Seeing Yukina's pitiful expression, Wentworth couldn't help but soften. He sighed and stepped over to her, speaking gently:
"Do you realise that every time you use the Obscurus, you're burning away your own life?!"
But instead of answering his question, Yukina said something else entirely:
"Wentworth, now that you know I'm an Obscurial… will you still be my friend?"
Wentworth covered his forehead in frustration and replied:
"Did you not hear what I just said? Don't you know what usually happens to Obscurials?!"
Still ignoring his concern, Yukina continued:
"Wentworth… are you afraid of me too? Afraid I'll lose control… afraid I'll hurt you…"
At this, Wentworth fell silent. For a moment, even time itself seemed to stand still.
Just as tears began to brim in Yukina's eyes, Wentworth suddenly smiled, shaking his head.
"You silly thing! If I were afraid of you, I wouldn't be here in the first place!"
Yukina, who had been on the verge of crying, immediately brightened. She threw her arms around Wentworth's waist again and, after a long pause, declared with unwavering certainty:
"Wentworth, I would never hurt you! You have my word. And I won't let anyone else hurt you either!"
Hearing this, Wentworth let out a long sigh and nodded firmly.
Then Yukina slowly let go of him. Wentworth, in turn, reached into his sleeve and released his pet, Greenbud, the Bowtruckle!
Yukina was particularly fond of Greenbud. The moment she saw him, she instinctively reached out to cradle him in her hands, but Wentworth stopped her.
With great seriousness, he said:
"Greenbud won't be playing with you today. He's got something far more important to do."
Yukina looked confused. Seeing this, Wentworth smiled and said:
"I want to be your friend for life. We still have a long, long journey ahead of us…"
Yukina gave a wry smile and was about to respond when Wentworth cut her off.
"I know what you're going to say. And I know how things usually end for Obscurials. But let me ask you one thing, Yukina, do you want to come with me and see the world beyond this place?"
Yukina looked intrigued.
"The world beyond? You mean the Muggle world? I've always wanted to see it! Honestly, if I had the choice, I'd rather be a Muggle than a witch… even just for a day."
Her answer caught Wentworth by surprise, and he blinked in astonishment. But he quickly smiled and said:
"Alright then. If that's what you want, I'll take you. Why just one day? Like I said, we've got a long future ahead of us. But I'll need your cooperation."
Suddenly, a look of realisation crossed Yukina's face. She stared in disbelief.
"You mean… are you saying there's a way…?"
Seeing how excited she was, Wentworth smiled and nodded.
"That's right. I think… there might be a way to free you from the Obscurus."
"Well, not me exactly, it's someone else. A mentor of mine. His name is Newt Scamander."
At the sound of that name, Yukina gasped and instinctively covered her mouth with both hands.
Then, unable to contain herself, she began stomping her feet with excitement.
"Merlin's beard! I get to meet Mr. Scamander?! Where is he?! He's my hero! You know his book Fantastic Beasts is my absolute favourite!"
Wentworth grinned at her enthusiasm and pointed to Greenbud.
"He's on this island. And we're going to find him, right now!"
Then, he turned to the Bowtruckle.
"You can lead us to Mr. Scamander, right?"
Greenbud nodded confidently and gestured for them to follow as he darted into the forest.
Wentworth glanced to the side and said casually:
"You got here pretty fast. What, not planning to come with us?"
To Yukina's surprise, Nala stepped out from behind a tree. Waving a hand, she said:
"Don't get me wrong! I wasn't eavesdropping. I just didn't want to intrude on your moment."
"But I have to admit, I didn't expect to stumble upon such a big secret! Wentworth, I'm curious, why is Newt Scamander on this island?"
Wentworth looked up at the retreating Greenbud and motioned for both Nala and Yukina to follow.
"Actually, back on the first day we arrived on Minami Iwo Jima island, Headmaster Dumbledore noticed something… unusual about Yukina. So…"
Wentworth then gave a brief explanation of the plan he and Dumbledore had devised. When Nala heard that Yukina was an Obscurial, she gasped. But when she heard that Newt might be able to cure her, she shook her head in disbelief.
Wentworth was just about to explain how Newt had once separated an Obscurus from a Sudanese girl when Yukina suddenly stumbled and nearly collapsed.
Luckily, Wentworth caught her in time.
"What happened? Are you alright?"
Holding her head, Yukina looked dazed.
"I'm not sure. I just started feeling really groggy… like I could fall asleep at any moment."
Wentworth frowned, inspecting her carefully, but found nothing visibly wrong.
Without hesitation, he lifted Yukina onto his back, and the three of them continued on.
They hadn't gone far when Nala suddenly stopped. Wentworth looked at her, puzzled, as she leaned against a dead tree, and slapped herself hard across the face.
The sharp sound startled him.
Before he could say anything, she gritted her teeth and said:
"There's something strange about this island! I'm feeling it too now… this overwhelming drowsiness… I don't think I can keep going much longer."
Glancing at Yukina, who was yawning and already half-asleep on his back, Wentworth suddenly understood.
"I think… this is the real challenge of the tournament."
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]