—" Walker...?" Kaede murmured pensively, Mizuki sighed and spoke in a calm tone, but one that reflected irritation
—"Kaede, you don't have to pretend because of Shiro... or did you forget what I make you read?"
Kaede laughed a little loudly, to finally let out a sigh she had been holding in for a while
—" Relax, Shiro already told me about it" The most surprised was Yuzuki, who took a step forward out of inertia
—" Ah, I see... I didn't think you'd talk about it, it's surprising..."
[...]
—" Anyway, did you do anything in Solarin before th-"
—"Don't change the subject on them" said Mizuki, interrupting Yuzuki's start of a conversation After Mizuki gave her attention back to the call, she crossed her arms
—"Seriously... Shiro, I tried to investigate your inside on my own, but it's impossible, you yourself will explain to me what you're doing with that card when you get back, but in the meantime..."
—" Tell me why you kept it to yourself, do you know the weight that comes with carrying that? Right now you can consider yourself a walker, that's extremely dangerous"
—" Well, I... the truth is I don't have a reason, I kept it to myself, I'm sorry" Yuzuki rested her arm on the chair where Mizuki was sitting
—" It's okay, but we'll have to talk seriously about what to do afterward, but first, I have a question for you..." Her gaze became more serious, gripping the chair to hold back a past grudge
—" You fought my sister, what was she like?"
—" A crazy woman who shot lightning" said Kaede, the seriousness with which she tried to say it was nothing more than her way of speaking
—"Seriously... I'm talking about what she was like!"
—" Are you talking about how she fought?" said Shiro
—" Something like that, is she strong?" Kaede crossed her arms, somewhat pensive, making slight sounds indicating she was thinking, narrowing her eyes
—" Well... she had no chance against Akira"
Yuzuki couldn't help laughing slightly, which caught Kaede's attention
—" Then she'll be a bit weaker than me..." murmured the albino-haired one The hand of Mizuki stretched out to take a coffee and take a small sip
—"Kaede... you strayed a lot from the subject"
—" O-oh, sorry!"
—"That necromancer you fought, I ended up considering that he's at the level of high-rank hunters or a little less"
—" Hunter...?" Shiro murmured Mizuki raised her gaze and leaned her back against the chair
—" Just by having recordings of fighters I can analyze their fighting level and copy it in a simulation, and... well, it's a little impressive"
—" How much?" said Shiro
—" Well, as strange as it may sound, you could find many people who would fight against Akira and he wouldn't come out well, but that one is special"
[...]
—" His shadows match him in strength, and there's one that surpasses him"
Kaede cheered up a little, giving a small jump in the chair, she always cheered up when they talked about strength
—" Which of them?"
—" Well... the kind of knight who used a greatsword and mastered fire, but... a necromancer can't revive someone weaker..." she said somewhat pensively
Mizuki leaned back again, it was noticeable that, in the short time since the events, she was thinking about everything
—" Your job as the wise one has always been tiring" Yuzuki murmured in a dull tone, looking down
—" I suppose... anyway, you should rest for now, you'll train again later, we'll talk in a while"
Without further words, Mizuki cut the call, getting up in the dark room and stretching her body
Yuzuki, for her part, moved away toward the window, staring fixedly at a point, apparently focusing on her thoughts more than on the view
—" Sister... I hate you."
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
—" Should I stop fighting...?"
Shiro was alone in that hallway, long and clean, a few occasional shelves on the walls subtly decorated, the white walls that Shiro touched with his fingers, until reaching a window and observing the back part of the Valtherion home
—" Why do I fight in the first place...? To protect Kaede...?"
Shiro's fingers subtly touched the window, he observed a bit of his facial features, but the reflection was faint
—" I... don't have the right to refuse, do I? I had the chance to go back and I stayed..."
[...]
—" When I fight, I feel like everything slows down except me... could it be part of some ability...?"
Shiro put on a pensive look, opening and closing his left fist, as if trying to understand himself better
When he started walking again, his fingers tried to caress his neck, but a slight burning invaded him, he had forgotten about Kira's bite
—"Seriously... where's the bathroom here...? I can't even remember well how to get back to the room..."
Shiro hid his hands in the pockets of his pants, and finally kept walking
Upon reaching the end of the hallway, he came across a large room with slight steps going down, like all the rooms, it had a new smell, the walls followed the same color, and in the middle there was a large stage
—" I think it wasn't here..."
When he was about to turn around, he could hear the echo of shoes approaching at his side, when he turned his gaze toward the noise, he saw nothing until he lowered his sight
Kira was kneeling, with her face almost against the floor
—" I'm sorry." she said directly
—" Why are you apologizing...?"
—" I made the guest uncomfortable, sorry "she said in a murmur, somewhat embarrassed
Shiro stepped back slightly, he wasn't used to such sincere apologies, he simply tried to move away, until, a slight explosion called your attention
—" What was that...?" Kira raised her gaze
—" Ah, the fighting room, do you want to see...?"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
A simple, totally gray room, their movements were fast, the redhead's were subtle, her pointed ears hidden behind her hair
On the other hand, the albino-haired one slid to the sides the whole time, dodging the flames emanating from the aqua-green card, amid some gasps, she tried to counterattack, but the elf's wrist was enough to strip her of the summoned weapon
—"I told you, Miss Selina, you lack practice" she was tall and slender, her white skin with some marks from fighting on the palms of her hands, raising her card calmly, she summoned 3 flames that combined instantly into an explosion that ended the combat
Selina ended up lying on the floor, sighing and cursing in whispers
Her eyes looked at her calmly, looking at her with a little compassion
—" Miss... you have to train more, fighting Mr. Calius doesn't help, do you know that?"
Selina got up with some difficulty
—"Seriously... if I weren't protected by the Ether shield of this room... why are you so strong, Kaya?"
She smiled uncomfortably, a complicated question
—" Ma'am, I'm one of your 2 bodyguards, it's normal to be stro-"
—"It's not that Kaya is very strong, it's that the miss is weak"
Said Kira in a loud tone, who was watching from the other side of a glass beside Shiro Selina got a little more irritated, but kept up appearances
—"You can't tell me that... when Kaya humiliates me almost without moving!"
Kira crossed her arms, slightly raised her gaze to look down with contempt
—" So what? I beat you with one move"
—" You're scary! "
Amid their argument, the elf was able to make out Shiro
—" Are you Mr. Shiro?"
Shiro averted his gaze to show respect, nodding slightly
The elf, dressed in simple armor for practice, raised her arm to greet him gently
—"It's a pleasure, young guest" Kaya murmured with respect