Endpoint's Betrayal

Zhongdian, Endpoint; spring of the 224th year

The crowd was so much smaller than it would have been usually, but it was still a parade for a leadership ceremony, nonetheless. The flying paper lanterns made that clear, even if they were sparse to the point where they could hardly be seen in the dark blue night.

Leader Anya’s long brown hair faded into gold at the tips, and when she stepped off of the red carriage, her feet touched the ground with grace.

The white half-bridge came to an end up front, and she walked to the edge, resting her arms on the graceful white stone wall.

The night swayed, as the willows behind them did. Anya stayed silent for a little, watching the lanterns depart into the sky.

“Leader Anya! Leader Anya!” The voice started as one, and then rose into a strong chorus despite the relatively small amount of people gathered on this night.

Suzuka stood inside the crowd, chanting with everyone else, a genuine-looking happy smile on her face from the years that she had spent perfecting faking her emotions.

“It’s wonderful to be hailed as Endpoint’s new leader.” When Anya spoke, her voice was soft. The crowd quieted down as she turned around to look at them, her back resting on the white stone wall.

She’s looking at us, but in that position if we could give her a push… Suzuka scanned the short wall that only went up to Anya’s waist. 

The leader continued her speech. “We will all miss Ming, he was an amazing leader. I know that I may not be able to live up to the place he has left, but I would like for all of you to place your faith in me. I’ve had my fair share of life, and I truly, truly want the best for Endpoint.”

If I was hiding in the lake, I could pull her down from the annoying golden tips of her hair. “I know that not many of you believe in me right now,” Anya continued with an ambiguous smile, “but I hope that in time, I will be able to prove myself to all of you, and lead Endpoint to greatness.”

Why does she leave her hair so long and so thick? Does she not realize that that’s a fatal weakness…? “As we all know, Deputy Xinyan also perished in the conflict. And part of being a leader is choosing a new deputy. I have decided, under the witnesses of our ancestors…”

Dragging someone by their hair would be painful, wouldn’t it… “...Endpoint’s new deputy will be Suzuka.”

As the expectant gazes of the parade of people turned to her, Suzuka shook her head frantically, blinking. It’s only when the people started chanting her name that she realized what was going on, “I can’t-” she started to say.

“Suzuka, I’ve realized that you and I are like-minded. I think that our similar ideals will be of great benefit to the whole of Endpoint.” Anya reached out a hand towards her.

I can’t- panic rose in Suzuka’s chest. This wasn’t supposed to happen… she didn’t even know Anya that well… and they definitely didn’t have the same ideals!! What was she even talking about?! The dizziness threatened to overwhelm her, but she stood on her feet.

Wait… the idea appeared quickly in her head. Being deputy means working closely with Anya. This… this is the perfect opportunity! The sudden realization took Suzuka by surprise, and she hoped that no one had noticed her eyes becoming focused again. “I would love to, Leader Anya.”

“It’s just Anya. Let’s watch the lanterns together.” Her gentle voice took Suzuka by surprise.

~

The Cangqiong Palace was situated right in the center of Zhongdian, filled with red buildings built brilliantly in Endpoint’s unique style. By the time Suzuka had followed Anya back there, it was past midnight.

Suzuka worked in the palace, but it still felt different, stepping in as the new deputy. She was still in a daze, not sure if what she thought happened actually happened or not.

The palace staff are gathered around in the courtyard. Suzuka read the expressions of them carefully, some of them seemed happy, and yet there were quite a few whose expressions were more mixed.

Anya greeted the palace staff with a wave, even those whose obvious disapproval were written on their faces. “Let’s do our best from now on.” She said sweetly.

~

“How could you?” Mifan’s gaze was piercing, fury in his voice that shook the room.

Suzuka opened her mouth to defend herself, but Rihe spoke before her. “Do you not see? Becoming deputy makes killing her easier!!”

“Oh.” Mifan said. He’s not dumb, he must have just been blinded by anger before. “Anyways, forget what I said then.”

“You could be so dense sometimes.” Rihe said, but a hint of teasing leaked through his voice.

“So what’s the plan?” Amaris asked. Underneath the tiny window of the basement, she was bathed in white-blue light. “Just stab her to death in her sleep?”

“Preferably without getting Suzuka executed.” Mifan said. Then his sharp gaze shifted towards Suzuka. “Although, if you had to give your life, you would, wouldn’t you?”

Suzuka nodded her head quickly, refusing to acknowledge the single seed of doubt inside her heart.

~

The duties as the new deputy of Endpoint turned out to be really, really tiring. Suzuka had to oversee most things going on in the district, conduct foreign visits and tend to foreign visitors, keep up good relations with Endpoint’s neighbors, amongst a bunch of other things.

It kept her so tired, to the point where she fell asleep last Wednesday without even meaning to, and bailed on the weekly SATD (a very literal acronym that stands for “Stab Anya to Death”, that Mifan had thought of once it was clear that Anya was made leader) meeting. 

Suzuka is not too worried, though. She knows the value she has to Mifan and to the SATD association in general.

Today’s duty is to meet up with Deputy Delbee from Servia. Even though Suzuka had already taken a trip to Galaxite immediately after she became deputy, the thought of having to manage these huge things still weighed on her shoulders.

By the grand red gates of Cangqiong Palace, she and Anya waited for Deputy Delbee’s arrival.

The Servian deputy arrived by feet, even though she must have used some other form of transportation beforehand. “Greetings.” Delbee dipped her head. “It’s nice to see Endpoint immediately picking itself up after what happened.”

“Thank you.” Anya returned her words with a smile. “How is Leader Sarantuya?”

“He is well.” Delbee replied. Straight to the point.

Suzuka reflected on the Servian deputy. She must be a lot older, the way she speaks reflects that.

“I’m glad. Let’s chat more inside.” Anya said.

Suzuka accompanied the foreign deputy and her own leader, ignoring the uncomfortable prickling beneath her skin. 

She can’t stand the formal atmosphere. Delbee appeared for five seconds, and it was already worse than when Anya took her to Galaxite.

They had roamed Starfilled Street, the main street in the star-filled capital called Zvezdnygrad, while Leader Gennady kept putting off their scheduled meeting.

“When I was small, I helped out in that shop all the time.” Anya had said, pointing to a currently closed shop that appeared to sell extremely exotic-looking fruits. “But then the shop owner died, and the new one really hated me… it was all such a mess.” Despite her words, a wistful smile was on her face when she shook her head.

Suzuka had listened half-heartedly, all the while wondering if stabbing Anya during this visit would be a good time. When she gets back, she might be able to excuse it by using a non-existent Galaxite assassin as a scapegoat, and it will be impossible to prove. It was honestly the perfect plan, but she only had her normal knife that she carried everywhere with her on that visit, and she thought a murder executed with it wouldn’t be clean enough. That night, she went to sleep like normal on the uncomfortable Galaxite hotel bed.

“What about you?” Anya had said. When she turned around, the stars underneath the clear street almost reflected in her eyes. “Suzuka, what is it like in Kohi?”

One of the best ways to get someone to like you is to make sure that they know that you’ve been through something they have. 

“I helped around at a local store down the street, but then they hired someone new, and she… well, let’s just say she slandered me until the owner hated me as a person.” The lie had slipped out of Suzuka’s lips as smoothly as if she had actually lived through that life.

“It was one of the worst betrayals I have ever experienced.” When she spoke that line, her own voice trembled.

Anya stopped walking, and then without warning, wrapped her arms around Suzuka. Suzuka’s heart had lurched inwardly, but she awkwardly tried to return Anya’s embrace.

Who taught you to lie like this? Still, Suzuka’s heart filled with satisfaction, knowing that Anya bought it.

~

“Just kill her already!” Mifan said, slamming the table.

“Honestly, Suzuka. Stab her in her sleep. I thought that that was what you were good at?” Rihe chimed in.

“I went to Kohi to ask her dead parents. They said that they experienced it first-hand.” Amaris never had her eyes open during these meetings. She stood under the single bit of moonlight from the window, as if it was summer and she was sunbathing.

Suzuka suppressed a hint of anger at Amaris for bringing that up, even if as a joke.  “You guys should try being the deputy of Endpoint. I can’t execute an assassination when I’m barely alive by the time evening comes around.”

“Suzuka.” Mifan’s voice was icy serious now, and Suzuka knew that she had to open her eyes to look at him. “You’re supposed to kill Anya. That’s it. Stop trying to be a good deputy.”

“I know!” Suzuka said. “Give me a break. She’ll be dead eventually.” Definitely.

“Not eventually. We can’t keep letting her be leader, that defeats the point.” Rihe said.

~

Suzuka finally had about ten minutes of alone time to herself in the late morning of the next day, just before lunch. She laid her head on the table and tried to think about how she even got to this stressful position.

SATD was formed because Mifan believed that Anya simply couldn’t be a good leader. Anya, who had somehow managed to rise through the ranks of the Cangqiong Palace after moving here from Galaxite for like… three months.

It was hard to swallow too, for Suzuka, who had worked in the palace for four times the length she did. In fact, before Suzuka even knew who Anya was beyond a name, her leader ceremony arrived.

How could she possibly know how to run Endpoint? She was Galaxite through and through. She even still smelled like stars. 

“Suzuka, come have lunch with me.”

Oh no, the stars are at her door. Suzuka wiped the exhaustion from her face and stood up. “Yes, Leader Anya.”

“It’s just Anya!” She said, each of those three words fading away further than the last.

~

Anya, for some reason, wanted Suzuka to eat at least two meals with her, every single day. Ming never did this with Xinyan. 

Usually those two meals ended up being lunch and dinner, because Anya did this thing where she woke up at five all the time. 

By the clear stream of the courtyard, Anya sat underneath the beautiful pavilion, built with traditional Endpoint architecture. She was alone. Slowly, Suzuka walked up the steps.

Ming liked to have servants by his side when he ate, just like Endpoint tradition - Suzuka knew because she sometimes was one of those servants. One of the first things Anya did as leader was to make sure that the servants never showed themselves besides setting up the table, so now they watched from far away while their leader ate.

Anya doesn’t seem to notice, but Suzuka had long since developed a keen sense of awareness to those around her with life. 

“Hi, Suzuka!” Anya smiled up at her after taking a sip of her tea.

“Hi, Anya.” Suzuka took her seat across from Anya, like usual.

“Suzuka…” her smile changed a little. A bit more bitter. “My… chopsticks… truly are difficult to use…”

“You will learn eventually.” Suzuka answered.

She never had to learn, because they also used chopsticks in Kohi. All the time. 

“I’m starting to really love this cuisine though.” Anya tried, and failed, to pick up a dumpling from one of the plates in the middle. “Everything tastes so much less bland than it did at home.”

Suzuka nodded and picked a dumpling into her own bowl. 

“So, what’s the food at Kohi like?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of sushi.” Suzuka said. “A rice ball with seaweed and other things.”

“I would love to try some, someday.” Anya’s eyes sparkled.

“You should, they are really, really amazing.” Another lie slipped out of Suzuka - who ate sushi twice in her entire life - and her slippery lips.

“You know, that day doesn’t have to be that far away.” Anya said. “I’m planning a visit to Kohi with Leader Maisaki soon, since I wanted to learn more about your birthplace.” 

Suzuka could not return her leader’s smile at all. The thought of going back already made her want to throw up more than anything else.

But before she could even process that information, Anya dropped the next bombshell on her. “Though there’s a more important thing we have to do too - preparing for the 224th global games.”

Suzuka blinked. “What should we do?”

Endpoint has always selected its Selected Team with a karate fight chosen from the top fighters of the whole district.

“What do you think we should do, Suzuka?”

What a great difficult question. “I think sticking to tradition is best. I can start selecting the fighters now, if you would like.”

Anya shook her head before Suzuka’s sentence ended. “Too brutal.”

“It would be best to stick to tradition, Anya.” Suzuka tried her best to sound as friendly and respectful as possible.

“I know, but I couldn’t bear the sight of all the blood.” Anya closed her eyes as she said that, dropping her chopsticks in the meanwhile.

“There won’t be that much blood.”

Anya is scared of blood. Now Suzuka knows.

“But what about all the pain and the deaths that will definitely happen too?” Anya asked, worry flashed in her purple eyes.

She wasn’t wrong. Traditionally one or two fighters always died in the process, and the rulebook also specifically says that nothing will be done to those who cause those deaths during a fight for the Selected Team.

“I won’t let that happen in my Endpoint.” Anya shook her head. “Suzuka, how about this? I want you to come up with another form of selection, to test the contestant’s skills rightfully while making sure no one dies, or experiences any sort of pain.”

And how am I going to do that? “Anya, that isn’t realistic. Pain is a part of life, and definitely a part of the global games. It’s good for the contestants to get used to it now.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Anya said. “Still… let’s try to keep it to a minimum… please.”

Her voice almost faded at the start of the last word.

Without meaning to, Suzuka remembered something from way too long ago. She had long tried to bury it, but the heaviness still came back to haunt her. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe. It doesn’t matter anymore…

“Okay.” Suzuka said softly.

~

“She wants me to come up with a new way to pick the Selected Team for the global games.”

“Who the hell does she think she is and what the hell is she doing?” Mifan slammed the table yet again. It’s a wonder that the fragile wooden piece of furniture hasn’t collapsed yet, although Suzuka suspected that it might soon.

“Don’t do it.” Rihe rolled his eyes. “Stab her already.”

“She won’t take no for an answer, she doesn’t want pain.” Suzuka said.

“See, I was right! Do you think Endpoint can live with such a WEAK leader? NO!!” Mifan said.

“Stop yelling.” Amaris was too busy moonbathing again tonight.

“Kill her. Like, do it now.” Mifan said, his eyes gazing down on Suzuka as his orange hair glimmered furiously under the weak light.

“I can’t.” Suzuka said. “Because how is the district going to focus on doing well in the games with the leader dead and their deputy probably in jail for life or dead? You want the best for Endpoint, right?”

“Oh, please. Anya is not a leader, Anya is weak trash.” Mifan’s voice slowly turned more quiet. “I suppose I still have enough power and respect to rise to the leader position after I get rid of this annoying rock in my way.”

Suzuka shuddered to imagine Mifan as leader of Endpoint. It had always been his dream, but she wanted to at least spare the lives of all the wooden tables in the palace.

~

Suzuka never wanted to go back to Kohi again. She can’t even close her eyes without the flashbacks coming back and wanting to throw up. Throwing up was the first thing she did the moment she got off the plane.

“You get airsick?” Anya watched with concern in her eyes as she fetched paper towels. “I didn’t realize since you seemed fine after going to Galaxite…”

Suzuka shook her head, not knowing what to say anymore. 

The grand gates of Nanairo stood in front of her, making her want to throw up again, even though logically there shouldn’t be anything in her stomach anymore.

“Leader Maisaki invited us to her palace.” Anya said once Suzuka recovered. “I wonder if she’ll be pleased that I chose you as my deputy.”

“She won’t know who I am.” Suzuka said. Hopefully.

Maisaki dealt with so many things as a leader, so she won’t remember, probably…

“But she’ll know that you’re from Kohi.” Anya said.

Suzuka closed her eyes.

~

Suzuka tried not to look around, throughout the entire walk through the city to the center, where the palace is located. Even in her life before, she didn’t come to the capital of Nanairo that often, so it should be fine.

She hated feeling helpless like this, but the shaking underneath her calm demeanor won’t go away no matter how hard she tried.

It really didn’t help that Anya kept asking her about things. Even after Suzuka told her that she didn’t frequent the capital of Nanairo, she still didn’t stop.

“What other kinds of food do they have?”

“What’s the education system like here?

“Who is in charge aside from the leader and the deputy?”

“What about your parents? Will they be around?” 

Suzuka almost threw up again from that last one. There genuinely shouldn’t be anything in her stomach anymore. What is she even going to throw up?

“Tell me more about your life before you came to Endpoint.”

Okay, just make something up. Pretend that you are a normal kid and had a normal life in Kohi before traveling to work at Endpoint. Pretend that everything is normal.

Suzuka couldn't do it. 

Okay, change the topic then! 

But even with that thought, she struggled to think of something that would sound natural to say here. 

“I can’t right now.” Were the words that came out of her mouth after a noticeable pause in the air. Alarm pierced her when they came out. It was way too truthful.

“Oh, why?” Anya didn’t seem to put a lot of weight onto it, but she might if Suzuka tried to elaborate more.

“I can tell you later.” Please forget about it later.

~

Leader Maisaki waited by the grand gates of the palace - somewhat similar to Cangqiong Palace, but more white instead of red. More modern looking, maybe. Most of the roofs were laced with gold, and the gardens and the fountain in front of it were already huge. Maisaki’s pink hair flowed behind her, shorter than Anya’s, which practically touched the ground.

Okay, maybe not touch the ground, but it was definitely a weakness that Anya should learn to watch out for.

“Greetings, Anya!” She waved when she saw the two of them climbing the stairs. At least she seemed a lot less formal than Delbee or Gennady. “I like that dress.”

“Oh, thank you! Greetings to you too, Maisaki.”

Never mind.

“And hello, Deputy…” Maisaki’s eyes met Suzuka’s, pink against blue-green. “Suzuka?”

Her worst fear came true. 

Maisaki remembered.

Why, of course she would have… it was so, so foolish of Suzuka to have walked the past half an hour with hope in her chest.

“Hello, Leader Maisaki.” She wanted to faint.

~

Anya went inside to talk with Maisaki, and Suzuka excused herself, knowing that she’s definitely going to throw up. She had ran out without sparing another look at Anya’s worried face, and she was almost scared to know what Maisaki’s looked like during that time.

She did throw up, in the gardens. She really did think that she wasn’t supposed to have anything in her stomach anymore, but apparently it was wrong of her to think that way.

The memories of that day came back after she did, of that day in the palace. As she stood in the courts before Maisaki and the five judges, trying not to read the mix of shock and disgust on their faces.

Maisaki’s voice was as clear as if it had been yesterday when it all happened.

Suzuka just wanted to get away from Kohi. 

Since that’s not an option right now, she closed her eyes instead.

~

Anya came to find her just as the sun started to set. “Suzuka, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Suzuka sat up, trying to brush the blades of grass out of her hair.

“I think not. You threw up twice and you’re lying in a field of grass? The Suzuka I know wouldn’t do that.” 

The Suzuka you know is made up of lies. Suzuka thought. “Only once.”

“You can’t say that when the evidence is on the floor five meters ahead.” Anya said.

She was right, why did Suzuka think it was a good idea to lie about that?

She probably wasn’t thinking. “Are we staying the night?” Suzuka asked instead.

“No, we’ll leave in a bit.” Anya said, and extended a hand.

~

Suzuka started to fall asleep during the plane ride back to Endpoint. She really was tired, mentally and physically too. But after being unable to for quite a while, she realized that the reason was because Anya was watching her.

“Anya?” Suzuka asked, when nothing else seemed to work.

“What’s going on?” Anya asked.

The night seemed to glimmer outside with stars. Suzuka watched, trying to figure out what to say. She could try to change the subject, but what would she say that could sound natural here?

The next thing she could do is to answer the question but direct the focus onto something else. “Nothing!” She tried. I’m doing perfectly fine! No, that makes it sound like there’s a reason that she wouldn’t be. 

Talk about something else, then! “I think I might have an idea for the selection process we should use this year.”

She didn’t, but anything to get Anya off of her back.

“I don’t care about that. I want to know what happened with you today.” Anya said. She sounded so stern and kind at the same time, and suddenly Suzuka had an urge to tell her the truth.

Stupid. She pushed it down. “I’m fine.” 

“Stop lying!” Anya’s voice was so uncharacteristically loud that it scared Suzuka. 

Suzuka looked at her a little more, and then surprised even herself with the tears that streamed out of her eyes uncontrollably. You’re weak! She hasn’t cried in ten years, that doesn’t need to change now. “I can’t say.”

“Suzuka, I want to know, because you’re my deputy and I care about you.” Anya sighed before saying. In her purple eyes there shone so much kindness.

“Anya, I-” before she could stop herself, she broke down in tears. “I’m sorry… I’m a liar…” She managed between sobs.

“No, I think not.” Anya said, and then pulled her into an embrace.

Was it supposed to feel so warm to be hugged by someone? She didn’t know until now… 

“So what happened today?”

“I have to start from the very beginning for this…” Suzuka murmured, trying to pick up the details she had buried away.

“That’s okay, we have time.” Anya said softly.

Suzuka tried to think.

“My parents were really abusive to me… they would hit me a lot, almost daily. I remember one time, they threw a knife across the room at me and it hit me in the shoulders. It was like yesterday when it happened. It didn’t help that our living situation was also terrible. They destroyed the things I loved and made it sound like everything in the world was my fault.”

“That really does sound awful.”

Suzuka struggled to get this part out, knowing that Anya’s perception of her might be changed forever. “I couldn’t take it anymore after they almost pushed me out the window of our ten-story building, and without even meaning to, I killed both of them in their sleep.”

Anya’s eyes widened to shock. “Go on?”

“I was sent to trial right in front of Maisaki, it only lasted five minutes but it was scary. During that time, she decided to banish me to Endpoint instead of killing me, which is what should have been done. So it’s been over a year now.”

Suzuka found it really hard to look up at Anya’s eyes, especially because she was so silent.

“That’s probably the gist of it, there were more details, but…” I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

Anya didn’t say anything. 

“Anya, you are not… mad?” Suzuka finally said, gazing into Anya’s unreadable expression.

Anya shook her head. “Of course not. You had your own reasons, right? It was awful for you, right?”

Suzuka watched her as the stars flashed past them.

“It’s all behind us now… you are my, and Endpoint’s, deputy now. And I love you. So remember that.”

Anya… you’re so kind. They were all wrong about you…

~

Anya gave Suzuka a day off the next day, and Suzuka went outside by herself to walk.

The streets outside Cangqiong Palace were made of rock, sturdy against her feet. It was busy, filled with pedestrians and the occasional chariot.

The sun was shining… 

For the first time in a really, really long time - well, for the first time ever, actually - she felt light and free, as if something heavy was lifted off of her back. 

Without even meaning to, she twirled around while walking. Then she laughed at herself, because since when was she so playful?

No, it was never her, but just for today, maybe she can take a breath, finally.

“Deputy Suzuka!” 

The voice was from a girl behind a food cart that selled steaming buns, a little younger than her by the looks of it.

“Hey!” Suzuka replied and stepped over.

“Want one?” She picked up a steaming bun, the sweet scent of it flowing through the air. “Soft and plump guaranteed!”

“How much is it?” Suzuka asked.

The girl shook her head. “Have it for free. As a gift of gratitude.” She looked up at her and smiled.

There’s no need for that- “Thank you.” Suzuka took it anyway, returning her smile.

The bun tasted nice in her mouth. It was meant to be eaten with other foods, like rice, but by itself it also had its own sweet flavors, although faint.

Suzuka could get used to life like this, it wouldn’t be so bad.

She arrived at a crossing on the stone streets, and a fairly large commotion seemed to be gathered around the center of the plaza. She held the steamed bun in her mouth and pushed her way to the front, a little concerned about the road-blocking.

In the middle of the commotion was a sword duel - a rare sight in Endpoint. Suzuka watched the two contestants, their movement as quick as lightning, as the sounds of their swords clashing mixed with the crowd’s cheers.

She found it hard to keep up with. She has always been one to get to the point, not to drag out fights like this. There’s something uncomfortable about eating her steamed bun while doing it, almost as if the two people were fighting for entertainment.

It clearly wasn’t a serious fight, though, because once one of the guys pinned the other one to the ground, he got up and let him go.

“Fenghua! Fenghua!” The crowd started chanting what must be the winner’s name.

The one who lost got up from the ground to shake Fenghua’s hand. “It was good to be defeated by you. I think you will definitely be on the Selected Team this year.”

The Selected Team! Suzuka’s eyes perked up a little as she strained to hear Fenghua’s reply. “Yes, I should think so too.”

Fenghua turned away, and his eyes met with Suzuka’s, but they never left her. At the same time, the crowd went completely silent.

“Deputy Suzuka, I would be willing to participate in the fight for the Selected Team this year.” Fenghua said, his voice even and formal.

There likely won’t be a fight this year… Suzuka thought. “I’ll take you to see Leader Anya.”

That was clearly a surprise to Fenghua, because his eyes widened. “Now?”

“Yes.” Suzuka answered.

The crowd started chanting again. “Fenghua! Fenghua! Fenghua!”

~

Suzuka spent most of the walk back to the palace watching Fenghua. He was definitely young, maybe one or two years older than Suzuka at most. He kept his hair long, which wasn’t too rare in Endpoint. His is blue, with a couple of white strands in between.

“I lost the fight last year, so I’ve been training.” Fenghua said once they stepped over the high ledge of the palace door.

“There might not be a fight this year.” Suzuka said.

“What? Why?” Fenghua asked, a jolt of surprise in his blue eyes.

“We are thinking of changing it up.” Suzuka answered simply.

~

Anya was in her room when Suzuka arrived, practicing handwriting with a really large brush, dipping repeatedly into a large jar of ink.

“Hi, Suzuka.” She turned when she heard the footsteps, brushing aside the gorgeous hanging decorations from the ceiling. “And hello to you too.” She smiled at Fenghua, who looked a bit shy to be underneath her presence.

“This is Fenghua. He’s a really good sword fighter, and he’s looking to be on the Selected Team this year.” Suzuka said.

“Oh, Suzuka, didn’t I tell you to take a break for the day?” Anya said, a somewhat exasperated smile on her face.

“I was taking a break when I met him.” Suzuka answered.

“Okay, then let’s put him on the team.” Anya gave Fenghua a confident smile.

He returned it with his own look of confusion. “But, what about the fight?”

“We won’t have a fight this year.” Anya said. “Say, Fenghua, do you know anyone else who might be skilled and interested in participating in the global?”

“Yes but… no one that I would prefer to work with.” Fenghua answered a little awkwardly.

“That’s important too…” Anya’s voice dimmed down to a whisper. “But since you’re on the team now, you should start training soon, right? I want you to be skilled in all sorts of things before going off to the global.”

Between the dim light from the silky curtains, Anya’s purple eyes glimmered with a special sparkle. 

“I’ll set that up, Anya.” Suzuka said without thinking too much about it.

~

Suzuka only came because she didn’t want to bail on two SATD meetings in a row. 

“Just DO IT ALREADY!! What the hell is stopping you? Do you need a better weapon? We have a BUNCH right here. Do you want poisons? Amaris will make you some. Do you want a gun? Rihe will get you one!!” Mifan slammed the table the moment Suzuka descended into the basement.

She wasn’t too sure what to say anymore… she doesn’t want to kill Anya anymore.

There’s no way she can say that to Mifan.

“The poison will be easy if you are tired of blood.” Amaris said, finally walking out of the moonlight to hand her a clear bottle of purple liquid. “Mix it in with vegetable soup and it won’t stand out at all.”

“My connection from Fastfire should be able to send me a rifle within three days.” Rihe shrugged while saying.

“That’s not the problem.” Suzuka said.

“THEN WHAT IS?” Mifan said.

The problem is that Anya is a kind person, and I… Suzuka swallowed. 

Mifan got off of the other side of the table and walked until his warm breath fell right on Suzuka’s face. “You’re becoming weak, Suzuka. Kill her, and do it now.”

Suzuka stared into Mifan’s furious eyes. And I love her.

~

Suzuka tried to not think about it. There was no way she was going to kill Anya before the end of the week. There was no way she was going to kill Anya.

The end of the week came without anything happening in her life, peaceful on the surface.

With a heavy heart, she decided that she wasn’t going to go to any of the SATD meetings anymore.

Suzuka would just be Endpoint’s deputy from now on. Endpoint’s, and Anya’s.

It felt weird to let go of almost everything that was her. She was no longer an exile of Kohi for murdering her parents, secretly working as an assassin to execute the incompetent leader. 

She focused on her duties as a deputy in order to forget about it all. Within the palace resided some of the best doctors in the district, so she started by asking them to teach Fenghua the art of wild medicines and safe things to eat. 

Fenghua was already a really good sword fighter, so it was just down to teaching him other forms of fighting, such as with a bow.

One of Anya’s advisors, Lingye, also happened to be a great bow hunter. He gladly accepted the duties of teaching Fenghua.

It was all going well. Fenghua was a good learner and tried his best at everything that was thrown at him, and even if he wasn’t doing well now, Suzuka had confidence that he will be excelling at every subject by the time December, and the global games come around. 

Suzuka supervised the process of training while simultaneously looking around town for Fenghua’s potential teammate. She met several good candidates in her observations, such as a girl who excelled at using the bow, a great healer who had great knowledge of the different kinds of medicines available in the wild, an Archiva enthusiast who studied the possible layouts of the global games to no end, and a dragon-rider from Velt who could practically tame any animal. 

However, Fenghua was picky about his choice of teammate. He eliminated the bow girl for being a bully, and the Velt dragon-rider for apparently feeding some kind of performance-boosting steroid to all the animals he tamed, which would strain them and wear them out in return. Suzuka personally eliminated the healer - his personality was too easily annoyed and he seemed to have zero fighting skills, and the Archiva enthusiast - something about his entire wall of Archiva-related projects really rubbed Suzuka the wrong way.

In the end, there was still no progress made on the second member of the Selected Team, but Suzuka had confidence that they would find someone before much time had passed.

When the time comes, she will teach Fenghua and the other candidate the importance of stealth, and send them off to Archiva as fully-rounded candidates with knowledge in every subject the global could ever use.

They could even win… Suzuka imagined bringing Endpoint a win after such a long while without one, and felt a small burst of pride in her chest.

~

Suzuka was watching Fenghua hit targets under the guidance of Lingye when the unwanted visitor arrived.

“Suzuka.”

She recognized Mifan’s voice. “What are you doing here? I thought you left the palace.” She tried to count the number of Wednesdays it has been since she attended the last SATD meeting. Maybe around two at most.

“You don’t want to kill her anymore, isn’t that right?” 

Suzuka lifted her head, brushing her minty green-colored hair out of her eyes. She met Mifan’s eyes, and then discovered how hard it was to keep meeting them.

“She made you soft. Weak, just like her.”

“You’re wrong about her!” Suzuka snapped. “She’s a kind person. She’s amazing.”

“Suzuka, you changed.” Mifan said. His voice is dangerously quiet, dangerously emotionless.

Suzuka didn’t know what to say to that. 

“The Suzuka I know wouldn’t have said that. The Suzuka who killed her own parents with no hesitation wouldn’t have let herself be changed by a weak leader. The Suzuka I know wouldn’t think it’s right for Endpoint to have such a soft selection process.”

That much was true. 

“Kill her now. Endpoint will be better off.”

With a pang, Suzuka realized how long it has been since she last had her guard up. Her careful, cautious scarf that concealed who she really was. Her sharp skills with a knife and the quick way she went for the kill.

Suddenly nothing seemed to be okay anymore. It wasn’t right to be living comfortably like this. She couldn’t ever just be Endpoint’s deputy.

And Anya was soft, even if she was kind too. The way Fenghua trained only reflected how upset he was that he wasn’t in that position because he fought his way there, and the short spoken words of the advisors betrayed how dissatisfied they all were with her. The new selection was an unwelcome change - it was a great tradition burned to the floor. 

“This is your last chance to prove your loyalty to Endpoint.” Mifan said, and then he walked away.

Suzuka blinked, trying to calm a storm inside her heart.

“Suzuka, take a break!” 

From the end of the hallway, she saw Anya, her golden tips waving as she walked this way.

Suzuka shook her head. “I’ve been taking a break the entire time I’ve been sitting here.”

~

The moon was a single crescent that night. Suzuka couldn’t sleep.

It was almost as if she was scared. Contradicting, against the calm breeze of the night that flowed through the wooden windows.

She walked outside to the courtyard instead, making sure that her knife was inside her jacket before doing so.

Anya’s room was right next to hers, and the door opened without the sound of a crack. Suzuka walked inside a little more and brushed aside the curtains by her bedside, careful to make sure that not a single noise was made, while being quick.

Anya, I… Suzuka put the knife against the leader’s neck, admiring the peaceful way she slept for only a second more. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Almost as quick as lightning, Anya flung the knife out of Suzuka’s trembling hands.

“You…” are awake? It was Suzuka’s turn to widen her eyes in shock now.

The knife smashed into a vase, and it fell to the ground with a clear broken sound.

“I have insomnia.” Anya said. Her voice was icy cold, and it stabbed Suzuka’s heart more than the knife would have.

~

The jail is apparently right underneath the palace. After over a year of working here, Suzuka still didn’t know it existed… until now.

Lingye was the one who threw her in there. There was a mix of pity and disgust in his eyes, which Suzuka tried not to look at, because it didn’t help.

After two hours of staying there - which felt like eight eternities in a row - Suzuka had enough. She was an awful deputy to Anya and an awful assassin to the SATD, but at least she can die honorably.

Well, until she tried to reach for her knife and discovered that she left it in Anya’s room, that is.

Okay, the next option is to stop eating food. Slightly less honorable, but about the only choice she had. There was no way the guards were gonna try to force anything down her throat, surely.

~

On the first night, Suzuka didn’t touch her dinner at all. She went to sleep. In between the mists of the night and her dreams, it almost felt as if starry purple eyes were staring at her.

Suzuka felt hungry the next morning, but she didn’t touch the steamed-bun-and-soup breakfast left outside either. In fact, she pushed it out of reach just so that she never thought about it again.

Lunch was delivered, then dinner. Not much better. Suzuka spent the day sitting by the wall, contemplating her life and how it had to end this way.

She was so stupid. And she was so sorry towards Anya, because they could have been great together.

That night, she stayed awake to verify that yesterday night’s theory was true. Anya did stand through the bars, her purple eyes reflecting the sparkling night outside.

“Quit staring at me.” Suzuka finally snapped.

“Why?” Anya must be referring to her assassination attempt, and it only stabbed her heart to hear the word. “Suzuka, I loved you.” 

And you don’t anymore…

Suzuka turned the other way and tried to sleep. Sleep never came.

~

She didn’t touch any of the food the next day either. They started going bad, but the smell was hardly noticeable to Suzuka, who simply passed the day by closing her eyes and trying to shut off all of her senses.

The hunger started going away after a while, and physically it became a little more bearable.

~

Two more days passed. Suzuka felt herself going more weak. 

That night, she was hardly aware of the purple eyes looking down at her. Still, it made sure that she couldn’t sleep at all. 

“Stop it!” Suzuka tried to say. Well, with as force as she could manage at this state.

“Suzuka, eat.” Anya ordered.

You can’t order me around anymore. 

A whole minute of silence passed before Anya repeated her words, slightly less harsh this time. In between the spaces of the syllables, she heard a hint of the kindness that was once there. Hearing it now threatened to make her cry and vomit at the same time. How absurd.

“Suzuka.” Anya finally said after three more minutes of silence - softer now.

Suzuka opened her eyes. Anya’s figure seemed blurry, but it was still easy to make out where her purple, sparkling eyes were.

“I need you to stay alive.” She said, cold, icy, sharp.

“Sure, I won’t.” Suzuka answered. 

“Because you are going to be Endpoint District’s second member for its 224th Selected Team.” 

What…?

“You will go to Archiva at the end of the year and fight alongside Fenghua in the 224th global games.” Anya said, as if her syllables not being clear enough was the problem. “Got it?”

Suzuka nodded weakly.

“Good. Thank you for your service.”

And then, flashing by so fast that it might have not been there to begin with, was her kind smile. The same as every moment they had spent together before. 

Anya… 

I am not your deputy anymore, but I’ll be a part of your Selected Team. 

I messed up, but maybe I can make you proud this way.

She climbed up, supporting herself against the wall. 

If I win, will you forgive me?