…

…

『Divine Reawakening』

The ground started to rumble with the pure power of the spell.

The man in a white and gold robe holding a staff of sorts stood up from the rubble of the village. “Let’s get out of here before anyone finds out we used this.”

Another man in a white robe nodded, “Yes if the council found out we’d be in a heap of trouble.”

O O O

His eyes slowly opened as he adjusted to the bright lights above him. “W-What’s going on?” Kazuki muttered.

“Finally, you’re awake,” said a voice.

“Huh? Where am I…?” questioned Kazuki as he looked around the room.

“You’re in a hospital, I found you lying on the ground by a village,” said the mysterious individual.

“Who are you? What happened to my village?” Kazuki sat up and looked at the girl. She had green eyes and blonde hair with a blue hair tie streaming down the back.

“To answer your first question, my name is Ari, you’ve been unconscious for a while. As for the latter, this hospital is... North of your village,” Ari pointed in the direction of what Kazuki presumed to be his village.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ari,” Kazuki said as he quickly got up and out of bed, “but I have to go save my everyone!”

Ari stood up. “Slow down a bit! You’ve been asleep for 3 days, don’t just climb out of bed like that.”

Kazuki ignored Ari and bolted out of the room to his village.

“Hey what the…? Come back here, I don’t even know your name!”

O O O

Kazuki came across a giant crater where his village used to be. “N-No… this… this can’t be real!” He fell to his knees. “Why, WHY WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!!!” Kazuki howled, striking the ground in anger. A massive crack formed in the ground where he punched. “Wha-” He backed away slowly, “What’s going on?” He looked down at his hand, unscathed, steam coming off of it. “Mom… Dad… Sensei…,” Kazuki cried as he looked around the desolate crater, “someone, help….”

While still processing what happened, he heard a voice in the distance. “How did you get here so fast?!” Ari called as she ran toward Kazuki.

Kazuki wiped his eyes, “Why did you follow me?”

Ari paused while speaking to take breaths, “You’re injured! And I didn’t even catch your name.”

“It’s Kazuki,” he said looking at the remains of his village.

“How did this even happen? I mean, this place is in smithereens.”

Kazuki scowled at the thought of him, “It was a Demon Lord. He annihilated my village in a matter of seconds, my family included….”

Ari was shocked at his response. “That’s terrible. I’ve never seen a Demon Lord, but I’ve heard stories. It must be hard losing your family.”

Kazuki sniffled, “I don’t even know where to go now. My whole life was in this village. But now…,” he sighs and turns so Ari can’t see his tears.

“Well, I’m applying for a school called Nōryoku Highschool, maybe we could go together?” Ari said as she smiled.

“Nōryoku High, I want to go there, but I don’t know if I’m good enough to apply,” Kazuki mumbled, talking into his hands.

Ari walked up to him. “Listen, Kazuki,” Ari said in a kind voice. “I know this is hard for you. Loss always is. But what separates you from everyone else is how you push through it.” Ari put her hand out to Kazuki. “It’ll be hard at first, but I promise I’ll help the best I can,” Ari said. "After all, I am the one who found you."

Kazuki grabbed her hand and got up. “You’re right,” he said as he wiped the tears away from his face. “I will get better, for my family, and I’m going to get into Nōryoku High, no matter what!”

O O O

Ari and Kazuki started to walk back to the hospital and planned what they were going to do from there.

“We can gather supplies like water and food from the hospital,” said Kazuki. “Oh shoot, I just realized I don’t have any coins.” He grumbled, leaning back and put his hands over his face.

“Oh, that’s no problem,” said Ari. “I don’t like telling people this, but I come from a noble family. My parents gave me coins for the trip to school.”

Kazuki glared at her. “So you’re a noble? That explains a few things.”

“What do you mean?” Ari queried.

Kazuki started counting on his fingers, “Well, first off, you’re clothes are the fanciest I’ve seen. Second, you speak formally for a kid, and third, the way look is way different.”

“What’s wrong with the way I look?!” Ari said angrily.

Kazuki put his hands up in defense, “That’s not what I meant! I mean you look… prettier than all of the girls I’ve seen.”

Her face became flushed, “O-Oh. Sorry, I got the wrong idea.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Kazuki replied.

It went silent for a few seconds.

Ari coughed, “Well, once we get back, I can get us food and other things.”

O O O

When they arrived at the hospital the staff was scurrying around attempting to figure out what had happened to him.

A doctor ran up to Kazuki, “It’s him! It’s him!” He grabbed Kazuki by the shoulders and stared him dead in the eye, “What were you thinking running off like that?”

Ari spoke for Kazuki, “He was just confused because he’d been sleeping for so long. He’s fine now though, I talked to him for a while.”

The doctor turned to her, “Thank you so much young miss. I hope this boy wasn’t much trouble for you.”

Kazuki walked up to the hospital room and laid down on the bed. I woke up around one and it’s already night time. This has been a long day.

Ari stepped into the room for a moment. “I’ll come to get you in the morning. We can leave when you’re ready.”

“Thank, for everything,” said Kazuki.

She smiled, “You’re welcome.”

Kazuki turned the lights off and pulled the covers over himself. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. He barely got any sleep that night.