The Long Road To Safety [Travel To Yu no Kuni]

Age : 31 Posts : 1836

• Preceded By •
Mission: Town of The Dead

On a narrow, empty road, and a dark, cloudy night, there travelled a horse-drawn carriage. The long road was uneven, but not so rugged that the vehicle was in any danger of toppling. The time was late in the night, well past midnight. The four-wheeled carriage was attached to a chestnut mare, which in turn was being steered by a casually-dressed male in his late forties, the gloom of the cloudy night leaving his features indiscernible. The driver’s vehicle was a modest, both in size and appearance. At most, the vehicle ought to be able to hold four, maybe six if the occupants agreed to a tight fit. Behind one of two windows, one of the carriage’s occupants could be seen staring out at the passing landscape. Masquerade’s left hand was pressed against his left cheek, his face resting on the hand as the connecting limb supported it. Legs crossed, left arm propped up on his right crossed arm, Masquerade was seated calmly in the well-lit carriage, having drawn back one of the curtains to stare out of the window. The fact that he continued to look out at the dark land, despite not being able see anything, indicated how little of his focus was actually on where he was looking. The male was more or less daydreaming (or would it be “nightdreaming”?), his mind too preoccupied with his musings than to care about what he could or could not see. He was not even paying any attention to the two other people who were riding in the carriage with him.

Seated beside Masquerade by the other window was Yuuji Subaru, dressed in a mud brown trench coat, dark gray trousers, and white shirt. The bearded man’s fingers were drumming against his thigh as he conversed affably with the person sitting on the seat across from him. This person was a woman, probably close to Subaru’s age (whatever that was), with a head of shoulder-length brown hair and sharp, calculating blue eyes. The woman was dressed as simply as the man opposite her, but more traditionally, having donned a green and red kimono. One could say she was beautiful, though that person would have to clarify that it would be her plainness that made her beautiful. In any case, it was not the woman’s appearance that mattered to Masquerade or Subaru, but her identity. This woman was the one who had sent Masquerade to the… to that town. She was the client who had asked Subaru to go search for her missing associate. The woman was apparently well-acquainted with Subaru, and Masquerade hazarded a guess that they must have known each other for a long time. Certainly, the manner in which the two conversed with each other, the tone they used, and the jokes they cracked (or rather, the jokes she cracked about Subaru) implied as much. Whatever their relation may be, Masquerade had not inquired about it, mostly because he was not particularly interested in it. When Masquerade had first met the woman, she had introduced herself to him as “Rumiho”, with no surname given. She had insisted that she be referred to as “Rumi” though, saying she liked the sound of the shortened version more than the actual.

Masquerade had continued to call her Rumiho.

He had met the woman for the first time less than half a day ago, when Subaru had taken him directly to her house from the… “town”. Once they had met the hostess of the house and the introductions were completed, Subaru had mentioned to Masquerade how he had not met or been in contact with Rumiho for several years, and had therefore gone to pay her a visit not long after sending the Nukenin on the requested mission. The Nukenin had then been briefed by the woman, who had done so in a very cheerful and upbeat manner. After hearing the deadpan answers that Masquerade gave concerning the fate of her associate, and the fact that nearly all of the items that said partner had been carrying had been destroyed, she had not seemed put-down. Rather, a simple shrug and a causal “Oh well” had followed Masquerade’s report, which the Nukenin interpreted to mean that the woman was either very callous, or else had a very bubbly and unintelligent personality. Probably a mixture of both, considering the kind of work she apparently took part in.

In any case, after hearing Masquerade’s report (including the part about his being attacked by zombies), Rumiho had asked for the test tube sample that the Nukenin had obtained. The Nukenin had then called forth his Summon, whom he had entrusted the item to back in the town before sending him away. The hyena had appeared with the test tube on his person, as if he had been waiting for his Summoner to call him. Nevertheless, Chuckles had been visibly delighted to see that his human was alive and well. Well, if a devious grin and an unkind snicker coupled with a remark that basically went “Well, I had my doubts you’d survive, but here you are!” could be interpreted as delight. Waving aside the animal’s eager questions, Masquerade had handed the test tube of light blue liquid to Rumiho, who had stared at it happily before literally shooing Masquerade and Chuckles out of the room. The two had obeyed, while Subaru was allowed to stay behind with Rumiho.

Once he was out of the room, Masquerade had no choice but to answer Chuckles’ questions. He had tried to ignore the hyena for a few minutes, since he was not in the mood to recount such an unpleasant even for a second time - well, a third time, as Subaru had already heard the tale before Rumiho. Anyway, when the animal’s childish and persistent nagging became too much for the Nukenin’s irritable mood to handle, he finally gave in to the interrogation. Once Chuckles had been brought up-to-speed on what had transpired during his absence, he had given Masquerade what was probably a sincere look of respect. “Probably”, because he kept grinning like a maniac the entire time. Whatever his thoughts, Chuckles had congratulated “Masky” on surviving nonetheless, and remarked that he hoped his Summoner had realized the importance of survival, and how one had to do anything it took to ensure their continued existence.

The statement had caused Masquerade to lapse into silence as he considered the hyena’s words. Or rather, he considered the fact that he had realized just how much he valued his own survival. Back then, he had been frightened for his life, been frightened of dying. He had never been that terrified before, not even when he was in his hometown as it was being ransacked and burnt down by bandits. This mission had definitely been a reality check for the male. He had suddenly realized how much he preferred living to dying. Hardly a surprise, since the vast majority of people preferred to live rather than die. That being said, what had been haunting Masquerade the most was not the fact that he had almost died. No, it was the fact that his fear had almost resulted in his death. Fear had pretty much caused him to give up and accept his apparent fate. Fear had told him that all hope had been lost, and that he had no way left to survive. That had not been true. There were plenty of methods that he could have employed to try to survive, plenty of actions he could have performed to try to escape the town. If he had been thinking rationally, using logic and reasoning rather than succumbing to his emotions, he might not have been left in such a helpless state. Sure, he had come out alive anyway, but the fact remained that he had pretty much given up, despite there having been possibilities to follow through.

Chuckles had told him to do whatever it took to survive; he had not. He had surrendered before exhausting all possible courses of actions. Unacceptable. If he was going to die, it was his duty to do everything in his power to prevent that, and subsequently fail to have prevented it. Yes. As strange as it sounded, the only death that Masquerade would be content with would be one where he completely failed to keep himself alive. Until that time came, he just had to survive. Survive…

Judging by the look Chuckles was giving Masquerade, it seemed the hyena knew what was going through the human’s mind at that time; a suspicion that was proven true when the animal grinned happily when Masquerade responded that he had indeed realized the importance of survival. The discussion was then interrupted as Subaru and Rumiho reappeared, the blue-haired male informing Masquerade that they would be leaving Kaminari no Kuni and heading for Yu no Kuni shortly. When the Nukenin asked why, Subaru answered that it would be best if they left the country for the moment, as shifting politics in the nation was making it riskier for criminals to stay here. That, and Masquerade probably deserved some R&R, and a neutral land like Yu no Kuni was a good fit as Subaru had a residence there as well. After wondering how many homes the goatee-bearing man had, the Nukenin had nodded in understanding. Before they left, Masquerade was allowed the chance to rest for a few hours, as he had had very little time to do so since completing Rumiho’s mission. Following some much needed medical attention from himself, Masquerade had retired for a peaceful nap. However, his slumber had been anything but peaceful, as he ended up reliving the Mission in all its realism. Just as he had predicted, he was going to have some rough nights ahead of him. But no worries: he would eventually get used to the nightmares and the horrible sleep. Eventually…

Following his delightful sleep, Masquerade and Subaru had departed for Yu no Kuni in one of Rumi’s carriages, with the woman herself accompanying the two men to their destination (using the explanation that she wanted to go relax at Yu no Kuni as well). Such was how Masquerade had ended up in this situation, and this was the point where his reminiscences came to an end. However, his thoughts continued to drift back to the Mission, and the realizations he had come to because of it. He continued to think throughout the entire journey, not even conversing with his fellow passengers, or paying attention to the path they were taking. The carriage had left the mountainous regions of Kaminari no Kuni, and as the weather became colder and the land more white, they arrived at the lands of Shimo no Kuni a few hours after sunset. The party spent the night in a hotel there, leaving at the crack of dawn once they were refreshed and reenergized (most of them, anyway). Afterwards, it was not long until they eventually reached the warm climate of Yu no Kuni. Upon arriving at the touristic nation, they continued navigated through one of the more populated towns until Subaru had the driver stop the carriage at the gates of a modestly-sized house, inconspicuous from the surrounding ones because of its size and unimpressive appearance. With much chatter, Subaru and Rumiho entered the residence, with the silent Masquerade a few steps behind.

[Exit to Yu no Kuni]