Chapter Text
POV : Eike
I was stronger than before.
I don’t know why, but I was.
I was more precise. More dexterous. More deadly. It was like my blade danced everytime I moved. Danced in rhythm with my body. Danced in rhythm with my opponent.
It was like I etched a painting everytime I fought.
Was that why I was stronger ?
Did painting make me stronger ? Well it was something that demanded both patience and precision. Both things I needed in order to better my blade.
It sounded farfetched, but it was the only good explanation I had. Maybe I could test myself against a bear next time I go out ? See if I really did improve ?
But anyways. I was currently patrolling around the streets. It was around noon, and it was almost time for me to take my break. Hopefully nothing more happens before that—
“—Thief ! Thief ! There a thief ! Call the guards !”
…
I just had to jinx it, did I ?
…
Sigh
Alright, let’s go and put a stop to this.
I ran towards the sound and quickly analysed the scene before me.
We were in the middle of the Marketplace. It was full of people and it was hard to distinguishing who was shouting and who was running. Everything was over the place. If it continued like that, then the thief would escape.
I had to take the high grounds.
I looked around for somewhere high enough. A construction post. Perfect.
I jumped. And looked around.
Left. Right. There !
From within the crown I could make out a tiny figure that seemed to flow between everyone. They seemed to carry something.
I had my thief.
Now all that was left for me to do was catch them.
…Yeah, easier said than done. But I had no room for complaints, it was my job.
If I directly went down to try and catch them, then I would lose them. I wasn't as fast as they were, and from what I saw, they weren’t at their first experience.
What could I do then ? I couldn’t let them go, and I couldn’t out run them. What I had to do was to look for were they were aiming to go then.
I looked again. They were aiming for the back alleys. A street rat then. Shit. The kind of thieves that were the hardest to stop.
I closed my eyes, and thought of what I had to do. I was a guard, I had the responsibility to stop any disturbances that came my way.
Sigh
I looked for a shortcut to were I wanted to go. There !
I jumped from the construction post and continued my pursuit, following a more optimized path.
I could see them from where I was. Just a bit more… Now !
“Got you !”
“Hey let go of me you brut !”
A child.
A bloody kid.
He looked barely Six.
Shit.
That was why I hated street rats. They always were the hardest to stop…
“…Kid. What’s you’re name.”
“Huh !? What are you talking about !? Didn’t you hear me !? I told you to let go me !”
“Kid. Answer me.”
“Marzell… Happy ? Now get me down !”
“Hey. Why did you steal from that merchant ?”
“…That’s on hell of a stupid question ! You know why ! So just stop it and get on with it already !”
“Yes. I know. But I want to hear it from your mouth.”
“…You really want to humiliate me that much ? You’re trash you know ?”
“I don’t care. Just say it.”
“Because I was hungry alright ! And not just me but my friends too ! And before you ask, I'll never tell you where they are !”
Well, too late for him, I could already see some of his buddies around the corner. I could feel it, they would jump at me the moment I try to take him away.
Well, not that I would anyways. But it was heartwarming to see how much they cared for eachother.
Now… Time for me to do my part.
“…Alright. Give me back what you stole and I’ll make it as if I never saw you or your friends, okay ? Seems like a fair deal to you ?”
“…You would do that ?”
“Yeah. You know what, stay here and I might even treat you to a meal. Don’t bother coming for a second round though, I won’t treat you again.”
“Here.”
He gave me back the loaf of bread he had stolen. Fortunately, it was in pristine condition.
I let him go.
“…Thanks.”
He ran away.
“Welp, I guess that just means more food for me.”
——
“Thief ! Thief ! Someone stop him !”
I looked around. Jumped on a construction post. And looked around again.
Wait. Was that Marzell ? Well, figures, he mustn’t have eaten much since I last saw him yesterday.
I did the same thing I did last time. And quickly caught up to him.
“Got you !”
“What the— You again !?”
“Yeah. Me again. So back for some more stealing ?”
“Tsk !”
I let go of him.
“Well you know the drill. You give me back what you stole and I let you off. And you can still stay for lunch if want, yesterday's proposition is still up.”
“Go to hell !”
He gave me back what he stole and ran away.
Welp, at least I tried I guess ?
——
“Thief ! There’s a thief !”
…
Now that was just ridiculous at this point.
…
“Marzell.”
“Yeah, yeah I know. Here.”
——
“Hey Elaine, I need your help.”
“Yes, what is it ?”
“Well, you know I've been promoted to street guard right ?”
“Yes, you told me as much.”
“Well, you know that my job’s to like stop anyone that causes a disturbance in public order, right ?”
“Yes…? Where are you going with all those questions ?”
“Well, what I wanted to say was that… I’ve encountering a troublesome bunch lately. Thieves, to be more exact.”
“Go on.”
“Well, they are thieves. I have to stop them, or better yet, arrest them. But I can’t bring myself to do that you know ? They’re just children. I can’t stop them because they’re hungry and the system is just too broken to take care of them. And it’s not like I can do anything to help them, you know ? But I want to. So instead of arresting them I just take back what they stole and ask them to wait for me if they want to eat something. But they don't stay ! And— Bloody hell ! It’s just so frustrating !”
“…Alright, I can see where you’re going. You want to help them, but you still have to stop them from stealing. So you take back what they took and offer them a way to help them on the short term. In that case, you offer them a meal. But the issue with that is that you also have people to take care of, so you can’t really give them much. And you can’t afford to pay them meals everytime. Not right now at least. You’re torn between the fact that you can’t help them, but that you want to. You're torn between your duty as a guard and your duty as a fellow human being. It’s just as you said ‘frustrating’. And this is eating at you. I can see it.”
“…Yeah. It’s exactly that… What can I do ? It’s not like I'm as strong as you, you know. If I were, I just could have done what you did for me and provided for them. But I'm not. I’m weak. The only reason why you were even able to go on with such a short term solution with me is because you were strong enough to brute force it into working. And I'm not that incredible. So what can I do ?”
“You know… I feel like you put me on a pedestal. Like you see me as some sort of all powerful guardian angel that was sent to help you. I know you don’t just see me as that, and that I am your friend, but I feel like you put too much pressure on yourself for nothing by comparing to me. Eike… You’re just human.”
She didn’t include herself in that. I didn’t say anything about it (I was too much of a coward to).
“There’s nothing you can do about it on the long run. No human. Because to do so would be to take on a system that has been built on the blood and sweat of generations of humans. You can’t do anything on the long run. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do it in the short run. Though it is true that short term solutions aren't the best, they also are the only ones available as of now. So we can’t be picky. But you can help them. You just have to decide how.”
“…But what can I do ? As I said, I'm not as strong as you are. I can’t brute force solutions into working.”
“Okay, I’ll admit it, you can’t do what I did for you, for them. That much is obvious. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything. Just think. Think about what you can do. Not me. Not anyone else. Just you.”
“…Thank you Elaine. Once again you’ve helped me through more than I can thank you for. Really. I swear that one day, I'll repay you for everything you’ve done.”
“It’s alright Eike, you know I’m just happy to help you.”
“Yeah, and you know I'm just happy to repay you.”
——
“Thief ! Thief !”
Alright. Time for me to do my thing.
I ran, looked around, and jumped on a construction stall. I looked around once again and tried to see where the thief was.
…
There !
I jumped. Ran. Waited for them to go inside the backalleys and caught them.
Once again. It had been Marzell.
“Hey kid, good to see you again.”
“..You. You don’t need to tell me, I know the drill.”
“Well, why thank you, I didn’t even need to tell you this time ! You learn fast !”
“Tsk… So ? Get me down already !”
“Nope, not this time.”
“Wait what ? Are you arresting me !?”
I could feel movement in the corner as he shouted. His friends were about to act.
“Nah, not that either.”
“But then what !?”
“Well, I have a new proposition for you. I won’t ask you to wait for me for a meal this time. But I have a way for you to stop stealing. Mind you, it won’t get you out the streets, but at least it’ll give you a full belly.”
“Go to hell ! I don’t want your pity !”
“Pity ? Who talked about pity here ? I’m not taking pity on you kid. I’m just doing business.”
“Business ?”
“Ah ! Interested yet ?”
“…Yeah.”
“So, I know that a meal won’t do much, but what if I were to give you a job.”
“A job ? I’m a kid ! They don’t let me get a job ! Not with those shitty laws the Adventure's Guild put forward !”
“I know, I know. But who said it would be considered a job in the eyes of the law ? It’ll be just between us two and our customers.”
“Your a guard, aren't you suppose to uphold the law ?”
“Only when it works. And in it that case, it doesn’t.”
“…You're weird, you know that ?”
“I know, people tell me that all the time.”
“So… What is it ? That business.”
“Well…”
——
“Paintings ! Paintings ! Who wants to buy some paintings !”
That was my plan.
I make them sell my and dad’s paintings while I work as a guard, and I pay to him and his friends a part of what was sold.
It won’t get them out of poverty, but it’s still better than nothing. At least now they won’t have to worry about an empty stomach or getting caught by guards.
Well not really, since what they were doing was still kind of illegal. Kind of because ever since the Adventurer’s Guild made new laws, a lot of grey areas have appeared. The consensus is that as long as they don’t disturb public order, then they’re alright. It’s not that much of an improvement from their previous situation, but at least now they don’t have the guards actively against them.
And I've been getting some notoriety ! Apparently, my and dad’s paintings are really good for their prices ! Well, it was to be expected since they were made with that in mind. Nobody would buy them if they were too expensive, but we needed to gain money fast, not efficiently, so we lowered the prices as much as we could so that people would buy.
And it worked ! People bought from us. Apparently most of our bought paintings were resold out of the territory at a higher price. Well it didn’t really bother me since they were clients and exported my and dad’s names out of the city.
But anyways, they bought from us enough that it provided for the children and covered for everything that was needed for the paintings, which were the canvases, the brushes and the paint.
To summarise, it was great. Not good enough, of course. But still enough to improve their situation. Still enough for them to hope for a better future.
At least, I hoped.
——
“So Eike. How did it go ?”
“Personally, I think it went great ! Well… Not nearly as I would have liked, but a lot more than I expected. Still, it’s better than nothing I guess. And… Thank you again for your advices, they really helped me.”
“Once again, it’s nothing. You can always ask me if you’re in trouble okay ? I’ll always help you. But… I’m a bit curious. What did you do ? You never told me.”
“Ah. Well, it’s nothing too impressive really. I’ve just been telling them to sell some of my and my dad’s paintings on the streets. In exchange of that, I pay them.”
“Is that so ? That was really clever of you Eike ! But when did you start painting ? You never mentioned that before !”
“Well… It’s a hobby I've taken on recently. Apparently my dad used to be a painter, and I asked him if he could teach me. Sometimes later and here I am. And if I'm honest, I’m quite an accomplished painter myself !”
“That’s really impressive ! You’re already selling your own paintings after so little time ? Ah… I would have loved to see them… Your paintings… A shame I can’t see anymore.”
…
“Ah ! Sorry ! I didn’t mean to kill the mood like that !”
“Hey, Elaine.”
“Yes ?”
“Fight me.”
“Huh ?”
“I want to fight you.”
“But… Why ?”
“I’ve been improving a lot lately. A whole lot. I’m way stronger than before now. Of course, I'm not nearly as strong as you. But… I want to see how far I've really come.”
“…Alright. As you wish. But how do you want me to fight ? Do you want me to go full power ?”
“No. Not full power, I'm not that arrogant. If you were to use both you’re abilities and close combat, I would be done for under a minute. This time, I want to try to fight against you with only your close combat.”
“Okay. Then, brace yourself… Because I won’t be gentle.”
Without any prior warning, she flew up.
Oh. Damn.
She’s beginning now !?
Shit !
My sword !
I looked up. She was already flying down towards me ! There was no way I could escape that. And there was no way for me to parry that. Bloody hell, was she trying to kill me !?
I griped my sword tighter, took position, and braces for impact. God damnit, it was going to hurt !
Tchack
Oh god that hurts !
She just sent me flying ! Towards a tree ! Oh that poor tree… Needless to say it wasn’t doing doing well. And neither was my back.—
—She’s coming back !
She’s heading straight towards me. Then I have to dodge to my side.
I went left. She also went left. She was going to strike. I blocked. She struck again. I blocked again. And again. And again. And again— Shit ! A feint !
I was sent flying. Again. Towards a tree. Again. But this time, I learned from my previous mistake, and instead of just plummeting towards the tree, I tried to minimise the damages by landing on it.
It worked. Partially. While my back was spared another meeting with a tree, my ankles hadn’t been that lucky and had been badly hurt in that maneuver.
Bloody hell ! It was getting ridiculous ! This fight was completely one sided !
I had to change strategy.
…
What was I talking about !? Strategy !? What strategy was I using right now besides getting fucking thrown left and right !?
I had no strategy !
…
And I had to change that. I had to remember what Elaine told me.
Calm down. Breath. Analyse.
In. Out. In. Out.
I could hear my heart calm down.
Good.
I had to stay calm, and think.
She was flying towards me. Again.
Breath. Just breath.
—
When One paints, One must follow the path of least resistance.
When One paints, One must follow the path the brush dictates.
—
My muscles were stiff. That wasn’t good.
In. Out.
My muscles were stiff. But my stance was not. I forced them to go limp.
That’s it. Just like that. Just like a flame flickering in the night, reflecting on the surface of a river. I had to be explosive, powerful, and yet calm and serene.
Such was the Dichotomy of the Blade
Such was the Beauty of my Blade.
For when One fights, One must follow the path of least resistance.
For when One fights, One must follow the path the blade dictates.
And like a swordsman fighting for his life, I stroke.
And like a painter etching his art into the World, I slit.
I could see the World painted blue.
I could see the World bleeding.
Elaine was bleeding.
…
Shit !
“Elaine ! Are you okay !? Fuck ! I’m so sorry !”
“Oh. I'm bleeding. It’s been a while. I suspected something would have happend since it was you. But this ? This is another level of incredible ! You were able to touch me ! Make me bleed ! Well, I was holding back and you did distract me, but still ! That’s incredible !”
“…You… You know you’re crazy right ? I just cut you with my sword and that’s what you tell me ? Goodness, you’re even worse than me. But what was that ? I also didn't think I could do that. It just came out of nowhere.”
“…Well I have an idea, but I'm still not sure. What I do know though is that you’re a lot stronger than a few weeks ago. Lifetimes ahead actually. While before you wouldn't have come unscathed from an encounter with a bear, now it would be completely one sided. For you that is. You could take a small dozen of them and be barely winded as you are now. Give or take a few months and you’ll be a monster of your own.”
“I see… So I have improved huh ? It feels… Less satisfying than I would have thought. It’s just… Weird.”
“I know. I felt the same way too. But anyways, why don’t you come here so I can heal you ?”
——
POV : Elaine
Eike…
She was so strong now… I can still remember how she used to be scared of bears…
But now she had grown up. And she had become strong. Really strong. Stronger than I would have expected actually.
I knew she had potential. I knew it ever since I laid my eyes on her.
But I never would have thought that she could have grown this fast.
It was what stopped for a bit. How she was able to cut me.
Because I had seen blue.
The very World had been painted Blue.
I had been painted blue.
Eike… My dear Eike had done the impossible.
She had made me seen colour. Me. A blind girl. Colour. This achievement was impressive in itself, but the additional fact that she had done it while she still hadn’t awakened her true potential made it a thousand times more impressive.
I wonder… Is she—
——
POV : Marzell
Miss Eike was weird.
Like really weird. Like really really really weird.
Like as weird as a dog who meowed.
…
Yeah no maybe not that weird. But still ! She was pretty weird.
Like, who in their right mind would help street rats ? No one !
When I first met her, she caught me stealing from the market. The others and I hadn’t eaten anything for two whole days, so we were starving. And when she caught me, I thought I had been done for. That I would be arrested and sent to the Outer-City.
It would have spelled my death. I knew it.
And maybe she knew that too, and that’s why she let me go. Of course not without taking back what I had stolen. But she had given me a proposition. It was tempting. Waiting for her back here so she could give my friends and I some food. But it was suspicious. So I ran.
No way in hell would I trust her ! Especially not after she does something as strange as letting me go !
And… And even if she was serious about helping us, no way in hell would I accept her pity !
And she couldn’t have helped us anyways. It would have been one meal. And that’s all. She wouldn't have given us more. So even if I had to accept her pity, even if I had to one day give up my pride, then I should reserve it for more dire times. Like in winter.
Well wasn't I awfully optimistic today. Winter ? Would we even make it to winter ? I didn’t know. And I still didn’t know. Even now.
But anyways, even though I had been unsuccessful in my attempt at stealing, it still didn’t mean that my friends weren’t. Thankfully, after two days of nothing more than water, I could finally eat something. Well, we didn't get to eat as much as we would have liked since I failed, but still. At least we still hasn't been separated.
The second time we met wasn’t long after the first time, merely a day later.
Like the last time, she had let me go and still offered me the same proposition. ‘Stay here and I give you a meal’ she said.
I still didn’t stay of course.
After that day, it was just me trying to steal, her stoping me, her letting me go, and me running aways.
It was ridiculous. Even I knew that much.
But still, it was great, weirdly enough. Because for once, someone other than other street rats had called me by my name. Because for once someone other than other dirty orphans had called me by my name.
Because for once, my existence had been acknowledged.
That’s why she’s weird. Because she a guard. Someone. And yet she talks to me, to us, nobodies, as if we were equals. As if we deserved the same treatment.
It was absurd.
So she must be weird ! She must be crazy !
Because if not… Because if not, it would mean that… That we simply were that unlucky… That we hadn’t deserved anything that happened to us.
And this… This hurt more than any type of hunger I had ever felt before. Because for once it had not been my stomach that hurt, but my heart.
And I wasn't used to getting hurt here.
After… After sometime, Miss Eike gave me another proposition. That my friends and I would work for her, and in exchange, she would pay us. Pay us enough for us to never worry about hunger of the guards again.
I couldn’t refuse that.
So I decided to trust her. To trust someone other than other street rats like me. And I hadn’t been disappointed.
She didn't lie. We really didn't have to skip meals anymore. We didn’t have to steal and worry about being sent to the Outer-City anymore.
We didn't have to fear so much for our lives anymore…
And… It was all thanks to her…
So maybe… Just maybe… She wasn’t that strange…
And maybe… Just maybe… Heroes truly did exist.