《Medieval Centuries Online》Chapter 28 - Lovely Reunion, Part 2
Advertisement
>
\Again, somehow, for the second time in her presence, I found myself at loss for words. I stood there, floundering around the empty space inside my head for the magic words that could somehow pacify her.
In my silence, Jin stepped up to the plate, cautiously on approach, yet still maintaining distance just as a precaution.
“It’s alright,” he said, somehow maintaining calm in the face of her ire. “I expected this from you.”
The instant snap of her neck at the sound of his voice was so fast, I’m surprised she didn’t get whiplash.
“No, shut up, no,” she raised a finger in warning. “You don’t get to ‘you’ me, you.”
Jin narrowed his lips, choosing silence as his best course of action. I would have done the same.
The warmth of her voice, the friendliness of her appearance, anger had contorted it all to an icy chill of deep utter loathing. She marched towards him, her hands clenched into trembling fists. The bow gave a high-pitch squeal in her tight grip and I almost felt sorry for it.
“Oh, you, you, you, you, YOU!” Ayako yelled, the stomps of her feet keeping in time with each accusatory ‘You’, swiftly closing the gap between them.
She stopped, a finger pressing squarely at his chest, a scornful breath heaving in and out of her.
“Ayako…” Jin began.
“I hate you,” She cut him off. “I never wanted to see you again.”
Jin chanced a fleeting look at me for aid, but I had nothing to offer him, so sadly, he was on his own.
“I can understand that,” he said softly.
“Too much to ask for was it?” One finger turned to five spread out, violently seizing a hold on his dark leather tunic. “Never to see your face again, never to have you in my thoughts again, was that too much to ask for?!”
“No...”
“Is it?!”
“No!”
“So why are you here, then?!” She yelled, her voice audibly straining. “Why are you in my face again?!”
“Because we wanted to ask for your help, alright?!”
“My help! You even dare?” She held on even tighter. “The fucking nerve to come crawling my way after what you’ve done?!”
“Should I take that as a no then?”
“Don’t you fucking act coy with me.”
Her eyes looked ready to bulge out of their sockets with hate. She gritted her teeth like a lion baring fangs. I half-expected her to start gnawing on his face at any time but she seemed to have settled for a stare that could pierce deeper than any blade.
Advertisement
Now, I was no stranger to her brazen displays of anger. It wouldn’t be the first time. Occasional streams of rage-inducing games can bring out the absolute worst in people and Ayako was no exception.
I’ve heard her yell before. Seen her have bouts of rage over particularly frustrating levels. An abused keyboard, a dented desk. Her temper was simply another typical Tuesday for me.
But this was something else.
“Sora, why?” She asked, calling out so suddenly that I flinched at the sound of my name. “Of all people, him - are you out of your mind?!”
Now that’s uncalled for.
“The position I’m in doesn’t really leave me with much room for options so I’ll take what I can get.”
“Standards can only get so low,” She grumbled, scowling at him again. “I’m surprised you even counted him as an option.”
“You finished?” Jin’s tone has begun to rise, and I could sense someone else's patience wearing down. “Or does it feel too good to stop? I get it, gotta keep that anger flowing otherwise that thick skull of yours would burst at seams at the thought of being bothered with anything else other than your petty little grudge.”
“Goddamn you, Jin!” She shoved him away, effort with enough potency to have him stumbling backward and yet the anger that lashed out with her words did not fit the quivering of her eyes.
“You killed us,” she said, her breath wavering. “All of us.”
“And I’m trying to fix it,” Jin fired back at once. “I want to save us.”
“So was he!” Ayako pointed at my direction. “And you took away that chance. We lost it, we’re never getting it back... and it’s all your fault.”
I decided enough was enough, treading carefully, I placed myself between the two of them.
“That’s enough, Ayako… really,” a firmness in tone, I looked her in the eye. “You said your piece. You can keep screaming and blaming but it’s not going to solve anything.”
But her eyes merely looked through me, never straying once from her true target.
“It doesn’t have to,” She answered, glowering. “So long as it means he never gets another smile on his face, it’s good enough for me!”
“And what good would that do?”
“It’ll bring me a right sense of satisfaction, that’s what it’ll do!” She finally turned my way. “Whatever shit he’s trying to pull off, whatever smooth-talk he did on you, I’ll tell you now, it’s not going to work on me. I won’t give two shits. All he wants is redemption and he’s not gonna get it… not from me.”
Advertisement
I stood my ground. “Ayako…”
“And you!” She yelled, an inkling of betrayal plastered within her inflection. “Defending him! Have you seriously forgotten all the good he has done for you? Hunted, hated, all over a misunderstanding because of him.”
“Stop making things personal.”
“Things are always personal! Every time someone dies, it gets personal. The very moment we were trapped here, he made it personal! What - we’re supposed to just let go of the hate, move on - ‘accidents happen’, is that it? Is that really all the deaths that happened amounted up to?!”
“I never said that alright? Quit putting words in my mouth!” I was starting to lose my nerve, it was clear she already decided to ignore what I had to say no matter what it ended up being. “Look - keep your grudge, keep your hate. That’s fine with me. But we won’t make it out here alive if we don’t start working together. That’s all I’m trying to tell you.”
“I already said I won’t! It’s his fault to begin with!”
“Ayako, enough!”
“My fault?” Jin suddenly muttered. “God, you just keep hammering that in, don’t you?”
Visibly flustered, he began aggressively rubbing the creases on his forehead, “You don’t think I know that already? You don’t think it’s ever crossed my mind? It’s all I can think about, you idiot!”
“Good!” Ayako roared. “And I hope you’re suffering for it!”
“I AM!”
His yell overpowered her own, words that boomed throughout the room, resonating, into a strange type of silence, where the only thing audible was our own collected breathing.
“Every morning, every night, every drop of that counter, every death that happens,” He looked at her again, into her wild fuming eyes, unwilling to put up a struggle anymore. “There is no one else here who can blame me more for what happened that day than I.
His glance offset to the ground, speaking in words unsure of any intent, he continued barely in a whisper.
“It happened and I regret it. Things could have been different but it isn’t. I could have reacted differently, done something differently… but I didn’t. Now we’re stuck here and I -”
A fumble of words cutting him short, his mouth left wide open in complete silence. His eyes feigning no dishonesty, no lies… the sorrow within them left unuttered.
He swallowed, then exhaled a sigh.
”Look, I know I can’t take it all back… I wish that I could, I really do but I can’t. God knows I do,” He looked to me, briefly, before turning back to her. “But he knows damn well that I am doing all I can to make things right and he knows that I am trying.”
He brandished his severed arm, “I’m trying!”
Ayako did not respond, seemingly too stunned to argue any longer. Anger still resided on her face, nevertheless, I took her quiet as a chance to talk.
“You don’t need to forgive him,” I said.
Her expression was slightly lax but she failed to meet my gaze, “I wasn’t planning to.”
“Okay, that’s okay. But just this once, for me, play nice until we get through this, alright?”
A small glare in a half-glance, she thinned her lips.
I pushed on, “You wanted to make it up to me, didn’t you? If you truly felt sorry, you’ll do this for me.”
“Now you’re just being unreasonable.”
“Trolls, creeps, and stalkers,” I counted them on my fingertips. “He’s neither of that. Should be a walk in the park, right?”
She clicked her tongue once, then took the longest time to decide upon a decision, meeting my eyes again, while still retaining a little bit of the annoyance that seemingly won’t subside.
“Any funny business from him and I’ll -”
“I’ll personally tie his hands behind his back as you kick him in the balls to your heart's content” I finished for her. “Now what do you say?”
Silence.
“Will you shake on it at least?”
“I’m not shaking hands with him! Are you mad?! I -”
“Mine.”
“Oh.”
She gave my outstretched hand a dubious stare before she finally offered her own. Before she could think twice on it, I snatched her open palm, seizing it with a clutch and then firmly, absolutely, we shook hands.
And another one joins the party.
Relief in my corner as we loosen our grips. Reluctant on her own as we broke apart.
“You better not make me regret this.”
Advertisement
The Fate of a villain (But not really)
But to be honest, he doesn't really want to be one. Assigned that role by a bored god looking for entertainment, he struggles with the past. Seriously, how much of an asshole could a dead man have been? As an imposter, the new soul possessing the body of a certain Francis Rayleigh, he tries his best to change that past image of his. Its not all simple though. Just because of his pretty face, it doesn't mean that life bows down to him. And to top it all off, a god, no matter how bored they were, is still by most definitions a god. Ultimately, on the grand stage of the world, will the fate forced upon him prevail? Without burning any villages, and trying to be as peaceful as possible, he hopes to avoid those hands of fate. No evil empires dancing on his palm, no conspiracy to rid the world of intelligent life. Not even a superweapon to turn the world's lives into his slaves. Just a man, found on the weaker side of life, trying to live. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: CONTAINS CROSSDRESSING, LGBT ELEMENTS It starts off really slowly, so take your time. Mostly just fluff, with plot sprinkled in. The action picks up in chapters 20+! Its somewhat episodic, but also a serial, if that makes sense. Word counts per chapter from 2000 - 3000 Photo by Dorothe form PxHere Releases weekly(?)
8 80Modern Patriarch
When Yao Shen, Patriarch of the Heavenly Sky Sect, ascends and regains memories of his past life on Planet Earth, he realizes that he can no longer allow himself to accept the cruel and violent ways of Eliria, the realm of cultivation. So he decides to change it. It was time to found a new sect. One based on the values of honor and equality over senseless violence and discrimination. A sect where all, from the mortal farmer’s son to a sect elder's daughter, were held accountable to the same rules. Welcome to the Modern Sect. Copyright © Daoist Enigma. Cover by the Talented Vitaly S. Alexius
8 278Friends of Chaos : The End of an Empire
This a book that combines Naruto, one piece, D&D, and Skyrim. We made this story because we got bored. We hope you like the story.
8 201BEEADDLEDRUNG — Serial Bogeyman
By chance, the paths of a renowned hero and an infamous bogeyman intersect. Locked in a wordless battle from dawn till dusk, the two beat each other bloody before the monster asks why the hero has come to his dwelling. When the hero realizes that the bogeyman doesn't have what he seeks, he cuts the battle short and promises to return one day to slay his foe. The bogeyman accepts this pledge and demands that the hero remember his name: BEEADDLEDRUNG. After waiting for what feels like an eternity, BEEADDLEDRUNG realizes that he doesn't just want to finish that battle; he wants to be killed, and the hero is the only person he's ever met with the potential to kill him. Apparently tired of existing without hope of further evolution, the monster emerges from his lair in search of his fated executioner. Hi, and thanks for checking out my web novel! Right now my update "schedule" is erratic. I'm sure this will change if the story generates enough interest. In any case, I plan on completing it eventually.
8 66SATURN.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵?"
8 136Friends to Lovers | Javon Walton
you and Javon are best friends turning into something more
8 118