-6 days earlier-
-2:15 pm-
"Master!!"
Jodai called me nonstop, and I ran from him without stopping as it rained.
And then I fell.
"Arg!"
"Ha…ha…ha."
I was panting.
"Master!"
I looked down at the ground where my knees were hit on the hard concrete floor, both my palms against the wet, hard rock. The rain was pouring down on my body, flooding the blood that was just coming out from the wounds from my knees, the red liquid running along with the drops of water.
"Master!"
Jodai finally caught up to me. He lowered his body down and held me up.
"Master, are you hurt!?"
"..."
"What the hell is happening, Master?... Why did you run out like this?..."
"Jodai."
"..."
"Hic…hic..."
My tears decided to join the rainfall.
"Master..."
"...Hic...hic...You can go. Just leave me here, please."
"It's raining… you will get a cold."
"...I can't stand it anymore."
"..."
He could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't have the strength to look back at him or anyone or any sight. He held me up and put my arms over his neck, moved my body to his back. Then he put his hands under my thighs and got up, carrying me off the floor.
"I'll take you to the bam."
"No."
"...The flower house."
"..."
I said nothing, just wrapped my arms tighter around him. I leaned my face to his shoulder, losing the strength to control the energy. My face fell down, and I pushed my forehead against his shoulder to support it.
His clothes and hair were wet. My body was soaked, and my knees started to hurt from the rain.
"Hic."
I moved my face to be at the back of his neck.
"..."
The Flower House
Jodai took me to the Flower House and put me on the sofa in the living room, which was full of white cloth covering all the furniture.
He knelt on the floor and looked up at me.
"Please sit here, Master. I'll go get the towel."
The sound of his wet shoes against the floor was so clear under the silence that even the sound of rain was getting louder.
-silence-
The sound of his shoes came back, and he stopped in front of me. I looked up at him before he put the towel over my head. Then he knelt before me again and grabbed both sides of the towel.
"May I?"
He asked.
"..."
He dried my hair while he was kneeling in front of me. And then he moved the towel to the back of my head and tried to dry it again. My face was in the middle of his arms. It was like he was holding me. Then he pulled the towel gently out of the back. He separated my hair in half and brought it to the front of both sides. He used the towel to squeeze my wet hair out, from the neck area down to the end of the hair on my waist.
He's good at it.
"You have to change your wet clothes, Master."
"..."
"I'll go get some in your room and..."
He glanced at my knees.
"Please, don't go anyway. I'll be in the second."
"..."
He was probably concerned that I might run away again, and he's gone out of my sight.
In this strength? I was too weak for that, Jodai.
I put my left hand on the white sheet. It was new. Mr. Kaiza really took care of this place well.
Sigh.
I got up and took the coat off, the dress, and my underwear that were all soaking wet on the floor, only my naked body left. Then I stepped to the table in front of me and pulled the white sheet out to cover my body.
I looked outside from the big window. This view from this side was quite beautiful, too.
"Master..."
He called me softly while watching me do something I wasn't supposed to do. I looked at him without saying anything, so he decided to come to me, holding some clothes in his left hand and the first aid box in his right.
He knelt at me again. And he touched my left leg and lifted up to put my left foot on his knee. He took out the disinfectant and It hurt. So I flinched a bit, my reaction made him look up at me.
"...I apologize."
"No... it's not that hurt."
Compared to what I had heard.
He put down my left leg, lifted my right ankle, and put my right foot on his knee again. He did the same as the other side. And I tried not to flinch this time but bit my bottom lip instead. He glanced at me and tried to put even more gently this time.
"Jodai..."
"Yes, Master."
"You should change your clothes too."
"I'll be fine."
"..."
He stood up and faced me.
"I have nothing to wear."
He explained after seeing my face.
"You can wear what you're holding."
I suggested.
"It's yours."
"I think it's big enough...if not, then just take off the tops."
"..."
"Your hair is also wet."
I stepped closer to him and pulled out the shirt he was holding in his hand.
I shook the shirt off and compared the white shirt to him. It was big, but it wasn't big enough. Then I looked at him. His face was a bit red and still full of water drops from the hair running to the side of his face. I raised my hands while grabbing the shirt to cover his head, which was higher than me.
"Master!"
"...What?"
"..."
I glared at him with questions, and then I realized he was grabbing the thin white sheet on me tight before it fell down to the ground.
"Oh, I just want to dry your hair."
"!!"
"You're quite stubborn."
"Master...I.."
"I don't mind. It's just a shirt."
"... I'll do it...myself."
Hmm.. he wouldn't mind when I touch him. Why does he feel uncomfortable now?
"..."
It took a bit of a second to nod, and then I stepped away from him.
Then I stopped and looked back at him. It was like he was about to say something to me.
"Thank you…for everything."
I told him.
"..."
"Truly."
I continued.
"!!"
And as I was starting to leave him alone, he ran to me, grabbed the sheet, and almost pulled it out.
"I'm sorry! Master."
He quickly apologized.
"?"
I waited for him to say something.
"I'll let you dry my hair...so please don't go...away."
"..."
"But first... can you just wear this shirt.. please?"
"Um."
I made a sound and grabbed the shirt that he gave to me.
I dropped the sheet to the floor, and he immediately turned around. I finished wearing that shirt, pulled Jodai's sleeve, and dragged him to the sofa. I pulled him to sit.
"..."
I pulled his sleeve twice again to tell him to remove this wet shirt.
"...yes."
He answered me softly and turned his back to me, and he unbuttoned his shirt and held onto it.
I could see his tattoo on his right hand and down to the right side of his body. He was getting more significant than the day I met him, and his muscles were also patently bigger.
"You can throw right next to mine."
"..yes."
He gently put his shirt on the floor, right next to my clothes, without turning his face to look.
I raised my hand to his hair, trying to find the rubber tie on his ponytail. And I found it and tried to pull it out, but I was afraid that he might get hurt.
"... I'll do it."
He told me softly, and he put his hand on his hair and pulled out the elastic tie
His hair was long, longer than shoulder length, and thick, even if it was just half of it.
"Can I use my towel?"
"...yes."
Then I used the towel that was not totally dry and wrapped it around his hair. I didn't understand one bit why this man wanted to be on my side. He did this because of his duty. He was very loyal to his job and his position. He could be the Takaki man like the rest, serving the real Takaki family. Not me. He sliced his man's throat easily to get to me. He cut his man's head to save me. He would do anything I asked him to do. He trained harder to improve his skills every day to please me and ask for my opinion every time I visited him at the training yard. He wouldn't mind my crucial actions. And naughty behavior when I teased him. He followed me everywhere and waited for me every time. He was the perfect man that every Master would ask for. But I wasn't Takaki, and I wasn't Stygians.
"Agh!"
I cried out because my hands hurt a bit.
"Master!"
He turned back around, touched my hands, and turned over my palms to see. They were red scratches. It must have been when I fell down on the concrete.
"They are very red...Are you hurt? I'll put the ointment for you."
"...Hic...Hic."
Then my tears fell down on my arms.
"...Master..."
"...Hic..."
"Please tell me who did this to you. You don't have to tell me what happens if you don't want to...just please...tell me who made you cry like this…."
"Jodai… I'm sorry, I don't want to cry..."
"..."
"It hurts me seeing you cry like this."
"...Hic..."
Then he put his hand on the back of my head, held me to his chest, and hugged me softly.
If you do this, I cannot hold back my tears.
Then I moved myself closer inside his arms, wrapped my arms around his body, and put my face in his chest.
"Hic...Hic…"
And I burst into tears. I moved my arms over and held him around his neck to bring him closer and put my face inside his neck.
He held me tighter to comfort me.
-9:30 pm-
The rain finally paused to take a break. I was still in the Flower House. I couldn't wrap my mind to think thoughtfully and thoroughly. It was like a storm hit me once again.
I stepped outside the house and inhaled the cold, humid air and dirt in my lungs. I walked toward my mother's grave, where the dried flower bouquet was wet and dirty.
"You sure had a lot of secrets, mother."
"..."
"Your smiles, your happy face, and trying to enjoy your life in an optimistic way...was it because you were hiding your secrets, Mother? Or you just tried to forget the past and live your new life.."
If yes, just like me, then.
"We could just live and stay on our mountain, but you chose to live here with them, and look at what it caused you....death."
"..."
"I finally accepted your death and tried to move on and live...in the new chapter...but...your secret struck at me and pulled me back in again. Should I be angry at you that you were so foolish about your life and let them kill you like that, or should I be angry at them...that they have no mercy on us..."
"Thug!"
I fell down on my knees.
"They surely don't have mercy for a fool like me and you...right? We were fooled again and again…You, Charon, Achlys, Veronica…and Kaiza... they all lied and fooled me. You left me with a mess, and you wished for me to enjoy life...what a brutal thing for you to do, mother..."
"Hic…hic...hic."
"Fuck...Fuck!"
I cursed it out.
"What the fuck should I do now..."
"If I despise you, then I have no one left in my life...I couldn't hate you anyway...you are still important in my life. Even when you lied behind those smiles, you had good intentions for me...right?...right, mother?"
"Hic...hic…Answer me…"
-silence-
-10:30 pm-
"Master, the cloud...it might rain again."
Jodai told me from behind where I was kneeling on the dirty ground before the tomb.
"..."
"You get inside."
I told him.
-11:45 pm-
"Cha…."
The rainfall.
"Master!"
He called and ran to me quickly, carrying me inside the house. He put me down and hurriedly got the sheet to cover my head.
I barely get the rain, though.
-12:45 am-
"Mother?"
"..."
I was lying down on the couch and must have fallen asleep, watching the rain outside the massive window and being exhausted from crying.
I dreamt of her...
She was walking around with a smile, wearing her white dress. She patted my head.
'I'm sorry,' she said.
"Mother…they don't have mercy on us. Should I not have mercy on them..?"
I spoke to myself and tried to glance my eyes to see the man who was with me, and I noticed him. He was standing facing the view from the window.
I got myself up and sat properly.
"Master, you awake?"
"Jodai..."
I called him.
He walked to me that instant.
"From now on, I will do something that... unforgiven, and not be the great Master of yours...and dishonor… if you go back to Takaki, you'll surely be able to continue your purpose of being an honorable man. If not, you can still go back to your family. I know you are from a great house in Keithland, so your family would understand."
"..."
He knelt at me again.
"I would not like you to do something that is dishonorable to yourself."
"Master..."
"I am very grateful and thankful for everything, Jodai. Really, from my heart."
"Master...I would love to follow you, whether it's on the other side of the earth, at the highest point of the horizon, or in hell that is burning under the ground. I will follow you everywhere you go. To me, the dishonorable thing to do is not follow my heart."
"..."
"You should think carefully, Jodai."
"I promised myself the day I laid eyes on you, the day we had our first match. There isn't anything that is more clear than this."
"You're very determined, Jodai."
"You're not alone. Please, don't think that you have to do things by yourself…So, please."
He explained to me and gave me those eyes I hadn't seen before from him.
He grabbed my hands and held them carefully.
"So, please take me with you...wherever you go. I will do everything...anything for you, just don't let me go..."
"..."
I pulled out one hand and put it on his head instead.
"You sure are the man who keeps his word... I'm glad that I have you, Jodai…"
I told him while patting his head.
"... I'm the one who is grateful and thankful that you let me be part of your life, Master."
"...Can you just call me…by my name?"
"!!"
It's difficult to hold on to something that you're not sure about. I will hold something that I am sure is totally mine.—my name.
"Yes, if you want that...Zephyra."
He answered. My name would be cringe for him. I bet it was his first time.
"Then the first thing I would like you to do for me..."
I moved my hand from his head to his neck and under his chin, making him look at me completely.
"Y-Yes? Tell me."
"I want you to bring me my sword...and let's get out of here."
I told him.