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“Rai! Where is Kiriansheo now?” A figure hurries towards me, expression earnest.

I shake my head. “Hartia, you know I report only to Childman. I can’t tell you that. If he wishes to pass the information on, that is his perogative.”

“Please Rai.” A determined Hartia looks at me and I wince inwardly. This would not be pleasant. Despite his foolish exterior and frequent forays into his childish fantasies, Hartia was not a frivolous opponent. Childman had not chosen him for his good heart alone. In addition to phenomenal administrative skills and skills in sorcery, he displayed a keen intelligence that occasionally took my breath away. Especially considering what I knew about his nightly excursions.

But most especially because he is my friend. I shook my head.

“No, Hartia.”

His face hardened. “Rai, I will find out where he is. Even if I have to teleport to every single town within the radius of the Tower. You know I will.”

I shook my head again. “No.”

Turning away, I look back once into his pleading face and my will weakened. Perhaps, just a small clue. If he did not get it... Walking quickly away, I kicked up my feet a little higher to show him the soles of my shoes and I heard a quick intake of breath from behind me. Surely he would have recognized the make and the town that those shoes came from. There was no cobbler more famous within the 100 li distance than Okimura Kenji.

Quick as always. As I heard him dash off down the corridor, I bent my head and wished him luck.

He would need it.

* * *

I looked at Hartia. He looks at me. I glare at him. Today, like the last few days, we are at an impasse. Again.

“Just look at yourself Hartia!” I chided, watching his face set in determination. Convincing him, would not be easy.

“Who is Kiriansheo that you repeatedly risk the wrath of Childman and that of the Tower to aid him?” I looked at Hartia steadily. “By aiding him, you’ll be implicated as well with Azalea, and you know what will happen if Flameheart and the elders finds out about this.”

“A friend, Rai… my best friend.”

I stop in mid-rant. What can I say to that? Finally I look at him. “You’re going to get hurt, you know,” I say at last.

“I know that Rai, believe you me, I know that.” He looked away. “But every time when I think about his suffering and the rift between him and Childman-sensei… I hurt already, you know that?” He gestured to his heart, “Right down here.” He shrugged.

“It’s not something that you can wish away, like yesterday’s dinner. It’s not even something that I can put aside just like that. I can’t do nothing.”

“So you would prefer risking everything?” I shake my head. “I don’t understand you, Hartia.”

“Do you know what it means to have your friends taken away from you, banished away, and to be helpless and unable to do anything?” Hartia asked softly, as he looked away. “It happened before, and well, I’m not going to let it happen again.”

I watched silently as Hartia walked away. Perhaps I do not know Hartia, but it appears that I will soon understand the situation as intimately as you do.

***

As I walk past the doorway, I pause. The light is gleaming softly

He is killing himself slowly with his worry. Between his disappearances from the Tower and his duties, it is any wonder that Childman-sensei doesn’t suspect. After all, he is Childman, but then again he has been strangely distracted of late. I stop near the door and listen through the ajar doorframe. I can’t help but shake my head. Yet more mutters about Kirianshero’s and Childman’s and the whole world’s stupidity and how he should leave the world to their own silly devices while he paces his room to find a solution to the whole mess. It is so painfully ironic that I would have smiled had it not been so tragic.

“Maybe if I talk to sensei again,” I hear him suggest to himself and I’m almost tempted to interrupt, to tell him what he should know, should have realized long ago; that everything he did was useless.

And yet, such was the depths of Hartia’s loyalty. I sadly smile and walk off. Ah, the fools of the world.

* * *

Do I understand? No.

Do I believe that what he’s doing can affect the greater scheme of things? No.

And yet… and yet…

***

Night-time.

I wearily pick myself up from where I was sitting and pocket the crystal ball. After all those long hours, I sure was looking forward to a nice long hot bat– 

“Rai! Rai! I need your help!” The door flung open, revealing a very flustered Hartia. If the situation didn’t beget a certain degree of solemnity, I probably would have laughed. His face was as red as his hair.

“Hartia,” I began uncertainly. “What brings you here?” I didn’t have to ask to know that it was about Kirianshero. These few days whenever he sees me, it’s always about Kirianshero.

“I need you to tell me where Kirianshero is.” The words ran out, spilling over each other in a tumble of words.

My mouth opened again in the perpetual refrain that I found myself telling Hartia every other hour or so but it was abruptly cut off by his words.

“They’re going to kill Kirianshero! I have to tell him!” His frantically waving arms almost hit me in the face before I carefully back away and regard him with friendly resignation.

“No Hartia. Enough is enough already.”

“Please Rai.” He pulls at my robes and I find myself wavering under his earnest appeal.

Only to find the sentiment quickly disappearing as he grabs my crystal ball and high tails it out of there, his robes flapping up little dust clouds as he sprints up the stairs. I stare up at the door at the quickly vanishing red hair, flabbergasted.

For about 5 seconds.

“HARTIA!!”

* * *

He runs. I tackle him.

“Hartia!!!!”

“Please Rai!” he begged, eyes wide and fearful.

“Hartia,” I began. “You do know that what you plan to do is as good as treason to the Tower.”

“But they just sent word out to kill Kirianshero! I have to send him word before Flameheart gets him first!”

I stepped back uncertain. “Hartia,” I began. “Why don’t you wait for Childman-sensei to wake up first? He’ll think of something.”

“There’s no time! Flameheart will get Kirianshero first! Please, Rai! Please.”

Reluctantly, I hand him over the directions that I was going to give to Childman when he woke up. He reaches out to grab it, but I stop him.

“Only on one condition. That you’ll be there just to warn him, and you won’t go further than that.” Be safe, Hartia. Do what you have to do, and get back before you get burned by the fire.

He grabs the paper from me. “I promise.”

I roll my eyes. I’d heard that before.

* * *

I follow him as he walks to the portal room.  The question that’s been hanging over my head for the last couple of minutes pops out before I realize it.

“You do realize that if Flameheart ever finds out who you are, being flayed is the least thing that could happen to you. He is not a forgiving man.”

He stepped into the portal, face set in determination and looked at me. “Well, it’s a chance that I’ll have to take.” I watched him as he took the ridiculous mask, his only defense against identification and put it on. The Black Tiger Mask.

“Kanate-e!”

And as I watched his image fade away, I found myself wondering what it would be like to feel such strong bonds, to risk and sacrifice so much for another, and all with the possibility that all your efforts would go to waste. I did not think I was half so brave.

Take care Hartia ‘cause it’s fools like you that makes this world worthwhile.

~ owari ~

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