Strike! ストライキ

Chapter 18: Keys' Tears!

F I R S T   A R C : B E G I N! [ Opening: Wonderful World by FUNKIST ]

Special OST: Farewell (Queen Ninomiya)

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Chapter 18: Keys' Tears!

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"Status report."

The cold, stoic voice echoes through the radio. Leon put it up to his lips.

"The hostiles have been taken care of."

He kicks the body of the large man, who lays unconscious, his back against the door they had crawled out of to make sure he would not wake up.

"Rats," he spat under his breath.

The other person, a girl, is slightly obscured as the explosion has knocked her into the bushes near by. Leon walks over towards her and pulls her from the bush, his eyes snapping open in shock. She...she had violet hair and familiar features. The memories come flooding back in a painful torrent. He stumbles backwards slightly, his eyes never leaving her face. If he wasn't sure that this was a girl he would have mistaken her for him. The Caravala Prince. Even just looking at this girl he feels sick to his stomach.

"What should we do with them, Captain Lionhart?"

He stares at the girl for a long moment before turning away, nausea burning in the pit of his stomach.

"Put them in for transport."

                                                                             ๑۞๑

The explosion had caught me off guard. It vibrates through my whole body, the dirt ceiling falling in clumps. I know i'm going to be buried alive if I don't move. I go backwards but the way we had came from is blocked by dirt that had collapsed from the rumbling the explosion caused. The only other way to go is left, the way that Karvella had blatantly ignored. I crawl swiftly on my knees through the narrow passage. The ground is uneven and rocks jam into my knees through the thin fabric of my torn pants. My knee lands in wetness but I keep going. A sharp object clutched in my grasp stabs into the flesh of my palm so I slip it into my pocket.

There is a crack of light at the end of the tunnel. I sigh in relief when I see it. I try to push it open with my hand but it's rusted shut, and only creaks slightly. I lay onto my back and push it with my feet. Once, twice and three times before it gives way and I stumble into a well lit room. I hear someone gasp and stand up. Rubbing my head, I sit up and moan.

"You!"

I recognize the voice and look up to see Rui or as I now knew him, Prince Keys Ninomiya. He stood in front of a large bed with golden tapestries hanging above it with intricate patterns. Toys were strewn about, almost untouched. I stand up, standing eye level with Prince Keys. He kind of has a glare set on me but his mouth is open and his eyebrows are pressed together in a confused way.

"W-Why are you here?"

He tries to sound angry but I can tell that he's more surprised than anything else. I sank down onto my knees and begin to realize what had happened. Keys walks over to the door and shuts it before coming a bit closer to me.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Karvella...Ryuga..."

My voice is hardly over a whisper because I can't breath. The thought of explosions threw my mind into a panic that I had never been conscious of. My body trembled as if I was cold but there was a warm spring breeze flowing in from the window.