Side Story: Lamentable Boundaries

Side Story:
Lamentable Boundaries

 

THE WEST DISTRICT was not as well organized as its eastern counterpart and lacked any defined parks for the local children to play, leaving them with little other than lots left empty due to the relatively high crime rate in the area.

While there were usually a fair number of children playing in the lots on any given day, a different group of people were engaging in an unusual type of play on this given morning.

“You look exhausted, Flum.”

“Nah, I got this!”

“If you say so. We have limited time as it is, so no breaks!”

“Got it!”

Flum dashed forward and heaved the Souleater at Gadhio.

He spun away, his coat swirling in the wind, and parried the blow with his own black blade. The force of the blow knocked Flum off balance and sent her tumbling backward.

“Gah…”

“Remember what I told you: there’s a difference between aggressive and reckless.”

Gadhio didn’t let up and followed through with a kick as Flum fought to regain her balance.

“Eyuagh!” His foot connected, knocking all of the air out of Flum’s lungs and making her see stars, though she still managed to keep herself in the fight.

She swung her sword through the air and let loose a Prana Shaker.

He’s just too good…but no, maybe I can hold him back with a feint!

Watching her movements carefully, Gadhio read Flum’s next move. He didn’t even bother taking a defensive posture, instead letting his prana surround himself and taking Flum’s attack head-on.

There was a thunderclap as the two forces met. Their respective prana abilities canceled each other out, and Gadhio lunged straight toward an unprepared Flum.

“You’re done!” He raised his sword in an attempt to put an end to the fight once and for all. But Flum wasn’t done quite yet.

She threw her gauntlet-ed arm in the way, taking the force of the sword’s blow entirely in her right arm.

It was all for naught.

There was no way her arm could withstand the force of such an attack. What’s more, the loss of her dominant hand ensured she could no longer stay in the fight. For a mock battle, it wasn’t necessary for her to go that far.

In the moment his sword made contact with Flum, Gadhio understood just how dedicated she was.

I thought she just did that on impulse, but no—she fully intended to throw her arm in the way. With the way she angled her arm, she meant to deflect the blow, not block it completely. So she still intends to stay in the fight, then!

Gadhio pressed the attack. His sword hit the gauntlet in a shower of sparks. Flum’s arm made a wet snapping sound like a breaking tree branch as a bone gave way under the force of the blow.

“Master!!”

“What’s happening now, Eterna?”

“She broke her arm. That’s gotta hurt.”

Milkit, Eterna, and Ink were at a loss for words from where they sat watching on the sidelines.

She was lucky to get away with such little damage. Flum’s plan to parry the attack paid off, even if it hurt.

Though her enchantment reduced much of the pain she felt, it was still excruciating for what should have been a mock battle. No matter how many times she broke her arm, a chill always ran up her spine when it happened. An electric sensation ran through her muscles, goosebumps formed across her body, and she felt her blood drain away. It was all she could do to overcome the natural reaction with sheer force of will.

“Hyaaaaaah!” Flum brought the Souleater down on Gadhio with a left-handed slash. Gadhio considered blocking the blow, but decided on another approach at the last moment.

He slammed his sword into the ground and used the hilt as a handhold to vault over Flum’s attack. Landing behind Flum, he pulled his sword from the earth.

“That was pretty impressive.” Gadhio held his blade just shy of Flum’s neck. He clearly won this round.

Flum let out an exhausted sigh and slumped to the ground. “So even that wasn’t good enough…”

She felt pretty good about that attack, but she still wasn’t good enough to beat Gadhio.

“Master!!” Now that the mock battle had come to a close, Milkit stood up from the bench and ran to her master’s side. She looked at Flum’s right arm, the worry clear on her face. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”

“No biggie, it’s already healed anyway.” Flum opened and closed her right hand, much to Milkit’s relief.

It didn’t last. A moment late, her cheeks puffed out in a rare display of anger. “Still, you should try not to push yourself so hard on your day off!”

“Sorry, sorry. I figured it was the only way I stood a chance at beating Gadhio.”

“You really hung in there, kid. I have to admit, I was really surprised to see you sacrifice your own arm like that, even if the move was a bit rash.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I should probably hold back from stuff like that in the future.”

“If it were anyone but you, Flum, I would’ve just called it there. But in real life-and-death combat, I have to say your willingness to sacrifice your own limbs in battle is an amazing asset.”

Milkit felt conflicted at Gadhio’s praise.

“Honestly, I just don’t have the experience to compete properly, so that’s my only choice,” Flum said.

“And that’s why I didn’t stop. However, as I said earlier, you need to be mindful of the difference between being aggressive and being reckless. If your head or heart are destroyed, you’re done for, so you need to train yourself up to be able to protect those two parts at any cost.”

“You’re still able to fight, Gadhio?”

“It’s fine, Milkit. I was the one who asked him to help me train, after all. I rarely have a chance like this as it is, and besides, the stronger I get, the better I’ll be able to protect you.” Flum brushed Milkit’s cheek with her hand before wrapping her finger around a strand of hair and stroking the younger girl’s earlobe.

Milkit’s heart was a sudden maelstrom of emotion as she felt the ticklish, warm, and gentle caress come together to send her cheeks burning. “I guess there’s nothing I can say to that, but please be careful. Your pain is my pain, Master.”

“Gotcha, I’ll be more careful.”

Eterna and Ink sat on the bench and waited as the conversation between Flum and Milkit took place beyond earshot.

“They sure are friendly…”

“It seems like they’ve grown even closer ever since they got back from Sheol, don’t you think?”

“I think Milkit’s grown. Learning that she can rely on Flum has really boosted her confidence.”

Ink giggled. “So you think they’re ready for the next stage, then? That’ll really get on your nerves, Eterna!”

“What’re you so happy about?”

Despite their teasing, it was evident Eterna and Ink were growing quite close.

Milkit finally returned to the bench. Though she hated the idea of Flum getting hurt, she would at least agree to sit by and watch on to offer her emotional support if this was what Flum had to do to improve.

Shortly thereafter, the second round of their mock battle began.

“Hyaaaaaaaah!!” Flum lunged straight in. Gadhio coolly deflected her blows.

Even after the scolding she got from Milkit, Flum threw all that out the window now that the battle started, accumulating cuts and gashes as the battle wore on. Though Flum expected it on some level, she was taken aback at how Gadhio treated this like a real battle, not daring to hold back.

They had no choice—there was little time left. The Children, Chimera, or even the church knights could act at any moment. There was no guarantee that peace would continue into tomorrow…or even today. Gadhio had a limited amount of time to teach Flum everything he knew.

So there was no holding back. Even if that meant getting hurt, it was all necessary for Flum to protect those who were most important to her.

“Whoa, awesome!” A small crowd of children gathered around the park to watch the battle.

Flum didn’t really think letting these kids watch her get hurt like this was good for their healthy development, but she wasn’t exactly in a position to stop at the moment. In any case, the children were having a great time watching a “real” battle take place right before their eyes.

“Why you beatin’ her up like that, grandpa?! You go girl!”

“You got this, lady! That old guy can’t beat you!!”

There was something about how badly Flum was getting beaten down that turned the kids against Gadhio. Not like it had anything to do with their training, of course.

 

***

 

Flum and Gadhio ended the fight just before noon to head back to their own houses for a short rest. Milkit invited Gadhio to come back with them for lunch, but he still felt guilty about making Kleyna worry so much about the Sheol ordeal and figured it best to go back home for the time being.

Shortly after leaving the empty lot, Eterna turned to Gadhio. “You know, you seem pretty down. Did something happen?”

“Do I?”

“Yep. It’s pretty obvious.”

“Well, actually…it’s a bit embarrassing.” This seemed very unlike him. After scowling for a bit as he mulled it over in his mind, he finally decided to say what was on his mind. “Am I really an old man?”

Flum and Milkit stared blankly at Gadhio while he averted his gaze. Meanwhile, Eterna chuckled loudly at this. Her reaction seemed to make Gadhio even more insecure, and he began to brush at his hair absentmindedly.

“Uh, it’s nothing, really. Just forget about it.”

“No can do, I can’t forget something like that. Honestly, I’ll probably be laughing about that for the rest of my life.”

“You’re a strange one, Eterna. Always have been, always will be.”

“I see my reputation precedes me.”

“Try not to puff up your chest about it.”

“You saying I don’t have a chest?”

“I never said anything of the sort.”

“Hmph.”

“Y’know, now that you brought it up…you don’t seem so cheery yourself, Eterna.”

“You really are insufferable…”

Gadhio rubbed his temples.

Flum spoke up. “I think you’re still pretty young, Gadhio.”

“That’s hardly something a young person can judge.”

Flum clammed up at Eterna’s pointed criticism.

“Eterna’s right. I guess I’m over the hill now. After 32 long years on this planet, I guess that’s just how it is.”

“Well, I think you’re a great old man, Gadhio! I’m sure any man you ask would love to be just like you when they get old.”

“That’s right, you have a definite swagger in the way you hold yourself. I’d say you’re more like a well-aged gentleman than an old man, really.”

Milkit and Ink’s praise hardly improved his mood. One way or another, he just didn’t want to accept the fact that he’d gotten older. Gadhio parted ways with the group with the same glum expression still firmly entrenched on his face.

 

***

 

Gadhio took the main thoroughfare toward his home in the East District. Along the way, he ran into Kleyna doing her shopping.

“Well, if it isn’t you.” She smiled brightly at the sight of her friend and moved over-excitedly to greet him, sending her red ponytail swinging wildly from side-to-side.

“Ah, Kleyna. What brings you here?”

“I was just shopping for lunch.”

Gadhio reached out and took the shopping bag from Kleyna’s hand without even thinking.

“Thanks.”

This kind of interaction was routine between them.

“Where’s Hallom?”

“She’s out playing with her friends.”

“Such a spirited girl.”

“As per usual. Thanks to you, she’s really coming into her own.”

“You really give me too much credit. Hallom has a great mother watching out for her. That’s all there is to it.”

“You’re way too humble.” Kleyna stuck out her lower lip and pouted before the two fell into step with each other. She was finished with most of her shopping at this point, so the two headed back to their house in the East District.

Though it was only a brief moment spent together, Kleyna fancied this time as something of a date. The fact that Hallom wasn’t there only helped build on the idea. Gadhio wasn’t oblivious to what she was thinking. He felt a deep sense of regret fill his heart every time he felt her body press against his as she walked excitedly next to him.

He thought of Tia and what he had done.

“Why the long face?”

“Ah, I was practicing with Flum earlier.” Gadhio changed the topic entirely to avoid answering the question. “These kids that were watching us practice called me an old man, and I started to think that maybe I really am old.”

“Strange, you don’t seem like the type who would care about something like that.”

“You’re still a bit younger than me, so of course you don’t really care about these things yet.”

“It’s not that I don’t care. One of my friend’s kids was running around like a bat out of hell and called me an old hag when I told him to calm down. Can you believe that??”

“Heh, best to not think too much about what kids say.”

“I know that, but you just kinda think about these things after hitting thirty. It’s the same for you, isn’t it? Even if I told you I thought you were the greatest guy I knew, you’d still be worrying about it.”

“You’re right there.”

“You’ve just gotta figure that this is our fate. All we can do is try our best to age as gracefully as possible.”

“Age gracefully, huh?” Gadhio smiled as a distant memory came to mind.

“Hey, Gaddy, what kind of person do you want to be when you get older?”

They had this conversation shortly before they got married.

“You’ve got a baby face, a slim body, and a cool demeanor. I can see you turning into something of a scholarly gentleman with time, I guess. Me, on the other hand… I’m not really sure if I’ll be a suitable old lady to be by your side. Heh.”

“Don’t talk like that, Tia. No matter how old you get, you’ll always be beautiful to me.”

“You really think so? I hope you’re right.”

Everyone holds out hope for their own future. At that point in time, they had no reason to believe it might not come true.

“You’re thinking about Tia again.” Kleyna’s voice brought him back to reality.

He didn’t bother denying it. “Yeah, I was. I just remembered we had a similar conversation.”

Kleyna didn’t look hurt or particularly bothered by this. She smiled softly. “I guess I’ll just have to work on making myself a pretty fine lady if I ever plan to get your head out of the clouds. I’m really trying to be your ideal woman here, and you won’t even give me the time of day.”

“You’re a wonderful woman, Kleyna. Too good for me.”

“Don’t talk like that; that’s just going to encourage me.” Kleyna gave a good-natured laugh. The look on her face reminded Gadhio of the times they spent going out on missions together. “I’ll tell you right now, I don’t plan on giving up. I’m going to keep on being the best woman I can, until I finally get a little attention from you. Right now, I figure that’ll take at least another ten years or so. I hope you’re ready for that.”

Kleyna picked up the pace slightly, gaining a short lead ahead of him like she was trying to escape out of embarrassment. Her ears flushed a bright red.

Gadhio felt a pang in his chest at the sight. There was no way that he could allow himself to be with such a perfect woman. Not when his own life was marching toward its inevitable end.

“Ten years, huh?”

He still had too much fighting ahead of him to entertain the thought of such a far-off future.

Gadhio looked up at the sky and whispered to himself, “That’s a long way away…”

The rays of the bright afternoon sun illuminated all of the living figures as they moved about their day within the capital. For a man who had already accepted his own impending end, it was hard to feel a connection to those around him.