User blog:Carol of the bells/Days of Ruin --- Zen's exile, part 26

Days of Ruin --- Zen's exile, part 26
Zen was only half listening as Karl explained to her the details of the attack on the village as they sat in the shelter of a small home. Only when he asked if she was alright did she finally respond, saying she was only tired.

"So what were you doing around the area?" Seria asked suspiciously.

She was about to reply when she realized she herself realized she didn't know how she had gotten there, or where 'there' even was. Karl had told her the name of the region the village was in was called 'Mistral', but Zen had been travelling aimlessly for so long, she probably wouldn't even know where it was until she saw a map. "I'm not sure," She finally answered, "The last thing I remember was falling unconcious after I-" Again, the unpleasant memory of her defeat resurfaced. "After I lost in a fight to my older brother..."

Seria raised a brow sceptically. "Your brother, huh?"

"Seria," Karl said in a warning tone, "I trust her, so you should too."

She muttered something incoherent before leaving the room. Karl offered an apologetic smile. "She means well, but years of battle have made her un-trusting. I hope you understand."

Zen nodded. "Of course...If you don't mind, I'd like some time alone. If it truely has been a year, my units will be worried..."

He smiled at her concern. "Sure. Just let me know if you need anything." He left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

She stayed still for a moment before quietly saying the names of each of her units, each of them apearing one by one. She was immediately caught up into the hug of a sobbing Lancia. Slowly, she returned the hug, awkwardly comforting the young chef.

The rest of her units were standing in various parts of the room, looking at everything but her. Even Selena looked disappointed, her lively blue eyes dulled to a weak azure.

"Why?!" Lancia sobbed into Zen's shoulder, "W-we could have helped y-you..."

"You're wasting your breath," Mifune grunted, glaring at Zen bitterly. "Let Zen follow her foolish ambitions. Pain would be a good teacher for a stubborn student like her."

Though he seemed equally angry at his summoner, Sergio immediatly went to Zen's defense. "Don't speak of her that way."

"I'm sick and tired of you standing up for that weak fool," The dark unit growled, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword.

"Hey," Zeln quickly pushed them apart, "Cut it out, you guys. It's not like Zen has had it easy, either."

"What do you think we're for, idiot?" Mifune shoved him aside, stomping over to Zen. Pulling the weeping Lancia off of her, he grabbed Zen's collar roughly. "But our precious summoner think's we're useless, isn't that right?"

"Mifune," Aem moved to intervene, "You're going to far."

"Answer me," Mifune ignored the light unit and shook the unresponding summoner, "We're no good to you, huh?!"

"M-Mifune..." Lancia sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

Zen stared blankly at her unit, the usuall stoic expression on her pale face. "I'm sorry," She finally spoke.

As if her apology was the last straw, his eyes grew wide with rage. "Do you think that makes it better, Yukino?!" Even as the name left his lips, he realized what he said. His grip loosened slightly, the anger leaving his face.

Zen blinked in surprise. Had she heard him correctly? Before she could clarify, he recovered from his blunder, his brow furrowing once more before he stormed out of the room, shoving Aem out of the way.

Aem sighed, shaking his head. "Zen, we...we aren't angry at you. Just...frustrated."

She nodded sadly. "Yes, but...you have every right to be angry. I...I should have summoned you. If I had, I might have defeated Ko...I was too proud. Forgive me."

Zeln was the first to brush of his gloomy mood, smiling brightly. "It's no problem, Zen. We know you've been through a lot."

She looked towards the door. "But Mifune..."

"Don't worry about him, dear," Selena finally spoke, smiling softly. "He doesn't know how to deal with things like this."

Sergio made his way to Zen, searching her eyes with his brow furrowed. "Please, Zen...don't do this to yourself again. Let us help from now on."

She nodded, promising that she would. After they spoke for a few more moments, she allowed them linger, she herself going out into the garden to look for Mifune. Instead, she found a familiar rainbow haired godess.

"Was that guy in the samurai get-up your unit?" Tilith wrinkled her nose. "I was sitting out her when he stomped in, took one look at me, and stomped back out." She huffed. "I didn't even speak to him, and he seemed irritated."

"I've been looking for you," Zen said, "I need to ask you about this...mission that has been bestowed upon me by...L-Lucius, was it?"

Her mood immediately brightened, and she patted the seat on the bench next to her. "Come sit and I'll tell you all about it."



Wah, Mifune is confusing his former summoner with his current one! What could it mean???

Thanks for reading~