Chapter 18
1423 Words
18
There was nothing like coming home after a long day of class. I thudded my bag down on the shelves at the entrance of my dorm room and walked further in on my socks. “Hello?”
“Over here. Welcome home,” Ryoko called from her side. She was sitting with her legs crossed and a heavy book on her lap, something which Pickles seemed quite envious of.
As soon as the dust bunny noticed my presence, she hopped towards me and scratched at my lower leg. “Hff.”
“Hi, Pickles.” I gave the fluffy ball a scratching behind her ear and tread further into our room. “Hey, Ryoko.”
The Dragon looked up at me, her eyes flickering with gold. “Hey. How are you?”
“Not bad.” I fell down on my bed and fluffed up the pillow so it supported me against the wall. “You?”
“I’m alright.” She looked back at her book, her smile turning into a grimace. “Glad to be home.”
“I can imagine.” I slunk down to the ground and sat opposite of her. Apologies weren’t really a thing in Wind Child culture, but I felt a strong desire to do so anyway. Despite rescuing them from the bunker, I felt like I failed them. If I’d been more competent, they wouldn’t have had to spend so much time down there.
I cast my eyes down in shame. “I… I’m sorry I took so long to come back.”
“Why are you apologising?”
“Because… It’s my fault that we ended down there in the first place. If I hadn’t led us all down into the tunnels, if I hadn’t involved you when Ryuga attacked me, if I wasn’t a Shadow Walker—”
“No.” Ryoko’s usually soft and polite voice suddenly sounded sharp. “Don’t apologise for what you are.”
“But it’s my fault. All the myths say Shadow Walkers bring doom and sadness. You’ve seen all the destruction and sorrow I’ve brought… It’s hard to deny Oda’s death, or Ryuga’s, or what happened to Astrid, to all of us. I’ve brought this upon us.”
My roommate reached across to take my hand, a reassuring gesture that I desperately needed. She smiled at me and whether coincidentally or not, a ray of sun fell through the window and basked us in a warm glow.
“Ylva… You’re not to blame for what happened. One person can’t be responsible for the course of fate.” She released my hand to feed the dust bunny a couple of cotton balls. “Eat up, Pickles. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until I’m back.”
“Back?” I echoed. “Are you going somewhere?”
“It’s the lunar burial tonight.” Her voice rose as she continued. “For Ryuga-sensei.”
“Oh. Right… That.” I didn’t know how to feel about the elaborate burial ceremony they were holding for a man that tried to kill me and my friends. A man like him should be forgotten, erased from history so he ceased to exist, nothing more than a memory.
Ryoko stood up to put her book away. “You don’t agree with our customs.”
“I just don’t get why you’re going to the burial of a man that harmed us.”
“I don’t expect you to understand…”
“Then explain it to me.”
She shot me a sad smile and grabbed the small bag from her desk. “I don’t think I can. I’m sorry, Ylva.”
“Why?”
“Because… Your culture is just so different. I’ll see you later, little bunny.” She gave Pickles a little kiss and coerced her back into her cage. The dust bunny wobbled her nose and flicked her ear as to say goodbye.
“How?”
I followed Ryoko to the exit where she used my shoulder to balance herself to put on her shoes.
She reached for her jacket, the one that got us in trouble with the dusk wolves a while back, and shoved it in her little knapsack. “Your culture celebrates victors and warriors.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing…” She pressed a kiss on my cheek. “That’s just not our way. I’ll be back by sunrise.”
Sunrise? She’d be gone the entire night?
“Hey, wait up.” I jumped in my shoes and hurried after her. Her befuzzled smile made my stomach flutter, which only reinforced my decision. “I’m coming with you.”
“You are? Why?”
“Because I want to understand.” I hurried to her side as we walked through the Valkyrie dorm. I could feel some wandering eyes staring at us, but most students were ignoring me. A step up from all the whispering and gossip a while back.
When she didn’t answer, some doubt bubbled up in me. “I mean, if I’m allowed to come?”
Ryoko chuckled, a sound that was music to my ears. “You’re certainly an odd one, Ylva.”
“Does that mean I can come?”
“Yes, if you really want to.”
I nodded, determined to figure out the beautiful Sun Dragon. I wanted to expand my mind so I could understand her, so there could be more between us than just some stolen kisses and fleeting moments.
She shot me one of those looks I never understood, but they were always accompanied by a bemused smile. “Alright then. You can be my plus one.”
“Plus one?”
Ryoko blushed red. “My guest. I meant, my guest.”
I stopped a smile from creeping up. “Hmm-hmmm.”
With the Dragon blushing away next to me, the two of us exited the dormitory and followed the winding paths away from the main building. The wind played with the trees and grass while we crossed the Valkyrie border and ventured further into Shinigami territory.
There was a chill in the air, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, with the big moon in the sky and the millions of sparkling stars, it was the perfect night to be out. Especially when shared with someone like Ryoko, who was more radiant than the entire night sky combined.
She brought me to the other side of campus, a part of the school grounds I’d never even been to. Between the tall trees and the well-kept bushes, a building hid from plain view. It had a tiled, tilted roof and a wooden patio with lanterns that illuminated the entire scenery. The golden hue from the lights framed the Shinigami dormitory with a welcoming glow that put our building to shame.
“Does it always look like this?” I asked, gesturing to the scene.
“Most of the time,” Ryoko replied. She waved at a group of students standing at the left side of the deck and one of the guys broke away to approach us.
The golden light travelled across his face until he met us at the shaded entrance. He bowed politely, but his voice far from reflected that sentiment. “Ryoko-chan, we’ve been waiting for you. May I ask, why did you bring an outsider?”
“Kurai-san,” she replied, bowing in return. “Ylva has decided to join us for the lunar burial.”
His silver eyes flickered with an emotion I couldn’t place. “My dearest friend, you know it’s frowned upon to invite outsiders to a traditional event.”
I gulped. From what I knew about the Dragons, I should’ve figured that out.
Carefully, I placed a hand on Ryoko’s arm. “I don’t want to get you into trouble. I can leave.”
“No.” She smiled at Kurai again, but I could tell it wasn’t the same kind of smile she gave me. It was polite, stiff, and purely for show. “Ylva-chan is my Sun Bearer.”
“S-Sun Bearer? Chan?” the guy stammered, taken aback. A simple nod from Ryoko had him bowing again, this time much deeper than before. “I understand. My apologies, Hitaro Ryoko. Please follow me, both of you.”
His attitude changed drastically within a minute. As we joined the group of students waiting at the dormitory, they all set in motion and left Ryoko and me trailing behind them.
I leaned towards my roommate, whispering so the others couldn’t hear me. “Sun Bearer? What does that mean?”
Ryoko’s cheeks reddened again. “I’ll explain later.”
I didn’t have time to ask more questions as we arrived at the back of the dormitory, where more Dragons were waiting around a big pyre. Torches surrounded the heap of wood and their flames were dancing in the wind, flickering in a hypnotic way that drew us forward to until I was standing so close, I recognised the features of the deceased.
Master Ryuga looked so peaceful, it was hard to imagine him chasing me through the underground tunnels and inflicting wounds and pain to my friends. His eyes were closed, but I could vividly recall the silver irises that had haunted me in the dark.
“Are you okay?” Ryoko whispered, reaching out to hold my hand. She gave me a reassuring shoulder nudge, drawing my eyes away from the body. “He can’t hurt you anymore. You’re safe now. We both are.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak. I really hoped she was right.
- Writer
