“What a beautiful night!” I exclaim with a smile etched demonically upon my lips.

A man charges me from my right. “Graaaah!”

My foot lashes out as I dodge to the side.

A body tumbles over my boot. A man. He stumbles, knife in hand. His arms do their best to keep the body upright, but he cannot maintain his balance. His face kisses the dirt. He skids forward a few inches as his body disrupts the large blades of grass covering the field.

“You bi—”

Gai skips forward with one hand in his pocket and the other loosely gripping his sword. The tip of his toe connects with the underside of the man’s jaw.

Blood and teeth fly at the contact.

The man’s eyes roll into the back of his head. He collapses, incapacitated for the night.

“Solid teamwork.” Gai raises his sword.

I tap his with mine like a combative high-five and chuckle. “As always.”

“Frando!”

“You bitch!”

“Avenge him!”

Three bandits remain of the total four before us.

“Which one were they calling a bitch?” I ask Gai.

“I think it was you,” answers my friend and fiancé.

“Nonsense.” I point the short sword in my left hand at the trio before us. “That’d be some blatant sexism, and these young men would never be so vile.”

“Sexism? Look at you making up big words again. It was definitely directed to you. I’m not a bitch.”

“I’m not a bitch either.”

“As a woman, by default, you are the bitch in this equation.”

“Sexism again?”

“What even is that?”

“Why are we debating this? Let’s ask them.” I point my other sword toward the trio. “Hey, who’s the bitch here? Me or him?”

“Both of you!” the three shouts at the same time.

“Ah.” I lightly tap the side of my temple against Gai’s shoulder. “Equality. Very progressive.”

“You say the strangest shit,” mutters Gai. “Are we done messing with them?”

“Is this not fun?”

“It actually is, but I’m kind of tired. I want to take a bath and hold your snoring body until I doze off.”

“I don’t snore.” I twirl both my swords in my hands before taking a stance. My eyes set. The light in them turns to analytical seriousness. “All right then, let’s wrap this up.”

The three men flinch.

“There wasn’t supposed to be anyone here, Viper!” cries one of the men.

“At least you remembered the code names,” murmurs Viper. “Ox,” he returns to the shouting man. “Vex,” he says to the other. “Calm down.” Viper directs his voice to us. “Why are you here?”

“Why?” My finger points back to the man on the ground. “He likes to brag in bars.”

The three of them palm their faces. “Idiot.”

Viper curses. He raises his sword, an old-looking, poorly maintained tool. “That’s what we get for having a fool for a leader.”

“That was the leader?” Gai points his blade at the knocked-out asshole. “You sad sons of bitches. How many home invasions has this genius planned?”

“This would be the first,” says the man code-named Ox.

“Ah.” Gai nods. “How’s that working out for you?”

“It’ll work out fine once we take you two out.” Viper muscles up some lackluster courage.

“De—um, Viper,” Vex speaks. “I think they’re the vigilantes everyone’s talking about in town.”

I raise a happy hand. “Guilty!”

Ah yes, the “vigilantes.” Gai and I earned ourselves that moniker over the past two months. We’ve been taking down petty crimes for the local guards nearly every night since our first outing together. I’ve never felt more fulfilled in my entire conscious existence. That’s either very sad or a testament to how boring my lives have been thus far.

I can honestly say most of my stress has disappeared over these last few months. Knowing I can do this “public safety” work regardless of what happens to my marriage has granted me relief.

As it stands, Gai and I will officially marry in a little over three months, as that’s when his family can make it down. We both agreed to let the childbirth period elapse for as long as possible and when we eventually get pressured into it, take off. But we’ll have had plans in place by then and the hope will be that our families will be integrated to the point where they won’t need or come after us and drag us back to their stuck-up, boring worlds. Either way, I’m willing to take the risk now regardless of the likely scenario that our plans fail. Plus, Gai will be with me. I’m not worried. Things will work out, and prolonging my salvation has only caused me heartache.

It’s time to take the leap. Ha! How ironic.

Odds are I’ll have to live over at Gai’s family home after the official ceremony. Neither he nor I am thrilled about it, but I’m at least more excited than him since Gai said it is “much less safe” than Water’s Bastion. That means to me my vigilante protection role can only expand since I don’t plan on stopping it now.

Gai’s mostly nervous about seeing his family again. It’s clear “unhappy” doesn’t do his emotions service. It makes me even more grateful for all he’s done. For a guy that initially came off as the biggest dick in the world, he’s truly become a dependable person. I guess people do change. Or he was always like this and just hid it well.

A part of me will always think about Astria even though I’ve come to terms with a few of my issues. Her revelations about reincarnations eats at me occasionally, but the dangers of messing with her again are not worth it. Besides, if I can find happiness in this life, why ruin it by seeking answers that don’t matter in the end? Not to me at least.

For now, I want things to stay the way they are. Vigilante at night and charming noble during the day. I can generally do what I want now, plus I have some level of fulfillment thanks to these outings. Comfort and violence; a perfect combination. The only thing I can’t do right now is travel. There are tons of places to see. Gai’s home is on the port, so I’ll get to see the water and beach. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to convince him to take me to Port Prosper. It’d be nice to camp out there for a few days.

I can finally live in the moment rather than dwell on the past or fear the future. Finally.

If I can just get past the intense sexual tension coming from Gai thanks to our last “interaction” two months ago, I’ll be golden. I can only create excuses and lie so much. He keeps slightly joking about it, but someday, he’s going to ask me serious questions. I mean, he already did two days ago. I was surprised he put it off that long. In an act of cowardice, I left the room without talking. Great problem-solving abilities on my part.

Yeah…not ready to deal with that…

It hasn’t interfered with our friendship or nightly excursions. I think he might feel like it’s partially his fault, so he isn’t bringing it up.

It’s easier to beat up assholes than deal with that type of shit.

“We don’t stand a chance,” Ox mutters as he starts to perspire. His words bring me out of my mind.

“That’s the pessimistic view. Think of it this way. If we win, our reps will go up. People will fear us,” says Viper. He readies his stance. “Besides, we don’t have much choice but to fight. It doesn’t seem like they’ll let us go.”

“Good call,” Gai admits. “What a riveting speech. I almost cried.”

“We sound like the villains a little,” I notice.

The three bandits nod.

“Oh well. Ready yourselves,” I order our opponents.

The three men grimace.

I drop my left hand forward, sword in hand, while raising my other blade over my head. There are many techniques for dual-style weapons, and the one I employ now is one for quick strikes against multiple people.

Tremors of excitement build at the back of my head as the sense of unease in my opponents moistens my fighting spirit.

Gai moves first, though, much to my chagrin.

“Hey!” I cry.

“Too slow!” Gai chides back.

The three men are slow to react.

Gai arrives in between them. Blades are lazily thrust at him. He darts to the left, avoiding them easily. With a grin on his face, he twists and swats his foot at the back of the head of the left-most person, Vex, causing him to cripple to the ground.

“You ba—”

Charging forward, I boost off the ground. My feet are in the air parallel as thrust forth with a dropkick. They connect to the person to the farthest right, that being Ox. I feel the air leave his lung. The sensation is squishier than I thought it’d be.

Ox’s body flies a good distance away. I’d put a little something extra into the kick with my light gifts. That hit probably felt like being run over by a small car. He won’t be getting up, especially after the sound I heard. What was that? Cracking bones?

Gai, laughing, backs off a step to let me finish up.

Viper, the only one of the two without an ‘X’ in his name, quickly reacts to my assault.

An intense, irrational sense of urgent murder bears down upon the crown of my head. I feel the sensation tickle my spine. Months back, the feeling would have made me shiver. Now? I revel in it.

I force my body to contort backward into a flip shifting my weight into my hands.

The blade determined to end my life slips between an open gap in my leg.

Just as the blade passes, I rotate my body by shifting the muscles in my hips. Like a whip, my foot lashes out. The tip of my toe connects with the bottom of Viper’s chin.

I hear a ‘popping’ noise. That’s his jaw, I bet.

Viper’s blade drops.

Willfully, my weight shifts into my shoulder. I distribute it into the palms of my hands. For a brief moment, they’re all that keeps me steady. In the next, I push against the ground and force the kinetic energy outward until I’m standing up on my feet.

In only seconds, the battle is decided.

“This is getting easier every time,” I note to Gai as he stands over the unconscious men with me.

“Isn’t it fun?”

“There isn’t a better feeling in the world.”

•

Gai finishes tying the four unconscious men into a tight bundle. “That should do it.”

“How did you learn to tie a knot like that?” I ask. His handiwork is too professional like he’s been working with boats his entire life.

“I’ll give you five guesses,” suggests Gai. That perverted look in his eye indicates the answer.

“No thanks. I’m good.”

“Aww.” Gai slumps his shoulders, defeated.

I gesture to our defeated victims. “What should we do with our friends here?”

“I can decapitate them,” jokes Gai. “Then I’d get blood on my clothes, and those stains are hard to wash out.” He picks at his threads in mock disgust. “Best we get some guards to take them away.”

I begin walking over to trees nearby. “Then we’re on the same page.”

“Whatcha doin?”

“Getting their attention.”

The core in my stomach burns with energy. I thrust out my open palms to the nearby trees. Light energy pools within my hands. It fires forward. The bark of two trees explodes. They topple down, falling just to the sides of me, narrowly avoiding my body.

More energy surges as the light powers in my hands fade. The new power emerges as dark tendrils jutting from my back. Six; my max. Three latches onto each tree. I turn, and they follow gently, hovering in the air behind me.

Gai stares at me, impressed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The tendrils squeeze and the bark breaks apart. I do this continually while looking back at Gai, perplexed. “What?” I ask of him.

“Nothing.” Gai chuckles. “Just realizing how easy it’d be for you to beat those guys without moving an inch.”

“Where would the fun be in that? I’ll get rusty if I only rely on my gifts. We’re still weak to poison. One slice with a toxic weapon and you lose access to your gifts. It’s best to fight like they’re your last resort.”

“Damn, you’re a try-hard.”

With the tree now broken into chunks, I use my ability to toss them into a pile.

“Gonna start a fire?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. How’d you know?” I reply mockingly.

“Doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out,” mutters Gai. He walks towards the mound with his sword. “I’ll get it started, then.”

Soon, a brilliant blaze blooms, ravaging smoke into the sky.

“That’ll be seen for miles,” assesses Gai, looking up.

“Exactly.”

“We should run off. It’ll be morning soon,” adds Gai. He stares apprehensively up at the horizon.

“Agreed”

•

With our enemies restrained and a signal blaring, we trudge along the main road back to the castle, ducking into the forest every time we hear someone or see light along the main road. An eventual troop deployment passes us and heads towards the fire along the way. Job accomplished!

We arrive at the castle’s wall.

Sneaking over with my abilities as we’ve done many times before, we bound into the garden. No one is around. Gai’s invisibility further covers us, making this act extremely easy.

“You’re gonna be a bonafide assassin soon,” notes Gai as we walk over to the side of the castle where my window is perched.

“I don’t kill anyone. Don’t give me such a crude title,” I groan. “I don’t have the stomach for it.”

The sun begins to rise as my tendrils latch onto my window. As we pull up, Gai speaks, “You’re going to be too tired for your lesson today.”

“He canceled with me. Master Talbert has done that a lot recently,” I remark. “The killer in the city…it’s putting everyone on edge. I wish we could run across him one night and end things.”

“An understatement. I’d turn him into a bleeding chunk of meat.”

The sudden dark words coming from Gai’s mouth cause me to shiver.

We enter through my bedroom window. There’s no one inside. It’s just how we left it. My desk is messy, filled with papers and books. Our bed is unmade. Clothes scatter the floor.

We’re essentially already a married couple at this point, minus anything physical. If it makes me cry, then I probably shouldn’t do it. My internal monologue about wanting to kill my past self made me realize my mental health issues are waaaay worse than I thought.

Just push it aside, Scarlet. Push it aside…

Shaking off the dissatisfaction within my brain, I stretch my arms over my shoulder, now having entered the room. “Ahhhh! Good to be home! I’m sleepy!”

“Ditto,” agrees Gai. “Let’s get some rest. Do you want to take a break tonight or go out?”

“What do you think?”

“Right. Why did I bother?” The man chuckles. “Five hours of sleep a day is awesome.”

Voices sound in the hallway. Maids. It’s always maids. Boy, do they like to chatter on and gossip.

“Lady Scarlet used to be such an early morning person,” tells one to another.

“Lord Regal has been a terrible influence on her,” regrets another.

“What do you think they do in there at such late hours? They go to bed early and stay in later nearly every day now. I don’t even see Lady Scarlet exercise in the same frequency she used to,” a third speaks.

“Oh, you’re so cute. It’s hard to forget you’re so young, saying things like that,” says the first.

“What?!” the third exclaims.

“It’s passion,” cutely quips the second. “They are enthralled with each other.”

“Yeah, we are,” Gai whispers in my ear.

I lash out a hand at him, which he easily dodges.

“Passion?” the third asks, confused.

“You’ll learn of it someday. Or you can accidentally walk in and see for yourself,” says the first maid.

“Be our guest,” adds the second.

With a bit of fear in her voice, the third maid responds, “No, thank you.”

“Good choice,” says the other two in unison.

Footsteps indicate them walking away to complete other tasks.

“Everyone thinks we’re screwing,” I mutter.

“If only reality reflected as much,” Gai murmurs incandescently. “I was so close!” he remarks, reflecting on our admittedly heated interaction some months past.

There he goes bringing up that “issue” again like it’s a joke.

Shit…I need to stop putting this off or the passive aggressive pity will never end.

“Yes, you were,” I admit. “If you didn’t point out that I was crying, I wouldn’t have noticed. I was sooo willing, too! Now the mood’s passed. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel that way again. Oh well.”

“Huh?!” Gai’s voice peaks a bit. “Wait. Repeat that.”

I strut across the room, remove my shawl, kick off my shoes, and fall face-first into the sheets. “Ahhh! So soft! I thought I was gonna take a bath, but screw that! I’ll just have the maids wash the sheets when I wake up.”

Gai falls in next to me. “Don’t just ignore me. Seriously? I was close?”

“I wonder what we’ll be having for lunch?” I ask myself, completely ignoring my roommate. Turns out, this conversation is making me more uncomfortable than I thought it would. I’m not ready for it yet. “I’m feeling something with peanut butter.”

Gai grabs my face. He forces my eyes to look at him. “This is a serious conversation, Scarlet. You’ve been ignoring it for months, hell, running from me when I tried to talk about it. And now you are? Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Ah, dammit.

“Exactly what I was thinking, but I started to chicken out.” I sigh. “Literally, I was just thinking about it. Why do we need to overcomplicate the whole thing with questions? The moment was the moment. It passed. We live in the present, today, where things are different. There’s nothing to talk about. We’re friends! We’re planning a future together! I don’t see why we need to muddy the waters. It wasn’t normal for me to act as I did, so you shouldn’t think about it too much. It’ll probably never happen again. It was…a moment of weakness for me. That’s all,” I babble.

“Are we friends?”

“Are we not the very definition of friends at this point?” I muse, firing the question back at him. “Hang out all the time. Eat together. Chat about things. Now, if we did all those things plus sex, not friends. Without the intimacy, we’re just friends. So we’re friends, yes?”

“We are…but we aren’t,” Gai says this, seemingly confusing himself at the same time. He shakes his head. “What’s wrong with me? Am I not your type? Do you only see me as a friend? Can I get some sort of answer, at least? Why did I make you cry? Whatever it is, I’m sorry and I’d like to fix it at least.”

I have memories of a past life as a man, and it’s conflicting with my new reality.

Ha!

I could never say that.

Yes, it’d be easier if I could kill off my memories as Felix. Then there’d be no problem being with Gai, as a rejection of Felix would make it so simple.

But I cannot do that, no matter how much I may want to.

My tears indicated as such. They were a violent “no” from deep within my soul telling me that Felix isn’t willing to let me go.

There is no way to reject Felix and be Scarlet, nor is the reverse true, either.

It’s easier just to learn, to study, to fight, to create, to…do anything else.

When it comes to “who I am,” I’ve never had the answers. Only recently have I found my passion. There’s still a hole in my heart saying…something…but it doesn’t hurt like it used to hurt.

Even if I could figure out “myself,” I’m shit at romance. Always have been. I already know I don’t like Gai romantically. He was probably just convenient at the time. A way of breaking through who I am and becoming someone else, casting aside all my past doubts. A point of no return. Nothing more.

But assuming it was something deeper, something I’ve been hiding in my soul, does Gai have ownership over my feelings? Can’t I choose someone else? A woman, at least? Is that acceptable? Do I even want that? Why does my earlier contention about being with a guy seem less important? Is it because I’m already past the point of no return? Or…was I always like this and didn’t know?

Gaaaah! I hate this shit!

In this life, everyone always has and will always treat me as a woman when, internally, I’ve been rejecting that. I’ve gotten used to it, and it has affected my personality and actions, clearly. Still, there’s always something itching at the back of my brain telling me I’m not just what people see me as.

I’m…me…I guess…

And that’s the only correct answer.

Though it means absolutely nothing since I’m not sure who “me” is.

What a stupid fucking conclusion…

“I’ve never been intimate with anybody,” I begin, concocting a truthful lie for Gai’s ear to understand since he’s not letting this issue go. “My brain tells me I like women. I know I like women, yet there’s something inside me that rejects that assertion and wants me to act as I should,” I say, gesturing to my body. “I’m confused. I’ve already told you that.”

“I…can see that.” Gai takes in my words. His grip on the sides of my face softens.

“I had a moment of weakness when we were on the roof. I was fully willing to give in to you, to deny a part of myself, when those tears made me realize I could do no such thing. I’m still trying to figure my life out, so…please…if it’s supposed to happen, it’ll happen. Don’t expect it, though. I may look cute, but I’m a mental basket case full of conflictions, okay?”

Gai releases me completely. His eyes seem to reflect some form of sadness, but he quickly hides it with a smile. “At least I know now.”

I grimace. “I guess I could have told you a while ago.”

“We agree there.” Gai laughs as he collapses his head into bed. “Dammit. I was being pushy again, just like our first outing.”

“You were much more reserved this time if that’s the case,” I joke. “You’ve come a long way since then.”

“Guess so,” murmurs Gai. He breathes in loudly. “I see a lot of myself in you. Glad I’ve stuck around. It’s been fun, even if it means having to return home someday.” He sighs. “At least I’ll have you around to back me up.”

“That is the only bright side,” I tease in agreement. I don’t know why he hates his home, but he won’t tell me no matter how much I’ve asked, so I’ve given up even trying. “You’re probably my closest friend behind Remi. Hell, if we do end up leaving either to travel or be at your home, you’ll be all I have. That should show how much I trust you now.”

Gai finally mutters his truth. “Being with you is fun. If it weren’t, I’d have left a long time ago.”

“Aw, now I feel bad. You know what? I’ll just lay here. Do what you want with me. If I fight back, ignore it. It’s what I need to get over this phase.” I stretch out my arms in legs sarcastically. “Go!”

“Very romantic but stop tempting me,” says Gai sarcastically.

We share a laugh.

Gai looks at me blandly. “Do I have to treat you differently now?”

“No. Just don’t focus so much on something you have no control over.”

“No control over? You said that a while ago, too. I’m surprised you don’t hate me for how I’ve acted.”

“To be honest, and note that I’ll never repeat this,” I begin, taking in a breath before releasing it. “I think your sense of humor is funny, so don’t change. I don’t hate you. I’m probably more attracted to you than I should be, and it confuses me since I’m unsure why. I don’t even know if it is attraction. Maybe it’s that savior complex you mentioned because you are pulling me out of this hell hole of a life and for helping me fight at night. I’m not sure. At the very least, I appreciate you. There. I said it. Keep it in your heart because I’m never repeating it again.”

My face burns red as I flop away, altering my position so that I’m not facing Gai. He doesn’t need to see my embarrassment.

“Huh,” is all Gai says.

“Well, that was all very cute.” A new voice enters the conversation.

Gai and I bolt upright as Remi drops from the ceiling.

“Pervert!” Gai and I say in unison.

Remi, who once had such a scary and intimidating face as she dropped from the ceiling, nearly falls forward as embarrassment wracks her body. “I am not!” she protests our abuse.

“Look, it’s one thing for me to sneak into her room while she’s changing,” says Gai as his former personality, thankfully, reasserts itself within his being. “It’s another for you to watch us screw, you freak. At least pay us.”

I smack Gai in the chest.

Remi scowls. “I get what this looks like. I intended to ambush you earlier, but I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation. It seemed important.”

I deadpan. “You heard all of that, huh?”

“I’m glad I did. I didn’t know that’s how you felt either.” Remi seems sad for a moment. She recollects her emotions and hardens. “But that’s between you two. As for why I’m here, I think you know why.” She points at the window, at our weapons, then at our clothes.

Realization hits me. “Ah, shit. This was a one-time thing!” I immediately lie. “This was just…practice for when you and me go out again!” I say knowing we’ve only done that two times since our first time together.

“Nice try.” Remi rolls her eyes. “I’ve known what you two have been doing for months now. Who do you think helps cover up the fact that a two-sworded vigilante is roaming around beating down criminals?” She frowns. “You have Master Talbert and myself to thank for that.”

“Why let us go on for so long if you knew?”

“It wasn’t doing any harm. I know how much it means to you. Reports of vigilantism came in. They were vague, but it couldn’t have been anyone else but you. I still had to report to Master Talbert. We both decided that you’d be fine as long as Gai was with you. We weren’t going to end things unless you went too far.” A gap appears in her speech. “Things have changed. Master Talbert has ordered a cease on your nightly activities. You are to stay in the castle guarded at all times. No more trips into town nor outings as vigilantes. I’m sure it was fun, but desperate times call for people to act as they should.”

My face hardens.

“Another murder?” inquires Gai.

Remi nods. “The killer is getting bolder. While the gap between deaths was monthly, as of late, it’s shrunk. This month a girl has died every week. The people know now. The castle is on full alert. Finding this killer is the top priority of the entire castle. You cannot do as you like anymore. That’s final.”

“But—”

“Gai, you’ve been out with Scarlet,” Remi interrupts me. “Let’s assume that this killer can separate you two and has combat abilities along with the power of a Divine Treat. He and Scarlet are roughly at the same level of ability. Maybe he’s stronger than her. Could she kill him if needed?”

Silence.

I turn to Gai. His face is set. He looks at me for a moment before turning to Remi.

“No.”

“Then watch her. Make sure she stays here.”

“Wait, why would he have Divine Treat abilities in the first place?” I ask. “What do you know?”

“That doesn’t matter. We’ll tell you after everything is resolved.”

“But—”

“Otherwise, you might take things into your own hands, wouldn’t you?” Remi cuts me off a second time.

I bite my lip.

She’s not wrong.

“I can fight, Remi.”

“Scarlet, I know you can fight. This is a different matter entirely,” Remi asserts. Her eyes are dark. “If myself, Talbert, Van Gallan, and Nigel cannot find such a killer, what do you expect from some wealthy shut-in child with no true grasp of the real world playing hero at night to cure her boredom?” Her words hold needless amounts of venom.

I recoil at the statements slandered my direction.

Remi looks away for a moment. Her eyes appear conflicted. She turns back to me. “You’ll be watched at all hours of the day. Again, stay in the castle. Gai, stay with her. Do not leave.” She hesitates. “Based…based on the type of women the killer has taken recently, you are certainly…his end goal.”

I freeze.

Gai protectively puts a hand on my back.

“What do you mean by that?” I say quietly.

Remi opts not to answer directly. “Nothing will happen to you.” Her voice is almost a growl. “I won’t let it. Allow me to protect you and do as I ask. Please.”

I falter in my speech as I struggle to find the words to say next.

Remi eyes me. As if the situation is settled for the moment, she nods, leaving the room. “Sorry for intruding.” She exits.

I sit back on the bed, my head swarming with thoughts.

Gai sits beside me. “If I make a joke right now, will you hate me or feel better?”

“That depends on the joke. Let’s hear it, and I’ll decide.”

“…that doesn’t sound like a good deal.”

“Just say it.”

“Ah, um…for some reason, I don’t want to.”

I collapse backward in bed. “Probably a good call, then.”