Itadaki no Hecate Second

Unfettered Walk

The young cowboy wandered the wilderness, his coat draped over several bandages wrapped around his wounds. Most noticeably, his lost right eye was now masked by several white cloth wraps.

The wind blew, sending dust into his remaining ocular organ, and he lowered the brim of his hat in response.

As he kept going, he felt his stomach rumble. How long had he last eaten? He had forgotten the length of time it had been since devouring that fried lizard. Perhaps it was time he had to hunt for more nourishment.

He unholstered the pistol strapped to his waist and inspected his ammunition. Two bullets left. It wasn't much, and out here, all alone, every scrap of a weapon was essential to survival.

He grit his teeth. He would need more than just this piece of garbage if he wanted to exact revenge on his village's murderers. That same drive for vengeance is what kept him going; the anger and sorrow festering in his heart allowed him to push forward with purpose.

But the energy of emotion could only last for so long, and soon he collapsed on his face in the middle of the harsh wildlands.

Was it going to end here? He was not sure. He would have preferred not, for he still had his home to avenge. Yes, it's because of those people that he had lost everything; those people were to blame.

"Damn... Flame Haze..." he uttered with a parched tongue in frustration.

"Master, I think he's waking up," a female voice with an unusually high pitch said.

"So it seems he is, my dearest Marianne," a smooth male voice replied.

The boy opened his eyes slowly to find a man dressed in white. What was quick to notice about him was his unusually pale complexion, in spite of his lack of a hat, and his azure blue hair. A moment later, he noticed the little doll cradled in his arm. In his other hand, the man held an open canteen.

"U-ugh..." the boy groaned as he tried to get up, but found himself still too weak to do so.

"Don't push yourself young man," the bluenette said, bringing the canteen towards the boy's mouth. "Drink."

The water was cool, and life slowly returned to the boy. The liquid was cleaner than what was usually found around these parts, likely drawn from a spring.

After a while of letting the boy drink from his canteen, the stranger withdrew his container.

"Thank... you," the boy said with a low voice, finally getting some of his ability to speak back.

The blue haired man nodded back. "Might as well travel together kid, seeing as we're both after the same thing."

The boy's eyes widened as much as they could in his current state. He opened his mouth to speak, but ended up croaking hoarsely.

"Easy there, I can answer all your questions later," the man reassured him.

"Who... are... you?" the boy insisted on asking at the very least.

"A fellow enemy of the Flame Hazes. You can call me Friagne, the Hunter. And your name, my boy?"

The boy didn't hesitate for his newfound ally. "Billy Hawken."

Episode 16: Unfettered Walk

Yuji woke to the sound of his own rumbling stomach. He was basically still a human shell, and that fact caught up to him.

Rubbing his eyes, he wondered to himself just when was the last time he had eaten. He was still on the train, unfortunately, so there wasn't much chance to get anything while it was still in transit that late night.