The Secret Journey
Hayate and Neshuda left the Aurekawa Citadel under the cover of a freezing pre-dawn mist. This time, there were no loyal guards. It was just the two of them, disguised as simple traveling scholars.
Hayate, the young King, wore plain, rough-spun clothes that made him look like a tired student. Neshuda, the deadly guardian, wore the clothes of a seasoned, taciturn traveling merchant, his dark hair tucked under a worn cap.
Their destination was VELDISWALL, the Noble Town, the heart of Henudra's influence. It was far from the Citadel, built on tradition and arrogance. It was the last place a young King would be expected to sneak around.
"The risk is too high, Hayate," Neshuda whispered as they rode the dusty road. "If Henudra finds us here, we are outside royal protection. And if I get caught, the torture will break your body before they even start to question me."
Hayate rode closer to Neshuda, his charming smile strained. "Exactly. That's why we must succeed quickly. If we expose Henudra's corruption in his territory, we force the nobles to turn against him."
He looked at Neshuda, his pure-hearted affection evident in his eyes. "I need you, Neshuda. I need your eyes, your silence, and your judgment. I can't do this alone."
Neshuda nodded, his fierce loyalty swallowing the fear. "Then we move like shadows. You handle the talking, and I handle everything else."
The Noble Trap!
Veldiswall was a town of stark contrasts. Grand, ostentatious houses lined cobbled streets, while the poor were crammed into narrow, dark alleys. The atmosphere was thick with superiority and suspicion.
Hayate and Neshuda rented a tiny, forgotten room above a quiet spice shop. It was cramped, dusty, but safe.
Their first target was a nobleman named Lord Vestor, Henudra's right-hand man in Veldiswall, who was rumored to be manipulating tax records and stealing resources meant for the southern villages.
They spent the first night observing Vestor's mansion. Neshuda moved like fluid darkness, scaling walls and mapping out security points. Hayate, hidden in a dilapidated building across the street, monitored Neshuda through the curse.
Neshuda was focused, alert, and entirely emotionless. Hayate only felt a steady, humming intense concentration—the curse reflecting Neshuda's mind at work.
"He keeps his ledgers in a private vault in the study," Neshuda reported, dropping silently onto the floor of their rented room. "The vault is protected by a complex mechanical lock. I can pick it, but it will take time."
Hayate, using his royal knowledge, knew Lord Vestor had a passion for rare, vintage wines.
"Forget the mechanical lock," Hayate said, his eyes glittering with strategy. "Henudra and Vestor are arrogant. The real secret is usually hidden in plain sight. Let's look at the wine cellar first."
Infiltration and Near Disaster
The next night, they executed their plan.
Neshuda disabled the outer guards with swift, silent blows—a master of stealth at work. He then guided Hayate through the dark gardens and into the mansion's service entrance.
They moved through the massive house, their hearts pounding in sync. Hayate felt Neshuda's anxiety—a cold, sharp spike of fear that they might be caught. Hayate silently reached back and squeezed Neshuda's hand, offering reassurance.
They found the wine cellar. It was a cavernous room filled with dusty, labeled bottles.
Hayate's intuition was right. Behind a shelf of the oldest vintage wine, Hayate found a small, hidden safe, protected not by a mechanical lock, but a coded combination.
Neshuda, despite his specialty being physical infiltration, was surprisingly good at figuring out codes. He studied the numbers etched on the base of the wine bottles—significant dates and years.
"The dates are his wife's birthday, the day he inherited the land, and the year his son was born," Neshuda whispered, his dark eyes focused. He quickly tapped the combination into the lock.
CLICK.
The safe opened. Inside, they found not just ledgers, but forged documents with Henudra's signature, explicitly detailing the tax theft and resource hoarding. The evidence was irrefutable.
But just as they gathered the final documents, they heard heavy footsteps in the corridor outside the wine cellar.
"They're doing rounds early!" Neshuda hissed, shoving the documents into Hayate's satchel.
A guard's lantern light swept past the doorway. They were trapped.
"The escape route!" Hayate whispered, pointing to a small, high window near the ceiling, used for ventilation.
Neshuda grabbed Hayate and lifted him effortlessly toward the window, using his extreme strength. Hayate scrambled through the opening.
Neshuda followed, but as he pulled himself through the tight opening, he scraped his forearm violently against the rough stone frame.
The pain was immediate and searing—a deep, burning tear.
The Cost of the Bond
Upstairs, Hayate fell onto the tiled roof with a gasp. The pain in his own arm, a perfect reflection of Neshuda's injury, was blinding. He cried out, gripping his arm, blood welling up from beneath his skin where no wound existed.
The guards below, alerted by Hayate's cry of pain, immediately changed direction and rushed towards the roof.
Neshuda landed beside Hayate, his face pale with horror. He looked down at Hayate's arm, seeing the blood seeping through the King's shirt.
"No! Hayate!" Neshuda whispered, his heart shattering. The agonizing pain was the least of it; Neshuda was consumed by the guilt of failing his vow. I promised no injuries! I promised to be the perfect shield!
Neshuda knew he couldn't stop to use his healing aura now. They were exposed.
"We have to go! Now...I mean now!" Neshuda commanded, pulling Hayate up.
He hoisted Hayate onto his back—a dangerous move, as Hayate's sudden collapse made him dead weight, and Neshuda was already fighting the searing pain in his arm.
Neshuda, ignoring his own pain and Hayate's reflected agony, leaped from the roof of the mansion onto the roof of the neighboring building. He moved with a deadly blur of speed, relying purely on adrenaline and his powerful, purely protective instinct.
The guards were shouting below them, chasing them through the labyrinth of rooftops. Neshuda was a master, leading the chase through impossible jumps and silent landings.
Hayate, clinging to Neshuda's back, felt the rhythmic pound of Neshuda's heart, mixed with the intense, agonizing reflection of the torn forearm muscle. He felt Neshuda's fear—not of capture, but of failing his anchor duties.
The Sweet Burden
They finally reached a secluded, overgrown garden on the outskirts of Veldiswall, dropping down behind a massive hedge.
Neshuda gently lowered Hayate to the ground. Hayate was sweating and shaking, barely conscious, but the reflected pain was finally subsiding as Neshuda wrapped his arm with a makeshift bandage.
Hayate managed a weak, painful smile. "The documents," he whispered, patting the satchel. "We got them."
Neshuda, his own body trembling from the exertion and pain, knelt before him, his eyes filled with profound sorrow and fierce love.
"I am sorry, Hayate," Neshuda said, taking the King's injured, bleeding arm in his hand. "I am a failure. I brought you pain. I let the curse strike again."
Hayate fought through the remaining pain, focusing his charisma and pure-hearted affection on his Guardian.
"No, Neshuda. You are the opposite of failure," Hayate said, his voice stronger now. "You climbed a wall with a torn arm and saved me. You are my shield, my strength, and my only truth. You are the reason I can still breathe."
Hayate gently pressed his head against Neshuda's shoulder, a gesture of absolute, utter dependence. The curse instantly reflected Neshuda's relief—a sudden, deep well of emotional comfort and fiercely returned devotion that washed over Hayate, instantly soothing the last remnants of the reflected injury.
They had the evidence. They had survived the closest call yet. But the curse ensured that every victory came at the price of shared pain.
They rested in the secluded garden, two figures huddled in the cold, their shared bond a beautiful, tragic chain. They knew their journey was far from over.