The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 36

After a few days, Drea was beginning to feel much better. She was able to walk again, and the pain in her head and chest was subsiding steadily. It was a good thing Danny had healed her, for normally she would have been in bed for months.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t allowed to train until she was completely healed, so she trained in her sleep. She worked on gathering more information from Korena and Shawn, and worked to remember more fighting skills and techniques. Neither Korena nor Shawn pushed her too hard when they fought though; they knew how badly she had been hurt.

            As they walked towards Corey’s house, Drea’s heart began to jump out of her chest. She’d wanted to tell them what happened, but now that she was getting that opportunity, she couldn’t find a way to calm herself down. She already felt like his death was her fault.

            The houses around where he lived were all muted colors, but still outstanding. They stood in lines next to each other, but there was plenty of space for each house. Trees grew around the houses, shrouding everything in a shade of green without obscuring any of the houses.

            Danny stopped in front of the houses and looked at her. His expression was unreadable, though Drea could tell he was wondering if she truly wanted to do this. She did.

            Drea nodded with a solemn look on her face. She could barely control her breathing with the speed at which her heart was racing. Danny seemed to notice this and smiled one of his warm smiles. Those smiles of his always made Drea feel better, if only for an instant.

            Then Danny led Drea to a house off to the left, a soft green color. “Are you ready?” said Danny before he knocked on the door.

            All Drea could do was nod again. Her heart was beating much too fast to speak. Danny looked from her to the door and knocked. The sound echoed in the quiet air.

            In a few moments, a young woman, maybe in her late twenties, came to the door. She had shiny brown hair, and beautiful eyes, but it was obvious she had been crying. There were slight red circles still around her eyes, and her nose was still red. “Do you need something?”

            There was a pause before Danny answered, “Hello Ma’am, we came to speak with you. My friend here,” he gestured to Drea, “was with your husband when he passed.”

            The woman didn’t look surprised, relieved, or even sad, she only looked angry and worn out. “My husband died three days ago, and now I only want to help my daughter get through this. I don’t need any more empathy or any more ‘help’ from you Kaienshi. Now if you will,” she began to close the door, but Drea slipped in front of Danny and put her foot in the door.

            “Please,” she said softly, trying to keep her voice steady. “I watched his life leave him, and he wanted me to speak with you.” Drea had gotten more confident as she progressed, but knew the wife wasn’t buying it so much.

            “If you were there, you’re just looking for a way out of your guilt,” she whispered, “you just want to apologize for not saving him because you feel like you’ve done wrong. I have no intention of satisfying that need of yours.”

            She was just about to close the door again when a little girl’s voice said, “Mom! Why don’t you let them in?” The wife looked back and said something to the girl that Drea couldn’t hear then turned back to the two of them. She still didn’t look convinced. The little girl squeezed herself in front of her mother and smiled at the two of them. She was no more than ten years old, and had her mother’s brown hair and her father’s determined eyes.