Chapter 16
16
The crackling bonfire cast flickering shadows across Milo’s sleeping face. He rolled over toward the warm flames, before suddenly sitting bolt upright.
“Hey, stay in bed! I’ve only just wrapped those bandages!”
“B-Bisco? Are you there? Where are you? Ah— Oh…my eyes… I…”
Though Milo’s eyes were wide open, his vision was filled with white. He trembled in fear and covered his face. Suddenly, a rough hand landed on his shoulder and gently laid him back down. Milo grabbed tightly onto that hand for dear life.
“Bisco… I’m sorry… I can’t see… I think I’m blind…”
“Quit shaking, idiot. It’s just the Rust. Once you get your medicine, it’ll be all gone.”
“The cure? You have the cure…?”
Bisco took Milo’s pale arm in his hand and felt for his pulse. Then he took out a syringe and injected it into the vein. Milo winced as the liquid flowed into him, before eventually relaxing and letting his body weight fall into Bisco’s arms.
“Swiped ’em from Kurokawa while we were fightin’. Really was as easy to make as you said… Looks like your lessons weren’t for nothin’.”
“You made it for me? Wow, Bisco…! But…what about you? Oh no… Bisco, you need to have yours first…” Milo suddenly started to wave his arms, feeling through the air. Bisco grabbed his hand and held it.
“I took care of mine already. You worry too much.”
Bisco guided Milo’s hand to his neck. Feeling the soft, warm skin, Milo breathed a sigh of relief. Bisco let go of his hand, making sure not to let him touch the rusted-up metal of his shoulder.
There was no second cure. The only Rust-Eater mushrooms Bisco could find were those that Kurokawa had already turned into Rust arrows, and in any case, Milo’s beloved mixing machine was hit with a stray bolt and destroyed during the escape. The cure he had given to Milo, to save the life of his partner, was none other than the one he had received from Pawoo.
As Bisco stood up to gather more firewood, Milo grabbed his sleeve with surprising strength. He turned to see Milo clinging to him with both hands, a disappointed look on his face.
“You should be nicer to me while I’m in recovery.”
“What else do you want? I pulled the arrows outta ya, bandaged you up…”
“I want you to stay here with me.”
Milo pulled Bisco in with uncharacteristic forcefulness, and the two of them leaned against the rough cave wall, listening to nothing but the soft crackle of the bonfire.
“…Are you mad?”
“Why would I be?”
“You must be. I nearly got both of us killed.”
“Damn right, you did. We should have both gone together… Can’t say I blame you, though.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Probably would have done the same thing myself. The important thing is: We’re both still alive.”
“…”
“…”
“I wonder what happened to Jabi.”
“That geezer’s got the luck of the devil. He’ll be just fine… I hope.”
“And Pawoo. He said he saved her.”
“Yeah. Your sister’s gonna be fine. Nobody can touch her when she’s got her staff.”
“Hmm…”
“…”
“…Are you sure you’re not interested in her, Bisco?”
“Huh?!”
“She’s so pretty… And, Bisco, you like large breasts, don’t you? Well, Pawoo’s are pretty big.”
“Hers are all muscle, I bet. Anyway, I don’t want to deal with her trying to boss me around all the time.”
“No, she’s not like that, Bisco! She’s actually really devoted, family-oriented… You just can’t tell because you don’t have that much experience with girls…”
“Oh, sure! And I bet women just throw themselves at your feet, right?!”
“They do, actually.”
“O-oh.”
“But Pawoo doesn’t go on many dates. You know what she’s like… She can get a bit…clingy. For example, with her last boyfriend…”
“Let me guess, she killed him for cheating on her?”
“No, don’t worry. I managed to save his life.”
“That’s not funny…”
“But you’ll be safe, Bisco. You’d never cheat!”
“If she found out we were having this conversation, I’m pretty sure your head would roll.”
“Ha-ha! I don’t think so, Bisco. She likes you!”
“…Bullshit.”
“I am her brother, you know. I can tell that much.”
“…”
“I had a dream…”
“…”
“We were all living together. Everyone was so happy. Jabi was there. You and Pawoo, too. We were all on a journey, and we found a nice place to live, so we settled down… Every time we got tired of living in one place, we’d just go and find somewhere else, riding on Actagawa…”
“…I’d love a life like that…”
“…”
“…But you’re leaving, aren’t you?”
“…”
“You’re going to settle things with Kurokawa.”
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
“I wish I were stronger, so I could fight by your side. That’s what a partner is supposed to be like. I’m not there yet, but I will be. One day…”
“You’re plenty strong. You don’t need to go crazy.”
“I want to become so strong that you have to force yourself to say things like that.”
“Huh?!”
“Heh…!”
“…”
“We’re partners. We can go anywhere we want together. Beat anyone. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do partners stay together forever? Until they die?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“…”
“Hey, Bisco? Are you still there?”
“I’m right here.”
“Could you…hold my hand?”
“Sure.”
“…”
“…”
“Hey, Bisco?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you still there?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“…Ngh… Ah…!”
“You need to go to sleep. Don’t force yourself to stay awake.”
“Don’t go, Bisco…”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Bisco…”
“Yeah?”
“…Will you still be here when I wake up?”
“Of course I will.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Milo?”
“…”
“…I think I finally know how Jabi felt when he was looking after me.
“You came into my life like…like a firework. I shoulda been dead on the streets, like a stray dog. But you gave me a reason to live.
“…I watched over you, helped you grow. And that became my life’s purpose, Milo. When I die, it won’t be in terror and despair. I’ll be thinking about your future. A happy life like that, it’s more than I deserve…
“…
“…
“…Good-bye.”
Then Bisco let go of Milo’s hand and gently laid him down. Milo was breathing softly, with a face like a baby panda being coddled by its father. Bisco thought about how fun it might have been to scribble on his face just once, but before the sentimentality became too much to bear, he tore his gaze away and stood up, dragging his creaking leg to the opening of the cave.
The blizzard had subsided. Bisco gave a low whistle, and Actagawa appeared, his orange shell rising up out of a mound of snow.
“Hey, sorry ’bout that. Was just gettin’ the kid to sleep.”
Bisco hauled his body over and slumped onto Actagawa’s side. The giant crab had taken more than a few arrows in the earlier battle, but his hard carapace and natural immunity to the Rust had shrugged off the worst of it, and he was looking a lot healthier than his two companions, at least.
“To be honest… I wanted to leave you behind as well. But look at me, I can’t go anywhere by myself.” Bisco reached up and brushed the snow off Actagawa’s eyes. “Besides, Jabi’s your dad, too. You’d be furious if I told you to stay behind.”
Bisco pressed his cheek to Actagawa’s cold belly and closed his eyes for a moment. Actagawa quietly let him do his thing, before suddenly grabbing his collar between his huge pincers and lifting his brother up into the saddle on his back.
“Ah-ha-ha! Sorry about that! We’re too tough to die, aren’t we?” Bisco whipped the reins, and the giant crab bravely set off across the snow. Bisco took a look back at the light spilling out of the cave as it gradually got farther and farther away and pressed his cheek into Actagawa’s shell.
“All the times I’ve put my life on the line… I’ve never done it so calmly before.
“Actagawa…I made a friend.
“A friend…”
Then Bisco closed his eyes and let Actagawa carry him gently onward. On the horizon, the first few rays of dawn’s light were beginning to illuminate the fallen snow.