Genre: Angst, Fantasy, Fluff, Tragedy

Summary: Every 10 years old child in DaWiz country must undergo a process called the Selection to determine their future. Young Sakura and Eunbi didn't know that this process will change their fate forever after a fateful incident occurred.

Word Count: 7048

Hashtag: #KkubiFestival_ToLoveJustToLoseYou

To Love Just To Lose You

“Charge! Don’t let even a single ant alive!”

A slender figure who is leading at the frontline barked an absolute order towards the edgy soldiers who are more than ready to spill blood on this battlefield. They had been enduring their thirst to slaughter on their journey exterminating rebels against their country. If it wasn’t their overpowered general stern order, they might already have crushed every single living vessel on their way to face the rowdy barbarians.

Of course, things aren't that simple as there are some irresponsible, rude soldiers among the elite force that are joining this expedition too. They went out of their way and ravaged several villages while passing through on their march to this predestined place. Upon knowing about the misconduct, the general itself stepped down from the mighty horse while facing the group of ignorant, arrogant soldiers. They didn’t seem to be fazed by the appearance of the general, as if they didn’t conduct anything wrong at all.

“So, what will our sissy general do? Punish us?”

“You’re just a frail woman. Your place isn’t here, it’s in the kitchen!”

“Must be great to your way up there right, general?”

The other soldiers can feel their throat parched after hearing such foul words coming from the rule-breakers. Sure, there tends to be some dissatisfaction lingering when one is rising up in the rank but for a woman to lead a regiment is unheard of throughout their history. Not only that, they never get to see the general’s real face as she often wears that kitsune mask which is resembling a fox whenever they are marching. Not even souls even had the chance to see the real face behind that mask, causing rumors to float which is that the general’s face is disfigured after being caught by their king for trying to defy his order a long time ago. However, no one dares to approach the general because she often gives off intimidating vibes when people are swarming around her.

“Why are you so silent, general? Cat got your tongue?”

Voices of mockery are still ringing around the general as those soldiers are now taking it further and pushing the general who didn’t seem to react to those dirty words.

“Clench your teeth.”

“Huh?”

Before anyone can register those cold words, suddenly there’s a person flying in the air before landing on the roof of their tent. Gasps filled the air as they realized that one of the problematic soldiers magically sent into the air after the general uttered her few words.

“Ugh, I did say that you need to clench your teeth. Now what do I do with this useless mineral in my hands?”

Shivers send to their spine as the kitsune mask is covered with blood as the general clenched a fistful of bloody teeth in her hands which she threw on the ground with no emotion painted in her words. Suddenly, those mockery stopped as the soldiers were now groveling on the ground, begging for forgiveness from the general which was ignored as the general slaughtered them on the spot. She grabbed one of the heads before rising on her horse while barking her words to the remaining troops.

“This is what you got for breaking the rules! I will not tolerate any act like this at all! Kill on the battlefield only, capiche?”

“YES!!!”

Roaring of soldiers thunderous voices trembles the ground as the general leaves them and enters her tent, followed by her closest aide. After witnessing her power which manages sending a bulky man in the air without breaking even a single sweat, all of the soldiers finally understand that their leader isn’t an ordinary one. Now, they are sure to overwhelm the barbaric resistance force soon with their leader paving ways to their win.

“You sure know how to put them in their place, huh?”

The general closest aide who was also wearing a kitsune mask chuckles as she removed her mask inside the tent. Upon letting the fresh air caress her skin, the figure behind the mask grinned at the general who seems disturbed by her action.

“You know what, people will be surprised if they see their crown princess is an aid for someone like me.”

“Well, they wouldn’t know, right? It’s just you and me here after all.”

“Kang-chan…”

The general grunted at her best friend closest aid carefree words. Knowing how Hyewon never cares about status and prestige makes Sakura back off from bickering with the princess again. She won’t waste her energy over something trivial. People can talk all they want and it won’t affect her even for a bit. Unless…

“You’re thinking about her again, right?”

The general mind snapped back into reality as she heard Hyewon’s words. As much as she went through troubles in hiding her face, Hyewon never failed in catching up to her emotion. She clicked her tongue as she pulled out a document to be approved before engaging in the upcoming battle.

“Come on, it’s been so long. Can’t you just forget about her? She chose to leave you behind after all.”

“It’s easy to say that. You know that she-”

“Is your first love, alright. Can’t you just give me the chance to be your next love and the last one?”

“Kang-chan, I’m sorry. You’re like a dear, close cousin to me. I can’t think of you more than that.”

The general can feel that her best friend is greatly hurting by her action but then, she couldn’t just force this lingering feeling to go away. Using her precious best friend as a bound to forget her first love didn’t sound nice to her. She didn’t want to give false hope to Hyewon because she knew that they had no future together. She just couldn’t imagine sharing her future with Hyewon, not in that way. They can stay as best friends and spend their time together just like that. No feeling attached.

“Well, I guess I’ll try harder then.”

Hyewon brings back her mask towards her face and puts it in her hood before heading towards the exit. She halted for a bit as she bit her lips before turning towards the general and spouted, “I wonder what do you see in her, Saku-chan. Is she that worth it for you to be beaten by His Majesty which forced you to wear that mask?”

Sakura didn’t answer and just kept mum, making Hyewon sighed deeply and stormed off from the tent. Her mind is in disarray, pushing the general to put aside her work for a bit.

“I will gladly give up my life for her, Kang-chan.”

She whispered to the thin air as her mind travelled back into the precious past where all of this mess took root.

***

[Flashback]

“Eun, here take this!”

A bubbly voice approached a frail looking girl who is sitting by the window, staring off at the serene village where they reside. She is taken by surprise when Sakura suddenly appears by the tree near her room with a silly smile planted on that energetic kid. Eunbi carefully opened the carefully wrapped gift which turned out to be a cute rabbit hairpin.

“This is..?”

“A hairpin! You said the other day that you wish to have one, right?”

The other girl steals a shy glance at Eunbi who is getting prettier as each day passes by. Sakura knows Eunbi since they are just in their diapers as her mother works as Eunbi’s wet-maid. Their relationship however goes beyond bosom sisters as Sakura never hesitates to hide her affection for the said girl.

“You remember that nonsense rambles?”

Eunbi's eyes glistened as she was touched by Sakura’s attentiveness. The hairpin looks a bit rough but she can still feel Sakura’s sincere thought is put in there which she highly appreciates.

“It’s not nonsense at all! Hey, try it on so that I can know if I had done a great job or not.”

The girl who is swinging her leg on the tree leans closer towards Eunbi who looks a little bit troubled by clenching that hairpin. She can see the girl with lustrous raven hair that resembles a clear sky is having some difficulty in tying her hair. Thus, Sakura leaped directly inside Eunbi’s room which caused the girl to yelp in surprise.

“That’s dangerous! What if you fall down?”

Laced with anxiety, Eunbi softly slapped Sakura on her right shoulder blades which the girl easily evades while sticking out her tongue. She can feel that Sakura didn’t take heed of her words that much, making Eunbi pout as she grabbed Sakura’s shoulder and furiously stared at the girl.

“I’m being serious here, Miyawaki Sakura! What if you get hurt? What do I do if you die from the fall?”

The skinny girl can feel that this situation escalates too fast from just a mere joke into heartfelt worries by Eunbi. Upon seeing those tears emerge in those pairs of hypnotizing eyes, Sakura hurriedly brought out her handkerchief and handed it to Eunbi.

“Look, I’m okay now, isn’t it? There’s no way I’ll ever die just from falling from a tree. It’s just a two-story height for goodness sake, Eun.”

“Still… You can get hurt! What if you can’t join tomorrow’s Selection?”

“Ah… So you’re worried about the Selection after all.”

Sakura scratches her neck as she patted Eunbi’s back who is now sniffling violently beside her. If there’s anything in the world that she hates the most, it’s seeing Eunbi crying. She would rather see Eunbi’s smiles as the girl’s smile is brighter than even the prettiest jewel exists. Knowing that Sakura herself is a part of Eunbi’s reason to cry, she decides to snake her arms around Eunbi with a thumping heart in an attempt to comfort the girl.

The Selection. A ceremony in their country, DaWiz for every 10 years-old child citizen in choosing their future job. As per its name, the Selection is quite a huge matter for everyone as their fate is somehow related with the job coming out from the process. As much as Sakura disagrees with this whole bull which strips away one’s freedom, she possesses no power to change it.

Even though the Selection may sound like a harmless process, the effect after it actually makes Sakura loath it. If someone somehow gets a decent job like a knight or a hero, he or she will be raised in status and able to taste the sweetness of the world. However, the treatment will be different if one landed a job which people deemed as meaningless, such as Jester, Beast Master or Berserker.

The first job is treated like a clown where people mocking any Jester for inability to be useful in a fight and just able to use cheap tricks. For Beast Master, one needs to weaken the enemy first before binding it with a contract which has a severely low percentage of success even if one’s are trying to bond with the weakest slime. Berserker, well, might sound nice but not when the berserker hits their own ally. That is just a few jobs which are ridiculed by most people at all times. Sakura herself witnessed how people writhing in despair after getting such jobs, family disowned their family members and all. Thus, she might understand a bit of Eunbi worries, feeling frightened for the bleak future if they ever landed an unfavorable job.

“Eun, listen. I’m sure that your Selection will be just fine tomorrow. If anything, I’ll always be there for you, alright?”

She can feel the girl in her arms tensed for a bit as Eunbi is uttering something. Sakura leans closer towards Eunbi, lowering her upper body to reach the same level as Eunbi’s lips.

“You promise?”

A smile creeped on Sakura’s face as she heard those hopeful voices from Eunbi. People can say that this feeling inside her chest is just a passing love, a flimsy puppy love and whatnot but Sakura knows that isn’t true. Eunbi held a special place in her heart, a feel that ain’t gone away easily even when Eunbi isn’t around. With a trembling heart, Sakura replied, “Even death won’t separate us, Eun. I promise to protect you from anything that’ll hurt you even if it cost me my everything.”

The girl with doe-like eyes can feel her ears are burning hot upon saying that words. She pulled Eunbi closer to hide her embarrassment from the girl who finally stopped crying. To Sakura's surprise, she can feel Eunbi’s arms wrapped around hers as the girl snuggles against the crook of Sakura’s neck.

“I’ll stick to your words then, Kkura-ya. After all, you never lie to me.”

They both chuckle while resting their forehead against each other, hoping that tomorrow will bring another brilliant light upon them. Both of them ignore this faint, blossoming feelings in their heart as they’re too busy cuddling and comforting each other for the unpredictable future that awaits them both.

***

“Nervous?”

A voice greeted the girl who was tapping her feet outside of the Test Room where the Selection process is taking place. Currently, every 10 years old can be seen as extremely distressed by their uncertain future. Some of them even pray hard to land a decent job so that they can help their family to live a more prosperous life. Sakura bit her inner lips for a bit before shaking her head while closing her eyes.

“No, not a bit.”

“Then why are you looking so restless?”

The other voice sounds in disbelief upon hearing Sakura’s answer as the girl’s knees are clearly trembling even if Sakura tried hiding it.

“Am I? No, definitely not worried about anything.”

When Sakura stubbornly refuses, the guard can just chuckle in amazement. Out of every 10 years old child in this village, everyone anonymously agreed that Sakura will for sure land an amazing job. It’s not like one can determine another's job but they just had a feeling that Sakura won’t be stuck in this small village. The girl had this tremendous aura cloaked around herself that screams that she’ll bring a change in this country if not the world.

The reason behind Sakura looks super skittish at the moment is because Eunbi is inside the Test Room. Gosh, she just hopes that she is able to stand beside Eunbi’s side and hold the girl’s hand while the Selection takes place. However, she can’t do that and thus, Sakura is waiting impatiently for Eunbi to come out. It’s been a whole ten minutes for Eunbi to be inside and that’s just made Sakura grow more jumpy.

“Oh my lord, I can’t believe this!”

Upon hearing an excited scream inside the room, Sakura whipped her head towards the room where the door is being pushed ajar. She can see Eunbi who wears a baffled expression while the person who oversees the Selection aka Selector looks rather ecstatic while patting Eunbi’s back.

“I present to you, the first ever Holy Saintess for over a few centuries in our country!”

She can see the image of Eunbi running into her arms while crying happy tears. Sakura couldn’t help but feel relieved upon finding that Eunbi landed a great profession during the Selection. She couldn’t be happier for the love of her life when the girl whispered words of appreciation for Sakura who is always by her side to comfort the girl.

“Miyawaki Sakura, enter the Test Room.”        

Hearing her name is being called, Sakura peeled Eunbi’s arms from herself while assuring the girl that she will be back before Eunbi can even realize it. Even though Sakura tried to sound calm, she couldn’t possibly conceal trembles on her hand when she pushed the door and entered the room. She is quite surprised upon seeing an orb as big a ball is placed on top of a table in the middle of that room.

“Relax. Place your hand on top of this orb.”

Warily, Sakura puts her palm on the orb before she feels a surge of electric shock running through her veins. As much as she wanted to let go, the orb somehow stuck on her palm as images suddenly floated out from the orb. She can see bits of everything but couldn’t understand any of it. However, judging from the look on the Selector's face, she guessed that her job might be something shocking.

When the images stopped and rolled back inside the orb, Sakura finally got back her numb hands. She grunted as sweats are rolling down from her forehead, an effect withstanding immense amounts of pain from the Selection. She never knew that it would be this painful. No wonder people feel nervous while entering this room.

“What the heck, kid. What are you, really?”

“Huh?”

Couldn’t comprehend the Selector’s words, Sakura just let the man dragg