Tears Beneath Her Azure Eyes

"Where..."

"—am I" was what he was going to say but he touched his throat reflexively after hearing the hoarse voice from his mouth. That was when he noticed the bandages— not just on his hand, but his entire body.

"Look who decided to wake up, it's already past dinnertime"

"Mas— Ow!"

"Don't try to move yet, you're still injured"

He took a deep breath and gently lay back down, facing the girl seated at the far edge of his hospital bed with a tray of food on her lap.

"Here, say aahh"

Reluctantly, he complied. He was in no shape to move, which meant moving his body to eat would prove difficult.

After he was done eating, Rei placed the tray on the floor.

"Where you the one who bandaged me?"

"Ofcourse not, you'll have to thank Yuki for that"

"Yuki? Oh, the ice guy. Guess I'll thank him later"

"He also carried you here after you got knocked out, and being a volunteer here gave him access to treatment for your wounds"

Once he found out he was in the infirmary, everything started coming back to him— He was knocked out by Tetsuro and..... Lost the fight.

He turned his head away, his expression dull from shame

"Now then, where do I start? My name's Rei Izanagi, 16 years old. I have a big sis and little bro—"

"Wait, Wait,Wait.... What are you doing?"

"Huh? Telling you about myself"

"But..... I lost"

"Hahaha, That was a joke, I was going to tell you from the start..."

Arc could tell she was lying and his face sank further, bitter that she was taking pity on him. She noticed his expression then smiled softly, looking at the floor.

"Sigh— Truth is..... Part of the reason you lost was because I was an incompetent sparring partner. If only I was stronger.... I could've prepared you better and you wouldn't have gotten so hurt...."

"That's not true, master—ow!"

"Still though, you didn't give up and fought till the very end, even managing to put Tetsuro on the ropes. You may not have won officially, however....."

She turned to him with a bright smile, the moonlight through the small window at the corner perfectly illuminating her silky short hair and reflecting those azure eyes— a smile nothing short of beautiful.

".....you were really cool out there, Arc"

He pulled his bangs with right hand in an attempt to hide his beet red face.

"T-Thank you, master"

"Stop it with the 'master' stuff, it's obvious I'm not suited to be one. Just call me Rei"

"O-Okay, Ms Re—"

"Rei! R-E-I.....No titles, it makes me sound old"

His face reddened even further

"R-Rei"

"*PLOP— There you go, now then....."

She lay across the bed, resting her back beyond where the short legs on Arc's small body stopped. She took a deep breath, assuming a cool expression.

"I guess the first thing I should tell you is why my sister was branded a traitor"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to"

"Nah, it's fine. Besides, it's related to why I hate hunters..... Hmmm, I guess I should start with that"

She smiled a little, reminiscing the good old days

"You see.... This world was once a bright and beautiful place for onis. Sure, we had our fair share of problems and conflicts but it was still a peaceful world all in all..."

Her smile faded after that

"..... However, that all changed 10 years ago when a gate opened to our world and humans came through...hunters they called themselves"

"....."

"They raided our homes and killed thousands of our kind in the name of exploration, it resulted in a fierce, bloody war ending in victory for the hunters."

"I really am sorry"

"What are you apologizing for? It's not like you're responsible. Besides, that's just how war is— there are no good or bad people, just victors and losers. The worst part is once they captured our world, they sold it off to the Baldur family who rounded up the surviving onis for all sorts of experiments"

"That's awful. I'm sure if the Midgard government found out about those experiments, they could do something"

"Doubt it. After all, we're more useful as ingredients"

"In...gredients?"

"From their research, they found a way to replicate our regenerative abilities. They cut off parts of our bodies and grind it down to use as a key ingredient for healing potions"

Healing potions, a liquid medicine for instant healing of injuries which has been a compulsory package in every Hunter's loadout for about 8-9 years now. It's so important that hunters are forbidden from exploring gate worlds without at least one.

Arc felt sick upon realizing that living cells were a crucial ingredient. Furthermore, cutting off parts sounded familiar somehow

"So that's what they do to onis in the black room"

"Yep. Anyway, the surviving fighters from the oni clans banded together to form a resistance and it's leader was Tetsuro"

"Huh? How did he get in here then?"

"The resistance force was wiped out and captured by hunters about two months ago and brought here as ingredients. The rest of our forces bailed and went into hiding so mantle fell on us kids after that—"

She shrugged a little as she said

"—We kidnapped the Princess in order to negotiate a trade and free our comrades. Too bad we were thwarted by a pervy little brat who just couldn't mind his business"

"I really am sorry about that"

"Haha, don't worry about it, it's water under the bridge"

She replied, smirking at his troubled expression

"So, how does your sister fit into all this?"

"She was the strongest warrior the Oni clan ever produced and only oni to be born with two horns. In the war ten years ago, she was on the front lines going toe to toe. However, she surrendered and signed a slave contract with a hunter"

Arc's eyes widened, matching the sad expression on Rei's face, tears streaming down her cheeks

"Truth is.....she surrendered because of me, it was my fault. I got captured by a hunter back then and he threatened to kill me if she didn't..."

She whispered " I'm sorry Rai" before bursting to tears

"Because of me, she was forced to fight and kill her own people and was branded a traitor..... Ofcourse she chose to save her family, she was only 8. That's not the kind of decision a child should be forced to make"

[This tomboy girl was probably treated like a pariah by her people after that. Must've been hard being alone as a survivor]

Those words resonated with Arc for some reason. Probably because that could've been him if not for Amy, his friends who got deported before him, and the younger children who accepted him.

Rei covered her eyes with her arm, whispering to herself

"It was all my fault, she wouldn't have been forced to make that decision in the first place if I hadn't gotten caught, I'm sorry Rai, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry....."

Arc watched the tears streaming down Rei's cheeks with sorrow, knowing full well there was nothing he could do to erase all she went through. Nevertheless, there was still one thing he could do— to comfort the crying damsel right here, right now, no excuses.

He started by moving his upper body to sit up while folding his legs, then he stretched out his hand and patted her head

*Pat pat

"I thought I told you not to move around so much"

"Don't worry, I'm fine"

"Your face says otherwise"

He was barely holding back his screams of agony as a result of his injuries and it showed on his face full of bulging veins and the expression of someone trying to drop the largest dump of the decade.

"I can't begin to imagine all you had to go through so it'll be arrogant of me to say I'll shoulder the pain with you, however...."

He forced a smile

"..... If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I want you to know I'm here. We're friends, after all. I'll always be on your side"

She poked him in the chest

"OWWWWWWW!"

"Yep, you're definitely still injured, so lie down"

She shoved him back on his pillow, her face inches away from his and eyes locked on each other.

"Haha, I must be a blubbering mess if I need a kid cheering me up. Still though..... thanks for that, Arc. I'm much better now"

She got up from the bed stretching a little

"Stay in bed for two days, doctors orders. Don't worry I'll cover your shift so just get better, okay?"

"Uhmm, Thank—"

*CREAK

"Hey there, short stuff!"

Rei instantly stepped in front of Arc and assumed a defensive stance against Tetsuro who was accompanied by Otto.

This was something she definitely wouldn't have done a couple of days ago— standing up to the older onis, that is

"My, my... If looks could kill, I'd be a dead man right now. It's only been a few days but you've definitely grown, little girl. Still, it's good you're here as well"

"State your business!"

"Hahahaha, isn't it obvious? I came to cash in on our agreement"

"Can't you see he's injured?! Come back another time!"

"Sorry, but it can't wait. My request is this...."

He and Otto knelt down simultaneously

"Please, accept an apology from just the two of us! We were insensitive and out of line, I accept full responsibility as Chief"

"Huh?"

Arc was severely confused and so was Rei

"You wanted the entire clan to apologise, but I'm asking you to accept just me on behalf of the clan! The pride of an oni warrior just won't allow something like that"

"B-But Mr Otto was the only one who attacked me"

"Not just that!"

He raised his head with tear filled eyes

"It's been rough, hasn't it, girl?"

"Y-You were eavesdropping?!"

She turned red upon realizing Tetsuro had been outside the door the whole time and heard..... EVERYTHING. Tetsuro smiled a little while scratching his head

"My, my.... seems it wasn't just me"

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, different onis started popping out from behind large equipments, inside boxes, the ceilings and every other hiding spot— all with tear filled eyes.

[They all snuck in to get a closer look at the kid who almost beat Tetsuro. They hid once the tomboy walked in and were stuck here since]

"Waahhh.... We misjudged you, kid!"

"After how we treated you, you still tried to save us"

"I'm so sorry, Rei!"

She turned completely red with embarrassment as they all gathered around her in tears

Arc smiled at the heartwarming sight he witnessed and started feeling lonely—he missed his friends at the cradle, the kids.... and Amy.

*TAP

He was snapped out of his gloom by a face he recognized, the second person he knocked out at the cafeteria that day.

"You were really cool out there too, kid. The name's Junpei!"

"I-I'm.... Arc"

Strangely enough, he blended into the group and hit it off with several onis gathered there. Shortly after, they were joined by his cellmates and Yuki who fit right in and ended up throwing a small party in the infirmary that night.

Slowly but surely, Arc found new friends, no, a new family in the confines of prison.

Through both sad and happy times, Regardless of race or gender, Despite the hardships, torture and strife of the hellscape known as the mines, and the periodic punishments from the crazy princess, he could endure with people he could count on—shoulders to lighten the burden if it's too great for one.

And just like that, 2 weeks flew by.

*POW POW POW

During free time, Arc was seen playing catch ball in the courtyard with Tetsuro

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"C'mon, short stuff. Do I really need a reason to play with children?"

"Aside from having too much time on your hands, yes you do"

"Hahahaha"

[He's been watching the guard movements ever since we started playing. Whatever he wants to say must be quite important]

*WHOOSH

Arc missed that last ball and his eyes widened in disbelief. He had received Tetsuro's info loud and clear and had decided on his answer.

"With everyone?"

"Ofcourse! Just who the hell to you think I am?"

Arc smirked at the confident response from the fearless chief of the onis. His message was clear and full of hope for everyone

"We're planning an escape soon, and I want you to come with us"