I’d gotten a little too lost in my thoughts and worried her and Kyo. All of a sudden, I found myself thinking about my little sister. She had so much more potential than I did. She was so kind. I wanted to see her again, but I pushed the feelings away and sipped at my cup of tea.
“I was disowned by my family, so the rest of my life is completely up to me. I can live it however I want. To be honest, it’s refreshing—I finally feel free.”
Now that I’d sent my last letter to my family, I was no longer a member of the nobility. I’m sure that made things more convenient for them, but if for some reason they tried to take me back, I was ready to run away.
“Kyo, you could learn from Nack,” said Kiriha. “He lived all on his own. It’s about time you picked up a few more chores.”
“Why would you suddenly choose now to start pointing fingers at me? Are you not following the flow of the conversation or what?!”
“Sooner or later you’re going to have to start waking up on your own,” said Kiriha. “Usato wakes up even earlier than I do.”
“Which just means he wakes up way too early!”
Usato woke up just before sunrise. He said that mornings were when he did his daily training.
Maybe I’ll try and do morning training too. But anyway, I should probably change the subject, for Kyo’s sake . . .
“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it earlier, but I met Halpha before I came here,” I said.
I wanted to tell Kiriha and Kyo about the new side of him I’d discovered. I hoped maybe it might be a chance for them to get along, or . . . at the very least, to talk normally with one another. After I told them what Halpha and I had talked about, Kiriha rested her head on her hands.
“Halpha, huh . . .” she muttered.
“He’s a bit of a weird one when it comes to his pursuit of strength, sure, but he’s a good guy at heart. That’s why I thought maybe you two could try talking to him, get to know him, you know?”
“You just called him a weird one,” said Kyo. “You really know how to subtly put people down, Nack. I mean, he is a weird one, but still.”
I only said that because of that look I saw on his face whenever he got lost in thoughts of his own training. But putting that aside, I felt pretty relaxed around him. I’d gone into our conversation assuming he was little more than a person with a very dangerous fighting style and a personality to match, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“I just . . . I’m not good at dealing with that smile of his,” muttered Kyo, scratching his head.
“Apparently, that’s him doing his best to look friendly to the people around him,” I said.
“Are you for real? His own efforts are totally stabbing him in the back, then. He’s really trying to be friendly with people?”
“Yeah.”
“What the heck?” uttered Kyo. “Now I don’t even know what to do the next time I see him.”
Halpha was aloof and awkward. But all people had sides to them that were surprising or unexpected. I’d learned that from talking with Mina.
“Alright, Nack,” said Kiriha. “We’ll try talking to him like a normal person when we next see him. I mean, we did want someone to talk to in class, right Kyo?”
Kyo let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Fine, fine,” he said. “I’ll try to talk to him as well.”
“Kiriha, Kyo . . .” I said, gratefully.
It made me really happy, even though it wasn’t me they would be talking to. I was glad that Halpha would have people he could chat with, and that Kiriha and Kyo would have a human outside of me and Usato to chat with too.
“Alright, that’s enough talk for now,” said Kiriha. “It’s time to eat. It wasn’t easy to make all of this, so dig in while it’s still hot.”
“Sounds good!” I said.
It dawned on me then that perhaps this might be the last dinner we shared together. It was in this house that I’d learned warmth and kindness. Before, after I’d collapsed in the streets, when I woke up, I was here in Kiriha and Kyo’s house. That had kickstarted my training with Usato. It was all to beat Mina in a battle. Usato had put me through the ringer every session. Afterward, we’d come back here to eat a warm meal. I always felt grateful for Kiriha and Kyo’s kindness.
“Everything’s happening so fast . . .” I uttered.
The time I spent training with Usato now felt like it was just a tiny sliver of time. And yet, through it, I had discovered so many things that were important to me.
“Hey, Nack,” said Kyo. “You’re frozen. What’s up? If you’re not going to eat, I’ll totally take your share.”
The moment my thoughts drifted, Kyo took my food right out from under my nose.
“No way,” I replied. “I’m not going to just give it up. Hey! Why are you taking my plate! That’s my meat!”
“Like I give a damn! The early bird gets the worm, right?”
“Which means you won’t mind if I take your food, right Kyo?” said Kiriha.
Kyo quickly handed me my plate back—clearly scared of his sister—and chuckled, though it looked very awkward to me.
“Uh, I’m sorry Nack. I guess I went a little overboard,” he said. “Here’s your plate.”
It hurt to think that I might never see these two fight like this again. I felt a hole open in my heart. Still, I told myself this wouldn’t be the last time. I knew it wouldn’t be the last time. And yet, parting ways still came with a certain sadness. That was why I wanted to make the most of this evening, so I could leave for the Llinger Kingdom feeling bright and positive.
I felt a huge smile growing on my face as I talked and ate with Kiriha and Kyo.
I’m going to burn this memory into my mind so that I never forget it . . .