Heroes to Hunted

Mizuno glared at me with chilling eyes, "I think it's time you answered our questions."

"Huh?" I had to repeat my thoughts out loud. It was my attempt at making sense of what was going on. 'What happened again?'

One moment Suda was giggling uncontrollably about us stealing a rune-coach, and the mood was relatively amenable despite my distrust in them.

'So why? Why, and how, did things shift so quickly to bloodlust?!' Why did Suda have a glint of murder in her eyes while she glowered at me, hands on her hunting knife?

Why was Shrug, the man who took such good care of Sato, Takagi, and Takashi, brandishing his hammer with the intent to use it?

Unlike the other two, Mizuno hadn't drawn either of her swords. No, her hands were occupied after she'd crossed and locked them together. She leaned in closer, faintly illuminating her hands and jaw with an orange glow from the campfire embers.

I took a gulp in suspense, and the room went silent. The only exception was the crackling and snapping of twigs as they converted to cinders in the firepit.

Then, breaking the silence, Mizuno spoke up. Her words were calm and confident, devoid of any unease. "Tell us how you all escaped."

My mind was in paralysis. 'Do I say what happened? Do I not? Do I lie?' I realized that we were at a crossroads. A crossroads where someone's life could be snuffed out if I made the wrong choice.

'Maybe they have an idea!' I desperately looked to my allies for answers.

Takagi hadn't budged an inch; he remained transfixed on Nakamura's flask. He was still intently focused on the silvery shine of the metal, dull to the world around him.

Takagi remained motionless, his gaze fixed on Nakamura's flask. He was so intently focused on the metal's silvery shine that he seemed oblivious to everything else around him.

The sisters were no use either. Hikari hid fearfully behind her sister's back while Ayame scowled and scowled at a now hostile Suda.

Finally, Kamida was-

"Hey!" he boldly asserted, apparently staging an intervention. "Why don't we all calm do-" but a vertically spinning knife cut off his words. It whizzed and grazed the thin hairs on his cheek before burrowing deep into the tree's base beside him with a sharp thud.

Unlike her hunting knife, the dagger was razor-thin and "dart-like." It had a small, unwrapped steel handle and various serrated bits running along both sides of its blade.

If that thing had burrowed into someone, it'd undoubtedly shred their insides, leaving their guts a bloody mess.

Kamida must've also imagined the consequences, given how his eyes widened in fear and froze, revealing every bit of the whites within them.

Kamida and I both eyed Suda, whose free hand was pointed toward him with a loosened but nearly clenched fist.

'Guess it's clear who threw it.'

"Ya should know," Suda eyed Kamida with a killer's grin, "I don't miss twice. You should siddown," she gestured her hand toward the floor.

Though he momentarily choked at the threat, Kamida's next move shocked me. He muttered something to do with courage, and rather than buckling to fear, he became composed.

"Friends..." Kamida pleaded, "surely you'd prefer a cordial conversation. We're happy to answer any of your questions!" He then focused his gaze on Mizuno, who glared back at him. "Please, you should know fear never yields a good answer during an interrogation."

"Sit down!" Suda demanded, baring her teeth toward Kamida.

But he pressed on, ignoring Suda's orders, and stepped toward Mizuno with outstretched arms. "Miss... Please! I'm unsure what has you so upset, but surely it isn't worth a conflict!"

"I warned ya, buddy..." Suda sighed and motioned quickly for another throwing knife. Just as she'd pulled her hand back to view, dart-dagger in hand, hers was stopped by Mizuno's grip.

"Yuu?" Suda turned and quizzically questioned Mizuno. "What are ya doin'?"

"It's fine," Mizuno assured, then looked back toward Kamida, "sit. We'll talk...peaceably," she motioned for Suda and Shrug to lower their guard and return to what they'd been doing.

Shrug immediately followed the order by releasing his hammer and resuming a non-hostile stance, but Suda wasn't convinced.

"Yuu... Are ya really sure 'bout this?" Her grip on her weapons, like her willingness to follow Mizuno's direction, shakily wavered.

"I said it's fine," Mizuno commanded again. "Besides, you can tell if they're lying, can't you?" she grinned slightly.

Suda smiled back and fully returned to a state of calmness. "Ya got it, Yuu; I guess you're right." she then laughed and returned to her usual cheer. "You're always right!"

Even though the open hostilities had subsided, Kamida, the sisters, and I were still locked in unease over the recent events. Nevertheless, our concern could not stave off the relentless questioning that ensued.

On and on, while Suda prepared more squirrels to roast, Mizuno checked our story with a fine-tooth comb. She occasionally called upon Suda, and she'd into our eyes. According to Mizuno, Suda was checking us for lies or something like that.

It was an odd thing to do, but who knows with this place. So I decided not to put that much thought into it.

We discussed everything. From the time we arrived at the tower... To the mansion... To the dungeon and our escape.

Everything about our hellish day was left entirely bare. The most challenging parts of the story were the ones that inspired memories of Nakamura.

Takagi was especially broken up by Nakamura's mention.

Despite being unresponsive to almost everything, it looked like Nakamura's name was a tether that kept Takagi from abandoning sense altogether. His pained expression became even more pronounced when we noted our time in the dark tunnels with the dogs.

Finally, an hour and a half later, we'd arrived at our confrontation with the quillbeast. As well as our first encounter with the three of them: Shrug, Suda, and Mizuno.

"That's about it," I wearily concluded, hoping my recap of today's events would appease them.

"Wait," Suda asked, "do you even know why you were brought here, Agawa? Do any of you know why you were brought here?" She cast her gaze around the room, analyzing each of our expressions.

Mine was definitely one of confusion. Though it was a question I always wanted to ask, it was never one I could get an answer to; I was too busy trying to keep my life intact.

Likewise, the sisters had no idea. They both shook their heads, giving a decisive "no."

But Kamida? Kamida hadn't moved an inch. Instead, he went oddly silent. He crossed his hands and covered his mouth, breaking out in a cold sweat.

I couldn't be sure what he was thinking, but they definitely weren't memories of happiness.

"Oh...you look like you do." Suda leaned in, probing Kamida for more details. "So? Do ya know why you were brought here?"

"I-I'm not sure," he stammered.

Suda lit up with a grin. "Ohoho, it's not good for ya to lie. In fact, I'd highly suggest ya don't." Within her words was the undeniable tone of a threat. Like me with them, they hadn't fully trusted us yet.

He looked at her with eyes of angst and terror. Then, trembling at his own words, he replied, "is it true? Were we... Was our group really summoned to be eaten?"

His words bewildered not just me but Ayame and Hikari too. They both looked on in horror. "Now's not the time for dark jokes!" I snapped at Kamida. But when I saw his face, I knew he was the definition of the word "serious."

Suda laughed. "Yeaaaah... it's a pretty shitty fate we summoned are facin', huh?" she sighed.

Upon hearing her, I mentally noted her use of the word "summoned." Between their names and calling herself a summoned made a fact I already suspected clear. 'These people...they're from our world too.'