Haru tried his best to avoid making eye contact with his partner. He was afraid he would lose his resolve and choose Akira over the boy, for which he would never probably forgive himself. But, it was quite hard to ignore such a brutal scene right in front of him, especially when he could see the man squeeze her throat. “Hey! Easy…” he blurted out, holding out both his hands, showing him that the healer wasn’t going to try anything funny. It would be terrible if Akira got hurt because Haru made a stupid move.
The red-headed Rune Knight stood there, completely clueless as to what he was supposed to do in such a situation, as the man bent and whispered something into Akira’s ears. For a split second, it seemed like there was an opportunity for Haru to dash forward and attempt to free Akira. But then, what of the boy? And what if he misses, startles the man, and he ends up snapping his partner’s neck? Too many risks and as he assessed all of them, the momentary opening vanished and the capturer’s attention turned back towards Haru.
“Let’s… Talk about this,” he said, speaking every word as clearly and patiently as he could. He didn’t dare take a step forward, even though he wanted to so much. It would seem the man was willing to strike a deal; a rather grim one. “How about you keep me and let the boy and my partner go?” Haru responded almost immediately after hearing the deal. “No deal! I only want the girl,” the man said sternly. And to make it a point as to how serious he was, he brandished a long shiny blue sword out of nowhere and held it in front of Akira’s throat. “You got three seconds…” he said, and immediately began counting down.
“Three…” Haru panicked. His protective instinct kicked in. There was no boy in the vicinity who seemed to be in danger. It was his partner. “Two!” He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing while the man toyed with her life. “On-” The healer dashed forward; thanks to his speed, he closed the distance in less than a second, but that wasn’t enough. That split second was enough for the man to slice Akira’s throat. “NOOO!” the healer yelled, as rage engulfed him. His eyes reddened and he reached out his hand towards the laughing man. Surprisingly, the sword that was in the man’s hands flew straight towards Haru’s extended hand and he gripped onto it tightly.
Without a moment a hesitation, he thrust the blade forward straight towards the man who had struck down his defenceless partner. But… he involuntarily stopped the blade right before it would penetrate the man. While a part of his brain screamed at him impale the man with the mana blade, his body resisted. “WHY?!” he yelled, tears streaming down his eyes. But he got no response. Instead, the man continued laughing and scene around him began to dissolve and fade away.
--
When he finally came to his senses, Haru found himself lying on a couch. The surrounding seemed very familiar… It was Master Doya’s small hut. The healer felt a cold metal against his right palm. He shook his head to clear his vision and sat up slowly. Looking down at his hand, he found himself holding a cylindrical hilt with no blade. The hilt brought back all the memories in a rush. “Aki!” he said, his eyes widening and looking around for his partner. He found her on a nearby bed. Ignoring the green dwelf and the merchant, who was curious to see him awake, he stumbled towards the bed to see his partner.
The healer was ready to heal the cut on her throat, but there was none. He checked her pulse and she seemed to be perfectly healthy; just unconscious. Confused, he turned towards their host and asked incredulously. “What the hell is happening here?” Laughing at him, Master Doya answered calmly. “Chosen a new master, it has!” he said, pointing his thin green index finger towards the thing Haru was holding. “You… are weird,” Haru said bluntly, but only got another chuckle for a response. Meanwhile, he heard Akira stir and quickly turned his attention towards her, to ensure she was doing fine.
-Exit-