-Last Night: A few hours ago-

The leaves crunched beneath Katou’s geta as he ambled through the trail, leaving away from Fallway. He had been granted a job to investigate a so-called ‘lead’: remnants of ice that formed unnaturally throughout the pathway. Of course, he much rather take it nice and slow, not considering it to be “slacking off” in the slightest. Interrupting his calm walk, he felt a tug against the wrist of his right hand followed by a light splash in front of him.

“Oi, oi. Didn’t think you would love splashing in puddles out in the rain like this.”

-Woof! -Woof!

Standing in a puddle was a fluff-ball of a dog. It had pale gold fur and perked ears that’ll respond to any sound in the environment. Based on Katou’s knowledge, it most likely had been a breed of Akita which would be native to his home region, coincidentally. But perhaps it wasn’t so much of a coincidence as Charlotte had summoned the Akita herself, knowing that he would be the one to walk it.

“If you get any water on my haori, I swear I’ll cut you with my blade.” he said with a palm on the hilt.

-Woof!

“…” With a cute expression the dog had, he couldn’t help but to get the urge to rub its head.

“I think I’ll name you Cavall.” Katou said, squatting down to place a hand on the Akita’s head, “You know the legends of King Arthur? Heard that this was the name of his own dog. How do you feel being owned by a king?”

-Woof... -Woof...! Cavall visibly shook his body, as if straining itself.

“Hm? What is it Cavall, you need something?”

Much to his dismay, the sound of a smaller splash emanated behind Cavall. Katou peered around it to see a brown lump had fallen into the puddle where the Akita stood.

“Aw fuck, what the hell?” He pressed his lips together in disgust.

Damn, I got no method to pick up it’s shit and people are gonna call me out if I don’t take care of this.

Cavall cocked its head and stared at its distressed owner. It was as if the Akita was playing dumb. Playing into its own antics, it bursted out of the puddle and off into the distance, leaving Katou behind with its excrement.

“Oi, come back here and clean up your own goddamn business!”

Unfortunately, Katou’s plea was met with silence. Groaning, he stood back up, having no choice but to follow the footsteps it left behind. Of course, instead of dealing with Cavall, he much rather have been eating udon in one of Fallway’s noodle shops. But he learned to suck it up and deal with the job. It wasn’t as if he hated dogs, he really just wanted to fill his stomach.

While ruminating on his not-so misfortunes, he spotted Cavall wagging its tail in the middle of the road. There, Cavall stared at the tree sitting off of the path, which was the first time it had ever done this as far as he knew. Katou squinted at the trunk, not realizing there was someone underneath the foliage and leaning against the treat first. It took only a brief glimpse of the person to remember their name: Mary. When he looked at her, he could clearly see Mary's face slightly turned downwards with her eyes closed. It was as if she was lost in thought. She merely remained silent, her mind adrift among the humid air. However, the sound of the bark from Cavall snapped her back in reality, opening her eyes. To her surprise, a swordsman stood before her.

“You are… if I recall…” Mary stared at the intruder. Both of them were bewildered as it isn’t usually everyday you would encounter a renowned individual out on the road.

“Didn’t think I would meet the famous instrumentalist Mary here like this.” Katou said, giving the leash a slight tug, “Of course, I’m not here to beg you to play right now.”

“Oh? Well it’s one thing to cross paths with a fellow Alkai citizen, but it’s another to meet a traveling swordsman from—“

Katou's right hand rose. “I gotta interrupt you there woman. For how famous your performances were, you are one who held an Aoi, more specifically a fire Aoi. Don’t you think it’s a little coincidental?” He asked but she only smiled at his words.

“My, getting straight to the point, I see. Alright. I know what you’re thinking right now. Don’t mistake that incident with me. Those flames were not mine.”

“Really now, I suppose you don’t have any proof on ya?”

“Mmm. Proof? Proof… I'm sorry, but there isn't anything I can do to prove my innocence. But let's stay away from that topic.” Mary stepped out of the shade, revealing a glint behind her back, “How are you on this fine day?”

With the help of the light, he quickly recognized the shape to be of a sword, more specifically a blade he would only see in illustrations.

“...I think the more pressing question is that thing you got there.” Katou said pointing behind her, “What the hell’s up with that? It looks exactly like the Sword of Tsuguri, no way you would just carry some sort of replica of a freaking legendary sword.”

“You truly do not wait for anything do you?” She sighed. “Whether it's real or not, I can't answer that question. But I can say this. ...A girl escaped from my possession. I’m sure you’re already aware of that no? Judging by the fact that you’re currently here with that cute dog.”

“Hah. And here I am running an investigation on the matter. Didn’t think Cavall here would be that skillful in tracking down the culprit this easily. So let me get this straight, you were alongside that bastard who can erase memories that abducted that girl. And then here you are, saying that you lost her?”

“That’s right. Unfortunately, it seemed that my barrier had been somehow broken through. I’m not so much of a babysitter after all.”

“Me neither.” Katou said, staring at Cavall who was rolling in a puddle in the duration of the conversation, “So that reveals a lot about the girl and her situation. The only question now is what exactly you guys were planning on doing with her, and with that sword.”

“Care to take a guess?”

He sighed internally. He wasn’t a person to be interested in fables, but he knew the general gist of the urban legend.

“In the legend, the owner of the sword used its name to defeat their enemy, thus erasing half of it in the process. Don’t tell me…” Mary’s expression didn’t change from her grin, except that her eyes appeared more sinister as Katou realized the extent of their plan. “Well, well. At least this gives me a lot to report on, and someone to cut down.”

“Maaan. As I thought—it appears I have to defend against assault. Very well, if that’s what you wish.”

With one strum of the strings on her xiao, light flashed out as Mary summoned two Koi fish of flames that circled and danced around her as if in a wave.

“—Cavall, get behind me!”

-Woof!

As Cavall pranced away into another puddle, Katou took a deep breath. Dragging his right foot out, he hovered his hand over the blade’s grip.

“Don’t make me draw my sword. If it leaves its sheath, you’ll die.”

“Teehee~ we’ll see about that.” The two koi flames begin their attack. The closer they got, the more Katou's throat and lungs dried and burned, but he paid no mind. But the moment the flames split off from each other in order to attack him from the sides, he sighed on the inside. As they stepped into his blade's range, Mary barely saw what happened next. The air reverberated, followed immediately with a snapping sound as she saw a silver arc formed between her flames. The next thing she knew, she saw each split into two and the swordsman with his blade remained sheathed. But Mary knew that was an illusion; he was just that fast.

“...Your defense is impenetrable, and your movements quick as lightning. As expected of the Oni Slayer Katou.”

“Tch. Never once have I slain Oni before. Only people. Now shut up unless you want to know what being beheaded feels like.”

“My, what a threat~. You can cut my flames all you want with that little knife of yours; it affects them not the least bit.”

To his surprise, the two flames Katou thought he had cut in half began to morph and shift. The four pieces grew their halves that had been sliced, giving rise to four complete koi flames. Without a delay, the now four flames continued their pursuit as if nothing had stopped them.

“You think I’m only cutting them?” Katou said, rolling back his shoulders.

Mary lowered her eyebrows as she watched her flames un-grew the halves they had just formed. Soon after, the halves fused together as if they hadn’t been cut by Katou’s blade. It was as if they had reversed back in time, and continued to do so as she saw them completely fade away.

“So you rewound my flames back in time up to the point before they were summoned?” Mary said, “How interesting...”

“That’s right.” As the two koi flames reversed into nothingness, Katou shifted his feet and boosted himself towards the instrumentalist. Mary strung once more, and more flames appeared, but this proved to be futile as he cut them the same without so much of a hindrance. Entering the blade’s range, Katou slammed his foot down to drive his blade for a final swing—

“—Ah, they found them.”

“Wait, what?” Katou stopped his blade short of Mary’s neck, “They?” The two stood silently, until an enigmatic smile came across her face, causing a bead of sweat to form on Katou’s forehead. He wasn’t sure what she meant by that.

“...Sorry, Katou. It looks like we will have to continue our performance later.” The instant he heard her speak, he forced his blade with all he could, but this time, speed was on her side. With a different stroke of the strings, a blue flame spirit emerged right between him and Mary. The lethal blaze blinded him, causing him to jump back.

Damn, she was holding back this whole time? Compared to the koi flames, this might pose a little more trouble.

“I’m going to let you play with this one for a while, dear swordsman.” Mary said, turning her back against the battle, “Oh, and you couldn’t have cut my head off even if you hadn’t stopped then. Teehee~. さようなら、カトウさん。”

Tch. Katou rubbed his nose as he watched Mary fade into the distance. Heat was denying him from inhaling properly, but he didn’t need to breathe to end this in one swing. Out of every material, object, or living being he had cut through with his own blade, he wouldn’t have thought that a humanoid flame would be one of them.

“Oi, Cavall. You still there?”

-Woof!

“Good, would you mind lending me a hand with this son of a bitch?”

・・・・・

His vision, thoughts, and physical body spiraled and spiraled once again. Staining him and the girl in patches of dirt as they both collide with the now dried earth, Riki felt every inch of pain as he attempted to stop his endless rolling. He lost track of which way was up. Dizziness kicked in fast, but the only thing concerning him now was to hold onto the girl against him and not let go.

After what felt like an eternity, Riki finally felt the momentum cease, though his head remained spinning. The only thing he could do now was to cough and strain his body from the pain. In spite of the pain, he was relieved because he still felt the warm presence of the girl against him.

It took him all he could to sit up while the girl leaned on him, but he needed to survey the surroundings. From what he can tell, it was a disaster. The carriage was all but a scrap of metal, fire spreading about and a black cloud of smoke covering the sky around them. Everywhere he looked, however, he could not find the four fire spirits that were pursuing them. The threat had long ceased.

Eventually, his eyes led him to what seemed like a pile of clothing, or what Riki initially thought to be clothes. The familiar attire jogged his memories, as he realized it was Kirk lying on the dirt path a few meters away from him.

“Kirk… Kirk!” Riki’s lungs wheezed as he attempted to call out Kirk’s name. It pained his body just to even talk. Overhearing his frail murmur, he groaned and shifted his head towards the direction of Riki’s voice.

“Urgh, what the heck happened…” Kirk said, with a palm on his forehead, “This was not what I was expecting to happen today when I woke up this morning.”

“I’m… sorry.” With a single glance at the destruction he had caused, Riki came to understand just how real the consequences to his actions were.

“Nah, I saw it. Vehicles aren't supposed to crumple like that when it hits a person on the road, at least I don't think so. That person who stood there took the full force of the carriage head on like that and it was the carriage that basically got destroyed. Just who the hell were they?”

That's right. The whole reason they almost died was because someone stood in the center of the road, knowing full well that a full-speed carriage couldn’t inflict harm on them. Riki was just about to stand up and search for such a person, when he saw Kirk staring wide-eyed at him.

In his arms, he felt something of a movement. He initially thought he had imagined it from the adrenaline, but it took him one second to realize it was real and what that had meant. Riki looked down to see, between her white bangs, were cyan eyes glistening by the light.

“H—Holy crap! You’re awake!” For the second time in their lives, the girl looked into his eyes. “A...Are you alright? You have to be hurting everywhere. You should take it easy.” He said. Stricken by despair, Riki watched her place her hands onto his shoulders, immediately feeling just how trembling they are. That was when he felt the sudden shove of his body, sending him backwards against the dirt road.

“Ow... what was that for—“As he sat up, the feeling of coldness ran up to his waist. As he saw it, his whole lower body was frozen in ice. This ice continued, even covering Kirk. A look of surprise crossed Riki’s face, but then he realized this must’ve been the work of her Aoi. But that confusion still remained as to why she used it on him.

“Wha… what are you—” Shifting his gaze back to the girl, a wave of horror washed over his whole body the moment Riki laid eyes on her face. A mixture of emotions was captured on the girl’s expression. There were traces of fear, but the most pronounced feeling he got from her was hostility and anger. And it seemed as if all of which was directed at him.

Why… why is she glaring at me like that…?

Baffled by the situation, he remained speechless, trying all he could to understand the reason for her bitterness. But he failed to fathom why. Her body language indicated every inch of distress as she crawled into a defensive stance. Yes, he knew she had every right to be uneasy, but it still felt strange.

Heh. He chuckled in his mind. An idea popped up in his head that would be considered even stranger. He would most likely be killed if he went with it, even though it should be harmless. It was a question. Riki only wanted to ask one question among every single mystery surrounding the girl. Looking into the girl's eyes he said—

“What’s your name…?”

Silence followed, the only sounds being the fire crackling and their own jagged breaths. Despite the absurdity of the question, the girl’s expression did not change, causing him to regret his decision. Though just a few seconds later, she slowly loosened her whole body. And her lips began to move.

“...My name…” the girl clenched her cloak, “...is...”

‘Time stood still’ would be an appropriate phrase to describe the oncoming event. Riki subconsciously didn’t expect her to answer such an irrelevant question. As she sounded out an “N”, he drowned out every audible stimulus except her voice. But that proved to be a mistake.

Riki held his breath watching as two blue fire spirits emerged from the smoke alongside a girl wielding a pipa. Instead of hearing a name, rather, he heard the notes of a stringed instrument. As soon as he heard it, a spark triggered within him.

It was something about it, but the familiarity of the music sparked the deepest crevices of his mind. He didn’t know how or understand it. The sight of Mary wrapping her arm over the white-haired girl alongside the spirit flames floating around them ignited dormant memories that had been long erased. It all came rushing at him like a dam that had cracked and collapsed. They say music has the power to incite long lost memories, but he didn't think it would have been this powerful.

“You’re… you’re her… The one back then…” Riki said, finally realizing the extent of his current memories. He remembered Fallway. He remembered the spectacle of ice, and the spectacle of fire. He remembered everything that had happened after the incident… including his failure of saving Charlotte. Without even knowing it, Riki held up a hand and reached out to her. It was a thoughtless action that didn't had a purpose. It wasn't going to free himself or the girl, nor defeat the enemy. Yet, he extended his arm anyways.

In response, she reached her hand out to him, and the ice grew heavier until the flames blinded him. At that moment, that was when all of her actions made sense. Riki realized that her ice was not meant to harm him, rather to protect him.