Through the Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - Date with a Mercenary

It was awfully quiet with Masamune gone. Firstly, Tatsuya didn’t really have anyone to talk to considering that all the generals were off doing their own things, so it was pretty lonely. Secondly... man, was there a lot of paperwork.

Sighing as he glanced over the half-finished pile, he rose to his feet and poked his head out the window, grinning at the hawks roosting there. “Hello there birdies,” he murmured, reaching out a hand to pet one of them. The hawk tilted its head at him curiously, as though it was wondering why he was bothering it.

Though he was sure Masamune had attended to them prior to his departure... Tatsuya couldn't help but notice that one of the birds was not like the other. Frowning, he swiftly snatched up the black bird’s foot, slipping the piece of parchment free from its talons and swiftly scanning its contents. It was... random scribbles? No, if it was sent via messenger hawks, then it must be some sort of language...

Hawk? Oh, no, it was a crow... ‘Who would send Masa a nonsense letter... via a crow?’ he thought, furrowing his brows. Maybe he should have paid more attention to his Language classes...

Leaping to his feet, Tatsuya ran from the War Room to the lower levels, his eyes searching for someone, anyone that might know how to read. And that unfortunate soul... turned out to be his old acquaintance, Daichi.

“Yo, Daichi! You got a moment?” he called as the Lieutenant was making his way down the Pagoda steps.

Turning to glance at him, Daichi frowned and paused to let him catch up, his gaze surprisingly mellow. “Yes, what is it, Namikawa? There’s a training drill today and I mustn’t be late...,” he murmured, his voice cool and giving nothing away.

Panting slightly, Tatsuya unraveled the note and held it out to him, hoping that the mysterious scribbles were just another Aerosian dialect or something. “I was randomly checking the hawks this morning and found this... Though, I guess my vocabulary is short and I don’t know if this is some kid’s handwriting or a legitimate letter,” he explained nervously.

Daichi’s eyes skimmed the page quickly, brows furrowed as if the passage confused him. “... No... This must be a mistake. There is... no significance to the piece. You can throw it away,” he murmured, giving him a dismissive wave and continuing off on his way.

Scowling, Tatsuya looked the letter over several more times, something in his gut telling him that the guy was lying. But why... would a Lieutenant lie to his General’s face? It was a shameful act, condemnable by a removal from the army.

“Eh... Maybe I’m just overthinking things...” he sighed, spinning around and lumbering back upstairs to finish his work. However, halfway up he happened to bump into a girl with reddish hair, of whom squeaked her surprise and stumbled into his arms.

“Whoa there!” Tatsuya exclaimed, steadying her upon her feet and helping her up the rest of the stairs.

“Th-thank you! A-and... um... what was it...? A-ree-gah-toe? Or something?” the girl stammered, fumbling over her words.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it,” Tatsuya reassured her with a smile, holding out his free hand for a handshake, “I’m Namikawa Tatsuya. And you?”

Flushing when she realized she was in the presence of the Dragon’s Left-eye, the girl beamed up at him and took his hands in her’s eagerly. “Oh my gosh, this is too cool! You’re the Left-eye of the Dragon, right?! I’m so lucky! A-Ah... that’s right. My name’s Tōdō Natsuki! I’m from... Ignis!” she babbled with a bright grin.

Warmed by her energy, Tatsuya dipped his head to her enthusiastically, “Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Tōdō-san.” Though, when he tried to pull his hands away, he noticed her staring at the crumpled paper in his hand with wide-eyes.