Chapter Seven: Audience (Kasumi)

It's not nice to shoot a superstar, much less a lady, you know!

Kasumi watches in awe as the young man dashes after the boy, realizing she had forgotten to ask for names. Her gaze returns to the man on the ground, whose breathing is rather heavy. The figure with the bow and arrows kneels by his side, and mutters to him, though Kasumi cannot hear what.

She meets eyes with the former king who had given her the red rose. He offers her a smile, to which she cannot help but giggle at. She was just a giggling and smiling mess, but she couldn't help herself. If she is to grow her audience, positivity, and optimism, despite any situation, are a must.

Soon, the pair who took off running return to where the group waits. The young man speaks first, but not before witnessing the young boy knock the archer to the ground and take his place by the man on the ground. The archer pushes himself up, receives a vicious glare from the boy, and dusts off his outfit before listening to the young man.

"I saw two flags. One is of Russland. The second is of Finnland, or that's what-"

"Finnland? Really?" The man in the white military uniform raises his head and tries to steady his breathing while casting a glance at the boy beside him, who vigorously nods.

Kasumi tilts her head at the mentions of the two countries. She had, of course, heard of Russland; they produced some pretty talented figure skaters (though they paled in comparison to her). But Finnland? She never heard of a place like that before. Did it snow there? Did they send any people over to the Olympia?

"That's what Reko identified the flag as. Though I have no idea what those flags are doing over there. I would love to go over and see, but-"

"I can go!" Kasumi jumps up and throws her hand up in the air, catching everyone's attention.

"What?" The archer to the girl's left breaks the awkward silence that follows.

"When I wish, I can create ice underneath me. I can skate pretty fast, so I could probably fly by where those flags are and see what the enemy is up to! Plus, if they think I'm good enough, they might become my fans. If they do become my fans, please refrain from killing them," Kasumi begins to walk over to where she last saw the young man and boy and hears footsteps behind her.

She turns around and sees everyone following her, even the man in the military uniform, though he is heavily supported by the young boy. Before she forgets, she stops and clears her throat.

"Could I get names for everyone? Just so I can invite you all to the next Olympia after this whole war disaster ends," Kasumi receives nods in response and stares at the man who gave her the red rose, signifying he would be the first to give her his name.

"I am King Nicholas Melchoir of Poland, but you are free to call me Nicholas, miss Kasumi."

"I'm Felix Adelric...the former General of the Army...for Schweiz."

The young boy beside Felix just gives her a threatening glare. She moves her eyes to the archer beside him.

"I am Engelard Sivert, an archer and Leon's begleiter."

"And I am Leon Kreshnik, an assassin, and Engelard's travel companion. Now, are you sure you're alright doing this? You don't need to do this if don't want to or if you're scared," Leon's concern only makes Kasumi laugh and dismiss his words with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, please! If I was scared, I wouldn't have become such a great figure skater! Alright, I'll see you all in two minutes, tops!"

Without another word, Kasumi turns around, closes her eyes, and steps out of the gates marking the entry into Zürich. When she opens her eyes, her shoes are ice skates, and the land before her is ice. She trains her gaze on the rising sun, praying she is actually fast enough to make it back before the ice recedes.

She pushes off with her right foot and begins picking up speed with each push she makes with her feet afterward. The scene before her becomes a blur as she passes by. The only sounds she can hear are the scratch of the blades across the ice, and the wind in her face.

The two flags become bigger every second, and Kasumi marvels that their rather simple designs. She knew Russland's flag and found the colors to complement each other quite nicely. And, from the colors of Finnland's flag, she guessed they excelled at the Winterolympiade, if not the Sommerolympiade as well.

The closer she gets, the more cautious she grows. She can spot tanks, tents, guns, and some people wandering around, still in front of the two flags. Unfortunately, she is going at a fast enough pace that she is unable to distinguish what country the people came from, though based on how they stop and stare at her as she passes, they are all potential fans.

The sun is now almost fully over the mountains that lay in the distance. Kasumi pushes her feet and legs to go just a bit faster, knowing she has a few minutes left until she is left without ice to skate on until the sun set again.

She reaches the origin of the flags, which mark two big tents. She guesses the tents are for the important military officials in the two countries. But before she can get off the ice and inspect the area, she remembers how little time she has left.

Kasumi suddenly hears what sounds like a firework only a half-mile in front of her, and meets eyes with an unfriendly-looking man, pointing a gun at her face.

"Hey! It's not very generous to shoot someone who's performing for you, much less a lady! Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?"

Another gunshot. Kasumi feels the wind blow by her left arm.

"I'll take that as a no, then. Farewell! I'll see you at the Olympia!" Kasumi jumps up, and pushes off the ice with her right foot, picking up pace and soon skating as fast as her already tired legs can push her.

She can hear gunshots behind her but doesn't dare look over her shoulder. One moment of pause would mean she could die. She couldn't die now! She has fans waiting for her, and future fans yet to know of her greatness!

It was a race against not only bullets but also the sun. Any moment now, the ice would melt, and Kasumi was far better at skating than she was running. She would die. She would die doing what she loved, in this foreign country, which was in the midst of a crazy war, and how many fans did she gain?

Kasumi sees the gates of Zürich grow larger every moment. The bullets behind her ricochet just inches away from her feet. She begins to see the ice recede. No, no, no, no, no. Not now. Just a minute more, and she would be safe.

A gunshot from somewhere in front of the girl makes her jump and land on the ground with a thump. The ice fully recedes, and Kasumi panics for a moment, knowing she was just skating for her life. But...there were no more gunshots.

The girl glances behind her and can see the man who was chasing her with the gun on the ground, a bullet wound in the middle of his chest. She whips her head back around and sees Felix running up to her, his pistol still in his hand. Leon is beside him and extends a hand to help her up once the pair reach her location.

"Are you alright, Kasumi? You're not hurt, are you?" The concern in Leon's voice is evident, but Kasumi only has the energy to shake her head while she regains her breath.

"Several seconds later...and you would have...been shot. I'm glad I got...to you in time..." Felix is also out of breath, and he puts both hands over his knees as he attempts to slow his breathing.

"I'm glad you're okay. Come on, let's get you into Zürich so you're at least safe. Felix, do you want me to get Reko- Oh, no, never mind, here he comes," Leon sidesteps to allow Reko to pass by him and end up by Felix's side.

The assassin takes Kasumi's hand and guides her the rest of the way to Zürich's gates and near the cafe where a table and chairs have been set up for the group to sit at. Kasumi sits in a seat between Nicholas and Leon.

Leon sits beside Engelard, who sits across from the first empty chair. Kasumi assumes the second empty chair at the head of the table is for Felix and wonders how he was able to save her, and what his words meant.

Kasumi focuses back on the present when she sees a red rose in front of her. She looks to her right at Nicholas, who once again smiles at her.

"You dropped it when you left Zürich. I thought you might want it back."

"Ah... Thank you. You love flowers, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. By the way, do you happen to know what kind of flower that young boy from earlier might like?"

Kasumi thinks about the young boy, who so rudely decapitated the flower Nicholas gave to him. Everyone loves flowers, right? What is the boy's name, anyway? Does he have a family? Is Felix his father, perhaps? That would explain why the boy is by his side almost every second, at least from what Kasumi could see.

"No, I don't have a clue. You could ask him, but he probably won't give you an answer."

The group is silent after Kasumi speaks. The girl takes out a cloth and begins to polish her skates again. She can hear Nicolas softly hum to himself while stroking the petals of a carnation he summoned, while Leon and Engelard have a staring contest. And, by Leon's expressions, he is losing every time.

Eventually, footsteps alert the four to the return of Felix and the boy. They take their seats, and Felix clears his throat before speaking.

"I apologize. A couple of my soldiers...met a sudden demise, hence my actions a while ago. I don't know why they were killed, but I'm positive it was by that man's hand. Nonetheless, thank you, Kasumi, for your willingness to volunteer. Did you happen to get close enough to those flags to see what was near them?"

"Yes, I did. They marked rather big tents. I also saw tanks, rifles, military personnel walking around, and a bunch of other items people use in war. Thanks for saving me from that man who was shooting at me. Oh, but I do want to ask, can you see...?"

Kasumi doesn't have to finish her sentence. Felix nods and everyone falls silent as if in mourning for the lives lost that Felix couldn't possibly save.

"I do. It tortures me to know someone close to me is dying, yet I can only watch it happen right before my eyes like I'm there but am unable to do anything to stop it. But I'm glad Reko followed me, despite my thoughts that he would be safer staying behind. Oh, and this is Reko, for those of you that he refused to give his name to. Why don't you greet Nicholas and Kasumi, Reko?"

Felix glances over at the boy, who frowns and shakes his head. Felix purses his lips and shrugs, offering apologetic smiles at the two people he mentioned.

"He'll warm up to everyone eventually; just give him some time. Anyway, I assume all of you have some sort of special ability that assists you in one way or another? I'd like to know them if possible, so if I draw up any plans, I can use each person to the best of their ability."

Felix looks to Engelard, who slowly nods, then perks up and speaks, as if he was asleep just a moment ago.

"Ah, sorry. I have sharp eyes and the ability to sense if someone is watching us from afar if I shoot an arrow in that direction. It has helped save Leon's life on multiple occasions," Engelard playfully elbows Leon, who offers a sigh in response.

"I can see the past of others through drinking their blood but get awful headaches if I drink the blood of people I have any sort of connection with, friendly or otherwise. Sadly, this has led me to crave blood quite often, which I hope this war can somewhat satisfy for a while."

"I'm able, as you could see several minutes ago, to create ice whenever I wish, and my shoes turn into ice skates the moment I step onto the ice. Once the sun rises over the mountains in that direction, the ice recedes, and I can't make any more until the sun sets. So, I'm probably more useful for you at night," Kasumi points in the direction of the mountains she saw beyond the entrance of Zürich, and everyone nods except for Reko, who doesn't appear to be paying attention at all.

"I can summon any type of flower I wish at will and can make anyone fall in love with me with just a single word or phrase, but it only lasts temporarily. It may come across as an odd ability at first, but many people do say a charming country like Polen does need a charming king, and who better for the position than me?"

Everyone turns their attention to Reko. Felix puts a hand on his shoulder, and the boy mutters under his breath before standing up. He points at a building on the other side of the market square, and pulls out a pocket watch, handing it to Felix.

Reko walks until he is standing on the other side of the fence around the cafe, and nods to Felix. The general gives him a nod in response, and the boy takes off running. Once he reaches the building, he looks at Felix, who holds up a hand.

"Thirty seconds."

Felix gives Reko a thumbs-up, and the group watches as the boy holds up his right hand. A golden dagger appears in his hand, and he takes off running again, this time far faster than his first time running. He stops where the fence is, and looks at Felix, who lets a smile come over his lips.

"Ten seconds."

"I-I'm sorry? He cut twenty seconds off his time just by- Ah, shit! He has pinpoint accuracy with daggers, too!?" Engelard yelps as he finds the golden dagger Reko held in his hand on the metal table, only centimeters from the archer's lap.

"Yes, I suppose that's one way you could explain it," Felix looks in Reko's direction and whispers something to him, to which Reko just crosses his arms and returns to his seat.

He snaps with the fingers on his right hand, and the dagger in front of Engelard vanishes, though the dent in the table remains.

Kasumi remembers the question she was wondering about and works up the courage she suspects she needs to ask Felix about it.

"Army General, sir-"

"Please, just call me Felix. I'm no longer the General of the Army, at least for now."

"Felix, is Reko related to you in any way?"

The man shakes his head, and Reko gives the girl an insulting glare before returning his stare to something far more interesting that no one else can see.

"No, we are not related. He's just a soldier in my unit, and my only guess as to why he followed me is because I saved him when he was- Ah, I'm sorry. I won't talk about it if you don't want me to," Felix stops himself from speaking when Reko's eyes grow wide, and the boy vigorously shakes his head.

Reko stands up and leaves the table without saying another word. Kasumi watches as he turns right after he reaches the center of the market square, where she spotted stores when she first entered Zürich on ice.

Once he is out of sight, Felix turns back to face the others.

"I hope he'll have conversations with all of you soon. Please don't be deterred from talking to him just because of his unwelcoming expressions, posture, actions, or words. He's honestly a nice kid. He's just the quieter type," Felix's voice is soft as if Reko can hear him from the stores beyond the cafe.

"Tsk. If you say so. But if he throws another dagger in my direction, I can't guarantee-"

"If you even think about hurting him-"

Engelard shoots up from his seat, grabs an arrow from the holster on his back, notches, and then points it at Felix. Surprisingly, Felix just sits in his chair and casually points his pistol at Engelard, though his expression suggests this is no longer a casual conversation.

Kasumi, Nicholas, and Leon exchange nervous glances, wondering if any of them should break the tense silence.

But Felix rises from his seat, returns his pistol to its holster, and walks in the same direction Reko did. Engelard watches him go, then sits back down as Leon tugs on his sleeve.

"Now, I'm no master in arguments, but I'm pretty sure you both owe each other an apology," Kasumi points out.

Engelard sighs and looks at her, a small smile crossing his expression.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm- Nah, I'll save it for Felix. But...I am hungry, and looking at the food in the café isn't helping my stomach cope with the realization that I haven't eaten anything in several hours," Engelard stares at the windows of the café as he talks, and everyone can't help but follow his gaze.

"I must agree with the archer. I will happily pick food out for the young man and boy. I feel as though I know what they will like from the selection I see," Nicholas rises from his seat, and everyone else follows.

Kasumi follows the young men as they enter through the shattered window, and finds herself staring at a variety of fruit pastries.

Words and phrases used in this chapter:

Russland- Russia

Finnland- Finland

Olympia- Olympics

Schweiz- Switzerland

Begleiter- Companion

Winterolympiade- Winter Olympics

Sommerolympiade- Summer Olympics

Polen- Poland