There’s always a brief instant before an inevitable collision in which time seems to slow.
It can be difficult to perceive in the moment, but whenever you think back to that collision, you get this sort of….”heaviness” in your chest. Everything around you becomes drowned out by some nebulous force whose only goal is to focus your awareness on that feeling of tension rising up within you, agitating your heart rate. It can feel as though you’ve lost control of your own body, and perhaps you did, and that’s why said collision occurred in the first place.
Ryuna did not perceive that heaviness as she stepped foot into the village of Welca for the last time, but whenever her mind later recalled the scene, its presence was undeniable. It was all she could focus on, and it always killed her vibe. Ryuna was the type of person who refused to hold onto regret, but she was also the type of person who could never let go of shame.
She was in a good mood when she arrived. Victory in the tournament was within her grasp, and she’d even been given a room and a decent meal at the monastery as well. Sure, she’d have to deal with the awkward conversation about leaving without making good on her promise to help with the forcewells, but that would just be a temporary discomfort, and nothing she couldn’t get over soon afterward.
The mood of the village had been darkened by a collectively experienced mourning, and not even Ryuna’s bright energy could shine for very long within it. In fact, that energy only served to draw in the eyes of the villagers as she skipped her way towards Bron’s house. She hadn’t even noticed that none of the men were approaching her like they usually did.
The house was quiet. It wasn’t devoid of all activity; the newborn baby Ria for starters certainly hadn’t joined her people’s shared silence as she cried out for food and attention. Lina was solemnly tending to her, and didn’t even bother looking in Ryuna’s direction as the latter entered Kizzy’s room.
“Pretty quiet outside,” Ryuna said as she began scooping up whatever clothing she’d strewn around the bed and stuffing it into her bags. “Everybody tired from the welling?”
Kizzy hesitated before speaking. “You….didn’t hear what happened?”
“Nah, I was out all day. What’s up?”
“There was a big accident….some of the wellers died.”
For just a fraction of a second, Ryuna paused her hurried packing. Not long enough for Kizzy to notice, but long enough to be worth mentioning, I’d say.
It’s none of my business anyway….No reason to stick around….
“That sucks,” was all she really had to say in response.
She carried on with packing her bags to the tune of awkward silence. Once finished, she slipped the straps over her arms, and spun around to head out.
Kizzy’s eyes moved down to the bags. “Are you leaving?”
“Yup. I found another place to stay for the next night or two, then I’ll be heading out.”
“….Oh, uh….Cool.” When Ryuna turned towards the door, Kizzy then added, “Wait, what about my training or whatever?”
With a smirk, Ryuna said, “I thought you hated it? Wasn’t it a hassle and too much work?”
Kizzy turned away in a huff, then threw in the tiniest of shoulder shrugs. “Yeah, but….”
“But what?”
“I dunno….it was….kinda fun, I guess….”
Ryuna felt the same way, but that wasn’t going to stop her or make her change her plans. She’d learned from experience that life didn’t afford you time for detours, for hesitation. Its opportunities were like powerful waves rippling across the sea, and you either positioned yourself to ride them as they came, or your ship was torn apart and pulled under.
She’s not gonna use it anyway….I should just get out of here.
Her brows knitted for an instant, until she composed herself, and offered Kizzy a half smile and shrug. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Keep practicing on your own, okay? You’ll get the hang of it sooner or later.”
She then stepped over to Kizzy’s bed, reached her hand out, and ruffled the girl’s hair, which caused the latter to pull her head back and scowl. “Hey, what are you doing?”
Ryuna giggled. “Nothin’, just….take it easy, yeah?”
“Huh?”
Hand on the door, she offered her friend one final wave. “Bye, Kiki!”
When the door closed, and the sounds of Ryuna’s footsteps faded away, Kizzy’s eyes dropped down to the blanket sprawled out across her bed. Her finger slowly began to draw dots and lines on the surface, pulled from her memory.
* * * *
ULTRA DRAGON
* * * *
While she would have loved to have been able to leave the village at that and never look back, ‘twas ultimately not meant to be. She barely made it out the front door of the house before she came face-to-face with a crew of wellers, led by Bron himself.
“You leaving?” he asked, his voice devoid of energy, and his eyes locked onto her bags.
She nodded. “Yeah. Uh, thanks for letting me stay here these past few days.” Normally, her instincts would have told her to keep continuing, spinning some overly-saccharine story about how truly grateful she was, and how much she enjoyed spending time in the village and learning about its culture, but as her eyes darted from one weller to the next, and all she saw were hollow expressions, she knew that now wasn’t the time to act up.
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“Can’t help with the welling today either, huh?” The bite of his words came as a surprise to Ryuna. His voice was almost completely lifeless, but there was no mistaking the intent behind his words. He was calling her out.
Considering people died doing it, who the hell would want to?
She frowned in response to her own thoughts, then quickly adjusted it to a performative wince of pain. “No, sorry….Still pretty banged up. I need to get some more rest.”
Before she could take a step, Bron’s words jabbed at her again. “Where do you go all day? What are you doing?”
Up until that point, her cover story had been along the lines of exploring the mountains and taking in the sights of nature, while the reason for her injuries had been unfortunate encounters with some of the monsters in the area. It pained her ego to pretend like the pathetic wildlife in the mountains could pose even the slightest threat to her, but it had worked, so her pride couldn’t bitch and moan too much.
But with her reasons to keep up the lie now gone, Ryuna felt the alluring temptation of simply stating the truth tickle at her heart. Even those who don’t regret their lies still feel relief when those lies no longer need to be upheld.
I should just tell him….I’m done with this place anyway.
She hesitated. Burning bridges was about as permanent a move as one could make, and it was much more logical to keep it intact just in case you ever needed it in the future. Besides, even though Ryuna felt no emotional attachment to Welca, and never planned on coming back, the ugliness that always came with the tearing away of a lie was never fun.
Just say it. I don’t need to be here anymore.
Her jaw clenched. She’d been feeling pretty antsy all day; catching herself thinking a bit more negatively than usual. Perhaps it had been the nerves about the final match of the tournament, or perhaps it was her weakened control over her chi after having it amplified by Master Kirin. Either way, she didn’t like it.
If I don’t tell them, they’ll think I’m some weak little girl! Fuck that!
“I’ve been competing in a martial arts tournament,” she finally blurted out. All the rushing blood and heat in her head washed away the instant the words left her lips.
“Martial arts….tournament?” Bron asked, his face contorting in confusion.
Smirking, Ryuna nodded, and felt herself stand up just a bit straighter than she unknowingly had been. With the weight of the mask of lying gone, it was much easier to express her natural confidence. “Yup. Over at the monastery on the other side of the mountain.”
She recalled Brise’s warning when first arriving at the mountains; she’d told Ryuna not to mention the monastery, but not for what purpose. Her chat with Kizzy about Welca’s strange rules regarding the banning of fighting had been her only real hint of an answer, and from the way the wellers’ eyes collectively widened, it seemed to be on the mark.
“You’ve….you’ve been fighting? On the mountain?”
She nodded again, stuffing her hands into her pockets.“Yeah. Been kicking people’s ass up and down this whole place. I’m gonna do it one more time pretty soon, in fact.”
A hand from behind settled itself on Bron’s shoulder. “Chief, that might be why the wells have been going wild.”
Bron nodded, though he kept his eyes aimed at Ryuna’s. “Fighting is not allowed in Welca. Did anyone tell you this?”
“Kizzy did,” she replied. “But I didn’t fight in Welca anyway. Like I said, it was at the monastery. I didn’t break any rules.”
“Fighting causes ULTRA Force particles in the area to become agitated,” Bron explained, with a tone not unlike that of a parent trying to stick to the lecture and keep the anger and disappointment from taking over. “It does not matter if it was not on the village grounds. Anywhere on the mountain would affect the wells.”.
“Believe me, dude, I know all about how fighting works. I don’t need you to tell me.”
While Bron was still able to maintain his composure, one of the wellers accompanying him was not. The haggard old man pushed forward, and belted out, “Your fighting caused the wells to go out of control! You killed our people!”
I can’t let this asshole blame me for that!
“What?!” Ryuna stepped up to meet the man face-to-face, brow furrowed. “I didn’t kill anybody! Don’t try to push that shit onto me!”
Bron threw his arm up between the two, holding the weller back. “Calm down! She’s not responsible for that!”
He turned his attention to Ryuna once more. “Did you ever plan to help with the welling?”
She probably could have lied again and said “yes”, using her injuries from the martial arts tournament as the reason she never made good on her word. Even though it wouldn’t really have helped improve her image to them, it was perfectly believable. That was the smart decision.
Who cares what they think of me now? Let’s just get this done with and move on….
Ryuna shook her head. “Nope. I needed food to energize me for my fights, and you were saving all the food for the wellers. Pretty easy to figure out what to do at that point.”
More and more faces in the crowd of wellers turned to surprise and disbelief. Their collective image of Ryuna was quickly being shredded to pieces right before their very eyes.
Bron’s eyes finally peeled away, aimed down at the rocky ground below. He let out one weak, lifeless attempt at a chuckle. “So you were using us the whole time.”
That’s how the world works.
At that point, her heart was racing, swept up in the excitement and anxiety of the emotional confrontation. She no longer had time to really think about her words; they were emerging from her lips at breakneck speed. It almost felt as though she was no longer the speaker, and was instead simply another listener. “Yeah, so what? Everyone uses each other. That’s how the world works.”
“What?”
Can’t believe he’s gonna act like he doesn’t know…. Cut the bullshit!
She rolled her eyes. “People use each other. If you want help from someone, you have to have something they want.”
Bron scowled. “We asked nothing of you when we let you stay in the village. You did not have to offer to help with the welling, y-”
“Oh piss off! Don’t act like you guys just let me stick around out of the ‘kindness of your hearts’! You know damn well you were only nice to me because you wanted to fuck me!”
That’s all they ever want….That’s all they ever think I’m good for….
None of the wellers, not even Bron, could formulate a reaction to the tirade Ryuna was going off on. It was almost like her words were bullets that were firing off not just at them, but at targets off in the distance they were unable to see. All they could do was stand there in shock and let the young woman shoot.
“Always waiting by the entrance for me to come back, crowding around me telling me how pretty I am and inviting me out to dinner and handing me gifts and shit! Aren’t most of you married, anyway?!
“And hell, it’s not like I planned to mooch off you or anything! I was supposed to stay at the monastery, but they were full, and I couldn’t just drag my ass back to Ermina or sleep outside in the snow and shit! It was a last minute thing, and it’s over now! We can move on and we never have to see each other again!”
I’m done with these people. I’m getting out of here.
This time, when Ryuna stepped forward, no one stopped her. In fact, the crowd of wellers parted like the sea, letting her through without a word.
As she did, she raised her hand up, offering one final half-hearted wave. It was intended to be a sort of confident dropping of the microphone to capstone a victory, but nothing about Ryuna’s internal feelings made it actually feel like a victory of any kind. It was much more akin to a desperate play to regain her composure, to wipe away the memory of a fumbled ball, and to convince herself she still belonged in the game.
“Thanks for letting me crash, sorry about your loss, and I don’t care if you hate me, so long as you know I’m not some weak little girl or a piece of eye candy! My name is Ryuna, and I’m the baddest bitch you will ever meet!”