The ride was a quiet one. Dyré was in the front seat while Yuriko tended to Ray and Wesley. Jiro sat at a side bench watching Yuriko work.
"Thank you" said Jiro as he watched Yuriko treat Ray.
"It's nothing.." Yuriko replied as she sat on the floor of the truck looking at Ray and Wesley."It's our job I guess"
Tears streamed down Yuriko's face as she tried her best to keep her cool.
"Let it out" said Jiro tilting his head backwards facing the ceiling. "Pretending it doesn't bother you will make it worse.. trust me."
Yuriko looked back to Jiro and then back to the ground, as even more tears began to burst out."Parser was.. the closest I ever had to family." She cried.
"What was he.. to you?" Jiro asked.
"The only person who cared about me even a little," said Yuriko as tears streamed down her face. "He was just another guard at the gates but even then he still took me in"
Yuriko sniffed.
***
Tillo, year 2060 (current Nadir outer soldier camp.)
A tiny Yuriko ran through the streets of a village her blonde hair dropped to her shoulder
Yuriko kept running until she arrived near a gate pushing past people until she came up to a person grinned, and purposely slammed into them.
"Oi!" The man shouted, as he turned around. It was a much younger Parser, Twenty-Two years old, his blonde hair shorter than the present.He wore shoulder pads of armor and some on his legs with a rusty sword mounted on his waist."Huh? Whats a little girl doing here?" said Parser as he looked down to the 8 year old Yuriko. She shot a mischievous grin at him to which he flinched.
"Hah that's the trouble maker." Another guard from behind said. He had short brown hair and brown eyes with a well built body. "Since you're the new guy you deal with her today." he said grinning at Parser.
"hmph! I never liked you anyway Rhyne!" Yuriko stuck her tongue out at him and ran out the gates into the forest.
"Hey wait!" Parser called out trying to grab her.
"hah you better get her back in the village." Rhyne chuckled.
"Yeah yeah" said Parser as he walked off to find her.
"Better hurry it up before sunset!" Rhyne shouted at Parser as he watched him disappear into the woods. "Finally, my day to relax." Rhyne walked off with his hands on his head whistling.
Yuriko giggled as she ran away from Parser, who was struggling to catch up, getting tangled by tree's. "Hey come back here!" Parser shouted as he tripped on another tree root. The sun had set and Yuriko was nowhere to be found. "That brat.."
"AAAH" Parser halted as he heard Yuriko scream and then a huge roar erupted.
"This way." He said as he ran towards an opening from the tree's. He got out to a clearing to find Yuriko on the ground looking up at an 8 foot tall grizzly bear, its eyes glowing red about to strike. He rushed over to Yuriko, grabbed her and rolled out of the way evading the bears claw.
"Parser!" Yuriko exclaimed joyfully.
"Hey kid," said Parser, his eyes locked onto the bear. "Go wait by the lake over there."
Yuriko looks over to the lake and nods as she runs towards it. The bear roared taking its gaze off Parser going towards Yuriko.Parser threw a rock at it forcing it to turn its attention to him.
"What are you insulting me?" He said, grabbing unsheathing his sword. He dashed towards the bear and leaped, aiming his sword to its head but before he could reach its neck the bear hits him while he's in the air flinging him all the way over to the lake. Parser got out of the lake soaking wet next to Yuriko.
"You okay Parser?" She asks, almost chuckling.
"Shut Up" Parser snapped, his sword in his hand water dripping from it. "close your eyes kid"
"ehh why?" Yuriko whines.
"Just do it" said Parser impatiently, to which Yuriko complied. "seems to me you're no ordinary bear."
Parser let out his vigor and ran towards the bear. Dodging its attacks almost effortlessly
"You're really annoying you know?" said Parser as he kept evading its attacks.
"Are you talking to a bear?" said Yuriko as if Parser was a fool, her hands still covering her eyes.
"Maybe I'm talking about you kid!" Parser replies grunting off a backflip avoiding the beat.The bear slams its claws down at him but Parser leaps up onto the hand and in one swift move slashed the throat of the bear, its body falling down to the ground with a loud thud.
"Is it over?" Yuriko asks taking a peek through her fingers, seeing the dead bear."YAY! you did it!", Yuriko jumped up and down celebrating.
"H-hey! I told you to close your eyes!" Parser exclaimed.
"its fine, its fiine" said Yuriko giggling, running away from Parser trying to cover her eyes.
*
Parser had made a campfire near the lake and sat Yuriko down there.
"Hey what are we doing." Yuriko asked as Parser came back with two branches with meat sticked on them.
"I'm cold and hungry, arent you?" said Parser sitting down beside her giving her a stick to which her eyes sparkled in excitement.
"haahh that was alot of work, We'll rush to the village after this your parents must be worried." said Parser to which Yuriko's face dropped.
"Its fine" Yuriko replied."No ones waiting for me."
"huh ah sorry," Parser pauses for a moment.
"then who do you live with?" Parser asked."I'm sure they'll be waiting for you? a family member?"
"Nope" Yuriko replied again cooly. "Just me alone"
"Then where do you live?" Parser asked suprised.
"In the park I sleep there and get washed in the fountains." said Yuriko, seeing Parser's face she added."It's not that bad!" She chuckled.
"Alone huh…" Parser thought to himself out loud. He reminisced his past as a kid working for a farm alone. "Why don't you come with me?"
Yuriko's eyes twitched a little in surprise, she looked up at Parser. "reallly?!" She asked in excitement.
"Yeah… why not" said Parser thinking to himself "loud.. too loud maybe the parks better for her"
"THANK YOU PARSER!!" Yuriko screamed as she hugged Parser. His expression softened to this."yeah" he replied noy rven hugging her back.
"Hey when did I tell you my name?" Parser asked.
"Oh Rhyne told me" She explained. "He talked about growing up with you at some Nadir academy."
"hm I see" said Parser as he dozed into thought.
**
"Oii Parser! Yuriko!" Rhyne was yelling out as he cut through the trees of the forest. "It's getting way too late."
He eventually came to a clearing seeing a dead harvested bear.
"Whats this?" said Rhyne, he walked towards the lake and saw Parser out cold sleeping, along with Yuriko who was snuggled under his arm.
"So this is Nadir's strongest" said Rhyne chuckling. As he got closer a sword zoomed right to his throat its tip nearly grazing him, floating mid air.
"Woah woah, it's me" Rhyne said, his hands in the air. "Who are you lefty or righty?"
He mocked it as it followed him near Parser and Yuriko still sound asleep
"Lets get them home." said Rhyne.
***
"He sounded like a great guy" said Jiro pausing for a moment as he leaned back to rest his head on the truck wall, Thinking about what happened back then again. "I'm sorry"
"Its fine, its fiine" Yuriko said, as she wiped her tears on her sleeve. "Parser wouldn't want me crying."
"Hey guys!" Dyré called from the front seat. "We've arrived prepare to get em off"
"Where are we?" Jiro asked standing up following Yuriko to the front.
"Nadir ofcourse" Yuriko answered with a weak smile, her attempt at keeping herself strong. Jiro awkwardly smiled back.
end of chapter