"Don't you ever bring that name up again!" Arold snapped at Ryuzio for mentioning the name of his father. He was looking at the ground as he yelled it out, because even he knew he shouldn't be saying something like this. His mother's dying words echoed inside his head.
'Don't resent your father for not being here, Arold. He is only away for our sake.'
He knew these words, had remembered them for the past five years, ever since his mother had spoken them to him. But to this day, he couldn't understand what they meant. No, they were not a lie. He trusted every word that came out of his mother's mouth. But that didn't make them any less confusing. The last part especially. 'He is only away for our sake.'
What did that even mean? How can being away from your family help them? Until the day he understood the meaning of those words, Arold would not follow the first part…
'Don't resent your father for not being here…' Why? If he had been with them, maybe his mother would've never uttered those words. Maybe…she wouldn't have died.
Amidst these thoughts, he found himself standing in front of someone who knew the name of his father. This boy with jet-black hair and a scar on his nose, who seemed to be of Arold's age, couldn't be trusted to be sane. After all, who else would say something like "I'm gonna be the Sky King"? Him being unfazed even after getting surrounded by Etherbeasts only added to that.
But Arold would only be lying to himself if he denied he wasn't a little bit curious about the black-haired boy, but when he looked up, his eyes widened in shock.
Ryuzio had scaled up the back of the "normal" cavelurker that stood ahead, smiling widely. "Yo, Aro, have you ever tried this? It's awesome—" The weak legs of the cavelurker made it fall back, Ryuzio getting buried under it.
"Are you insane!" Arold shouted, baffled. "Who in their right mind would get on top of a creature like that?"
Ryuzio dusted his pants as he climbed back up. "Anyway, why are these here?" he asked, pointing at the cavelurkers.
"You know what these are?" Arold said, amused. This boy didn't particularly resemble someone who'd read books.
"Of course," Ryuzio said with a proud nod. "Etherbeasts."
Arold almost fell from the shock of the innocent stupidity that this boy was emanating. "So…you don't know."
Ryuzio squatted down as one of the "malnourished" cavelurker approached him. He tilted his head as he examined the multiple ears of the creatures with one hand. What was it with him and ears anyway?
"These are cavelurkers," Arold said. "But of course you wouldn't recognize them because this is not how they're depicted in the books."
"I don't read books," Ryuzio said with a shake of his head. "They're boring." He grabbed onto an ear of the abnormal cavelurker with either hand and then pulled them up, lifting the Etherbeast off the ground.
"Stop that, you!" Arold shouted as the creature screeched in pain.
Ryuzio let the creature go with a chuckle and it joined the rest of them, learning not to approach insane people. "They're funny."
"If you don't read books," Arold asked, "then how do you know about Etherbeasts?"
Ryuzio fixed his headband with a smile as he climbed to Arold's eyelevel. "I have a friend that's an Etherbeast. His name is Gleam. He and his old friends attacked my village when I was little, but they did not do it willingly." He laughed. "I almost died that day."
'What kind of an insane childhood did he live?' Arold thought, gaping. 'Friends with an Etherbeast? Almost getting killed by one?' He cleared his throat.
"Er…" Arold said, unsettled. "That doesn't tell me anything…"
"Oh, yeah," Ryuzio said, looking sideways, as if remembering something. "One of the Etherbeasts almost hurt Lyla and Chief Jenro…"
'I don't know these people, you know! How bad can you be at storytelling! I think you're missing several crucial parts—"
Ryuzio smiled. "But Harold saved them! Isn't your father awesome—!"
"You've MET my father!" Arold said, surprised. "When—?"
Ryuzio sealed his lips shut then put a hand over them.
"Er…" Arold said in confusion. "What're you…doing?"
"Heh?" Ryuzio said, his voice muffling from the hand blocking his mouth. "You're the one who told me to never talk about him again."
Arold blinked repeatedly, jaw loosening. 'W-What…? He's taking me THIS seriously…?'
Arold gulped. "It's…fine. I just… You can talk about him." He was curious about his father. Always had been. But the confused resentment toward the man had not faded. It was just…this boy…Ryuzio…he was…
"Really!" Ryuzio said, eyes twinkling. "So yeah, Lyla told me that Harold brought down an Etherbeast without even taking out his hands from his pockets! He must be awesomely tough! Just what you'd expect of Zyon's squadmate!"
Ryuzio kept talking about some Volant squad who'd saved his village when he was little, and which each word…Arold grew more disgusted.
"My father…" Arold said, lowering his eyes, "is a…Volant?"
"Yeah!" Ryuzio said. "Isn't that awesome—!"
"How's that any good!" Arold said loudly. "He left mom and me…to become a criminal…?" 'He is only away for our sake.' Arold understood it now. His father was away from them…because he was a criminal. Virtuous, one would think. Disgusting, to Arold. Leaving your family to live a dishonest life. Utterly disgusting—
"If he wasn't a Volant," Ryuzio said, smiling, "a lot of people would've died in my village. It's thanks to him that—"
"What about his own wife?" Arold asked, tears forming in his eyes. "Why would I care about the people he saved if he wasn't even there for HIS OWN WIFE?"
Ryuzio's eyes met with his and all the boy could utter was his name, "Aro…"
"Just…" Arold said, wiping his watery eyes. "Leave, Ryuzio. Take your friend and leave." With that, he turned around.
"Friend?" Ryuzio said in surprise. "How did you know about Hit?"
Arold froze, gulping. He exhaled right after, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face. "I was there when you two fell down here." He did not look back as he spoke. "I was also there when you two separated. Your friend went to a similar cave. If he is smart, he should be on his way to the surface. And…so should you."
"Heh?" Ryuzio said in confusion. "Are you dumb? Why would I do that? I want to go to the Skybrigde, not to the surface."
Arold turned around in disbelief. "Are you actually insane?" He threw his arms out. "Don't you see all these monsters surrounding you? Don't you see this bow?"
"If you wanted to attack me," Ryuzio said without skipping a beat, "you would've already done so, Aro." He stepped forward, getting closer to Arold.
Arold took a step back with a gulp. "I warned you, don't get close—"
"I do what I want to," Ryuzio said simply. "If you got a problem, do something about it."
"Y-You think I'm afraid to shoot?" Arold said, targeting his loaded arrow to Ryuzio's head. "I'll do it if you don't stop right now."
"Why're you even afraid of me getting close to you?" Ryuzio asked with a shrug.
"Because if you get close…" Arold said, hesitating, the arrowhead shaking around. "It'll only hurt me when you leave—!" His eyes widened as he accidently released the arrow toward Ryuzio, straight between the eyes.
But Ryuzio kept stepping closer even after seeing the arrow fly at him.
Arold choked, not even being able to whistle to activate his technique—
The arrow struck Ryuzio right on the forehead, smashing against the metal plate on his headband, knocking back his head. Ryuzio clenched his fists as he brought his head to the front again, blood trailing down his face from underneath his headband.
Arold couldn't belief that Ryuzio didn't dodge the attack…but what shocked him even more was the fact that he kept coming closer. Tears formed in Arold's eyes again, though he wasn't sure about the reason for them. But they stayed in his eyes, until…
"Who said anything about leaving, Aro?" Ryuzio shouted with a smile, lines of blood covering his face. "Friends don't leave each other, yeah!"
Arold clenched his jaw, tucking his chin as the tears from his eyes dripped to the ground. The grip on his bow loosened as his knees gave up on him. The emotions he had been bottling shut inside the darkest corners of his frail heart for the past five years burst out in this single moment.
It had been five long years. Family, friends, all left him… One thing Arold hated about himself was that he had a habit of getting attached too quickly. So when people eventually left him behind…it was as if he were drowning.
Sitting on his legs, he lowered his torso to the ground, forehands pushed against it.
And crying.
"Don't say we're friends, Ryuzio…" Arold said, sobbing. "So what if you know my dad…! That doesn't change the fact that you don't know me…!"
Ryuzio lifted up Arold's face, showing him a wide smile. "That's exactly why I said that we're friends, Aro," he said softer. "I don't care about what happened before this, but I do care about everything that's going to happen after this." He rose to his feet, offering a hand with a smile. "But friendships aren't forced, yeah? So what do you say?"
Heavy breathes escaped Arold's mouth as his jaws loosened. Through a vision blurred by tears, he found the offered hand, hesitatingly reaching for it—
Ryuzio grabbed Arold's hesitating hand tightly, pulling him off the ground. "It's decided!" he said with a smile. "From this moment onward, we're friends, Aro! And I PROMISE that I won't ever leave you behind! Okay?"
Arold's lips curved downward as he wiped the tears on his face with his free hand, muttering but a single word, "Okay…!"
Ryuzio smiled, showing his teeth.
Arold gulped, properly meeting Ryuzio's eyes for the first time. "Ryuzio…I need your help." What kind of a disgusting thing was this? Immediately ASKING for something from someone after they showed him kindness?
Arold put his palms in front immediately after realizing this mistake, waving them. "I'm not ordering you…" he said, voice shaking. "I mean… I needed help and it just came out of my mouth… If you don't want to, even then I'll be fine…" He chuckled awkwardly, hesitating to look into Ryuzio's eyes again—
"Heh?" Ryuzio said, picking his nose with a pinky, brows furrowed. "Are you dumb?"
Of course he'd say that. What was wrong with Arold? Ryuzio had his own life to worry about, why would he stop to help Arold?
"Er…" Arold said quietly. "I'm sorry—"
"We're friends, Aro," Ryuzio said loudly. "OF COURSE I'm going to help you! It's only natural, yeah!"
Arold blinked.
'Ryuzio…' he thought, looking at the smiling boy. 'I never knew people like you existed… What more could be up on the surface…and beyond even that?
'The Skies. Freedom.
'Am I even allowed to dream of a life where I'm not bound to these caves?'