“The heros! They’ve returned!”
Loud cheering came from all over the floating base which had been set on the now solid ground of rubble.
“Hero! Hero! Hero! You did the impossible! There are no more borders! Hurrah! Hero Hero!”
People cheered and approached Yuri and the rest.
Ahab was lifted and pulled away by the cheering crowd, leaving Yuri, Mako and Helgi standing alone.
“Damn that Ahab. Taking all the credit for what we did”
Helgi crossed his arms.
“Yeah. Good for him, we got what we came for.”
Answering plainly, Yuri detached herself from the clingy Mako and stretched.
“I’m going to go rest before we head off.”
Her voice lacking her usual spark of enthusiasm.
“Hm..?” Mako and Helgi tilted their heads slightly at her unusual response.
“You said you were an archbishop of your church?”
Helgi asked of Mako.
“Yes! I was chosen by the orb of freiya! Well, i kind of gave that away to Yuri. But might as well, that orb wasn’t working properly if it chose me! Even Hikaru said that before!”
Nodding to herself while talking, Mako said this lightheartedly.
“Is that so..?”
Giving an awkward smile at her overly bubbly nature, Helgi began asking her questions concerning what they would encounter once they would attempt to rescue Hikaru.
Most of his questions however, were answered with a clueless shrug.
Meanwhile. Yuri had climbed onto a high position, and sat facing the sun, watching the slow movement of the rubble’s shadow in the sun.
“I wonder. What’s this sudden helpless feeling..”
Muttering softly, she rested her chin on her knees.
“Am i worried about getting the dagger back..?”
“No..i never much cared for it too much..it was just useful to have..am i worried about Hikaru..? I can’t be, i know fully well how he can handle himself..besides we’re going to rescue him soon, so not like there’s anything to worry about right..then why do i feel this way..”
She hid her face behind propped up knees.
“I didn’t feel like this when i first got separated from him..but now..that i know i won’t see him for a while..despite Mako and Helgi being with me...why does..”
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
“...Why does it feel so lonely without his constant presence..”
The sun cast shadows of her lonely form on the wood building behind her, the rocks on the ground shining in an all too bright orange. Portraying the heat of the day in air that blurred the scenery.
Yuri’s form blurred slightly in the hot air.
--
“I’m going to go find Yuri, kayyyyh?”
Mako ran off from Helgi, who felt lucky as he got tired of questioning her for answers she did not posses.
“Now then. I suppose i should prepare in the meantime.”
Helgi pulled out the gauntlets which belonged to Hikaru along with his sword.
The ribbon on the sword shook slightly while he handled the sword.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
“I’m not your owner sadly, but don’t worry, we’re going to get him back.”
Helgi said to the ribbon, which shook in acceptance.
He felt slightly silly talking to a ribbon, but let it go as there was no one around to see.
“I suppose i should package you better..but..this is what he uses huh. With a single slash, defeating any enemy. If only i had that sort of power. I could have beaten that general..being completely worthless like that..doesn’t sit right with me.”
Helgi lifted the sword, testing it’s power and giving it a small swish. The sword flew out of his hand and embedded itself into a nearby wall.
“...Guess it was too heavy for me.”
Walking over to try and pull it out of the wall. His attempts were met with failure, as it was stuck deep.
“How does that freak of a monster handle something like this..it’s not like i don’t work out or anything.”
The ribbon attached to the sword shook in annoyance.
“Hm..?”
The ribbon stretched its one end, pointing it towards something on the ground.
It was the metal gauntlets that Helgi left there while he handled the sword.
“The gauntlets..?”
Picking them up, he shrugged and put the gauntlets on.
“Maybe they will give me a better grip?”
Helgi tried to pull out the sword again.
This time, the sword slid out almost effortlessly.
“...Huh.”
Swinging the sword again, it felt as easy as swinging a ruler.
“These gauntlets..”
His hands began swinging by themselves, as if going through the motions automatically.
“W-woah.”
The swinging continued until his arms began to hurt and he feared they would fall off.
“”T-this is bad..i can’t take them off..!”
When he said that, the end of the sword’s ribbon reached out and touched the gauntlets.
The sword once again became heavy and fell at his side.
His arms went limp with relief.
“Phew..what the hell did Hikaru even find..doesn’t seem they’re made for combat..if you can’t control them..”
Picking up the gauntlets, he looked them over closely.
“Not a single dent..they really weren’t used for combat..then perhaps..those swings it made me do were all very specific..”
Helgi muttered to himself for a while.
“Hey ribbon thing. Think you can turn the gauntlets off again when i tell you to?”
The ribbon twitched in what he assumed was a positive gesture.
“Alright..”
Donning the gauntlets once more, Helgi let the gauntlets control his arms while they began swinging methodically. Each swing slowly getting more advanced.
“I figured…” He breathed out mid swing.
“These aren’t for combat..they’re for training..!”
“Okay okay..ribbon thing, turn them off! “
He let go of the sword and quickly took off the gauntlets.
“Maybe..this could be my solution to getting stronger..”
He looked at the gauntlets then glanced at the ribbon.
“Are you up for more?”
--
“Yuuuuuuriiii~ where are youuuu~”
Mako called out while exploring the base.
It was surprisingly empty. The members of the rebellion were all outside. They had set up camp a fair bit away and were busy celebrating their victory with like minded civilians.
Those who did not agree with their decision had long since left, along with those upset about not being warned of this in advance. Who had left to collect their things from amongst the rubble.
Mako reached the top floor of the building and heard someone sigh sadly from nearby.
“Mm…? If it’s someone who’s feeling down then Mako will be their...uh..some noun that rhymes with down..wait noun rhymes with down! What a missed opportunity to stop someone’s frown..wait that rhymes too! Aw!”
Nearing the source of the sad sigh, Mako climbed out the window on the roof and proudly declared.
“If there’s someone who’s down, Mako will remove their frown! Because Mako is a noun!”
Yuri looked up at Mako, her cheek rested against her propped up knees.
“Oh hey Mako.”
“Yuri..? You’re the one who’s sad..? Why are you sad sweetie..”
Sitting down next to her, Mako stroked her hair affectionately.
“Oh i don’t know..for some reason it feels..kind of lonely you know..?”
“But i’m here with you silly!”
“I know that..but you know. I lost my dagger right?”
“Yeah..they most likely took it. It’s okay we’re going to get it back right?” Mako smiled reassuringly.
“Well yeah..but without that dagger..how are we going to rescue Hikaru..i didn’t think about it before..i can manage to pull off most heists without any fancy dagger..but this..is different.”
Her eyes looked down at her feet which touched toes in uncertainty.
“Different..? How so sweetie..?”
Mako continued to stroke Yuri’s head.
“Well..this isn’t a heist. This a rescue..and..”
Yuri hesitated.
Still stroking her head, Mako waited patiently for Yuri to speak on her own. She felt the importance of this. Not as a bishop who constantly consoled people. But as a woman herself.
“I..it’s..the rescue..unlike the heists..which i didn’t really care..about the item i was stealing..this time..i do care..a lot..”
“Care about what dear..” Mako spoke kindly, her arm never once letting go of Yuri. Making sure she felt her support.
“Care about...i care about...Hikaru...a..lot..”
Yuri finally managed to squeeze out those words, her face hidden in her small hands.
“Don’t worry..we’ll get him back. I promise you that. So don’t cry alright sweetie..?”
Procuring a small handkerchief from her pocket. Mako carefully pulled away Yuri’s hands from her face.
Yuri’s face was a strange mixture. Her eyes were wet, tears flowing freely from her eyes revealing her worry, while her face was deep red, exposing her embarrassment.
Softly wiping Yuri’s face clear of tears, Mako slowly pulled Yuri onto her, so her head rested against her chest.
“We’ll get him back, and when we do, i’ll make sure he knows just how lucky he is to have such a pretty girl shedding tears for a bossy knight like him.”
Her hands continued to stroke Yuri’s head until she eventually fell asleep, the warm light of the setting sun along with the cool breeze lulling her to sleep.