The previous afternoon had bothered me too much to get any decent sleep. The part that stuck in my mind the most was being seen by those two in the forest. Would they go to confirm with Rubi if they knew I was gone? What would I do if they came to ask me directly? I would have to keep up the lie but they could easily confirm it as a lie… I had no idea what to do about it.

  Even during my daily training, I was totally distracted. Damian knocked me to the ground with more force than usual. “Ow! What’s that for?!”

  “Are you even paying attention?” He glared at me.

  “Yeah… It’s just, those two…” My words drifted off as my mind wandered.

  “What, never seen another team before? They’re not going to mess with us just because they saw us.”

  I wondered if the amount of caution I was showing made me look suspicious, but Maya backed me up. “It’s not good for us to be on any team’s maps, even if they don’t look that strong.”

  Damian clicked his tongue. “I know that. Just annoyed at this kid.”

  I thought we were about the same age?

  The rest of the training went better, but I was still obviously not performing as well as I could have. We followed it up with another walk through the same place we had checked the other day, with the same people. Damian still didn’t want to go with me. As we approached the location where Kassy saw me, I felt the pit in my stomach deepen. Maya noticed and put her hand on my shoulder, though she didn’t turn to look at me. “You’ll be alright.”

  I felt slightly ashamed that I had to be comforted by an enemy. Assuming her words were even genuine. Getting too comfortable around them would be my death. Shouldn’t be too hard, considering their captain wasn’t someone I could ever get along with, no matter what.

  We went further than last time and didn’t see anybody. I thought about just how big this faux Earth was. I didn’t know how many people we were fighting exactly, but it looked like a whole lot. How were we only encountering a few teams so far? Are the others better at hiding than us?

  Even though they trusted me to watch them from the back, I was still thinking about a scenario in which the other team found and interrogated me. Maybe I would tell them that I got separated but make it sound like I assumed they died, so that if they went to confirm and found my team alive, they couldn’t say I was wrong. Maybe they would assume that I was intentionally left behind and stop interrogating me once they think they understand. Yeah, that sounded like a good story. I only had to hope that Barb could figure out what was happening and lead the conversation in the case that they get asked about my whereabouts.

  On the way back to camp, I had a constant feeling like somebody was peering over my shoulder. I stopped and turned around a few times. This earned me a few concerned looks from Maya and Sonya, though it was more like pity than worry. How annoying.

  Willy wouldn’t let me eat without asking what was wrong. I didn’t want to tell him it was half his fault, with the other half being that I’m a traitor who nearly got caught. “It’s nothing.”

  “Hmmm…” He sounded disappointed. “I thought you were warming up to us. I’ll have to try harder.”

  “You really don’t have to.” I replied dryly.

  The other three were seated around us, all eating. The fourth, Michael, was in the corner with a collection of berries and similar items, mashing them together with his hands. Once again not taking part in conversation. The whole thing was incredibly uncomfortable. For me, anyway. I couldn’t tell nor care what the others thought. I focused my attention on Willy as he ate politely, despite having no plate or utensils. I wondered if attacking him while he was eating would give me the best shot.

  As usual, Damian finished quickly so he could leave. “Thanks.” He didn’t look back or gesture in any way when he said that. Unable to keep my attention on one thing, I watched him. When he was nearly within reach of the tent, some movement made my eyes shoot open. For a split second, I got annoyed that an animal had gotten me so tense, but almost as quickly as I made the initial realization, I then realized that it was far too meticulous to be an animal.

  “Dodge left!” I shouted at the top of my lungs and rose from my sitting position. Damian turned to me and in that moment, the tent was toppled by a knife that thrust straight forward with precision and a clear target in mind. Damian did as I said and only received a shallow cut in his abdomen. The one holding the weapon was quick to slash the knife around himself to make an opening in the fabric. The others shot up in confusion, dropping their food. Michael was at a safer distance and so he gathered the berries to protect them. I heard Sonya nearly choke on her food before swallowing it and stepping back further from the action. I maintained my distance as well.

  “Shit! How maddening!” The intruder exclaimed. “I was worried that I hadn’t taken the newbie seriously enough. I should have been more cautious.”

  Damian didn’t let the invader escape from the tent like he wanted; he was already lunging towards the side of him that wasn’t armed, the side he dodged to. The attacker shifted his weight to his other side so he could slash at him, but Damian seemed to have predicted that and dove in the same direction. He thrust his back into the attacker’s arm to prevent him from swinging down and hitting him anywhere important. Damian now had him in the perfect position to bring him to the ground and disarm him.

  What sounded like a lightning strike hit our ears when Damian’s advance was halted. The one that seemed outwitted had actually raised his knee at such an angle that it hit Damian at the tip of his chin. The fight with Damian was so short that we couldn’t even reach them before it was over.

  “Predictable.” He gloated as he turned to face Maya, who was running at him quickly. Willy was close behind. The assailant didn’t have much time before she got to him, so he kicked Damian’s stunned body towards her to potentially throw her off her rhythm.

  “What’s your business with us?!” Willy shouted from behind Maya. There was no response.

  I was vigilant, but I didn’t follow them. I wondered how it could be possible that he would come in here by himself. His teammates must be waiting to perform sneak attacks, just like he had. Getting frozen by indecision wasn’t good but I didn’t have the confidence Maya did to rush in. The intruder looked even more confident, though. As if they were playing into his plan. What gave him such confidence?

  I decided not to think harder than I needed to. I ran towards Michael. My first thought was that those berries were probably important, recalling my interactions with Rubi. The invader had backed away from the two in front of him, turning to watch me. We locked eyes. He looked annoyed, his calm demeanor fading for a bit. I tore my eyes away from him to look out for other attackers.

  My eyes jolted around each corner of the camp, at every bush I could see. Sonya was shivering in place, away from the action. I couldn’t help but remember her strength and feel annoyed at her reluctance. She wouldn’t have to try nearly as hard as us with that physique. Was she an athlete or something? It might explain the stupid outfit. Michael didn’t stand up. He was using a knife to carve a hole in the ground to put the plants in.

  A knife… Wait a minute. “Did you have that the whole time?”

  He looked up at me calmly. “They didn’t tell you? Wilhelm disposed of their knife as soon as they got it. This one is mine, they argued with him to let me keep it as long as I don’t use it for violence. They use it to cut up their food, too.”

  “I guess that makes sense…” I didn’t have enough time to be bewildered at that story or by the fact that it hadn’t crossed my mind this whole time. “Well, can we use it?”

  “I’m not exactly in a position to break my agreement with Wilhelm. Neither are you. We should do things their way if we want to be accepted.”

  “Damn it.” I returned my attention to the fight, worrying about whether I would be able to fend off a surprise attack using only my bare hands. At least all of my training since joining them had been for unarmed combat. I took up my fighting stance and rotated around slowly, in preparation for wherever they may appear.

  “Thank you. If your life were truly at risk, I would use this knife to protect you.”

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but I nodded. “I’m supposed to be protecting you.” It felt weird to say that about someone who wasn’t in my friend group. I definitely didn’t like him as much as them, but I felt the closest to him out of this team. Being his protector wasn’t my choice, though. This was just what needed to be done.

  Maya and Willy had begun pushing the attacker back into the trees. He evaded their swings with ease. I noticed that Willy was only attempting to grab him while Maya was throwing punches. Had they ever considered what they were going to do if they had to fight or did the others just begrudgingly agree to their leader to shut him up? How frustrating he had made things.

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  “Let’s talk this through! Why are you attacking us?!” Willy tried to spark up conversation amidst the swings and dodges. The answer to his question was so obvious that it made me feel stupid for even knowing him. I noticed that Sonya had decided to hide in the bushes, leaving only Maya and I as serious combatants, out of the six people on our team. Wonderful.

  I was beginning to get annoyed by the lack of any surprise attacks. Not like I wanted things to be harder for us, but I wondered if I was wasting my time over here. If he truly did come alone, I should be helping them fight him. I wondered if the reason his teammates hadn’t come was because his power can’t discriminate between friends and foes? What if it’s some kind of move with a huge range, like poison?

  “Hey, you two!” I yelled to Maya and Willy. “His power has some kind of huge range! That’s why his teammates haven’t come!”

  Willy turned to face me out of concern. Maya was focused on her target. They both spread out and backed away from him. The attacker looked at me with a shocked expression which shortly turned into a huge grin. I froze. What’s with that reaction? Was I wrong? Since they had made some distance between each other, he thrust his knife towards Willy while Maya was seemingly unsure of what to do.

  The same was true for me. Was the smile meant to throw me off? This guy seemed like the tricky type, so I shouldn’t fall for his mind games. I wasn’t sure enough to say something, but I decided to run towards him. Willy didn’t seem to be doing too well. Had they not given him any training? He looked like a kid out there, trying to push the armed enemy away. Maya noticed me and decided to help, too.

  We approached him from two sides. With Willy in front of him, the only place he could go to avoid us was back. That was, until I heard Michael gasp in pain. We all turned our attention to him, but I notably lost sight of the assailant when I realized that I had left him by himself without any thought. I got so caught up in my thoughts that I had stupidly allowed his teammates to ambush our medic.

  “Michael!!” I started to run towards Michael, who had a man’s arm around his neck. I was dead wrong about the reason why he wouldn’t bring his teammates. Why on Earth did I make such a stupid assumption? My back tingled. With my back turned, I had become his new target. A knife was slashing through the air towards me. I tumbled forward to dodge it, but my landing was a failure. I would have likely been stabbed to death if Maya hadn’t grabbed his arm to pull him back.

  “Let me go! Don’t you care about your doctor?” Our attacker yelled. Maya seemed slightly conflicted but didn’t release him yet. I wouldn’t blame her for sacrificing someone who was practically a stranger, but she must have been considering if there was a way to get him to safety without sacrificing anyone.

  I tried to think as fast as I could, but nothing came to mind. Were our only options really to surrender or let Michael die? Maya and Willy must realize the value of a healer, even if they don’t know him very well.

  “Stay down, you!” We all jumped when the attacker yelled at Damian, who had begun to get back on his feet and was unfortunately caught before he could mount a surprise attack. Obviously frustrated, he let himself fall back to the ground.

  I watched Michael closely. I hoped that he would send a signal or something, any plan at all would do. I had only just realized how much I trusted his judgment skills. He was smart, most likely smarter than me. Right on cue, Michael did a strikingly unnatural hand gesture, straightening his fingers towards the man’s upper leg.

  I remembered… His power! Excited that I had read him correctly, I smiled and spun around with a kick towards my opponent, powered by that momentum. He just barely blocked it with an elbow, but he wasn’t the largest man, so it still staggered him. He seemed to know where I would aim, even on such short notice.

  Michael extended his nails quickly enough to cut the other attacker’s skin. His grip loosened and Michael slipped through, dropping onto his knee. “Yu! Over here!”

  I decided to follow his orders and leave the presumed captain to Maya. Michael still wasn’t in a position to overpower his opponent. It was mostly a distraction tactic, so I came to his aid. Michael pushed his back against his foe’s legs to try and distract him. It bought me the time I needed so that I could get close enough to step towards the opponent’s side and wrap my arms around his abdomen. I was suddenly very pleased with Damian’s teachings, as I wasn’t certain if I could have gotten into a kicking stance straight out of a running stance like that. His posture must have been weakened by that wound on his leg. Still, this guy was bigger than both of us, and as I tumbled onto the ground, he shifted his weight and landed hard with his arm on my stomach. I felt the breath leave my body for a moment.

  “Stop!” Michael turned his head to the other assailant and raised his voice louder than I thought he could. “If you don’t listen, this man will die.”

  My attacker stopped pressing down on me, clearly concerned. Maya and her foe stopped and listened. The man didn’t seem impressed. “Can’t you see who is winning? At least lose with dignity!”

  “Before your friend can inflict any serious damage to mine, he will start to feel the spread of the poison I’ve given him.”

  I didn’t believe him for a second, but the weight on me started to lift. “Uh, Captain, he might be right…”

  “What?! You’re serious?”

  Michael smiled rather innocently. “You knew I was their doctor, but you didn’t think I would be skilled with poisons? You must not have prepared very well.”

  The only poison I could feel was in his words.

  “I prepared incredibly well!! Shut your mouth! Get over it and kill them already, Ingo!”

  Ingo rolled off me, though he still kept an arm over me with a decent amount of weight on it. His other hand was resting over his wound, which was bleeding an abnormal amount. “It’s hot, Captain…”

  “N-No! No!! Poison?! How did that never come up in my analysis?! Poison of all things! That’s not your ability! Where did that come from?! Tell me now! Did you intentionally hide it? Why didn’t I see iiittt??!!” The captain’s face was getting red and he was gripping his hair like a madman. Michael looked so polite in comparison, it was scary.

  “Are you worried that your preparations were meaningless in the face of my superior intellect? Don’t worry, you tried your hardest, even if it all crumbled thanks to such an error.” His smile got wider as he spoke, and his eyes didn’t open at all. The captain’s face had become one of pure terror. I mean, it was pretty creepy, but not THAT scary. The thought of being outsmarted had, for some reason, completely ruined this stranger.

  In his shattered mental state, he didn’t notice that Damian had approached him from behind with a rock raised above him. With a heave, he smashed it down into his head. Everyone gasped, especially Willy, staring at the sight as he went limp and blood dripped from the sharp edge of the rock that had made contact.

  “Damian!!” Willy shrieked.

  “Did you just kill him?” Maya sounded slightly worried but mostly confused.

  “No! Probably? Wh-Why would I be worried about that now?!” Damian was a bit flustered.

  “Hauke!” Ingo pulled himself forward, but winced and pressed his hands down on his bleeding leg.

  Michael approached the injured brute who had held him moments prior. “Damian, Maya, would you restrain the captain?”

  They did as he said. Michael kneeled in front of Ingo. “I will heal you if you don’t fight back while we get information from your captain. It’s in everyone’s best interests if you comply.”

  “R-Right…” Not a word of disagreement from him, or anyone.

  Michael must have been a good captain. I couldn’t imagine what kind of situation would lead to someone as impressive as him losing his team. Maybe that event caused him to become this intense.

  As he walked towards Hauke, he put a hand on my shoulder. “Good job on following my plan, Yu.”

  “Haha… Anyone could have followed orders like that.” I blushed.

  “I’m not so certain.” He continued past me. The next part, he spoke out loud. “By the way, I lied about the poison.”

  The sun had long since set, but nobody was able to sleep after that fight. The wounded assailants were bundled together in front of us. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything to hold them still. Willy hadn’t said a word since we sat down with them. Neither had Sonya. We finished eating, although it had gotten pretty cold.

  Damian took the role of persecutor from Michael. “Are your other two teammates waiting to attack us? Answer honestly or the next rock will kill you!”

  “No…” Hauke replied, quieter than before. “They were killed.”

  “A likely story!” Damian didn’t sound so convinced, but I had a fear that they were talking about Kenzo again. I could believe it.

  “We were completely overpowered. The only reason Ingo and I live is because of his mercy.”

  Is it mercy? I wonder…

  “Hmph. We can’t prove that, so we’ll take you at your word. If we find out you’re lying, then they really are dead.” Damian relented. He then turned to Willy. “What do we do with him, then?”

  So, I was right. They haven’t had a proper discussion. Well, it took my team a while to figure out what we were going to do, so I can’t be too disappointed.

  “I will handle it, Damian. Thank you.” Willy spoke quietly as he sat down in front of the two defeated invaders. Willingly lowering himself to their level. He sat down flat with little means to defend himself.

  I was uninterested in whatever he was going to tell them, so my eyes wandered in search of Sonya. She had come out but was still cowering away from us. Maya was comforting her. “We told you, nobody expects you to fight. Don’t get so down about it.” It didn’t appear to make her feel much better.

  She should at least try…

  “Yu.”

  I jumped. “Agh! Hey! Michael…”

  “Sorry.” He smiled. “Do you need treatment? Damian refused my suggestion that he stay in bed, but maybe you would be more reasonable?”

  “Oh, yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”

  Michael led me to his corner of the camp. The pitiful hole he dug up for his herbs had been opened once more. I shut my eyes and let him apply me with whatever leaf goo he was gonna use. After having some areas of bleeding lathered, I felt something sharp get stuck in me.

  “Yow—!”

  He held my arm down. “It’s okay, grit your teeth. I’m sorry I forgot to warn you. Damian wasn’t squeamish, so it didn’t cross my mind…”

  My teeth were clenched tight. “What was that?”

  He flicked some blood off of his long, sharp fingernail before shrinking it back to normal size. “My power. It hits your… Um, pressure points? I’m not entirely sure. It accelerates your body’s natural healing, though. If you were wondering how I faked the poison trick, I did some healing on the inside of that man’s leg and caused him to produce more blood there than necessary, leading to a slight burning sensation.”

  “Woah… Scary.” I commented. I was starting to feel better, but I wasn’t sure if it was a placebo. “Was it necessary to mess with those guys so much?”

  “Maybe not, but it’s good to be safe. Seeing as the captain was clearly very prideful and unstable, I jabbed at his weakness. Lying is not always immoral, I believe. My teammates may have gotten hurt very badly if I hadn’t.”

  “You think so, huh..?” I was relieved to hear it said like that by someone with more life experience. “They were sure convinced, though. Almost fooled me.”

  “Haha, now why would a doctor use poison?”

  I couldn’t tell if he was messing with me or not. A chuckle was appropriate in both instances, so I did just that.

  “On a more serious note,” Michael continued, “Words can make things real. When I convinced him that he was poisoned, that they had lost, it became reality. Such is true with any good lie.”

  It was so subtle that I wondered if I imagined it, but his eyes looked like they had lowered slightly. Was he.. speaking from experience? I wondered if he was merely pointing out a tool for us to use or if he was commenting on a harsh reality. I wanted to know more about him. “You came up with that trick really fast. You didn’t figure out they were coming before us, did you?”

  His face returned to its normal insincere smile as he replied in a much lighter tone. “Oh, of course not

  Holly (Artist): Glad to be back! Hope you enjoy the new designs. By the way, my webcomic '' just celebrated its 4th anniversary like 3 days ago!

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