"Um...Hiro, do we really need this many vials of water?" Xylvia asked.
"You never know what could happen," I said with a smirk. "Water magic is my strongest weapon. Plus, these vials can't really slow us down and they're easy to open, so they won't cause us any problems."
Xylvia just simply sighed.
"You're cocky yet careful," she said. "What a weird contradiction to your character."
"Ha! Yeah, guess you're right." I laughed.
Xylvia and I were preparing for our first adventure together, and we were more excited than we thought that we would be.
"Hey Xylvia," I said to her. "I hope you don't mind me asking; why exactly did you want to come with me?"
Xylvia stopped what she was doing and sighed.
"I knew you were going to ask that someday." she said.
She looked at me with eyes of sadness, but she simply smiled.
"I wanted to come with you because I've always wanted to go on adventures," she said. "My mother worked hard to make my wish come true, but in the end..."
She paused and looked down.
"H-Hey, it's ok," I quickly said. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."
Xylvia looked up at me for a bit, then took a few deep breaths.
"Ok then," she said in her normal, cheery tone. "I'll tell you about my past when we're both ready..."
...Xylvia...
I suddenly woke up to find myself lying on a bed. There were white sheets surrounding the bed that I was laying on, almost like a hospital bed. I started to get up until I suddenly heard a door open.
"Hiro!" someone shouted.
I pulled the sheets back to see Leonna standing at the doorway.
"Thank the goddess you're ok," Leonna said. "I was beginning to worry."
"Um...where...where am I?" I asked.
"Hang on Hiro. I'll get you some water, then I'll answer your questions.
Leonna left the room for a few seconds then came back in the room with a canteen of water.
"I...feel so...weak..." I barely choked out. "I can't...sit up straight..."
"Here, drink this."
Leonna handed me the canteen. I started to drink it, but I immediately started coughing it out.
"Can you not drink it?" Leonna asked.
"It...hurts..."
"Here, let me see it."
Leonna took the canteen and took a few sips of it. Then, she leaned in close to my face and placed her lips on mine. I was very started at first, but then I realized that she was trying to help me drink the water. I could feel the cold liquid pouring down my throat. My throat started to feel a lot less dry, and it didn't hurt anymore. Leonna pulled away from me when all the water had left her mouth.
"Thanks for that." I said.
"Can you drink it on your own?" she asked as her face turned a little red.
"I think so."
I took the canteen and took a few swigs. The water went down easily.
"So...where am I?" I asked.
"When you passed out, I carried you to the nearest village that was here in the forest," Leonna said. "Luckily, they had doctors and a hospital, so your wounds were healed easily and it didn't need to be amputated."
"Why would it need to be amputated?" I asked.
"Well, if too much of that monster blood got in your system, you would end up becoming corrupted. Therefore, your leg would have to get amputated to prevent that from happening."
"So I just got lucky?"
"Very..."
I started to regain my memories of what all went down. From when I found the wolf monsters, to when one of them took chomped on my leg, to seeing Leonna kill the wolves. And then the little girl...
I clutched both my hands into a fist as I remembered how I lost my composure and sanity.
"Dammit..."
"Hiro?" Leonna said.
"GODDAMMIT!!! WHY?! WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!?! WHY CAN I NOT CATCH A FUCKING BREAK?!?!"
I was starting to lose my cool again when Leonna suddenly wrapped het arms around me.
"STOP IT!!! PLEASE...STOP IT!!! I...I don't...I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU LIKE THIS ANYMORE!!!"
Leonna started crying when she saw me lose my cool.
"I...I'm sorry," I said to her. "I'm so sorry."
"It's ok," she said. "It's just that...you remind me of me when...I...lost my family."
I looked at her for a bit. I couldn't see how someone like her lose her cool like I just did. I thought that she was always composed and kept her cool, so hearing this was a bit of a shock to me.
"I was sixteen when they died," she said. "When I saw their lifeless bodies with my own eyes, I felt like any reason and willpower that I had disappeared. I would scream curses at walls for hours during the night. During the day, I would just wander around until night came. I thought I had no reason to live, until I met one of the captains of the Army of Light. He guided me to be a better person. He healed the wounds that I had inside my heart, and he introduced me to the other members in his squad."
"Is that the same squad that...um..."
Leonna nodded her head slowly. I could tell that she was doing everything she can to hold back her tears.
"When the captain introduced me to his squad, he then wanted to introduce me to all of the other squads. I eventually decided to show them my skills as a swordswoman, and they were very impressed. As a result, i got appointed to be a soldier in the captain's squad. Luckily for me, my captain was the same guy that helped me. However, he couldn't be my captain forever. During a battle, he got injured badly and got monster blood in his wounds. We couldn't amputate him, so we...had to use...drastic measures..."
"Were you the one who-"
"Yes. I was the one who killed him"
She had it worst than me, and yet she continues to fight. I'm nothing compared to her, or Xylvia. How can someone like me fight monsters like those wolves, and those wolves were C-Class.
"When the captain died, I ended up getting appointed as the new captain. I'm pretty sure you can figure everything else out."
She became the new captain of that squad, but in the end...they all died.
"You're so much stronger than me Leonna," I said to her. "I freak out over two C-Class monsters, but you take them out like it's no big deal. There's no way I can be as strong as you."
It was true. So what if I had a sword that was meant for the hero of this world. What's the point in using it if I can't even kill a C-Class monster. I knew it was nothing but a rare fluke when I killed a someone from the Army of Darkness. I couldn't save Xylvia. I couldn't even save myself. I guess nothing changed about myself when I was transported here two years ago. In the end, I still can't stick up for myself. I always doubt myself and can never find the strength to fight. I really am hopeless.
"Why do you keep doubting yourself?" Leonna asked.
"Because I'm weak and pathetic." I said.
"That's not true at all," Leonna said shaking her head. "When I hear you talk about saving this person you care about, I started to see you as more than some stranger. Your fighting for someone that means so much to you. I don't think that makes you weak or pathetic. I think that makes you strong, selfless, and courageous. You may not be as powerful as I am yet, but I know that you will stop at nothing until you save Xylvia."
I started to think about the words she spoke to me. I can't believe that she actually sees me as someone who is strong. I never thought of myself as someone who was strong. Not even once.
"You really think that I'm strong?" In asked.
Leonna placed her hands on my cheeks and smiled. Her bright green eyes glistened like a shiny emerald.
"I know your strong."
I couldn't help but smile back at her.
"You're being way too nice to someone that you just met." I said.
Leonna's face turned bright red again.
"Uh-uhh...w-well you see...I have an ability where I can tell if a person is a nice person just by looking at them. heh heh..."
"Wait a minute...How do you know who Xylvia is?" I asked.
I did hear her say Xylvia's name.
"You talk a lot in your sleep." Leonna said.
God I suck.
"I'm guessing that this Xylvia person is your girlfriend." Leonna said.
"Uhh...yeah..." I said blushing a little.
"So...what's it like having someone that you love close to you?"
"Well...we were only together for a few moments before the events in that village happened, but those few moments were the most happiest moments in my entire life."
I really was happy when she confessed to me. I always thought that I was way out of her league. I thought that I never stood a chance.
"I need to get her back," I said. "She is my friend, she is my beloved, and she is my partner. I can't live without her in my life. I care too much for her, so I need to save her. I don't care if I have to cut off limb after limb to get to her, I will save her...and nobody is going to stop me."
Leonna's smile grew bigger when she heard the words that I spoke.
"Looks like your back to your normal self," she said. "How about we train once your leg is completely healed?"
"Sounds like a plan." I said with a smirk.