Haru had finally given up on asking people if they had seen him before or remember anything about him. No one knew him and he believed it. Who would forget someone with such a big X-shaped birthmark on his face? He had come to terms with his amnesia and decided to start anew. Of course, this did not mean he would not pursue any leads that could potentially bring his memory back. But, he wasn’t going to obsess over it.

Having made his decision to not look back, he opted to join the Rune Knights and put his magic to good use. Before he can begin patrolling and taking mission, however, he was asked to attend an orientation at Baska Town. And that was the reason the young man was walking down Baska’s famous market street during that lovely warm afternoon. Being way too eager to begin his career, Haru left the hotel room hours before he needed to; this gave him plenty of time to kill on his way to the destination.

It happened when Haru was window shopping. A middle-aged man, who looked extremely worried, approached him anxiously and offered to examine him. “Please, you must let me examine you. There have been too many cases, and I cannot let you walk around such a busy place if you are infected.” Although cautious, Haru couldn’t help but believe the man. He was in a doctor’s attire and his urgency seemed sincere. Come to think of it, I did see a significant number of ill people around… “Of course, doctor. I’ll cooperate,” he said. Gerard immediately began the physical examination and declared he was healthy. “You are good! I see no symptoms,” the doctor sighed in relief. “That is good news, indeed. Thank you,” Haru responded, bowing to the man in gratitude. “Please let me know if I can help in any way,” he added.

The doctor paused for a second, looked him in the eye and spoke timidly. “There is one thing that you can do for me, if you don’t mind.” Haru beamed, thankful that he could return the favour. The doctor asked Haru to follow him, and the two entered his clinic. “You see, because of this unidentified plague situation, I have my hands full here and I’m unable to deliver the medicines to some of my patients who are in urgent need of it. I would be grateful if you could deliver one of them in my stead,” saying that, he picked up one of the two medicine sacks he had and handed it to Haru, along with an address. “It would be my pleasure doctor. Consider it done,” he said, before heading to the exit. The doctor followed him, muttering many ‘thank you’s. However, once he was out the clinic, Haru saw him scan the street and rush towards another person to perform a physical examination. Appreciating the conviction with which the doctor has been providing his services, Haru headed towards the address given to him, to deliver the medicines.

506/1000

The dragging feet made a soft scuffling sound as she slunk through the alleyway, opting for dank, winding route to her destination, rather than the direct way through the marketplace. Idly, her gaze slipped to the watch strapped to her wrist... In her smouldering eagerness, Akira was actually going to arrive much earlier than the designated time... The last leg of the journey was going to force her out betwixt the crowd of the shoppers... and that, she wasn't too keen on. So she lurked in the alleyway, pacing, wearing out her patience.

As minutes ticked by, her eyes found the watch with more urgency this time. A soft sigh escaped the lips, that pouted gently. She leaned against a wall, shrouded in the shadow and let herself slip, till she was on her haunches, her back supported and her head angled cautiously towards the bright scene in front of her. That's when she saw him, their gaze met and almost instantaneously, he began making his way towards her. As he neared, the familiar pang of unease rose in Akira's chest... what the hell did this man want?

His pace grew steadily faster, till the last few strides towards her, were almost frantic and urgent. Akira was almost stunned with confusion, till his fingers closed around her wrist, a tug pulled her out of her reverie, and she sharply pulled her hand back, with such force that it flopped, almost painfully against her own chest.  'What the hell do you think you're doing?' she snapped, grumpily. The man's look turned so apologetic, she almost felt sorry, almost.

'I'm sorry Miss, I saw you lean against the wall and then... sit this way, I thought you may be feeling weak, which is one of the symptoms of- of this disease.' She could tell he was getting more and more flustered as her dark eyes trained onto him. She mercilessly pinned him under her gaze, she raised her eyebrow, urging him to elaborate with an off-handed gesture. 'Er... this disease that is spreading around town... I just thought you maybe a patient...'

While not exactly weak, the nervousness of her first day on the job was making her a bit queasy, she shifted about uneasily, there was little chance that she had contracted any disease since she steered clear of people, but the last thing she wanted was to be carrying around some pathogen and make all her colleagues sick on her very first day. 'If there is a way you can confirm that I'm not a patient, get on with it.' she ordered. The flustered man quickly took her vitals and some other data, she gnawed on her lips, her heart fluttering.

'Looks like you are fine, miss...' he said, straightening up slowly. 'Wise of you to stay away from people...' he added, lurking around for something, longer than necessary. Akira was too aware of social protocol to miss the sign, she grunted softly. 'Need me to do something?' she offered sprucely. 'Er... yes, I was wondering if you could, if it wasn't too much tr-' she inhaled deeply and quickly, clearing her throat. 'Oh, spit it out already.' he stood up stricken. 'In my clinic, there.' he pointed to a small building across the street. 'A bag of medicine needs to be delivered to a family... I can't leave my clinic unattended so would it be possib-' she rolled her eyes and cut across him quickly. 'Yes.' she said, springing up to her feet. Withing moments, she was already striding through the street towards the building.

596/1000

As he began walking away from the clinic, he heard some commotion from the direction where the doctor headed. So, Haru turned back to see what it was about and found Gerard struggling with a lean, black-haired girl. From afar, it looked as though the doctor assaulted the young lady, but Haru was sure that wasn’t the case. He thought it would be best to clear up the situation before the crowd caught on and began assuming things. Holding his medicine firmly, Haru hurried towards the two and began explaining. “Don’t worry Miss. He is just trying to help-” he began, but quickly understood that there was no need for it; the girl was allowing the doctor to examine her. Seeing he needn’t interfere anymore, he bowed slightly and took his leave. “Good day to you, Miss.”

Haru, being a healer himself, took it upon himself to reach the destination and improve the poor patient’s condition as soon as possible. He half jogged and half ran to the destination, stopping only to ask for directions. Although the journey was not all that long, the young man grew impatient; he let out a heavy sigh when he finally reached. He knocked on the door and waited, breathing heavily. After a few moments, the door opened but he could see no one in front of him. Looking down, he saw it was a boy who had opened the door. The poor kid was hardly tall enough to reach the door’s handle. Haru knelt in front of him and gave a warm smile. “Hey there… I’m here with the medicines. Who is sick?” he asked, ruffling the boy’s hair. “It’s mommy. She-” the boy began sobbing, but managed to complete his sentence, “she isn’t… waking up.” Haru let himself in and rushed to the bedside. He placed the back of his hand on the forehead of the woman lying on the bed. Fever… too high. He reached for the water that was on the bedside table and forced the medicine down the woman’s throat. He turned to the sobbing kid and spoke gently, “Hey! Don’t worry. I have given her the medicine. She will be fine.”

Despite his attempt at consoling the kid, he did not stop sobbing until his mother stirred on the bed. It took about twenty minutes for the medicine to take effect. Haru could not leave the kid alone while his mother was still unconscious. So, he waited until she woke up. The boy finally stopped crying, ran up to his mother and hugged her. The woman thanked Haru in her meek voice. “Don’t mention it. It is my duty… You see, I’m going to become a Rune Knight today,” he said, smiling broadly. Having done his job, Haru bowed to the lady, kissed the kid’s forehead and excused himself. “I must report back to the doctor now. Please excuse me. And take care.” With that, he exited the house and began walking back towards the clinic.

1004/1000

Elbows, shoulders, bags... The things that she had to avoid as she slithered her way through the jostling crowd. Akira was grateful that she was petite. Yet, despite her attempt to pass-by unnoticed, several head turns to stare down at her, a gentle shudder traversed down her spine as she sidestepped another large bag. With her teeth grit, she pushed forward, till finally she was at the threshold of the clinic, alone. She turned towards the busy street she'd just crossed and gave it one last scathing look. She turned back and made her way into the hospital, blowing the slick strands of hair out of her eyes. The teen, headed straight for the pouch of medicines, attached to it, was a slip of paper with an address... A soft groan formed in her throat... She was new to this town, she had no idea where this particular house was.

She flipped her wrist to check the time... 'Don't have that long now...' she whispered to herself. She chewed on her lip, really not in the mood to approach someone and ask them for help. That's when she saw the tall shadow next to her, turning sharply again, she noticed the doctor standing behind her, wringing his hands. 'What?' she hissed softly, her large eyes narrowing to slits, wondering if he was going to ask her for another favor. 'Erm, you see, I know almost everyone in this town... most people need to come by the hospital one time or another y'know.' he chuckled nervously, while social protocol dictated she should at least smile in attempt to mirror his expressions, to help him feel at ease, she just stared on. 'So?' she asked, raising her eyebrows.

The doctor squared his shoulders, in attempt to bolster his spirit, as though he suddenly realized he was being bullied by a tiny teenager... He cleared his throat. 'So... I know you're not from here, I thought I'd explain where the house is...' Akira's expression softened just a bit, relieved that at least this would save her trouble of interacting with yet another person. 'Thanks.' she muttered. The doctor beamed at her, it looked like he wanted to leap with joy. Swiftly he reached for a paper on the desk and while drawing something out, he gave her some seemingly pointless details.

'In case you meet someone who seems to be suffering from this new infection, even if you really want to help, don't give them the medicines from the pouch. The one you are delivering to is an old patient, he's been limited to his house... bed rest and all... so he doesn't have the ne-' having had enough of his banter she cut across him again. 'I'm not some philanthropist, I'm going to stick to doing what you asked...' she muttered, to which he just nodded and proceeded to explain the directions he'd drawn. She swiftly snatched the paper from his hand and nodded, slinking back into the crowd towards the house.

Luckily, the house wasn't too far and to reach there, she didn't have to cross the main street again. She was surprised to find the door to the house was already ajar, and she could hear soft whimpers from inside. She opened the door wider, causing it to creak and peered in. That old man must have had very sharp ears. 'I hope you have my meds, I'm dying in pain here.' he grumbled. Spotting a table beside the door she dropped the pouch, the man didn't even miss that sound... 'About time, why thank you!' he said, his tone acidic. 'First you are late, then you don't even have the decency to actually hand them-' Akira rolled her eyes, closed the door with a bang and swiftly walked away.

The walk back, seemed faster, like it always does. Nearing the hospital, she noticed the large puff of orange hair, which seemed familiar. Faces swam into her mind and she paused on the scarred face, she'd seen from the corner of her eye while the doctor had been examining her. His words returned to her too, words that she had blocked out back then... The girl really didn't like people butting into other people's affair out of some warped sense of duty. She hurried to catch up with the boy, and deliberately rubbed her shoulder against his as she crossed him, she whipped around and glared... 'Just so you know... I didn't need your reassurance.' with that she turned again and swiftly made it into the clinic and announced, 'It is done.' as the doctor began thanking her profusely, she cut across him, almost habitually now... 'If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.' With that, she exited the clinic, making sure to glare at the orange haired boy on her way out as well...

1397/1000
~~Exit~~

As he made his way towards the clinic through the crowded street, he encountered the black-haired girl again. At first, he thought he had accidentally bumped against someone and was immediately going to apologize. But before he could open his mouth, the girl swung before him and began talking. And before he could respond to her, she was gone. He noticed she was going towards the clinic and attempted to catch up with her. However, it seemed she was far better at weaving through the crowd than he was. When he finally, reached the clinic, the girl was already on her way out, staring him down like he did something to make her day bad. Scared he will make things worse by saying something, Haru just bowed slightly with a strained grin on his face. He visibly relaxed once she was out through the door. Neither the doctor nor Haru exchanged any words about the girl. But their silence conveyed the same message: Scary…

“Ahem!” Haru coughed, clearing the atmosphere. “I delivered the medicine, doctor. The lady seems to be recovering,” he said. “That is great news. Thank you very much, young man,” the doctor responded. “Anytime, doctor. Goodbye,” Haru said, before taking his leave. As he exited the clinic and headed towards the Rune Knights barracks, he couldn’t shake off this feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of that black-haired girl yet, which sent slight shivers down his spine.

1245/1000
-Exit-