The weight of exhaustion and the stiffness of his own body pressed down on Arthur like a blanket made of stone. He lay on a grass field beneath the shade of a tree, his body heavy, his limbs unwilling to move. His eyes twitched beneath closed lids—too heavy, too tired to open.
And when he finally forced them open, his breath caught. A low groan escaped his lips, perhaps from the wounds he'd sustained in his confrontation with Josh.
"What happened..."
He murmured to himself, staring up at the orange evening sky. The warm hues of sunset painted the clouds in shades of amber and gold—a silent clue that he had been out for hours now. The last thing he remembered was the elf holding him, and Finn approaching.
As he stared at the sky, he noticed something—a tightness around his forehead and right wrist. He lifted his arm to see. A white cloth was tied around his wrist as a bandage, clean and neatly wrapped to stop the bleeding. He reached for his forehead, his fingers grazing another cloth of the same material—tied securely around his head.
Someone had tended to his wounds.
He managed to lean forward into a sitting position, his gaze sweeping the area until it settled on Finn's back. Finn sat on the grass by the stream they had discovered earlier in the afternoon—before the rescue of the elf. He faced nowhere in particular, his usual passive, neutral expression still in place. This time, however, his straw hat and haori were off, set aside beside him. His upper body was exposed, clad only in a long-sleeve shirt that hugged tight to his well-beyond-average physique—built from years of training at the Blazing Will Temple.
The setting sun caught his sharp jaw as it continued its slow descent.
"You're awake."
The words came out blunt from Finn's lips. His back remained turned, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
"Yeah... I'm awake."
"Hmph."
"Ugh... my whole body hurts." Arthur confessed, one of his eyes squeezing shut as he gritted his teeth against the pain radiating from his wounds.
"Hm..." Finn took a glance at Arthur behind him, watching him endure the pain he was in. "Guess you've figured it out by now. Acting recklessly without a plan, as always, doesn't end well."
"At least I don't need a reason to save someone," Arthur shot back, his face shifting from pained to serious. His eyes widened with something close to anger—but softened just as quickly, returning to neutral.
"Is that directed at me?" Finn's voice was unshaken, unbothered by Arthur's pointed words. He let them hang in the air like they meant nothing. But there was one thing he'd noticed—the fire in Arthur's eyes just now. Something he'd seen firsthand earlier that afternoon when Arthur first saw the slavers.
Curious, he asked, "I noticed your face the moment you saw those slavers."
"Huh? My face?" Arthur asked, confused. His neutral expression stared back at Finn, almost devoid of strength after his brief outburst.
"Yes. I could feel your hatred."
"It's none of your business. I told you before." Arthur looked away, his face shifting to something Finn could instantly read. He was in a state of sadness—his upper eyelids faltering, drooping down over his eyes.
Finn remained quiet, observing Arthur's face. Despite being cold all the time, he knew one thing well—the pain of losing someone close. His lips parted slowly as he spoke.
"Having such hatred could only prove one thing." He paused, turning fully to face Arthur, still sitting on the grass with the lake and the orange sunset behind him. "Someone you know might have been a victim of their petty games. Am I right?"
Arthur's eyes widened a fraction. His bandaged right wrist clenched into a hard fist. His widened eyes fell back to normal, his emotions rising as his eyes welled up. A thought awakened within his mind, echoing like a ghost from the past.
Ashley...
The thought echoed in his head as he was reminded of the past again today—of his big sister, who had selflessly protected him from being taken by a group of bandit slavers at a young age.
"...You... how did y-you..." Arthur asked, his face turning back from the side to Finn again as he managed to wipe the gathered tears from his eyes with his right hand sleeve.
"I guess that's it... I assume." Finn tilted his head back slightly, his gaze unreadable.
Arthur stared at him, confused by how he could have known about his past and his sister. "You knew... did you use your powers—"
Finn cut him off. "No. I didn't use my powers." A thought followed in his head: Besides, if I had decided to check his memory with magic, it wouldn't have worked anyway. Seeing as I'm now limited to Reiki—just like everyone else.
"You didn't?" Arthur asked again, still confused, unable to understand how Finn's assumption could be so accurate.
"You were murmuring the words 'Ashley... Big Sister...' while the elf girl patched you up earlier—after I dragged your sorry self here." Finn said with pressed lips, clarifying.
"Wha... I said that...?" Arthur's face flushed with something close to embarrassment, but he kept the feeling hidden.
Finn nodded in verification. "...Yes, you did. In fact, what gave me a clue was when you started blabbing and pleading about not being able to protect her."
"Seriously..." Arthur said, his gaze meeting Finn's passive, stoic demeanor.
"Indeed." Finn answered bluntly.
"You probably think I'm an embarrassment, don't you?"
"Always have, from the beginning. I'm not utterly surprised."
Arthur seemed unbothered by Finn's words. Finn himself had clearly never seen much worth in Arthur—even though Arthur was the first to make him bleed from the nose during an outburst when Finn taunted Arthur's mother's death as a sign of weakness. That occurrence was two days ago, back at Arthur's village.
A few seconds of silence stretched between them after Finn's confession of seeing nothing worthy of Arthur—despite the rescue of the elf, despite the battle he had fought and won, carrying wounds that weren't fatal despite being untrained.
Then the silence was broken by Arthur himself.
"You said the elf bandaged me, right?"
"That's about right. And for some reason, she stayed and watched over you with... guilt." Finn's eyes narrowed after his words.
"Guilty?" Arthur asked, confused.
"Yes. It's as I saw the hatred in your eyes—hers were guilty. Not at you... but at herself."
"Ah... w-where is she now?" Arthur's eyes widened as he asked quickly.
"Huh..." The word escaped Finn's lips, but he regained himself to answer. "She left ten minutes ago, before you awoke."
"Left?" Arthur's voice came out almost instinctively, shocked.
"Not entirely. She said she was going to get some firewood." Finn's brow tilted up slightly.
Arthur got up immediately—though his body was heavy with pain, he fought through it and stood.
"Huh..." Finn stared at him with his usual passive expression.
"W-which direction did she take—" Arthur stammered through gritted teeth, barely able to stand.
Cocking his head to the left, Finn answered, "That way, just down the stream." He folded his arms.
Arthur started walking toward the direction Finn had given him—until a word came from behind that stopped him.
"YOU AND THAT ELF—YOU'RE BOTH ACTING STRANGE."
The words came from Finn, who spoke with his gaze set down to the ground.
"...Strange? What are you talking about?" Arthur looked at Finn from the side of his shoulder.
"Everything. You acted recklessly like an idiot to protect someone you barely know. As for the elf... she was glued to you the entire time, tending to your wounds. Perhaps..." He took a pause, exhaled slightly, his eyes briefly closing before opening again. "...to show her gratitude to you for saving her. Which I doubt was all."
His face turned from the ground to meet Arthur's gaze.
Arthur met his gaze unwavering, his lips pressed. "What... are you even talking about? I get the question, Finn-san, I do. But as for the girl—that's something you may have to ask her yourself." Arthur resumed walking away.
Shortly after, he halted, his back still facing Finn.
The sudden halt made Finn continue to stare at Arthur's back with more confusion. His pressed lips freed themselves—and just as they did, Arthur spoke, without bothering to turn around.
"FINN-SAN... THOUGH YOU MIGHT ACT ALL COLD AND NONCHALANT SOMETIMES..."
His voice grew softer in the evening breeze as the orange sun descended steadily, making way for the night's moon and silver glow. A smile touched his lips—one filled with warmth in the night's cold breeze, but hidden from Finn since his back was turned.
"...I WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT YOU. WHETHER BY ACCIDENT OR NOT, YOU SAVED ME. EVEN TODAY, I OWE YOU THAT MUCH. THANK YOU..."
He walked away at a steady pace, carrying the weight of his wounds.
Finn watched him leave without showing a single reaction to Arthur's words. He sat there, watching Arthur vanish from his view, as a thought came to him.
Saved you? Yes, that I did... but with no intention. Thanks to the darkness interference, now you just have some months left to live. But that eye I saw today—that shape is unmistakable. I might have also given you the Elfen Trait: Time Breaker. Tch.