Chapter 51: Fighther
1374 Words
The summer cup is right on the corner. It only one week left before the tournament begins. Kaede and her guild demon king army are one of the teams invited to the tournament. Because the team is supposed to hard and train.
But today is different.
Praising the good sunny weather on the game. The five girls decided to sit down and relax. Cloth on laid on the ground and food served from the baskets.
The girls decided to have a picnic.
On the lakeside Ronie and Saya are doing their best fishing. Yuki laying on the ground basking herself in the sun.
“Is it fine for us to relax?”
Worried looking at her friend's easy-going attitude. Clover look at them saying that they're doing the wrong thing. Her eyebrows are meeting each other.
The wind blows gently.
“It feels great...”
“Yuki is so easy going… The tournament is about to come. We should be grinding like the other teams.”
“It's such a waste of time…”
“Waste of time? What do you mean by that? Don’t you want to win the first prize?”
“Of course, I want to win, but it's such a waste. Look at the weather. This type of weather is rare in the game. The atmosphere and everything are different. It's so nice and relaxing. It will be waste of time not to embrace this moment… Am I right Kaede?”
Yuki said and turned her glance to Kaede whose sitting below the tree looking at the beautiful view of the lake.
“I think Yuki is right. Everyone does their best every day. We should have one day to relax. Today is our day off.”
“Well, on the exam I always relax before the day come… Being exhausted will affect your mind.
Clover muttered and lifted her head to the sky.
She saw the blue sky. The light dripping from the sun toward the leaves of the giant tree. The light was filtered down to her eyes. Illuminating the radiant glow.
It's hard to see the sunlight in real life but this game. Looking directly on it reflects all the eight colors right before your eyes.
Clover covers her head with her palm blocking the sunray directly diving on her.
“I think, I should relax for today.”
Kaede and Yuki make a brief smile after that.
Clover walked beside Yuki and lay down like Yuki.
“See it feels great right, Clover?”
Yuki said and turned her head to Clover.
As she turned her head. Clover who just lay down a moment ago is now sound asleep. Her eyes are closed down and she looks like having a great dream.
“Shhhh…”
Kaede said to Yuki.
“... She looks exhausted. Let's wake her up when later.”
Yuki nodded to Kaede.
Yuki stood up and stretched her body upward. She jumps up and down and has some simple exercises.
“Yuki is fit and sexy… I’m envious.”
Kaede commented.
“That’s not true at all. I’m just good at my diet. There are months at which I never eat a single snack or pudding. I always maintain my diet. I eat vegetables too. I hate peppers before but it's really good when you got used to them. My mother always has fish and meat that goes in between every dinner. It made me glad. How about Kaede?”
Kaede averted her eye’s aways from Yuki for a second and turned her eyes back on her.
Simple gestures made Yuki remember that Kaede doesn’t have parents to rely on simple things.
Kaede lives alone in her house. Cooking food, cleaning her room, washing dishes, and more.
“Sometimes I’m not doing great in cooking… I burned some of my meal sometime. I don’t want to put it in a trash can because it will be a waste of money. I eat it. It burned and it's bitter. I laugh after that… But that rarely happened nowadays.”
“Kaede are you eating fine?”
“What’s with that serious face, Yuki? Of course, I’m eating fine. Yuki is amazing… Sticking into the diet is very hard. Many people struggle with it. One one of them, maybe because I’m too lazy to move hehehehe.”
Kaede laughs and makes fun of herself.
But to Yuki, it's quite serious.
“It's not true at all… Kaede is not that lazy. You wash your clothes, Wash your dishes, clean the house, organize the budget for the month, cook your food, lifting heavy grocery bags, doing your best to learn to cook, study and do your homework. You live and fight. Kaede is not lazy at all… Honestly, I rarely do anything in the house. I have too much time and I used it for playing or doing whatever I wanted. I feel bad for my parents sometimes because I’m a bad daughter. I’m not good in school and games are the only thing I’m clinging to. I think Kaede is an amazing person.”
Yuki looks at Kaede’s face.
Kaede’s eyes looking straight at Kaede. Tears come flowing and Kaede’s expression was turned around. She was smiling earlier but that smile is nowhere to be found.
“If you say something like that… I won’t be able to hold my tears you know… I’m crying and it's your fault.”
Panicked and don’t know what to do Yuki struggles.
“Yuki made her cry.”
“She made her cry…”
Saya and Ronie whispered from a far distance.
“Stop crying… I won't apologize for what I said. It's true after all. Kaede is not lazy at all. Kaede is the most amazing person I ever met in my life.”
Yuki is been my friend for a long time, but I never expected her to say something like that in front of me. It's unfair, I can’t put a tough front in this game. This game will make you cry when your feel like crying.
Is Yuki always like this?
I want her to stop.
“Thank you… Yuki… Thank you…”
Some a very long time. Someone said those words to Kaede. Kaede never longed for these words to come to her. Kaede was simply touched hearing it.
It's great to know that someone out there is watching you and respecting you. Complementing her for doing her best.
After that, they have a wonderful lunch together. They fulfilled their stomachs and chat like normal girls. They also come on with a plan for the upcoming tournament.
The moment the clock turned 8:00 PM. Kaede’s team logs out and goes back to their reality.
…
Kaede was laying on her bed.
She took off the headgear on her head and seat down on the bed. Looking in the mirror. Tears were still drifting on her cheeks. She wipe it silently and stood up. She walked to the kitchen and prepared her lunch.
Nothing was heard in the kitchen. The utensils, chopping of vegetables and ingredients. The frying sound of the pan.
The drops of water from the sink.
It was normal for Kaede.
After eating dinner she takes a bath and dips her body on water.
Kaede’s eyes were open but she is not in the mood to see anything. Her mind was somewhere else. Feeling hollowed and empty.
After taking a bath she goes to her room wearing her pajamas. She dives on her bed and looks above the ceiling.
“It's lonely…” Kaede shook her head to clear her thoughts. “… I should not think about much depressing stuff. If this continues I’m the only one who's going to suffer in the end… Tomorrow another day is going to come. I got lots of many friends right now. Many things change. I won’t lose to depression, I’m used to it.”
Being used to depression is sadder. But no one is there to tell her these words.
“I almost forgot my homework!”
Kaede rose and go to her desk. The pile of homework is still on her desk. Kaede started binging her homework.
Kaede is a fighter.
- Writer
