Chapter Text
X333- Hargeon Town
Itashi
What was it about y/n that made her so enchanting? Apart from being from the future, I could sense something in her that I’d never sensed in others before. I wasn’t sure what that meant. I did know that I enjoyed poking fun at her and causing her to blush. It was… pure. Her smile was dazzling.
We spent the following few weeks traveling East toward one of the bigger port cities in the hopes we could find any intel on Kenosha. Y/n was exceptionally bright, reminding me of myself in my younger years, though I don’t believe I was that much older.
It was a cold day in February when we arrived to Hargeon town. There was fresh snow on the ground, muddled with soil and muck from the streets. I hated towns like this one.
The three of us split up so we could each see what we could find out about Kenosha, which was fine by me. I needed to put space between myself and y/n lest I do something I regret in front of her.
I’d be twenty years old in May. Young enough to have the world at my fingertips, yet by my father’s standards, too old to be anything except a burden to society.
Not once did I ever truly want to become a doctor. I fell into the career when my father forced me to save his mistress’s life after falling ill. The perks of moving to the hidden land were pretty nice, I had to admit. Acnologia had protected me from death when I was just fifteen years of age. It was then that I realized my father’s views about the draconian war were all wrong. Dragons… weren’t the enemy. That’s why I was shocked to hear Acnologia had attacked y/n’s friends. There was no way in hell that dragon was the same as my friend. He’d been nothing but kind to me and the rest of the Secretans.
Still, it was unnerving to know my father was some General in the war against coexistence. To know that one day, he could very well march onto my lands and attempt to kill those I called friends. It was that fact that kept me interested in learning the secret magic of the dragons. To be there when they needed my help, not just my healing touch.
It troubled me, to say the least. Especially if this Kenosha guy was on the opposing side of the war. I wasn’t sure exactly where he fit into this mess, but it was the perfect ruse to use the uprisings to his advantage. I couldn’t, no— wouldn’t let that happen.
“You okay, Itashi?” Y/n’s voice said quietly behind me. I whirled around at the sound and couldn’t hide the smile that appeared on my face.
“I’m fine. Did you find anything out?”
Y/n shook her head and sighed. “No, and needless to say you haven’t either?”
“Nope, not a damned thing. I did find this crystal ball reader, though, near the boardwalk. We could always try there and see if she is legitimate?” I held my hand out to lead y/n in the direction. The softness of her hands always took me by surprise.
We approached the fortune teller’s shop, and peeked inside. It was silent, and smelled of musky incense. I felt my eyelids droop immediately, an effect of the powerful smoke.
“Come in, come in,” the eldress’s voice chimed. “I’ve been awaiting the two of you.” I exchanged a glance with y/n, and led the way toward a table in the center of the dimly lit room.
The woman seated at the table had long, beaded white hair, with electric blue eyes that seemed to pierce through my very soul.
“Itashi and y/n, welcome,” she said quietly. “I knew this day would come.”
“You knew we were coming? But how?” Y/n’s voice was shaky. The woman gave her a wide toothy smile.
“Honey, it has been written in the stars for two millennia now. It’s prophecy, no! It’s fate. That one day, the dragon and the maiden will come together, unleashing the secrets of both past and future to save the present.”
I gave the woman a look. “The dragon? What are you going on about?”
“Dearie, the past and future have been intertwined since the dawn of time. I cannot share all with you— not yet. I will only share that which you seek to know. Please, do sit down.”
A magical aura forced us into chairs opposite the woman. I glanced over at y/n to ensure she was okay. Satisfied that she was, I turned back to the eldress.
“What type of payment do you prefer for your services?”
“I require knowledge for knowledge, young doctor. You wish to know something of the future? You must give me something from the past.”
“What if I give you something from my past, does that still count?” Y/n asked.
The woman considered this for a moment. “Though it still is from the future, yes. I will allow that. Please, tell me what you offer and what you seek.”
Y/n squared her shoulders, and looked directly into the eyes of the eldress. “I was born without any sort of ethernano in my body, effectively making me powerless. My mother gave her life to the gods in order for me to be healed.”
I tried to keep my face a blanket, but felt my jaw drop slightly.
The eldress seemed content with this answer, because she looked away to light another incense cone, wafting the smoke toward her vision.
“What is it you seek?”
“How will this scenario play out with the man from the future?” Y/n’s voice was little more than a whisper.
The woman began humming, her veins lighting up with magical energy. I shielded my eyes from the bright contrast in the dark room.
“When the maiden from the future is able to make amends with the past, it will not only save the current time, but the future as well. The two timelines will ripple, allowing that which has originally been lost to become found at the cost of the maiden’s most precious treasure.”
The woman shuddered a second time and stilled, eyes closed. Y/n and I exchanged a look. She looked positively terrified. What other secrets was the futureling hiding? What did that fortune even mean?
I attempted to speak, but y/n dashed out of the shop before I could say so much as one word.