Outside of Castle Oress
“…”
Instead of directly heading to the address that was listed on the ‘About the Oress’ paper, Preston was silently trailing Durnam Andorae III. Why? Out of all the people/things that he met so far, this man seemed to be one of the biggest threats. Though Preston didn’t even talk to him, he felt that every action the man did had purpose behind it; this man exuded ‘charisma’ from every part of his body.
“…”
However, Preston was… Confused, maybe? The man entered what looked to be a quaint little shop. Instead of following him into the shop (which would be too suspicious), he waited behind a nearby tree…
Yorito Morimiya
Outside of Castle Oress
“Mat… Suri…”
Yorito was running around aimlessly, looking for Matsuri. Since he was a Tested, he didn’t sweat, but felt like he was going to pass out. So, he stopped to rest; he remained standing, but placed his hands on his knees, and looked down at the ground.
“…”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be with her, even in death. But now, where was she? What sort of fucked up place was he placed in? Yorito noticed the X’s on his hands for what seemed to be the first time. Oh, yeah. This marked him as a Tested, if he remembered correctly. They branded him like some damn cow. Instantly, he stood up straight. Then, with his right hand’s fingernails, he scratched the X off of his left hand. Yorito smiled. Sure, it hurt, but it was better than being branded like cattle. For a moment, only blood(?) came out. However, the skin quickly regenerated, showing that horrendous X. So, Yorito tried again. And again. How many times did he try it? He had no idea, but there was so much blood that it made a small puddle on the ground he was standing on. He scratched so vigorously that the blood got on almost every part of his body. All of his clothing and shoes were stained; some even got on his face. But still, the…
X
Remained.
“…”
“AHHHHH!!!”
Yorito screamed, closed his eyes, and started to run. Run where? No idea, but the destination didn’t matter. All he felt was that he had to run. Then, he was knocked to the ground. Yorito opened his eyes, looked up, and saw Preston. Preston grabbed the collar of Yorito’s shirt and said...
“Calm. The. Fuck. Down.”
Preston released Yorito from his grip. Yorito then stood up. He was about to scream again, but Preston covered his mouth with his hand before he could do that. Preston then punched him across the face with his other hand, sending Yorito to the ground once more.
“Take deep breaths, or I’ll do it again.”
Yorito stared at Preston, then started to take deep breaths. After a few moments, Preston continued.
“So, did you kill someone?”
”…Huh?”
“What’s that blood you got all over your body?”
Yorito looked over himself.
“…Ah.”
“…Sigh.”
Preston crossed his arms across his chest, and continued to speak.
“So, what the hell is wrong with you? Tell me your story.”
After hesitating a bit, Yorito decided to tell Preston what he remembered. That he was supposed to be dead and together with Matsuri forever; that he was trying to find where she was, etc. Also, Yorito explained the blood all over him as well. There were some details missing from his history, but that couldn’t be helped if he didn’t remember. After thinking for a few minutes, Preston spoke and chose his words carefully.
“She’s most likely not here, since I haven’t seen or remembered a woman matching your description when the Oress holders were introduced.”
With that, Yorito looked down at the ground in despair.
“But that doesn’t matter. Just win the Competition and become one of Them. After you become a godlike being, I’m pretty sure you’d be able to reunite with Matsuri.”
Yorito looked up from the ground; his face had a look of pure joy on it.
“Come on, doesn’t take that long to figure out…”
Preston was annoyed with this man already; how could he not realize such an obvious answer to his dilemma? This man was too simple, too dumb…
Yorito stood up and suddenly placed his hands on Preston’s shoulders. Preston was about to react defensively, but…
“Thank you. Really, you helped me out.” Yorito smiled.
With that, Yorito headed back towards Castle Oress, while Preston remained standing in place. Preston placed his hand on his shoulder, the place where Yorito touched.
“Seriously, does he not realize that he has to kill me too eventually? What’s the point of saying ‘thanks’ to an enemy?”
Preston presumed that Yorito was going to head back to Castle Oress (from the direction he went) without even changing his clothes. Even if he didn’t head to Castle Oress, anyone that saw Yorito all bloody like that would be sure to have a poor impression of him. So, Preston decided to follow after him, but suddenly stopped. Why did he care about some dumb stranger that he barely met?
Yes, this man was too simple, too dumb, and too emotional. However, Yorito was undoubtedly one of the purest beings that he ever met; he didn’t hide anything. If he hated something, he would try his best to get rid of it, to the point of injuring his own body. If he wanted to cry, he would cry. If he wanted to scream, he would scream; he would do things as he wanted. How reckless. Doing things like that would probably get Yorito killed soon. Trying to save and coddle a guy like that would undoubtedly bring Preston down as well. Though there's so many disadvantages, Yorito's the type of person that Preston likes; when was the last time that he heard the word 'thanks' from someone's mouth. When did Preston last see a person that held no secrets, that wasn't two-faced? Maybe that's why he cared. Preston removed his hand from his shoulder and took a step forward.
"What a dumb guy..."
Nonetheless, for the first time since arriving here, Preston smiled, happy to know that some dumb guys like him still existed somewhere.
“…”
Instead of directly heading to the address that was listed on the ‘About the Oress’ paper, Preston was silently trailing Durnam Andorae III. Why? Out of all the people/things that he met so far, this man seemed to be one of the biggest threats. Though Preston didn’t even talk to him, he felt that every action the man did had purpose behind it; this man exuded ‘charisma’ from every part of his body.
“…”
However, Preston was… Confused, maybe? The man entered what looked to be a quaint little shop. Instead of following him into the shop (which would be too suspicious), he waited behind a nearby tree…
Yorito Morimiya
Outside of Castle Oress
“Mat… Suri…”
Yorito was running around aimlessly, looking for Matsuri. Since he was a Tested, he didn’t sweat, but felt like he was going to pass out. So, he stopped to rest; he remained standing, but placed his hands on his knees, and looked down at the ground.
“…”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be with her, even in death. But now, where was she? What sort of fucked up place was he placed in? Yorito noticed the X’s on his hands for what seemed to be the first time. Oh, yeah. This marked him as a Tested, if he remembered correctly. They branded him like some damn cow. Instantly, he stood up straight. Then, with his right hand’s fingernails, he scratched the X off of his left hand. Yorito smiled. Sure, it hurt, but it was better than being branded like cattle. For a moment, only blood(?) came out. However, the skin quickly regenerated, showing that horrendous X. So, Yorito tried again. And again. How many times did he try it? He had no idea, but there was so much blood that it made a small puddle on the ground he was standing on. He scratched so vigorously that the blood got on almost every part of his body. All of his clothing and shoes were stained; some even got on his face. But still, the…
X
Remained.
“…”
“AHHHHH!!!”
Yorito screamed, closed his eyes, and started to run. Run where? No idea, but the destination didn’t matter. All he felt was that he had to run. Then, he was knocked to the ground. Yorito opened his eyes, looked up, and saw Preston. Preston grabbed the collar of Yorito’s shirt and said...
“Calm. The. Fuck. Down.”
Preston released Yorito from his grip. Yorito then stood up. He was about to scream again, but Preston covered his mouth with his hand before he could do that. Preston then punched him across the face with his other hand, sending Yorito to the ground once more.
“Take deep breaths, or I’ll do it again.”
Yorito stared at Preston, then started to take deep breaths. After a few moments, Preston continued.
“So, did you kill someone?”
”…Huh?”
“What’s that blood you got all over your body?”
Yorito looked over himself.
“…Ah.”
“…Sigh.”
Preston crossed his arms across his chest, and continued to speak.
“So, what the hell is wrong with you? Tell me your story.”
After hesitating a bit, Yorito decided to tell Preston what he remembered. That he was supposed to be dead and together with Matsuri forever; that he was trying to find where she was, etc. Also, Yorito explained the blood all over him as well. There were some details missing from his history, but that couldn’t be helped if he didn’t remember. After thinking for a few minutes, Preston spoke and chose his words carefully.
“She’s most likely not here, since I haven’t seen or remembered a woman matching your description when the Oress holders were introduced.”
With that, Yorito looked down at the ground in despair.
“But that doesn’t matter. Just win the Competition and become one of Them. After you become a godlike being, I’m pretty sure you’d be able to reunite with Matsuri.”
Yorito looked up from the ground; his face had a look of pure joy on it.
“Come on, doesn’t take that long to figure out…”
Preston was annoyed with this man already; how could he not realize such an obvious answer to his dilemma? This man was too simple, too dumb…
Yorito stood up and suddenly placed his hands on Preston’s shoulders. Preston was about to react defensively, but…
“Thank you. Really, you helped me out.” Yorito smiled.
With that, Yorito headed back towards Castle Oress, while Preston remained standing in place. Preston placed his hand on his shoulder, the place where Yorito touched.
“Seriously, does he not realize that he has to kill me too eventually? What’s the point of saying ‘thanks’ to an enemy?”
Preston presumed that Yorito was going to head back to Castle Oress (from the direction he went) without even changing his clothes. Even if he didn’t head to Castle Oress, anyone that saw Yorito all bloody like that would be sure to have a poor impression of him. So, Preston decided to follow after him, but suddenly stopped. Why did he care about some dumb stranger that he barely met?
Yes, this man was too simple, too dumb, and too emotional. However, Yorito was undoubtedly one of the purest beings that he ever met; he didn’t hide anything. If he hated something, he would try his best to get rid of it, to the point of injuring his own body. If he wanted to cry, he would cry. If he wanted to scream, he would scream; he would do things as he wanted. How reckless. Doing things like that would probably get Yorito killed soon. Trying to save and coddle a guy like that would undoubtedly bring Preston down as well. Though there's so many disadvantages, Yorito's the type of person that Preston likes; when was the last time that he heard the word 'thanks' from someone's mouth. When did Preston last see a person that held no secrets, that wasn't two-faced? Maybe that's why he cared. Preston removed his hand from his shoulder and took a step forward.
"What a dumb guy..."
Nonetheless, for the first time since arriving here, Preston smiled, happy to know that some dumb guys like him still existed somewhere.