It had been several minutes since Kuzen left, yet Grimbell remained rooted in the exact same spot, motionless as a statue. His back was still curved forward, shoulders sagging, arms hanging limply at his sides, and his head still bowed. His lips moved silently, a faint rhythm of chanting barely audible, as if his voice was carried on the breath of the wind itself.
From where I sat, I faced him and he stood facing me, but the whole time his eyes were just fixed on the ground.
"Hey, are you awake? You should sit down; you might fall," I called out softly, my voice breaking the silence like a small stone tossed into a still pond.
Slowly, Grimbell lifted his head – and our eyes met. He studied me for a while, like I was some kind of a puzzle, a riddle he wanted to solve but couldn't find the first piece to fit. His brows furrowed, shadows deepening above his eyes as if he was trying to figure out if I had been there the whole time, quietly waiting.
He made a hesitant step forward to approach me, but the Zei Shadows Kuzen left behind to guard him clung to him fast like thick ropes, holding him as though the very darkness around him refused to let him move freely.
He lowered his gaze toward the Zei Shadows beneath him. "I just want to move closer," he murmured, gesturing uncertainly toward me. "I'm sure Kuzen won't mind."
The tension in the air stretched taut for a moment before the shadows slowly loosened their grip. They slid off him like snakes climbing down a tree, then back into the earth beneath his feet.
Grimbell took another step and finally lowered himself to sit facing me. His gaze lingered longer than before, scanning my face. Then, in a quiet, almost tentative voice, he asked, "What's your name?" He tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as if testing the weight of the name he might expect. "Are you strong?"
His wide eyes locked on my lips, waiting patiently, like a predator waiting for its prey to move, or perhaps like a child waiting for a story to begin.
Humph. Is he being serious right now?
"I'm Fiel, and I'm not…" I started, but before I could finish, he interrupted.
"I'm Grimbell," he said smoothly, "and that tall guy who just left is Zei-Kuzen. You can call him Kuzen though."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully, eyes flicking down to the dirt at our feet. "I want to ask you something," he said, moving just a little closer.
"Go on." I permitted him.
"Since I first saw you on the academy grounds, I've been meaning to ask – how old are you?" His fingers began to count nervously, mumbling numbers repeatedly under his breath so fast it was barely audible, as if the answer carried some heavy secret.
Where did that even come from?
Normally, when people meet in a moment like this – just some time after barely escaping death. You'd expect them to jump into planning, scrambling for a strategy, anything to help them survive the situation. But this guy is just sitting there, legs folded, hands resting between them, watching me like I'm some puzzle he's determined to solve. Not even a flicker of urgency in his eyes, just calm and steady… asking me how old I am.
The girl curled in my arms resting against my chest, stirred, pressing herself deeper into me. Her lips moved softly, words slipping out like a fragile melody.
"It's beating so loud," she whispered, eyes almost half-closed. "The vibrations are… rhythmic."
She was talking about my heart, though her words floated past me, strange and mysterious.
Between the trees nearby, slightly to my left. A shadow shifted, barely noticeable, watching Grimbell and me silently.
"Do you go around asking people their age?" I asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk playing on my lips, unable to hide the surprise in my voice.
"No, I don't." Grimbell said, shaking his head. "It's just… I've been curious. You look too perfect and mature for your size."
My brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"Okay, don't quotation me wrong, but you're the type any girl would fall for at first sight." He lowered his head, clenching his fist, embarrassment flickering across his face. "I mean, your looks; you have the height any guy would wish for. Your face is attractive, and you seem gentle too. On top of that, your hair color is rare."
This guy doesn't seem to know me or what I really am, yet he's already convinced any girl would fall for me just. Hmph...
I couldn't quite place where he was coming from. But I was certain no guy compliments another guy like that. Or maybe it wasn't a compliment at all, just a list of things he admired and wished for himself.
"Would you like to guess my age?" I asked, curious of what he had in mind.
He sized me up carefully. "I'd say twenty-six or older."
"Ouch… dude." I let out a dry chuckle. That was his opinion, but it was wrong. "No. Actually, I'm sixteen."
Grimbell's brows tightened, eyes narrowing, but he didn't say a word, just stared at me with uncertainty, though I could tell he wanted to argue. "You're two years younger than me and three years younger than Kuzen."
I looked at him, unsure if I could trust him, but something about his nervousness made me think he wouldn't hurt a fly. "Can I ask you something, too?"
He nodded eagerly.
"Can you tell me something about you and that tall, broad-shouldered guy?"
"You mean Kuzen? I can tell you anything you want to know. You're my friend now, and Kuzen's friend too."
The word hit me like a sudden breeze. 'Friend.' I'd never heard it from anyone except Clara.
"I noticed he was holding you like some kind of criminal." I said, unsure if that was the right way to phrase it.
"Well, not exactly a criminal, but close." Grimbell searched for the right words, fingers never leaving his chin, one hand supporting his elbow.
He jabbed a thumb at himself, a small smile lighting his expression. "Name's Grimbell. That guy who just left is Zei-Kuzen, but you can call him Kuzen. We're childhood friends. But don't get me wrong, I'm not a criminal… at least, not exactly."
Did he forget he already did the introduction.
Grimbell hesitated, then opened up, his face tightening with memory. "When Player 1 said we had to kill Player 2 to survive, I panicked and almost killed someone right then, but Kuzen stopped me."
His expression darkened. "Later… I tried to kill him instead. That's why he treats me like this – trying to keep me from killing anyone, especially not the students. But like I said, we've known each other since we were kids."
From Grimbell's words, Kuzen sounded like a nice guy if he could do that for he's sake.
Grimbell leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. "Can I tell you a secret?"
I tilted my head slightly in a simple nod.
"Kuzen's gone to see a girl he likes. She's hurt though. She got into a fight and ended up injured. So he went to take care of her. I doubt he's coming back anytime soon." He gave a small wave-off, his hand drifting down from near his ear across his chest. "So that blanket he promised you? Yeah, forget it."
Something about him told me he was the kind of person who'd spill secrets without being asked. But I wasn't sure if it was trust or just his nature.
Grimbell stood and shrugged off his jacket, draping it gently over the girl in my arms and me. "I admire your body, you don't seem to feel cold. But we should go to sleep now."
There had always been a reason behind my body temperature, it wasn't just something normal but my back had now stopped flicking colours, it was just black.
As he was still bent down fixing the jacket, a bullet shot through the trees, slicing the silence with a faintest whistle.
My left hand shot out instinctively, yanking Grimbell by the collar. The bullet slid past where his head had been microseconds ago, hitting a tree on my right. Grimbell stumbled, falling onto the girl in my arms, stirring her awake.
"Was that a gun shot?" Grimbell asked, panicking anxiously.
Just as I turned to my left toward the shot's origin, a second bullet was already screaming through the air, aiming straight for my head.
Another bullet! It's so fast.
I barely had time to react because of the girl resting against my chest and Grimbell who I had now pulled closer.
But in a flash, one of Grimbell's shadowy guards shoved itself between me and the bullet. The shot pierced only halfway before dropping to the ground. There was something off about these shadows but I didn't let it bother me.