Chapter of Crow: Episode 2-8

-𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 — 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝-

With all your strength, you strike at Kenji's heart.

Memories flash in your mind, taking you back to the cherished days that shine bright…

-𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐞 — 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭-

The sun shines its golden rays upon the bustling Regalia Shopping District on the Queen’s Isle. The morning dew on the grass and trees evaporate under the sun’s warm light and among the men, women, and children walking back and forth from shop to shop.

Outside the tailor’s shop, you stare at the regal dresses hung on the rack—they span every bright color, from navy blue to snow white.

Except one. That one! A feathery black dress. Stars shine in your eyes.

A firm hand grips your shoulder.

KENJI

「Come on, Crow.」

You hear Kenji, but you don’t listen. He bends over to stare at the dresses with you.

KENJI

「The black one?」

You nod your head as your life depends on it.

KENJI

「It looks too heavy and too cumbersome with too much fabric. You’ll barely be able to move in that, which is fatal in our profession.」

YOU

「But...」

You look down at your skimpy, linen white blouse, and dull brown pants. You picture yourself wearing that dress, spinning around and kicking your legs in the air in Kenji’s Forest as the animals jump and play with you.

KENJI

「No buts. Let’s go.」

You look reluctantly at the window one last time as Kenji drags you away like a pet.

-𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐞 — 𝐏𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩-

A crescent moon replaces the sun in the warmth of night, faintly lighting up the sheet of darkness wrapped over Queen’s Isle.

On the island's outskirts, in a hidden cove, you silently approach a camp nestled on the beachside. The crashing of waves silences your steps as you shift through the stand and lurk behind a wooden crate. The dim flicker of a campfire lights your path.

THERE! You discover your target.

It's the jewel ring on that table, right? The one the client told you she needs back.

But five pirates sit around the table, guarding the ring and other plundered treasure collected on the table, at their feet, and even on their laps. A mess of riches. You couldn’t possibly grab all that treasure, but maybe a few gold doubloons for—

The pirates’ drunken laughter disrupts your thoughts. Each pirate, huge and gross and sweaty, wildly swings mugs of ale—ew!—as they laugh and boast of their crimes and their kills.

Facing you, two pirates have daggers in holsters on their waists; one pirate lazily holds a musket in his free hand, and another pirate sits nestled against a bloodied longsword dug into the sand.

The lone fifth pirate with his back turned at you looks unarmed, but you can’t be sure.

Options…like Kenji taught you…

A sneak attack? That could work. You could cut the possibly one dagger pirate’s throat and throw shurikens at the pirates with the musket and longsword—dangerous weapons Kenji has warned you about. And you could strike the last two before they could react.

Sounds easy, but requires perfect execution… What if I miss?

Kenji said you only strike when you are absolutely sure. Surviving is the first priority.

What to do? What would Kenji do? He said the most important thing a hunter needs is patience.

I should be patient and wait for them to go to sleep. At least some of them. But it could take hours; you can’t wait that long.

Physical strength, hydration, and alertness for someone well-trained like you are not a problem. The problem is that you can’t go home too late. Kenji will rip you in half!

Maybe you won't be allowed to eat for days afterward. He’d be furious.

After all, this is your first time on a dangerous mission like this…alone.

And the price of failure on the job is death. You know that very well.

But you care more about not letting Kenji down. Will he be upset? If you succeed, you prove yourself worthy. But if you fail…

Bah, don't think about that.

Finish the mission perfectly, grab the ring and some gold doubloons, and go home alive, no matter what!

...

...

You wait patiently.

...

…

The two pirates with daggers stand up and leave their seats, stumbling away into the darkness. Your heart pounds rapidly and you breathe heavily as you wait for them to disappear completely from your sight.

That leaves the pirate with the musket, the pirate with the longsword, and the—hopefully—unarmed pirate closest to you.

This is your chance.

Now! 

You draw your dagger and shuriken, dash through the darkness to the closest pirate’s back, and fling two shurikens at the musket and longsword pirates’ throats on the way.

But the longsword pirate spots you. He shouts at his crew, and the musket pirate barely dodges your shuriken as it cuts his shoulder. Your other shuriken strikes the musket pirate’s hand, sending him howling and dropping the musket into the sand.

Not perfect!

Don't think too much! Focus!

You must finish this pirate before you. Before he has time to stand up, turn around, and face you—his killer from the shadow—you swing your dagger at his throat.

BANG!

The pirate now faces you, smiling through his rotted yellow teeth, as smoke fills the air.

BANG!

You feel your left arm blasted off to the side by great force, your dagger falling away into the darkness. The pain that follows is excruciating!

He wasn’t unarmed…damn it, rookie mistake! You fool!

What do I do now?! It hurts like hell. No more weapons…

RUN!

Cradling your arm drenched in blood, you leave the camp and the pirates behind to run away. 

BANG! 

Before your legs fly fast enough, another great force blasts through your back and stomach. It swats you to the ground like a fly.

You can't even make a sound from the extreme pain. Your mouth opens wide, but the screams don’t come. You twitch on the ground with your stomach covered. Above you, five shadows fall upon you on the beach. Shouts, curses, and laughs fill the air. Gunpowder, beer, meat, and even doubloons rain down on you. They strike you with their leather boots, kicking you. Hard.

You can no longer hear what they are saying. Your hands don't work, your legs don't work. You can't count how many bones have been broken. Your mouth is full of the taste of blood and mud. And you give up struggling, submitting to being kicked around like an empty sack on the ground.

Oh...Their entertainment tonight...is me...

It hurts so much...

Am I going to die...?

Will Kenji look for me?

Kenji...

Kenji...

Where are you...

Didn't you say you would protect me...

Kenji...

…

You lose consciousness.

…

…

When you wake up again, you find yourself lying in one of Kenji's arms. Flame and smoke fill the air, much too powerful to come from just the campfire. You weakly look around to find everything burnt to a crisp, the pirates once looming over you now hunks of charcoal scattered on the ground.

With his free arm, Kenji anxiously melts the bloodstone with blue flame. You notice you have some solidified bloodstones on your wounds. In the reflection of the blue flame, you see new faces from Kenji. Faces you’ve never seen before. Sadness, remorse, urgency, despair.

YOU

「You’re finally here...」

Kenji instantly turns his head to look at you with a momentary look of joy, but then loudly scolds. 

KENJI

「Dammit, Crow! I told you to stay away from the pirates!」

Tears well up in your eyes.

YOU

「I wanted to prove myself…」

The feeling in your body slowly returns, and you realize: yes, you still have it. Even through all the pain, the darkness, and now the healing, your right fist closes tight on—

YOU

「I…I…I want…」

You open your first to reveal an unburnt gold doubloon. Kenji finally notices it, and you swear you see him shed tears, for the very first time.

YOU

「I wanted to wear that dress…」

A long silence. Kenji interrupts it by gently cradling you close. You feel his regret, his shame, and his love in that embrace. For a few precious moments, you feel like you finally understand him.

But as intensely as he cradles you, he quickly lets go, rubs his arm along his eyes, and gently says.

KENJI

「You are still a child. I promised to raise you until you became an adult. If you want something, you must tell me.」

YOU

「You…you won't listen...」

KENJI

「I will. I will listen to what you need. Starting tonight.」

YOU

「Really?」

KENJI

「Yes.」

The pain softens, but you’re still scared.

YOU

「Am I going to die?」

KENJI

「No, Crow. I won't let you.」

Kenji grabs your hand and holds it tight.

-𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 —𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝-

His hand…

Very cold…

The Queen, now free from the vines, silently nurses Lynn’s wounds and watches as you help Kenji lie down across your lap and tightly hold his hand.  Blue blood gushes from the gaping hole in his back torn by your scythe.

The blood stains the black dress that you cherish so much. 

The dress Kenji bought you the second day.

Kenji opens his mouth weakly.

KENJI

「You're finally here.」

Tears fall from your face like rain and land on Kenji's chest.

KENJI

「Don't cry….」

YOU

「Are you going to die...?」

He looks into your eyes and slightly smiles resignedly.

KENJI

「No one can fight against the Law of Promise. But it’s okay now. You are strong and brave enough to protect yourself now. I’m relieved. I Promise, ha…」

YOU

「Don’t tell your first joke like this!」

Kenji laughs bitterly.

KENJI

「I'm sorry. Crow. I might have done everything wrong.」

He pauses, looking up at the sky.

KENJI

「You are finally free now, Crow. Fly, fly to wherever you want to go. Fly, Crow, fly...」

YOU

「No, no! I'm the one that should be apologizing, I’m—」

You wipe your tears and look into Kenji's eyes, but realize he will never hear what you desperately wanted to tell him. The light of his eyes etched up into the gray smoke of the battlefield’s war-torn sky.

Kenji is gone.

This man, who raised you, tortured you, protected you, traumatized you, saved you, and—yes— loved you, is now gone.

Tears storm down your face and cheeks. You weakly look back at the Queen and Lynn. The Queen nods at you with a forced smile, and Lynn—now awake—stares at you, her eyes filled with sorrow and her eyes drenched in tears.

Love and freedom, turns out, hurt so much.

You tear off two stripes of Kenji's clothes and tie them around your wrist.

You raise your hands high in the air.

The cloth flutters in the wind.

Like a banner.

𝐂.𝐄. 𝟗𝟗𝟕 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

The banner of Cesilia and Nier waves wind. Shouts, wails, and weapons clattering fill the air. 

You shake the blood off of your scythe, your gaze locked on the noble girl who moves so swiftly and fatally. 

Is she free? Is she loved? Did she come to kill here in this living hell by her own will? If I kill her, will anyone cry for her, just like I cried for Kenji?

Confronting each other from a short distance, you recognize a familiar sadness and bitterness in her eyes.

The cries of the knights bring you back.

You...