[HARUKI]
"A letter came for you from the palace," Tadashi said, like Haruki breaking down before him was something that he paid no heed to.
Maybe a little comfort would go a long way, but what was Tadashi supposed to say to make anything better?
They both knew that reassurance was a waste of time because it wouldn't bring them any comfort or make Tadashi change his mind about Haruki going to see Konno.
And perhaps Haruki had not expected it either, because when Tadashi spoke again, Haruki found himself smiling in defeat.
"What does it say?" Haruki said, his back still pressed against the wall, his chest still aching, and his mind still reeling from the blatant rejection he had gotten from Tadashi.
It wasn't supposed to hurt that badly.
Yet it did.
And the worst part was that Haruki had no idea how to deal with it. Not even his training had covered that kind of condition.
"Didn't read it. It was addressed to the Sondra Dynamite," Tadashi said plainly.
"Of course," Haruki sighed, as Tadashi grabbed the piece of paper from his desk and handed it to him. It wasn't sealed, and could easily be opened and read by anyone, but Haruki knew Tadashi.
He knew his master would never peek at anything that wasn't this to peek into. Hopefully, it was not more bad news. But what did Harki expect at this point after everything?
"I'll leave you to it," Tadashi excused himself.
However, before he could make a step, Haruki spoke.
"No. Don't… I mean, please don't leave. Whatever is in here, you can know about it too," Haruki said before he realized how that sounded.
But then he was out of ideas, really.
He had woken up with the sole determination to make Tadashi agree to his leaving to find Konno. Now so many things had been challenged, and he wasn't sure whether what was in that letter, coupled with his guilt, was a good thing.
"You sure about that, Haruki?" Tadashi asked.
Haruki stiffened.
He hated that name. Tadashi knew it too. Yet the man had been insistent on using it on him, as if trying to make him lean towards his birth name, an identity he had long abandoned.
Maybe Tadashi would change over time, right?
"Kira. My name is Kira," Haruki insisted before adding, "yeah, I am."
"Alright then, Haruki. Read it," Tadashi said, and Haruki knew it was pointless fighting with Tadashi about this. So begrudgingly, he straightened the piece of paper and began reading.
"Lieutenant Saito has been detained by the king. He gave Septic shock as your reason for deserting the battlefield. He has three days to live, if your version and that of the red helmets don't match.
"Whatever you do, do it quickly. ~ R," Haruki read, and the color drained from his face. He should have thought ahead. He should have had a way out of this as soon as he came home, but now…
"Rama always goes straight to the point," Tadashi said as he sat at his table, his eyes focusing on Haruki.
"Death by a thousand strikes," Haruki said quietly.
"The rule you created yourself. Oh, the irony. Your friend gets to pay the price for your incompetence," Tadashi said coldly.
Haruki couldn't look at Tadashi anymore.
He knew it was his fault.
He had done this.
He had to get Saito out of the dungeons before the three days were over, but what excuse would he use for the king? What would he say that would corroborate what the lieutenant had told the king?
How were their versions supposed to match when it had been hours clearly since the warriors came home, and seven days since Haruki had left the battlefield?
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Haruki defended.
"So, you keep saying. Your words don't help anyone. You made a choice; you have to fix it before Saito dies. Talk to the king, explain yourself, and admit your cowardice. Or talk to your warriors and explain to them why you abandoned them.
"You don't have many options left. I expect you to have solved this by dinner. I'm going out," Tadashi said calmly, like he was talking about the weather and not about a warrior who was the worst kind of pickle.
This was a touch spot Haruki was in, and frankly, there was a chance that Tadashi could help smooth things out for him. Yet at the same time, he couldn't. No one in the kingdom knew Haruki had Tadashi with him.
No one knew about the master who had made the general and kept him sane through the years. Many, including his few friends over the years, had come to assume that Haruki only ever managed to get out of isolation because he had grieved enough.
That it was his choice.
The existence of Tadashi in his life was his greatest secret, yet not a secret either, because Tadashi mingled with the people like another commoner. A faceless man in the midst of other faceless and rankless commoners.
"But—" Haruki tried.
It was a first for him.
A mistake, perhaps.
But desperation had put him in spots he never imagined before.
A part of Haruki wanted to ask him to stay, but it would be stupid to expect that from a man who had always told him to think before he acted. He didn't use his brain this time, and now his friend was about to die because of his madness.
He always was level-headed, but since Konno, there was nothing level about what he did. It was the worst season for the general, yet this was the closest he had ever been to feeling alive.
"Wind cultivation?" Tadashi asked casually.
"Nope. I will be fine. You go on your walks, or whatever it is you do, I will make sure to solve this," Hauraki said, the horror clear on his face at the mention of wind cultivation.
This man really knew how to terrify him.
"I figured as much. Remember, no messes. And no more failures," Tadashi said before leaving.
Then it was just Haruki in his master's chambers.
The letter in Haruki's hand felt heavier with every move he made towards the door. It was like a cross he had not been ready to carry yet, one he had instigated himself.
This was his doing, but how was he to fix something that he had no clue how to go about?
If he went to his men, they would ask questions about what happened, and Haruki wasn't to be questioned by anyone, not when his mind was filled with Konno and the possibility of what King Yuma Ishida was doing to his brother.
At the same time, he couldn't burn bridges with the man who had walked beside him since he woke up.
'Looks like the place is calling me,' Haruki thought angrily.
He was disappointed in how things had turned out, but he also knew what he had to win. This was his doing. The punishment that he had set up was calling for him. And if King Kenji approved, maybe today would be Haruki's last day alive.
The walk to the palace had never felt this shameful for Haruki Iwata.
The eyes on him, the murmurs, the warriors who were shocked to see him standing. It was almost as if they had believed he had died, seeing as no one had seen him since the day he left the battlefield.
It was shocking for most of them, while others tried to force smiles on their faces, and others didn't even bother. They were angry, and they had every right to be. What Haruki had done was inexcusable.
"The general is alive."
"He doesn't look sick."
"Lieutenant Saito said he was dying."
"He had a good reason for leaving."
"He abandoned us. Face it."
"He unmasked the masked warrior."
"He left us to die at the hands of a beast he had triggered."
Haruki pushed on. He couldn't stand by and listen to their rage, even if they were not wrong to judge him like that. At the same time, his conscience had cost him so much already.
"Rama," Haruki greeted the warrior at the entrance of the king's chambers. He had never noticed he had gotten to the palace because his mind was buzzing with so many things at once.
"Greetings, General Kira," Rama greeted with a bow.
"Is he in?"
"The training grounds," Rama said respectfully.
"You alright, Sire?" Rama added.
"Of course. When I come back, we will have tea," Haruki said, and Rama just nodded.
Haruki could see the hope in the warrior's eyes. He could see the silent desperation for things to run out right, but then again, it was not his decision.
Not this time.
Not when the risks were too high.
And so, Haruki made his way to the training grounds.
Walking through the whispers and silent curses the civilians were giving him.
He understood how betrayed they felt, and nothing he said could give them the comfort of victory that had never happened.
"General Kira. If it isn't the Ghost of Jara himself. What brings you to this humble side of the kingdom?" King Kenji spoke when he saw the general arriving.
"You summoned me," Haruki said, not even stating any formalities.
He never did. Not with this king.
"I don't recall," king Kenji said, and Haruki snickered.
"What do you want from me, Kenji? I win all the battles for you, and the first one I don't win suddenly has you imprisoning my lieutenant?" Haruki asked, like he was talking to just another man and not the man who ran the kingdom he was a part of.
It was a dangerous move.
Well, not for General Kira anyway.
"Seven days," the Jara king said as he looked at the general.
"I can count too, you know."
"What happened out there?" King Kenji asked quietly.
Haruki stared at the man as if they were wasting each other's time. He already knew. There was no point in running things down again. No matter what version he got, it would all be the same.
"I was bested. And I ran," Haruki stated coldly, the calm in his tone so chilling that even the king felt the hairs in his body stiffen.
"You? Bested?" King Kenji asked carefully.
"Wouldn't be the first time, Your Majesty," Haruki said, adding the last bit with so much force that the king just smirked at him.
"Well, Saito said you suffered septic shock. I don't see anything in your state right now."
"He was defending my honor. I left the battlefield, Kenji. I walked away… Actually, I ran from it. Now you know the truth. There is no need to execute Saito for my mistakes.
"You want a head on a spike, you can have mine," Haruki said, and this time, the king smiled in surprise.
What had gotten into General Kira?