Horizon:Volume 9B Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Crier on the Stage

Even when you didn’t tell me to cry

You cannot stop my tears

Point Allocation (You Never Have)

●

…Is it over?

Shibata rested Kamewari on his shoulder and supported Oichi with his other hand.

He thought that girl had made it pretty far. Her ideal movements had been decent enough. She probably wasn’t aware of it herself, but she could likely manage attack and defense at close range.

There weren’t many people in M.H.R.R. and P.A. Oda on her level.

After all, he had been forced to end it with a kick. And that only after catching her with his Testamenta Arma and using Kamewari as a decoy.

If he hadn’t reached for Oichi, that would have played out quite differently.

“But that’s only a ‘what if’.”

He had gotten a good hit in on her and she would have taken damage when crashing into the decorative roof.

She wouldn’t be able to move much thanks to the accumulated damage.

Even if she could get back on her feet, she wouldn’t be able to perform like she just had.

The battle was effectively over. But…

…Hmm.

What was this? Shibata felt an odd uneasiness inside him.

Partially because this didn’t seem like a suitable final battle for his history recreation, but something else bothered him too.

He had chosen the best option at every turn during that battle.

He had used his Testamenta Arma, Mikal, and Kamewari. You could even call it unfair.

But was this really the end for Fukushima?

●

Shibata didn’t think he had been wrong to help Oichi.

But had it been wrong to Fukushima?

Part of him felt that it was her fault for letting it hit her, that that was just how battles were, and that the winner was the winner, but at the same time…

“I am supposed to be the upperclassman.”

He had meant to spar with her to help her grow, but he had instead taken it seriously and crushed her.

What had he discussed with Oichi before the Battle of Shizugatake?

…I was talking about entrusting things.

He had one concern: what if Fukushima could have reached even greater heights?

But he had failed to bring her to those heights and instead let her actions panic him into crushing her.

He had been hoping for some fun, but had that just been talk?

With Fukushima defeated, he could no longer see the upper limit of her skill.

That’s a shame. This is gonna stick with me. But I did feel the need for quick action. She got that reaction out of me.

…But I shouldn’t have taken it so seriously I crushed her.

He had learned his lesson.

But there was no fixing it now. The battle was over. He had no choice but to accept that fact.

“Oichi-sama.”

He took a breath and patted her back.

“How about we head down, grab a drink, and take a break?”

Only after speaking did he notice that Oichi had stopped moving after her right forearm regenerated.

She was still in her combat stance.

…Hey…

He turned his gaze in the direction she was facing.

The stage in the center of the battlefield was lit up by floodlight spells.

And someone stood on that stage: Fukushima.

●

Shibata saw Fukushima getting up atop the stage.

She was holding her spear close and leaning forward, while…

…Wait, really?

She weakly stood up.

This was probably the result of her training or her instincts. She knew collapsing during combat was a risk and she also knew she had to stand up to confirm she was unharmed and alive.

She had to be unconscious. Which may have been why she took a step toward Shibata.

“–––––”

And her knee gave way underneath her.

That was the moment Oichi chose to move. She ducked low and then used the momentum of raising her hips to…

“Ah!”

Throw her twin swords. The two thrown weapons intersected like a cross as one rotated horizontally and the other vertically and they both flew toward Fukushima.

●

Fukushima was not looking out ahead.

In her field of vision, the double sword cross was visible flying toward her past the roof pieces and artificial flower petals on the stage. She could tell it would hit her soon, but…

…What is happening?

She recalled the past.

She had once seen a night sky much like this one.

It had always been night there, but she and the others had been in a sunlit field of grass.

Her friends were there, she was there, and her friends’ parents were there.

That was where she had learned martial arts. She had been taught the very basics because, “I do not know when you will need this, but it can’t hurt to learn.”

Kiyomasa had had a similar experience except that her mother used a sword.

She had thought that life there would continue forever.

She had been wrong.

It was Kasuya who noticed their parents were gone. It was Hirano who had more or less accepted that fact and it was Katagiri who had cried first. But their families had not returned and they found themselves left all alone. They had cried until they had no more tears to shed and then they had discussed what to do next.

What could they do?

While faced with that question, it was Kiyomasa who had invited Fukushima outside.

Of course, “outside” was just the usual field. But there Kiyomasa had picked up the wooden sword she always used and handed Fukushima the wooden spear she always used.

Kiyomasa had been crying too, but she also made a suggestion.

“Let’s continue.”

“Continue…what?”

“The everyday life our mothers gave us.”

“Why bother?”

“Because,” said Kiyomasa. “Then we can resume that everyday life in a new place one day.”

Fukushima had known there was no assurance of that day coming. They all knew that, but their leader at the time had accepted Kiyomasa’s idea and they had all chosen to believe in it.

That was all so long ago.

But why was Fukushima remembering it now?

…Because I miss thee.

Really, the beating she had taken had probably reminded her of the night up in the mountains when she had cried.

And what had she thought then?

“––––––”

All of a sudden, she came to.

●

“Oh…”

The first thing Fukushima noticed was that her entire body was trembling from damage.

The external impacts had made her muscles shake and she hadn’t yet readjusted. Her health management protection was probably active, but it couldn’t keep up when her entire body was affected.

Two crossed swords were flying toward her.

She would be badly injured if those two attacks hit.

But her legs wouldn’t move and her body refused to do much of anything.

And her mind was on something else.

…Kiyo-dono.

I miss thee. I want to see thee again. That was the same thing she had thought after her time in the mountains.

The thought had left her when she arrived here and found the Battle of Shizugatake underway. It was possible she had still been afraid to see Kiyomasa again.

But not anymore.

She remembered what mattered between them, that night she had wept below the stars, and everything else.

How could she die before seeing Kiyomasa again?

The soaring blades flew right toward her. Unable to get her spear up, she simply glared at them.

“…”

A straining voice left her throat as she poured her will into a single thought: I miss thee. That is the one thing I refuse to lose even in my final moment.

A moment later, she heard two metallic impacts.

The the two swords had hit hard.

●

“Ohh.”

Shibata found himself gasping in both relief and surprise.

On the stage far ahead, he saw the result of Oichi’s two thrown swords.

They had scored a direct hit.

But not on Fukushima.

A white wall stood out in front of her. Or rather, shoulder armor made from the latest autonomous armor.

The two swords had been stopped by allowing them to stab deep, but they did not reach the base of the armor. Shibata recognized the person responsible for this defense.

“So we have a second: Katou Kiyomasa.”

●

Fukushima simply looked forward.

Unable to do anything more than think, her widened eyes stared at the white figure standing before her.

That was Kiyomasa.

…Why?

She had so cruelly made Kiyomasa cry, so why was she here now?

And Kiyomasa turned around. She dropped the two swords that had stabbed into her shoulder armor and she looked to Fukushima.

When she noticed how Fukushima flinched back from her gaze, Kiyomasa smiled and sighed.

The sigh was clearly one of relief. Did that mean she was glad Fukushima was alive?

How?

How can thou smile like that after everything I did to thee? And…

“Are you alright, Fukushima-sama?”

●

That was all Kiyomasa could manage to say.

…Oh, ohh, why, why!?

When she had looked down from Yoshiaki’s Weiss Fürstin and seen Fukushima there, she had been able to wait a moment longer and jumped down. But that had gotten her here in time.

She had blocked the incoming swords with her armor and been reunited with Fukushima for the first time in more than a month.

Fukushima had lost a lot of weight. In Sanada, Kiyomasa had enjoyed a tour of the best food that Ueda, Shinshu, had to offer, but how had Fukushima spent her time?

One look was all it took to assess the situation.

Fukushima had been hit and injured. She had taken a lot of damage. A glance at a lernen figur said she didn’t have any broken bones, but her scrapes and bruises had triggered a red signal in several places.

But that was to be expected. Checking Shibata and Oichi on her lernen figur told Kiyomasa that Oichi’s clothes were torn in a few places and Shibata had a deep cut in his left chest.

Fukushima had achieved all that against those two on her own.

“Fukushima-sama.”

Kiyomasa wanted to say “well done” or “you’ve grown” or “don’t worry” or any number of other things.

But Fukushima opened her mouth first.

“Kiyo-dono.”

Seeing the tears spilling from Fukushima’s eyes left Kiyomasa speechless.

She understood they had done so much to each other and had so much done to them by each other.

She understood they had gone through the same thing over the last month

But while Kiyomasa had Unno and her underclassmen at Sanada with her, who had Fukushima had? And had she blamed herself for the lie she told out of kindness?

But Fukushima managed to speak through the tears.

“I missed thee.”

That was enough. Kiyomasa nodded and hugged her.

She pulled her in close and held her tight. And…

…Oh.

Awkwardly, Fukushima’s arms pulled Kiyomasa toward her a little too hard.

She was probably still having trouble regulating her strength thanks to the damage she had taken. She sought Kiyomasa so intensely her arms and fingers dug painfully into her back, but Kiyomasa let her.

When their eyes met, Kiyomasa realized she too was crying.

She shut her eyes and knew exactly what they were going to do next.

They knew something that could take the place of words or instructions. Their lips came together in an expression of mutual forgiveness.

They showed each other they would no longer hesitate in such things.

●

“Hey, now. Did you forget about us?”

The black and white figures embraced atop the stage while red roof fragments and white and red flowers danced in the wind.

And after a few breaths…

“––––”

They finally parted. But now they were both facing Shibata’s way.

Kiyomasa held her two sickle spears in her hands.

Fukushima’s shoulders heaved with her heavy breaths, but she managed to remain standing with Ichinotani in her arms.

“You gonna fight?” he asked.

They both nodded and Kiyomasa bowed her head.

“We would be honored.”

That’s the spirit. Fukushima was glaring at him while several lernen figurs popped up and vanished around her. They looked like pain reduction spells to him, which could only mean…

…A quick showdown.

That had been the plan before, but now she was really dedicated.

Her resolve was set.

…Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shibata honestly regretted getting so pissed earlier. But now he and Oichi would have two opponents. This new start meant he could really go all out.

“I appreciate it,” he said.

“Eh?”

Confused, Kiyomasa looked to Fukushima, but she too tilted her head. You don’t need to figure out what I mean. It’s a me issue. But I’m over it now. So now…

“Bring it. Let’s give Shizugatake the ending it deserves.”

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