Silence, quietness were all around. So dark. The night was quite beautiful, but Ming was still confused about everything. He was tired—not from training, but from mysteries. He sat on the bench, eyes heavy. It was around 11 PM when he suddenly heard the sound of a sword—like someone was training.
He followed the sound.
He saw someone tall, wearing a uniform and holding a sword, practicing silently.
Ming stepped closer to see who it was.
"Who is that person?" he whispered.
The person turned toward Ming.
It was Sheto—the same person who had been slapped by Rin that morning. Sheto looked surprised, then smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his neck.
Ming asked, "What are you doing here at this time?"
Sheto kept rubbing his neck shyly. "Well... I was just training."
"I can see that," Ming replied. "I mean, why at this time? It's late and dark. You should be asleep."
Sheto hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes, you're right... but I'm training at this time because... hmm... I-I just want to become stronger. I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I want to protect everyone. I'm not strong like the others. You saw it during training—if Rin didn't remind me why I was there, I almost forgot the reason I wanted to become strong."
He paused, thinking.
Ming raised an eyebrow as Sheto continued, "I have someone I need to protect... someone I have to bring back."
"Who?" Ming asked.
Sheto replied softly, "My elder sister, Sarah."
His voice turned sad as he spoke her name.
Ming noticed the shift in his tone and asked, "Where is your sister?"
Sheto took a deep breath, smiled faintly, and said, "Follow me."
Without another word, Sheto walked into the building. Ming followed quietly.
They walked through the empty hall, passing many rooms. After a few minutes, they arrived at a door—the last room on the second floor. Sheto closed his eyes, took a breath, opened them again, then opened the door and stepped inside. Ming followed.
Inside, someone lay motionless on the bed.
Sheto walked to the bed, and Ming came beside him. A woman, around 25 or 26, lay there. Long black hair, dark brown eyes—open, but lifeless. Her face was pale. She didn't move at all.
Sheto sat gently on the edge of the bed and said, "She is my sister, Sarah."
Ming looked at Sarah, then at Sheto. "What happened to her? Why is she like that?"
Sheto's smile faded. He kept his eyes on her pale face and replied, "When we were kids, my sister took care of me. Our parents never loved us. Six years ago, she was 18, and I was 15. That was when our parents tried to sell me as a servant... for money."
Ming's eyes widened in shock.
"We lived in a poor village. At first, things were fine. Our parents weren't that bad. But as poverty grew worse, they changed. We became burdens to them. When they planned to sell me, my sister found out. That night, while everyone was sleeping, she took me and ran away."
He took a shaky breath.
"We ran all night, just trying to escape. We lived in the forest for two days—it was safer than going back. We didn't understand why this happened. Other parents loved their children… but ours… didn't. I asked her why, and she told me, 'Sometimes, human greed doesn't care about relationships. Parents, friends—when greed takes over, even your own people treat you like a burden. For them, money becomes everything.'"
As Sheto spoke, tears fell from his eyes.
"She was always kind and sweet. We had no food, so she climbed trees to get fruits for me. Sometimes she fell, but she never cried in front of me. She kept smiling."
He smiled slightly, eyes still on Sarah.
"She wasn't beautiful like other girls, at least not to others. She was plain and simple. But for me, she was better than anyone. And not just for me… for someone else, too."
Ming looked at him curiously. "For who?"
Sheto smiled and replied, "Sir Rin."
Ming's eyes widened in surprise.
Sheto continued, "Back then, while we were hiding in the forest, we ran into Rin. He was on horseback. He looked at us coldly and asked who we were and why we were in the forest. My sister stood between him and me, shielding me. We explained everything to him. After hearing our story, he brought us here. We didn't believe him at first, but we had no choice."
He paused and glanced at Sarah.
"When we arrived, we met Sir Hikari, Amaya, Sir Daisuke, and Sir Fubuki. They let us stay and introduced us to the training. We were confused—there were no monsters back then, so we didn't understand what the training was for. They said it was for an upcoming war… maybe they meant this."
His face grew serious.
"My sister noticed how lonely Rin was. She was shy, but she tried to talk to him, to motivate him. Rin used to call her 'little brat,' but over the years, they grew closer. He never said anything directly, but his eyes… they showed how he felt."
Sheto laughed a little. "One day, my sister tried to bother him but bumped into a wall. That day, Rin smiled for the first time."
His expression darkened.
"But those happy days ended. A few weeks ago, when people started turning into monsters—not everyone changed. Some became monsters, some were killed… but with my sister, something strange happened."
He looked down.
"She didn't turn into a monster. She just... froze. She became like this. She can hear, she can see, but she can't speak or move. No one knows why."
Ming was silent, listening.
"She started screaming days before it happened. She kept saying someone was laughing and that someone would kill everyone. Rin thought she was scared and in shock. He was busy with training. Then… one day, she suddenly collapsed. Her roommates said she was standing and saying something they couldn't hear. Then she fell."
He wiped his eyes silently.
"When Amaya found her, she moved her to this room. Rin arrived and saw her like this. His sword fell from his hand. He didn't move, didn't cry. His face was pale. He realized… he wasn't with her when she needed him most. From that day, he never smiled again. He blames himself."
Sheto looked at Ming.
"That's why, when Rin slapped me, I didn't get angry. He was reminding me... that I still have someone to protect. That I need to bring her back to normal. That's why I was training at night. For my sister, Sarah."
He turned to his sister and gently placed his hand on her face, smiling softly.
Ming stood there in silence, shocked by the truth. He looked at Sheto, then at Sarah.
---
[30 minutes later]
Ming was in his room. Luca, Kenzo, and Ash were already asleep, but Ming couldn't. He was still processing everything he'd heard. He too had lost someone close… but he had never blamed himself, like Rin did.
---
Meanwhile, in Rin's private room...
Rin lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thoughts of his past. He still blamed himself for everything.
Suddenly, Sofia came to his mind—not because he had feelings for her, but because she reminded him of Sarah. The way she tried to stop him from scolding Sheto… it was the same way Sarah used to stop him.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
And slowly, sleep came.
---
End of Chapter 9