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Get this over with.
Ryujin takes a tight turn to the right, barely avoiding bumping into street vendors and spilling all their products onto the ground, before she dashes inside a narrow alleyway, her eyes never leaving the target running away from her.
Get this over with, she tells herself again, when she feels her knees weaken, as if her legs can’t continue going on autopilot anymore, and pushes her feet against the pavement harder, get this over with.
Life as part of the military used to be special for Ryujin. It was her only purpose in life—to serve and protect the town she took her first breath in. She told herself she’d take her last breath here, too, providing safety to the people who resided in it.
She wanted nothing but to be a part of the military. Now, half a year into a service, task after task was dreadful.
Ryujin wished it was because being a knight was physically draining.
But her morals were the one sapping away all of the strength inside her body. She wanted the job. She wished for nothing but the job. But now that she actually had it…
Get this over with, she chided herself yet once again.
It was the only thing keeping her going. Get this task over with. Get everything done. Get this over with. After that, maybe, she’d have time to run away from the arguing voices inside her head by locking herself up in her room and drifting off to sleep—assuming her dreams weren’t made up of the same predicaments that greeted her when she was awake.
Ryujin’s target tripped, their hood falling off in the process. The knight’s heart hiccuped, a spark of hope igniting inside her chest as brown locks came into view. The target stopped running, and Ryujin snapped to her senses, using the last pinch of adrenaline inside her body to run—
But her target continued moving.
Fuck.
Get this over with.
As they passed by one house after the other, into the crowds and out of it, Ryujin can’t help but be slightly thankful she was out on a case on such a momentous occasion. Tonight, the town she loved dearly was celebrating a festival—and Ryujin was more than willing to be busy with anything else but the festival itself.
Events like this used to be…well, festive for Ryujin. There was just something magical about the lanterns on display, the countless masks worn by countless people, and the street vendors with different ornaments and products on full display. Ryujin would give up everything to attend the festival, as soon as it opens until the last vendor tucks away their store for the night.
Now, Ryujin would give up the festival for everything else.
Tonight, seizing the government’s most wanted criminal is on top of the list.
Ryujin wasn’t certain, until now, if it was a good thing or not.
Still, she kept chasing after the said target—she had no other choice but to follow what the higher-ups say, anyway, because those officials are the same ones who lead the town she’s in; the ones who have been voted—ever since democracy was introduced to this place—to decide what’s best for the people.
The government told them to chase this ‘criminal’ at all costs.
Dead or alive.
Ryujin doesn’t think that the person—a mere critic who voices their opinion against the government—deserves death.
But then again, it’s the higher-ups. They’re voted because they know what’s best for their people.
Or do they? A voice nags.
Ryujin hushes it down. Now’s not the time.
She was almost out of breath when they sneaked into yet another narrow alleyway, just between two houses built near the town center. There, the target is greeted by a dead end, a wall too high to climb up, unless you’ve got a rope by your side.
Fortunately for Ryujin, the target was empty-handed.
“Surrender yourself,” commanded Ryujin, trying to not let her voice falter against heavy breaths. Her chest heaved as she tried to steady her breathing, eyes still locked on the target’s brown—albeit now frizzy—hair.
She saw the target tense in place, even with meters of distance between them. Ryujin swallowed thickly, unsheathing her sword, taking careful steps towards the other.
“Please.”
I don’t want to use this sword.
“Surrender yourself.”
Not when I don’t have to.
Ryujin stopped when she was merely less than a meter away from the target. Her fingers wrapped tightly against the hilt of her sword as she tried to come up with the best possible solution to handle this situation.
This person is the leader of the opposition against the government. The government called their words repugnant—their words are baseless, and they’re doing this for their own personal gain in tearing the town into two sides. Ryujin could see the government’s point—the town has indeed been separated into two sides—but she doesn’t see the point in punishing them and even bringing death upon these individuals.
They’re the town’s people. They should be protected, as well, no matter how ill they speak of the ones serving them.
But still…if their words do contribute destroying the peace between the people…
Ryujin shook her head. It’s the voices arguing again. The first one, stubborn, trying to remind her of the years she’s dreamt of serving the government and its people. Why should she question it now? The second voice, persistent, trying to let her see that the opposition are on the other side of the same coin—perhaps shinier, but not looked upon often.
Get this over with.
“Put your hands where I can see them,” Ryujin said, loosening her hold on her sword ever so slightly.
The target stayed still for a few beats. One, they took a deep breath. Two, they shifted their weight from one foot to the other, Ryujin was afraid they’d set off running again. Three, just as Ryujin was preparing to run, the target turned around.
Ryujin almost dropped her sword.
Almost, as she took a step back out of disbelief, every air leaving her lungs, incredulity spreading throughout her chest. Almost, as the target stared back at her, eyes looking somewhere between apologetic or disappointed. Almost, as they stared at each other, not knowing the words to say, not knowing what to do.
She stared into a pair of eyes she always found herself drowning in. The pair of eyes she’s been looking at since she was old enough to realize her feelings, and the pair of eyes she’s longed to catch a glimpse of again ever since the day they separated.
The distant chatter of the crowds could be heard from the mouth of the alleyway. Aside from that, it was only silence that lingered between them—silence that spoke of years of not seeing each other, only to reunite in such a silly manner…
“Lia,” Ryujin finally spoke, releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“Ryujin,” Lia regarded her with a harsh tone. With that, the younger was sure that the look Lia had given her earlier was disappointment, and nothing close to an apology.
Ryujin searched through her mind for words, wanting to ask Lia of how long has she been back in town? How did she manage to be a leader of the opposition team when she left years back? However, the only word that managed to escape her lips were, “Why?”
Why did they have to meet this way?
Why was Lia so disappointed in her, when she knew fully well that to be a knight was what Ryujin dreamed of ever since?
Why did she even go back?
What— Who did she go back for?
Lia darted her gaze elsewhere. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, its designs clearly crafted by someone from overseas. She went back to her hometown, but her heart was clearly still from the other country she had escaped to, apparently.
“When I came back, it was for a visit,” answered Lia, dragging her eyes to meet with Ryujin’s once more. Visit? The festival? Or visit who? “But I saw how the town is in ruins. And so here I am.”
“The town isn’t in ruins,” Ryujin countered immediately. “We’re even celebrating a festival.”
“You were chasing after an innocent person, after me, during said festival.”
“You’re a wanted criminal. You were slandering the government.”
“Since when did saying the truth become slandering?” Lia snapped back, her eyes basically shooting daggers now. “This government is the one tearing this town apart. Inflation rates every now and then that make the products impossible to buy and sell. Do they raise the salaries of their public workers, though? No. They give them more work to do, so they’d have less time to rest, but less money to go throughout the day, too.”
Ryujin pursed her lips. The anger laced in Lia’s words were getting to her—in a way that she started to glare back at the elder, disliking the way she’s—well, slandering the government Ryujin’s serving. That can’t be right. The people are okay. They’re even continuing the festival!
“I wouldn’t be criticizing the government if there wasn’t anything to criticize about,” continued Lia. Ryujin didn’t know if she was imagining it, but for a second Lia seemed to look different, as if she let a piece of her facade crumble down when Ryujin shot a piercing scowl at her. But she was quick to patch up her facade back again. “And with the new bullshit of a terrorism law they’re proposing, you won’t get to know your town like you used to.”
“Who are you to say that?” Ryujin spat, having enough of Lia’s words. Her town wasn’t changing. It was the same lively place she spent all of her years in. Meanwhile, Lia— “You were the one to leave this place. You don’t know it like I do.”
Lia scoffed, making Ryujin’s blood boil, and she clutched the hilt of her sword. If her temper got the best of her, she would’ve hit this poor barrel beside her right here, right now. But she was trained better than that. She trained herself to control her emotions, and not let her emotions control her.
Ryujin bit the insides of her cheek. “The officials care for us. They might have some flaws—“
“And their flaws are exactly what I’ve been pointing out.”
“—but they’re trying their best.”
“Their best isn’t good enough.”
“You didn’t stay long enough to know.” Ryujin frowned, ignoring the sting in her chest that often visited when she remembered how Lia left the town—and Ryujin—saying she wanted to go overseas and not be cooped up in the same place forever. “You left. You shouldn’t know.”
The facade Lia has been keeping up was blown away, as if all along all those pieces were only mere specks of dust. Ryujin could feel herself crumble, too—maybe she really couldn’t ignore the sting in her chest, could she? Even more so when the one who stung her heart in the first place was standing right in front of her.
A long exhale ran past Lia’s lips. She glanced at Ryujin, briefly, before she murmured, loud enough for Ryujin to hear, “You weren’t harmed enough. You shouldn’t know.”
You weren’t harmed enough.
Weren’t harmed enough?
The first voice inside her head had lost its volume. It stayed silent, no words left to spew, and the second voice inside Ryujin’s head must’ve let out a sigh of relief.
Get this over with.
Ryujin feels like her head would split into two anytime soon.
“It’s not about me not staying long enough in this town to not know,” whispered Lia, biting her lower lip and meeting Ryujin’s gaze through her eyelashes, “it’s you staying long enough and still not knowing.”
Not know…what?
Ryujin serves the military. She’s a knight. She takes pride in that, because it’s what she’s dreamed of ever since she was a kid. It’s what she’s dreamed of even when Lia had gone away. It’s what she’s dreamed of—because she thought that in this way, she gets to serve and protect the town she held close to her heart.
But what if there were other ways to serve the town?
“Surrender,” she said instead, though her voice didn’t hold as much conviction as earlier.
Ryujin raised her sword, its tip barely touching Lia’s neck, and the latter raised her arms in reflex.
“Let’s get this over with,” Ryujin croaked, unable to meet Lia’s orbs this time.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I have to.”
“You don’t want to.”
“I—“ Ryujin took a shaky breath, and repeated the sentence that always glued her feet to the ground, or else she would’ve gone berserk already, “Get this over with.”
Lia didn’t say anything, but she didn’t do anything, either. If Ryujin still knew Lia like the way she did before, then Lia must’ve been waiting for Ryujin. When they argue and Lia falls silent, it means she’s only waiting for Ryujin to realize something and do it.
However, realization doesn’t dawn on Ryujin this time. Not when she’s a bundle of mess with her thoughts and emotions and loyalty. Not when her decisions are distorted with hate and pain that she’s been hoarding since way back.
Ryujin’s arm falls, and she glues her eyes on the floor, the sword by her side.
Get this over with.
Can she get this over with?
Can she get over the fact that she reunites with her childhood friend who’s apparently a wanted criminal by the government, the same government that Ryujin works for? Can she get over the fact that their ideals contradict—or maybe they don’t, but Ryujin’s too caught up with her emotions that she fails to see otherwise?
Can she?
Lia lets out a gasp.
Ryujin drags her head up, and she hears it, she sees it. The fireworks are now decorating the clear night sky, one bright color after the other. Her heart swells at the sight, because it’s been so long since she last saw it. She’s always cooped up in her room during festivals. No matter how pretty the fireworks could be, no matter how much she remembers loving it, she can’t bring herself to watch it again.
Not when she’s not with Lia.
Tonight, however, made a surprising turn of events in her life.
Ryujin gaped at Lia, who was already looking back at her.
Silence.
Then, with uncertainty in her voice, she says, “Run.”
Lia gave her a look of confusion. She didn’t ask anything, merely took a step back, glancing at Ryujin’s sword. It pained Ryujin to think that Lia thought the younger was capable of hurting someone.
“I’ll let you go,” Ryujin promised, carefully sheathing her sword. “So run.”
Lia opened her mouth, but pursed her lips as if hesitating to speak. A few seconds passed before she nodded, staring at Ryujin with her face devoid of emotion as she said, “Thank you.”
“Let’s get this over with.” Ryujin decided to settle for a small smile. “Just run.”
Lia mirrored the small smile, and it was almost enough to shoot the tears up Ryujin’s eyes. But she holds it back and watches as Lia passes by her, out into the alleyway, trying to blend in with the crowd.
It didn’t take long before she was out of Ryujin’s sight.
The sound of the fireworks setting off were enough to peel her attention away, and back onto the black canvas sprawled with different bright colors of glitter above her. It was funny how in less than a second, the sense of nostalgia it brought made Ryujin’s vision blurry, but she wiped it away with a small, incredulous laugh.
She didn’t believe she saw Lia again today.
And she’d told her to run.
It wasn’t the reunion she expected—or, she never even expected a reunion at all.
Still, as she looked back at it, maybe it was necessary for their paths to cross again. Maybe Lia had to be an opposition leader, or maybe Ryujin had to be a knight, before their fates intertwined once more. Somewhere out there, the tiniest bit of their fates were still intertwined—two pairs of eyes glued to the sky, letting the fireworks drag them through nostalgia and memories.
And hopefully, one day, as the fireworks set off again, they won’t have to run anymore.