Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is the right way, Kazuma?” Ryunosuke gulped as he and his partner walked deeper into the forest.
The further they went, the less light there was that could reach the forest floor. The trees were taller than Ryunosuke had ever seen, and the ground was littered with dead leaves, mushrooms, and bushes big and small. Vines crawled up the trees and the twisted branches that seemed to cage them in.
“I’m certain. The map Stronghart gave us is very clear.”
“Can we trust Stronghart?”
“Yes, of course we can.”
Ryunosuke frowned. Even though Ryunosuke had been living in Kazuma’s village for almost two years, he still had a bad feeling about their leader, Mael Stronghart. Kazuma seemed to trust him, though, and Ryunosuke trusted Kazuma.
“This… just seems really creepy.”
“You’re just a baby,” Kazuma teased. “Come on.”
“Alright…”
They walked for a few minutes more, with Ryunosuke still on edge, jumping at the slightest sound or movement in the trees. Kazuma walked in front, using his sword to cut through the underbrush when it got too thick to walk through.
Suddenly, Ryunosuke screamed as a large bug flew towards them. Kazuma had his sword out in an instant, brandishing it at the bug, who faltered in its path.
Now calm, Ryunosuke could tell it wasn’t a bug, but a fairy. She was larger than most fairies, with large white, almost feathery wings. She was wearing a blue dress and had black markings around her eyes, almost like a mask. Her light brown hair hung loosely at her shoulders.
“What do you want?” Kazuma glared at the fairy.
“I should be asking you the same thing! This is not a place for humans,” she spat.
“We’re just passing through, we mean you no harm.”
“That hardly matters,” she scoffed. “I refuse to allow ones such as you two in this forest.”
She lunged towards Kazuma, attempting to bite him. Kazuma leaped to the side, and she crashed into a tree with a scream.
“Be careful, Kazuma!” Ryunosuke yelled, stepping back. “Her venom might be poisonous!”
“I know that, Ryunosuke,” Kazuma said, dodging another one of the fairy’s attacks.
“I will not allow you to come out of this forest alive!” she yelled, moving just in time to avoid a hit from Kazuma’s blade.
Kazuma growled, swinging his sword in another large arc, trying to catch her.
The fairy lunged at Kazuma again, and he tried to step out of the way, but walked backwards right into a tree. His eyes widened with fear as he saw the fairy getting closer and closer, but suddenly, a rock whizzed past his head, hitting the fairy. She screeched in pain, and the rock crashed into another tree, crushing her between the two with a wet squishing sound.
Kazuma turned his head to see Ryunosuke, eyes wide and shaking.
“Ryuu, did you…”
Ryunosuke nodded.
Kazuma sheathed his sword, walking over to pull Ryunosuke into a tight embrace.
“Thank you,” he petted his hair.
“Is– is– isn’t it bad luck to kill a fairy?”
“No? Where did you hear that?” Kazuma pulled back just far enough so he could look Ryunosuke in the eyes, while still keeping his arms around him.
Ryunosuke shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You’re fine, Ryunosuke. Let’s keep going before others spot us.”
“Good idea.”
–
An indeterminate amount of time later, Ryunosuke and Kazuma finally made it to the other side of the forest. It must have been a long time, as night had fallen.
“That’s the mountain.” Kazuma said, pointing towards a shape in the distance.
Ryunosuke squinted, but it was too dark to see much of anything. “It’s really far away…”
“It’ll take a couple days to get there,” Kazuma explained.
Ryunosuke nodded. “Shall we make camp for the night?”
“Good idea.”
–
They had a delicious dinner of rabbits that Kazuma had hunted earlier, and soon tucked in for the night. Sleep, however, did not come easily to Ryunosuke that night. He had a few questions that had been swirling in his mind ever since Kazuma proposed this journey for them.
“Kazuma, are you awake?” He asked quietly.
“Yeah, why?”
“There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“What’s that, Ryuu?”
“You… You don’t seem like someone who would be doing this just for the treasure. “
Kazuma sighed deeply. “You’re right, Ryunosuke…”
“What is it, then?”
“This dragon… it killed my family.
“Oh.”
“When I was younger, my father and I were friends with two brothers. The younger brother, who was a year older than me, was my best friend. His name was Barok.”
Ryunosuke nodded, showing that he was listening. Kazuma’s gaze looked so troubled, and Ryunosuke took his hand in his, squeezing it lightly to try and comfort him. Kazuma smiled softly before continuing.
“There were stories of treasure deep within a mountain. My father, Barok, and his older brother decided to go see if they could recover the treasure. They wanted to bring it back to help our village, which was struggling due to harsh storms and a few years of poor harvests. I wanted to go along with them, but my father claimed it was too dangerous. He wouldn’t let me go.” Kazuma took a shaky breath. “They never came back.”
Ryunosuke squeezed his hand again, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles.
“As I got older, I started hearing tales of a dragon that guarded the treasure. That dragon killed my family.”
Ryunosuke wrapped his arms around Kazuma. “We will avenge your family, Kazuma. I promise.”
“Thank you, Ryuu… I love you.”
“I love you too, Kazuma.” Ryunosuke kissed Kazuma's forehead, wrapping his arms around him.
–
The next few days found them walking through open field, the mountain’s intimidating presence getting closer and closer.
The mountain itself wasn’t difficult to traverse, and they got to the cave’s entrance without much trouble. It seemed that tales of a terrifying dragon were all people needed to be wary of this place.
It was a bit of a maze to find the cavern itself, but it didn't take too much brain power.
Ryunosuke gasped as they entered the cavern. It was huge! Piles of gold treasure covered the ground, stretching as far as he could see. A few old stone pillars supported the high ceiling.
“This is it, Ryunosuke.” Kazuma said, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Yes, Kazuma. We found it.”
“Leave… You should not be here.” A deep voice echoed through the cave, seemingly coming from all sides.
Ryunosuke shuddered, taking Kazuma’s free hand.
They had found the dragon, too.