War of Rage Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

“Did you seriously think I’m stupid?” Akane snapped and crossed her arms. “I will never forget the face of the one who defeated me. Are you an Earthling or Lunan samurai?”

“I…” Kawa ran his hand through his black hair. He had been cornered, so there was no reason to lie to her anyway. “Let’s just say… Look, I don’t want to fight you anymore.”

“Me either.” Akane nodded her head in agreement. “We would attract my superiors’ attention if we get into a fight. I don’t want that at all.”

“But why?” Kawa frowned in confusion. “Why did you let me help you knowing that I am your enemy?”

The female samurai was climbing up the stairs, being followed by Kawa. “I really admire your kindness. You tried to protect the Cereans back then. Enemy or not, I can’t just kill someone with such a pure heart like yours. You… you reminded me of my old self.”

“Really?” Kawa scratched the back of his head with a blush on his face. “Thank you… I guess?”

They eventually got to the top of the stairs in front of the temple. Akane turned to Kawa, smiling at him and making him almost melt. “You can go if you want to. I’m fine from this point. As long as you are not doing anything stupid, I promise to leave you and your friend alone.”

“Okay, thank you.” Kawa was hesitant to turn away from her… No, actually, he did not even want to look away from her at all. He did not want to leave her. Besides, there were also more important things to talk about.

Akane waved her hand goodbye and was about to get into the temple but was stopped.

“Akane, do you want to end the war?”

“Excuse me?”

“I… I mean… never mind.” Kawa waved his hands nervously as if he was dismissing the topic. “I’m sorry to waste your time. I’m going now.”

“Yes.”

Kawa stopped right at the first step of the stairs. “You do?”

“It is one of the reasons why I became a samurai in the first place.” Akane sat down at the top of the stairs. “The first time I joined Lord Ares’s troops was five years ago… I thought I had a chance.”

“Chance to do what?”

“Change the world. Stop the war. Make peace with other planets and moons.” Akane sighed lightly and looked up at the red sky. “But… There is so much hatred, so I figured that I could not do anything about it anymore. That was when I decided that I had to become strong… so that I could protect my people. I did not care about anybody except Martians… at least until you suddenly appeared on that day.”

Kawa chuckled softly as he sat down next to the Martian samurai. “So, you’re now First Lieutenant, eh? That’s impressive. I recently joined the Earthling troop.”

“So, you’re from Earth,” Akane smiled slyly at him. “So, you aren’t a Cerean, after all?”

“Oh fuck!” Kawa smacked himself in the face.

“It’s ok. I won’t tell anybody,” She giggled at his hilarious reaction.

Kawa could not help but grin at her. It had been so long since the last time he had smiled like this. It was, what, ten years ago? That was when he realized that he and Akane were almost the same. “If you’re fine with protecting your people… then why are you still sad?”

Akane was completely speechless at the question. It was so unexpected that she lost her guard, her emotion threatening to be shown on her face. A few seconds later, her face was quickly covered by her usual toughness. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Oh well. That’s fine with me.” Kawa stretched out his arms and then laid back on the floor. “You know, I joined the Earthling troop so that I would end the war as well. I was sort of like you, I think. Before I met my friend…” James. “I did not care about anybody but myself. But that guy… He challenged me. He changed me without even trying -- heck, he never realized that. If it weren’t for him… I would never have tried to protect the Cereans, you know?”

Akane widened her brown eyes in surprise. “Seriously? What happened? I mean, something that happened must have made you stop caring about others.”

Kawa’s heart felt like it had been pierced by an arrow when he remembered his dying father. “My family is dead. They were killed by the enemy.”

“Oh,” Akane said softly. “So, that’s why… I’m so sorry. It was the Martian samurai, wasn’t it?”

Kawa did not answer but instead, he got up and wiped the bottoms of his white pants with his fire-resistant gloves.

“I’m sorry,” Akane said again softly as she stood up as well.

“It’s okay. There's no need for you to apologize.” Kawa shook his head. “Looking back… I don’t think there’s anything that we could have prevented the Martian samurais from coming to my hometown. After all, it’s where Lord Terra lives. There was no way for us to escape as well. There was Jove in our orbit, waiting to terminate anybody who tried to get past it. It...” He bit his bottom lip, trying not to break down into chokes or sobs. “It was all my fault.”

“What could you have done that made you think it was your fault?”

“If I skipped that sword shop I used to love, then maybe my family would have been alive.” Kawa sighed lightly. “Then, my family wouldn’t be separated. I would… I would probably be happier if we died together instead of escaping alone.”

Akane gently took Kawa’s hand. “But you’re alive right now. That’s just how it is. You may blame yourself for the deaths of your family, but that’s up to you. I can’t stop you from thinking like that. But…”

Kawa glanced at her in wonder. Everybody else kept telling him that it was not his fault and that his father tried to protect him from harm.

“You may have escaped alone, but you met people you love, didn’t you?” Akane rubbed her thumb across Kawa’s palm, looking straight into his dark eyes. “That’s why you’re still alive today.”

Kawa quickly jerked away from Akane’s warm hand, surprising not only her but also himself. Blush creeped up onto his face once again. “S-sorry. I’m going now.”

As he was about to step onto the first step of the stairs, he felt arms wrapping around his waist from behind. “A-Akane?”

“I…” Akane said softly. She wanted him to stay with her a little bit longer, but… she could sense that Kawa was upset. Besides, she was a Martian samurai. She could not be seen with the enemy at all. Or else there would be serious consequences. Instead of telling him how she really felt, she said, “Thank you for helping me today.”

Kawa could not help but feel disappointed. He was really hoping that she wanted him to stay. If she said so, then he would’ve done so. Without saying anything, he made his way down the stairs with Akane watching him.

Little did they know, this insignificant meeting would have changed their destinies.

~TO BE CONTINUED~