Sensing the tension rise sharply, Haruki rushed forward, placing himself between Noroi and Yamika, shielding him from her, before shouting loudly in anger.
"This fight ends here!"
He yelled at them furiously, frustrated by a needless, childish fight that had turned brutally violent. Looking at them with deep disappointment, he shouted again, scolding them.
"What are you doing?! Do you intend to kill each other? Stop these childish antics! We're all here for one goal, to get out of this world!"
Both of them stepped back at Haruki's furious outburst, as if he were scolding them, and though neither liked it, neither could deny the truth of his words.
Yamika was the first to end the quarrel after Haruki's shout, throwing her axe onto the ground with a heavy clang, its weight making the sound resonate as a declaration of truce toward Noroi.
Noticing her peaceful gesture, Noroi decided to extinguish the flames of their battle as well. His hand lazily pressed a button, retracting the blade back inside, and he turned his head completely to look away from both Yamika and Haruki.
Haruki's lips curved into a smile as the conflict dissolved, and true to his nature, he nearly dubbed himself "the peacekeeper," proud of his accomplishment. Relishing the sense of control, he issued another order as though he were the leader of their little group.
"That's great. Let's sleep for tonight, and tomorrow we begin moving forward on this journey."
Each of the three took their places, leaving distance between them, with Haruki in the middle like a wall separating Noroi and Yamika to prevent any further clashes. Noroi curled up, Mini close to him and wrapped in his cloak, while Yamika lay on Haruki's right side, her arm under her head, her back to the boys, and her axe resting beside her in case of trouble.
Haruki smiled, warmth seeping into him in that moment of peace.
"Good night."
The trio lay down that night, ready for sleep. The only sounds were the rustling leaves in the wind and the chirping of the world's nighttime crickets. They forgot, for a moment, that they were in this cruel world, surrendering to rest after a long, eventful day.
Haruki gazed at the stars in the dark sky, thinking of everything since his arrival in this world, meeting Seraphine, reaching the market, escaping from monsters with Noroi, being caught in Yamika's trap, and finally, witnessing Noroi and Yamika's fight. Another exhausting, eventful day had passed, and there was no time to think of what had happened with his grandmother in his absence, or how she was managing without him. Each of them thought only of how to survive in this world.
With the dawn of a new day, sunlight filtered through the branches as creatures awoke to begin their daily lives, and the darkness retreated to allow the morning light to shine on all in this world. The warm rays struck Haruki's closed eyelids, trying to force him awake to start his new day.
Annoyed, Haruki tried to resist the light, but eventually surrendered and opened his eyes. He lifted his head and sat up slowly, stretching his limbs in every direction, yawning before running his fingers through his messy hair after sleeping on the grass.
Looking to his left, he found Noroi still asleep, wrapped in his cloak like armor shielding him from the world. Then he turned his head to his right, only to find Yamika no longer lying in her place, the ground was empty, as though no one had ever been there.
Haruki's brows furrowed in confusion at her strange disappearance, and he muttered to himself.
"Where is she?"
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Thank you for reading! If this moment touched you even a little , please consider adding it to your library.💐