Act 2: Gentle song in the wind - Chapter 1

The stillness of a completely silent plain, with nothing but grass as far as the eye can see. At his feet, hundreds of arrows; some broken, some intact. Despite the lack of wind, the grass moved slowly, almost like a beating heart.

A soft melody reached his ears, and he couldn't hold back the tears as he fell to his knees, overwhelmed by a feeling of loneliness so strong it almost hurt. It reached deep inside of him, like thorns piercing his organs until he was out of breath.

In that moment, he felt like nothing of their world was left except him – he'd even forgotten what "others" were.

Kyusaku awoke with a single tear rolling down his cheek that he wiped away before looking at his hand, pensive. It took him a moment to remember where he was, who he was, and that he wasn't alone in this world. What a strange dream... He thought, running a hand through his hair as the bizarre feeling of being the last of his kind was still clutching his heart.

Although it was a weird dream, it wasn't weirder than any of his recent nightmares and, at the very least, didn't seem to predict any kind of danger, so he promptly forgot about it and went about his day as usual.
After the previous incident, Tsubari had refused to give him any other jobs as punishment for his lack of caution, so he used this forced break to work on some of his personal research, while Miyaji sat on his bed, reading a book and eating snacks as usual.

His ears twitched at the sound of his partner eating and turning the pages. Unable to focus, he found his gaze drawn to him.

Thinking about it, whatever he was doing, Miyaji was always there. Whether it was work or relaxation, he rarely ever spent time with anyone else, and didn't feel the need to. Miyaji was enough.
His reputation of being difficult to work with and disliking people was still sticking to him, but Miyaji was known to be friendly and outgoing; and knowing this, he wondered multiple times why he was the one he spent all his time with.
They weren't even doing anything together; he just sat on his bed and read books while Kyusaku kept working. They weren't talking, and he wasn't even so much as glancing his way most of the time. He really couldn't see why Miyaji would choose to hang out with him instead of his other friends.

No matter how he thought about it, he just couldn't figure it out.

He couldn’t remember if Miyaji had ever called him a friend, so now he couldn’t help but question it. Miyaji only ever referred to him as his partner. Is that the kind of thing that doesn’t need to be said out loud? But it had been so long since he last had a friend that it was hard for him to tell. Is this just my age showing or have I become completely socially inept from decades of isolation??

He was at least aware that he wasn’t a good friend.

He spent a few minutes mentally slapping his past self for being such a bad friend before he decided it was time to change this, turning to his partner and asking what he was reading out of the blue.

"A romance novel! I think you'd like it," Miyaji replied without even looking at him.

"No thanks," The elf immediately dismissed him. "That kind of story really isn't my thing."

"This one's about a researcher and his assistant. It has a lot of science in it."

Kyusaku's face turned into a grimace when he realized he was slightly tempted to read it; at least if the science was accurate it might be more enjoyable than he thought.

"Don't try to tempt me! Why are you even reading in my room?"

"Does it bother you?" Miyaji asked, closing his book to look at him. "You never said anything, but if it does, I'll read somewhere else."

"No, I meant... Don't you have other people to hang out with?"

His partner gave him a bewildered look, like he just asked the most absurd question in the universe.

"Who... Who would I hang out with if not you?!"

"Well, your friends?"

"You're my only friend."

"Ah..." The elf was at a loss for words. At the same time, he couldn't believe Miyaji really didn't have any other friends. "What about all the people you talk to in the Archives?"

"They're just acquaintances. We're not really close."

Perplexed, Kyusaku told him he didn't mind him reading in his room and turned back to his work, not knowing what to do or say anymore. He really does see me as a friend... At least that was clear now. And it was even clearer that he hadn't been a very good friend now.

"... Doesn't it bother you that you're just sitting there while I'm completely ignoring you?"

"No?" Miyaji replied like it was a weird thing to ask.

"Really? I find it hard to believe... I don't know anyone who would willingly do this."

"Me neither!" Tsubari confidently declared, barging in all of a sudden and almost giving him a heart attack. "Now, it's time for you to go back to work." He commented and made his way towards his desk, where he left files for a new job before turning around and leaving just as abruptly.

"... He could at least knock."

After looking through the files Tsubari was so kind to deliver directly on his desk, the pair left immediately for this new job. Reports in a remote village described a strange melody carried by the wind. Fearing it to have supernatural causes, they contacted the Archives.

The ride there was quite awkward, Kyusaku still thinking about their earlier conversation and not really knowing what to say. They didn't talk that much about things not related to their job anyway, so, truthfully, he had no idea how to make conversation.

"Hey, do you really enjoy it?" He finally asked.

"Enjoy what?"

"Sitting in my room all day not saying anything."

His partner shrugged. "I enjoy being with you. Even if I'm just reading, doing it alone in my room is no fun."

"I still don't see where the fun is. I hadn't even glanced your way for, like, four hours."

Miyaji rested his head in his hand, looking at him with a smile. "Well, I like it," he said with a shrug. "I just like being with you."

Stunned, it took him a minute to reply.

"Sorry, it's... why would anyone like being with me? I'm... pretty sure you're the only one who enjoys it, actually. People are going to start thinking we're married at this rate," he joked.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," his partner shrugged.

That got a chuckle out of him. "Alright, I might start believing you. But if you like it so much, are you just going to follow me everywhere I go?"

"Of course."

"Even in the bath?"

"As long as you don't mind it," Miyaji replied, smiling.

"Aren't you a little too clingy?" The elf accused him, bringing his hand to his face.

"Do I qualify as clingy if I'm not even touching you? Unlike others, I respect your personal space."

Wait, he's right... Miya never touches me unless it's needed. He hadn't really noticed how considerate Miyaji always was towards him. The more I think about it, the more I sound like an asshole... He realized, lowering his head in shame.

"Sorry, Miyaji."

"Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?"

"I'm kind of insufferable as a friend, aren't I?"

"Even if you are, I like you this way!" His partner replied. "And insufferable is a bit of an exaggeration. You're not nearly that bad."

"Well, that's reassuring... Even so, I want to do more as a friend. After we're done with this job, let's actually spend some time together!"

Taken aback, his partner didn't reply immediately, looking away sheepishly.

"It's alright, you don't need to. You can just do what you want, and I'll be there in the background."

"Then what if this is what I want?" The elf insisted, crossing his arms. "Do you have any idea how painful it was not being with you? I realized how important you are to me, yet I put very little effort into our relationship... I don't want to neglect it anymore. Our time together is precious, and I don't want to realize how much it meant to me only after losing you."

Receiving no answer, Kyusaku glanced at his partner multiple times, feeling his face grow hotter, at the same time becoming increasingly annoyed.

"Did you get it?! I'm not saying it again! Don't you dare make me talk about my feelings again!"

His partner started laughing, and their conversation came to an end when they finally reached their destination.

The village they were called to was built rather far from all the other towns, and sat near a large canyon. They began interrogating the people as soon as they arrived; even if most of the information they had in the report matched with what the villagers told them, it was always better to confirm. There could have been miscommunication, or new events could have occurred since they received the report.

According to the villagers, the sounds had started about three weeks prior. When the wind passed through the canyon, it brought with it a strange melody that no one had ever heard before.

"So it comes from the canyon..." Kyusaku said, pensive.

"So it seems. Ugh, I'm not looking forward to this..." Miyaji sighed, grabbing his head. "You'd better not fall again!"

"I can't promise anything. So, anything else?"

The elf looked around, and one of the villagers, a satyr woman in her thirties, hesitantly stepped forward, fidgeting with the ribbons on her dress and looking at her feet.

"My... My son..." She started, clearly distressed. "My son went out to play yesterday, and hasn't come back since!"

This isn't good... If they had to solve that mystery and deal with a missing child on top, it could get difficult; not to mention that they had no idea what was the source of that melody yet, and if it posed any kind of danger. They would need to proceed with caution.

It was with a troubled expression that the two of them prepared their venture into the canyon, acquiring a more detailed map from the locals as well as a few more provisions. As they packed the food before leaving, Miyaji grumbled about how the Archives could have provided the provisions themselves.

"You know that doesn't fit in their budget," Kyusaku replied with a shrug as he surveyed the map.

"They could worry a little less about saving every single coin possible and a little more about the safety of their employees..."

"The Archives have always been this way... Hmm, looks like this would be a good place to camp," he commented, looking closer at an area of the map. "We'll try to reach that point today. From what the villagers were saying, the sound should be coming from someplace further in the canyon."

Miyaji looked at the map over his shoulder before giving his approval. It seemed like they'd have a lot of walking to do this time, and possibly a bit of fighting as well, as the villagers warned them that a group of outlaws lived in the canyon and attacked travelers for a living.

A missing boy, bandits– it was a bit much to deal with on top of their job, but they'd manage. They were used to things never going smoothly anyway. The elf still complained on the way, though.

"If only the knights did their job properly, we wouldn't have to deal with all of this..."

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen a knight outside of the capital for years," his partner replied, adjusting his backpack as they made their way towards the canyon.

"They don't leave the capital anymore."

"Is that so?"

"With the state of this world, they have other things to worry about. Besides, it's not like there are many people who want to become knights nowadays... Before we knew it, the countryside was left without protection, and this task fell onto people like us and other groups who travel a lot." He stopped in his tracks before adding with a sigh, "It's almost like we're the last ones to truly care about this world..."