"Miyaji..." Kyusaku called with hesitation. "You don't have to carry me, do you?"

"I would rather not have you tripping and falling into another cave," his partner replied. "One was enough," he added with a sigh. "Do you know how it felt to see you fall and knowing I would never be fast enough to catch you? I almost had a heart attack!"

The elf laughed nervously. "Sorry. I should have been more careful."

"I'm just glad you only hurt your head a bit... You're really lucky it wasn't more serious."

The elf still remembered the way he fell, the feeling of suddenly not being on the ground anymore, and Miyaji's horrified face as he called his name and just barely missed him. He shuddered at the thought.
Compared to that fear, the embarrassment of being carried like a princess by his partner was nothing. In fact, he was even starting to see benefits to this situation.

Not only was it safer, it was also faster and more convenient; if he tried to go back to the ruins on his own feet, with Miyaji leading him, it would take them days to reach their destination; he was just starting to get used to his blindness, and knowing the terrain here, it just didn't seem reasonable.
On top of that, it was also quite comfortable, he noticed, and immediately thought he probably shouldn't be thinking that.

"Do you hate it that much?" Miyaji asked all of a sudden.

"What?"

"Being in my arms. You've been silent for a while..."

"I don't hate it," he assured him. "But don't do this in public. It's embarrassing! The last time I was carried by someone, I was still a child."

"So, by your Master? More than eighty years ago?"

"Did you really have to mention my age."

His partner laughed; it was a strange sensation, to directly feel it resonate against his body. It wasn't bad.

"Did Tsubari's comments make you self-conscious? Or is it my fault?"

The elf's ears twitched, brushing against his partner's face.

"Huh? Oh… Am I really old? I don't feel like I am..."

"Well, you're pretty young, compared to me."

"So you really are older than me!"

"Since it's you, I'll admit it. But you can't tell anyone! I'm having a lot of fun annoying everyone with it. Do you still remember when your Master carried you?" He asked all of a sudden, changing the subject.

"How could I forget?" Kyusaku replied quietly. "It was the day I lost my family. No matter how much I struggled, they didn't let go of me."

"I won't let go either."

"I know. If you do, I'll kick your ass later."

"That might be fun," Miyaji commented, giggling. "Maybe I'd let you win. But you know, I carried you a lot too."

"Wait, what?"

Kyusaku was understandably quite shocked to hear that, as he had no memory of that ever happening, but his partner was quick to explain.

"You have a bad habit of falling asleep while working, so I carried you to your bed whenever I found you asleep somewhere you shouldn't be."

"Huh, that explains a lot," the elf commented, thinking back to the numerous times he'd awoken in his bed with no idea how he'd gotten there.

"We're here," Miyaji announced, putting an end to the conversation as he stopped at the entrance of the underground kingdom. "I'm going to jump, so hold tight."

"What?! I know you have a practically unbreakable body, but still..."

"Well, how do you think I followed you last time? I couldn't waste time looking for another way in when you were injured and unconscious! I'll be fine, trust me."

"... Alright..."

The elf would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little scared, unconsciously holding onto his partner a bit tighter. At least Miyaji had the decency to warn him before he jumped, and they reached the ground much faster than he expected.
He gritted his teeth at the impact, and his partner finally put him down; he didn't let go of his arm, though. Before Miyaji took him to the tomb, he leaned over – so close that his long hair brushed against his face – and whispered something in his ear.

"You must remember these words for later, but you can't ever tell anyone about this, okay?"

Intrigued by the words he couldn't recognize, his partner's request only made him more curious.

"What is this?"

"A prayer in my language."

"I've never heard anything like this before. What kind of language is it?"

"A forgotten one," he replied before taking his hand. "Let's not waste any time. We have a curse to lift."

Perplexed, Kyusaku followed him all the way to the king's tomb in silence, still pondering what he said. What does he mean by this...? He did say he was old, but old enough for his own language to be forgotten... That seems a bit exaggerated.

Going down the stairs felt like an eternity with how slowly they were moving, but finally they reached the bottom, where a familiar smell and dust made the elf cough.
A bit hesitant, he followed Miyaji inside the king's tomb, where the redhead asked him to kneel in front of the coffin and recite the prayer he just taught him.

"What are you going to do?"

"There are many ways to break a curse," Miyaji said, his voice suddenly colder, "but the most efficient one is to simply remove its roots."

He didn't get the time to ask him to elaborate, as a sudden gust of wind almost made him fall backwards, but he quickly steadied himself, heart racing as he had no idea what was happening and being unable to see anything definitely didn't help the feeling of anxiety that had taken over him.
Kyusaku felt like he was frozen in place, and realized with horror that the air had actually become colder. Hair standing on end, teeth almost chattering; he knew what this was, and he was almost petrified until Miyaji reminded him to recite the prayer.
Instantly, warmth returned to him, and it wasn't long before the wind finally calmed down. He felt Miyaji's hand covering his eyes, warmth spreading from his fingers, before he announced that the curse had been removed. The elf let out a sigh and flopped onto the ground, exhausted.

"What was that... Was that the king's ghost?" He asked hesitantly.

"No... that ghost dissolved long ago. All that was left was the curse itself. Honestly, it would have been easier to deal with if it was his ghost," Miyaji grumbled.

Kyusaku couldn't help but giggle when he heard his annoyed voice; he finally sounded like himself again.

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't a ghost!" He declared, taking off the bandages covering his eyes.

His vision was a little blurry for a while, and it took him a moment to get used to the darkness, but soon he was able to see normally again. His eyes searched for Miyaji, and relief washed over him when he was finally able to see his partner's face again.

"I missed seeing you," he said with a smile.

Miyaji's eyes widened, but he quickly recovered and started teasing him, like he usually did.

"I didn't know you liked looking at me that much," he said with a smirk, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Well... it was hard not being able to see your smile," the elf admitted, looking away, pink dusting his cheeks. "It was very lonely without you."

His partner coughed and averted his eyes. "Anyway, how are your eyes?"

Kyusaku stood up, dusting off his clothes and looking around, checking that his eyes were working well.

"They're fine. In fact, I think I can actually see better than before!"

Miyaji shook his head, shrugging. "That's just your imagination. I can break curses, I can't cure a natural affliction."

"It's true though!" He insisted, turning to him again. "My vision feels a little less blurry than usual, and everything is a bit brighter, even though I can't see in the dark."

"Some of my energy must have remained on your eyes when I cleansed them. It will dissipate after a few days. You still need to wear your glasses."