Chapter 44: Fall Apart

 "If I'm so important, then why was I left behind?"

 "There are questions I also want the answer to. Why did a Horseman take you in as an apprentice? Why did Enda adopt you? Why did you get chosen by the very same relic that killed your grandfather? How can the woman that forgets all who perish, recall the one responsible for Irminsul's-"

 Landing with a graceful slide and flicker of water, Arisu arrived, her momentum carrying her to the center of the hidden storage room.

 Her white outer layer remained drenched by the ongoing downpour outside and with a flick her wrist, the ridged form loosed into regular robes. She named this outer layer Origami Armor as it resembled folded paper in several ways.

 "Should of known Rider would do something stupid while I was away"

 Announcing her arrival in the most nonchalant way possible, she raised her nose to the roof and began to take in the various smells any normal person would be completely oblivious to.

 "Oh, you're the one that's been stealing my coffee beans"

 "They're berries"

 "Uh huh... What's going on here?"

 "Is it true?"

 I interrupted with little enthusiasm, more confused and hesitant than I had ever been.

 "What is? I told you, I'm not omnipotent. What have you two been talking about?"

 "His mother, and her parents"

 "Really? I find that hard to believe the Duchess of Chronox would do ever do something out of the kindness of her five hollow hearts"

 Arisu immediately flinched at the strangers direct explanation. It was clear they knew each other, and her presence was enough to put my sister on guard. 

 "Conquest gave me valuable information on a potential ally, in return, I was to answer what I could"

 "And what makes you think he's ready?"

 "I simply answered his questions"

 For several seconds I didn't respond. My eyes where fixed on both of them, but my mind might as well be in a separate room. To much information with not enough time to think. Arisu poking my shoulder brought me back to reality.

 "Sorry I just-"

 "No, you don't have to apologize. Listen, when you're a bit older we can talk about her, but right now she's involved in something serious"

 "But I want to know! Couldn't you of at least told me who she was?"

 "She's preparing for war, Touji. Once you get involved with something like that, there is no turning back, not with the Crusade, not with their Inquisition"

 "He can still fight!"

 "Keep that forked tongue in your mouth before I cut it off"

 She looked down at her with a sense of absolute authority.

 All four of her non verbal bodies quickly faded into shadows and gathered beneath her feet, magic, but something entirely different from illusion.

 "Enda won't be able to protect him!"

 "And what exactly do you hope to achieve by telling him about it!?"

 Rage filled Arisu's heart. Despite her clear lack of height, her presence intimidated both of us. She crossed her arms as a air of disappointment surrounded her.

 "I had no choice! She's going to come for him-"

 "ENOUGH!"

 I knew what was going to happen from Arisu's threatening demeanour and position of her hand. Hidden within her left sleeve, she ensured a firm grip on her weapon and I subconsciously grabbed my own relic out of fear.

 "His mother-"

 With one swift motion she cut through her cheek using a shortened dagger configuration and quickly followed up with her free hand shoving something into the transformed hydra's throat.

 A perfect semi circle of blood splattered against the stone floor.

 She screamed in pain, though it seemed her cries were in vain as they echoed around the room searching for empathy that would never come from her assailant.

 Arisu spoke up once again as her tongue hit the ground and light poured from the inside of the stranger's mouth.

 "We both know what you're doing so consider this a warning. Interfere again and I will make sure the rest don't grow back either"

 Pulling her hand back out and to the side, I could see it was chewed to the bone at the base of her fingers. Arisu bit into her lip without a single moan of agony as her own blood pooled on the basement floor.

 "What are you doing?!"

 "I'm stopping someone from recruiting a child"

 "She isn't trying to recruit me! She's just talking!"

 Arisu took out a talisman from within her robes and wrapped it around her hand, seconds later it glowed with white light and it regenerated her missing flesh without any issues.

 While her hand was restoring, flesh and muscle pulled each other together as skin formed over the strangers cheeks.

 Whatever Arisu did prevented her tongue from healing, I suspected it was a trick she picked up by watching it happen to someone else.

 "Touji, please don't raise a weapon against your own family"

 I had subconsciously transformed my relic to match her tachi. An exact replica of her blade and the exact design that I had previously used to cut Rider's quarterstaff in half.

 Anger prevented my sweaty hand from shaking and I wasn't able to nullify the blade I created.

 My voice shook as emotions I had bottled up began to rise to the surface.

 "Don't say that, you're not my family, you even let me find out about my real one"

 "Touji, Enda and-"

 "Stop! Just stop. You named me, told me to follow, get stronger, and for what?! So I can be a pawn to use whenever you like?"

 "That's not true!"

 "I was bait for a fucking noble thirty minutes ago! Was that not your idea?"

 "No tha-"

 "You're lying! I can tell you're lying and you still do it!"

 "Do you have any idea what I've been doing for the past three days? It was for you! No one else!"

 "And did I ask for it?! Any of it?! Is this what you think help is?! Maybe it's different from where you're from, but cutting people's faces open to stop people from learning about their families isn't caring for anyone! It's controlling them..."

 It was only then I realized I had been crying while yelling at her, attempting to plead my case in the only way I knew how.

 "You'll understand when you're older"

 She turned her back to me, shutting herself off from anything else I could say.

 "No, I understand already-"

 As much as I hated it, tears of pain flowed down my cheek while I walked away.

 "-Every deed you do is just another coin you turn in, one by one, to convince yourself that what you're doing is righteous. You're the most selfish bitch in this entire city, and you don't even realize it"

 I gritted my teeth and headed up the stone stairs, passing a surprised Rider and a middle aged man.

 Embarrassed, I lowered my head and pretended to ignore their confusion and worry.

 ***

 Rain washed away my tears to the sounds of another argument emanating from the basement behind me.

 Muffled yelling between Rider and Arisu.

 It pieced the downpour until I walked past the four legged horse sign on the road back to Dragons Mort.

 Deep down I held on the faintest glimmer of hope that the Horsemen would at least help, but in my current sorry state, there was nothing left for me here. My friends would be better off not knowing what just happened, so I did the only thing I could.

 Walk away, feeling completely powerless.

 *Thump*

 Sharp pain traversed up my back as I was hit at a speed that I couldn't react to with enough force to knock me over and grind along the muddy road, scrapping my arms and ripping parts of my gambeson jacket.

 Fear drove my heart to beat the way it did, slowing down the world around me, but it wasn't enough to avoid getting hit and my relic was flung out of my hand and into the grass.

 "Get up"

 Arisu's voice was brimming with anger, kicking my fight or flight instincts into gear.

 I activated the ring on my right hand and recalled my Relic. In one quick motion, I spun my body up while catching my blade and struck horizontally.

 Sparks flickered in the rain as my sword clashed against the very thing it was mimicking.

 Arisu had planted her blade in the ground, using leverage to completely stop retaliatory swing.

 "Is that it? You're just gonna kill me instead?"

 She slapped me across the face, cutting my check with her nails in the process. In the millisecond she hit my face I felt fear and anger course through her veins.

 Whatever this was didn't feel like a test, it felt like punishment. 

 "Did she tell you what side she was on or why she needed allies?"

 "What does that-"

 *Thump*

 In one swift motion she ripped her sword from the ground with a reverse grip and swung for my neck. I barely parred the attack and stuck back with a stab, getting up to my feet in the process.

 Arisu moved slow, slow enough to give me a chance.

 It felt intentional, only that strike would have sliced my neck open.

 She repositioned herself several meters away. Her left foot forward, sword pointed behind, perfect stance for an uppercut. Walking in a semicircle, she spoke up again while waiting to attack.

 "Today wasn't just a test for you, call it being a pawn or whatever you want but know it was War that came up with the idea"

 "What are you saying?"

 *Thump*

 With enough elegance to be considered a dance move, she twirled around while lunging forward, turning her uppercut to an overhead strike in an instant. It was far too quick of an attack to do anything but to use my sword to guide it away with an awkward pose while moving aside and returning a strike from above.

 As if she saw through my exact move ahead of time, she lowered herself with her swing and hit my stomach with Flashfreeze, an advanced disabling spell that creates a clump of water, launches it in a cone to freeze on impact whilst pushing back the victim.

 If I didn't know about the spell favored by the Guardsmen of Tyrants Rest, then I wouldn't have known it's weakness of Greyward, I wasn't sure I could recover in time for a follow up attack.

 However, she simply rose to her feet and waited, watching as I created a layer of smoke around my body.

 Let dust and darkness swallow me whole, let fire and brimstone steal no toll

 This spell was often used to counter fire attacks, an application like this could be considered masterful if I hadn't been learning the ins and outs of defensive spells with Enda. I hadn't mastered it yet, so all I could do was repeat the chant as quickly as possible in my head.

 "Did you even stop to question the idea of that tournament! The timing, the people, anything?!" 

 "So it was another stupid test! Why!"

 "Why?"

 *Thump*

 Arisu charged forward with another attack.

 My relic refused to swap to a weapon better suited against a tachi.

 Best I could do was take a defensive gamble.

 Right foot forward, weapon upward, elbows bent.

 If she wanted, she could end this fight in an instant, but for some reason she lowered herself to my level, which meant I had the advantage on the only thing she lacked. I could only pray it would work and disarm her.

 As soon as she was within range she twisted her waist and aimed for my neck with a horizontal slash. I matched her attack and aimed for the base of her sword, putting all my might into the parry.

 Our swords clashed, she maintained her momentum and released her grip at the last millisecond.

 I should have seen it coming.

 Her open palm hit my chin, breaking a tooth and knocking me down.

 A perfect uppercut.

 The pain was unbearable and blood poured from my mouth. As I moved to cast a healing spell she jumped on top of me, pinning my arms to the side.

 "You're weak! Foolish! And constantly leaving things to chance! If you were on your own, you would have died half a dozen times by now! Don't you get it? All we've done, I've done, is try to get you to a place where you at least choose your own path! But every time I look away-"

 Raindrops clouded my vision to the point where I couldn't even tell she was crying when she spoke.

 "-it's like you're trying to kill yourself"

 I spit blood in response, trying to hold back the pain and yell at the hypocrisy of what she just said.

 Uncontrolled emotions coursed through my body as a desperate attempt to break her grapple.

 Despair, anger, fear, I let it all flow into my left fist.

 She knew I was trying to break free, so I pushed back with my right arm and contorted my legs. I needed an opening to get up and heal.

 "Get off me!"

 Using my right arm and legs, I feinted a swipe to get her to shift her weight. As she moved, I compressed and pushed with my left, causing her arm to buckle and I hit her side with the same technique I failed earlier today.

 This time, it was perfect.

 Arisu let out a hallowing yelp as she was sent flying a few meters onto the muddy road.

 I rose to my feet, expecting a counter attack.

 That attack never came.

 Silence perpetuated by the white noise of heavy rain and occasional thunder.

 She was covered in spots of mud, limp and in the middle on the road.

 "Arisa?"

 No response.

 No movement.

 A fading flicker of intent.