After the city of Studen was far behind them, the group decided it'd be best to stop their cart for a while, to regain themselves they had been up the entire night with no rest.
As they began to set up the camp, Rika said the thing they were all thinking. "So what now?"
They look towards her and she shrugs. "I mean, if they really have Noble lady, what's even the point of going to the city now, no girl means no treasure, and the empire is definetly in a capture them mood now." She says.
Toni raises his hand. "Well actually friend, now that I think about it, me and N got here after all that stuff happened, so they're just after yall." He says.
Dante rolls his eyes at this. "Thanks man."
Toni gives him a thumbs up.
Kaito sits on the ground dropping his body with a heavy thump. "Do we know anything about them?" He asks.
Dante shakes his head. "Not any guild I know about, they aren't in any of my books, so they've gotta be low ranked."
Nanami scoffs at this. "The amount of audacity, what do they even expect to gain from this, it's a war?"
Rika pulls out her expensive pillow and lays it against the cart. "Maybe it's all just for show, could they just wanna see a war?"
Toni laughs. "That'd be the dumbest thing ever."
Rika throws her hands up in playful surrender. "I'm just suggesting stuff man!"
Kaito shakes off all the negativity, "alright guys," when he spoke they turned to him. "How about we clean up and eat, we can think about all this after a meal!"
In the night as they all sat around the fire, Nanami was shifting uncomfortably, Dante ended up noticing since she was sat right next to him. She would jolt every once in a while, and wince here or there.
"The bruises hurt?" Dante asks.
Nanami jumps. "Uhm, yes, I think when I fell I hurt myself more than I thought."
Dante reaches in his bag, pulling out bandages, and other medical supplies. "I have some skill in field medicine," he says before he gets nervous, realizing she needs to take her top off for him to help.
Rika notices and she takes it from him. "Let a fellow lady handle this!" She says before she walks off with Nanami.
The sound of Toni's guitar stops, when Dante looks over at him he's smiling. Dante looks back away.
Rika and Nanami had drifted just far enough from the camp that the chatter faded into faint background noise. Nanami kept fidgeting with the edge of her jacket, tugging it close as if it were armor. Rika just assumed it was the usual shy routine.
"Come on, Nanami, we've gotta patch it up!" Rika called over her shoulder, trying to sound casual.
Nanami hesitated, her weight shifting from one foot to the other. "I…I don't know…" She took a half-step back, but a sharp pulse of pain stole her breath and dropped her right to her knees.
Rika hurried to her side, and when she realized Nanami wasn't going anywhere, she let a small, teasingly smug smile creep onto her face. That look alone made Nanami fold inward, her head dipping, ears drooping at the sides in embarrassment.
"It's just a quick look," Rika said, more gently this time. She reached for the hem of Nanami's shirt. "Promise I'll be fast."
But when she lifted the fabric, all the air left her lungs.
"Oh…" The sound was barely a whisper. "This must've been…."
She couldn't finish. The words jammed in her throat.
Nanami didn't answer. She only let out a soft, uncertain murmur, as if she wanted to disappear into the dirt beneath them.
The brand on her back was unmistakable, the noble family's crest burned into skin as if the flesh itself had been forced to remember. A mark reserved for one thing only: slaves
Rika swallowed hard. Her silence stretched a moment too long, and she felt Nanami shrinking under it.
"H…hey," Rika blurted, forcing a shaky grin. "This little mark? It doesn't mean anything."
Nanami looked back over her shoulder, unsure, searching.
Rika steadied herself and tried again, softer this time. "Empire folk can be cruel. But you're free now, yeah? And I'm not gonna ask about your past. I, uh…" She scratched her cheek. "I've got my own scars I don't like poking at. So. I get it."
Nanami let out a small laugh. "You're terrible at this."
Rika slumped with a groan. "I know. Kaito's the one who actually knows how to talk." She peered closer at the injury. "And, uh… since the worst cuts are around the brand… Dante's gonna have to handle this part."
Immediately Nanami tensed, her tail curling tight, shoulders bunching.
Rika caught her hand before she could recoil again. Her grip was warm, steady, and surprisingly gentle for someone who fought like a storm.
"Hey," she murmured. "Listen. I promise the guys won't judge you."
There was something in her voice, earnest, unpolished, almost clumsy, that shouldn't have been convincing at all. And yet, Nanami felt something in her chest loosen just a little.
She didn't know why.
But she trusted her.
Following Rika back to the camp she held her hand, Rika's small hand in her own gave her comfort.
Rika plopped down beside Dante. "We're gonna need your expertise here."
Dante seemed confused, until Nanami had also shown the rest of them her back. They all fell silent for a moment, not Kaito however who blurted. "Why'd everyone get so quiet, does that mark mean something?"
Dante awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "It's uhm, a mark of ownership, it shows she's a…" he looked at Nanami, she gave a quick nod, saying without words, it's fine if he says it. "Means she was a slave."
Toni looks around at the group of them a little bothered. "I ain't think you fellas was into that stuff."
Rika whacked him. "We wouldn't buy her idiot!" Rika shouted but then turned back. "No I didn't mean that, we would totally buy you you're cool!" She then looked hastily around. "Wait no we-"
Dante clasped a hand on her mouth. "I'll handle your scar Nanami."
As Dante patched her up Rika continues her explanation on What a slave is to Kaito. Of course, this didn't go over well with the boy. He couldn't fathom the idea of a person actually attempting to OWN another human being.
They all made sure to ensure Nanami this didn't change how they saw her at all. She was still gonna be their nerdy companion through all of this.
Kaito however felt a bit different about it, Nanami had shown them something she was ashamed of. A piece of her past she thought she'd never show.
But here he was still actively hiding something from them, in fear for what it could do to their relationship with one another, was it fair for him to hide this from them.
Though he ultimately decided, it was too great a risk, and they ended up sleeping for the night instead.
The night was quiet, save for the soft whisper of a cold breeze and the distant chirping of crickets. Dante lay in his tent, restless, the weight of the silence pressing on him. He couldn't seem to find peace in it, his thoughts tangled and unsettled.
He finally couldn't take it anymore. With a sigh, he swung his legs out of the sheets, and padded softly into the woods. The chill of the night air hit him like a wave, but it didn't seem to bother him, nothing really did, not in this moment. He needed a break from the silence, from his own mind.
Kaito stirred in his own tent, his senses sharp, as if he knew Dante wouldn't stay in his room for long. Without a word, Kaito followed him into the woods, sitting down next to him on the cold floor.
Dante glanced at him, a faint trace of relief in his eyes, as if he'd been waiting for this. "Hey Kaito?"
Kaito tilted his head, blinking sleepily but with that familiar calm smile. "What's up, Dante?"
Dante let out a long, shaky breath, unsure of how to even begin. His gaze dropped to the floor, then back to Kaito, as if trying to gather the courage to ask the question that had been nagging at him for days. "Would you ever... want to start a guild with me one day?"
Kaito paused, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Why bring this up so suddenly?" he asked, a trace of concern in his voice.
Dante hesitated, swallowing hard. It wasn't easy for him to admit this. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the thoughts away that made him feel small. Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet but laced with something deeper. "I was just thinking… you're… you're so amazing, Kaito. You don't hesitate in a fight, you're strong, you make everything look easy. You always know what to do. And me? I feel like I'm just... trying to keep up." His words hung in the air, thick with a quiet kind of sadness, the kind Dante never wanted to admit was there.
Kaito studied him for a moment, his smile softening. "I never really thought about a guild before," Kaito said, his voice steady. Dante's heart sank, but Kaito wasn't done. "But... I could see it. I could see it with you."
Dante's head snapped up, hope flaring in his chest. "Really? You could see it?"
Kaito's eyes met his, and there was something in them, something that made Dante feel like the weight on his chest wasn't so heavy anymore. "Why wouldn't I want to start a guild with you? You're more than enough. You don't have to be like anyone else, Dante."
"But you're... you're like actually cool," Dante mumbled, almost to himself, as if the thought made him feel even more insignificant. "I'm just... well, I'm just me."
Kaito shook his head, the gesture gentle but firm. "That's enough," he said, his voice warm. "You're great at being you, Dante."
Dante's heart swelled, the simple truth of Kaito's words cutting through his doubts. He smiled, the weight in his chest easing, even if just for a moment. "Thanks, Kaito. I think... I think I can sleep now."
Kaito chuckled softly. "Goodnight, man."
Dante nodded, his smile lingering as he rose to head back to his tent, the night suddenly feeling a little less cold.
Kaito stood still for a moment, watching Dante disappear into the campsite, before he quietly stepped out into the night. The cold air bit at his skin, but he barely noticed it. His mind was a thousand miles away, wrapped in thoughts of expectations, pressure, and the constant weight of his own doubts.
He didn't even realize when he crossed the barrier, just kept walking. He needed to get away, needed space to breathe, to clear his head. But more than that, he needed to be better. He couldn't keep pretending he was fine with where he was. Not anymore.
Everyone always thought so highly of him, and that was the problem. He couldn't understand why. They saw something in him that he couldn't even see himself. He felt... stuck. Why did they think he was something special? All he saw were cracks, places where he was falling short. He wasn't the hero they imagined. He wasn't even close.
All that came to mind was how utterly unimpressed his fathers eyes were. Whenever he made the smallest mistake, any error being shown was another disappointment to him.
Kaito clenched his fists as he stood in the quiet night, trying to summon fire. The crackling warmth he'd come to know so well... only nothing came. Instead, a gust of wind whipped through his fingers, sharp and erratic. He growled under his breath, frustration rising like a tide. He turned the focus inward, reaching for the wind instead. "I've got this." But the magic surged with the wrong energy, solid earth shot up from the ground instead, jagged and heavy.
"How much magic can I even use at this point?" he muttered to the night. He didn't know. He couldn't keep track of it anymore. He didn't know when it would stop, when his body would snap, or if he'd ever control it. The new elements felt like an endless flood, unpredictable and wild, and each time they pushed through, he felt like he was being stretched thinner and thinner.
He was trying to master them, but it felt like trying to hold water in his hands, everything slipping through his fingers.
The hours bled into each other, the only sound being the heavy breath in his chest as he practiced under the stars. The cold wind bit at his skin, but he didn't care. Every failure felt like a chain, dragging him down. He needed to get this right. He needed to get this right. Not for himself, for everyone else. They were counting on him. They saw him as something he couldn't even grasp. They needed him to be stronger. To be better.
"I did it with the hunter, why not now!" Frustration clawing at him
By the time he finally managed to summon wind with some semblance of control, he collapsed onto his back, staring up at the dark sky. His breath came in uneven bursts as he looked up at the stars, trying to find a way to make sense of all of this.
"Am I even doing any of this right?" Kaito whispered into the quiet night, his voice carrying the weight of his frustration and confusion. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to push away the gnawing feeling of inadequacy. "I just don't know... everyone thinks I'm this awesome fighter. They think I've got it all together. But I don't. I'm just trying to keep them safe. I have to be better for them."
His thoughts returned to the fight from earlier that day, the helplessness he felt when he couldn't protect them the way he wanted to. It stung more than any wound could. He had to do more, be more. He needed to be stronger, faster, smarter. If he could just be better, he could protect them all.
The cold breeze washed over him again, and a flicker of something softer hit him—something he didn't want to face. His mom. The memory of her voice, her wisdom, her steady presence. How he missed her.
He let out a shaky breath, a nervous smile showing.. "I wish I had one of your talks right now, Mom," he whispered, his voice raw with longing. It felt like an ache deep in his chest, something he didn't know how to fix. The feeling of missing home, of needing guidance, of wishing he didn't have to carry all of this on his own.
He rubbed his face with a tired hand and pushed himself up from the ground, his muscles protesting. But there was no time to rest. The night wasn't for rest. It was for action, for pushing forward, for trying to find the strength that always seemed to slip away from him.
Kaito walked back to the campsite, the stars still burning overhead. He didn't have all the answers. But he would keep fighting. He had no other choice