Mia looked at the girl, who was practically bawling on the ground.

“It seems her thwarted murder attempt was something more”, she thought as she bent down to the child. Mia reached out her hand and caressed her hair.

“Girl, what were you thinking?” Hikaru asked as he picked up the knife, it looked old, consumed with rust and bore subtle cracks along its blade.

Sniff sniff

“Hm”, he pulled her hand away and crouched in thought. “She’s just like me”.

Captain Yakusuke released Nomi’s arm and perked up, “How so?” He asked.

“She just reminds me of how I used to be, back in Ako. She’s lost. Sir, I don’t think she actually wanted to hurt you… Or rather, I don’t think she was actually trying to”. Mia stood back up and looked around the room. “You can tell by this place, it looks like it only recently started to fall apart, as if no one has been able to take care of it”.

Sniff, Nomi sniffled and wiped her eyes, which were now red and still somewhat teared up. “Who-o are you peo-ple”.

The Captain looked at her and with a cocky smile he said, “We’re your sav-”

WOMP!

He was cut off by a devastating jab to the stomach.

“Hika-ru, you bastard”, he uttered, trying to catch his breath. Captain Yakusuke now laid on the ground, winded.

“How many times have you been told not to be like that?" he shook his head in disapproval and looked at Nomi.

“Nomi, is it? We came here from Indra to help you. A man ran into the town asking for help and talking about monsters, so we had to”.

She looked up to him, a tear made its way down the side of her cheek. “Are you those huntsmen people talk about? The guys who go around killing monsters?”

“You’re exactly right”. Hikaru had a warm and welcoming smile.

“Ugh, creepy”, Mia whispered. “Nice Hikaru is one hell of a one-eighty”. She dropped her tongue as if she was nauseous.

“Ye-ah, but he’s always been good with children”, the Captain slowly got to his feet.

“Anytime we go on a mission he’s always first up to console a crying child. He’s also the first to go berserk whenever a child is in danger”, the Captain looked over to Hikaru, who was smiling at Nomi and patting her head. “It’s both a good thing and a bad thing. He takes them as a complete priority and disregards everything and everyone else, including himself”.

“I had no idea, I just assumed he was made a lieutenant to keep your perversion in check”, Mia said with a blank expression, an undertone of disgust grew with each word she said.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Oi, I have feelings you know”.

-

Hikaru continued to console Nomi, “there there, I promise that everything will be fine”, he smiled, reflecting a wholesome energy. “I promise you that the three of us will protect this village”.

Sniff, “O-okay”, she uttered, her cheeks began to go red, seemingly out of embarrassment.

Nomi walked over to Mia and stopped a few inches away from her… A few seconds went by… She slowly began reaching out her hand. Nomi forced herself forwards and grasped onto Mia, hugging her tightly. She buried her nose in Mia’s uniform, a few more tears snuck their way out of her eyes and dampened the fortified cloth.

“Mia I should say, Hikaru loves kids, but uh… For some reason it isn’t mutual. Must be be energy he puts off or something, I’m not sure”, the Captain snickered while trying to keep his composure.

Mia looked to Hikaru, who was now hunched over in the fetal position, wallowing in rejection.

She turned her gaze back to Nomi, who had seemed to be calming down. “Nomi, tell me what’s happening here?” Why is everyone so weird?”, she asked.

Nomi took a step back, “well, they just appeared…”, she uttered, her words were shaky.

“They?”

“The monsters. There were so many of them. When they arrived everyone thought we were gonna die… I- I thought we were gonna die. But um- they didn’t. There was a big monster that had a bunch of tentacles, he looked like their boss. He said that if we offer an outsider to him each week then he would let us live”.

Captain Yakusuke walked over, “How long ago was that?”

“About two months I think?”

Nomi continued, “a couple days ago my papa decided to go to nearby villages to ask for help. But… I haven’t heard back from him, but also, since he left they took my mama. Now, I'm all alone”. Nomi looked up at Mia, “please save my mama and papa , also the whole village… I just want everyone to be happy again”.

“Of course we will!” Mia shouted, “I promise, we’ll save everyone. Afterall, it’s our job”. She smiled at Nomi, reassuringly.

“Your father huh, hm”. Hikaru took a step towards Nomi and bent down, “listen. We were told to come here, by a man. He looked to be in his thirties, and you look to be about eight?” Hikaru stuttered for a second, he took a deep breath, “Nomi, your father is- your father is dead”. He looked down at the floorboards and rubbed his finger across them, scraping up a layer of dust.

“No. NO!” Nomi stood there shaking, “papa is de-dead?” A slurry of tears went down her face, but she did not wail nor make a sound.

Mia immediately grasped her, consuming her with her warmth. “We may have not been able to save your papa but we WILL save your mama. I promise”. She hugged Nomi tightly, “I will crush every beast that tries to harm you. I won’t let a single one escape”.

–

Captain Yakusuke walked over to the window and looked out, “a dead night for a dead village huh”. He looked back, “It’s getting late, seems time is getting away from us. Mia, Hikaru, we’ll hunker down here for the night and investigate tomorrow”.

Nomi sniffled as she grasped Mia’s clothes, “please sleep with me”, she said softly, “I don’t wanna have nightmares, anytime I sleep alone I have nightmares”.

“Of course”.

–

A few hours passed. A shred of moonlight shined through an open crack in the window curtains.

Mia laid beside Nomi, who was cuddled between her arms, dead asleep. Although Mia was wide awake. She looked over and gazed at a snoring, sprawled out couple-hundred year old man passed out, as well as Hikaru sleeping silently under a blanket. “Even in this situation you all can sleep so soundly”, she thought, her eyes turning back to Nomi. “I wish calm moments like this would last forever”.

Mia reached over and grabbed the edge of her blanket and pulled it up to cover her and Nomi.

“Why does the world have to be so beautiful yet so cruel”.

She fell asleep.