After
that, I returned to my little house on the hill to rest. To be alone.
Even back then, I was more resilient than I looked, and I would be
able to heal pretty quickly on my own, so there was no need to stay
at the hospital once I knew Blue was going to be okay. When I woke up
in the morning, the wounds on my body would be healed...
...but
what about the wounds on my heart?
As
I laid there, awake, I could do nothing but lament my mistakes. My
sins...
It's ruined. Everything is ruined. Trace... why did you have to find out about me? Why did I have to find out about you? Why did I have to have such a horrible secret? Why would you go on to do a horrible thing, like I did? Not fair... It's not fair! Am I really cursed to never find any real happiness? Am I really not allowed to have even one friend in this world?
It's ruined. Everything is ruined. Trace... why did you have to find out about me? Why did I have to find out about you? Why did I have to have such a horrible secret? Why would you go on to do a horrible thing, like I did? Not fair... It's not fair! Am I really cursed to never find any real happiness? Am I really not allowed to have even one friend in this world?
“What's
the matter?”
A
feminine voice spoke into my head. I had a decent idea of what this
was.
“Who's
there?” That's what I ended up “saying” back.
“So,
you can hear me? Good. I was right to think that we share a Birth
Star.”
I
had heard of that before. That this invisible spirit would come to
me, saying that... “You're a Magic Knight Force, aren't you?”
“Yes,”
she “said”, “specifically, I'm Flèche, the Blade
Archer. Nice to meet you.”
“I
assume you want to join up?”
“Right.”
“I
don't know...”
“Ah,
that's not good... I was going to offer to heal your wounds, but it
seems you don't need my help with that. Still, though, you seem to be
'hurt'... Can I help?”
“It's
kind of hard to explain. The gist of it is, I lost a friend, today.”
“Sorry
to hear that,” Flèche “said”, sincere. “Did you get
into a fight?”
“Something
like that.”
“I
see. Well, if you smooth things out as soon as possible, everything
will be fine.”
“But
it's not that simple!”
“Er...”
For the first time since our conversation started, she seemed
confused. “You have to make it simple, then. She's your only
friend, isn't she?”
“Well,
I--”
“If
you don't do something now, you're going to regret it for the rest of
your life. You reached out, and she took your hand, right? Why make
it any more complicated than that?”
She
was right. It really didn't matter if I didn't think I deserved to be
Trace's friend anymore. What was important was that I needed her...
Was I really going to just let her slip away? “You... You're
right. I get it.”
Somehow,
I could feel Flèche's spirit lift. “There we go! Come, let's go
now. Let's find her.”
And
so, without a second thought, I pulled my shoes on to find Trace.
However, just as I opened the door to leave...
“Cleo...”
She was standing right there.
“Trace...”
“Cleo,
can we talk?” She asked me.
“Right
now, there's nothing else I'd like more.” I invited her into my
house.
We
both sat on the floor for a second, saying nothing. We just stared
for a moment in complete silence. I think, in that moment, I realized
how truly awkward this was.
“...Trace,
I'm a vampire.”
I
just blurted it out, suddenly.
“It
makes sense,” she said, just as unexpectedly.
“You
believe me!?” It would have been troublesome to explain if she were
more skeptical, but still!
“I've
experienced it first hand,” Trace said, pointing to her neck,
“remember?” I could still see where I bit her.
“Trace,
I'm so sorry I put you through that...” Knowing that there would be
nothing wrong with it, with there just being us here, I just let the
tears flow. “I'm so sorry you had to experience that... I should
have been able to stay in control, I just waited too long to feed,
and... and...” By this point I had taken Trace in my arms, hugging
her tight, sobbing like a little child... “I'm sorry... I'm
sorry... I'm sorry...”
“I
forgive you.” In response, all Trace said was that.
“What?”
“Like
you said, you lost control because you weren't drinking enough blood,
right? You can't help that,” she said, with a bittersweet smile. “I
have to be able to forgive you, otherwise it'd make me a hypocrite.”
"So that girl in the park really was... oh my God... Trace,
why?”
“Even
I don't know why, now.” She looked away. “I remember, I used to
hate that girl. Hated her so much I wanted to kill her, but that
night... that night, she seemed like she was trying to apologize to me,
Cleo. To fix things. I don't know if she was just messing with me some more, or if
she was really trying to be friendly. Even if only so that I could
know for sure, I would do anything to take it back...” Trace held
her head in her hands. “but I can't turn back time... I can never
make what I did better, ever. I killed someone for no reason...”
A tear ran down from one of Trace's eyes. “Cleo, what am I supposed to do?”
Again,
I embraced her. “Trace, don't cry. Even if no one else forgives
you, I will.”
“But...”
“It's
twisted, you know?” I said, cutting her off. “I have to forgive
you, and you have to forgive me. We're like sisters in sin. It's just
another part of the bond that unites us.”
“Cleo...”
I did tell her not to cry... I guess it couldn't have been helped.
“Come
on, Trace,” I said, wiping her tears away, “I forgive you. I
always will. If it's not enough, then I will forgive you more and
more... for anything and everything. Always.” I smiled at her,
holding her face in my hands. “So, please. Don't cry.”
Without
saying anything, she allowed herself to be held by me. We only stayed
that way for a moment, but it felt like an eternity, to me...
“Thank
you, Cleo.”
“You,
too.”
“...and
of course, this stays between us.”
“Of
course.”
So,
we continued sitting in silence for a while.
She's so warm... wait. Wait, what?
She's so warm... wait. Wait, what?
“...wait,
Trace, why didn't you turn!?” I couldn't believe that that had
slipped my mind! It was probably the thing I should have noticed
first, but I got caught up in everything else.
“O-oh...”
Trace was just as confused as I was, it seemed. “W-well... why
didn't the murder victims all turn?”
“I
sucked them all completely dry. If there's nothing left, they won't
turn into a vampire no matter how much venom there is!” I wondered
if I should be telling her this at the time, but at the same time, I
felt she had a right to know. “I only bit you and drank some blood,
but you were still alive when I left you, and you're still alive,
now! Not only should you have died from the venom, you should be a
vampire, right now!”
“Wha...
wow, that's... hm.” Trace brought her hand to her chin, thinking.
She
really doesn't know!?
“Hmm...
wait, what? What did you say?” All of the sudden, Trace started to
speak, but...
“I
didn't say anything.”
“No,
not you, Cleo.” I was confused. Who else could she have been
talking to? At the time, I had no clue.
“Trace,
what are you doing?”
“Grey
says that our link is keeping the venom from killing me. As long as
we stay in contact, his mana can keep me from dying and turning...
right?” She went on listening to a voice I couldn't hear.
“Who's...”
“Wait...
she has Grey!?”
“Flèche,
what? I don't understand.”
“Cleo,
use your senses. I'm sure you can feel it.”
I
sent a small amount of mana out around me, far enough to touch
Trace's aura. It was very easy with Flèche helping me. I didn't even
need to Convert. “I do feel something.”
“Another
Magic Knight Force, Cleo!”
“Interesting.”
“Lucky...
I know Grey, Cleo! This is great!”
“Oh,
wow. That's wonderful. So, are you two, like--”
“Oh,
you too, Cleo?” Trace eventually asked me.
“You
can tell?”
“Kind
of,” she said, laughing. “So you're like Grey and me. This is so
cool!”
“Even
better,” I said, “if you can use your Magic Knight Force to stave
off the effects of the venom, then maybe I can, too! Right?”
“Of
course.”
“Yes!”
This was probably one of the best things that could have ever
happened to me! “I don't have to be a bloodsucker anymore!”
“Awesome!”
And
so, the rest of the night was like that. Trace and I were friends
again, brought back together as if by a miracle, and everything was
good...
...
When
I woke up the next morning, Trace was knocking at my door. When I let
her in, she seemed to be in a much better mood than yesterday, or
ever before.
“Mornin'!”
As she walked into the house, I noticed she was carrying two books.
One of them looked like some kind of comic.
“What
are you reading?”
Trace
seemed to have been trying to read both of them at once... “Oh?
This is Outsider.”
“Oh...”
I'd heard of the book before. It's about time travel. I turned the TV
on while we just sat around. I just sort of talked about random
things, while she spoke back, looking at her book. After an hour, she
put Outsider down.
“Done.
This is the best book I've ever read. You should read it, Cleo.”
“I
dunno, I'm not much of a reader...”
“Come
on, Cleo. I'll let you borrow mine.”
As
we started to talk about it, Something on the TV caught my
interest... A commercial. Scenes from a movie showed on screen.
“I dreamt about a girl... Who is she...?” “Gacht... I'll protect you...” “I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. We don't have a son...” “Outsider... you do not belong here...” After that fancy advertisement, the screen read: “Now Playing”.
“I dreamt about a girl... Who is she...?” “Gacht... I'll protect you...” “I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. We don't have a son...” “Outsider... you do not belong here...” After that fancy advertisement, the screen read: “Now Playing”.
“...I
could just go see the movie, right?”
Trace
smiled. “Actually, that sounds like a lot of fun! I was gonna go
see that, now we can go together. It's gonna be awesome, Cleo! I
swear...” She went on and on...
“Okay,
okay, Trace... Let's go see it.”
“Let's
go right now!” She grabbed the comic she had, then pulled me out of
my seat...
“W-wait,
Trace! Let me get dressed...” It was funny to watch Trace get so
psyched over this. She usually seemed a bit more reserved. Anyway,
within an hour, we were out the door and on the bus to the closest
theater... The whole time, Trace was reading that comic she had...
“You're
still reading?”
“Uh...
Yeah. This is MajitsuShiro. The first volume came out today, so
decided to pick it up. I like it.”
“...what's
it about?” I asked, having never heard of this comic before...
“Well,
so far, Shiro, the main character has learned magic from his adoptive
father, and he wants to become a hero of justice... It's off to a
good start.”
“Sounds
cool,” I replied. That did sound like something fun to read.
“Mm-hm.
A hero of justice...” She mumbled to herself. Trace seemed to be
deep in thought all of the sudden, so I decided not to bother her. A
few minutes later, we arrived at the theater.
So
we watch the movie. Outsider was about a girl from the future who
went back in time to protect a man named Gacht, who was part of a
mysterious person's master plan. I enjoyed it... or I would have,
if Trace wasn't complaining about every. Single. Thing.
“That's
not what's supposed to happen! Why would they change that?!” She
kept whispering these things the whole time, making it hard for me to
enjoy the film as it was... After the movie, we talked about it a
little.
“Well...
I liked it well enough...”
“That
was terrible,” Trace said, frowning.
“Oh,
come on, Trace...”
“I'm
serious! Characters weren't acting like they should have, plot
details were missing, they ruined a perfectly good story!”
I
sighed... If we stayed on the subject of this movie much longer, the
day would be ruined. “I'm sorry Trace.”
“Ah,
what are you apologizing for?”
“I'm
the one who suggested we see this.”
“Look,
it's just... Oh, forget about it, Cleo. Let's go do something else.”
I
was okay with that. “Headed Downtown?”
She
nodded. “It's about lunchtime. Let's find somewhere to eat.”
So
we got on a bus to Downtown. Trace was still reading MajitsuShiro...
Guess she really liked it.
Anyway, when we got off the bus, something odd happened...
“That's my purse!”
Anyway, when we got off the bus, something odd happened...
“That's my purse!”
“Huh?”
“What
was that?”
Someone
screaming somewhere nearby... “I don't know you!” Trace ran.
Wait,
where is she going? “What are you—”
“Come
on! It came from this direction!”
So... was she going to see what's happening?
“Someone's getting robbed! We can help!”
So... was she going to see what's happening?
“Someone's getting robbed! We can help!”
She's
going to try and stop the robber!? “Are you sure, Trace? It's
dangerous! Wouldn't you rather leave it to the police!?”
She
smacked her forehead with her palm... “NO! Goddammit, the cops
aren't going to do anything! Where were the cops when all those
murders were going on!? Where were the cops when... anything
happened!? Forget them, they can't get anything done!”
She
was right, but... “I'm still not sure if we should get involved.”
“...fine.
If you're not going to help me, I'll deal with it myself.” She ran
off...
“Freaking...
Trace, wait up!” We ran towards the direction of the scream, and
arrived just in time to see the robber get kicked in the groin...
He
fell down in pain. “Ugh, you stupid bitch... You asked for it!”
He started glowing...
You've
gotta be kidding me.
“Mystic
Coat!” The robber would be a Magic Knight like us. Of course. He
was soon covered in magic armor...
“That's
his Mystic Coat.” I heard Flèche speak into my mind.
“What's
that?”
“It
makes the user stronger and faster, but most of all, more durable.
It's the armor the Magic Knights wore long ago.”
As
I listened to this explanation, Trace had already shouted, “Mystic
Coat!” and begun to fight. The crowd forming around us was shocked
and amazed to see all this going on.
“Can
I use yours?”
“Of
course. Mystic Coat!” I was covered in a beautiful suit of
magical armor that gave off an otherworldly glow. A light suit of armor, with a breastplate. There was also suddenly a bow and arrow in my hands.
“I hope you know how to use it.”
I smiled nervously.
“I hope you know how to use it.”
I smiled nervously.
“Me, too...” I drew the bow, and an arrow magically manifested in its proper place. I took aim, and let the arrow fly. I got the robber right in the back. His Coat faded and he fell to the ground...
A
cop finally showed up much later. Trace was right. There was no way
the cops could have dealt with this. He handcuffed the robber and
read him his rights.
The
robber started shouting something... “What else am I supposed to
do!? This is all your fault! Ever since CORE was brought down, I've
had nowhere to go!” As he was pulled away, he continued to shout at
the officer. “I blame YOU! I blame you, this country, and everyone
in it!!!”
What
is he talking about... While I thought, I felt a tap on my
shoulder.
“Let's
get outta here before they start asking us questions.” Trace, now
back to normal, said this and started to walk off, gesturing for me
to come with her. As we walked, I asked:
“Trace,
what was he talking about...?”
She
thought, then answered, “You weren't told about when CORE took over
Central City?” I shook my head. “I wouldn't be surprised if you
don't remember. We were babies when it happened.” My school hadn't taught this, at the time. Maybe Trace learned about it from her parents...
“So
what happened?”
“Hm,
where to start... Do you know about a novel called Kingdom of
Fear?”
“I've
heard of it, but...” I actually didn't know much, back then. It
was pretty hard to get any real information on it in The Center back
in those days, and I wasn't really all that interested.
“Oh,
well,” Trace said, shrugging, “the details aren't all that
important. Just know that a popular interpretation of the book was
that it was Anti-Central propaganda. In 1985, some time after Kingdom
of Fear was published, Charles Freeman, the author of that book, was lynched in the
city streets by a paranoid mob, while the enforcement just looked
on...
"Tensions between the citizens who were happy to see him gone, the ones angered by his horrible fate, and the officials that sat back and watched it happen rose. The government managed to bring this to a stop, but an organization called CORE took advantage of the flames created by the anger, fanning them, getting disillusioned people to work in the shadows. Eventually, they took over Central City, aiming to control the entire world. In 2000, they were finally brought down by a group of heroes that stood against them...”
"Tensions between the citizens who were happy to see him gone, the ones angered by his horrible fate, and the officials that sat back and watched it happen rose. The government managed to bring this to a stop, but an organization called CORE took advantage of the flames created by the anger, fanning them, getting disillusioned people to work in the shadows. Eventually, they took over Central City, aiming to control the entire world. In 2000, they were finally brought down by a group of heroes that stood against them...”
“Oh...
sounds kinda scary.”
“It
probably was. Anyway, CORE was brought down, and pretty much everyone
who was a part of this little incident in any way has been treated like a criminal. I guess that
guy was one of the people who got suckered in...”
"I see." Knowing this, I kinda felt bad for him.
“Come on, let's not talk about this stuff,” Trace said, grinning at me. “We just did something awesome. Let's celebrate!” I started to smile, myself. We looked around for somewhere to eat...
"I see." Knowing this, I kinda felt bad for him.
“Come on, let's not talk about this stuff,” Trace said, grinning at me. “We just did something awesome. Let's celebrate!” I started to smile, myself. We looked around for somewhere to eat...
...
We
ended up at Mario's Oven, a pizza joint. Trace told me she rarely
eats here and was excited that I chose it.
“So they have different powers...”
“So they have different powers...”
“Hm?”
Trace spoke, but I couldn't reply because my mouth was full at the
moment.
“You
used a bow, I've got something called WarMaster that makes me better
at using weapons. It's kinda cool, isn't it?” I nodded.
Later,
while waiting for the bus, I said, “We make a good team, y'know?”
“...”
“Trace?”
She
stared at me, and let me know she was serious. “Hey, Cleo... I've
got an idea.”
“I'm
listening.”
“I
know how I'm gonna make up for my sins... I'm gonna be a hero of
justice.”
“What?!”
“I'm
serious! Listen... I can't bring back the dead, but with my powers, I
can save people from death, right? I'm gonna save people's lives...
to make up for the one I've taken.”
I
didn't know what to say to this... “Trace, I don't know. Sure, we
stopped a robber, but what if something more dangerous appears? Are
you afraid of... getting hurt or dying?”
“Of
course I am!” Trace shouted. “I know it will be hard and
dangerous, and I know I might die... but if I can't be a hero who
atones for what I've done, I wouldn't be able to live with myself,
anyway...”
“Trace...”
She
looked at me again. “Cleo. I need to ask something of you.” I
nodded. “Will you help me do this?” I knew she was going to ask
me that.
“Of
course.” I said it without thinking. Trace is right... I've hurt
people, and I hurt her, too... The least I could do is help her.
Besides... “We're friends, right?”
That
day, we became heroes. From tomorrow onward, Trace would show up at
my place, bringing different weapons with her (still don't know how she gets them). We'd hang out in different places in the city,
while at the same time patrolling around for any criminal activity.
We
did this until summer's end, when I made sure to start attending Lost
Angel High along with Trace. We would attend school whenever
possible. After school, we would continue to do our usual patrol. We
did this for three years, and our effort has payed off... The crime
rate in Dreamer's City has decreased dramatically.
I
hadn't seen Blue once during those three years... We ended up going
to different schools, and I hadn't heard from him once. As time
passed, I came to the conclusion that Blue had forgotten about me and
I would never see him again. I decided to push him to the back of my
mind and give being a Magic Knight everything I had. It seemed like
Trace had already started to forget about Blue, and over time, so did
I.
At
the beginning of this school year, I woke up, got dressed, and went
outside. I was expecting everything to go just as it always had. When
I got on the bus, however, a huge surprise came my way. He was
older, and a little different looking, but I saw him again.
You...
Azul Ryukawa...
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