Chapter 20 - A Vengeful Thirst

"Alright then," said Orihime, "since we have established the possibility of having a permanent alliance with each other, don't you think it's high time we got to know each other more?"

Kazuya sighed, not liking where this was going. "Is this necessary?" he asked.

"It is!" she said to him. "At best, we might be spending the next couple of months together." "It's only natural that we get to know each other to a reasonable degree."

Kazuya sighed, believing she was never going to let this go. "Alright, woman," he gave in, "What do you want?"

Orihime smiled. "Now you are talking," she said, "how about we start with the basics?" - like the things we like, the things we don't like, and our general expectations for the times ahead of us? "Alright, you go first."

Kazuya sighed. "I want to die," he whispered to himself, but she heard it. 

"Stop being childish and just do it already!" she said to him. 

"Alright, fine," he said, "my name is Kazuya Toriyama." I am 23 years old. I like anybody who allows me to do what I want, and I hate people who force me into doing things I don't want. My hope is for this mission to get over soon enough so that our alliance will cease to have an excuse for existing.

"Good to know," she remarked, acting like she hadn't realized that everything he just said was a diss towards her. "But why do I feel like I am the one you just spoke about as the subject of your hatred?"

"I have no idea," he joked. "Are you?" he then asked rhetorically before resting his back on the bark of a nearby tree. 

Orihime sighed, ignoring his mocking sarcasm. "Now it's my turn," she said. "My name is Satou Orihime." I am 17 years old. I enjoy talking to people, sometimes.

"...and I hate goblins." 

As she said this, Kazuya looked at her, not with the usual exhausted look he always had whenever he was around her but now with a hint of seriousness and empathy. They both seemed to share a common mental enemy, and he became eager to know more about her convictions. 

"I hope we get the chance to destroy all the goblins in existence during the mission, even though it takes us the rest of our lives to do so," she said to him. 

As she kept on speaking, Kazuya noticed that her tone seemed to have swung into a dark mode within seconds. It was as if this wasn't the same Orihime who was talking to him just less than a minute ago. 

This Orihime was bitter and resentful—different from what he had made her out to be. The more she kept speaking, the more her eyes moistened and her lips trembled. It was evident that she was trying to hold back her tears but was failing miserably. 

"Those creatures don't deserve the right to exist, and I wish to at least be able to drive those green fools to the brink of extinction." "I want their newly sentient minds to know not just basic pain and fear but also to begin to comprehend the concept of hell—the agony, the anxiety, and the turmoil of which the only redemption is death."

As she finished speaking, she wiped off the little tears that had accumulated in her eyes with the backs of her hands. 

"I'm sorry, that was inappropriate," she said to him, trying to sober up, but he didn't mind at all. 

"Might I ask why you have become so obsessed with fighting goblins?" he asked, causing her to look at him with a genuinely angry face.

So Kazuya made his intentions clear... 

"I also have a grudge against the green scumbags." That is why I am curious to know what the driving force behind it is all about in your case. I lost my family and community to a goblin assault not even two days ago. I was heavily consumed by grief and sorrow, but it was the sudden thirst for revenge that gave me a purpose and has kept me focused. My thirst for vengeance is all that I have right now. It is the only thing that gives me something to look forward to, whether logical or not.

That is why I was hell-bent on finding out the location of the goblin hideout. I felt we shared a common goal when you said you hated goblins above all other things, and that is why I wanted to know more. But if you don't want to talk about it, I won't press further. It's totally up to you."

After he said this, she remained silent but no longer glared at him. He figured she did not want to talk about it—after all, she was a sobbing mess right now. But contrary to his expectations, she spoke up...

"I once had a big sister." We barely knew our parents. Our earliest memories came from the orphanage I was raised in. Eventually, when famine struck our land, the orphanage couldn't exist anymore. So all the people who weren't toddlers couldn't be taken care of anymore, including me and my sister. We eventually traveled towards this place, as we heard we could make a living doing odd jobs in this town. But along the way, while we were walking through the woods to get to town, we got attacked by goblins, one of whom slaughtered my sister in cold blood...

To cut a long story short, I live because she died, giving herself up as bait to those green devils. Having no place to go, I completed the journey by entering the town and started making a living as a huntress. I couldn't ask for much, as I was a lonely stranger living in a strange land. As you can tell, I am different from others, given my odd features, clearly showing that I am not from around here... 

... Because of differences such as these, finding an average job has been difficult, so I chose to settle for this. When I heard rumours of goblins popping up in the surrounding forests, I just had to at least come see for myself, and when I did, I couldn't hold myself back—and that's when you came in.

This is the reason I despise them: they took the only family I had from me. "Now that my conscience is intact, I cannot live with myself without returning the favor—to all of them."

After she had finished speaking, she used the back of her hand to wipe the little tears from her eyes again. 

For a second, Kazuya wanted to reach out and tell her that she wasn't alone in this and that he also felt the same way. But he wasn't that type of person. 

"I see," he remarked as he stared up into the slowly darkening sky, "maybe the journey we are about to embark on might not be as much of a drag as I predicted it to be." "We might get along just fine," he said to her. 

Orihime looked at Kazuya, taking a deep breath and trying to revert to her usual personality. "So, what do we do now?" she asked. 

"We wait and rest," Kazuya replied. "We are going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Wait and rest?" In these woods?" she asked, "Do you have any idea the kind of creatures that lurk out here at this hour of the night?" "Let us return to town and spend the night in an inn." 

"Aren't those thugs still after you?" asked Kazuya as he got up, dusting off the sand from his cape and trousers. "Given what ensued at the tavern, don't you think it is safe to stay away from that town—especially at night?" 

"I get that," she replied, "but I feel it would be safer to spend the night hiding in the town rather than sleeping in these woods."

"Well, you go ahead to town," he said to her, "and I will say right here." "Come meet with me here before daybreak tomorrow, and then we will start working from there."

"Why do you sound like you have figured everything out already?" she asked with an arched brow. But Kazuya remained silent. 

"Alright, big man," she said, "take care, and try not to die before I get back tomorrow."

"Right back at you, woman." "I don't see how you plan on surviving through the night after what happened this afternoon," he said to her. 

Then she opened her little bag and brought out a large cloak, donning it as a disguise. "See you soon, big man," she said right before leaving for the town below. 

The sky was now dark, the stars were quite visible on the distant horizon, and the moon was giving off its light brilliantly. 

When Orihime had gotten out of sight, it was now pitch black, with only the moonlight making things visible. Then Kazuya sat down and summoned Gaichu, who came forth out of thin air to answer him. 

"Yes, Kazuya?" it answered while floating right in front of his face, "what can I do for you tonight?"

"A lot," Kazuya replied, "I need a lot of information from you, Gaichu, starting with details on hidden sorceries and mages."

"I have a lot of information on that available for disclosure," said Gaichu, "but please note, it is hundreds of pages long, and even if I read it for you, it would take multiple hours to do so."

"Well, we all have to start from somewhere, right?" asked Kazuya rhetorically as Giachu opened up a large holographic encyclopedia on hidden magic, its users, and their possible locations. 

... and at first glance, Kazuya could tell he might not be sleeping long enough tonight.