(Two years later)
The crimson sunlight touched Renji's face gently.
His elegant features, paired with that infamous smirk... made him look even more striking than usual.
But it was fake.
It always had been.
I've been with him for two years, and still... I don't really know who he is.
The heat pressed down on me.
Heavy, sticky air.
Renji, however, stood calmly in the shade of the large sakura tree in the center of camp.
Two girls stood beside him.
"Slaves who attack—or even try to attack—their master..." he said, in that familiar mocking tone,
"don't deserve mercy. But me? I'm a very merciful man."
He's been saying strange things lately.
Especially about slavery.
This camp has been just ours for two years...
Why does he want to change that now?
What changed?
I was kneeling on the ground, lazily swinging my katana onto a wooden post.
It was an empty gesture.
But I kept doing it.
I still don't know how Renji convinces me to go along with his nonsense.
Even in this heat, he trains me for hours.
And he never gets tired himself.
"That's why I'm giving you a chance," he said.
"Hayato! Come here."
I looked up.
Our eyes met.
Again...
Slowly, I stood.
That grin...
Every time I see it, something empty stirs inside me.
I never know what he'll do.
Never guess what he'll say.
And yet… I still don't want to disappoint him.
"I bought two slaves for you," he said.
I turned around.
They were about my age.
Their faces... completely identical.
Same fiery red hair, same piercing blue eyes.
They looked like they had stepped out of another world.
Twins.
"Why don't you show them how merciful I am," Renji said.
I sighed.
"What nonsense are you on about now…"
"See what I mean?" he chuckled. "I'm the most merciful slave owner in the world. So if you kill me, it's basically murder."
The twin on the left stared at me.
The other one was silent.
Afraid.
But the one on the left... was sweating more.
She was probably the one who attacked Renji.
I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it:
"Is what he said true, slave?"
I rolled my eyes and shrugged.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm no slave. Renji's just messing around."
But something stirred inside me.
Familiar… and uncomfortable.
Am I really free?
"Anyway," Renji said with that irritating smirk,
"Let's make a deal. Defeat Hayato, and you're free."
"So if we beat this slave, we can go?"
"You don't trust me, Kana?"
Renji made a dramatically wounded expression.
After two years, I'd gotten used to his theatrics.
But thanks to this one, I now knew the name of the girl he hadn't bothered introducing: Kana.
Kana stepped toward me.
She shot Renji a sharp look and said:
"You're a freak. This boy looks sick. We'll beat him easily."
Sick?
It's been two years...
If I still look sick...
What did I look like when Renji found me?
Renji chuckled.
"Feisty, huh?"
"Do you have a dragon hiding in there, little girl?"
"If you win… you go free," he added.
"I'll even throw in two silver coins."
Kana turned to her sister, Yui.
"Alright then. You just lost ten silver for nothing, old man. This'll be over quick, Yui."
Those words... gave courage to the hesitant Yui.
I still hadn't moved.
But Renji's eyes were on me.
And then... he whispered:
"This is impossible... Don't underestimate Hayato. I trained him."
This time, it wasn't a smirk on his face.
It was a real smile.
And in that moment... something stirred again inside me.
Two years ago...
He pulled me back from the edge of a cliff.
He told me, "You have worth now."
Now, he was looking at me with the same unwavering resolve.
Kana grabbed the katana Renji offered her.
Yui hesitated at first, but in the end, she reached for her weapon too.
I… just looked at Renji.
He said nothing.
But he didn't need to.
That look…
It was the same look from the man who had pulled me back from the abyss.
The look of someone who believed in me.
And I... looked at them both with my single eye.
I raised my katana.
Pointed it at the twins.
The flame in my eye—
It surged instantly to Level Two.
I could feel the blood moving in my veins.
The katana in my hands felt lighter.
But a pressure weighed down on my arms.
The twins hesitated.
Only for a second.
But that one second...
Was all I needed.