just said about Willy, but I held back. ¡°He¡¯s really not impressive, physically or mentally.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we must attack before he realizes what his power is. I will see if my flames can interact with his wind. If not, then I¡¯ll just corner him and make him unable to join the fight. A power like that must have limitations or conditions, or else he would have noticed it interacting with the world around him at some point. Are you certain he has no idea about it?¡±

    ¡°Uh, I was pretty sure¡­ at the time¡­ I¡¯m confident that¡¯s how it is.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then. If he realizes his strength, and if we interpreted his ability correctly, he may very well be invincible to us. If worst comes to worst, Barb and I will combine our powers to make a smokescreen. His powers don¡¯t protect his eyes from light or he would be unable to see anything. Therefore, we can go for his eyes indirectly.¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t have to have so many contingencies for that guy. Keep an eye on him, but don¡¯t focus on him unless he suddenly makes himself a threat.¡±

    ¡°Okay, if you believe that it¡¯s best. Please continue, Yu.¡± She placed her hands back down on her knees, listening attentively.

    I straightened my body. ¡°Oh, yeah, um¡­ This captain, if he tries to bargain with you to stop the fighting, ignore him.¡±

    Rubi gave me a puzzled look. ¡°Is he a trickster?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly¡­ He doesn¡¯t like violence at all.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Then why not reason with them, if you learned this? You should¡¯ve started with that!¡±

    ¡°Their team doesn¡¯t agree with him. Remember how I said there was a fight? He was basically a spectator. He grabbed and pushed, but it was pitiful. He didn¡¯t know how to throw a punch. He doesn¡¯t have the resolve that you do. His team basically ignores his request.¡±

    ¡°Oh, gosh¡­ That¡¯s a shame. Maybe if I talked to his teammates¡­¡±

    ¡°Anything but that¡­¡± I cringed at the thought. ¡°Please, trust me. They will fight us.¡±

    She lowered her arms as if they were limp. ¡°Alright, alright. I understand.¡±

    ¡°As I was saying¡­ Their team only has two other, uh¡­ power users? Powered people. Their medic, the skinny, older-looking guy. His power makes his nails long, which he uses for medical procedures. I want Rubi to keep a passive watch on him, too. Garald and Barb should focus all their attention on fighting. He can¡¯t fight but he¡¯s a trickster. He got us out of a bind by deceiving two attackers into creating an opening. That was the whole team on two guys, though. He might not risk it against us. He wasn¡¯t originally on their team, by the way. He was the captain of a team. They were all killed and he ended up with these guys.¡±

    ¡°Killed..?¡± Everyone reacted to that information, which I was so used to at this point that it took me a second to realize what was wrong with it.

    ¡°Oh! Yeah, do you remember that big guy we met at the start who was running in fear? It¡¯s related to that. Agh, that can of worms, too¡­¡±

    Barb leaned forward and put a hand on my shoulder, a bit roughly. Was that supposed to calm me down? ¡°You can tell us that later, don¡¯t fry your brain.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t matter to us in this fight¡­ So, about the skinny guy. I¡¯m thinking since he¡¯s new and not a close friend of theirs yet, if push comes to shove, he would run away before risking himself for that team. Same for the other two. The guy with the weird hat and the buzzcut guy. They joined the team a couple of days ago after their defeat. They probably feel no loyalty to those guys. They¡¯re cowards, too. The hat guy only has a power for scouting, it¡¯s no use in surprise combat. He defeated the most skilled fighter on the team in close quarters, but he already knew what kinds of attacks he would throw. I kicked him and he nearly fell over, so I can say he doesn¡¯t have a lot of muscle on him. Buzzcut is decently big, but I didn¡¯t get to see him fight. Hat should go down with one good hit, but if you leave him alone and let him analyze the fight, he may come up with a countermeasure. Don¡¯t let that happen. Assuming he even stays in the fight.¡±

    I took a breath and then continued. ¡°The short, well-built guy is unpowered but he knows martial arts. Like Garald¡¯s fighting style but way more trained. He might end up being the most dangerous one, depending on how the woman uses her power. They have a taller girl but she¡¯s mentally weak and can¡¯t bring herself to fight. Ignore her. That should be everything¡­¡±

    Rubi rose her hand as soon as I finished like she was in school. ¡°You could just tell us their names instead of vague descriptions..¡±

    I gulped. ¡°You¡­ Y-You think I paid attention to that? I just got what I needed from them. Do you need more specific descriptions?¡±

    She gave me an unconvinced expression, but didn¡¯t say anything more. ¡°No, that will do. So, who is going to handle the short man? Barb might be good¡­¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± I didn¡¯t give her much time to speculate on that. ¡°I¡¯ve trained with him a lot. He¡¯s never seen me fight with a knife in my hand, but I¡¯ve seen all he can do. I¡¯m sure I can beat him.¡±

    Garald smiled. ¡°You¡¯re taking on the boss yourself?! That¡¯s sick!¡±

    Rubi corrected him. ¡°The white haired one is their captain.¡±

    ¡°Dude, I was talking about, y¡¯know, video games¡­ Whatever, I¡¯m the nerd now, I guess.¡± He crossed his arms and made an exaggerated pout. The snicker I was holding back managed to escape.

    ¡°A-Anyway¡­ I think it¡¯s our smartest move. I¡¯m not going to join the fight immediately. We should plan around when the short guy isn¡¯t around, and I¡¯ll pretend to be just as surprised as them. When the real threat shows up to fight, I¡¯ll reveal myself then and try to take him down before it becomes a fight.¡± I blushed as I realized I said something as stupid as ¡®I can beat him.¡¯ ¡°Not that I¡¯m hoping it becomes a fight or anything¡­ I¡¯ll aim to incapacitate him. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to get hurt if I can help it. I don¡¯t want to make any of you worried. A-And if I can¡¯t do it alone, I¡¯d like to make use of Rubi¡¯s excellent combat ability to finish the fight.¡±

    Rubi looked like the question in her head had been answered before she spoke it. I already knew what she wanted to tell me. I¡¯m well aware that If I play my part without any silly egocentrism then nobody will get hurt. Not me or my friends. I trust the plan we came up with together.

    Rubi spoke, ¡°In that case, we should be certainly flexible and move around the battlefield as needed, but this is a good place to start. Barb should take down the hat and keep the buzzcut busy. Do you think she can take them, Yu?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t expecting to be called on again. ¡°Ah, y-yeah, they wouldn¡¯t be a concern in an ambush. Barb can take out Hat in one hit, and I bet Buzzcut would lose a lot of his confidence.¡±

    ¡°Cool!¡± Rubi smacked her balled fist in her palm. ¡°While that happens, Garald will take the powered girl and Yu will handle the shorty. I¡¯ll keep watch over the whole battlefield and ensure that the captain and medic don¡¯t intervene, and join in with you all whenever needed!¡±

    Barb looked left and right with her hands on her hips like she was ready to fight at any moment. ¡°So, they¡¯re saying we need to start this ASAP, right?¡±

    ¡°Um, not exactly n-now.¡± I tried to get her to settle down. ¡°I think tomorrow night is good. Yes, that was my plan. At night, Rubi should use her athleticism to watch the camp from a tree and signal the others to join her when she sees that everyone is asleep. If possible, I¡¯d like to be on guard duty, but if I ask for it, I¡¯ll look suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Is there a way to know ahead of time who will guard?¡± Rubi questioned.

    ¡°No,¡± I answered, ¡°it¡¯s basically whoever feels like it. I¡¯ll see if I can offer to guard casually, but if somebody sees me coming back in tonight then I won¡¯t even try. I¡¯ve got a few excuses lined up.¡±

    Barb suddenly looked worried.

    ¡°Wh-what?¡± I stuttered.

    ¡°Oh, nothing. Just got a little worried that the outcome of a battle might depend on your acting.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    She chortled and kicked up dirt in my direction.

    ¡°You need to rest more?¡± Garald reintroduced himself to the conversation with his usual excessive kindness.

    ¡°No, I can leave now. I should leave now.¡± I stood up and dusted off my pants. I made my way to the entrance slowly. I had the energy to move faster, but it felt like I was trudging through mud. I wanted nothing more than to stay here forever, but all I had to do was finish this job and we would be back together for good.

    ¡°Hey, why so quick?¡± Garald grabbed my shoulder as suddenly as expected of him, causing me to gulp.

    ¡°I told you! If I wait too long, they¡¯ll catch on.¡±

    Barb stepped between us. ¡°Garald, if you¡¯re gonna say something like ¡®at least say goodbye,¡¯ then don¡¯t. Yu doesn¡¯t need that right now. You¡¯re gonna see us again, right?¡± She turned to me with a cocky smile.

    I stared in surprise for a second, then nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Rubi smiled as well and waved. I returned the gesture, then turned my back. ¡°If you¡¯re confident, so am I. The only threat after this is handled is Kenzo. Then we¡¯ll own this whole forest. Won¡¯t that be awesome?¡± I looked back at them with the most confident expression I could muster.

    Garald blinked a few times. ¡°Kenzo¡¯s the bad muscle killer?¡±

    ¡°Obviously.¡± Barb sighed.

    Rubi walked closer and tapped my back with her wooden sword. ¡°I like how you¡¯re thinking, Yu! This is the first major step in our victory plan. We need to spread our influence across this whole world!¡±

    Like a kid, she was glowing. Barb extended an open palm to me, and only after looking at her for a long while did I realize it was a high five. I stiffened my back and awkwardly slapped her hand, to which Garald ran up and whollopped my hand with his, causing me to nearly fall back. Rubi giggled and extended her hand high to reach my face. I sighed in exhaustion and gave her one, too. With that, I was gone.

    The way I was feeling before I returned crept up on me. There was nothing pleasurable about leaving my friends again, but staying there for as long as I did carried its own fair share of anxieties. Basically, nowhere was comfortable for me, so all I had was my duty. This pushed me into going back to that dreaded place, where Willy and his gang were surely waiting for me. No, why would I assume they¡¯re awake at this time of night? It will be fine. I¡¯ll wait for Rubi¡¯s signal and it will work out.

    I took light steps along the path that made the least noise. It was harder to see now than it was earlier. Kind of spooky. I traced the path in my mind repeatedly until I found the entrance. I took a breath and relaxed my shoulders, only to realize that a figure was standing in the middle of the camp, facing straight at me. I almost jumped out of my skin, falling onto my back and yelling.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Damian was mad. I had no clue what to say. My mind was still returning to my body after that fright. I opened my mouth, but incoherent murmurs came out.

    ¡°Did I catch you in the act?¡± His voice was louder this time. I gulped and started to stand up, patting dirt off of my pants.

    ¡°God, Damian¡­ Don¡¯t scare me like that. Are you p-pranking me? You¡¯re j-just like Willy¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t certain if he had actually found out my plan or not, so I played dumb until he said more.

    Even in the darkness, his glare was apparent. ¡°Am not. I¡¯m not trying to entertain you. I want to know why you were gone just now.¡±

    There was no one thing I could say that would cover all bases here. I really wanted to find out how long he had been waiting for me here, but there was no way without seeming suspicious. I had to gamble on the slightly more likely one.

    ¡°I just went to use the bathroom. Well, the forest. You know what I mean.¡± If he had been waiting for me for hours, that would be an obvious lie.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess so.¡±

    Safe. Guess he did just wake up. It would be a bit odd if he got up to check right after settling into bed. ¡°Lighten up, will you?¡± I walked past him and tried to return the usual banter we had to him, just to ease his concerns and increase my chance of success.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being on my toes all the time, you know.¡± He growled. ¡°But I guess I could lower my guard a bit around a wimp like you¡­¡±

    I turned back to him with a slight shock on my face. ¡°Really? You?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me! What do you think I am, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t wake up the others.¡± I lifted my finger up to my lips to shush him. He took my advice, but wasn¡¯t happy to.

    ¡°Damn¡­ Maybe Willy¡¯s right. I should stop being so tense. Lately it¡¯s just been¡­ Ugh. Nevermind.¡±

    My face softened as I watched him go back to bed. I didn¡¯t want to think about how I would be validating those fears of his tomorrow. This guy who was opening up to me¡­ Damn, it was really hard to avoid the thought. Still, I did it. My struggles were the least important, after all. Who would I be to let them get in the way of our goals?

    I tried my best to shut down those thoughts and go to sleep, but I found myself staring up at the tent ceiling for hours. I was never good at making friends. I¡¯m in high school and I¡¯ve got three friends total. So, I don¡¯t know much about it, but it almost felt like something akin to friendship was being born in this camp. For someone like Damian¡­ Was he trying to become friends the whole time? Is he just like that? No, he definitely hated me. How could that change so fast? Is he stupid?

    I tossed around every few minutes, unable to find a comfortable spot. That¡¯s what I was actively focusing on, anyway. It was the only thing I could do to suppress my emotions. Why am I so bad at this? It¡¯s my only job!

    All those years of self-isolation must be catching up to me. I should know how to deal with pointless feelings at this age, and the fact that I can¡¯t is going to get in the way of my real friends¡¯ plans. The frustration gnawed at me for another thirty minutes or so, until I became so tired that sleep was my only option.