Sparks flew merrily as their blades clashed. Shai dodged with a twirl, sweeping her sword forward with a triumphant "Ha!" However, her opponent wasn't there anymore.
A blunted edge struck her between the shoulder blades, hard. She collapsed onto her knees, scraping them roughly on the wooden practice room floor, then turned around and glared up, miffed. "Geez, Ersan, just because it's a practice sword doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. What kind of older brother are you?"
The windswept boy before her laughed merrily. For the moment, she saw him again through a child's eyes, the eyes of a girl looking at a brother she had always admired. In her eyes, he was handsome, and most wise, full of life.
He offered her a hand. When she took it, he yanked her up abruptly.
"Seriously, you..." Shai trailed off when she saw his serious expression. "What is it?" she asked uncomfortably.
"Listen, Shai. I'm not going to be around anymore. It'll be up to you to protect mom and the girls. Promise?"
"Where are you going?"
He smiled, flashing dimples, but this time, Shai could feel his uncertainty. "I'm going to help dad. I'm going to work for him and look for adventure. I'll earn a purse full of gold, rescue a princess, slay a demon, and come back with enough water for the entire country! So," he grabbed a forelock solemnly, "you have to promise me. You're the strongest one, so you have to look after them in my place while I'm gone."
Shai nodded and grabbed a lock of her hair as well, as solemn as an eleven year old could be, and twisted it around her finger. "I promise."
Ersan's cheerful smile returned. Even the worried ridges between his eyebrows relaxed, at least for the moment. "Now, remember," he said, resuming her sword instruction. She immediately distanced herself and raised her sword into the guard position. He waggled a finger at her teasingly. "It's important to dodge the most efficient way possible. Your twirl just now—"
"Shai! Rude guard girl! Hey!"
The scene before her shifted, almost as if the entire world was tilting. The pieces started to come apart and faded as the dream melted away.
"Hey!"
Shai felt a hard pinch on her cheek.
Heart pounding—and also with her head pounding—she started, awake. Groaning and throwing an arm over her face, she realized, that's right. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She had been dreaming of the day her final remaining brother had left. She wasn't there anymore. She wasn't a helpless eleven year old brat, relying on everyone else. Not anymore.
She opened her eyes. And immediately clenched them shut again. Tiny gods, please don't let it be the nut job guy, she prayed. She cracked her eyes open again.
Shit.
So help her, demons. It was him. That sandy-haired fellow was back. It seemed he had even managed to swindle someone else, as he was now dressed in a fine, button-down shirt of white lawn, and soft dark pants. He looked nothing like the dying boy anymore. Even his hair was tidy, and he'd obviously had a bath. But why was he watching her sleep? Her heart leapt in alarm. Pervert!
"You can stop pretending," came his voice. "I know you're awake. Tsk, tsk, how shameless."
Shameless? SHAMELESS? Shai bolted upright. "You're the shameless one," she shot back. Looking around, she paused. They were sitting in a strange, multicoloured tent, with oddly thick-looking walls. For some reason, she was wearing a large, men's tunic. In a panic, she swivelled, searching for her stuff. Her kodaichi and coin purse were close at hand, and she felt a moment of relief. And that blood-soaked pile of scrap leather in the corner... She squinted at it.
Oh.
"Y-you!"
"Yes?" Vitri raised his eyebrows impassively.
"W-what did you do to my armour?" Shai stuttered at him. "Don't tell me—you drugged me?"
"Think long and hard," he said leisurely with a smirk. "Maybe you'll remember."
Her eyes widened. Her head throbbed in time with her beating heart. Beating. She sure took a beating.
Shai had a vague feeling of unease, as if something she shouldn't remember had happened. Then she remembered the roar of a lion and the descent of its giant paws.
"The lion!" she moaned. "Oh, gods, I actually saved the damned lion." She curled to wrap her arms around her legs and rest her forehead on her knees.
Suddenly remembering, she jerked her head up, the movement sending awake of nausea through her. She gulped and asked, "What happened to those kids? Are they all right?"
"They're fine." Vitri looked at her curiously. "You are human, aren't you? Shouldn't you be a little bit more worried about yourself?" He looked pointedly at the bloody armour in the corner. Her armour. "You almost died. I expected more from you, you know." He trailed off vaguely, continuing to mutter. "Humans are quite a bit more fragile than I thought. Have to be careful..."
She had almost died? Shai tried to think back to the fight. Well, the fleeing. It was an adrenaline fuelled blur now. She had rolled and dodged...
Her eyes fluttered wide open with shock. She scrabbled at her shoulder under her shirt, but her fingers only encountered bare skin. No bandages, no wounds. There wasn't even the bump of a scar.
Wide-eyed, she stared at the nutcase in front of her, who was still muttering nonsensical things about humans. "How long was I out?"
"Hm?" he replied distractedly. "About three hours. We should have dinner soon. Do you have food?"
Her mouth fell open. Three. Hours. She had been injured so severely, but now she sat unblemished a mere three hours later. Shakily, Shai asked, "What did you do?"
Vitri said nonchalantly, "I just sped up the healing." Tapping his chin with a finger, he considered it. "Maybe I sped up the healing too much. That's probably why you develouped a headache. There's only so much your body can heal at once." He shrugged cheerfully. "This is the first time I've used my powers on a human before. You can't expect it to go perfectly. Thanks for being my experiment!"
"Then," Shai started cautiously, "you're really a god?
"That's what I've been telling you!"
"So that lion—you can see the future, and you saw that I would need to help protect those kids?"
Vitri snorted rudely. "No way! The future is influenced by the decisions you humans make, and who knows what's going on in those silly little heads of yours?" He shook his own head mournfully. "Reading the future is hard. Some of the gods like it, but it gives me a headache looking at all the different branching paths."
"Then how did you know about the lion?" Shai was genuinely curious now.
Matter-of-fact, Vitri told her, "It was easy. I was the one who set it loose!"
He—!!