《The Divine Gemstones》 Prologue: Before the Apocalypse (Volume 1: Project New Gen ↓↓↓)
What a sweet night that was. I really thought everything I was working hard to achieve was finally at its end, that we were going to live our lives happily ever after. Let¡¯s face it¡­ stories only end well in fairy tales. Ah yes¡­ now that my memory is starting to get a little clearer, I remember that we were celebrating the sweet victory of our recent achievement on that specific night. Soon after, an unexpected visitor knocked on our doors. Instantly, when I opened the door, everyone¡¯s face in the room switched from a happy, joyful smile, into a terrified, and trembling expression. Opening the door, I remember thousands of sharp feathers flying into the room and killing off every single person that was behind me, one by one. No mercy¡­ thousands of extremely sharp quills sliced man, Women, even children, and babies. Hearing cries and screams being silenced one by one¡­ while I was still looking at the person in front of me with a shocked expression. ¡°Hey, Ruki. I¡¯m back.¡± Said the person standing right in front of me, yes, the person that just killed dozens of people behind me. The voice was distorted with a tone of a mix of rage and sorrow. ¡°I had a feeling you were going to be back¡­ just not this early.¡± The person started laughing and said, ¡°Do you like my entrance?! I tried to make it cool and scary!¡± I was disgusted by what this person just said.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Shut up you monster! You just murdered many people without a single look of concern!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that¡­ they hurt me, you know?¡± ¡°How can an angel be so evil¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Ruki. Angels and devils are just two different races. The fact that one is evil and one is not, doesn¡¯t exist¡­ they can both be terrifying and lovely. Angels were smart to trick humans to think that they are good while devils are pure evil.¡± ¡°¡­Where did you take my friends?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about them. I¡¯m taking good care of them!¡± I got furious and grabbed the person¡¯s cape. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me! If I see a single scratch on any of them, you¡¯re going to pay even more, and I¡¯ll make sure to kill you too this time!¡± Suddenly, I got pushed away by the person¡¯s wings and fell to the floor. ¡°Ruki! Are you ok?! Sorry, I can¡¯t control them that well, I-¡± ¡°SHUT UP! Don¡¯t act like we are friends you weird fuck!¡± ¡°Tsk, I see you still don¡¯t remember anything, Akira.¡± The person snapped its fingers, and all my friends were lined up in front of me in cages. ¡°Maybe I need to kill one of them to bring back your senses.¡± The person made ten swords appear in the sky floating around each person¡¯s cage. ¡°What?!¡± As I was going to get up, I noticed that feathers were pinning me down to the floor. ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°Now¡­ who should I murder in front of you?¡± ¡°Stop!¡± I heard every single person in the cages calling for my help, but I was there powerless pinned down to the floor. ¡°How about we kill someone you really care about¡­¡±
Volume 1 Character Sheets (Update)
Sex Female
Age 17
Height 5¡¯2 (158 Cm)
Weight 125 Lbs (56.8 Kg)
Birthday July 17th 3301
Eye color Golden
Hair color Crimson
Blood type AB
Race Spoiler
Half-Devil
Sub-Race Spoiler
Succubus
Singularity Spirit Vamps (Hybrid): Twin blades that appear behind Kasai. One of them is used to drain energy from living things, while the other one is used to release that energy. They can be used for many things, such as healing, overdriving, cooking even though she sucks at it, and many other things.
Zodiac Sign Cancer
Greater Sin Lust
Relatives All deceased
Favorite Food Anything healthy, she hates junk food.
Dislikes Strangers and nosy people.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Likes Being at home, burning jacuzzi, and helping people.
Sex Female
Age 18
Height 5¡¯7 (170 Cm)
Weight 130 Lbs (59 Kg)
Birthday April 21st 3300
Eye color Emerald
Hair color Pink
Blood type A
Race Spoiler
Angel
Sub-Race Spoiler Royal
Singularity Wisdom-World (Materialistic): A spiritual book with ancient writing appears on her hands. It allows her to know everything about a race, object, place, or magic that she is currently in front of. Spiritual Singularity is Unkown.
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Greater Sin Envy&Gluttony (Her hunger for knowledge)
Relatives Mother: Ayumi Aizawa Step-Father: Haruko Smith Rest of family is distant.
Favorite Food Shizuka adores food, especially those heavy carbs like potatoes, breads, and noodles. She loves pasta.
Dislikes Complications, getting pressured, low-quality materials, low-grade food, and perverted people, especially boys at her school.
Likes Being at home, lots and lots of reading and other ways of acquiring knowledge. Gardening when she gets the chance, cooking, high-quality clothes, and romance.
Chapter 1: Jet Black
"Shyness is a double-edged sword; it can be adorable... but it can also ruin lives." - Sachi
A couple of months earlier¡­
While writing down notes to take home I was starting to realize how repetitive and boring my days were becoming, but that wasn¡¯t going to stop me from focusing on my goal, which is to graduate from this dumb school. ¡°Aaah!¡± Yelled a student as if they were torturing him. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s my homework!¡± Pencils, paper airplanes, all kinds of school objects were thrown across the classroom. This is precisely why I choose to sit at the back. I sighed as if I lost all hope in humanity. This is not a school; this is more like an insane asylum. For being just a high school junior student, sometimes I felt like I was way older than my peers¡­ but I wasn¡¯t. ¡°Alright class, I would like all of you to sit quietly for a moment as I do the roll call¡± The teacher said; he had silver hair and wrinkles all over his face, sometimes I even wondered how he was able to also see a fly, but I guess that¡¯s why the class was crazier than a prom night. Even as all this chaos was happening in the background, I still managed to write down the notes that were on the board; you know that automated feeling when your arm just starts copying on its own without even thinking about it? That¡¯s kind of what was happening; that¡¯s probably why sometimes I still don¡¯t understand things after I copy them, but I wasn¡¯t writing the notes for me. ¡°Ryukaito Nukuwa¡± yelled the teacher. Say what again? ¡°Ryu¡ªkaito¡ªno¡± ¡°It¡¯s Rukito Nokuwa, Mr. Ender.¡± The other students started giggling, but I was used to it, I do have an uncommon name after all; I always say ¡®here¡¯ before he even mentions my name, but today I was too in my head. My name is Rukito Nokuwa, I have natural red hair and golden eyes, I¡¯m 17 years old, and I¡¯m currently attending Akirei Private High School as a junior. My dream is to help those who are in need of the most¡­ nah who am I kidding, I have yet no idea of what I¡¯m going to do with my life. Minutes later, he finished the roll call and said, ¡°For all of you that are here, I would like you to welcome a new student to our school.¡± New student? I thought I had enough dealing with these maniacs, now comes a new challenger? Give me a break¡­ hopefully, he is calm and collected. ¡°Where is he?¡± I asked, ¡°Young lady, may you walk up to the front of the classroom?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I heard a faint voice right beside me. What?! As I looked to my side there was a girl all along; the fact that I or anybody in the classroom never noticed her gave me chills, everyone else was as shocked as me. She had short wavey jet-black hair, some over her eyes as if she was trying to hide them. As she got up and walked over the teacher¡¯s desk, I was able to faintly smell her aroma for a couple of seconds. I¡¯m no weirdo or anything, but it was quite the unique smell; if I would guess her perfume cost around the thousands. ¡°H-Hello, everyone.¡± She said while bowing. ¡°My name is Sachi, I¡¯m 17 years old, and I come from East Greenterra.¡± The name sure sounds like an eastern name. ¡°Welcome, Sachi!¡± Said the other students. ¡°Class president, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Said the teacher while looking directly towards me. I got up and walked in front of the classroom with confidence, as the head of the classroom I can¡¯t show any insecurity. I stood beside the new student. ¡°Welcome to class 1-X, Sachi.¡± I offered my hand for a handshake; this is something that the class president must do to every new student that arrives. She seemed very agitated; I could easily tell that being in the center of attention wasn¡¯t her favorite thing. After some awkward seconds of pure silence, she decided to shake my hand, and as soon as our hands touched, I felt a light shock in my head, but it wasn¡¯t pain, it was a bizarre feeling I haven¡¯t explored, almost as if I¡¯ve known her before; I was expecting her to say the usual, ¡®You don¡¯t remember me?¡¯ type of question. ¡°Thank you, Rukito.¡± She mumbled. Well, besides the fact that she didn¡¯t mispronounce my name, I was confused about how she knew my name. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± I asked with a puzzled look. ¡°Huh? Oh, the roll call of course.¡± She said while cracking a smile. ¡°Right¡­ the roll call, how could I forget.¡± It was a bit weird that she specifically remembers my name, but the teacher did make a fuss about it. We both walked back to our seats and kept going with the class, I didn¡¯t overthink about that familiar feeling, I had more important things to do, but curiosity did kill the cat after all¡­ so I approached her after school.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. As I was walking through the hall, I was looking for the locker with her name. ¡®Maki, Ely, Sora¡­ hate that guy, oh! Sachi!¡¯ I found her locker, but obviously, she wasn¡¯t there. I decided to wait for her; I didn¡¯t have a problem playing the waiting game. While waiting, I started thinking of what I would do at home. I have foster parents, so I also live with another girl around my age; luckily my ¡®parents¡¯ are wealthy, so I don¡¯t have to worry about not having food to eat, that¡¯s also why I go to this private school. While I was indulged in my thoughts, I managed to get a short glimpse of Sachi from far away, she seemed hesitant to walk towards me, so I decided to walk towards her. ¡°Hey, Sachi! Sorry if I look like a weirdo. I¡¯m not trying to sell you ¡®free candy¡¯ or anything; I¡¯m sure you¡¯re too old for that anyway.¡± The first instinct I have when making friends with girls is to make them laugh, as with guys you can talk about games, sports, and all those ¡®male things,¡¯ I¡¯m never too sure on what to discuss with girls, especially if I don¡¯t know them. She giggled for a couple of seconds; I wasn¡¯t too sure if it was because of the joke or her anxiety. ¡°H-Hey Rukito, is there something you need?¡± At this point everyone went home, so the hall was empty; therefore I asked, ¡°Want to go for a walk around the school? We¡¯ll get to know each other, and I will be able to show you around.¡± ¡°Oh, sure thing.¡± We started walking outside as the sun was setting. Now, this might look like your usual run-of-the-mill soap opera, but I wasn¡¯t interested too much about her, but it was also my job to get to know my class and make sure they know what they are doing. But I¡¯m not going to lie, she is gorgeous. ¡°So where do you come from?¡± I asked. ¡°I-I¡¯m from a rural town in east Greenterra, nothing extraordinary heh,¡± she said while smiling. As much as she was trying to play it off, I could see that she was extremely nervous in this situation; I would be obnoxious and say that it¡¯s because she likes me, but I¡¯m sure it was because she is a timid person. ¡°Oh really? I always wanted to visit east Greenterra, but I never really had the chance to, I¡¯m usually busy at home with things¡­¡± I tried inserting pauses between my sentences so she could get a chance to speak; most shy people are obviously too shy to interrupt you or talk right after. ¡°Oh, where you going to do something right now? Sorry if I took your time.¡± She said. ¡°No, no! I have nothing to do, after all, what I¡¯m doing right now is my role as a class president.¡± After I said that, her expression turned sad. ¡°But don¡¯t get me wrong! I also want to be your friend.¡± ¡°Really? Not many people want to be friends with me¡­¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± She looked down and said, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m different.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± My mind was running with hundreds of different thoughts, but I couldn¡¯t see how she was different. ¡°Well¡­ can you promise me that if I show you, then we will still be friends?¡± ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t see what you could say that would make me stop talking to you.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± She looked up at me while raising her hair that was covering her eyes all this time. ¡°W-WHAT?!¡± I¡¯ve never seen anything like it, all of her eyes were pitch black, even her sclera! ¡°Ooh! I get it, that¡¯s a scleral contact lens, right? You know the type that covers everything except the pupil.¡± ¡°N-no Rukito¡­ these are my real eyes.¡± I¡¯m not going to lie, I was a bit creeped out by it, but I tried to seem as acceptable and understanding as possible. ¡°Is it like¡­ a new birth defect?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know; I can barely remember anything of my childhood.¡± ¡°Huh? Just ask your parents.¡± As the idiot as I am, I couldn¡¯t count in the fact that she might not have parents. ¡°I wish I had parents Rukito.¡± She said while sitting down on a nearby bench. ¡°Right now, I live in an inn not too far from here, and I barely manage to get the money from working in a nearby guild. I go to this private school because my boss is the principal, he offered me to come here for free.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m sorry for-¡± ¡°No don¡¯t be sorry. It¡¯s not your fault.¡± I walked towards her and sat next to her with a smile. ¡°I understand you know, I don¡¯t have parents either; it¡¯s nice finding someone that can relate to me in some sense, after all, this is not that much common in this school specifically.¡± She glanced at me with a smile and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that common finding someone that has red hair and yellow eyes.¡± She started giggling. ¡°Hey! It wasn¡¯t my choice. I didn¡¯t dye it. People back in the orphanage said that it was like this since I was a kid, the eyes too!¡± This made me happy. Most people think that us teens that have no parents are all depressed and down by that fact, but that¡¯s not true; we learned a long time ago to just accept it and go through life without remorse or sorrow, we managed to make friends that we see as family, and that brings us closer more than anything. It¡¯s nice to find someone that doesn¡¯t pity me for my past. She started laughing and said, ¡°You know, maybe if you make your teeth green you can look like a traffic light!¡± I¡¯m not going to lie¡­ that joke was pretty funny. ¡°Ha-ha, you think you¡¯re funny huh?¡± I said with a smirk on my face trying not to laugh. She was still laughing. It was the cutest thing ever; she is a weird mix between cute and creepy¡­ it just works. She lightly tapped my shoulder and said while smiling, ¡°Rukito, it¡¯s fine not being serious for a while just let yourself go, Mr. class president.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± From there I noticed that once she gets to know the person, she isn¡¯t too shy about it anymore. ¡°Hey, you ever tried using white sclera contact lenses? Your pupil will be extremely black but, it¡¯s better than nothing right?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not going to lie to you. I didn¡¯t even know those things existed.¡± She giggled again. ¡°Really? They are not even that expensive, probably around 20 Crystalis.¡± While I was talking to her, a girl with cherry blossom hair color and green eyes trudged towards me and said, ¡°Rukito! I was looking for you everywhere!¡± ¡°Shizuka? Oh crap! What time is it?!¡± Yes, this is the girl that I live within my foster home. I¡¯ve been living with them for almost a year now. ¡°It¡¯s 7:15!¡± We have school from 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM ¡°Oh!¡± I quickly got up and said, ¡°Sorry Sachi, I¡¯ll catch up with you another time ok? I¡¯m going to miss my train in 5 minutes.¡± While I glanced at her, I saw her looking at Shizuka with a hostile look, but she quickly changed to a smile in a split second and said, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no problem; we¡¯ll talk tomorrow ok?¡± ¡°Yeah of course!¡± I felt terrible leaving her like that, but if I didn¡¯t go then I would have missed my train, and I¡¯m not walking 200 miles. Yes, the house is that far. ¡°So, who was that girl?¡± Shizuka asked me. Chapter 2: The Cherry Blossom
"I indeed am a fighter. Knowledge is my blade. Wisdom is my power." -Shizuka Aizawa
The flower of many trees of genus Prunus. Born under the warm sun of April in the east. The Taurus of the zodiacs. The cherry blossom herself, Shizuka Aizawa, my foster best friend. I¡¯ve been living with her for quite some time now, about a year I think; we have had a fantastic friendship so far, we might fight a little here and there but that¡¯s normal for good friends. As the most popular girl in my school, for reasons being: She has pink hair, green eyes, she is brilliant, very educated, cute, and wealthy. What else could a teenage boy ask for? Now you may ask yourself why I haven¡¯t tried being with her, and the answer is simple, for now, I¡¯m just focused on graduating high school, so I can set up my future for having my own family, having a girlfriend right now may cause a lot of unneeded drama. I must work hard to give my future family what I never had¡­ I must work hard. ¡°Rukito? What are you gazing off about?¡± She asked me as I was gazing out the window of the train going at speeds of 200mph. ¡°No matter how many times I ride this train, I still can¡¯t bear the fact of how beautiful this sunset is.¡± Then I heard, ¡°Yet¡­ not more quite quaint than I, right?¡± I smirked, turned to her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk all philosophical now.¡± She always does this. ¡°Hey! I do write poems when I¡¯m bored though!¡± She said. Shizuka is always locked in her room writing poems or reading books, I don¡¯t blame her, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s anything else to do. ¡°To whom?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°Why do you care?¡± She asked with a smug. ¡°How many times do I have to tell you? Don¡¯t answer a question with a question m¡¯lady?¡± We always play around like this; this is our day to day chatters. ¡°Oi, don¡¯t dodge my question!¡± ¡°What question? I¡¯m the only one asking questions here!¡± She puffed her cheeks and looked away. We have a small private train, so no-one rides with us, my foster parents prioritize security over everything, which is good! And I say ¡®my¡¯ because the mother is Shizuka¡¯s actual biological mother, while the father is her stepdad. The fun fact is that Shizuka¡¯s mother, ¡®Ayumi Aizawa¡¯ also has pink hair, maybe it¡¯s a family thing? ¡°Hey, Shizuka.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Does the rest of your family also have pink hair?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a special dominant gene through all of the Aizawa family.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, has it to do something with magic?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. My mom doesn¡¯t really want to talk about it.¡± Oh, that¡¯s right, I forgot to talk about magic! You see, it¡¯s currently 3318, a couple days ago we started this new year. But anyway, this planet is filled with many mystical creatures and other races that have been created by mother earth which inherit magic. How? Well 118 years ago, after the great mystical war, humans had an agreement with Cloud Elves to stop making harmful chemicals for the environment. Kings and queens limited the outcome of Chlorofluorocarbons. Winters were back at their best, and summers weren¡¯t as burning-hot anymore. Plants and trees were all over the world, the making of downtown urban cities and cars were banned; therefore, all the human-made chemical ozone depletion stopped. Oh! And smartphones were also banned as it was considered a distraction of daily life for society, so now we have standard flip phones; the suicide rates have gone down, and the happiness of people have increased drastically, it¡¯s a new golden age for humanity and cloud elves. The race of cloud elves are white-skinned with blue birth-marks that look like tattoos; they are so unique that each one of them has different birthmark patterns. They are mostly known for their blue hair and silver eyes. They are also very wise. In their culture, entertainment is a highly prized ability, so most of our entertainers are cloud elves. They consider religion to be the most critical priority, and they all worship a single goddess named ¡®Suisei¡¯ which sometimes is said to communicate with their pope. They believe that magic is intimately involved in their lives. Most religious acts are rituals and prayers. Their history conceals a great secret, and nobody knows where they came from, some say only their pope does, so much that the pope is more in power than the actual cloud elf king. Oh, and they are called cloud elves because most of their villages and kingdoms are in clouds, they love the land so much that they won¡¯t dare build on it. I find it ridiculous; whoever made this planet wanted us to use it in my opinion. ¡°Well, here we are Rukito!¡± The train stopped, we got down at the train station where my foster parents were waiting for us. ¡°Don¡¯t you think we are old enough to walk home alone?¡± I asked Shizuka¡¯s mother. ¡°It¡¯s better to be safer than sorry.¡± Then the father said, ¡°Just because we are in a golden age doesn¡¯t mean you kids can run around and do as you like, there are still crimes happening day to day, maybe not as many but they still are.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry dad; I¡¯ll take the responsibility as the older one and protect Rukito from danger.¡± Said Shizuka while giggling. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s not even a year; it¡¯s nine months.¡± Our parents turned towards us in the middle of the walk and said, ¡°Kids, I have a surprise for you both at home.¡± ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°More like, who is it.¡± Said the father. My blood pressure started rising, and I was starting to get inpatient by this new animal; even though I like more cats than dogs, I felt like it was going to be a dog, a corgi to be specific. But I didn¡¯t see Shizuka too excited about it. ¡°Really?! Who is it?!¡± I asked. ¡°Well, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if I told you.¡± ¡°OK! Shizuka? You¡¯re not interested in a new pet?¡± When I said that the parents smiled. ¡°Hm?¡± She looked at me; it looked like she was daydreaming about something. ¡°I don¡¯t mind; I¡¯m not a pet person.¡± ¡°Really? Well, what were you thinking about?¡± ¡°That girl¡­ Sachi.¡± ¡°What about her?¡± ¡°She was looking at me weird; I could see it through the corner of my eye.¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so; she is pretty shy and a fairly nice girl.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± I wasn¡¯t so sure what to think about it, Shizuka has always had problems with other girls I talk within my school, I don¡¯t know if it is because Shizuka and I are close or whatever. We finally arrived at the mansion, it was a three-floor mansion with a huge front yard and backyard measuring 100 acres in total, surrounded by big walls protecting from the forest; it contains a big fountain in the middle going towards the mansion, and it has a tennis field at the east and a big garden at the west. The mansion itself contains 40 rooms, 12 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, and 33 fireplaces; it also has a pool at the back, but no one ever uses it much. The mansion is made out of some wood, marble, bricks, and stones. Some of the sidings were painted, and sand was thrown onto the wet paint, creating a rough stone-like texture. This mansion could easily cost around 10 million, but as the best scientists in the world, Shizuka¡¯s parents were able to buy it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The guards opened the gate and let us in. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it¡­ from an orphanage to a mansion, what a jump.¡± Shizuka looked at me while smiling and said, ¡°Remember the first time we met?¡± ¡°Of course I remember! Your mom took me here and made you get out of your room just to talk with me.¡± ¡°And sorry if I didn¡¯t want to, in the beginning, I just expected someone completely different.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean as in someone ratchet, with no manners, disrespectful and cocky.¡± ¡°Ohhhh.¡± I don¡¯t blame her, most people at the orphanage were like that. ¡°I was actually surprised by your manners.¡± ¡°Oh, Thank you!¡± As we walked right in front of the entrance door, I smelled the pleasant flower smell of the garden all the way from here. I turned to Shizuka¡¯s mother and asked, ¡°So where is the pet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is no pet kids.¡± The mother opened the entrance door of the mansion, the first things to notice were the enormous white marble pillars and the main stairs going up to the second floor and third floor. There was a small set of sofas with a fireplace right near the begging stairs. ¡°Kasai, we¡¯re back.¡± Said Shizuka¡¯s mother. ¡°Kasai?¡± I asked myself, while suddenly, a girl around my age stood up from a sofa facing away from us and stood right ahead of us. ¡°Rukito, Shizuka, this is Kasai, she will be a new member of this family.¡± I¡­ I was really confused by something, not the fact that they got another child but¡­ Kasai also had beautiful crimson hair and golden eyes like me, the only difference was that she had super long hair down to her butt, but it looked like she just came from the orphanage, she had a dirty long beige dress, it looked like it was white but¡­ with all that dirt I don¡¯t think it stayed that way for long; her face was a bit dusty, she was barefoot, and her facial expression was¡­ blank. I didn¡¯t look like her when I came out of the orphanage¡­ she looked like she has been through some rough things in life. But at least she didn¡¯t seem like she was starving to death. Then, Shizuka¡¯s father said, ¡°We¡¯re really sorry if we didn¡¯t change you up before we left, but we were going to be late picking up Rukito and Shizuka.¡± There was an awkward silence for 3 seconds, but I decided to walk up to her and say, ¡°Good afternoon Kasai, my name is Rukito Nokuwa, I also came from an orphanage just like you, so I know it¡¯s hard getting used to this.¡± I offered my hand and continued by saying, ¡°But I hope we can live together without any problems.¡± She looked at my hand then looked at me and stepped back, she didn¡¯t seem to want to shake my hand or anything. ¡°W-what is it?¡± At that moment I thought that it might have been because she was still nervous, but it also might have been because we have a striking resemblance. ¡°So, you¡¯re the new girl?¡± Asked Shizuka, with an annoyed expression. ¡°¡­¡± But Kasai still didn¡¯t seem to want to say anything with her blank, emotionless expression. ¡°How old are you?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°¡­¡± Shizuka seemed to start getting irritated. ¡°Hello? I¡¯m asking you a question! Are you deaf?! Are you mute?! Are you trying to mock me?!¡± Kasai shook her head as to say no. ¡°Hey Shizuka, give her some time, maybe she doesn¡¯t feel comfortable talking this early.¡± ¡°Ugh! Whatever, I can¡¯t handle people like her.¡± She stormed off to her room without saying anything else. ¡°Well, she was quick to get angry¡­¡± Shizuka¡¯s parents sighed and said, ¡°We expected this behavior from her, she always acts like the princess and the special noble girl, I guess this life we gave her built a bit of an ego; having another girl is going to rub her off the wrong way.¡± Said the mother. I totally agree with her, Shizuka¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t that surprising. But something else was. ¡°Uhm, Ms. Aizawa.¡± ¡°Yes, Rukito?¡± ¡°Could you explain why Kasai looks a bit too much like me?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­¡± She looked at the father and said, ¡°We also had that curiosity; that¡¯s why she called our attention. We did a DNA test of both you and her to see if you¡¯re related in any kind of way, but it doesn¡¯t seem like it. All the tests were negative.¡± Then, the father said, ¡°Yes, our theory is that you both went through some special spell or magic when you were babies that changed your appearance to this specific looks. But there isn¡¯t any intel in the orphanage¡¯s database of you two; but it''s normal, kids don¡¯t get left in the middle of the street with information stamped on their forehead.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± The father walked towards me and whispered, ¡°Hey Rukito, I want you to take care of her ok? We¡¯re not really good at dealing with kids like her, but you seem to understand her.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know Mr. Smith.¡± I wouldn¡¯t mind that much taking care of her, but she seems around 17 years old, which is my current age so it¡¯s not like she can¡¯t take care of herself. ¡°We just want you to talk to hang out with her, so she starts opening up to the family ok?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Even though I seemed like I didn¡¯t, I really did want to help her. I was once in her position, so I understand how it is. ¡°Thank you so much! Well, my wife and I will work in the lab underground ok?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Remember the rules?¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Yes, don¡¯t disturb you both in the lab, never go down the lab without authorization and never but never touch the things in the lab if authorized to go down.¡± ¡°Aaaand?¡± ¡°And call you if I need anything.¡± ¡°Good job! Well, she is all yours!¡± What a pair of reckless foster parents¡­ ¡°Alright, Kasai¡­¡± She stared at me with her blank expression yet once again. ¡°Yes, I know, I really look like you, but you heard the man, our DNA is completely different.¡± She nodded. At least she can respond to yes or no questions¡­ ¡°Well¡­¡± I looked at her top to feet. ¡°How about you start getting a bath huh?¡± She nodded. ¡°Alright, just follow me; I¡¯ll show you around so you won¡¯t get lost, easy enough?¡± She nodded again. Holy moly, this is going to be tough¡­ I showed her most of the mansion, it took about 15 minutes or so, but after that, we started walking towards one of the closest bathrooms to my room so that she won¡¯t get lost in the mansion¡­ because I did the first time I got here. We went upstairs to the third floor where the bedroom and bathroom were at; a beautiful red rug was all along the corridor. ¡°OK, Kasai.¡± I pointed to the bathroom door and said, ¡°This is the bathroom ok? There are 12 others like this in the mansion if you don¡¯t like it, but this is mine. For now, you can use mine, so you don¡¯t get lost after getting out because my room is right here in front of it. She nodded and then looked at her dress. ¡°Right¡­ you need clothes to change to.¡± Ugh¡­ I¡¯m going to have to ask Shizuka. ¡°Uhm¡­ wait for me inside the bathroom ok? I¡¯ll just ask Shizuka for some clothes.¡± She nodded and proceeded to enter the bathroom. Well, she sure as hell listens no-problem. I walked towards Shizuka¡¯s room which was at the end of the corridor, and mine was at the center. I knocked on the door and heard, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Alright¡­ this is the best one I saved for emergencies. ¡°Adore.¡± ¡°Adore who?¡± ¡°Adore is between us. Please open up!¡± I heard her giggling, and she said, ¡°You may come in.¡± This is our rule; if we go to each other¡¯s room, we have to say a funny knock-knock joke, if it¡¯s not funny, then we are not allowed in. I walked into her room, and I saw her wearing her indigo pajama with her hair loose all the way down to her back, I love seeing her like this because she is always going around with a ponytail, I like girls with loose hair more¡­ wait what am I talking about? Anyways, she was laid down on her bed using her laptop. ¡°Did you know that angels and devils actually exist?¡± She asked me. ¡°Really? New mystical creatures are discovered left and right nowadays.¡± ¡°Well, they weren¡¯t discovered, more like skeletons were found somewhere in the Melean Desert.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool and all, but I came here to ask you for something else, not my daily dose of news.¡± She closed her laptop, sat up, faced me and said. ¡°Yeah sure, what is it?¡± Well, that was fast, she probably thinks I¡¯m going to say something serious¡­ ¡°You see¡­ I need some of your underwear and-¡± ¡°W-What?! Why would you ever-¡± I rushed towards her to save my decency as a human being, held her shoulders and said, ¡°Listen, listen, listen! Let me finish!¡± I¡¯ve seen this in anime way too much; the guy says something misleading and the girl starts building up this misunderstanding and it ends with the girl calling the guy a pervert¡­ I¡¯m not allowing this to happen to me! ¡°A-Alright.¡± She said. I noticed that she was starting to blush a bit, and I think I was too. I worded that sooo in the wrong way. ¡°Let me phrase that a bit better¡­ I need clothes, so Kasai can change into something after she showers.¡± ¡°So, you came all the way here just to ask me for that?¡± ¡°I mean, yeah, why?¡± She sighed and said, ¡°Nothing¡­¡± At that moment I wasn¡¯t too focused on trying to understand her, so I just let it go. ¡°Well, can I borrow some please?¡± ¡°Yeah sure¡­ as much as I don¡¯t want to give her anything, at least she has to look decent right?¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand that.¡± ¡°Just get a pajama and a dress so she can go outside if she wants tomorrow.¡± ¡°Thank you very much Shizuka; I¡¯m sure she will appreciate it a lot.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± I took all the clothes Kasai needed and laid them on a basket. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to take this to her.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ goodnight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to eat dinner?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, my school reading club had a party today, so I ate a lot already, but thank you for asking.¡± ¡°Oh, ok, and no problem.¡± She slightly frowned. At this point I started to notice what was going on, she doesn¡¯t care that much about Kasai joining, her problem is that she probably thinks I will replace her or something. But of course, I wouldn¡¯t¡­ Shizuka helped me so much getting rid of those past negative memories, she always managed to brighten up my day, so I owe her a lot. So, I decided to stroll towards her while she was looking at the ground. I got closed and softly hugged her. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t think I¡¯ll replace you ok?¡± She silently chuckled and replied with a soft voice, ¡°I don¡¯t remember allowing you to read my mind¡­ how can you always understand how I feel?¡± I gently let go of her while smiling and said, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just really good at understanding people.¡± ¡°Maybe a little too much¡­¡± I picked up the basket and opened the door. ¡°By the way, nice cherry blossom perfume. It¡¯s my favorite.¡± She lightly blushed and said, ¡°O-Oh, Thank you.¡± Chapter 3: Silent Words
"Silence is the best answer to someone''s hatred." -Cloud Elf King
I knocked on the bathroom door to give Kasai the clothes and yelled, ¡°I¡¯m coming in to leave your new clothes here!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nothing was heard¡­ but of course, she wouldn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Knock on the wall three times if you heard me!¡± I heard the three knocks. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m coming in then.¡± I opened the door, and the first thing I see it¡¯s Kasai completely naked in the bathtub looking at me with her usual blank expression, sadly- I mean, thankfully she used the bath shampoo, so the tub was filled with soap and I wasn¡¯t able to see her body except for her head, it was actually a pretty cute scene. ¡°Well, you went ahead and helped yourself¡­ just don¡¯t move ok? I¡¯m just here to leave the clothes.¡± After I said that, I walked out. Damn its awkward talking by myself¡­ I really want to hear her voice. I decided to wait in my room for her to finish bathing. I dropped on my bed like a whale belly flopping into the ocean. Man¡­ I keep getting more and more responsibilities every day; the other day I got the position of class president, and now I have a person to watch out for. Well, I guess adulthood is around the corner for me. I picked up a book that Shizuka recommended me to read when I have nothing to do Which is about improving my spiritual singularity magic, it mostly talks about meditating, meditating, and meditating. I threw the book away and said out loud, ¡°This crap is boring.¡± But I knew I had to improve my magic in case something happened in the future. As far as I know, the word ¡°magic¡± is used as a classification of both materialistic, and spiritual singularities. Materialistic singularities or ¡°M.S¡± are a specific magical item that you are born with that no one other than you can touch, if they do, they will faint. For example, a rifle with unlimited bullets is a materialistic singularity because it¡¯s something touchable, or organic. You can only have one M.S in your entire life. Only the military knows how to activate the M.S, but since our parents have access to classified data, they gave us the books to learn how to unlock it. Shizuka¡¯s M.S is called, ¡°Wisdom-World¡± a book that gives her all the information of an object, location, plant, or beast that she is touching. It can also tell if a person¡¯s singularity is materialistic or spiritual, but it doesn¡¯t work on people¡¯s backstories I think. There are also spiritual singularities, ¡°S.S¡± you are automatically born with both singularities, but for some reason, humans always develop the M.S first, while cloud elves and other races develop S.S first. We learned about the existence of S.S by cloud elves, 118 years ago we believed that only M.S existed before, since cloud elves are the only ones that knew how to unlock the S.S, so basically there was a long war between materialistic and spiritual singularities, but now both races know the existence of both types of singularities. Since Shizuka used Wisdom-World to check my singularity, it said that it¡¯s both spiritual and materialistic¡­ basically, a hybrid singularity, so that means I have to train for both. Now, I know this might all sound very confusing, and trust me, I was also as confused as you are when I first heard all of this. Anyways¡­ I should probably stop overthinking about it, and perhaps start thinking about my future. I started thinking of the actions I should take to achieve my goal¡­ well, what I want is to graduate to set up my future, so my grades are looking pretty good, but I feel empty inside¡­ is it love I need? Maybe¡­ or perhaps I just need another goal that I actually enjoy working towards. Well since I was a kid I always wanted to be a King, but you need royal blood for that, and I have none. Well, since I was locked up in the orphanage I always wanted to get out in the world and explore; maybe I can be an explorer? Going for adventures and slaying beasts, hunting sacred treasures, talking to other races¡­ yes! That¡¯s what I want to do! After all, the humans and Cloud Elves made the peace treaty 118 years ago, so the Cloud Elves told us that there is a lot of land out of our borders yet unexplored because they are too afraid to venture into them. Can¡¯t wait to graduate¡­ I yawned while looking at the ceiling; sometimes I think it gets to a point which school starts getting pointless. I was starting to get sleepy, so I decided to think about this tomorrow. I changed, getting ready to go to sleep, sat on my bed, then, I heard the door open. It was Kasai, and she had the dress on instead of the pajama. ¡°Uhm, Kasai, you have to put the pajamas on, not the dress.¡± She nodded and started taking off the dress right in front of me. ¡°W-wait, don¡¯t you feel uncomfortable changing in front of me?¡± She looked at me and shook her head. ¡°Really...¡± I started realizing how low her self-value was. What has she gone through? Does she have any family left? All these questions were running through my head as she was changing. You know, now that I think about it, I never got why some girls want to show off their amazing bikinis that barely cover anything, but when it comes to underwear that covers more than the bikinis, they get all embarrassed¡­ I tried to look away as she was changing as much as a teenage boy could. It¡¯s not right taking advantage of someone that has no self-worth and has no idea of what they are doing.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I need to get close to her if I want all those questions about her answered. I need to act more like myself and let her see that she can rely on me. But first, let me check one last thing. She finished changing into her pajamas and then looked at me yet again with her emotionless expression. ¡°Hey Kasai, can you drop the dress on the floor?¡± She nodded and did so. ¡°Pick it up.¡± She picked it up. ¡°Now drop it again.¡± She did so again; I continued doing this for the next minute and started to realize that she does everything people tell her to do. ¡°Ok, you can stop.¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Hey, are you hungry?¡± she shrugged. I imagined our parents already gave her food. ¡°Hey Kasai, why don¡¯t you want to talk to me?¡± She slightly frowned then looked down. ¡°Sorry if you think I¡¯m too much up in your business it¡¯s just, seeing someone this broken coming from an orphanage¡­ I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still here and didn¡¯t¡­¡± I was surprised that she didn¡¯t kill herself enduring all this pain. At that point, all I wanted to do was to help her forget about her past and live a happy life for once. ¡°Hey, want to play a card game? I promise it¡¯s fun!¡± She looked at me confused but then nodded. ¡°Here, sit beside me.¡± She sat on the bed, and I started looking for my playing cards, from there on we spent hours and hours playing card games and watching a couple of movies on my laptop, she seemed to really enjoy both, as she never seemed to have watched a movie or played card games in her whole life. It was 2:30 AM. She was starting to get comfortable with me, not enough to make physical contact but, that was a bit too soon for it. We were in the middle of watching the last movie for the night because I was starting to get really sleepy; I usually sleep at 1 AM, but I decided to put a bit more effort into being with her for a while. We were both sitting on the back of the bed, resting on the headboard, while out of nowhere she gently rests her head on my shoulder. Oh my god! This is too much! Did she fall asleep or something? Is she doing it on purpose? No, why would she? My poor heart started racing like crazy, I was never this nervous with any other girl my whole life¡­ I know it may sound sad, but I only feel nervous with Shizuka time to time. I was just starting to barely get used to that feeling of the oxytocin (also known as the "cuddle hormone") being released by my brain. In the orphanage, I was only hanging out with a bunch of bros and male teachers so cuddling, hugging, and all of this was never really a thing; the bromance wasn¡¯t that hardcore, soon after I left and joined the private high school was when I started to get into relationships that didn¡¯t make my heart race. Should I wake her up? No, I probably shouldn¡¯t, I¡¯m going to finish this movie. By the time I finished it I slowly closed my laptop and noticed that she was asleep this whole time. I need to tell her to go to her room to sleep; she can¡¯t sleep here, because if she does then, I won¡¯t be able to sleep at peace¡­ either Shizuka or my hormones are going to kill me. I lightly poked her shoulder and quietly said, ¡°Hey, Kasai¡­ you should go to bed in your room if you¡¯re tired.¡± She quickly jumped back and started blushing like crazy. Well, what a surprise, I guess she is not used to it either¡­ Wait, that¡¯s why she doesn¡¯t feel comfortable touching people! She is not used to it! I lightly chuckled on how cute she was and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine. Sometimes when I¡¯m riding the public train, random people just do it because they are exhausted.¡± But it¡¯s never a girl¡­ She looked down, frowned and shook her head. ¡°Hmm? You don¡¯t want to go?¡± She shook her head again. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry but¡­¡± I really, but really didn¡¯t want to send her away, but¡­ ¡°If Shizuka sees me sleeping with you day one then she will surely kill me.¡± She walked up to the door and locked it. ¡°That will just make it even worse!¡± I sighed, jumped off my bed and pulled another mattress from under it. ¡°I usually save this for some friends when they want to sleep over, but if you really don¡¯t want to sleep alone then you can sleep here ok? I know my bed is a queen size, but I really can¡¯t allow you to sleep beside me.¡± She smiled at me and nodded. I took some other bedsheets and prepared the bed for her. ¡°Good night Kasai.¡± Then we both went to sleep. I slept completely fine that night, and she did too. How do I know? Well¡­ Next day I woke up with her right next to me lightly hugging me. Her beautiful long crimson hair across my bed, her angel-like figure just existing right next to me, her soothing aroma filled my sense of smell like a sponge being filled by water¡­ wow, this is better than I thought¡­ her head barely resting against my chest¡­ her soft d-cup sized chest lightly pressing against my abdomen- wait, what?! ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ Shizuka almost has no chest so when I hug her I barely feel anything, but with Kasai, it¡¯s a whole different story!¡± I thought out loud. From the corner of my eye I noticed Shizuka in front of the door holding my breakfast, then suddenly stopped at the sight and hearing of what I said¡­ ¡®That¡¯s it for me¡­¡¯ I thought. Timed stopped¡­ my heart stopped¡­ I knew this was going to happen¡­ I¡¯m fucking dead. I had no idea of what was going through Shizuka¡¯s head at that moment, I barely just woke up, so my vision was still a bit blurry. I- The whole breakfast was slammed into my face, scrambled eggs, a slice of toast, and the beacon was all over me. ¡°Rukito! What the in the actual F-¡­ What are you doing?!¡± ¡°Shizuka! I know this might sound clich¨¦ but, I CAN EXPLAIN!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it! Here I am trying to be nice to you, and this is what I get to see? AND HEAR?!¡± Kasai was lower, so she didn¡¯t get food all over her, she quickly got up and started blushing like crazy. ¡°Kasai? I told you this was going to happen!¡± She seemed very confused, almost as if she didn¡¯t do it on purpose. ¡°Come on Shizuka, maybe she sleepwalks!¡± ¡°Why is she in your room in the first place?! Ugh, actually, why do I care? Do as you please.¡± She turned around and stormed out of the room. Kasai looked at me with a perplexed face. ¡°Welp¡­ now you¡¯ve done it. Don¡¯t be surprised if she doesn¡¯t want to talk to you for a couple of days now.¡± Chapter 4: Black Tombstone
"Villains are just potential heroes that never had friends to stop them to go evil." -Hikari Lux
Two weeks passed, and Shizuka seemed not wanting to talk to Kasai at all, even though it was my fault for letting her sleep with me, she blamed it on her. I still kept trying every day to have chats with Kasai, in case if she ever decided to open up to me, but nothing. Kasai loved reading books too¡­ well more like she loved it when I read books for her because she didn¡¯t know how to read, so I also started teaching her all the things I¡¯ve ever learned. I still went to school and talked more and more to Sachi, so there was nothing much to speak at that point since we have mostly talked about everything there is to talk about in a normal conversation; although we did seem to get really along together it seemed to me that she was getting closer and closer daily, and Shizuka started noticing that too. I know that Shizuka has always had a crush on me but¡­ I don¡¯t know how to deal with it; I would like to be with her¡­ and I was about to give in and go out with her but, Kasai appeared out of the blue, and Sachi arrived as a new student, they both seem to be lovely girls too so now I¡¯m conflicted on who to end up with¡­ this is precisely what I was trying to avoid. I need to stop focusing on who to choose, and start focusing on how to achieve my goal, and there will be plenty of room for love, later on, I should graduate first. ¡°Rukito¡­¡± I heard a sweet calming voice calling out for me. ¡°Wake up, Rukito.¡± I opened my eyes and saw Kasai standing next to my bed lightly shaking me. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t it the weekend? Let me rest for a while.¡± I was still half-asleep, so I didn¡¯t really pay much attention to it but. ¡°Wait a second¡­¡± I quickly got up and said, ¡°Kasai? Did you just say something?¡± She quickly stepped back and blushed. ¡°So, you did!¡± I was completely shocked, I barely heard her voice for a couple of seconds, but it was the most soothing voice I¡¯ve ever heard in my life. I stood right in front of her and said, ¡°Hey it¡¯s been two weeks now, do you really still don¡¯t feel like talking to me?¡± She suddenly looked down with an angered look and proceeded to take a piece of paper and a pen. She took the piece of paper and the pen, then wrote¡­ ¡®THERE IS A REASON WHY I CANT TALK¡¯ her handwriting was horrible, but at least I understood it; it was similar to mine. ¡°What reason?¡± Then she wrote, ¡®When I was 14 I was cursed by one of my parents as a punishment.¡¯" ¡°What¡­ are you serious?¡± I was starting to get mad at myself, I don¡¯t know why. I felt like if I was there, I could have protected her. She nodded. ¡°So, there is someone with an S.S that allows them to remove someone¡¯s voice?¡± She nodded again. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?! We could have been figuring out on how to get your voice back a long time ago!¡± She got a startled by me yelling and then frowned while writing, ¡®sorry. I probably deserved it.¡¯ I sighed and asked, ¡°What did you do?¡± Then she wrote, ¡®I don''t want to talk about it.¡¯ Understandable. I walked closer to her and hugged her. ¡°You can hug me all you want when you feel down, ok? There is nothing wrong with showing affection or anything like that.¡± She slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around me squeezing me tight. Then, as we let go, I noticed that she was sad. ¡°Kasai, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll find a way to get your voice back ok? I promise.¡± She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to Shizuka to see if she has ever heard of someone that has an S.S that can mute people.¡± She nodded again, then I left the room and entered Shizuka¡¯s room, she was on her bed reading books like always. ¡°Hey, Shizuka.¡± I was sure that by now she would have let go of the hard feeling. ¡°Yes?¡± she looked at me with a neutral look. ¡°I need your help on something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You see, Ka-¡± Suddenly, I heard a knocking on the door. ¡°Come in!¡± Said Shizuka. My foster father opened the door and said, ¡°Rukito.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone at the gate saying that they know you, I need you to come and confirm that it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Oh, sure. Sorry Shizuka, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± As my foster father and I were walking towards the camera control center, he wrapped his arm around me and said with a smug, ¡°Trying to make a move on lady Shizuka I see, huh? Took you long enough.¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to say that, if anything I was more concerned about the fact that they wouldn¡¯t like it at all if I did try to be with Shizuka, that¡¯s one of the biggest reasons why I never really tried that much. ¡°W-what?! N-no it¡¯s not that, I-¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine Rukito, even Ayumi would encourage you to be with her, we both talked about how you seem to be a very nice boy who will be able to protect Shizuka and help her when she needs it, we did choose you for a reason after all.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You see, we always have accepted to take care of children for a while until someone decides to adopt them, that¡¯s what foster care is, but if we really like the child we take care of, we adopt them, and you are the first kid that got our attention.¡± I was happy hearing that they like me a lot, but I wasn¡¯t happy about something¡­ ¡°So that means that you both want to adopt me?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be delightful having your-¡± ¡°No please!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I started blushing a bit and said, ¡°You see¡­ in Greenterra it¡¯s not allowed for two adoptive siblings to marry each other, right?¡± ¡°Ooohhh! Is that what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°W-well I wouldn¡¯t want to lose the opportunity you know¡­ when we get married someday, I know it won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°Sure thing Rukito, I¡¯ll tell Ayumi about this, she will be delighted that you choose Shizuka.¡± ¡°W-Wait! I didn¡¯t mean that I-¡± ¡°Here we are!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked at the cameras and saw Sachi standing outside the gates waiting for me to open them. ¡°Do you know her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We have a project to do together!¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± He pressed a button, and the gate opened. I got out of the mansion, walked towards the front yard to welcome her. ¡°Good morning Sachi!¡± She was staring at the mansion like she has seen a ghost. Sachi was wearing a beautiful black kimono with short sleeves, she also had many shining bracelets of bright colors in both arms. She still had hair over her eyes to hide them from my family. ¡°Wow¡­ I-I mean, good morning!¡± ¡°Yes, I know, I had your same reaction when I first arrived.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Um, Mind If I take pictures?¡± ¡°Pictures?¡± I looked down at her stomach area, and there was a camera hanging around her neck. ¡°Oh! You joined the photography club?¡± ¡°Yes. I have a photography class; I started liking it, so I decided to also join the school club.¡± ¡°Then sure, go ahead and take all the pictures you want.¡± I did see her interested in photography, so it wasn¡¯t that surprising after all. She started taking a couple of pictures of me and the mansion while having a joyful smile on her face. We walked inside the mansion just to show her around, she took even more pictures and then asked, ¡°So, where¡¯s your room?¡± ¡°Wow, didn¡¯t expect you to be that quick.¡± She sucked her teeth then lightly pushed me while blushing. ¡°Hey! You know that¡¯s not what I meant! I just want to start with the project.¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Well¡­ just because I don¡¯t want to currently be in a serious relationship doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t like teasing girls! We both walked to my room, opened the door and there was Kasai on the ground with glass shattered all over the place, yet there was not a single scratch on her. ¡°Kasai?!¡± I rushed towards her. ¡°Is she okay? What happened?¡± Asked Sachi. Kasai pointed towards the top of the shelf. I instantly realized that she was trying to get my playing cards, but they were too high for her, so she had to climb on top of the table which had a huge mirror laid on top of it; she broke the mirror but somehow managed to dodge it. I picked her up and said, ¡°Next time be more careful or ask for help.¡± She looked at Sachi with a confused face, then I said, ¡°That¡¯s my best friend from school, her name is Sachi.¡± Shortly afterward, I heard Sachi softly mumbling, ¡°Best friend? I-I¡¯m your best friend already?¡± ¡°Heh, well uh¡­ It¡¯s not like I have many friends, after all, everyone thinks I¡¯m weird because I have red hair and yellow eyes; but besides that, you have been an excellent friend so far, Sachi.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She said while smiling at me. ¡°But yes, this is Kasai, she is the new foster child of this family.¡± ¡°Wait, what? I thought she was your sister¡­ twin sister at that!¡± I expected this to happen, but not this early; with Kasai looking like me, I expect many people to tell us this. ¡°Yeah¡­ I thought so too; but we¡¯re really not, even the DNA test came out negative.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± I looked at Kasai and saw her staring at Sachi¡¯s bracelets. ¡°Hm? These? I always wear them when I¡¯m down, they help me stay in a good mood.¡± Sachi said smiling joyfully at Kasai. ¡°Did someone give them to you?¡± ¡°Not really, I actually made them myself.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s impressive! Where did you find all those pearls of different colors?¡± She giggled and said, ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Aww¡­¡± She suddenly turned serious and looked at me. ¡°Rukito, could we have a moment?¡± ¡°Uh- Sure! Kasai, you mind waiting outside a second?¡± I didn¡¯t know if she wanted a moment to try to get closer to me or to talk about something serious, hopefully, the latter. Kasai nodded and went outside. ¡°What is it Sachi?¡± She sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to do the project Rukito¡­¡± ¡°Well, that was pretty obvious.¡± ¡°R-really?¡± ¡°Nah just kidding.¡± I chuckled. She smiled and continued by saying, ¡°Jokes aside, I heard there¡¯s this group called black tombstone going around and killing people who know magic.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°Yes, they have been killing both human and Cloud Elves.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, rumors go that-¡± Shizuka opened the door and interrupted Sachi while finishing off her sentence while Kasai walked in right behind her. ¡°Their boss lost its magic a long time ago, and now the only way to get it back is by draining other people¡¯s magic flow into his body.¡± ¡°Shizuka?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard this going around, I was going to tell mom and dad, but they already know.¡± ¡°Hello, Shizuka¡­¡± Said Sachi with a neutral face. ¡°Hey¡­¡± Shizuka got closer to us and asked Sachi, ¡°What I want to know, is how do you know our family knows magic?¡± ¡°Well I didn¡¯t, I just wanted to give you precaution.¡± ¡°Dammit¡­ how could I fall for that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Shizuka, I would have found out either way.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You see, these bracelets that I¡¯m wearing are special.¡± I looked at Sachi and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± I knew the bracelets were unique as soon as I saw them, but I didn¡¯t give much attention to it. ¡°If the person wearing the bracelets has their magic flow unlocked, they shine; if not they don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Huh? Let me see¡­¡± Shizuka walked towards Sachi and touched the bracelets while saying, ¡°Wisdom-World¡± Suddenly a lot of ancient writing started appearing in front of Shizuka; some time ago, she explained that those writing are from an old alphabet called ¡®Diagelus¡¯ It was the language created for both devils and angels to understand each other. A page appeared in front of her floating. ¡°Just a page? Isn¡¯t it supposed to be a book?¡± I asked. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t have much information what¡¯s the point of a book?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Shizuka¡¯s M.S allows her to know everything about a place, object, race, or magic that she is currently touching; A book appears in front of her with all the information she needs to know, but in this case, it can also be just a page of notes. The downside is that everything is written in diagelus, so she had to spend a year studying the language. ¡°Hmm¡­ here it says that if the magic flow is unlocked in the body, then the bracelets react to that flow by lighting up; the stronger the magic is, the stronger the bracelet lights up. This item was created 212 years ago by the Greenterra military to see if anyone enlisting had the magic potential; there¡¯s only 50 of these in the whole planet.¡± ¡°Wait, so that means¡­¡± ¡°Sachi has unlocked her magic flow.¡± I¡¯ve always thought of Sachi as a normal girl¡­ well without considering her eyes, but I would have never imagined that she managed to learn magic. I was really curious to ask a question about her magic, but in the end, I knew that she wouldn¡¯t tell me, she is that type of person after all, but I was still curious about the fact on how she was able to unlock her magic flow. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you won¡¯t tell us how your singularity works?¡± ¡°No¡­ sorry.¡± She said while looking down. ¡°It¡¯s fine Sachi, not everyone is so opened about it. But how did you unlock it? I thought that you were living alone without family.¡± ¡°Well uh¡­ remember that guild I was working for? Yeah well, the boss; besides being the school principal, he was also in the military ten years ago, so he knows how to unlock the magic.¡± ¡°Really? Well dam, you got fortunate.¡± I looked at Shizuka and noticed she had a doubtful face; she didn¡¯t believe what Sachi was telling me. ¡°Why would someone just give you a lot of privileges out of nowhere? After all, we are prohibited from sharing the magic with other civilians.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Because everyone in the guild knows how to use magic, besides the maids and the bartender, and since I¡¯m the bartender, I didn¡¯t know magic. Now with this black tombstone group going around and killing people he was afraid that if these criminals went to the guild to kill everyone that has magic, then they probably would mistake us for someone that has the magic flow unlocked; and we didn¡¯t know how to defend ourselves, so he unlocked our magic.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ ok.¡± She still didn¡¯t seem convinced, but she recognized the reason as a valid one. I sighed and sat on the bed. ¡°So, we¡¯re just going to hide from them? Is no one else trying to find where their hideout is and stop them?¡± Sachi turned to me and said, ¡°Actually, the same guild I¡¯m talking about is trying to fight them off our streets, the rest is the king¡¯s guardians¡¯ job.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, what are the king¡¯s guardians doing? I haven¡¯t seen those four in ages. Aren¡¯t they humanity¡¯s best warriors?¡± I asked. Shizuka turned towards me and said, ¡°Eh¡­ that¡¯s an arguable point, all I see in them are overrated brats.¡± Said Shizuka with an annoyed tone. ¡°The King went on a vacation for two years to the Cloud Elf continent just to show some appreciation of the peace treaty.¡± Said Sachi. ¡°TWO YEARS?! IS HE CRAZY?!¡± I said. Shizuka quickly added, ¡°I mean he did do some stupid crap while he has been the king.¡± ¡°He told everyone not to worry, the royal council can handle everything.¡± ¡°Not worry my ass! Look at our current situation! We have this group running around called ¡®black tombstone¡¯ killing everyone with magic just to satisfy the selfish boss; while the king is in the Cloud Elf continent screwing god knows how many Cloud Elves.¡± I looked around the room, and everyone was a bit shocked at how pissed I was. ¡°R-Rukito?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Oh- sorry¡­ it¡¯s just I always wanted to be a king when I was a kid and seeing someone living my dream but at the same time making stupid decisions pisses me off.¡± I sighed, took a minute to breathe and asked Sachi, ¡°Hey Sachi, does your magic have to do anything with healing?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ no, why?¡± I walked towards Kasai and rubbed her head. ¡°The thing is that Kasai lost her voice some time ago, and I¡¯m trying to get her voice back by trying to find someone with healing magic to help her.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s why she was awfully quiet. Well for that you would need a Cloud Elf, they are the ones that have had Spiritual Singularities for millennia, we just understood how to unlock it 118 years ago, so we really don¡¯t have many people that can use it at its max.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± I looked at Kasai and said, ¡°See? I promised I¡¯ll manage to get your voice back.¡± She smiled at me and nodded. I turned back towards Sachi and Shizuka, then said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the Cloud Elf continent with Kasai then, if any of you want to come, you¡¯re more than welcome; if not, we will go alone.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°You can¡¯t just leave school, and the house for god knows how many days!¡± ¡°This is¡­ more important than a couple of weeks of school Shizuka, we¡¯re talking about someone¡¯s well-being. Plus, we could also search for the king and see what he is up to.¡± ¡°Yeah, like they would even let you a mile close to him.¡± Sachi looked towards me and said, ¡°Sorry Rukito, I can¡¯t go; as much as I wish to help you, I got a rent to pay.¡± ¡°Oh, alright. Well, I guess you¡¯re not coming to either Shizuka?¡± She sighed and looked down. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ give me a day to think about it.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say yes!¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Yeah, yeah, but you didn¡¯t say no.¡± ¡°You know our parents are not going to allow us. We¡¯re not 18 yet.¡± ¡°I know¡­ but that doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Shizuka sighed. I looked at Kasai, and she seemed a bit worried, maybe worried about the fact that I would get in trouble because of her. ¡°Kasai, don¡¯t feel guilty, I¡¯m doing this not just for you but for the people who are fighting black tombstone; we will also go and find the king too ok? But first, we¡¯re getting your voice back. We¡¯ll be going after tomorrow.¡± She nodded. Briefly after, Sachi said, ¡°I know its rude asking because I didn¡¯t tell you mine but¡­ what is your singularity Rukito?¡± ¡°Mine?¡± I scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s pretty interesting, to say the least.¡± Chapter 5: Spirit Daisho
"To be a master you must meet failure many times." -Hachimura Clypeus
I decided to show them my singularity, the only person that has ever seen has been Shizuka all along; we all exited the mansion to go in the backyard where there could be more space and light. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± Asked Sachi. ¡°No, it¡¯s not dangerous, if anything I just came out here because I hate being inside all the time.¡± ¡°Oh ok. So, what is it?¡± I slightly moved away from the girls and said, ¡°Spirit Daisho.¡± Ancient writing starting circling me, a big belt strap appeared around my waist, and attached to the belt strap there were three different weapons. ¡°My singularity¡¯s name is spirit daisho, I get equipped with a belt with three different swords.¡± Sachi looked at me and said, ¡°Really?! That¡¯s so cool!¡± I sheath the smallest blade out, it had a beautiful design of a wolf in the handle; the blade was a shining white, as it represented my soul. ¡°Starting off with the smallest blade, it¡¯s called a ¡®tanto,¡¯ which is a knife. The blade is double-edged with a length of 18 cm (7 inches) The tanto is designed primarily as a stabbing/piercing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well.¡± I looked around, and they were all surprised except Shizuka since she has already seen my singularity. ¡°The second blade is a wakizashi.¡± I sheath the medium length blade. ¡°the wakizashi has a blade of 40 cm¡± (16 inches) it also had a wolf design on the handle, but this time it was two of them playing around with each other. ¡°Can I hold it?!¡± Asked Sachi. But the problem with my blades is that they can¡¯t be held by anyone because if they do then they will-¡­ as I looked up, Sachi was dead asleep on the floor with my wakizashi in hand. Kasai Jumped and tried helping her up. ¡°If someone that¡¯s not me holds the spirit daisho, then they will faint, the blades only are willing to be wielded by my soul, but don¡¯t worry she will be up soon, it just shortly drains your spiritual energy.¡± But then, out of curiosity, Kasai pointed at my Katana, the biggest and most important sword. ¡°Oh, this? I haven¡¯t been able to sheath it out yet¡­ I don¡¯t know. Maybe my spiritual energy isn¡¯t strong enough.¡± Kasai looked at me with a confused face. Then, since Shizuka knew everything from her wisdom world, she decided to explain it to Kasai. ¡°You see Kasai, there¡¯s a reason why the blades are shining white.¡± You know, sometimes Wisdom-World helps explaining more than you actually know¡­ ¡°When I first showed the Spirit Daisho to Shizuka the first thing she did was scan it with Wisdom-World, and one of the information given to her was that the blades are shining white because they represent the users¡¯ soul, the stronger my soul is, the stronger the blades are; to better my soul what I got to do is meditate and have a clear and strong focus on myself, I basically can¡¯t lose my own self-control.¡± At that moment, Sachi woke up, then asked, ¡°W-wait, so this is a hybrid singularity?¡± ¡°Yes! And good morning.¡± ¡°Heh- sorry, I should have paid more attention to what you were saying.¡± Kasai looked confused, Shizuka turned towards her and said, ¡°A hybrid singularity is something that is both materialistic and spiritual, it used spiritual as energy, and the materialistic side as the shell since you can¡¯t see spiritual singularities.¡± ¡°Wow, you both are powerful magic users.¡± Said Sachi. ¡°I haven¡¯t shown anybody my S.S yet.¡± Said Shizuka with a grin. That¡¯s right, time after time I¡¯ve tried to convince her into telling me, but she still won¡¯t tell me what her S.S is¡­ ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right! Can I see?! Pleaseeee!¡± ¡°Why are you so interested in knowing our singularities?¡± Asked Shizuka. Yeah, not a chance that Shizuka shows her spiritual singularity. ¡°Well, it has always impressed me of how many cool singularities exist, and with your Wisdom-World being so cool, I can¡¯t imagine of what your spiritual singularity is capable of, you¡¯re just sooo cool Shizuka!¡± ¡°Oh...¡± She slightly blushed and grinned. ¡°Then I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll show you.¡± WHAT?! She got persuaded so easily! I rushed towards Shizuka and covered her mouth. ¡°Hehehe, sorry Sachi, that¡¯s enough; you see, our parents said not to tell anybody, and it¡¯s already an overstep telling you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ alright. Well, thank you for having me here! I just wanted to pass by to warn you about black tombstone just in case you knew magic.¡± ¡°Thank you Sachi, we owe you one.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, this was just as a courtesy, bye-bye!¡± She turned away and left the mansion. I turned towards Shizuka and asked, ¡°How about you tell me your spiritual singularity?!¡± ¡°Hey, I want to master it before I show you!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°So I don¡¯t disappoint yo-¡± She stopped herself, blushed and looked away. ¡°You? Disappoint me?¡± I laughed. ¡°There is no way such a prestigious girl like you could disappoint anybody, Shizuka.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m not as great as you think¡­¡± At this point I thought she was just joking, there is no way she thinks low of herself when every guy in our school has asked her out. She also gets compliments left and right. ¡°Ha-ha, nice joke. Now,¡± I looked at Kasai and said, ¡°How about we start planning our trip for tomorrow, huh Kasai?¡± She started smiling and nodded. ¡°Kasai and I will go to my room to talk. I¡¯ll catch you later Shizuka!¡± ¡°Oh, ok¡­¡± we walked inside the mansion and started heading to my room. ¡°I think I still have my map.¡± We arrived at my room, and I started looking through the bookshelf to find what I needed. ¡°Ah, here it is!¡± We both sat on the floor, and I spread the map, she started looking at the map with a curious look on her face. ¡°We live in a continent which is also its own country called ¡®Greenterra¡¯ in a province called ¡®Phoenix,¡¯ it¡¯s right here, north-east from the center of the country.¡± (When imagining the size of Greenterra think of the size of Russia) out of nowhere, I heard, ¡°Wow¡­ such a giant world.¡± I¡¯ve heard this sweet calming voice since I woke up, at first, I thought that Kasai was talking, but now I was looking at her, and she didn¡¯t even move her lips, even though the voice I heard seemed to be a reaction to the map. ¡°Kasai, did you just say something?¡± she turned towards me and shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s so weird¡­ I¡¯ve heard this voice in my head for a while.¡± I looked at Kasai while she was still scanning the map. Every time I¡¯m with her. I hear that voice. I tried to concentrate as much as I could on my thoughts and said this word in my head, ¡®Kasai?¡¯ She stopped looking at the map and looked at me in the eyes. I was shook. N-no way, there¡¯s no way that is happening! Just to make sure, I focused again and looked into her eyes and thought, ¡®Can you hear me?¡¯ she nodded with a perplexed expression; there is really no way that we can use telepathy with each other. ¡°Ok Kasai, I want you to focus on your thoughts and try to communicate with me.¡± She seemed even more confused as if I just explained to her the theory of relativity; then, I soon heard my name. ¡®Rukito?¡¯ ¡°Yes! So, it was your voice all along!¡± She instantly rushed to me and hugged me with a big smile. ¡°You can hear me?!¡± I started chuckling and said, ¡°I have no idea how but yes, I can hear what you¡¯re thinking time-to-time.¡± ¡°Finally! There are so many things I¡¯ve wanted to tell you!¡± She wrapped her arms around me even tighter than before, I could feel her whole chest on me, yes, it was nice, but I like my oxygen. ¡°K-Kasai-¡± she released me and started blushing while playing with her hair. ¡°Oh, uhm, sorry I¡¯m just really happy that someone can finally hear me, especially with the fact that it¡¯s you, the best person I¡¯ve ever met!¡± I chuckled. Well, she is straight up. Afterward, I said, ¡°You know, you have a soothing voice, I expected more of a high pitch voice like Shizuka.¡± ¡°Thank you so much. I appreciate your compliment!¡± She bowed her head. Well, she is also very polite. It¡¯s strange that being mute can vastly decrease your sense of a unique personality. Talking about personality¡­ while she was bowing her head, I looked at her cleavage and thought to myself that she is growing a bigger cup size every other day, that bra is barely fitting on her anymore, and Shizuka is a C cup¡­ don¡¯t ask me how I know. She looked up, slightly covered her chest while blushing and looking away. THAT¡¯S RIGHT, SHE CAN HEAR ME! ¡°You know, you¡¯re the only person I don¡¯t mind having it with, if you really want to, we-¡± SHE IS TOO STRAIGHT UP! ¡°No, no! I¡¯m waiting for marriage¡­ it¡¯s a challenge of self-control and training for my spirit daisho to pull my katana from the sheath.¡± Who am I kidding, she is burning hot, I wish I could just¡ªshe suddenly started giggling and crawling slowly towards me with a smug on her face. ¡°You¡¯re not fooling me; I can hear your real intentions.¡± Maybe I liked her more when she was silent. ¡°I- you- we- can¡¯t-¡± I could barely speak, I felt my cheeks burning hot, this is the first time a girl and I are alone in a room talking about perverted things. She got so close to the point that my leg was in between hers. She suddenly blinked and changed to a clueless expression. ¡°Huh?¡± She jumped back while blushing. ¡°Oh, sorry; I let myself go a bit there.¡± She also started giggling ¡°I was just teasing though, don¡¯t worry.¡± This time I tried to stop focusing so much on communicating with her and thought that she sure as hell didn¡¯t seem like she was just teasing. I took a deep breath and said, ¡°Right now, there are more important things to worry about, like getting your voice back, and finding the king to tell him about black tombstones and their intentions.¡± She looked at me with a genuine expression and sighed while holding her head, ¡°Right. Sorry Rukito, I don¡¯t know what came upon me.¡± Welp, there goes my innocent image of her; I thought she was just a na?ve little girl, boy was I wrong. ¡°Wait, not too long ago you were too shy even to touch me, what happened to that?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well, the reason was that¡­ I almost got¡­¡± She looked away. She was struggling to even think about what to tell me. ¡°Rukito¡­ I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Huh? W-what do you mean?¡± Scared? What should she be afraid of? ¡°Is it black tombstone?¡± The smile wiped off her face. ¡°No¡­ I could care less about them¡­¡± It was as if I could see the emotions running through her, the rain of sadness and sorrow of her past was storming inside of her mind. I can usually understand people in general¡­ but Kasai, I have a feeling that I can understand her without problems at all. She looked at me with sadness and thought, ¡°it¡¯s more about my past, I¡¯ve done some terrible things that I¡¯m not comfortable telling you; if I tell you about them you won¡¯t look at me the same way, maybe you would even go to the point of disliking me.¡± I started worrying, not about anything drastic, but more about her. ¡°Hey, feel free to tell me anything. I¡¯m here to help.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She quickly changed to a smile; it seemed as if our memories together so far rushed through her head. She slowly crawled back to me again, but this time she gave me a genuine hug while smiling. ¡°You have helped me more than enough already, and I thank you for that, without you I would have probably been dead by now.¡± My heart skipped a beat, her words of gratitude really struck me, I¡¯ve never heard someone say ¡®thank you¡¯ a more meaningful and heartfelt way than that, I had this dumb smile on my face while I was blushing for a while, but her saying that she would have been dead without me seemed a bit of a stretch¡­ then again, I don¡¯t know what she has been through, and she doesn¡¯t look comfortable talking about it yet, so I will respect her decision and let her choose the moment to tell me.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡­¡± I was about to get emotional, but I smiled and hugged her back. ¡°But this isn¡¯t free, you owe me some good time after we heal your voice!¡± She jumped back and thought, ¡°W-What do you mean?!¡± ¡°Ahahaha!¡± I chuckled. ¡°See? I was also just teasing.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not fair! Only I can!¡± ¡°Huuh?! You think you¡¯re special?!¡± ¡°Better than you!¡± ¡°Oooh really?! I jumped at her and started tickling her.¡± ¡°W-Wait how do you know I am ticklish!¡± And of course, right at that moment when I¡¯m top of Kasai, the door opens, my heart drops, and I hear Shizuka saying while opening the door, ¡°Hey Rukito, I thought about and sure, I¡¯ll go with you tomorrow to the cl-¡­.¡± I slowly turned my head back, wishing this was a dream or wishing that I had a teleportation singularity instead of the spirit daisho, but no, reality is a bitch. ¡°Oh¡­ I see you two are getting closer and closer each day.¡± ¡°Shizuka this is not wh-¡± ¡°Just lock the door tomorrow, because I¡¯m sure next time you will be both naked, and I don¡¯t want to see that.¡± She had an interesting expression, it wasn¡¯t anger, but it also wasn¡¯t jealousy, it was like a mix of sad, mad, and disappointment. ¡°What?¡± Her voice started getting shaky as if she was about to start crying. ¡°Just be ready tomorrow to leave!¡± She walked away and closed the door. I really have done it now¡­ I hurt her feelings. ¡°What¡¯s her problem? She is acting as if she was your girlfriend.¡± I sighed, got up and told Kasai, ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to be my girlfriend to be in love with me¡­¡± I knew that she went to her room to silently cry to herself, but if I chased her it would have made it even worse, she is not the type of girl to listen when her emotions are overwhelming her. I turned to Kasai and said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue planning our trip.¡± We spent most of the day planning where we would go, where we would stop, sleep, eat, and maybe even visit. We had a ton of fun planning the trip out, but it¡¯s not a vacation, we have to find a cloud elf that has good healing magic, and then the king to tell him about black tombstone. It was 6:30 PM. I told Kasai that I had to go behind the mansions for my classes. ¡°What classes?¡± ¡°Every other day I have to train with my master, he is the one that has taught me how to use my spirit daisho.¡± ¡°Can I come too?¡± I hesitate to answer, I know that she is not an innocent little girl anymore, but she doesn¡¯t look like she is a fighter what so ever, so I thought that it was probably not a good idea to let her in a combat area where anything could happen, and she could get hurt. ¡°Trust me, I won¡¯t get hurt; I appreciate your concern though.¡± She thought while smiling. Right, she can hear my thoughts after all. I have to focus on not trying to communicate with her while I think. ¡°Kasai, how about you start getting things ready for tomorrow instead? So when I come back and shower, we could just play something before going to bed, or maybe we could watch that series that you really liked.¡± ¡°Oh! That¡¯s right!¡± She started getting excited and continued, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll start getting our things ready then.¡± I smiled and walked off towards the back of the mansion. It was starting to get dark outside, for some reason the sky was more cloudy than usual, I guessed it was about to rain pretty soon. When I arrived there, my teacher was waiting for me, he was wearing some generic clothing, but he had green hair and black eyes, he wears glasses, and had an orange headband which I thought made him look 100 times cooler, he is about 19 years old. He was holding his katana with his right hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± He seemed a bit disappointed. ¡°Sorry, Hachimura. Kasai and I were a bit busy.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯s the new young lady, right? The one that arrived two weeks ago?¡± ¡°Yes¡± I¡¯m surprised he still didn¡¯t remember her, he has a bad memory after all. ¡°So, you¡¯ve been trying to hit on her huh?¡± He smirked. ¡°Nothing less expected from my pupil.¡± He walked towards me and gave me a strong pat on the back. ¡°First you got lady Shizuka, then the new student you told me about, and now that beautiful gal?! Boy am I proud of how far you have gotten!¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ sure. Apparently out of nowhere when I start getting serious about school and focusing on my singularity, life decides to throw me drama. Not cool life¡­ not cool.¡± Suddenly, my master changed his facial expression to a serious one. ¡°Rukito¡­ I¡¯ve said this countless time before, so remember!¡± ¡°Listen, I know what you¡¯re about to sa-¡± ¡°You can¡¯t get distracted with anything else that¡¯s not your primary goal; don¡¯t let other people¡¯s problems affect your life.¡± ¡°Oh wow, you¡¯re actually not saying what I thought you would have said-¡± ¡°Anything except women!¡± He started laughing. ¡°Yup, there it is.¡± He pats me on the head and said, ¡°This may sound cheesy but, just remember that if you have to make a choice one day between any women, always choose the one you see having a future with, the one you see living with for the rest of your life without any problems, and the one that has the best bod- I mean, the one that makes you the happiest when you¡¯re together.¡± ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± He sighed and sat down on the bench, tapping the side to signal me to sit down with him. I sat beside him and opened my ears; this is very important to solve my problem. I know we are supposed to be training, but he gets off task very quickly, and this is too important for me to remind him about the training. ¡°When you are with ¡®the one¡¯ you will feel love. By that, I mean analyze which one you enjoy being around the most, which one makes you smile the most. Don¡¯t think too hard about them; think about yourself. ¡°Huh¡­ I never thought of it that way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how I choose between my fianc¨¦ and my other friend!¡± He said while smiling. ¡°You¡¯re getting married?!¡± I can¡¯t believe a perv like him found his girl! ¡°Yes, and I had to choose between two girls, I was really struggling because they were both hot and cute, and they both seemed to love me the same amount, but I never thought about myself, and who I enjoy being around the most. After I did, I realized it and ended up with my current fianc¨¦, and I don¡¯t regret it at all! She is amazing.¡± ¡°What about the other girl?¡± ¡°Well¡­ she didn¡¯t take it too well. But hey! I¡¯m sure she will find someone else.¡± ¡°Huh¡± Think about myself? I was so worried about how they would feel so much that I didn¡¯t think about how I feel. Who do I have the most fun with?... ¡°Pro tip; you could also stay quiet and sauce all of them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to avoid¡­ I don¡¯t like being that kind of guy.¡± I instantly imagined Shizuka crying in her room. ¡°If I don¡¯t establish who I¡¯m with then some girls might get hurt.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. Well, from this point on just think about it; which girl gives you the butterflies in the stomach? Which one makes your heart forget it has to beat?¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re pretty romantic under that lewd persona.¡± He raised his shoulders and said, ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m the perfect mix between both!¡± He smiled and continued saying. ¡°If these young ladies are equally amazing, it probably might never feel like the ¡®right¡¯ choice, but ultimately, you will need to decide if you want to keep either of them because they will get impatient and find someone else.¡± He is much wiser about women than I thought he actually was¡­ ¡°The honest road can be the hardest road, but it¡¯s also incredibly rewarding. Ask yourself which girl you''d most regret letting go.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Well thank you, that will help me a great deal. Now can we start the training?¡± ¡°Riiiight!¡± ¡°Riiight!¡± We both stood up and faced each other. ¡°Did you set up your singularity? I kinda don¡¯t want to get my limbs chopped off.¡± ¡°Ahahaha, of course, I did!¡± Hachimura¡¯s S.S (Guardian Angel) is a barrier around a person that blocks anything to make contact with the skin, (He has a spiritual singularity because he is in the military) he told me that he developed that specific singularity because he used to protect his bullied classmates when he was a kid, so everyone kept calling him the guardian angel. The drawback is that he can¡¯t cover the head, because if he did, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to breathe because not even wind passes through the barrier, so we just use a helmet. And he also can only cover him and one more other person. ¡°Remember Rukito, no aiming for the head.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. I know.¡± We always do a duel at the beginning to see how much I¡¯ve improved. Of course, he still wins but¡­ At least I get some points. Every time my blade touches his barrier, I get one point, and when he lands a slice, he gets the point. ¡°Alright, here I go!¡± He started swinging his katana against me, but since I still couldn¡¯t pull mine, I double-wielded my tanto and wakizashi. I began to block and parry some of his swings, the sounds of our blades clashing were unique since my blades weren¡¯t made out of metal, so it kind of sounded like hitting a sharp sword on fresh snow. After just some seconds he managed to slide a slice on my left side of my torso and got the point on me. ¡°Uuuu, a vital spot, you seem a bit sloppy today. And I see you still haven¡¯t managed to pull that sword Arthur.¡± He started saying while we were still clashing. ¡°Don¡¯t compare me to that fictional character! He needed physical strength, I need mental and spiritual strength.¡± ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s because you haven¡¯t chosen a girl yet.¡± Huh?! That¡¯s right! That might be why! As I was a bit shocked at how obvious the answer was, he managed to get another hit on me. ¡°Hey! What the hell?!¡± ¡°The opponent isn¡¯t going to wait for your internal monologue in the middle of a battle!¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡± Then, out of nowhere, he changed his expression into a surprised/worried face and yelled, ¡°RUKITO!¡± He shoved me to the side as fast as he could and parried a sword that was going straight for my throat behind me. I was on the floor at the side, and I looked up, there was a hooded person with a long black coat clashing against my master. ¡°Who are you?!¡± The stranger stayed quiet, but then instantly my master kicked him while they were clashing, and he fell onto the floor. ¡°Surrender! I can see that you¡¯re a newbie just by how you swing your sword!¡± I was still processing what was happening, but that¡¯s when it hit me that this person was one of those people that Sachi was talking about, Black Tombstone. ¡°Master! He is part of that group of criminals that everyone has been talking about!¡± ¡°Black tombstone?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He walked up to the person now on the floor, kicked his sword away, stepped on his chest and removed his hood with his sword. It was a middle-aged man with brown hair. He had an emotionless expression, I thought it was weird since he was in a pinch. ¡°Surrender now!¡± The person smiled and with his left hand picked up dirt and threw it at my master¡¯s eyes. ¡°Gah! You dishonorable punk!¡± He jumped back and tried to remove the dirt out of his eyes. The person picked up his sword and then launched himself at my master, luckily, I reacted in time, got up and blocked his sword with my arm, since I still had the barrier, I was able to block it no problem. I got my sword and was ready to swing at him¡­ but I hesitated, I never tried to kill anybody before, so it was a weird sensation I had. ¡°No Rukito! Don¡¯t kill him, we could use him for information!¡± Said my master while still trying to get the dirt off his eyes. One big thing about my master is that he never really tries to kill anybody, he always tries to capture them instead or force them to surrender, he¡¯s always been a bit too caring for people¡¯s lives, and since we are in a golden age there hasn¡¯t been a war that has forced him to kill anyone, he has only had to deal with dumb criminals or drunk men. The person moved left and right, he started maneuvering around me to find an open spot to my neck, when he did, he launched at me, faked his attack and actually pulled out another sword from his left side and went straight for my neck, there was no way I could parry that in time, and my master was still blind¡­ I really thought that was it for me, I flinched and closed my eyes at the face of death, but then, I heard a fast, sharp slice, I opened my eyes and blood was spilling out from the person¡¯s back of the neck, he started gargling on his own blood and fell to the ground. ¡°R-Rukito?! D-Did you kill him?!¡± When I fully realize, besides the person on the ground bleeding, was Kasai kneeled on the ground holding a dagger, with a face that showed no emotions. ¡°K-Kasai?¡± She turned back towards the person on the ground and stabbed him straight on the top of the head, piercing his brain and instantly killing him. Blood was spilling all over his face, filling it completely crimson. A million question ran through my head, but this was no time to think about it. She sighed, closed his eyes and thought, ¡°You may leave this place at peace.¡± I was confused¡­ ¡°Rukito! DID HE DIE?!¡± ¡°H-Huh? Y-Yes!¡± ¡°THEN GET AWAY FROM HIM!¡± I instantly grabbed Kasai¡¯s arm and ran away with my master, after just a couple second the person¡¯s body exploded, his whole body got incinerated by the explosion. The grass was on fire. ¡°Kasai! Get the fire hydrant!¡± She rushed to get one. I took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Master, how did you know he was going to explode?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering how the hell did this dirt get into my eyes when I have glasses.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dodge my question!¡± ¡°Rukito, my M.S are these glasses.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°They basically grant me x-ray vision.¡± ¡°So, you could see me naked?!¡± ¡°Well not really, I can only see the inside, like muscle tissues and the skeleton. I wish it were just clothing¡­¡± ¡°And you managed to see the bomb in him.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s also part of the reason I didn¡¯t want you to kill him.¡± Kasai came back and started to extinguish the fire. I started thinking about what just happened, Kasai just killed someone with ease and no hesitation¡­ After Kasai extinguished the fire, Hachimura took the dirt off his eyes, and I got my shit together, we sat on the back porch to talk about what just happened. My master turned to us and asked, ¡°Are you both ok?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ok.¡± And Kasai nodded, she seemed a bit sad though, she did kill someone after all, but then I heard, ¡°I hope Rukito doesn¡¯t think of me as a monster now¡­¡± Wait, so she isn¡¯t sad about the kill?! ¡°She doesn¡¯t talk much does she?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s mute.¡± ¡°Oh! I apologize.¡± ¡°You kids should talk about what happened to your parents, if they know that you know magic, they will not stop coming.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± He looked at Kasai with a concerned look, then looked at me and said, ¡°Rukito, can I talk to you for a second?¡± ¡°Uh, sure thing.¡± We walked off. ¡°That girl¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you touch her you perv.¡± ¡°No, no! It¡¯s not that, she is very hot and everything but¡­ I¡¯m concerned about something else.¡± ¡°That she just killed someone? Yeah, I realized that. I¡¯m as much concerned for her as you are.¡± ¡°No, no, not just that. I managed to clean one of my eyes before she killed him, I managed to get a glance at her, and she was 50 meters away from the target, but in the blink of an eye she managed to cut him right behind his neck with an extreme precision, and at that speed is almost impossible being that precise, I also saw a red trail behind her dagger while she was dashing. And at that young age, killing someone without a single look of concern¡­ actually worries me.¡± I understood his feelings, and I thought she was just a little innocent girl when I first met her. ¡°Oh¡­¡± She did say she didn¡¯t want to talk to me about her past¡­ maybe this is why¡­ I need to talk to her after this, I need to know what she has gone through. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Hachimura, I¡¯ll talk to her.¡± He put his hand on my shoulder and said, ¡°Ok, well I¡¯m going to leave, watch out, be safe ok?¡± ¡°Of course, you too.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t nothing beating this guy right here!¡± ¡°Sure, Sure.¡± I walked back to where Kasai was. ¡°Hey K-¡± As I look at her, she was crying and sobbing while hugging her knees at the side of the back porch. I slowly walked up to her and asked, ¡°Hey, What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dumb question, but I know that she is not crying because she killed that person. Then, I heard her voice in my head saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to see this side of me¡­¡± I changed my expression to a serious one, walked up to her and sat beside her. ¡°I¡¯m ugly inside. I¡¯m a monster that no one likes.¡± ¡°Can you explain to me what has happened to you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± When I first saw her, I could see all the problems she had on top of her, but I didn¡¯t know what it was, I was always curious to ask, but I didn¡¯t want to bring her past, I rather focused on making her happier instead of talking about the past, but now, we have to talk about the problem at hand. ¡°Please?...¡± She gently laid her head on my shoulder, and I started to see flashbacks. Chapter 5.5: The Broken Girl
"It''s better to stand alone than to stand with people who hurt you." -Kasai
A small girl around the age of 14 which looks like to be Kasai was washing dishes in a somewhat destroyed home; it look like a house of a drug addict, she had turned clothes with gunk and dirt all over it, she was also skinnier. A middle-aged, gaunt man walked from the living room to the kitchen where Kasai was and asked, ¡°Hey little shit, how did you get here? Did someone leave your cage open?¡± Kasai turned towards him in alert and bowed. ¡°Mother told me to clean the dishes, or I won¡¯t have my rations of bread today.¡± He punched her; she fell on the floor and started bleeding from her nose. ¡°That¡¯s good morning master! Learn your manners bitch!¡± Kasai looked at him, kneeled even lower kowtow and said, ¡°Please excuse my insolence master. Good morning master, how was your sleep?¡± He kicked her on the head, and she fell to the side. She started shaking of fear. ¡°You know better you fucking waste of human cum! Kiss my boot, now!¡± She got her head back up and kissed his boot. ¡°Good bitch, maybe these kicks will fix your face and your attitude.¡± He kicked her again for no reason this time, laughed, and went back to the living room to watch TV while saying, ¡°Clothes better be washed after this episode.¡± Then, Kasai responded with a shaky voice, ¡°Y-yes master.¡± She got back up and started scratching her head with fury, then got back to washing the dishes. After she finished washing the dishes and clothes, she walked to the mother. She was an overweight, also a middle-aged looking woman. ¡°What do you want?¡± She bowed and said, ¡°I finished washing everything.¡± ¡°Ok? Then get back to your cage!¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± She started walking down the basement, and when she got there, she noticed a rope at the side of the room. A long pause of a minute passed of her standing silently staring at the rope. She finally looked away and crawled back into her metal cage, it seemed that the cage was supposed to be used for dogs, so she was very uncomfortable in it, but she didn¡¯t seem to complain. After some time, she fell asleep somehow, but she was soon awakened by the mother walking inside the basement and saying, ¡°Here comes your bread and water.¡± Kasai got up very excited. She reached out for it, but she pulled it away. ¡°Wait, how about this? If you let me keep the bread for myself and eat it, then we will go to an amusement park tomorrow!¡± Kasai got really excited and started jumping. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I always wanted to go to one! In the living room, there¡¯s a poster about it, so I always dreamed of going there!¡± ¡°See? Perfect! You can keep the water, but I¡¯ll take the bread ok?¡± ¡°Ok!¡± She took the water and started chugging it. ¡°Oh, the water was from a pond. I hope you don¡¯t mind!¡± She soon spits out the water with disgust. ¡°Did you just spit out the water that I worked hard to get you?!¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°N-No mother!¡± She continued chugging on the water. ¡°See? It¡¯s delicious!¡± The mother smiled and said, ¡°Good girl.¡± Kasai smiled back; compliments really made her happy. The mother left the basement with her piece of bread. Briefly after, Kasai had a considerable stomachache, so she went out of the cage and vomited across the floor, then she heard laughing coming from upstairs. ¡°Did you hear that?! That¡¯s probably the water!¡± ¡°Ahahahaha, that retarded piece of shit. You also managed to get the bread?!¡± ¡°Yeah! She really thinks that I will take her to that dumb amusement park!¡± ¡°Ahahahahaha, that fucking little pebble is so stupid.¡± When Kasai heard this she was heartbroken; everything just shattered in her head, she had no idea of what it was going to become of her. She had an emotionless facial expression with tears running across her cheeks. She scratched her head so hard that she started bleeding from her cranium. She walked back to the rope she found and made a noose out of it, she hanged the rope on the ceiling and got a chair to stand on it. Five minutes passed of her silently starring at the noose with no words or facial expression coming out of her. I can¡¯t imagine the horrible things that were running through her head at that moment. She decided to put her head through the noose, waited a couple of minutes again and kicked the chair away. Luckily, the rope was very old, so it didn¡¯t manage to hold her body weight and snapped. ¡°Why¡­ I just want all of this to end¡­ there¡¯s no point.¡± She removed the noose. She found an old mirror and smashed it into a million pieces, she took a piece of glass and aggressively started slicing her wrist. ¡°die¡­ Die¡­ Die!... DIE! DIE!¡± She stopped, and soon after, she fainted. The day after she woke up in her cell with some bandages across on her arm, she looked around, and the room was empty, no rope, no mirror, nothing she can use to harm herself. The father walked in and said, ¡°Trying to get rid of us that easily? Come on my little girl, who¡¯s going to clean the dishes and wash the clothes, cook, make the bed and clean the house if you¡¯re dead?¡± She suddenly snapped and started bashing against the cage since it was locked. ¡°JUST LET ME GO!!!¡± She screamed extremely loud, her voice got distorted, and the house started shaking. The father got startled for a second and then started laughing. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone for an entire day. Hopefully, tomorrow you will be normal again.¡± Kasai sat back and remained the rest of the day hugging her own legs, and she began bawling. ¡°P-Please¡­ s-somebody, help me.¡± After a while the father heard the bawling, so she walked down pissed and said. ¡°Listen here you bitch, you first scream at me, and now you start crying?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She remained silent while sobbing. ¡°Oh, and now you don¡¯t want to talk?! Then how about you shut the fuck up forever huh?!¡± ¡°W-What?¡± He rested his hand on the cage and then suddenly Kasai fainted. After being completely out for a whole day, the next day she woke up by screams. The mother was screaming on the top floor, ¡°Stay back!¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up bitch!¡± Then a gunshot was heard, and the screaming stopped. Kasai started shaking out of fear, shortly after the father walked down the basement and saw Kasai awake. ¡°You heard that right bitch? Get the fuck out of that cage!¡± Kasai noticed that the cage was unlocked, so she got out. He then started gazing at her body; he was starting to notice that she was getting mature. ¡°I see you¡¯re finally growing some tits bitch, about time.¡± Kasai slowly started to walk back. ¡°No running away!¡± He grabbed her arm and forcefully started tearing her clothes apart. She tried to scream, but she soon realized that her voice was gone. ¡°You can¡¯t scream anymore you soon to be cum bucket. Kasai started to freak out. The father was on top of her locking her down, he proceeded to pull down his pants and take off his underwear. He started touching her breasts and removed Kasai¡¯s underwear, then, he was about to get her virginity until Kasai realized there was still a glass shard on the floor from the mirror, she quickly grabbed it and started stabbing him in the neck repeatedly with fury. She kept stabbing him for a full minute until all her anger was all gone. The girl got up shaking of fear and trauma, walked upstairs just to see the mother shot in the head on the floor bleeding. She got the gun which was on the table and aimed it in her mouth up to her brain¡­ and shot. Yet another miracle, the gun was out of ammo, it was as if destiny didn¡¯t want her to die. She broke down on the ground and didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, but then the police rushed in and saw her sitting on the floor hugging her legs half naked, they tried picking her up, but she didn¡¯t want to be touched. Some time passed, the police realized what happened, they tried questioning her, but they didn¡¯t know she was mute, so they thought it was because she was traumatized instead. She didn¡¯t care enough to explain, so she just ignored it. They took her to an orphanage, from there, she lived three years in pure depression and loneliness since she wasn¡¯t able to make friends while being mute, and not wanting anyone to touch her¡­ until one day, the Aizawa family noticed her and got interested in her. Chapter 6: Spirit Vamps
"Use the negatives in life to fuel your flame of hope." -Rei Regiis Diaboli
After I saw what happened with my own eyes, I was left without words. I had no idea she had it this bad, I also started shedding tears from all the pain that I¡¯ve seen bestowed into another human being. A kind, a charming, playful girl was put through all of this. I understand why she didn¡¯t want to make physical contact with anyone now. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her towards me, giving her a big warm hug. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of you from now on, I won¡¯t let anyone touch you, I won¡¯t let anything bad happened to you. From this day on, I¡¯ll protect you with my life, I promise.¡± She raised her arms and also proceeded to hug me as hard as she could, but then she thought. ¡°I¡¯m a monster though, I killed my own father and tried to kill myself three times¡­ and now I killed that person right in front of you! The person I didn¡¯t want to disappoint!¡± I slowly back away from the hug and gazed at her eyes, I could see her broken soul crying as loud as possible. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault Kasai, nothing is your fault, stop blaming yourself.¡± I was trying really hard not to break down crying like her. ¡°But¡­ but¡­ if I didn¡¯t exist mom wouldn¡¯t have died either!¡± ¡°Kasai¡­¡± there was only one way I could fix her spirit¡­ I decided to reach in and softly kiss her. My heart skipped a beat, and everything went silent for a couple seconds. Briefly after, she also started kissing me back. Her soft lips, her fragrant breath, and sweet perfume indulged my senses; I started playing with her hair, and she wrapped her arm gently around my neck. We slightly backed off, looked into each other¡¯s eyes, and I slowly started wiping her tears away from her cheeks with my fingers. Shortly after, I heard her in my head trying to say the words, ¡°I-I¡­ I-I L-¡± That was heartwarming, even her thoughts were stuttering. ¡°I love you too Kasai. No matter what happened, no matter what happens, I will always be at your side.¡± She turned extremely red, so did I¡­ but we kept kissing for a while more. I didn¡¯t care if Shizuka saw us, I didn¡¯t care if my parents did, I didn¡¯t care about anything at that point, I just wanted to be with her and no one else. In conclusion, we both kept working on our kissing skills for a while on the porch. ¡°K-Kasai, I think we should head inside the mansion, it¡¯s getting really dark outside.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡± I was wondering what happened to her teasing personality, I guess she was just playing after all. We headed inside the house, our parents were outside the lab for once and saw us walking in. ¡°What happened to you two? Did you catch a fever or something?¡± Said my mother Ayumi while rushing towards us. ¡°N-No! We were just¡­ eating some spicy snacks outside.¡± I¡¯m not the greatest at lying, but I try. ¡°Ah? But I thought you didn¡¯t like spicy things!¡± ¡°Well, Kasai does so she wanted me to try some.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± She didn¡¯t seem too convinced, I was really trying to hide the fact that I kissed her because they want me to end up with Shizuka, so I don¡¯t want to make drama. ¡°Can I try something else?¡± Said Kasai with telepathy while winking at me. ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Crap, I said that out loud! ¡°Yeah, hahaha, that¡¯s what the brand is called! ¡®Shut up¡¯ apparently if you eat them then it will be so spicy you won¡¯t be able to talk.¡± ¡°Creative name, but I¡¯ve never heard of those.¡± Yeah, Shizuka¡¯s mother is as smart as her, so she definitely caught the lie, but at least she seems like she doesn¡¯t care that much. ¡°You need to get better at lying.¡± I heard Kasai say. ¡°Listen, little girl! I would be good at lying if the subject wasn¡¯t this embarrassing.¡± I told her through our mysterious telepathy. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± ¡°And stop teasing me! A couple of seconds ago you could barely make up words in your head!¡± ¡°H-Hey! S-Shush!¡± ¡°Huh? Kasai is getting even redder.¡± Said Ayumi. ¡°Oh! Yeah, she is more sensitive to spice than I am, so she gets this random red cheeks out of nowhere after eating something spicy.¡± ¡°Ah. Well food will almost be ready so call Shizuka down, she seems not to answer my messages, she is probably reading a book.¡± ¡°Oh, right. I¡¯ll get to it, mom.¡± I realized I said mom by mistake, but I didn¡¯t really mid. ¡°Mom?!¡± She jumped at me and hugged me. ¡°Aww, you¡¯ve finally decided to call me mom!¡± I didn¡¯t think she will get this happy but saying that it was a mistake it would have made the situation awkward, so I¡¯ll just address her as ¡®mom¡¯ from now on I guess. ¡°Huh? Now you¡¯re turning purple.¡± ¡°A..Air¡­¡± Kasai and I walked to my room for a second, I wanted to talk to her about our current situation. We sat on my bed and looked at each other. ¡°W-What is it? Is it time for us¡­?¡± She asked while blushing ¡°Huh?¡± I was hoping this wasn¡¯t going in the direction I thought it was. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready¡­ my heart is pounding fast, and I¡¯m starting to shake quite a bit¡­ please be ge-¡± ¡°STOP IT! I just took you here to quickly chat about our situation.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± She grabbed my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with us together right?¡± ¡°No there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°So?¡± She looked up at me. I sighed. I knew that if we were going to make our relationship public, then a lot of drama would have fallen upon this mansion, and I would be okay with it if we didn¡¯t have more significant problems to deal with at the moment. ¡°Kasai, first I want you to know that I want to be together with you, I see myself marrying you in the future and living a quite intense life of fun together.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s sweet.¡± She looked down from embarrassment. ¡°I Didn¡¯t mean it that way!¡± I took a deep breath, and said, ¡°How can I say this while showing that I want to be with you but can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± She looked back up. I gently grabbed chin and kissed her. I could feel her heart was beating out of her chest through my shoulder. ¡°I want to be with you, but we can¡¯t right now. First, we have to get your voice back, then we have to alert the king when it¡¯s all done I will graduate, and after that, we can move into our own place. I want this to stay low until we are free of problems ok?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ really?¡± ¡°Yeah, I understand. Being your secret girlfriend is better than nothing after all.¡± ¡°No way it¡¯s this easy.¡± When I try to convince Shizuka into anything she just doesn¡¯t want to listen, she is a pretty stubborn girl. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to lie to you, I am a bit insecure that I won¡¯t be able to keep up with your expectations from me as a ¡®future wife,¡¯ but I trust you!¡± ¡°No way in hell. You will definitely be an amazing wife.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Heh, hopefully!¡± She sighed and said, ¡°But I also can sympathize with Shizuka¡­ a whole year trying to get your attention but because of everyone else¡¯s fault for trying to be with her she probably thinks you lost interest.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ well.¡± ¡°And to think that a girl like me can just come and in a month take your crush¡­ that¡¯s pretty heartbreaking; I agree in waiting for this, right now it¡¯s not a good moment to show off.¡± ¡°Wow, I thought you were going to be mad and jealous at her.¡± ¡°No, in reality, I like her. She is very admirable, even though she can be a bit childish; sometimes, I almost idolize her, but she is the one that doesn¡¯t like me, but I can understand.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± I was very surprised by Kasai¡¯s feeling on Shizuka, she is like the complete opposite of her. ¡°B-but can we still kiss? I-I really enjoy it.¡± I blushed and said, ¡°Well, only occasionally ok?¡± ¡°Ok!¡± I would be lying if I said I didn¡¯t enjoy it too¡­ it kinda, gives me peace of mind, and I do need some relaxation time to time, we all deserve some type of relaxation. ¡°Wait before I go, I need to ask you something.¡± ¡®What is it?¡± ¡°I know your childhood was¡­ but I want to know how you learned how to unlock your singularity, and how did you practice.¡± ¡°Oh, well, while I was at the orphanage since I was along most of the time, I sometimes decided to head to a place that nobody went to, and started practicing fighting alone, just to use it for self-defense in the future, so I don¡¯t feel threatened anymore. It also helped me with my trauma, so I know that if anything happens, I can defend myself.¡± ¡°So, you just learned by yourself?¡± ¡°Well not really, we sometimes had martial arts classes in our orphanage, so I really put out when it was time to train, and our master noticed that.¡± ¡°Oh, so he decided to train you in specific?¡± ¡°Ehh, not really. Since I was mute, there was no way I could communicate with him, but when the other adults told him about my history, he seemed to pity me, so that started to piss me off.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, he started to tell me that I don¡¯t have to do certain things if I didn¡¯t want to and gave me weak training.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°So, I had to challenge him, and I managed to beat him to show that I¡¯m not weak.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like being pitied huh?¡± ¡°I hate it with a passion, just because I¡¯m a girl they think I¡¯m weak and can¡¯t be compared to a boy. So, I proved them all wrong, the teacher got pissed like a baby and decided to ban me from the classes, and everyone else started getting scared of me, but I didn¡¯t care, that helped me trying to escape unneeded attention.¡± I smiled. Seeing such a strong girl like her, mentally and physically really impressed me¡­ but that just means I have to step my game up if I want to be her shield. ¡°But having a¡­ the quite unique and good body didn¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Huh? Well¡­ I wouldn''t blame them; if you were a model, you would stick out like a sore thumb and destroy the competition.¡± ¡°D-Don¡¯t say that! It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also true!¡± ¡°A lot of boys tried to hit on me, but they were all stupid and ugly. The difference between you and them is that you actually care about something more than just my body¡­ right?¡± ¡°Yeah! YEAH! Definitely¡± ¡°Ahahahaha, shut up.¡± She realized I was just kidding. ¡°Of course I do Kasai, what kind of question is that?¡± ¡°It was a rhetorical question. The first time you saw me you were more concerned about my well-being rather than my body.¡± ¡°How would you know?¡± ¡°Hehehe, maybe I could read your thoughts even before.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Oh my god, how many embarrassing things has she heard?! ¡°Well back to my story. More masters from other dojos came and challenged me, my name was spread across the whole province. I always managed to beat them all, but it seemed that the more and more I beat the more they hated me, well, more like envied me.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s so cool!¡± ¡°Heh, you think so?¡± ¡°Yeah! But I¡¯ll get better too!¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty strong already Rukito.¡± ¡°How would you know? You haven¡¯t seen me fight once!¡± ¡°My singularity is pretty special!¡± She said while smiling. ¡°Oh right, how did you unlock yours? I thought only the military knew how to unlock the magic flow.¡± ¡°As you saw in the flashback, my father used his singularity to mute me, so they knew magic since he was a veteran.¡± ¡°He unlocked your magic flow?¡± ¡°No, when I was 10, in the orphanage, before my father picked me I overheard something on the other side of the wall.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°Apparently I wasn¡¯t the first, there were more girls like me before me. He took kids, unlocked their magic flow, and if they had a good singularity, then they would be kept for human trafficking.¡± ¡°He¡­ sold children?! Based on their singularity?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ sadly is something that is happening even more now that magic is getting leaked outside the military.¡± ¡°So why didn¡¯t he sell you?¡± ¡°Well, I had a very special singularity that he wanted to keep.¡± ¡°Before I ask you what it is¡­ I want to apologize.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like bringing your past, and I don¡¯t want you to remember all those bad memories¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­ don¡¯t worry Rukito.¡± She proceeded to wrap her arms around me and give me a soft unexpected French kiss. While we were kissing I heard in my head, ¡°This makes me forget all my suffering.¡± My heart skipped a beat, that really meant a lot to me, and I also didn¡¯t expect the French kiss, she is pretty bold, and I like that. ¡°I bet it does.¡± She suddenly jumped back to her sense and started blushing like crazy. ¡°Oh my god! Sorry! I¡¯m still not used to it.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s fine Kasai, as long as no one sees us you can kiss me all you want.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Well¡­ you have to make sure no one is looking at us.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± ¡°So, what does your singularity do?¡± ¡°I also have a hybrid singularity you know?¡± ¡°Really?! Finally, I find someone that does too!¡± She started giggling. ¡°Yeah, let me explain something to you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You see Rukito, most scientists have it wrong on how exactly we die.¡± ¡°What? No, they don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, they don¡¯t, they just tell us a modify version of the actual thing.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The reason why we die it¡¯s because every day we all get this ¡®negative energy¡¯ into our body, and what that negative energy does is slow down and corrupt our bodies and make them feel sick.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± ¡°Think of it as a virus, symptoms of a lot of excessive negative energy are stress, depression, anxiety, etc... When this negative energy gets accumulated into our body, we start aging faster, even though we might have the same amount of years, that doesn''t mean our bodies are the same age, that''s why sometimes you see old people look young or young people look old, it all depends on the negative energy.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°Yes, but if we meditate, we can throw that negative energy away, that''s why elves and monks live a lot longer than we do because they meditate all day.¡± ¡°Ok but, what does this have to do with your singularity?¡± ¡°Let me finish. Now I have two twin daggers, they can turn positive energy (more known as ¡®life energy¡¯) into negative energy, so if I drain positive energy from people they start feeling sick, and when I turn it into negative energy and release it off into another living thing, then depending on how strong the negative energy was the person will either die or feel extremely sick, just like if they were 100 years old.¡± ¡°Oh! I get it, so you can basically steal life energy from people.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°So kind of like a succubus?¡± ¡°Hey! I can also steal life energy from plants, and it¡¯s with stabbing, not having sex with them!¡± ¡°Ahahaha, I was just joking. But you can also turn that energy into negative energy and release it to make people age faster, or get a sickness, right?¡± ¡°Correct! So the more life energy I accumulate, the stronger is the release.¡± ¡°I can definitely make a dirty joke with this.¡± ¡°Stop¡­¡± ¡°What? Kasai telling me to stop being dirty minded?¡± ¡°I mean if you really want to start getting dirty we could be f-¡± ¡°NEVER MIND!¡± She started giggling. I realized that she is the type of girl that likes teasing, but when you actually get to the matter, she gets super shy. ¡°So that still doesn¡¯t answer how you would know I¡¯m strong.¡± ¡°Oh right! Well, when I use them, I go blind, that¡¯s the drawback.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Yeah, haha, I had to learn how to fight while blindfolded too! Every time I hold them a blindfold of ancient writing appears in front of my eyes, I was lucky your teacher didn¡¯t notice.¡± ¡°But still, that doesn¡¯t answer my question.¡± ¡°Well, I can feel spiritual energy while I''m blindfolded, and yours is amazing, it¡¯s definitely the most powerful one I have ever sensed.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s your potential energy, I can¡¯t feel current energy.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ so that¡¯s basically what I could have if I trained more?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ well still! I¡¯ll give it my best.¡± ¡°Want to see the daggers?¡± ¡°Oh, sure! That would be awesome!¡± She closed her eyes and said, ¡°Spirit Vamps.¡± Ancient writing started circling her whole body and two daggers crossing each other appeared on her lower back. Then, a cyan neon blindfold appeared covering her eyes with writing inside the fluorescent blindfold surrounding her. ¡°What do you think?¡± She said while looking straight forward. I waved in front of her, but she didn¡¯t seem to see a thing. ¡°So?¡± ¡°It looks so cool!¡± I had an idea, I decided to be sneaky and try to give her a flick on the nose without her noticing, I got slightly closer, got ready, but she dodged it, then started giggling. ¡°You dummy, I know what you¡¯re trying to do.¡± ¡°I was just testing you and seeing if you really do know how to fight blindfolded.¡± She giggled even more. ¡°I also know that you waved your hand in front of me before, I just didn¡¯t react because I wanted you to try and do that.¡± ¡°So how did you know?¡± ¡°Well, you got a bit nervous when you got closer to my face, so I sensed a different changed of tempo in your breathing, and your heartbeat started increasing.¡± ¡°Oh wow.¡± She unsheathed the daggers and showed them to me. ¡°Look, these are my daggers.¡± They were two twin daggers with a very unique design of owls. One had a black owl, while the other one had a white owl, I¡¯m guessing it is to symbolize the dagger that takes positive energy and the dagger that releases it into negative energy. ¡°Owls?¡± ¡°Yeah, they say that if your singularity has an animal, it means that it¡¯s your spirit animal.¡± ¡°Oh, so mine would be the wolf?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I looked closer at the dagger since I can¡¯t hold another person¡¯s materialistic singularity, or I¡¯ll faint, I decided to tell her to flip them. ¡°Sure.¡± She flipped the dagger, and I saw that behind them, something was engraved, I take a closer look, and on one of them it says ¡®Hope,¡¯ and the other says ¡®Determination.¡¯ ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that for?¡± ¡°What? Remember I can¡¯t really se-¡± She gasped and flipped them back. She blushed and said, ¡°Oh my god, that¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°What?¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡­ wrote that in my dark times¡­ when I had no hope or determination to keep going.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± I smiled, ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing!¡± ¡°Nah! I find it cute.¡± ¡°A-Anyways! Yeah, I called them Spirit Vamps!¡± ¡°Copycat, I called mine, Spirit Daisho.¡± ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t even know you when I named them.¡± ¡°Suuure! My singularity basically uses positive energy to cut things, yours is basically the opposite, uses negative energy to fight.¡± ¡°Yeah, they are somewhat similar in a sense.¡± ¡°We really are similar, even our looks are¡­ it¡¯s kinda creepy thinking about it.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­. It really is. And we¡¯re not even related.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look into our past when we solve our problems, it probably has to do something with magic, but for now, I have to call Shizuka down to eat, you should start heading there.¡± ¡°Right!¡± Chapter 7: Crystalis
"Money may not buy permanent happiness, but it does buy freedom." -Haruko Smith
I opened the door to Shizuka¡¯s room, it was dark, so I didn¡¯t even know if she was there or not, and the light switch was all the way at the back of her room. I walked towards the light switch and turned it on. Shizuka was on her bed sleeping on her side. I walked up to her and lightly shook her. ¡°Shizuka? Your mom is calling us down to eat.¡± But she didn¡¯t seem to wake up. I sat on the bed and removed her hair from her face. Her whole face was red, I laid my hand on her forehead to see if she had a fever, and she was burning; I also noticed she was breathing heavily. ¡°Oh crap, she is burning alive.¡± I checked through her drawers to check for a thermometer, but I instead found her diary. I was conflicted if to read it or not, but I decided to respect her privacy and ignore it. I kept looking until I found it. I went to her bathroom and got a towel, I wetted the towel in tepid water so I could lay it on her head. ¡°Shizuka.¡± I tried waking her up again. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned. ¡°My head¡­ it hurts so much.¡± ¡°Hey, it will all be fine, I got you.¡± ¡°Rukito?... Leave me alone¡­ What happened to Kasai?¡± I sighed. ¡°Shizuka this is not a good time for this.¡± I took the thermometer from the counter and gave it to her. ¡°Put this on for a minute.¡± ¡°Huh?...¡± I brushed her hair away from her forehead and laid the wet towel on her. ¡°Just put it on please.¡± ¡°¡­Ok.¡± Living with her for a whole year, I¡¯ve never seen her sick, so this is really worrying me. I took some medicine for headaches and gave them to her with water. ¡°Here, this should calm your fever down a bit.¡± ¡°¡­ Thank you.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. This is the least I could do for the help you have always given me.¡± When I came from the orphanage I was but a child without manners; she is the one that has educated me informalities and manners. ¡°Why are you here?¡± She whispered. ¡°I was going to call you down for dinner, but you don¡¯t seem to hold up too well.¡± She softly pushed me away while saying, ¡°Oh, then go eat. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I wasn¡¯t going to leave her alone when she was in terrible shape. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t leave you alone, but I¡¯ll bring some food for you ok?¡± ¡°W-what? No¡­ just-¡± ¡°Shh, it¡¯s fine.¡± I walked downstairs and noticed that Kasai and the parents were waiting for us at the table. ¡°What happened?¡± I heard Kasai asking in my head. ¡°Shizuka has a horrible fever. I came here so I could take some food for her.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll go see her soon.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ mom?¡± ¡°Yes, sweetie.¡± ¡°Shizuka is sick, she has a pretty bad fever.¡± ¡°Oh my, since when?¡± ¡°Not too long ago, I was just wondering if you have anything easy for her to eat.¡± ¡°Luckily I made soup for tonight, so you can bring her some.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s perfect!¡± I walked back upstairs and put the soup on the counter so I could check her temperature. ¡°Alright let¡¯s check your temperature.¡± I took the thermometer, and it marked, 104¡ãF (40¡ãC). This is a very high fever temperature. ¡°So? How is it?¡± Ok maybe not worrying her is the best option here. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I felt sorry for lying, but I didn¡¯t want her to worry. ¡°I brought you some soup.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I helped her sit up and gave her the plate. ¡°I feel so light-headed¡­¡± I saw her starting to shiver a lot. ¡°Hey, want me to give you the food?¡± ¡°W-What? I¡¯m not a baby.¡± She whispered. ¡°Ah, ok. Never mind-¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say no!¡± We decided that she could eat by herself until she could and then I would give her the rest of the soup. Afterward, Kasai walked to check on her. ¡°What do you want?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°She just came here to check on you Shizu.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to see her¡­¡± ¡°Shizuka, just-¡± ¡°I should probably leave then.¡± Said Kasai as she was walking away. ¡°No Kasai, it¡¯s fine, you-¡± She closed the door. I facepalmed and sighed. ¡°Ouch!¡± Shizuka started groaning while holding her head. ¡°Are you ok?¡± I rushed towards her. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m fine don¡¯t worry-¡± she started groaning again. ¡°Just go to sleep, you will feel better tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± I started walking away from her, but she held my shirt. ¡°Rukito¡­¡± ¡°What is it? You¡¯re still hungry?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I was just going to ask you something.¡± ¡°Ok¡­ go on.¡± ¡°C-¡­. Can you sleep with me?¡± ¡°Shizuka! You were bashing me just the other day because Kasai was sleeping with me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯m asking¡­ it¡¯s only fair if you also sleep with me for a night right?¡± Damn¡­ she got me there. I started thinking about it because it might actually also help her feel better since she won¡¯t be cold and shivery anymore. ¡°Please¡­ just this once, I beg of you.¡± She continued whispering. I sighed, hoping that Kasai wouldn¡¯t get mad or jealous of this. She is a pretty smart and understanding girl so she probably would. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I understand.¡± I heard in my head. ¡°Wait really?¡± ¡°Yeah, she deserves it.¡± ¡°Ok¡­ just don¡¯t feel bad ok?¡± ¡°Heh, I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Alright Shizuka, just this once though ok?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Yes, thank you so much Rukito.¡± I laid down beside her under the covers. I was a bit nervous because I never really slept with her, but knowing her, I know that she won¡¯t try anything bold like Kasai. ¡°Do you mind if we¡­. If we¡­¡± ¡°You want to cuddle?¡± ¡°N-No! I just¡­¡± ¡°Alright, but I¡¯m only doing this because you¡¯re sick ok?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± We got even closer, I decided to spoon her. It may have been a bit too far, but I¡¯m lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend. But then, I heard in my head. ¡°You better not be taking advantages. Go a bit further than that, and I¡¯ll cut it off.¡± ¡°C-Cut what off?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to know.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Then, Shizuka¡¯s heart started racing like crazy, I could feel it from behind her shoulder. ¡°Sorry maybe it¡¯s better if I don¡¯t-¡± She grabbed my arm and pulled me back in. ¡°N-No, it¡¯s fine. J-J-Just stay like that.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± I was nervous, but I wasn¡¯t feeling the same rush of adrenaline that I did with Kasai. ¡°Good night Rukito.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± After that, we had a pretty peaceful sleep¡­ well, not counting the dead arm I woke up with. Next day, I was hoping that Shizuka was not sick anymore so we could start our journey once in for all. I also had a¡­ bizarre dream about a hooded person wearing a purple coat stomping on me; people say that dreams mean something, but I had no idea what this one meant. I woke up calmed and relaxed, besides the fact that my arm was numb since it must have been squashed by Shizuka all night. Talking about Shizuka¡­ I looked to my left to see her facing me while still sleeping. She looked cute while sleeping and all, but it was ruined by my thoughts of Kasai doing horrible things to me if I took advantage of this situation. Although I was surprised because she is usually the person to wake up before anyone in the house, then again I can see that she was really sick, but her face wasn¡¯t red anymore, I guess cuddles are the best medicine. I got up slowly to make sure not to wake her up, but my arm was still under her, so I either stayed there for a bit more or I somehow make some crazy ninja moves to not alert her. I felt like I was playing a game of Iron Gear Solid all over again. The sweet smell of a girl¡¯s room¡­ living and hanging out with only guys almost all my life made me unaware of things like this. But I do prefer the bro friendship more since¡­ all this drama wouldn¡¯t happen. As you can see waking up is the moment of my day I¡¯m more thoughtful than ever, so I like to relax and think about what I¡¯m going to do throughout the day. I¡¯d like to relax with blood flowing to my right arm though. As I was saying that, Shizuka proceeded to hug my arm and squeeze it hard, thankfully I couldn¡¯t feel a thing. Even though she is this high and mighty girl she likes sleeping with her cat stuffed animal, so I¡¯m guessing that she somehow mistook my arm for it. I decided that I wasn¡¯t going to go through this numbness anymore, so I brushed her hair from her forehead to feel if she was still sick, but everything was okay. She slowly opened her eyes. ¡°Good morning, sleepyhead,¡± I said softly. It took her about 10 seconds to realize what was going on, but then it seemed as if all the memories from yesterday crashed into her brain. This scene reminded me of the movie clich¨¦ of a person getting drunk in a party and the next day waking up next to a guy that they eyed across the room. She started to blush redder and redder by the second, she opened her eyes wide while realizing she was holding my arm.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°R-R-Rukito?!¡± ¡°S-S-Shizuka?!¡± I said back with a jokingly tone. ¡°Shut up!¡± She let go of my arm, then she held her face while blushing intensely. ¡°You wanted me to sleep with you, don¡¯t act like you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know!... I just didn¡¯t think about it twice!¡± I got up and looked out the window while stretching. ¡°Shizuka I want you to know something.¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± I sighed and said, ¡°If by any chance, one day I decide I want to spend time with somebody, or even if I decide to be with another girl for a while, I want you to know something.¡± ¡°What is it?...¡± ¡°No matter what girl I¡¯m with, no matter how bad things might be between you and me, I just want you to know that I am forever grateful for what you¡¯ve done for me. I want you to know that no matter who comes up in my life out of nowhere, you will always be there as the person I owe to the most, and as the person, I most enjoy talking with when I don¡¯t feel alright.¡± I really had to take that off my chest because I feel like that¡¯s part of the reason why she gets really jealous even though she is not my girlfriend¡­ and the fact that she likes me too of course, but I can¡¯t do much about that particular detail. I wasn¡¯t looking at her, so I didn¡¯t know her reaction to what I said, but I heard her slowly getting up and walk up behind. ¡°I hope you can understand¡­¡± I said. She lightly hugged me from the back while saying, ¡°Thanks¡­ I feel a bit better hearing that but¡­ I¡­ want to be the one to marr-¡± ¡°S-Shizuka! You have no bra on, please!¡± I was blushing like crazy, but I interrupted her because I knew what she was going to say. I don¡¯t want to break her heart¡­ at least not now, I want her to accept Kasai and recognize that she is not as bad as she thinks, so then she would be more understanding of our relationship. ¡°W-What?! You perv!¡± She jumped back into the bed. I turned back and said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not my fault, you wanted to sleep with me.¡± ¡°I get it! But don¡¯t act like you couldn¡¯t say no!¡± I looked at her in her eyes and said, ¡°How can you say no to those pleasing, beautiful emerald eyes?¡± ¡°W-Wha¡­¡± She stood silently while blushing even more. Oh crap! I have a girlfriend now! I need to break the habit of flirting with other girls! ¡°Anyways, I have to go and get ready for the travel, if you want to come you should also start getting ready¡­ I¡¯m also going to try and talk to our parents and see if they can let us, and maybe also give us some money for it.¡± ¡°O-Ok!¡± I walked out, and as soon as I closed the door, Kasai was next to the door resting on the wall waiting for me to get out. ¡°Uhm¡­ so, were you here all night?¡± She looked at me with a concerned look. ¡°No, I just want to ask you¡­ you didn¡¯t happen to take advantage of her while she was sleeping right?¡± ¡°Hahahaha, why would I ever do something like that?¡± She got very close to me, she looked like a tiger about to jump on her pray while slowly approaching it. ¡°If you do anything to her you won¡¯t like the outcome. I also care about her, and I understand her point of view, that¡¯s why I¡¯m letting you be close with her for the time being, but you have to know your boundaries.¡± I exactly knew what Kasai was meaning, and I couldn¡¯t agree more. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I tilted my head forward, to make it seem like I was going to kiss her and tease her a bit. ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing little girl.¡± ¡°L-Little girl?!¡± I flicked her nose and back off. ¡°H-hey! No good morning kiss?¡± She lightly blushed. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to get addicted to it.¡± ¡°But-!¡± ¡°My birthday is next week by the way; I¡¯ll be 18.¡± ¡°Ah, but when is it exactly?¡± ¡°January 17th.¡± ¡°Oh really? Mine is July 17th.¡± ¡°Oh wow, exactly 6 months apart. See! I¡¯m half a year older.¡± ¡°Hmph, Whatever. I guess you will have to take good care of me huh?¡± ¡°I know that already.¡± Shizuka came out of her room while pocking her head out the door. ¡°R-Rukito?...¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Are you going crazy? I hear you talking to yourself out here, and It¡¯s worrying me quite a bit.¡± ¡°Oh! Ahaha, don¡¯t worry about it, I was just uh¡­ talking to Kasai!¡± I pointed behind her, but when she turned back, Kasai was gone. ¡°Huh¡­ Kasai you say.¡± ¡°I swear! I¡­¡± That girl¡­ she is trying to make me look crazy now. ¡°Are you sure you slept well? Did I bother you or something?¡± ¡°No no no! It¡¯s not that, I just¡­.¡± Damn, this is my only choice. ¡°I was really nervous since it was my first time sleeping with you so I could barely sleep. But I did manage to catch some Zs later on.¡± ¡°O-oh¡­ ok.¡± I went down to eat breakfast, Kasai was already there eating while looking at me with a grin. ¡°Ahahaha, good morning crazy man.¡± ¡°Shut up¡­¡± I started eating breakfast with her, and not too long after Shizuka walked in, giving an evil eye to Kasai. ¡°Shizukaaa¡­¡± I said with a rising tone. She sighed and said, ¡°Good morning Kasai.¡± I smiled. ¡°I wish I could say good morning back.¡± I heard her in my head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will soon.¡± We were all eating breakfast together, for the first time Shizuka hasn¡¯t make a scene about Kasai. I finished first, so I decided to get up and talk to our parents. ¡°Excuse me.¡± I headed towards them, they were in the living room watching tv. ¡°Uhm¡­ mom.¡± ¡°Yes, sweetie?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± I had no idea how to say this. ¡°Kasai, Shizuka and I are going to the cloud elf continent, I just came to ask to see if you can lend us some money.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Yeah, you see, we-¡± Haruko (the father) got up and said, ¡°Sure thing Rukito, how much do you want?¡± ¡°But honey!¡± ¡°Rukito can you give us a second?¡± ¡°Uuh¡­ yes, of course.¡± I walked off from the living room. They stayed for a minute talking, but then Ayumi opened the door and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll let you go on your little trip.¡± It wasn¡¯t a trip, but I couldn¡¯t tell them the real motive or they would certainly not let us go. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°How long are you going to stay?¡± ¡°Well¡­ the travel to over there is already a week, 2 days on the carriage with a stop, and 7 days on the ship. We¡¯re planning to be there at least for two weeks, we want to visit many things. So counting everything in then that should be a month.¡± I was expecting a ¡®WHAT?!¡¯ from Ayumi but¡­ she actually accepted. ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡°Wait, really?¡± Now I was curious about what Haruko told her¡­ with a house this big they shouldn¡¯t have a problem with privacy anyways. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll give the school some money to forgive your absences.¡± ¡°What?! Thank you so much!¡± I rushed towards her and hugged her. This was probably the second time I ever hugged her. She smiled and said, ¡°No problem sweetie, how much do you need?¡± I really don¡¯t like asking for money¡­ so I just said something low like an idiot. ¡°Uhm¡­ 100 Crystalis should be fine.¡± Since coins and paper bills were using too much of earth¡¯s resources, both our king and the cloud elf king decided to stop producing them and only have currency on unique rings, so everything nowadays is paid with ¡®Crystalis¡¯ which is the new name for our currency. They decided to store it on rings because it¡¯s the safest place to not get robbed, plus it¡¯s easy to just put the ring in front of the scanner and pay that way. ¡°Ahahaha, come on sweetie don¡¯t be shy.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give you one of the best rings we have?¡± ¡°N-No, you don¡¯t have to, mother.¡± ¡°Aww, now you make me want to give it to you even more.¡± She walked away to take a ring. Different crystals in the ring can hold up to a certain amount of money. Every ring gemstones weight 2 carats. How much crystalis the gem can hold up to depends on how much the gemstone is worth. Since quartz is one of the most common minerals in the earth¡¯s crust, the king used this specific gemstone to make the standard rings. Standard rings are the one mostly produced to give people in the low class; quartz rings can hold up as high as 10,000 Crystalis. You would think that this specific currency system is terrible since it basically makes you a walking bank. But the rings have an eye scanner to confirm a purchase. So even if your ring were stolen, it wouldn¡¯t be to any good for the people who steal it. And even if they wanted to just sell the gemstone they couldn¡¯t, because every gemstone has the name of the owner engraved in them. And even if the thieves managed to get around that, the gemstones have trackers on them which is all monitored by the police. Ayumi came back holding a ring. ¡°I¡¯ve kept this for you for a while now you know.¡± I never like asking much money from them, so I have a quartz ring with 100 crystalis on it, that¡¯s enough for what I need. She walked up to me and gave me a fantastic ring with an orange-ish kind of gemstone. I¡¯ve never seen this before. ¡°W-What is this? It looks amazing!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a painite, Rukito.¡± ¡°P-P-PAINITE?!¡± That¡¯s the second rarest gemstone in the world. ¡°Yes, it can hold up to 100,000 Crystalis.¡± ¡°W-what¡­¡± I remained cold¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry mom, I can¡¯t handle that much money.¡± ¡°Aah, don¡¯t worry about it!¡± ¡°How do you manage to get all of this money anyway?¡± She giggled and said, ¡°Because we are the scientists that made them the rings and licensed them. The King liked our product and replaced the old currency with our new modern rings.¡± ¡°Wh¡­What?¡± ¡°Yeah, we own Crystalis Terra Corporation.¡± ¡°H¡­huh?...¡± I remained shocked. ¡°I thought Shizuka has talked to you about it?¡± ¡°No¡­ she hasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well, there¡¯s only a handful of them in the whole world to take good care of it.¡± The sudden weight on my shoulder increased drastically. ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am!¡± I took it and wore it. The second most expensive gemstone in the world on my finger¡­ 100,000 crystalis on my finger. I don¡¯t really enjoy having this much money out of nowhere¡­ I rather build up my own things, plus, I find it more fun being low class¡­ I got flashbacks of me being in the orphanage and playing with my friends with anything we could see, we were having a ton of fun even though we were poor... being rich¡­ it¡¯s almost underwhelming. You got everything, you can get everything¡­ now what? What are you going to work hard for? What is going to be your goal? What are your dreams? But I¡¯m not going to say no to her, she has helped me a lot, she has helped Kasai even more¡­ and that means the world to me already. ¡°Does Kasai have a ring?¡± ¡°Coincidentally I gave her one today morning, I was going to also give her a Painite ring, but she kept declining it, she just wanted to get the quartz one for some reason.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I probably know why.¡± Kasai could care less about money, she has been through it all, I¡¯m sure she can find happiness without the need for money just like I can. ¡°Well thank you so much!¡± ¡°Be safe on your trip please.¡± ¡°We sure will!¡± Haruko walked from behind her and held my shoulder while saying, ¡°You need to be the one to protect them Rukito, your spirit daisho is strong, I¡¯m sure you can.¡± ¡°Yes, sir! Oh, and the group, black tombstone just attacked yesterday!¡± ¡°Yes, we saw the cameras.¡± Wait¡­ did they see Kasai? ¡°W-What did you see?¡± ¡°Well, the cameras blurred out when the strange person was about to swing his dagger onto you, and then when it resumed the place was on fire, and the person was gone, we assumed you managed to defend them off. ¡°Oh, of course!¡± Thank god. ¡°We heightened the security levels so there is no way they can break in again.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡°Good luck Rukito.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you so much again!¡± ¡°No problem son.¡± I walked back to where Shizuka and Kasai were. Shizuka seemed pissed. ¡°Kasai, what happened?¡± I looked at Kasai, and she was calmly drinking her juice while Shizuka looked very pissed. ¡°Oh, she just started getting super envious again, this time she started saying on how cute and hot I am.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Well, she didn¡¯t say like that but¡­ yeah pretty close.¡± ¡°Oh, Rukito! I see mother gave you a ring.¡± ¡°Yeah.. when did you think you were going to tell me about this?¡± ¡°Wait you didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Oh my god. ¡°Well, now you know.¡± Remember when I said that mine was the 2nd most rare gemstone in the world? Yeah well, that¡¯s because Shizuka has the 1st. With only one existing in the whole world, the ¡®Pink Star Diamond¡¯ a gemstone that only Shizuka has and it¡¯s worth 83,000,000 Crystalis¡­ talk about rich girls. ¡°So Ayumi said that we can go.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± Said Shizuka while looking at me with a shocked face. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t believe it either, but yes, we can go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! I already packed my things up, what about you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll get right on it.¡± I walked upstairs to my bedroom, opened the door and noticed there was a traveling bag with everything I needed already in it. Kasai walked in behind me, ¡°I took care of that for you.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you very much!¡± I noticed that Kasai didn¡¯t have a bag. ¡°Where¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have many things to bring with me, just a couple of pair of clothes to change to, and I could easily fit that in your bag.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± ¡°Talking about clothes, let me change this dress into something more fitting. If for some reason we have to fight, this dress will not help.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± She opened my wardrobe and took her clothes out of it. ¡°Wait, since when you have your clothes in my wardrobe?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Uh¡­¡± ¡°Did you move into my room?...¡± ¡°Well I wanted to sleep here yesterday, the bed was so nice, and the pillow smelled like you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ well, you should have asked for my permission.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your permission.¡± She said while giggling. ¡°Just because you¡¯re my girlfriend now doesn¡¯t allow you to reign over my things.¡± ¡°Does it not?¡± She looked at me with a grin. ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m just saying for future references.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She started taking off her clothes to change right in front of me. I quickly started getting nervous since¡­ this is my first time seeing a girl with only her underwear on. ¡°U-Uhm.¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything since, in the end, she is now my girlfriend, so it doesn¡¯t matter. ¡°Hm?¡± She looked back to see my face red. She grinned and walked closer to me. ¡°Getting nervous huh?¡± I was not going to let this girl take over me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath¡­ all my training of self-control was of use for this one moment. I sat down Indian style and took another big breath and started mumbling, ¡°I will not let thirsty women get the better of me¡­ I will not let thirsty women get the better of me¡­ I will not let thirsty women get the better of me¡­ I will not let thirsty women get the better of me¡­¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ Rukito, what are you doing?¡± She thought with a concerned look. I instantly got up, my spirit daisho appeared, and I unsheathed my wakizashi. ¡°Step back you succubus!¡± ¡°Alright, alright, calm down.¡± She said while giggling. ¡°I¡¯ll finish getting dressed.¡± She walked back and started putting on her clothes. ¡°Master¡­¡± I thought to my master Hachimura. ¡°I did it¡­ I resisted the temptations¡­¡± ¡°T-This leggings are too tight!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked back and saw her struggling to put the leggings on since her butt and hips were quite a bit bigger than the size of the leggings. I think I almost fainted from the appealing scene, but I expected this. ¡°Rukito did you not get the size I told you to get?¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡­ I uh¡­ just might have done it on purpose.¡± ¡°Y-You pervert!¡± ¡°Not my fault you like to show off.¡± ¡°Aha! There!¡± She somehow managed to put them on. After Kasai got dressed and I double checked my bag to make sure everything was there we decided to walk out of the room. Kasai was wearing black leggings, brown knee-high boots, with a medium long robe with many pouches on it that I bought for her for a moment like this. She also had some cool finger loop gloves. ¡°See? I told you it was going to look good on you.¡± ¡°You just wanted to see me putting on those tight leggings!¡± ¡°Naaah¡­ well, maybe.¡± At that moment I thought of my master telling me, ¡®Good Job¡¯ with a thumbs up. We walked to see Shizuka, and she also changed clothes, she was wearing a robe too, but hers was light-blue and longer with a skirt, kind of like a wizard. She was also wearing boots. ¡°Wow, both you girls dressed like adventurers and then there¡¯s me with a normal shirt and pants.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you buy something for yourself?¡± Asked me Shizuka. ¡°I was so busy and picky on what to buy for Kasai that I forgot about me.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ of course you would. Why didn¡¯t you get me something too anyway?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, I thought that you already had everything you need.¡± ¡°Tsk, whatever.¡± ¡°Shizukaaa,¡± I said with a rising tone. ¡°I spent more than enough time with you yesterday, and we also cuddled so please be a nice girl now.¡± ¡°W-What?! Don¡¯t talk to me like I¡¯m a little girl!¡± She said while blushing. ¡°Then just be nice!¡± ¡°Ok, ok.¡± We all said our goodbyes to Ayumi and Haruko, then we walked away. The road ahead was going to be rough, little did we know we were going to encounter many spectacular and terrifying things out there in the wilderness. Chapter 7.5: Detrimental Voice
"The more temptations you resist, the stronger you get." -Sachi
Have you ever felt like sometimes there is a voice in your head telling you that all you¡¯re doing is wrong? That I should probably just give up, or even to the point of committing harm to others for your own benefit? Well, that¡¯s how I¡¯ve been feeling since, pretty much since I was born. This strange voice awakened when I was five years old, already telling me that I should stop trying to do things, that all the effort I put on making friends it¡¯s all futile. My eyes were always entirely black, including my sclera; for that reason, many kids never really wanted to be friends with me because they thought I was weird¡­ but in the end, I found someone that accepted me even though I was different. As clingy as I am, I wanted to be more than friends with this person, but day by day I see other girls getting even closer to him than I can since they live with him. ¡°You¡¯re not good enough¡­ you¡¯re NOTHING compared to them.¡± Be quiet¡­ I can deal with it just fine. I was resting on the backboard of my bed. I live in an Inn since I work here they allow me to sleep here for free, and since I¡¯m basically poor, this is very lucky for me. Almost every day I wake up depressed, this voice just won¡¯t stop bringing me down. I have been living my whole life alone, no-one has helped me, and no one has ever asked if I was ok. I tried to get up and start the new day, but as much as I wanted I just felt like staying in bed for the whole day and sleeping; either way, I¡¯ll just be having nightmares after nightmares¡­ ¡°Just listen to me, and we could fix all these problems in a blink of an eye.¡± I learned to ignore this voice and go on with life, but it gets harder and harder each day that passes. An hour later I decided to finally get up and go buy some food since I was running short on it. I started walking through the plaza with my hoodie on so I wouldn¡¯t cast much attention, I was looking around and saw many couples together walking holding hands or kissing in a corner. ¡°That will never be you. That kid is already doing these things with the other girls.¡± That¡¯s not true! ¡°I can give you everything you want, I can give you that kid if you wanted, just let me out.¡± I don¡¯t need your help!This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Walking around gave me a lot of memories about the first time that Rukito showed me around town, we even went to a local restaurant, and he paid for my food¡­ I looked down at my ring and said, ¡°How much do I have left in here? Probably like 50¡­¡± That¡¯s enough to buy some instant food. Rukito wanted to give me a lot of money so I could buy what I needed, but I couldn¡¯t accept it, as hard as I wanted to. I bought what I needed and paid with my ring. Now I only have 5 Crystalis left¡­ I started walking back to the inn when a couple bumped into my basket and made all my fruits fall on the ground. ¡°Hey! Watch where you¡¯re going, weirdo!¡± I stayed silent and picked up everything. ¡°Bash their heads with a rock, Sachi. Show them how to behave!¡± I said SHUT UP! I got up and started walking home again, this time looking up, so I don¡¯t bump into anyone. I am also unable to cry, as much as I want to sometimes I just can¡¯t¡­ I guess these eyes don¡¯t allow me. With the fact that I was never able to cry, since I was a little kid I was never able to call the attention of adults or of other kids by crying; showing how much suffering I was going through to other people through tears wasn¡¯t an option for me, so I had to live my whole live suffering by myself, in a corner when no one could notice. I got back to the inn, my boss called my phone, and I picked up. ¡°Y-Yes?¡± ¡°Sachi I need to talk to you in my office.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± I walked up to his office and sat on the chair parallel to his. ¡°Sachi, I¡¯ve been getting bad things from customers.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They have been complaining about you¡­ they are saying that you need to be more social and happier.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry boss¡­ I don¡¯t think I can do that.¡± ¡°I know, that¡¯s why¡­ you¡¯re fired Sachi.¡± ¡°W-What?! N-No, sir! You don¡¯t understand!¡± I rushed towards him. ¡°I need this job, if I don¡¯t I¡¯ll be living in the side of the street!¡± ¡°Sorry Sachi, that¡¯s just how business works, you start negatively impacting my business, you get fired.¡± ¡°Please, sir! I¡¯ll do anything!¡± ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± He looked down at my chest. ¡°Then I guess we can come to an agreement.¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± He got up and grabbed my butt. ¡°How about we have a little fun¡­¡± I slapped him and stepped back. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± ¡°Tsk, you stupid bitch! Leave my inn now! And you¡¯re also expelled from the school!¡± I rushed away from his office, going to my room and locking it. I laid on my bed hugging my pillow in sadness and sorrow. ¡°Rukito¡­ please help me.¡± ¡°I can help you.¡± ¡°C-Can you really?¡± ¡°Yes, I can fix everything for you.¡± ¡°O-Ok.¡± ¡°Just relax¡­ and let your mind and soul drift away.¡± I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was starting to get sleepy and lose consciousness, I felt my whole body shaking, and then¡­ my mind just went blank. Chapter 8: Far Road Ahead
"Roads are not just built to get to point B, they are also built so you can enjoy the ride." -Misaki Elledan
Not too long after, we were on a train to our way to ¡®Silver Streams¡¯ the capital of our province ¡®Phoenix.¡¯ We still used our private train again to get there so we wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by any other people, Kasai doesn¡¯t like having this special treatment, so she was against the idea, but I managed to convince her, by allowing her to rest on my shoulder until we arrive, of course I had to allow Shizuka too, or she would have started throwing a tantrum, and surprisingly they both got very sleepy even though they just slept, so here I am in a train that¡¯s going to take three hours to reach the capital and my two shoulders that are about to go numb¡­ but I¡¯m not going to lie to myself¡­ this feels pretty nice¡­ I¡­ I wish we could be like this¡­ all three of us, forever¡­ I closed my eyes and fell asleep. A couple of minutes later, I woke up floating on the train looking at our bodies sleep. ¡°W-What?¡± There was a fine blue string attacked from my body to my soul, I was guessing that was my life string which prevented my soul from drifting away from my body. ¡°R-Rukito?¡± I heard Shizuka¡¯s voice echoing in my head, I heard someone call my name from behind me, so I turned back. I swear I¡¯m not crazy, but I saw Kasai¡¯s and Shizuka¡¯s spirits right behind me. ¡°Shizuka? Kasai?¡± I asked myself very confused. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± ¡°Rukito?¡± I heard Kasai question herself. ¡°Wait, did you just talk, Kasai?¡± Asked Shizuka. Apparently, she also heard her this time. ¡°We are in a spiritual world; body limitations aren¡¯t transferred over to our souls.¡± ¡°Yes, but It¡¯s still surprising to hear your voice! Right Rukito?!¡± She looked towards me to see if I had a reaction of surprise, but I completely forgot that Shizuka didn¡¯t know about the telepathy. ¡°Huh? Oh!¡± ¡°Wait, you aren¡¯t surprised?!¡± ¡°O-Oh, well. You see,¡± Briefly after, we heard a voice saying, ¡°Welcome to my astral realm!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± A strange man appeared in front of us. ¡°This is my singularity called ¡®Astral Realm¡¯¡± We looked around and saw many spirits besides us looking at our way. ¡°R-Rukito! Who are they?!¡± Said Shizuka with a shaky voice holding my arm. I forgot that Shizuka is afraid of spirits since after all, she is a believer of ghosts, so her room is full of charms too. Shortly after, Kasai said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this before, our souls are disconnected from our bodies, and whatever happens here is actually happening in real life; this is not a dream.¡± ¡°How did we get here?¡± ¡°Since you will never be able to go back into your bodies, allow me to explain.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°My spiritual singularity is called ¡®Astral Realm¡¯ I can make anyone who I touch start getting very sleepy and then, they are able to access into my astral realm; they can only leave if I allow them to.¡± ¡°But we haven¡¯t touched you!¡± ¡°Rukito¡­¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°I think he¡¯s the ¡®drunk¡¯ man who bumped into us before arriving at the station. ¡°What?!¡± I looked closely, and I realized it. ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± ¡°But what are you planning to do here? You can¡¯t hurt us in a spiritual world.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°That¡¯s true, but my partner is also on the train with us.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Another man walked inside our train cabin with a knife, he looked homeless. ¡°He will kill all three of you and take you to our boss so he can replenish his magic powers.¡± As soon as he said that we all realized he was from black tombstone, I rushed towards the man and tried to grab his arm, but my hand went right through him. ¡°Dammit! Spirit Daisho!¡± But nothing happened. The man laughed and said, ¡°Singularities don¡¯t work in my realm little boy!¡± Shizuka looked at me and asked, ¡°W-What are we going to do?¡± The other man was getting closer and closer to us to kill us, but suddenly someone else also walks into our cabin. ¡°Hey, you! I noticed you are homeless and had a knife, so I just came in here to make sure you don¡¯t do anything drastic with it! I know that life can suck and everything, but you just have to find a woman that-¡± Yes, that was my master Hachimura. ¡°Who are you?!¡± Asked the homeless man. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t the people that are sleeping there from the Aizawa family?!¡± ¡°Y-You know them?!¡± ¡°Oh, I see what¡¯s going on¡­¡± Yes! Luckily my master was also on this train with us. ¡°You want to kill Rukito out of envy because he actually found two amazing and good-looking girls!¡± I sighed¡­ what a way to put this situation into place. ¡°Rukito isn¡¯t that your master?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± ¡°I can see that you¡¯re not a fighter, so please just leave without any-¡± The homeless man rushed at him, he instantly pierced him through the left ventricle of the heart where the bomb was; he managed to deactivate it before it blew up. ¡°Dammit¡­ YOU IDIOT! I WARNED YOU!¡± The man dropped to the ground, bleeding. ¡°DAMMIT!¡± He took a moment and sighed, he walked up to us and shook us. ¡°Rukito, Shizuka, Kasai, Wake up.¡± We instantly got pulled back into our bodies and woke up. ¡°Master¡­ thank you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°We were in a state of astral projection, we saw everything that happened¡­.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Kasai looked at him and sighed. ¡°Is this his first kill?¡± Kasai asked me using telepathy. ¡°I think it is¡­¡± I got up and said, ¡°This is your first kill. Right master?¡± ¡°Unfortunately¡­¡± I patted him on the back and said, ¡°It was either your or him, you made the best choice.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± But out of nowhere, I look back at the body, and it was gone. ¡°Wait, WHAT?!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I pointed at the body, and everyone looked. ¡°He¡¯s gone!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we never saw his singularity!¡± I heard Kasai telling me. ¡°Yes, it must have something to do with his singularity.¡± ¡°Wait where¡¯s Shizuka?!¡± I looked back and saw her still sleeping. ¡°Oh¡­¡± I shook her, and she woke up shivering. ¡°AAAAA!!!¡± She yelled. ¡°Where are the ghost?! Are they gone?!¡± ¡°Y-Yes Shizuka¡­¡± ¡°Oh! Thank god! I was about to get a heart attack!¡± She started breathing quickly. ¡°Most importantly, the body just disappeared.¡± ¡°What?!¡± She exclaimed confused. ¡°Yes. Black tombstone is being very careful not letting bodies or men behind that can be checked on.¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, their boss is definitely not dumb, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Said, my master. He took a deep breath and continued by adding, ¡°At least we didn¡¯t have to dispose of the body.¡± ¡°Rukito, he might still be alive, let¡¯s not let our guards down.¡± ¡°Yes I know, Kasai.¡± A couple of minutes passed waiting to see if anything was going to happen, but it seemed clear. I turned to my master and said, ¡°So Hachimura, I thought this train was private. Only people of the Aizawa family are allowed in here, how did you and the other person get on board?¡± ¡°Well the Aizawa family lets me use this train since we¡¯ve known each other for quite some time, so that wasn¡¯t that big of a problem, I just didn¡¯t expect you guys to be on the train at this time.¡± ¡°And where are you going?¡± ¡°Silver Stream. I¡¯m going back with my fianc¨¦ for a while.¡± ¡°Aww, really?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°She lives in Silver Steam?¡± ¡°Not really¡­ Actually¡­ I¡¯m going to the port so I can go to the cloud elf continent.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ SHE¡¯S A CLOUD ELF?!¡± ¡°Y-yeah! And a special one too.¡± ¡°What do you mean, special?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve said too much!¡± ¡°Actually, we¡¯re heading to the cloud elf continent too!¡± ¡°Wait, really? What brings you there?¡± We took a while to explain everything, but afterward, he said, ¡°Oh wow, I hope you can find a cure for her curse.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I hope we can also convince the king to come back from his dumb vacation.¡± ¡°That too.¡± ¡°Hey Rukito, can I talk to you and Kasai for a moment?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Oh, sure!¡± We walked off. ¡°Sooo¡­ you weren¡¯t surprised when Kasai was talking, that leads me to believe you have heard her voice before.¡± I wasn¡¯t going to lie, I think that it was time to tell her that I¡¯ve been able to hear what Kasai wants to say to me for a while now. She also probably might help me understand how is this happening because it can get really annoying. ¡°I have¡­ but probably not as you think.¡± I explained to Shizuka that Kasai and I have been able to communicate telepathically for a quite some time. ¡°How come you didn¡¯t tell me about this?!¡± ¡°Sorry, I just wanted to figure out why first.¡± ¡°Tsk, whatever¡­¡± Suddenly we heard the train driver say on the speakers, ¡°We¡¯ll be arriving at Silver Stream in about an hour.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s get ready.¡± Said Shizuka while walking away. Around 55 minutes later, the train stops out of nowhere. It was quite the harsh stop, we all slowly got up and asked ourselves, ¡°What happened?!¡± Soon, we hear the train speakers. ¡°Silver Stream has stopped every train to enter the city.¡± The current railroads are electrically powered, without electricity running through the railings, the train can¡¯t move. This electricity flow is controlled by the central station which is located inside of Silver Stream.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Huh?!¡± We were all puzzled. ¡°A¡­ A massacre has happened in the city.¡± ¡°Wait, WHAT?!¡± I got up and looked out the window. Silver Stream was visible. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± I ran to the front of the locomotive, where the driver was, to ask him, ¡°Do you know anything else?¡± ¡°N-No, the only thing that I was told was that a numerous amount of people were killed in an instant by someone yet unknown by the police.¡± ¡°Crap¡­ that¡¯s where Sachi lives¡­¡± But, depending on the number of people that were killed is highly unlikely that Sachi got caught up into it. The city is not that small. ¡°Do you know if it happened near an Inn or some sort?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s all I¡¯ve been told.¡± But yet again, taken in mind that Sachi has a singularity means that she can be a big target for a black tombstone. ¡°Did they stop the electricity?" ¡°Yes, even if we still wanted to approach, we wouldn¡¯t be able to.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ When the electricity is back, you can go back.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Tamashi, right?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go walking, don¡¯t worry about us.¡± ¡°Mr. Rukito, are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, tell my parents that everything is fine if they ask.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± Silver Stream was three miles ahead, we had to go through a short tunnel and a small forest before we were at the entrance. I walked back to my group and explained everything that happened. ¡°A massacre? Isn¡¯t it quite dangerous to go then?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Well, Sachi lives there. I showed her around the place before, so I know. I have to make sure she is ok.¡± ¡°Rukito, I appreciate your concern for others, but let¡¯s not be selfish; Think about the danger Shizuka could be in.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Hachimura, you, and I know how to handle ourselves moderately. But Shizuka is not a fighter.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Master, could you use your singularity on Shizuka?¡± ¡°Oh, for sure!¡± ¡°W-Wait why me?¡± I didn¡¯t want to tell her straight up that she is weak, so I just got closer to her ear and whispered. ¡°Because you¡¯re very important to me.¡± Which wasn¡¯t a lie, but I didn¡¯t want to give her reason number two. She blushed like I expected and shushed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make our way there.¡± It should take us about 45 minutes to get there. With all our luggage it wasn¡¯t going to be comfortable walking that much. We got out of the train and started making our way towards the tunnel, the city¡¯s skyscrapers were visible, and we realized that it was quite the walk. ¡°I hate walking.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°We barely just started and you¡¯re already whining,¡± I answered back. ¡°Not my fault I prefer to read books inside my room!¡± ¡°It kinda is¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really mind it; usually when I go out, there are many beautiful girls to admire, that¡¯s actually how I met my fianc¨¦!¡± Said, my prideful master. ¡°Aww, that¡¯s sweet.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that sweet at all actually! I bumped into her because I was looking at another girl, I fell on top of her with my leg between hers, and my hand on her chest. It looked like one of those clich¨¦ animes on tv!¡± ¡°Hahaha, really?¡± ¡°Yeah, but instead of slapping me and calling me a pervert like I was expecting, she apologized and suggested on getting some coffee for making the inconvenience up!¡± ¡°Aww, she is a keeper.¡± ¡°Yup, she is!¡± It¡¯s kind of scary the fact that Shizuka (The biggest anti-perverted I¡¯ve ever met) getting along with my master¡­ ¡°Well on my side, I was locked inside a cage most of my life, but I don¡¯t have a problem walking.¡± Told me, Kasai. ¡°Oh yeah, how come?¡± ¡°I usually went for short jogs in the morning when I was in the orphanage, it was a good way to keep my mind off my past.¡± ¡°Uhm, say. Kasai.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Do you think if we coincidentally got placed in the same orphanage you would have still talked to me? Or did we just got together out of luck?¡± ¡°Hmm, hard to say. I think at least I would have been interested in you since you¡¯re pretty handsome.¡± ¡°Aww come on, you know I didn¡¯t mean it that way.¡± ¡°Yes I know, but there¡¯s something different between you and every other guy Rukito.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean it physically, or emotional. You¡¯re an amazing person and all, I¡¯m sure Shizuka can tell you more about how amazing you are in an emotional perspective, but I had this soothing feeling that I¡¯ve already known you before. I felt like I could entrust you my heart and I know you would have taken care of it; the first time I met you I had that feeling.¡± ¡°Really? I felt the same too.¡± I doubted that she had the same feeling, but apparently, she did. ¡°I knew that I had nothing to fear with you, even though I still had my trauma and didn¡¯t want to get touched by anyone, you helped me get rid of it. You fixed my broken spirit, and for that, I¡¯m really thankful.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I had no idea how to answer that. ¡°And I think that¡¯s also part of the reason you basically made me fall in love with you. You reached into my heart and healed every traumas, insecurities, worries, and remorse I had away.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was pleased with that answer, even though I had nothing to answer to that. ¡°It has gotten pretty quiet, are you two talking?¡± Said Shizuka looking back at us. ¡°Talking?¡± Asked my master. ¡°Yes, they have telepathy with each other apparently.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Mhm, that was my same reaction.¡± ¡°N-No! It¡¯s just-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever.¡± She sighed and added, ¡°Times like these, I wish cars weren¡¯t banned.¡± ¡°Or you know, just get out of your room for once in a while.¡± ¡°Oh, shut up!¡± I chuckled. We arrived at the entrance of the tunnel, it wasn¡¯t too long, so the exit was visible, but it was quite a bit dark. ¡°Here comes the fun part.¡± Said, my master. ¡°That¡¯s a way to put it,¡± I replied. We entered the tunnel, but Kasai seemed to have stayed outside. ¡°Hmm?¡± We turned back. ¡°Kasai! What¡¯s wrong?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s gotten into her?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to her.¡± I walked back to her and asked, ¡°You ok?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah! I-I¡¯m ok!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I got closer to her and held her shoulders. She looked down and said, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m a bit afraid of the dark. But just a tiny bit!¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, we all were when we were kids.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at me!¡± She blushed. I gazed into her eyes and said, ¡°I get it, it reminds you of your past doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°H-How-¡± ¡°It¡¯s understandable Kasai, but trust me, it¡¯s going to be fine.¡± I¡¯m guessing she never had somebody to tell her that there is no monster under the bed. ¡°Here,¡± I held her hand tightly. ¡°You can hold my hand if you want if you really get scared squeeze it tightly ok?¡± She blushed even more. ¡°S-Stop treating me like a little girl!¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I let go of her hand. ¡°No! No! No! I was just kidding!¡± She grabbed my hand again. I started chuckling. ¡°Come on, we have a far road ahead.¡± She puffed her cheeks while walking and looked away. ¡°I wish I could kiss you right now.¡± I chuckled and replied, ¡°Well, I can already feel Shizuka¡¯s death stare from here; it¡¯s like her green eyes of jealousy shine even brighter the closer we get. If we kiss in front of her, don¡¯t bother calling the ambulance because I¡¯ll be dead before it even gets here.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t wait till we get married you know¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. But, patience is a virtue.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a very patient person¡­¡± ¡°Then do it for me.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Asked Shizuka with a menacing tone while looking at our hands. ¡°She is just a bit afraid of the dark, so I¡¯m just helping her with it.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ alright.¡± ¡°I see that under that tough skin of yours, you still are a soft little girl huh?¡± I told Kasai. ¡°N-No! That¡¯s not true, Rukito!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, your skin is soft as a feather.¡± ¡°Y-You know I didn¡¯t mean that! And I said that¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°Well, really? Then how come under all that teasing and playfulness, when it comes to ¡®get down to business¡¯ you get very embarrassed and anxious?¡± ¡°SHUT UP! It¡¯s not like you have tried to do it¡­.¡± ¡°Oh Kasai, you would probably faint from nervousness.¡± ¡°Ok, you¡¯re going too far! W-w¡­we should stop this conversation right here!¡± ¡°See how it feels?!¡± I was also trying to take her mind off the darkness with our little conversation, so this little chat helped out more than one way. ¡°Thankfully, no one can see me blushing from your embarrassing words!¡­¡± ¡°Oooh-how the mighty have fallen, my little succubus! The big and tenacious lioness turned into a house kitty-cat.¡± She giggled, took a deep breath and said, ¡°I love you so much. It¡¯s pleasing feeling love after 17 years of your life.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°Huh?! You¡¯re supposed to say the same back to me!¡± ¡°Listen, girl, in this world, there is no such thing as an equivalent exchange.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You got scammed.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Right¡­ you don¡¯t know what being scammed means¡­ this joke is pointless now.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m so confused.¡± ¡°Bottom line, I love you so much too, Kasai.¡± She gave me a wholesome, genuine smile and kept walking. This smile is what I live to see¡­ I don¡¯t want to see her with her emotionless-broken expression ever again. That whole chat took us most of the way through the tunnel, I¡¯m pretty sure she even forgot that we are even in a tunnel, to begin with. ¡°Ha! It¡¯s so dark!¡± She said while squeezing my hand tighter. Yup, there it is. You know¡­she genuinely is someone special to me. The difference between Kasai and Shizuka for me it¡¯s something out of first impression in my opinion, while Kasai¡¯s first impression might not have been the best one, when I first met Shizuka and started hanging out with her I was feeling of her more as a big sister that teaches me stuff I don¡¯t know considering how smart she is. Arriving at my new household, thinking that I will finally have a sibling, but soon later realized that Shizuka liked me, I wasn¡¯t sure what love was like before I met Kasai, so I thought that maybe I fell in love with Shizuka and almost asked her out on a date to try it out. Consequently, Kasai enter my life, my stomach felt weird the first time I met her, and my heart was racing, so much that every time I touched her, it felt like it was going to explode. I knew that I didn¡¯t need a date to be in love with her because I already was¡­ it was almost as if I already knew her before. And when I saw her childhood through her memories, I realized that she needed more help than anyone else, she was the one that I wanted to be happy with for the rest of my life, she was the one I wanted to see smile the most, because she has also suffered the same, if not, way more than I ever did. And of course, I still am and will always feel this way for her. We reached the end of the tunnel. We had a look at the city from afar, it was still a little more to walk, but we should arrive there in a couple minutes. ¡°Kasai, you¡¯ve never been here, right?¡± I said out loud. ¡°No, this is my first time actually.¡± ¡°Oh, makes sense.¡± ¡°Well, I always come here to do some shopping for my stuff so not for me.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°I don¡¯t live around here, but it is a nice city after all.¡± Said Hachimura. ¡°Well, since we are talking about Silver Stream, I think it should work from here¡­¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°What?¡± She stopped to kneel down and touch the ground. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Wisdom-World.¡± Ancient writing started appearing around her, they all circled up, and a book appeared in the center of the circle. ¡°That is so cool,¡± I commented. ¡°W-What is that?¡± Said, my master. ¡°Wisdom-World is her materialistic singularity, it allows her to know everything about a place, a race, a spell, or an object.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s useful.¡± The book¡¯s title was ¡®Silver Stream.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t tried this before in this city.¡± ¡°It calls too much attention.¡± We kept walking towards the city while Shizuka read the book. ¡°So apparently it was named Silver Stream because thousands of years ago, the river in the city was abundant with silver.¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s interesting,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, and the people thought of it as a sign and gift of the gods to make a town here.¡± ¡°You know, I never really got into religion, you mind explaining a bit of it? I¡¯m sure Kasai also wants to know.¡± ¡°Not really, but I¡¯m a bit curious.¡± My master looked at us and said, ¡°I can explain! After all my fianc¨¦ is super religious counting the fact that she is a cloud elf.¡± ¡°Oh, alright. Save me some time.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°So there¡¯s a bible for it of course, but I¡¯ll try to summarize it.¡± ¡°I might consider getting one,¡± I said. ¡°I actually have many back at home.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡°There are many religions, but the most followed one is ¡®Yinarus¡¯¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it before.¡± Said Kasai ¡°Its history goes that there was once this lonely omnipotent divine deity that wanted to have something to look after, so it created the universe filled with stars and planets as a playground for its 7 children.¡± ¡°Oh wow, what a playground,¡± I commented. ¡°Its original plan was to look after them, but it decided once they were of age, to give each one of them a unique power that will help shape the universe.¡± ¡°What were the names of all of them?¡± ¡°The divine being¡¯s name is unknown, but every child has their names written in the bible.¡± ¡°Which are?¡± ¡°From oldest to youngest¡­ ¡®Tempus Deus,¡¯ was the first deity to be created, she was said to be feminine, as she was supposed to be given an aspect of the divine god, so there are some speculations that the divine god had feminine looks, she was given the power of creating and control time. But she was nicknamed ¡®Lira¡¯ from her younger siblings.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very interesting,¡± I commented. ¡°The second child was ¡®Spatium Deus¡¯ being the second deity to be created, he is said to be masculine, as the divine deity wanted to make a counterpart look to her. The divine deity noticed that everything needs its own balance, so basically, in poor men¡¯s words, the male was created to balance the universe out. He was nicknamed, ¡®Ginga¡¯ from his siblings.¡± ¡°Oh wow, but what was his power?¡± ¡°He created more space and controlled it too. He was also able to control gravity.¡± ¡°Oh so basically time and space?¡± ¡°Yes. The next 5 children the deity created were males, as she started taking a liking to them. The next one was ¡®Energ?a Deus¡¯ third and hyperactive son of the great deity. He was nicknamed ¡®Zeus¡¯ by his siblings, and he was given the power to create and control energy.¡± ¡°Are they like¡­. Angels or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get to that in a moment.¡± ¡°Oh alright.¡± ¡°¡®Elementum Deus¡¯ joined the big picture, and he was said to be a bit crazy, also a male, and he was nicknamed ¡®Bakuretsu¡¯ which means explosion since he had quite the explosive personality. He controlled every element in today¡¯s periodic table, and maybe even more unknown to humans.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite¡­ powerful.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they all?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Actually not one of them, but I¡¯ll get to him in a second.¡± ¡°Oh right, I forgot about him.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Next up, ¡®Solis Deus.¡¯ Given the ability to create suns and manipulate fires. Nicknamed ¡®Luminos.¡¯ He was the prideful son of the great deity, also masculine.¡± ¡°This is so overwhelming.¡± ¡°You have no idea what my fianc¨¦ put me through to listen to all of this¡­¡± ¡°Oh lord.¡± ¡°The last male, being ¡®Luna Deus.¡¯ He was the little kid of the family, and he could make moons, he was nicknamed ¡®Yoru¡¯ by his siblings.¡± ¡°Ah, so he is the one not as powerful?¡± ¡°Yes. The last child was feminine, the great deity decided to ultimately make a female. She was named, ¡®Natura Deus¡¯ she was nicknamed ¡®Greenterra.¡¯ ¡°Wait isn¡¯t that our continent name?¡± ¡°Yes, we named it after the goddess that made us this beautiful planet. Most people call her ¡®Mother Nature.¡¯ So yes, she is capable of making places capable of life. She is also capable of creating new animals and races, but she wasn¡¯t capable of making other deities.¡± ¡°Incredible, those are the seven children?¡± ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s not over. They all worked together with Greenterra to make angels, which are not divine beings, they were just made so the seven siblings could also have people to look on to. Though they indeed contain immense power, it¡¯s nowhere close to the seven siblings.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how they were made¡­¡± ¡°On the opposite end, Greenterra soon was told by the great deity that the universe cannot live unbalanced, so she decided to also make devils. Evil, and opposite from the angels, they were more into taking rather than giving.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. What was the religion called again?¡± ¡°Yinarus.¡± ¡°How can people know all of these things though?¡± ¡°Lira started writing all about this in a book, given to the angels to remember. But the book is said to be modified by the devils and angels so some things may not be true.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s understandable,¡± I said ¡°A very interesting story to say the least.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°My parents don¡¯t believe in such things though.¡± Said Shizuka ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not like they never talked about it with us.¡± After all that talk, we finally arrived at Silver Stream. The city seemed pretty peaceful for being a massacre in there. ¡°Well, here we are.¡± There were guards at the gate preventing people from coming in. ¡°How do we get through them?¡± Asked Shizuka. My master snickered and said, I got this. He walked towards them and showed him his identification. ¡°They are with me.¡± ¡°Alright, you may come in.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, he¡¯s in the military after all.¡± He walked back to us and said, ¡°Easy peasy, now let us proceed.¡± We walked through the city, there were a lot of people walking around and minding their own business doing their daily routine. ¡°Are you sure there was a massacre here?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ where did you say you wanted to go Rukito?¡± ¡°Oh, right! Follow me.¡± We walked towards Sachi¡¯s inn. It was a 10-minute walk from there so even more walking! ¡°Ok, now I¡¯m starting to see less and fewer people¡­¡± We arrived, and the whole block was wiped out, not a single household or shop in sight for the complete block. The police were all over the place with dead bodies every 10 steps you walked. ¡°W-What!¡­¡± Shizuka looked Shocked, I don¡¯t think she has ever seen a dead body after all. ¡°A dozen may have been an understatement¡­¡± Chapter 9: Charlotte Yurei
"The scary thing is not that you die, buthow it''s going to happen."-Charlotte Yurei
With a bunch of corpses scattered around the block, I was in shock by the fact that Sachi¡¯s Inn was gone. I was hoping that she wasn¡¯t in the neighborhood at the moment this happened so I hoped for the best. ¡°Rukito, don¡¯t you have her phone number?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°No, she never had a phone.¡± I walked around trying to see if I could see her body. Luckily I didn¡¯t see her. I decided to ask the police to see if they have seen her. ¡°Sir, have you seen a girl around this tall, black hair, black eyes.¡± ¡°No, when we all arrived everything was like this, and there isn¡¯t a single witness. We will have to check some cameras.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± I know that even though she might be missing, we can''t waste time. I have to get Kasai¡¯s voice back and get the king before more killings like these happen. I guess I¡¯ll find out if she is dead or not after I come back¡­ We all decided to head to the carriage rental shop since there aren¡¯t any trains departing to Yellow Dolphin port. ¡°How much is it again?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°200 Crystalis, I understand if it¡¯s a little too expansive ma¡¯am, you see the fact is that recently we have been-¡± Shizuka showed them her pink star diamond ring, and said, ¡°That¡¯s no problem!¡± ¡°W-W-Whaaaa¡± The man¡¯s jaws dropped to the floor. ¡°The famous pink star diamond!¡± ¡°Come on, I don¡¯t have all day.¡± ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am!¡± They took a scanner and scanned the ring. Suddenly, the scanner said, ¡®You will be making a purchase of 200 Crystalis, eye scan to confirm the purchase.¡¯ She put her eye in front of the scanner, and the purchase was complete. ¡°Thank you miss, the carriage is already here, you may enter and tell the coachman where you are going to go.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Well damn, I knew the Aizawa family had money, but not this much.¡± Said Hachimura. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised¡­¡± I said. We all got in the horse-drawn carriage. As the gentlemen that we were, my master and I let the ladies enter first, but then, I soon realized that was a significant mistake¡­ they both sat on opposite ends¡­ so I had to choose who to sit next to. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong Rukito?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°I uh¡­¡± Thinking of the fact that I slept with Shizuka last night, I believe Kasai deserves it more; she is my girlfriend after all. As soon as I sat beside her, I could feel Shizuka¡¯s green stare of envy squashing me down. ¡°Where shall I be takin¡¯ Y''all?¡± Asked the coachman. ¡°Oh! Yellow dolphin, please!¡± I said. ¡°Sure thin¡¯.¡± The carriage started moving. It was silent for a couple seconds, it began to get really awkward, so I decided to break the ice. ¡°S-So master, why don¡¯t you tell us a bit more about yourself?¡± ¡°Wha? I¡¯ve actually said quite a lot about myself. Why don¡¯t we hear from Lady Shizuka?¡± ¡°Me? There isn¡¯t much to say about me.¡± ¡°Awww, come on! I¡¯m sure you¡¯re quite an interesting girl.¡± ¡°Ah, you flatter me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious though!¡± ¡°Alright, Alright.¡± She took a deep breath and then said, ¡°Before meeting Rukito, nothing much happened in my life. I was annoyed by the fact that every boy in my school knew that I was rich, so that didn¡¯t help with finding a boyfriend in high school since I wasn¡¯t sure if they just wanted me for my money or for my face.¡± ¡°Huh, so you never managed to find one?¡± ¡°No, not really. I wanted someone that liked me because of my personality, not just my face or my money.¡± ¡°She is right! She is the most beautiful girl in our school after all!¡± I said. She blushed and started twirling her hair. ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°Aw come on now. You have guys head over heels for you; you¡¯re smart, benevolent, beautiful, and are more than stable. You¡¯re everyone¡¯s pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.¡± ¡°Y-You think so?¡± She looked down and gripped her cloth. Then I heard her mumble, ¡°Well maybe¡­ I don¡¯t want to be their pot of gold.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Said, my master. ¡°Oh, I said that maybe I don¡¯t want to be a pot of gold.¡± I understood what she was trying to say, and it did quite sadden me. ¡°Yeah, I can understand that you get a lot of unneeded attention, huh?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I hope he finds me as amazing as he finds her¡­ I¡¯m not nearly as smart as her, and she definitely is more educated to be a woman than I am.¡± I heard Kasai¡¯s thoughts in my head. I looked over to her and saw her also looking down. Oh boy¡­ the dilemma I¡¯ve gotten myself into. ¡°Kasai.¡± I looked at her with a smile. ¡°Hm?¡± She looked at me. She just needs a kiss to bring her back to her confident self¡­ but I can¡¯t in front of everyone, so I had to think of something quick. Coincidentally, I remembered that both my master and Shizuka have arachnophobia. ¡°Watch out! A spider is on the ceiling!¡± They both squealed and curled down closing their point of vision of us. ¡°It¡¯s alright I got it! Give me a second.¡± I quickly but gently pulled Kasai onto me. ¡°R-R-Rukito, wha-!¡± Then, I gave her a soft and slow, silent kiss, while caressing her burning red cheeks. I slowly backed off and gazed at her eyes. ¡°You know¡­ sometimes I think that I don¡¯t deserve you. You¡¯re exactly what I ask for in a girl and more.¡± I didn¡¯t tell her I heard her thoughts so she would be more confident about my statement. ¡°I-¡­ I¡­¡± She quickly also curled down in embarrassment. ¡°I-Is it d-dead?¡± Said my master with a shaky voice. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s gone.¡± They both got up and took a breath of relief. They looked at Kasai, then, my master asked me, ¡°Is she also scared of them?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, I think she is a bit more traumatize.¡± ¡°Kasai, it''s dead, you can sit up.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°It¡¯s fine, give her sometime¡­ I can understand her pain.¡± Said, my master. He kept chatting up with Shizuka while Kasai and I started communicating. ¡°Y-Y-You dummy, what if they saw us?!¡± ¡°Then I probably would have been dead.¡± ¡°B-But why take the risk?!¡± ¡°Hm¡­ I don¡¯t know, I just had this strong urge to kiss you at the moment. Can¡¯t let you forget that we are a couple, you know?¡± ¡°Why love me so much? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m perfect you know.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I love you.¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± ¡°You keep trying on living and going forward even though you were born without money, without a school, without friends or anything! And that determination and hope¡­ I just fell in love with it.¡± I started caressing her shoulder. ¡°And that¡¯s what I needed in my life, all I want you to do is give me lots of hope and happiness. When I see you smile¡­ when I see the girl that has gone through the worse imaginable just at least faintly smile at me¡­ really makes me love you even more.¡± ¡°R-Rukito¡­¡± ¡°And when I had the choice of going either with your or Shizuka, I easily knew who to go with.¡± ¡°W-What do you mean?¡± ¡°Come on¡­ not to sound selfish or anything, but since I liked both you of the same amount; not anymore, of course, I asked myself, who would deserve me the most? Shizuka is rich, she is very popular in school, she is cute, she basically has everything a girl could ever wish for. Plus it wouldn¡¯t be hard finding another guy with the number of things she has. Compared to a girl that was going through life alone, looking for someone to help her, and never had any of the privileges that Shizuka had.¡± ¡°So you are saying you choose me out of pity?¡± ¡°No, I picked you out of benevolence¡­ I knew that you needed help more than anyone, I was and still am extremely in love with you. How could I have not chosen you?¡± She looked up at me with tears running down her cheeks. ¡°Thank you so much, I owe you my life.¡± She said with a wholesome smile. ¡°Oh I know, that¡¯s why we are getting married.¡± Shizuka and my master stopped their conversation to notice Kasai crying. ¡°Kasai? What happened?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Wow, is she really that traumatized?¡± ¡°Yup¡­¡± I said. Little did they know, they were tears of joy. ¡°Y-You know¡­ this is my first-time c-crying, I was never hydrated enough before to cry, and I learned not to after I got older and hold everything in¡­ but¡­¡± A load bunch of tears was running down her cheeks even more. ¡°You managed to break me down¡­ in a good way.¡± She started sobbing. I had no idea what to say at that moment, my only instinct was to pull her closer to me and let her rest on my chest. ¡°I¡¯m so lucky I found you.¡± She said. ¡°No, I¡¯m the lucky one here. It¡¯s not so common that an extremely hot girl with an amazing personality and a mature mind appears in your living room. Sure, I had to work my way to you, but it was all worth it.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Awww come on, I slept with you last night, so you better chill down. Plus, she is traumatized from spiders, give her a break!¡± ¡°D-Don¡¯t say that in front of Hachimura!¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°She was sick, I was just taking care of her,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, if you say so¡­¡± ¡°I swear! That¡¯s all!¡± Said Shizuka. Half the day passed, the sun was setting. The coachman recommended us to get a shortcut to the way there so we would arrive a bit earlier. We were almost arriving at our first stop when suddenly, it starts getting really foggy. ¡°A bit foggy out hea¡¯, we might run into some trouble, I¡¯m goin¡¯ to slow down a bit.¡± Said the coachman. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°This specific spot is always known¡¯ to get foggy, there¡¯s myths and legends of why this happens, but I never really told anyone before.¡± ¡°Oh really? Mind telling us?¡± ¡°Oh, sure. Well, it goes that in these hills and woods there is a girl named Charlotte Yurei, but she ain¡¯t a normal girl, she is-¡± He suddenly stood silent. We didn¡¯t have a vision to him, so we didn¡¯t know what he was doing. ¡°Is everything ok?¡± ¡°¡­Pardon me, Charlotte.¡± We suddenly heard a loud ¡®Boom!¡¯ and the horses squealing, the carriage started rolling down which seemed to be a hill. I out of instinct grabbed Kasai and closed her into my arms to prevent her from getting harmed since Shizuka has my master¡¯s singularity on. After rolling for 6 seconds, we finally reached the bottom, and the force of my body and Kasai¡¯s hitting the floor was all put into my right shoulder. After some time, I slowly got up and said, ¡°I-Is everyone ok?¡± Breathing heavily at my side I noticed that my masterfully enveloped Shizuka with his singularity in an instant, even her head, but he soon released the head barrier so she could breathe, my master also had his singularity, so he was also fine, but on the other hand, I was sure I broke my shoulder. I was not feeling pain at the moment because of the adrenaline still running through my body. But it doesn¡¯t matter, all that it matters to me was that Kasai was ok. ¡°W-We¡¯re ok, I¡¯m more worried about you two.¡± Said, my master. I looked down to Kasai, and she seemed to be fine, I move my left arm from on top of her so she could get up, she slowly got up but looked at me super worried. ¡°R-Rukito! Are you ok? Oh my god, I was still in shock by what you told me! This caught me by surprise!¡± ¡°Y-Yeah I should be fine, how about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m completely fine¡­ thanks to you, I was about to hit my head on the pointy iron lamp until you pulled me.¡± ¡°Thank god.¡± Having fast reflexes finally paid of use. I tried getting up with my right arm, but a shock pierced my shoulder like if a thunder just landed right on it. ¡°Gaah! Come on¡­¡± ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?!¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°I think¡­ I fractured my shoulder.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go outside and see what happened!¡± Said, my master. ¡°We need to get you to a hospital!¡± Said Shizuka.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°N-No, we can¡¯t prolong this any further. The more time we take, the more people to die by a black tombstone.¡± ¡°Shut up! We are going to get you checked on!¡± ¡°¡­ I can heal you Ruki.¡± ¡°Aw come on Kasai, I thought I said not to call me that!¡± ¡°Hahaha, I think it¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°How about something like a baby? Or my prince, or something a little nicer?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡± ¡°W-Where are you going?! I have a fractured shoulder woman- GAH!¡± ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to heal you Ruki.¡± ¡°She released her singularity and walked out.¡± ¡°Huh?! What¡¯s that?!¡± Shizuka asked. ¡°It¡¯s her singularity ¡®Spirit Vamps.¡¯ Right, you¡¯ve never seen it.¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a bit complicated to explain. Just use your Wisdom-World on it when you can.¡± ¡°Alright. That aside, can you get up?¡± ¡°I can try, mind helping?¡± She grabbed my left arm and softly pulled me up. ¡°It stings like a fucking tarantula hawk fused with a bullet ant!¡± ¡°That kind of pain would probably kill you.¡± My master walked in the upside-down caravan on the floor and said, ¡°You won¡¯t believe what just happened¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°The coachman seemed like he shot himself in the head, the horses got scared and ran off, while the caravan somehow got detached from them and just rolled off the cliff.¡± ¡°Why would he shot himself? He seemed like a nice guy, and he was in the middle of saying something.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Kasai also walked in and told me, ¡°All the vegetation¡­ trees, plants, flowers, anything that gives off positive energy¡­ even the sun is blocked by the mist! Nothing is here Rukito.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Remember how I told you that I can absorb positive energy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well I can decide not to convert that energy into negative, and if I keep it as positive energy on my daggers, I can release the positive energy in you and heal you.¡± ¡°Oh wow! But you¡¯re saying that there are no plants you can take positive energy from?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll deal with it for a while, let¡¯s try and get out of here so-¡± I looked towards her and see her taking out her singularity again, the blindfold appears, and she slices her own palm.¡± ¡°Kasai! Don¡¯t be stupid!!!¡± I yelled. ¡°What is she doing?!¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Hmm?¡± My master looked curious. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this little slice will only take 1 year off my life. You saved my life not too long ago, and you also saved my life by helping me when I first arrived, so I need to repay you back one way or the other.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not worth it! Don¡¯t worry about me I said!¡± ¡°Can you fucking shut up?! I¡¯m trying to be helpful here! I also want to help you, so stop being selfless and ungrateful!¡± I stood silent, I¡¯ve never seen her pissed at me before, so it surprised me. I¡¯m usually not a selfless person, but she and Shizuka are the only persons in this world that have higher priority than me. ¡°¡­fine.¡± She got close to me and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this won¡¯t hurt much.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°No, but at least it won¡¯t hurt more than the fractured shoulder.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Do me a favor and turn around so I can see the shoulder.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She lifted up my shirt and moved her ¡®hope¡¯ dagger closer to my shoulder. ¡°Ww-w-w what are you doing!?¡± Said Shizuka while looking away. ¡°Oh wow, you sure have gotten better Rukito.¡± ¡°All thanks to you.¡± ¡°Hmm.. if it wasn¡¯t for this blindfold I could see his muscles¡­¡± ¡°I heard that.¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°Kasai don¡¯t tell me you are¡­¡± Said, my master. She started writing something on my back with her dagger. ¡°Tch- damn it burns.¡± ¡°It will be over in a second, I promise.¡± Seconds pass, and she was done. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Asked my master. ¡°It means life in the ancient language.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Did you write a symbol on my back?¡± ¡°Yes, I need to do this to heal you.¡± ¡°Well I don¡¯t feel any-¡± Green particles start surrounding me, I suddenly fell a warm and calming feeling on my shoulder, as if I just got done a 5-star massage. ¡°Oh wow¡­ that feels amazing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± She said while giggling. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s awesome!¡± Said, my master. ¡°Kasai, mind if I read about your singularity?¡± She shook her head. Shizuka took out Wisdom-World and scanned her singularity giving her a page of notes about Spirit Vamps. I took some bandages out of my bag and wrapped Kasai¡¯s palm with them. ¡°Thank you, Kasai¡­ but please don¡¯t do that again, I want to live with you as much as possible.¡± ¡°Ok Ruki.¡± She said while smiling. ¡°Stop¡­¡± ¡°Haha, ok, ok. How about¡­ dear?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, sounds like we are a married couple already.¡± ¡°Even better!¡± ¡°So, what do you think, Shizuka?¡± ¡°Amazing¡­ this singularity is by far the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°Yeah same here!¡± Said, my master. ¡°Right?!¡± Shizuka took a deep sigh and said, ¡°We should get out of this forest.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡± We walked out of the carriage. The environment was dry, colors were dead, and it was also quite a bit foggy. It didn¡¯t smell like anything, a forest would usually smell like flowers and vegetation, but everything was dead, trees had no leaves, and the grass was dry. We looked at the front and saw the body of the coachman covered by a blanket. ¡°I covered him, so you guys didn¡¯t see it.¡± Said, my master. ¡°Should we bury him?¡± I asked ¡°Do we have a shovel?¡± Asked my master. ¡°Sadly, no..¡± I felt Shizuka getting closer and closer to me and said, ¡°R-Rukito¡­ I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this.¡± She started shivering. ¡°This place¡­ this place¡­¡± ¡°This place is filled with negative energy¡­ it¡¯s quite overwhelming.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°It¡¯s about to be night time in any second now.¡± Suddenly, in the distance, we heard a weird screeching noise that sounded like 100 horses dying with a high pitch. ¡°W-w-what was that?!¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Shizuka, mind scanning this place with Wisdom-World?¡± ¡°I¡­ I c-can¡¯t move. I have a terrible feeling!¡± She got really close to me and grabbed onto my arm. ¡°Aw come on, don¡¯t be so scared now.¡± ¡°Promise me you will protect me.¡± ¡°Well of course, but why are you so scared?¡± ¡°I¡­ I heard of that noise before, it was said to be-¡± We suddenly heard the same noise again, but this time it was closer. ¡°Aaah! Please, Rukito!¡± She got even closer and hugged me tightly. I looked over to Kasai, and she said, ¡°Give me a second, I¡¯ll grab some lanterns before it gets too dark to see, I got my bag in the carriage.¡± She walked back into the carriage to grab her bag. As soon as she entered we heard something that sounded like a very heavy horse running towards us, it definitely sounded like a four-legged creature, but it was cumbersome as the steps were loud. ¡°R-Rukito! We need to run!¡± ¡°By what I¡¯m hearing¡­ I don¡¯t think we can outrun whatever that thing is.¡± ¡°Please!¡± ¡°Just give me a page of this place! Maybe it can help us figure out what that thing is and why is everything dead!¡± ¡°Alright, Alright!¡± She quickly scanned it and gave me the page. ¡°The land of Charlotte Yurei¡­¡± But before I got the chance of reading it, a silhouette appeared in front of us in the mist. The creature screeched again, and the fog cleared up, the beast was a chimera: a creature that is composed of more than one animal part. It was standing on four legs, it seemed to be 2 meters tall, it had the head of a rat and the body of a lion, it had the back legs of a horse and the front legs of a bear with a tail of a scorpion. ¡°Oh no! It¡¯s real!¡± ¡°What is that?!¡± I felt a fear envelop me, but I wasn¡¯t going to back down from defending Shizuka. ¡°That¡¯s a chimera! They call it ¡®The Death Wanderer.¡¯¡± My master took his katana out, and I took my Spirit Daisho out. I stepped up with my master and said, ¡°Stay back!¡± The chimera stood on its two legs somehow, it was now double its height¡­ 4 meters. ¡°They usually stand on two legs to intimidate their enemies!¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°THEY?! ARE YOU TELLING ME THERE¡¯S MORE?!¡± Said, my master. ¡°Yes, but not many. Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s only one per dead forest.¡± ¡°Oh great, finally some good news,¡± I said. ¡°Is it excellent news?¡± Said, my master. The creature screeched, and his breath smelled like rotten fish. ¡°He could really use some mint pills,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t even think that would help.¡± Said, my master. ¡°They like attacking with their tails! Be careful!¡± We saw the scorpion tail quickly rising up and getting ready to attack. ¡°Here it comes!¡± But the creature faked the attack and instead attacked with its sharp bear claws. ¡°Rukito! Watch out!¡± My master pushed me away and gave me his barrier while touching me so we wouldn¡¯t have gotten damaged by the chimera. ¡°Hachimura! Sorry, I didn¡¯t think it was smart.¡± ¡°Yeah, to be honest, I didn¡¯t think so either.¡± ¡°But please, leave guardian angel on Shizuka.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°More than sure.¡± He changed his guardian angel singularity and gave it back to Shizuka. We got up, and the chimera was starting to dash towards us. I moved to the right, and my master moved to the left to see what it would do, it suddenly stopped and used the momentum to do a 360¡ã spin on the place and hit both off with the tail. We managed to jump over the attack, while airborne I notice that its tail was red at the end, it seemed as if it was pumping. ¡°Shizuka, do they have multiple hearts or something like it?¡± ¡°Actually the Death Wanderer have 5!¡± Alright¡­ five hearts, one of them is at the end of the tail, he at least must have 2 in his chest and 1 in the head¡­ if my guesses are correct. But where would the last one be? ¡°Master, he has a heart in its tail, he definitely has one in its abdomen, could you try and pierce it there?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I unsheathed my tanto to dual wield. We both started running around it to check for all the hearts, and as I predicted there was 1 on the right side of its stomach, there should be another one on the parallel end. The creature turned towards my master and started attacking him with its claws, while it struck me with its tail, I managed to dodge all the attacks while looking for an opening to cut its tail. But wait, I can¡¯t really cut too many things with my wakizashi¡­ I tried pulling the katana out. ¡°Please!¡± But nothing, it still didn¡¯t want to budge. ¡°AAAH!¡± Whatever, I got my tanto and threw it towards the end of the tail where the heart was like a throwing knife. I¡¯ve practiced this a lot I hoped it didn¡¯t all go to waste. The knife was flying towards the tail very fast, it pierced the tail, and the chimera started bleeding purple blood from its tail. ¡°Yes!¡± But as I was falling the chimera turned around fast and swung its bear claws at me. ¡°Crap! I can¡¯t dodge that midair!¡± ¡°Rukito!¡± Yelled Shizuka. I managed to slightly move inwards towards its paws, so the claws didn¡¯t scratch me, but I still got slammed meters away, but luckily I landed in a bush. I got up and looked off onto where I was. I lost vision because of the fog. Wait¡­ a bush? I thought all the vegetation was dead! As I look at it closer, I notice it also has flowers, and the ground was unleveled. Is this¡­ a hole was once dug here. I looked to my right and saw something glowing aqua-green behind a tree. Hmm? I decided to get closer, but then I realized that I still had the note of this place from Shizuka. ¡°Ah right!¡± So I decided to read it to see if I could find anything useful. ¡°Uhh¡­ a girl¡­ Charlotte Yurei¡­ wait¡­¡± I kept reading and couldn¡¯t believe what I was reading. ¡°W-What¡­¡± I decided to go to that glowing thing behind the tree and realized it was a spirit of a little girl looking at me from behind the tree. ¡°C-Charlotte Yurei¡­ is that you?¡± As soon as she heard her name she hid back behind the tree. Then I heard a voice echoing, ¡°Leave¡­ I want to be alone¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you, Charlotte.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! Leave!¡± I kept walking towards the tree slowly. ¡°Charlotte¡­ I understand bad people did horrible things to you that you didn¡¯t deserve. But those bad people are not here anymore Charlotte.¡± I kept saying her name to make her feel a bit more comfortable. Then, I heard crying. ¡°I¡¯m not one of those mean people Charlotte. You can trust me.¡± ¡°H-How can I trust you?! You¡¯re hurting Ollie!¡± ¡°Ollie?¡± I understood now that Chimera is actually her¡­ pet?! ¡°Well, Ollie started hurting us first, so we didn¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°Ollie likes to protect me¡­¡± ¡°Then come with me, I¡¯ll tell my friends to stop hurting him.¡± ¡°¡­ ok.¡± I ran back to the fight and saw my master and Kasai fighting the Chimera off. ¡°N-NO! Guys! Stop!¡± As I was saying that, my master pierced one of the Chimera¡¯s hearts. It started squealing. ¡°NO!¡± Charlotte was looking at the whole thing and yelled, ¡°STOP HURTING HIM!¡± Suddenly, the trees started moving, and the branches extended and grabbed each one of us by the throat and raised us up. ¡°Gah-¡± I was trying to pull the branches out, but nothing happened. On the other hand, Kasai managed to cut her branches with her daggers stopping them from grabbing her. ¡°K-Kasai¡­ stop¡­ listen to me.¡± ¡°Rukito! Have you gone crazy?¡± ¡°Trust me¡­ this is the only way.¡± She let the branches grab her throat. We were all in the air suspended by these branches. ¡°S-Sorry Charlotte, we will stop fighting. See? N-no one is attacking.¡± ¡°Charlotte? What are you talking about Rukito?¡± Said Kasai. ¡°R-Rukito! Free yourself!¡± Said, my master. ¡°Rukito, I¡¯m scared.¡± Said Shizuka. Charlotte walked in from behind a tree, she had a long beautiful ripped dress; she had long hair with ribbons on them, and she seemed to be around the age of 10. She ran towards the chimera worried while saying, ¡°Ollie! Are you hurt?!¡± Every second I felt my breath going away. Shizuka and my master should be fine since they have guardian angel on them, but Kasai and I were slowly getting suffocated. ¡°C-Charlotte¡­ Please¡­ I promise to heal him if you let us go.¡± She looked back at us with a face of hope. ¡°Will you really?¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­ Just¡­ let us go¡­¡± I closed my eyes. As soon as I did, we all hit the ground. She walks over to me and kneels. ¡°You promised mister, now could you heal him?¡± I slowly got up not to startle her and said, ¡°Yeah, I just need that girl over there.¡± I walked over to Kasai and asked, ¡°Hey, are you ok?¡± ¡°I thought that was my last breath.¡± ¡°Me too¡­ but I need you to heal the chimera.¡± ¡°EEEHH?!¡± ¡°I know, just trust me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have positive energy; those things don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°I found some flowers and a bush, is that enough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good enough, the rest its body will heal it automatically.¡± ¡°Alright, come with me,¡± I said. ¡°Charlotte, could we go to that bush over there?¡± I pointed towards the direction I first met her. ¡°N-no¡­ that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I pulled out the Wisdom-World page and finished reading it. ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± I walked towards Charlotte and kneeled down. ¡°Then how about this?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± She looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll make a nice little grave for you ok? I¡¯ll even bring you gifts and flowers every once in a while! How does that sound?¡± ¡°R-Really?!¡± She started jumping out of happiness. ¡°Yes¡­ I promise!¡± ¡°Oki Doki!¡± We walked back to the bush and Kasai used her singularity to get the positive energy from it, we walked back and healed the chimera with it. ¡°He should be feeling better in a day or two. For now, I just regenerated his hearts.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°¡­¡± She quickly ran behind me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Charlotte?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t like talking to that lady! She is scary!¡± ¡°What?! What did I do?!¡± ¡°She is really strong¡­ she is scary.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Kasai, she is just shy, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been good with children¡­¡± Said Kasai. ¡°I on the opposite hand, am actually pretty good!¡± ¡°Thank you, mister.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now let¡¯s make your grave.¡± ¡°Oki!¡± ¡°Uhm, is all this fog your doing?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, I kept it here¡­ I¡¯m shy, so I don¡¯t want people to find this place, or to come near.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand.¡± I walked towards Shizuka and my master. ¡°I think she fainted¡­¡± said my master. ¡°Yeah, she doesn¡¯t like ghosts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on her, you guys do what you got to do.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Kasai and I went around finding materials and rocks to make a little grave for her. 10 minutes later we were done with everything, right on top of where the bush was we made it, on it, it said, ¡®Rest in Peace, Charlotte Yurei.¡¯ ¡°So what¡¯d you think?¡± She started crying. ¡°T-Thank you, mister.¡± ¡°Ghosts can cry?¡± I asked Kasai with telepathy. ¡°I have no idea¡­¡± Suddenly the mist was instantly gone, and the moonlight shined inside the forest again. Now plants, flowers, and trees were able to grow again in this land. I put pebbles on the grave to show respect to her, then I asked Kasai, ¡°Mind praying with me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really that good at it.¡± ¡°Come on, just repeat after me if you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ok¡± We kneeled down and did a small prayer. ¡°T-Thank you so much, mister!¡± Said Charlotte with tears running down her cheeks. I still can¡¯t get by the fact that a spirit is crying. ¡°It¡¯s getting late Charlotte; my friends and I have to leave ok? I promise to bring something when I come back, I also promise to visit you as much as I possibly can when I have the time ok?¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± She ran up to hug me, but she just went right through me. She giggled and said, ¡°R-Right.¡± We all ended up chuckling together. We went back to my master and Shizuka. She woke up and looked at us. ¡°W-What happened?¡± ¡°Long story, I¡¯ll tell you later. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± The chimera got up and looked at us. ¡°AAHH!¡± Yelled Shizuka. ¡°Hey, Ollie! Go back to Charlotte, she is waiting for you.¡± He quickly got up and ran away. ¡°What?...¡± We were back on the trail walking towards the Inn ahead that was just a mile away. ¡°So can you explain what happened Rukito?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry if I didn¡¯t explain. If I did, then I would have been dead.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Charlotte Yurei was a shy girl around the age of 10 that used to like playing with animals in the woods where she once lived, but since the mystical war happened 118 years ago, she has been dead in those woods.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°Yeah, she always said that she wanted to be a veterinarian when she got older that¡¯s probably how she managed to tame a death wanderer.¡± ¡°Awww that¡¯s so nice.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°A huge amount of mist was released in these woods by the elves long ago so the vegetation died and everyone would have been forced to move from this forest, but people would not leave it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it was so foggy!¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°So that fog has been there for 118 years?!¡± Asked my master. ¡°Yup. Delusional priests around the land were saying that if they buried alive a well-healthy child to the land, they would be freed from the mist and the ground will start growing vegetables again.¡± ¡°Oh no¡­¡± ¡°They choose Charlotte because no one liked her in the town, she was shy, so people mistook that as being ignorant, so bullies also started gossiping about her. They opened a hole in the forest for her. They lured her in with a fake replayed sound of a cat crying in the hole.¡± ¡°How cruel¡­¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°When she went there to peek into it, she was kicked in the back by an adult and fell in the hole. She started screaming while people started filling the hole up with dirt until it was completely filled¡­ her screams stopped. They all went home. It was said that some could still hear her screams and cries at night.¡± ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± ¡°Some adults even killed themselves as from regret to what they did to the poor defenseless little girl. The mist didn''t disappear, everyone still managed to starve, this time even faster. Some say it was the death wanderer who killed them before starvation ever could.¡± ¡°But why did that coachman kill himself?¡± Asked my master. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, everyone who is heard by the spirits telling her story in the mist, is said to be killed. but not any normal way, they are said to be possessed by all the regret from the past adults that buried her and kill themselves while saying ''Pardon me, Charlotte.''¡± ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s rough for a little girl.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m glad I made her happy though.¡± Kasai looked at me while smiling and said, ¡°You¡¯re a kind person, Rukito.¡± ¡°I did what anyone else would have done.¡± I yawned. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy.¡± ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡± A few minutes later we got into the inn, we quickly got 4 separate rooms and were about to say good night in the hall. ¡°That was quite the intense day¡­¡± I said. ¡°Yeah¡­ I think I¡¯m done with spirits.¡± Said Shizuka. My master yawned and opened the door to his room. ¡°I¡¯m going to go. Good night!¡± ¡°Can I slee-¡± ¡°NO! Kasai¡­ I want to sleep alone for once.¡± ¡°Augh, alright.¡± She entered her room. ¡°Good night, Rukito.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Good night!¡± I entered my room and started taking a shower. I took a deep breath and said, ¡°So relaxing¡­¡± I heard the door slightly open, and my eyes quickly widened. I thought I locked my room¡­ ¡°Kasai, if you¡¯re going to join me in the shower I¡¯d advise you otherwise, I would 100% not be able to constrain myself into not jumping on you.¡± Suddenly out of nowhere, Charlotte appeared. ¡°Hey, mister!¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± After all of that, I sat on my bed with my clothes on. ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to take a while for Ollie to feel better, so I thought I would be with you for a quite some time!¡± ¡°Oh by the grace of the seven gods¡­ have mercy on me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll leave in 2 days! Chapter 10: The Bluest Ocean
"To cross the ocean, you first need the courage to lose sight of the shore." -Red Devil
I got up jumping off my bed. I looked around and realized that Charlotte walking in while I was showering was a nightmare. I turned around and see Kasai sleeping next to me. Ah, that¡¯s right, she knocked on my door that night asking to sleep with me, and I couldn¡¯t say no to my own girlfriend. I would say that she looked like an angel sleeping, but the scene was ruined by her saliva running across the pillow. I smirked and caressed her cheeks, in the end, it¡¯s about who she is not just about how she looks. I got up slowly trying not to wake her up and walked over to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth to get ready for the day. I walked back to look at her while brushing my teeth when I noticed that she still seemed perfect for not wearing any makeup, all this time I thought that she had made upon, but apparently I was wrong on that aspect. Since I was a kid I also had unusual eyes, not only they were gold but it seemed like I wore some eyeliner too; people thought I did so sometimes they loved bringing it up, but for Kasai it appears as if its stronger and more defined-- she is a girl after all, so I¡¯m guessing that plays a big part in it. I took a bucket and started to fill it up with freezing water. I¡¯m going to need this in a second¡­ I kept thinking on all the similarities that Kasai and I had, and yet our blood and our birth date are not even slightly the same; I have to look into this after everything is finished, but who knows, maybe Shizuka¡¯s parents are already doing that for us since they are scientists. The bucket ended filling up, I took it and carried it over to the bedroom. I¡¯m sorry baby, but you have no idea how much I¡¯ve wanted to do this. I threw the whole bucket of freezing water at her while she was sleeping. She jumped out of bed shrieking while I was chuckling. She looked confused around her for a couple seconds, and then looked at me. ¡°¡­¡± Complete silence from her while I was chuckling. ¡°This is part of the reason why I wanted you to sleep here.¡± I thought I was going to die, but instead, she started giggling with me. I didn¡¯t expect that reaction at all. ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just thinking of multiple ways I can get you back.¡± Oh no! That was an evil giggle! She slowly got up, wet from head to toe walking towards me while I was slowly walking back. ¡°Listen here my love, my life, my everything. This was just a onetime thing!¡± I tried to persuade her as much as I possibly could. ¡°Aww, you¡¯re so sweet!¡± She hugged me tightly and softly kissed me. Her wet and soft lips made this even better, but now from the hug, I was also wet. She slowly moved her head towards my ear and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m still going to get you back though. But for now, how about we shower together?¡± I bet she expected me to shy off, but I wasn¡¯t going to. ¡°Alright, this day had to come sooner or later right?¡± ¡°W-Wait what?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go!¡± I pulled her to the bathroom. ¡°Get undressed.¡± She started blushing and looked away, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so forceful.¡± ¡°You suggested it.¡± She started taking off her cropped sweater by pulling it up. ¡°Y-You are my boyfriend after all, so there is no problem in seeing me undressed I guess¡­¡± but right at that moment, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Rukito!¡± I heard my master¡¯s voice. Ah, come on! ¡°Just stay quiet Kasai, act like I¡¯m still sleeping.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I can talk, remember?¡± ¡°Right, you can still proceed to undress though.¡± ¡°B-But what if it¡¯s an emergency?¡± ¡°The ship is rented. It¡¯s actually going to be unavailable after 10, and it¡¯s 9:15 AM!¡± ¡°Ah damn¡­ we have to go, Kasai, let¡¯s just dry up really fast and get our stuff.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± We got ready, grouped and went to the port ¡®Yellow Dolphin¡¯ which was a couple minutes away. My master already pre-ordered the ride, so we got on as soon as we got there. The sweet smell of fish and salt water filled our noses, the people around the port doing trading and talking made the scene even better. Seagulls flying over the ships and coast was the cherry at the top. ¡°Where¡¯s the captain?¡± I asked my master. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± ¡°You?!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been a captain since I was 15.¡± ¡°Oh wow¡­¡± ¡°How come?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Well my father was one already, but I always used to be with him on his sailings, so I learned a lot, and many crew members supported me, so they all voted for me to be the next captain.¡± He got onto the steering wheel and yelled, ¡°Lower the sails! Pick up the anchor! We¡¯re sailing off boys!¡± Every crewman did as he said, and we were sailing off, a whole week in this ship is going to be interesting. ¡°Where can I put my stuff?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°In the private sleeping quarter, it¡¯s right under me.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Kasai and Shizuka went down to put their stuff away, while I stayed with my master. ¡°So what¡¯s your fianc¨¦¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Maria Elledan.¡± ¡°Nice name!¡± ¡°Yeah, she also is beautiful! I really want to marry her as soon as possible, but I have to wait a while.¡± ¡°Can I meet her when we arrive?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The wind was hitting my face, we were finally out in the open Cloud Ocean, now we should be taking 6 days to arrive not counting today. I decided to go around and meet every crewman, we will be together for a while. Six days pass, I got to know every single crewman, and apparently, they were all very interested in knowing if Kasai was my sister or not, but I said no, that she was actually just a friend. I couldn¡¯t say she was my girlfriend since Shizuka might realize it. We were a couple hours away from the cloud elf kingdom. Hachimura and I were at the top deck of the ship looking at the horizon to see if we see land, but we didn¡¯t. Kasai and Shizuka were in the sleeping quarters; Shizuka was reading a book while Kasai was practicing her martial arts. I mostly meditated throughout the sailing since I still need to pull that stupid katana¡­ this better be worth. Tin-tin-dan-dan-tin, every bell on the ship was going off. Then I heard, ¡°STORM INCOMING!¡± My master and I looked up and saw black clouds generating on top of us. ¡°What the hell?¡± ¡°Filthy humans! Don¡¯t dare come to our continent!¡± We looked up and saw an elf on the clouds looking down at us. ¡°Oh no¡­ It¡¯s a rebel.¡± Said my mater. ¡°A rebel?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a terrorist group made in the cloud kingdom. They want to kill humans because they still despise them, even though the last war was 118 years ago.¡± ¡°Oh, crap¡­¡± The storm started getting bigger, it started thundering and raining harshly; the winds were picking up. Shizuka and Kasai came out to the top deck and asked, ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± ¡°A rebel¡­ I don¡¯t know how we are going to get through this storm, he is known around sailors to destroy many ships made by humans.¡± We all heard a ripping noise and looked up, the sails were ripping apart. ¡°Crap, they might be old! PICK UP THE SAILS!¡± ¡°No! Rukito, tell him not to pick them up, or we won¡¯t get out of this storm alive!¡± ¡°Master! Kasai said not to pick them up.¡± ¡°But what else are we going to do?¡± Immediately, Kasai climbed up the crow¡¯s nest and balanced herself towards sails to pull them together so they could get out. ¡°Kasai! Be careful please!¡± I told her. The tides were crashing against the side of the ship making it swing left, and right, I was surprised that Kasai still managed to have balanced on that pole, especially counting the fact that everything was wet from the rain. The cloud elf noticed what we were going to do so he came down himself and landed on the ship. Filthy humans! I¡¯ll kill you all myself. He had blue hair and silver eyes like every other cloud elf. I ran down to the middle to face him. ¡°Leave! We have no intention of hurting any of you!¡± I said. ¡°Yeah right, like if I would believe that!¡± He had a spear filled with blue stones and charms. I¡¯ve actually never fought someone that has a spear before so I don¡¯t know what to do against it, but I wasn¡¯t going to back down. I pulled out spirit daisho and said, ¡°Have it your way then.¡± ¡°No, Rukito! Fighting people with spears it¡¯s a lot different than swords! Don¡¯t try to fight him!¡± Said Kasai. She was still holding the sails together, so she wasn¡¯t able to be here with us. All the crewmen got swords and yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Rukito! We got you!¡± They were all surrounding him but he span his spear around, and the wind blew the crewmen down on. ¡°You humans stand no chance against cloud elves like me!¡± I started realizing that the spear he had was able to control the wind, so I had to be careful of that. ¡°Rukito--I can¡¯t hold on much longer to the sails.¡± Said Kasai. Tsk and my master is on the wheel¡­ what can I do? Shizuka walked down to the center and said, ¡°Rukito! What¡¯s going on?!¡± I looked back at her and yelled, ¡°Stay back! He¡¯s dangerous-¡± Out of nowhere, the storm was gone in a split second. I looked back at the cloud elf and noticed that he was looking at Shizuka with distinctive eyes of love. ¡°W-Who is this woman?¡± Kasai quickly got down and hit him in the back of the head with a roundhouse kick. The elf fell to the ground and fainted. She tied him up, and we waited for him to wake up.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°What was all that about?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I replied. The cloud elf woke up and quickly tried to free himself but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Tch, let me go!¡± Shizuka walked up to him and said, ¡°Hi there.¡± There again, he had that same look on his face. ¡°Maybe humans aren¡¯t so disgusting after all¡­ I-I was just angry because humans killed part of my family 118 years ago!¡± ¡°Ah, I see what¡¯s going on.¡± Said Shizuka with an annoyed face. She walked back to us and whispered, ¡°He¡¯s fallen deep, and he has a personal vendetta.¡± She said. ¡°I noticed,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time this happens though.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I know you don¡¯t need to remind me¡­¡± ¡°Are you guys going to the cloud elf kingdom?¡± he asked us. ¡°Yes. Were you the one who created that storm?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Wah-? Storm? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Ah, yes, of course. Acting dumb huh?¡± ¡°What? No! That¡¯s not-¡± ¡°Throw him off the ship said Shizuka.¡± ¡°No please! I can help you get to the cloud kingdom faster!¡± ¡°Hm? And how?¡± ¡°I could carry you to it on my cloud, b-but I can only bring you and no one else.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Surely Shizuka wouldn¡¯t accept that request from this weirdo, especially knowing that she will be leaving me. ¡°Ok, where is the cloud?!¡± HAAA?! A blue cloud appeared out of nowhere, he looked at it and said with a smirk, ¡°Right here. So how about it babe?¡± ¡°Ugh, call me that again, and you¡¯re shark bait.¡± ¡°Ok-ok!¡± She freed him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Shizuka got her stuff, and then they got onto the cloud. I was looking at them with an astonished face. ¡°Since you don¡¯t seem to care much about me, I¡¯m going to leave. You¡¯re always around Kasai since the day she arrived; you completely forgot about me, I can¡¯t stay at your side like this.¡± Said Shizuka to me while flying off. ¡°¡­¡± I was in complete silence, I had no idea of what to think. My best bet was that she is trying to use him as an advantage but with what she said it makes it seem not likable. ¡°What a bitch.¡± Said Kasai. I sighed, all crewman got back to try and fix the sails. I sat down and said, ¡°It was bound to happen one of this days¡­ I just have to face the facts that she no longer only thinks about me.¡± Kasai sat beside me and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, you have me! Plus, now you can reveal to everyone that we are together right?¡± I smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I got up and walked to my master. ¡°Rukito! What happened?¡± ¡°The weirdo fell in love with Shizuka, got her and left.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ really?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Wow, I wish I could pick up girls that easily.¡± ¡°I mean, did you see his packs? I think that has to do with it.¡± I said. ¡°Hey! You calling me fat?¡± ¡°You? Fat? Don¡¯t make me laugh, you look like a stick.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, very funny.¡± He said with a sarcastic tone. ¡°But who is the one that has the fianc¨¦ here?¡± ¡°Ouch, that would have hurt if it was true.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Master¡­ Kasai and I¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re a couple right?¡± ¡°What?! How did you know?!¡± I said blushing. He chuckled patted my shoulder and said, ¡°You know, the way you both look at each other says it all. It reminds me of my fianc¨¦ and me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I said while blushing. ¡°Come on Rukito, I can clearly see the love between you two. Plus that little couple quarrel you had back at the dead forest also showed it¡­ and¡­ I saw you kissing.¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± Said Kasai. She turned super red and looked away holding her cheeks. ¡°I-it can¡¯t be!¡± ¡°I¡¯m proud of you Rukito.¡± He said with a smile. ¡°I remember you coming from school always complaining that you never felt that spark inside of you with any girl you¡¯ve been with so you always ended up giving up on love, so I¡¯m glad you found it.¡± ¡°T-Thank you, Hachimura!¡± ¡°So when is the wedding?!¡± ¡°Wedding?! I-I¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I get it. You haven¡¯t officially engaged yet huh?¡± ¡°N-no, but we¡¯re planning to! We really love each other a lot¡­ I don¡¯t know what I would do without her¡­ probably still depressed about my life in school complaining about how repetitive and boring my days were.¡± She giggled and wrapped her arm around me. ¡°I¡¯m here with you now.¡± ¡°If she could talk it would make this scene a lot better.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know¡­¡± Now that Shizuka was gone, I went around the whole ship holding hands with Kasai; whenever I¡¯m with her I get the feeling that I never want to let her go¡­ it¡¯s truly amazing the feeling of finally finding the person you¡¯ve been looking for your whole life. ¡°Oh! There¡¯s the land!¡± We started seeing trees and mountains on the horizon. ¡°Finally! I¡¯m so interested in visiting this other continent.¡± We then saw a giant fish circling around the ship which looked like a colossal piranha. ¡°What¡¯s that? I¡¯ve never seen such a thing.¡± Hachimura walked down to where Kasai and I were and said, ¡°That¡¯s the ¡®Arcana Eater.¡¯ They are known to protect this continent from pirates. The elves tell them to not attack ships that have a banner at the side.¡± ¡°A banner?¡± ¡°Yes, the banner is basically a permit that allows you to cross onto the Cloud Ocean.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°We will be there in a couple minutes, get your stuff ready.¡± ¡°A couple minutes? Isn¡¯t it further than that? Plus the kingdom is in the sky, how are we going to get there?¡± ¡°You can see it from here can¡¯t you?¡± I looked up, the clouds cleared and I saw the kingdom. ¡°Oh wow¡­ yeah, I see it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s actually a special way to get up there. Cloud Elf policy states that building any type of structure in the land is prohibited if found you could get exiled.¡± ¡°So there is no port?!¡± ¡°Nope, it¡¯s in the sky.¡± ¡°But how¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Kasai and I went down to pick up our stuff. I looked at her while she was picking up her stuff and said, ¡°You know, I still can¡¯t believe Shizuka left.¡± ¡°Why do you care so much? Isn¡¯t it better for us?¡± ¡°Yes, it is¡­¡± ¡°So? Let her be. If she wants to be reckless and possibly raped let her be.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth! Who knows what might happen, she doesn¡¯t even know how to defend herself; for being smart, she sure is na?ve.¡± ¡°Kasai, Shizuka helped me a lot to get used to my new lifestyle, and when people started making fun of me since I had red hair and yellow eyes she stepped up and defended me; I can¡¯t just ignore her like that.¡± She sighed and said, ¡°Whatever honey, you do what you want.¡± ¡°You finally choose a nickname?¡± She giggled and said, ¡°I¡¯m trying to see what sounds the best; I might go with honey.¡± ¡°I like that one reminds me a lot of my parents,¡± I said. ¡°You remember your biological parents?¡± ¡°Not really¡­ it¡¯s all fuzzy and blurry. All I remember is their voices.¡± ¡°Really? I only remember my mother, and I too only remember her voice.¡± I finished packing up my stuff and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± We walked up and saw the ship going towards the middle of two big rocks that were crossing each other forming an X shape. ¡°Hmm? Do we really have to look this cool?¡± As soon as the ship went right through the middle, the scenery disappeared, all our surroundings were flashing colors of blue, white and cyan; ancient writing was also going around the whole ship. My master walked towards us and said, ¡°Teleportation magic¡­ the elders really know how to handle their magic.¡± ¡°The elders?¡± ¡°They are 10 great Cloud Elf magicians that reside in a shrine named as the elders. There, they use their magic to keep the kingdom on the sky, and to make these portals that allow entry up here.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be known across the entire sea?¡± ¡°No, they actually switch portals for every ship. These portals only allow up to one ship to enter.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, last time we had to go face on with a little tsunami, hahahaha.¡± ¡°¡­ Wow¡­¡± ¡°I hope I get to meet them, they probably are able to tell me a thing or two about my singularity, and why I can¡¯t pull the Katana even though I meditate almost daily.¡± ¡°Smart idea, but I heard they are pretty busy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll manage in one way or the other.¡± We finally finished teleporting up to the Cloud Kingdom. The ship was slowly moving towards a port. We docked and boarded off the ship. ¡°So you guys are coming to see my fianc¨¦?¡± Asked my master. ¡°Yeah, probably tomorrow. Kasai and I want to settle into a hotel first.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let her know so she can cook something good up. I live in Comet Cloud; my house number is 1021. ¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Now that we are in the clouds it feels kind of weird since I know that every single cloud is meant for a zone of the kingdom. For example, the mall is basically in one cloud that is named the Coin Cloud, the residents are in the Comet Cloud. Kasai and I already planned all of this, so we know how it works. ¡°I guess this is a good-bye then.¡± ¡°Good-bye? More like a see you later.¡± ¡°Right, see you around then!¡± ¡°Yup.¡± He walked off but then turned back to look at us with a grin. ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t break the bed!¡± Both Kasai and I instantly blushed. ¡°W-what do you mean?!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, nothing-nothing!¡± I sighed and said, ¡°What a guy.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not wrong though!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°You shut up! We have more important things at hand, like saving innocent people getting killed.¡± ¡°Yeah but a little fun won¡¯t hurt!¡± I chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Since entertainment is a big part of Cloud Elf culture, I noticed that there are many amusement parks around the place. Knowing that Kasai always wanted to go to one, I secretly bought tickets for both of us for the best amusement park in the kingdom. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why we are going to have some tonight!¡± ¡°W-Wait are you being serious?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± I held her hand and started walking towards Twilight Cloud, which literally was only the hotel named Twilight. Looking around we noticed that every single Cloud Elf had some cool tattoo which is their birthmark. They all had blue hair and silver eyes, and they also seemed very happy, I guess entertainment keeps people on their positive side, so that¡¯s probably why it¡¯s a big part of their culture. ¡°You know I thought that at this altitude it was going to be freezing cold, but it¡¯s actually pretty warm.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°I think the elders might have something to do with it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. So I¡¯m guessing it never rains here huh?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ good question, but I don¡¯t think so.¡± While we were walking around the kingdom every single elf looked at us, seeing two red-headed people probably wasn¡¯t something they saw every other day, so we understood since we were looking at them with the same face of curiosity. ¡°Oh look! That one has a spider birthmark! It looks so cool!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Yeah, it does actually. You think they mean something?¡± Suddenly a Cloud Elf guide appeared in front of us and said, ¡°Actually they don¡¯t, it''s just so everyone can be unique in their own way.¡± ¡°Oh, hi there!¡± ¡°Hi, my name is Tsuki! I couldn¡¯t help but notice that you are both new hair.¡± ¡°Yeah, I wonder how you figured that out.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s not often we see people with different hair color than blue.¡± ¡°We understand.¡± ¡°If you need any help going around just ask me. Here¡¯s a map.¡± She gave us a big map which showed every single shop and amusement park. I instantly grabbed it and shoved it in my bag, so Kasai didn¡¯t see the park. ¡°Oh! Thank you much! I¡¯ll be sure to check it out when I get to the hotel.¡± ¡°Welcome to Elledan!¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± We kept making our way towards the hotel. We realized how far it was and our feet started to hurt... at least mine. ¡°Isn¡¯t there an easy way to do this?¡± ¡°Oh! There!¡± Kasai pointed towards a little shop that read, ¡®COMET CLOUDS ON SALE!¡¯ ¡°Comet clouds?¡± We went up to check it out and apparently, they sold the same cloud that the weirdo rode away with Shizuka. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what they are. I would imagine it makes it much easier to reach point B from point A.¡± So we bought one and rode it towards the hotel, apparently they were automated, so you didn¡¯t accidentally crash into another one. Flying on the cloud made me feel like I was this kid in this anime I watched named Carrot, just that the cloud wasn¡¯t named Nimbus. We arrive at the hotel in an instant and walk in, bought the room, then the elf at the desk scanned our eyes and let us in. In the elf continent, there aren¡¯t keys, they are easily copied and stolen, so the keyholes have actually iris detection which the door opens only if it identifies your iris. If it¡¯s a visitor, then they would have to knock like usual. We entered the room, it actually had a lot of space with a little living room. At the right of the living room, there was the master bedroom, which had a king-sized bed and a bathroom with a HUGE bathtub. At the left of the living room, there was a kitchen. There were many windows with view to the beautiful outside horizon of the ocean that we were just sailing on, while at the opposite side there was the unexplored land at the bottom. ¡°Wow, this place is marvelous.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°You can say that again¡­ this view just blows our mansion out of the waters.¡± We organized all of our stuff and sat down beside each other cuddling in the living room¡¯s sofa. I was sitting normally while she was sitting on top of me resting her head on my chest, with her legs relaxed and extended across the couch. ¡°I always wanted to cuddle like this with you¡­ no worries, just me and you all alone.¡± Said Kasai with an emotional tone. I started caressing her legs. ¡°It seems like we are married and just bought a house huh?¡± She giggled and said, ¡°Yes, it really does.¡± ¡°Your legs are extremely smooth for being shaved.¡± ¡°Shaving? I never even have done such a thing. The hair on me is weird, it doesn¡¯t grow on my arms, legs, face at all!¡± ¡°Really? Sounds like a dream to most girls.¡± ¡°It only grows on my head of course¡­ I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s really weird.¡± ¡°Not even¡­¡± She blushed and said, ¡°No! Not even there!¡± ¡°Well on my side it does grow everywhere, so I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s annoying having to shave every other day to keep my face clean.¡± She giggled and said, ¡°It¡¯s worth it though.¡± She kissed me and looked into my eyes. ¡°You look very handsome like this.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be compared to you for sure,¡± I said back while kissing her again. ¡°Aww don¡¯t say that, honey.¡± She pinched my cheek then hugged me. ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too, and that¡¯s exactly why¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking you to our first date.¡± ¡°Wait, really?!¡± ¡°Yes, we are going to an amusement.¡± She was frozen in shock for a couple seconds and then said, ¡°N-no way¡­¡± ¡°Yes, way.¡± She hugged me again, but this time it felt like I was going to get chocked to death. ¡°W-When are we going?!¡± ¡°I was going to say tonight.¡± ¡°Tonight? But¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You know I didn¡¯t forget that today is your birthday.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ really?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Hahahaha, even I forgot that today is my birthday.¡± ¡°You got to be joking.¡± ¡°No, apparently there have been so many things in my mind that I completely forgot.¡± ¡°Oh, well now you¡¯re 18! And I wanted to give you a present.¡± ¡°A present? Nah come on Kasai, you being here is more than enough. I couldn¡¯t imagine asking you for anything, all I want is your love and affection as cheesy as it sounds.¡± ¡°I figured you would say something like that.¡± She said while giggling. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a surprise! I¡¯ll show you later.¡± ¡°Oh, alrighty,¡± I said while smiling. ¡°Just remember that you being in my life was the best birthday present I could ever ask for.¡± She smiled, and we continued cuddling until we wanted. From me sitting down it transitioned into her and I laid down hugging each other really tight. Sudden sleepiness hit me, I felt so relaxed, and at peace with her, I felt like I could stay like this with her for millennia, and I still would not mind. We both took a short nap until it was night time since we decided that we were going to go to the amusement park and have some fun. When we woke up, we showered and got ready for what was coming. Chapter 11: Fireworks and Smiles!
"Love becomes stronger with shared memories." -Rukito
After a little romantic walk holding hands towards the amusement park, we heard a clown yelling, ¡°Come in, come in! You beautiful couple would have a ton of fun here in Cloud Land!¡± There was a clown in front of the amusement park throwing confetti around while smiling at the people passing by. We looked at the amusement park from a distance since it was huge, it had a castle at the back with fireworks shooting off all around the place. The big crescent moon at the end made it look a lot better. It was around 9 PM, so it looked even better in the dark night. I looked over at my side to see Kasai astonished by the view, she was extremely excited about the fact that she finally gets to go to a place she always wanted to since she was but a child. ¡°What do you think?¡± The view was surely beautiful. Roller coasters at the side with people screaming. The Ferris Wheel spinning at the left of the park with many rainbow-colored lights around it assembling a star in the middle. Kids laughing at another side by jokes that a clown was telling the children. Kiosk selling children and adults cotton candy and many other types of sweets. The breath of fresh air against us making it even better since we were high up on the clouds made the scene feel as if it came straight from a movie. She started tearing up and look at me, jumped at me and hugged me really-really tight and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did this! You didn¡¯t have to. But thank you so much! This means so much to me! You¡¯re the best, you¡¯re my everything!¡± I couldn¡¯t get a much better heartwarming thanks than that. Seeing that innocent smile again of hers really makes me feel at peace. It was as if the innocent child in her was released. ¡°You¡¯re very welcome ¡­ you deserve it after all!¡± She kissed me and said, ¡°I love you so much! But can we and get some cotton candy?! Pleeease?!¡± ¡°But of course!¡± We held hands and walked over to the kiosk. ¡°Here you go! One for the handsome young man, and one for the beautiful young woman!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± I said. Kasai bowed down to also show appreciation. ¡°By the way, you both look so adorable together.¡± ¡°Thanks! That means a lot to us.¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± She said while smiling. We walked away and decided to choose our first ride. ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Everywhere! As long as I¡¯m with you, I don¡¯t mind!¡± I walked over to the haunted house and said, ¡°How about here?¡± ¡°Oh! This is the haunted house?! Sure!¡± We walked over and saw a huge line. ¡°Well, lines are part of an amusement park.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± After we waited for a couple minutes, it was our turn to go in. There was a man in front of the entrance that told us, ¡°Please put this necklace as you go on, it will not allow your singularity to be activated just in case you don¡¯t activate it by accident and hurt an actor.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± We put on the necklace and walked forward. The place was dark, we went through a door and then instantly the door behind us closes, Kasai started getting scared and grabbed onto my hand even harder. I¡¯ve never seen her afraid, so this was new to me, but I was guessing it was because she was no longer the girl I¡¯ve known, for now, she was just herself; an innocent child that doesn¡¯t like killing or fighting what so ever. ¡°What was that?!¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s pretty dark in here.¡± Suddenly, the room started slowly spinning. Out of nowhere, we heard laughing and giggling around us. The lights turned on, and skeletons and monsters were moving around us looking at us. ¡°Oh, hello there guys! How was your day?¡± I said. The lights flickered once, and then they were all gone. The door in front of us opens, and we continue. The rest of the haunted house was just a bunch of jump scares, fake spikes on the walls that were about to crush us, and many weird looking people chasing us around the house. We got out chuckling about how fun it was, and how we got scared by little dumb things like a haunted house. ¡°That was fun! Let¡¯s go to a ride.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Sure thing.¡± We walked over to the roller coaster, I was always scared of them as a child, but now that I¡¯m with her I could face anything and not be afraid. ¡°That seems so fun!¡± She said. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s actually one of the main machines in this park!¡± Said another clown in front of the roller coaster. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Celestial way,¡¯ And it goes really high up in the sky and drops down at incredible speeds! It also goes off the rails and lands back on the rail with the use of some little magic! So no need to be afraid.¡± Alright, maybe I¡¯m a little scared now. ¡°Oh wow! Let¡¯s try it darling!¡± I had a moment of second thought, but I had to give in for her. ¡°Alright-alright, only if you promise a kiss.¡± ¡°Of course! You will get as many kisses as you want! I owe you everything after this amazing date!¡± ¡°Nah, you don¡¯t owe me anything baby.¡± She smiled and dragged me towards the roller coasters that had a sign at the side that read, ¡®ROADO RO DA DA¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what it meant so I just ignored it. We did the line, then we got on and put our belts on. ¡°Are you both ready?¡± Said a clown. ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°Hold on tightly.¡± ¡°What do you mean hold on tightly-¡± You would expect a roller coaster to start off slow for safety reason, but this one instantly shot off. ¡°AAAAAAAA WHAT THE HEEEEELLLL?! YOU CLOWN!¡± I yelled. While I was almost dying inside, Kasai was right beside me giggling a lot. The cart was going up the rails to get ready for a drop but going up took at least a minute. ¡°My body is so not ready¡­¡± I said. ¡°Haha! So you¡¯re afraid of roller coasters huh?¡± I blushed and said, ¡°N-No, It¡¯s not that!¡± She giggled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not that big of a drop.¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± We were finally at the top. I looked down, and I felt like I wanted to faint, clouds literally covered the way down¡­ but then, this whole place is in the clouds. ¡°PLEASE, GODS HAVE MERCY ON THIS MAN!!¡± We were swooshing down at what felt like the speed of a bullet. I felt all my blood going to my head and the adrenaline kicking like crazy. We finally reach the bottom, but the cart goes up again and goes off the rails shooting off into another rail meters and meters away with a rainbow trail leaving behind the cart. I felt like my heart was going to stop but seeing Kasai at my side giggling and having the time of her life made this an infinite amount of times better. We got off. I felt like I was going to faint any moment, but then she gave me a slow and soft kiss. ¡°I did promise.¡± Then I suddenly felt a lot better. I smiled and said, ¡°Where do you want to go next? There are many rides.¡± ¡°How about¡­¡± While she was thinking of where to go, we heard a kid in the distance calling for his mom. ¡°Mommy! Where are you?!¡± We walked over to the kid and crouched down. ¡°Hey, there little man! Can¡¯t find your mommy?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he kicked me in the crotch and walked over to Kasai. I felt like 100 bones just broke into my body at the same time. ¡°Wh-what the hell you little brat?!...¡± Kasai started giggling and said, ¡°Mommy said not to approach suspicious men who want to take you!¡± ¡°W-WHAT?!¡± ¡°Aww come on Rukito, he¡¯s just a kid.¡± ¡°Tsk! Spoiled brat.¡± ¡°Ask him where is the last time he saw his mother.¡± ¡°Where is the last place you saw your mommy?¡± He pointed at the cotton candy kiosk. Kasai and I held his small little hands and walked him over there through the crowd. I looked at her and at the child. It almost seemed like if we were married and had a child together, this really made my heart warm. I¡¯m not going to lie to myself but¡­ I started crying a bit. Kasai noticed and asked, ¡°Hmm? Rukito?¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± I said while wiping my tears away. ¡°Are you crying from the pain or this lovely place?¡± ¡°A bit of both¡­¡± We arrived at the kiosk, and I asked the kid, ¡°What does your mother look like?¡± ¡°Blue hair, silver eyes.¡± ¡°Of course¡­ but what tattoo?¡± ¡°She has a butter on her cheek!¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°A butter?¡± ¡°He probably means a butterfly.¡± We looked around for a woman with a butterfly on her cheek, and we finally found her running around the crowd. ¡°Here, he has been looking for you,¡± I said. ¡°Oh my god! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°No problem,¡± I said smiling. ¡°But tell him to be less aggressive next time.¡± ¡°Oh no! I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Kasai and I walked away saying our goodbyes. We walked forwards towards the Ferris wheel and decided to get on. We both sat down beside each other and looked at the view while it was going up. It had a beautiful view, especially when it was entirely at the top, you could see the fireworks almost right in front of you. I gazed at her innocent face looking at the fireworks with appreciation. Thank you, god¡­ thank you for giving me such an amazing girl into my life. The Ferris wheel stopped, and the lights went out. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Alright ladies and gents, we are going to shoot the dragons!¡± We heard a clown speaking on a megaphone. ¡°The dragons?¡± I asked. Suddenly, a loud ¡®BOOM!¡¯ Was heard, and we saw a firework turn into two twin dragon flying up doing a helix; a yellow one and a green one. ¡°Wow¡­¡± She looked at the dragons with a dumbfounded look. I decided to lean in, and French kiss her¡­ this was the best day of my life so far, and for her too, I can guess. We got home from the amusement park, took off our shoes and sat down on the sofa. She seemed like she really enjoyed it, way more than I actually thought. She was clinging on to me the whole way here, you would think that some people would get annoyed at it, but I actually really didn¡¯t mind; I could be glued onto her for the rest of my life, and I¡¯d die a happy man. She looked at me with a wholesome smile and said, ¡°I had sooo much fun honey, thank you so much! That meant a lot to me.¡± ¡°Anytime baby. Now, where¡¯s my present?¡± I asked her. She giggled, grabbed my arm and dragged me to the bedroom. ¡°Come here.¡± I had an idea of where this was going, but I wasn¡¯t too sure about it. We both sat down beside the window looking at the beautiful crescent moon. I started thinking of how incredible of a girlfriend Kasai is: She is mature, she is wise, she is gorgeous, she is hot, and she is playful with me! I never imagined I would get someone so special. I looked at her while I was thinking of all of these beautiful things about her and noticed that she was blushing. ¡°I-I can hear what you¡¯re thinking you, dummy¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± I looked away while also blushing. It got a bit awkward for a couple seconds. She giggled. Her eyes seemed to glitter as she was looking at me, her pupils dilated and then she leaned onto my arms, and we kissed with passion. One kiss turned into two, two into three, and we started getting into it. Our hearts were racing as we took each other¡¯s clothes off. ¡°You sure you are prepared for this?¡± I asked with concern. ¡°Y-yes. You¡¯re my first and last one¡­ so please don¡¯t go too harsh on me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t hurt you a single bit, baby.¡± ¡°You said I was the best birthday present you could have asked for¡­ s-so I¡¯m giving you all of me.¡± I continued kissing her to keep the affection and passion in the air.
I took off her yellow cropped shirt and black bra, then, she took off my shirt. I wrapped one arm around her back and started kissing her neck. ¡°You smell lovely, Kasai.¡± She let out a nervous giggle and said, ¡°R-really?¡± With my other hand, I started caressing her long, beautiful crimson hair while I slowly made my way down kissing her breasts. They were full, big, soft, and the texture was perfect, her nipples were small and red, but not too small since by this time she was also getting very excited. I actually really liked them, since most girls that have big breasts also have large areolas, but for her, it was actually pretty subtle, which made them even more attractive for my taste. It seemed as if the gods themselves made this beautiful, attractive body just for me. She was letting out slight moans and cute sounds while I was gently touching and kissing her breasts. ¡°Your body is too perfect to be real Kasai.¡± ¡°Y-you assuming I did surgery?¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°No, it just seems like you have a body of a goddess.¡± ¡°T-thank you¡­¡± I slowly started taking off her shorts. I noticed that she was shivering out of nervousness. I took them off, then saw that she still had stockings under. ¡°You know, we could stop anytime if you want a little breather. It¡¯s normal to be nervous, baby.¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Are you 100% sure?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ I don¡¯t want to ruin this nice mood either.¡± I continued kissing her, but this time we tongue kissed to get her a bit more heated. While I was kissing her I pulled her really close to me so both our chests touched so we could make as much skin contact as possible. She started lightly moaning again. Her face was completely red and so was mine. ¡°Hmm, that tongue tastes like candy,¡± I said while chuckling. ¡°Yours too.¡± She replied giggling. ¡°Then let me taste it a bit more,¡± I said while kissing her again. We kept kissing for minutes while I was caressing every single part of her body. It came to the point that we had to move forward, so I quickly but gently reach down to her ass. I went through her stockings and her panties to make skin contact instead of grabbing her through the clothes, but not as gentle anymore since I wanted to up the intensity a tiny bit; I didn¡¯t want to make this boring for the both of us. ¡°Getting a little impatient are we?¡± Said Kasai with a grin. ¡°You know how hard is to resist this body? You don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve fantasied about it.¡± ¡°I''ve also had my fantasies about you too you know¡­¡± She said while pulling me on top of the bed. She pulled down my pants and said, ¡°How about I give you a fun time for a while?¡± I pushed her down onto the bed and said, ¡°Who¡¯s being impatient now huh? We¡¯re starting with you.¡± I said while pulling down her stockings. Her soft, gentle white skin was revealing more and more. She was wearing black panties which had a nice design of roses on them. I finish taking her stockings off and start caressing her legs starting from her feet, ending on her thighs. ¡°Such perfection¡­ just the type of girl I like.¡± She giggled and said, ¡°Wow, you¡¯re already addicted to me, and we haven¡¯t even gotten to the best part yet.¡± I chuckled and replied, ¡°Can you blame me?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I¡¯ve been addicted to you since the first time I touched you.¡± From her thighs, I moved up and started gently rubbing her pussy through her panties, and at this point is when she began moaning louder. ¡°W~wait.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I want to sit down and do things to you for a while¡­¡± ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re that type of girl.¡± I sat down at the edge of the bed. She crawled off the couch and kneeled in front of me. I took off my boxers and started giving me a blowjob. Surprisingly, she was actually doing pretty well for being her first time, no teeth and using her tongue a lot. My dick felt like it was going to melt, I felt as if her tongue was wrapping around it, as extreme pleasure was overtaking my entire body. She switched to a handjob and looked at me directly in the eyes with a smirk. ¡°How does it feel?¡± ¡°J-just continue...¡± She giggled. Then said, ¡°Mhm, thought so.¡± She went back to a blowjob, but this time she used more saliva on her breasts to give me a boobjob. Her soft and smooth cleavage that always teased me is finally getting what it¡¯s been asking for. I felt like I was going into a deep feeling of ecstasy. ¡°You know how many times I¡¯ve wanted to do this with you? You¡¯re always teasing me with those boobs of yours thinking I won¡¯t do anything.¡± She giggled and said, ¡°I can see that. You¡¯re getting very big.¡± She started going faster, I was really struggling not to cum at this point, but my head was filled with just pleasure. Her saliva all over my dick and her boobs giving me pleasure; the realization of it made it even better. ¡°Kasai, you don¡¯t mind if¡­¡± She shook her head as to say no. At that point I just gave up and decided to cum all across her boobs, she stuck her tongue out as I was cumming all over her. ¡°Haa~ so tasty. Been holding for a while huh? There¡¯s so much!¡± She grabbed my dick and rubbed it all around her breasts to make sure not a single drop was wasted, she pushed it against her nipples and cleavage. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment my entire life...¡± Finally having sex with someone, I genuinely feel a connection with. ¡°So warm and thick¡­ I think I¡¯m addicted to this too¡­¡± She kept sucking every single drop of cum out, this was the cherry on the top, and we weren¡¯t at the best part yet. ¡°Oh wow, you¡¯re still hard huh?¡± ¡°I would keep going all night if this wasn¡¯t your first time.¡± ¡°Mmm~ who knows, maybe I¡¯ll let you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, little girl,¡± I said while raising her chin with my index finger. ¡°I¡¯m not going to go gently for the whole night.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine for me, Mr. 18 years old.¡± She got up and laid on top of me. ¡°How do you like your present?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t have received anything better by my lovely girlfriend.¡± As she was laying on top of me, I grabbed her ass again by going under her pantie and started rubbing her pussy again. ¡°You¡¯re so wet down here.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, you¡¯re turning me on you know¡­¡± She said while blushing and moaning looking at the side. ¡°Look at me, I want to gaze in your beautiful eyes.¡± She blushed even harder and gazed in my eyes. I started rubbing her pussy faster to see her moaning expression; I need to feel and know everything about this girl. Her expression turned me on even more. I started slowly fingering her to make sure not to break her hymen. I started licking her neck and giving her hickeys to get her as wet as she possibly could so she wouldn¡¯t feel any pain. She started moaning louder and louder the faster I fingered her. ¡°I-I can¡¯t hold it anymore..¡± Said Kasai. I turned her around so we would be in the missionary position, as I¡¯ve heard from my master and my past experiences that it¡¯s the best position to take a girl¡¯s virginity. I took off her panties and noticed that she really didn¡¯t grow any hair down there. I chuckled and said, ¡°You weren¡¯t lying.¡± ¡°O-of course I wasn¡¯t!¡± As the rest of her body was perfect, I expected something to not be as good, but even down there she looked way better than my exes. ¡°Let me put a condom on.¡± But she grabbed my arm and stopped me. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I want it to be natural.¡± ¡°But what if¡­¡± ¡°I trust you. I¡¯m not nervous.¡± She said with a wholesome smile. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Plus I could always get that pill.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I slowly leaned on her and slowly inserted it into her. She started moaning a bit, but It did seem like it was hurting her a bit, I had to be a little more forceful to break her hymen, so I decided to do so while gazing into her eyes to make her feel more at ease. She was really tight, but I managed to insert most of it, so I realized that I broke her hymen. ¡°Are you feeling ok?¡± She was closing her eyes trying to hold the pain in. ¡°Y-Yes don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ve felt worse pain.¡± I looked down and notice she was bleeding. ¡°Hey, maybe you should get a small break, baby. I don¡¯t want you to feel pain.¡± ¡°Please, just keep going.¡± She said while she was starting to cry. ¡°Are you sure? You¡¯re crying.¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just¡­ a lot of emotions I¡¯m feeling right now,¡± she said while smiling, ¡°Thanks for your concern, it means a lot to me.¡± I leaned in and kissed her. ¡°But of course! You¡¯re not a slut, you¡¯re my future wife.¡± She giggled and smiled. ¡°Mhm.¡± I slowly started thrusting into her, and she started moaning. On my part it was feeling amazing, her walls were literally squeezing me as hard as they could, almost as if they didn¡¯t want me to take it out. We kept doing it in the same position until she felt less pain. ¡°Let¡¯s switch.¡± She said. ¡°Alright.¡± I turned around with her, so we were in doggy-style position. I inserted it inside her slowly again while grabbing her ass. As soon as I inserted it inside of her, I felt that fantastic pleasure again; my dick fitted perfectly inside of her. It was like as if our bodies were made just to be with each other. She started moaning loud this time, as I picked up my speed. The more I thrust, the tighter her walls were squishing me. I stopped thrusting before I came again and decided to switch positions. This time I was directly on top of her, doing the plain position. I started kissing her while thrusting inside her. I was getting faster and faster again, I had this tremendous urge to just cum inside her, but I knew that it probably wasn¡¯t the best idea. ¡°Kasai¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Wait, let¡¯s switch.¡± I got off her, and she quickly turned me around and sat on top of me in the cowgirl position. ¡°This hurts a bit more¡­ but it¡¯s fine.¡± I grabbed her boobs while she was moving up and down. She started going faster and faster. ¡°I¡¯m about to cum too-¡± She said in between her moaning. I sat up and started tongue kissing her while she was about to climax. I grabbed her boobs with a right hand and held her up with my left. I could feel my dick touching her cervix. I quickly came inside of her, and my head gets all fuzzy, and my vision gets blurry by the amount of pleasure I was having. She came right after me, so I felt her insides twitch a lot while she let out a sexy and loud moan. ¡°My insides are so warm~ It feels so good! ~¡± She kept twitching for a couple minutes while we were hugging each other and kissing. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve never felt such pleasure in my life.¡± Out of all the girls I¡¯ve had, she was way on another level when it came to sex, if not everything else too. I didn¡¯t know you could feel such ecstasy in sex until I¡¯ve had it with her. ¡°T-This ish shoo~ good!¡± She said while we were tongue kissing. ¡°Let¡¯s do it more often please~¡± ¡°Definitely will, baby. How about we take a shower and clean up? I feel¡­ a bit¡­¡± Then, I fainted. I don¡¯t know what happened, but I just blacked out; it was as if all my energy got sucked away by her, and that doesn¡¯t usually happen to me.
Next day, I was woken up by a weird black heart-shaped thing rubbing across my face. ¡°Wha-? What the hell is this?¡± I grabbed it and pulled it. ¡°Ouch!¡± I looked to my side, I saw Kasai with only her underwear on. She turned around to face me and said, ¡°Hey that hurt! what did you do?¡± Kasai looked back and saw that she had some sort of tail. ¡°Ha- HAAAA?! What the hell is this?!¡± ¡°Right? That¡¯s exactly what I said!¡± A long, black tail was coming out of her tailbone, it had a heart shaped tip at the end, and it seemed that she could control it. ¡°T-This is so weird¡­ and why does my chest hurt so much?¡± She got up, and a demon wing came out of her left side shoulder blade. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!¡± Chapter 12: Two Halves of a Whole
"And as soon as we intersected eyes, we knew that our hearts belonged to each other." -Akira Angelus Diabolus
I was still baffled on the bed looking at Kasai''s tail. I looked at her and said, ¡°Ok so, let me get this straight¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°You grew a tail, a wing, got a bigger chest, and also got thicker overnight?¡± ¡°A-apparently.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re telling me you¡¯re¡­ a demon? I¡¯ve never seen one, so I can¡¯t certainly tell.¡± ¡°A DEMON?! But¡­ I¡­ thought I was a human.¡± ¡°That would explain how you survived so long with almost no food and water, and also how strong you are compared to a normal human. I¡¯m not sure about the makeup and hair though¡­¡± ¡°Is there anyone we can talk to about this?¡± ¡°Well my master knowns people around here, maybe he can help us.¡± We got up and started getting ready. ¡°There¡¯s just a little problem here¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°How do I hide this wing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I started touching it, and it felt just like a bat¡¯s wing, but it looked completely different, it was crimson and bigger than usual. ¡°Can you move it?¡± As soon as I asked that she started flapping her wing, she lightly took off from the ground but then landed on her ass. ¡°Ouch.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think only one wing will be of use.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of this?¡± I started questioning myself, but I couldn¡¯t come up with anything... ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ try to concentrate. If you didn¡¯t have your wing when you woke up, it means you can turn them off somehow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± She crossed her legs and concentrated. ¡°While I, will start getting dressed. Last night was crazy; you were really getting into it huh?¡± I chuckled. I looked at her, and she quickly turned super red. ¡°H-hey! I¡¯m trying to concentrate you know!?¡± ¡°Right-right.¡± I started walking away to the bathroom until I heard her say in a low tone, ¡°It was a sweet first time though¡­ thank you, honey.¡± I chuckled and smiled. Then said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I got dressed and walked back to where she was, then noticed that the wing was gone. ¡°There you go!¡± I helped her up and kissed her. ¡°Good morning by the way.¡± She giggled and said, ¡°Good afternoon. We slept a lot.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s 1:26 PM.¡± We rushed towards our master house at comet cloud. I noticed a lot of men were staring Kasai down on the way there, now that she awakened her demon form I was guessing that she was calling more attention by people. Plus, she did get even sexier than before¡­ and I thought that was impossible. She was holding my arm, so no-one really tried to approach her since, in the end, they noticed I am her boyfriend. ¡°He said his house number was 1021.¡± ¡°Yeah. Pretty sure.¡± We arrived and knocked on the door. ¡°Master! Hello!¡± A couple seconds later a little girl opened the door. She had green hair and black eyes. She seemed to be around 12 years old. ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked with a soft voice pitch. ¡°Uhm¡­¡± There is no way this my master¡¯s fianc¨¦! If it is, then I WILL kill him. ¡°Hello there! Is Hachimura in the house?¡± ¡°Oh! yes!¡± She turned around and yelled, ¡°Big brother!!!¡± Ah, that makes more sense. ¡°Coming!¡± Hachimura walked up to the entrance and said, ¡°Oh, hey Rukito. Kasai. A little late huh? Was it really that intense?¡± Kasai looked away while holding her red face. ¡°You have no idea!¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°What was intense?¡± Asked his little sister. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m talking about the endurance training they were doing before coming here.¡± ¡°Ooh! Ok!¡± Oh my god¡­ maybe coming here wasn¡¯t that great of an idea. ¡°You know what, I think something came up, we have to go! Byeeeee!¡± ¡°No-no!¡± ¡°Nope! I¡¯m not listening to you.¡± I looked down at his little sister, and she was crying. ¡°D-did I do something wrong?¡± She said in tears. The guilt was killing me at that point. I had to go inside the house, or I would have had a broken heart for the rest of my life. ¡°N-no! It¡¯s not that. We¡¯ll come in, ok?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± She said while wiping her tears away. ¡°Ok!¡± I walked inside the house with my master, his little sister walked away to the kitchen, and then, my master told me, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her Rukito, she gets emotional pretty quickly.¡± ¡°Oh, but still¡­ and when were you going to tell me you had a little sister?!¡± ¡°Hahaha. See, the thing is I knew that you were going to make fun of me and call me a l-¡± ¡°So you¡¯re a lolicon!¡± ¡°See?!¡± A beautiful woman with fuchsia hair and blue eyes walked in from the kitchen. ¡°Oh, hello there.¡± She bowed. Kasai and I also bowed to greet her while saying, ¡°Good afternoon ma¡¯am. You must be Maria.¡± ¡°Yes, but please, no need to be so formal.¡± She smiled and continued saying, ¡°Hachimura has talked to me a lot about you, Rukito.¡± ¡°Oh, really? I thought he barely did.¡± ¡°Who is this charming young girl?¡± She said while smiling and looking at Kasai. ¡°She¡¯s my girlfriend,¡± I said while wrapping my arm around her waist. ¡°Oh wow, taking ¡®couples look alike¡¯ to another level.¡± ¡°Yeah, about that¡ªI have no idea, probably an extreme coincidence.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they look sooo cute together though?¡± My master asked Maria. ¡°They most certainly do.¡± She snickered. ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the dinner ready!¡± She said while walking off. ¡°Hey Rukito, can I talk to you about something?¡± ¡°Oh! We actually needed to talk to you too.¡± ¡°Oh great, come to the living room.¡± We walked over to his living room, and we all sat on his sofa. ¡°Let us tell our part first, master.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°So¡­ Kasai-¡± She released her wing and it opened spread open showing the beautiful crimson texture and skin while revealing her tail which was wrapped around her waist under her pants the whole time. My master got startled for a second and jumped back. ¡°OH! Hello there wing!¡± ¡°She is a devil.¡± ¡°Yeah, I noticed that, but does she only have one wing?¡± ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s what I wanted to talk to you about. What is she? Why does she only have one wing? Why didn¡¯t it unlock when she was born?¡± ¡°And why does she have no horns¡­¡± Said, my master. ¡°Horns?¡± ¡°Yeah, demons are supposed to have a tail and horns.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Wait a second¡­ can I see that tail, Kasai?¡± Kasai nodded and moved her tail towards him so he could look at it. ¡°Oh¡­ OH!... oh no¡­¡± ¡°What is it?!¡± His wife walked in the living room, sat next to Hachimura and said, ¡°She is a succubus.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that would explain a lot. But I mean A LOT!¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, but why did she unlock it now? Demons already have little wings and the rest when they are babies.¡± Maria got closer to Kasai and said, ¡°Fascinating¡­ I¡¯ve never seen a hybrid devil throughout my years of study¡ªI mean, I¡¯ve read on them in previous logs in our archives but seeing one in person¡­¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ babe.¡± Said, my master. ¡°Oh sorry! I should probably introduce myself.¡± She got up, stepped back and bowed. ¡°I am Maria Elledan, the 5th advent child. Head scientist of the advanced cloud. The principle of Cloud Arcana College.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ how did a guy like this manage to hit the jackpot?¡± I asked while looking at my master while he was smiling at me. ¡°Lady luck loves me, man!¡± His fianc¨¦ giggled and said, ¡°He¡¯s a joker, making me laugh was the way he got me.¡± ¡°Oh and, you said¡­ advent child?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what people call all of us, the daughters of the Elf King.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°There was this prophecy that this king was going to have 11 daughters, and all of them were going to be the ones to change the earth to a better place. Those daughters are called ¡®The advent children.¡¯ The older ones already did their parts on changing the world since they were the one that encouraged the peace treaty between cloud elves and humans.¡± ¡°Oh wow, so that¡¯s what my master meant by your special!¡± She snickered and said, ¡°We also don¡¯t all have blue hair and silver eyes. The ways you can identify and advent child is by one, they don¡¯t have blue hair and silver eyes; And two, they all have a comet birthmark on the top of their hand.¡± ¡°So there are 10 more other sisters of yours right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So since you¡¯re the head scientist of the cloud kingdom¡­ could you help me figure out what¡¯s up with Kasai? And why do we look very alike.¡± ¡°I could try my best! But let¡¯s eat dinner first.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± We all sat down at the table and started eating dinner. After we finished, she decided to take us to her lab. All of us except Hachimura¡¯s little sister walked to the advanced cloud. (The science cloud) I was on the front talking to my master while Maria and Kasai were behind. Out of nowhere, guys started to approach Kasai. ¡°Hi! I noticed you walking down the street, and I couldn¡¯t help myself but notice how gorgeous you are.¡± She looked at him, ignored him and walked away. More and more guys started to approach her, even though she kept ignoring all of them; I didn¡¯t interfere because I knew that she could kick their asses if she really wanted to. It got to the point that she got pissed off and grabbed my arm close to her chest and squeezed it. ¡°I¡¯m already not starting to like this¡­ I only want to hear compliments from you; I don¡¯t care about what other people think.¡± Maria walked beside us and said, ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Usually succubi are unable to fall in love with someone, so they could have many victims, but Kasai seems to be a special case¡­¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad she is,¡± I said while taking a deep breath. ¡°Succubi give off a specific smell that attracts single men.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why my master is not affected.¡± ¡°Yes, and if they stare at someone dead in the eyes for more than three seconds, then they will make them fall in love.¡± ¡°Oh, then she can stare at me all she wants, it¡¯s not going to change anything.¡± ¡°But she could easily undo her charm, she only has to learn by herself.¡± We reached the Advanced Cloud and walked not the lab. Maria decided to change into her lab coat and then she asked, ¡°Could I get a small strand of hair? I just want to check the DNA of you both.¡± I didn¡¯t want to reveal that our adoptive parents were scientists this soon, so we just decided to give her something to test with. ¡°Ok.¡± She got scissors and cut a strand of hair. ¡°Thank you so much, I¡¯ll be back.¡± My master walked away to the small bar in this cloud while Kasai and I remained at the lab waiting for Maria. ¡°Hey, Kasai.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Want to play rock-paper-scissors?¡± ¡°Uhm.. ok!¡± ¡°Rock-paper-scissor, shoot!¡± Kasai went paper, and so did I. ¡°Oh wow! A tie. Let¡¯s keep going!¡± We played for 15 minutes, believe it or not, we always got a tie, even though I¡¯m sure that she couldn¡¯t read my mind and I couldn¡¯t read hers. She suddenly got delighted and jumped onto me. ¡°We¡¯re so alike!¡± I caressed her hair, then we kept waiting for Maria. It took about an hour for her to be finished, but finally, when she was done, she walked back and said, ¡°Yeah, both of your DNAs don¡¯t match, to the point that you can¡¯t be even far cousins.¡± ¡°Ah, well that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°But I did find something weird in Kasai¡¯s DNA.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Apparently she had her devil powers all along, she just unlocked them right now. Is there anything in specific that happened that you think may have unlocked her powers?¡± She asked me. I knew the answer, we both did. We both turned red and turned away. ¡°Haha, well something did happen.¡± Maria giggled and said, ¡°I think I understand. But, that¡¯s not the weird part.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Her succubus DNA is reversed.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°For example, instead of her wanting to get every men¡¯s positive energy and pleasure, she only wants one. In fact, if she did get it from any other men, she would actually feel disgusted and won¡¯t be able to harvest their positive energy a single bit. She won¡¯t even show any emotions while doing it.¡± I took a deep breath of relieved, but then I realized something, ¡°Wait, so doesn¡¯t that mean she would have to take my life energy or positive energy to survive?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ a succubus without life energy becomes an emotionless robot. But her attraction for you is so strong that even the slight touch will give her life energy.¡± ¡°Oh! So that¡¯s why she started being more emotional the more we were together!¡± I was finally starting to understand things. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that mean that I would lose years of my life?¡± ¡°It would¡­ Succubi can¡¯t get positive energy by means of humans like meditating or eating healthy except by having sex with a single man.¡± I took another big sigh of relief. ¡°Hmm¡­ I still won¡¯t leave her though!¡± ¡°Rukito¡­ maybe it¡¯s better if-¡± ¡°No! We¡¯re staying together even if it costs my life.¡± ¡°Luckily Rukito, we also found some devil DNA in you, but it hasn¡¯t been unlocked yet.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It is extremely powerful as we can perceive¡­ I don¡¯t know what you have to do to unlock it but¡­ I think it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Wait, so that means I am also¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re also a half devil. Looking at the good side, negative energy won¡¯t affect you so Kasai can take as much positive energy as she wants from you, in the end, you don¡¯t really need it that much. The only reason why you would need positive energy is to fight some viruses inside you since you¡¯re still half human.¡± ¡°Oh, alright,¡± I said while smiling. ¡°Well, luckily Kasai¡¯s singularity can help you with that!¡± Said Maria. ¡°Wait, you can see our singularities through our DNA?¡± ¡°Yes, we actually learned this from humans, that¡¯s how we were capable of unlocking M.S.¡± ¡°Oh wow, so basically Kasai and I work very well together since we basically help each other. I can make her happy and give her emotions with affection. While she can kill any viruses I have if she uses her singularity to give me positive energy.¡± ¡°Mhm, you¡¯re two halves of a whole!¡± But wait, if humans knew all this knowledge before cloud elves¡­ that must mean that our parents knew our singularities all along¡­ and they also knew that Kasai and I were devils! ¡°Yeah¡­ I realized that too.¡± Said Kasai to me. Stop reading my mind! That¡¯s rude! ¡°Ok-ok, then stop saying it without concealing it.¡± ¡°Talk to the Constellation Priest; he can read souls.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°In the Goddess Cloud, there is a big church, he resides in there. He is one of the 10 elders. He can read people¡¯s souls and can also tell you how you could get Kasai¡¯s voice back. Maybe you both are connected at a spiritual level, not biological.¡± ¡°Wait, so the red hair and yellow eyes aren¡¯t from being half devils?!¡± ¡°No. There is a variety of demons and devils.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Thank you so much for your help, Maria!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, you also helped me advanced with research I was doing on half devils by a lot, if you meet any of my other sisters on your way, say hi for me!¡± ¡°I sure will!¡± We exited the lab and headed towards the Goddess Cloud. ¡°Hey, honey¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You still love me right? This won¡¯t change us right?¡± I scoffed and said, ¡°Of course not! What kind of question is that?!¡± ¡°S-Sorry I just thought¡­¡± I held her hand tighter and looked into her eyes. ¡°I will always love you no matter what happens ok?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s a promise?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Then I kissed her. ¡°Let¡¯s seal it with a kiss.¡± I could feel the jealousy of other male cloud elves around us, but like I cared. We arrived at the Goddess Cloud. There were angels statues all over the cloud as decoration. The big church in the middle had a comet as the symbol of their religion; I wonder what it is? Is it the same as Yinarus? We walked in the church, there were few elves praying, after all, today is not a church day. Kasai and I saw Shizuka at the front talking to someone who seemed elderly¡­ that must be the Constellation Priest. ¡°Shizuka?¡± As soon as she heard her name she turned back to us and jumped out of surprise. ¡°Rukito?..¡± She ran towards me and hugged me, but I didn¡¯t hug her back. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for leaving you like that! I used him as a source of information to learn things we could use to find the king in the kingdom and find what Kasai needs.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if to push her away or accept her apology. ¡°Shizuka¡­ even though you say that what you said seemed as if it wasn¡¯t an act¡­ it was rude.¡± ¡°Still, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Alright, Shizu-¡± ¡°Rukito, don¡¯t you dare accept her apology.¡± ¡°Kasai, but it¡¯s fine, she-¡± Kasai got in between us and pushed her away. ¡°Hey! What the hell?!¡± Shizuka started getting red. The priest walked towards us and said, ¡°Please, if you need to discuss, do so outside.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± We all walked outside the church. Shizuka was looking at Kasai with an angry face while Kasai just had an annoyed expression. ¡°What¡¯s her deal, Rukito?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°I hate little girls like her¡­ she is starting to piss me off; at this point, she is trying to manipulate you with her sorry face.¡± Kasai told me. Shizuka stormed in front of Kasai and shoved her back. ¡°Listen here! You are in no position to push me away from him you weirdo!¡± Kasai sighed, and said, ¡°My tolerance for her has run out¡­ I was trying to give her chances to prove that she can be a decent woman, but I was wrong. For being the oldest of us, she is the childish one.¡± ¡°Shizuka¡­ she does have a position.¡± ¡°Huh?! What do you mean?!¡± ¡°She¡­ we¡¯re together, Shizuka. She is my girlfriend.¡± ¡°What?...¡± She slowly was walking away from us in disbelief. ¡°N-no¡­ she can¡¯t! She hasn¡¯t worked hard on being with you as much as I have!¡± ¡°Shizuka, it¡¯s not about the amount of time you put into a person. It¡¯s about the quality of time you had with that person before you got into a relationship. Kasai and I have had so many good days in these past weeks; it outweighs the number of things we did, Shizuka.¡± ¡°What do you mean?! We have also had our days!¡± ¡°Yes, but few¡­ you¡¯re always reading books, so much to the point, you lose many chances to hang out with me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She was completely silent after what I said. I started feeling guilty for a second, but Kasai noticed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t feel guilty; she can¡¯t have everything she wants. I¡¯m sure this is the first time she is getting denied of getting something she wants.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± ¡°Plus, don¡¯t you love me more?¡± ¡°Of course I do, but I don¡¯t want to see Shizuka hurt either.¡± ¡°You both are using telepathy huh? What are you saying about me?!¡± ¡°Shizuka, don¡¯t get the wrong idea, we-¡± ¡°Why did you even come here in the first place?!¡± Kasai showed her wing and her tail to Shizuka. She jumped back out of surprise, and I said, ¡°Kasai is a succubus; we need to figure out if I¡¯m somewhat in relation with her because we look alike. We came here to talk to the priest.¡± Shizuka got closer to Kasai and said, ¡°A.. a succubus? This makes sense now¡­ that¡¯s how you easily took him away!¡± Her face turned dark; she was utterly unveiled in jealousy and rage. ¡°Rukito, tell her to get away from me. I don¡¯t want to hurt her¡­¡± ¡°Shizuka.¡± I stepped in between them both. ¡°Shizuka, let¡¯s not do something dumb.¡± ¡°Rukito, she charmed you. You¡¯re not yourself.¡± ¡°Please, listen to me! Kasai is a half-succubus, so her powers got awakened just this morning. She hasn¡¯t charmed me at all; it¡¯s all pure genuine love.¡± ¡°And how come did it awakened today morning?...¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Rukito¡­ I¡¯m not dumb¡­¡± Her face was showing no emotions. She started slowly walking away. ¡°I need some time alone. I¡¯m going back to my hotel.¡± ¡°Shiz-¡± Kasai got in front of me and stopped me. ¡°Don¡¯t chase her, she deserves it.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ Let¡¯s meet the constellation priest.¡± We walked inside the church and greeted the priest. ¡°Hi sir, my name is Rukito Nokuwa, this is Kasai¡­ wait for Kasai do you have the last name?¡± ¡°Well¡­ we¡¯re going to be married right? So I can use yours!¡± I blushed. ¡°That¡¯s going to make it worse! People will instantly assume we are related.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°What brings you both here? I¡¯ve never seen visitors like you before.¡± ¡°Oh, we heard from Maria that you could help us with something.¡± ¡°Oh, Lady Maria? But of course! What is it that you need?¡± ¡°Well not to seem rude I wanted to ask about the religion of the cloud elves. I know it¡¯s different from humans, we use Yinarus.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. most of us are believers of the religion named ¡®Yangamus.¡¯ ¡°It sounds similar to Yinarus.¡± ¡°Yes, but they are completely different. Unlike them, we believe that the one omnipotent god created only 2 children.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mhm, one of them was a feminine deity named ¡®Suisei¡¯ she created the stars, comets, and every single beauty that you can see in the universe. She had beautiful blue hair that was said to have stars in them.¡± ¡°Oh wow! She sounds gorgeous!¡± ¡°The other one was masculine, her big brother, Akira.¡± As soon as I heard that name, my head started throbbing. ¡°Ugh! What the hell is this out of nowhere headache!¡± Then I heard a voice in my head calling my name, ¡°Ru¡­ki¡­to.¡± I dropped to the ground rolling in pain, and then out of nowhere, the priest laid his hand on me, and the headache was gone. ¡°Are you ok my child?¡± ¡°Honey, what happened?!¡± ¡°W-What was that?!¡± I asked myself. ¡°I felt some¡­ dark, negative energy in you moving around, all I did was suppress it.¡± I got up and said, ¡°Thank you¡­ I don¡¯t know what happened to me.¡± ¡°Visitors sure get weirder the more time it passes.¡± ¡°Haha, I just think we¡¯re a special kind.¡± ¡°Hmm, really? Anyways, what is it that you needed?¡± ¡°We heard from Maria that you are able to read peoples¡¯ souls, so we just wanted to ask if... if you don¡¯t mind, could you read our souls? At least see if there¡¯s a slight connection or similarity.¡± ¡°But of course. Anything for Lady Maria¡¯s friends.¡± He took out a monocle out of his pocket and wore it. Hmm¡­ that must be his materialistic singularity then. Cloud elves just figured out how to unlock it not too long ago so they shouldn¡¯t all be able to master them. Then again, he is one of the elders. ¡°Huh, both of your souls are actually very alike.¡± ¡°What?! What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like as if half your souls are almost identical, but the other half is completely different.¡± ¡°Oh, now I¡¯m starting to understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that you both were born looking different. If it wasn¡¯t obvious enough, you both were bound to look similar. But¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± ¡°You both were bound to be together.¡± ¡°H-How can you tell?¡± I asked. ¡°There is something called the red string of fate.¡± ¡°What? What is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an invisible red thread around a person¡¯s pinky that connects two people that are destined to be lovers. Regardless of any situations like the place, time, or any other circumstances. I usually don¡¯t tell people who are single these things since they will annoy me to tell them who it¡¯s connected to, but you both are already together, and the string is tighter than I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± I¡¯m pretty confident that hearing that made Kasai extremely happy because it for sure made me very happy. ¡°Did you hear that, honey?¡± She hugged me. ¡°We¡¯re soulmates!¡± ¡°Yeah, I told you we were already.¡± ¡°Till death do us apart¡­¡± We heard the priest saying. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°If one of the people that have a red thread died, the thread would be broken, and it will find another person to bond with.¡± ¡°You heard that Kasai? If I ever die protecting you, don¡¯t be sad forever, there will be someone else.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that¡­ I can¡¯t imagine being with anybody but you. Remember what Maria said? My succubus DNA is reversed, I can only feel emotions if I get your affection.¡± ¡°Come on sweetheart, don¡¯t be so negative, I¡¯m sure the world will work itself for you.¡± ¡°Can we just stop talking about this please?... if you died I would probably be alone forever.¡± ¡°Kasai, if you died I would probably burn the whole world to the ground¡­¡± I said while hugging her. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine anything without you at this point, I would miss you too much.¡± ¡°Please let¡¯s stop talking about this then.¡± ¡°Ok. I agree.¡± I stepped back and took a deep breath. ¡°You know I just realized something.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Since the priest or anybody at that fact can hear our telepathy, imagine how awkward it must be for them to see us interacting¡­¡± We looked back at the priest that had a bewildered face.¡± ¡°Oh boy, devils sure are weird.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ devils?! How did you know?!¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, both of you have devil souls.¡± ¡°Oh, so you can tell if someone is a human, cloud elf, angel, or devil by just looking at their souls?!¡± ¡°But of course, that young girl named Shizuka that walked away is an angel.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± I yelled. ¡°Shh, please keep it down in the church.¡± ¡°S-Sorry but¡­ an angel?¡± ¡°Yes, she comes from the Aizawa family, a clan of angels that only have pink hair and green eyes.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ so her mother is also¡­¡± ¡°Oops, I probably shouldn¡¯t have said that much. Sometimes words just slip out of my mouth.¡± ¡°Does she knows?¡± ¡°Huh? I expected her to know that already.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I have to let her know then.¡± ¡°Something else that was also weird about her was that she had no red string of fate. Maybe her soulmate hasn¡¯t been born yet.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s weird¡­¡± I said. I knew that Shizuka didn¡¯t usually like people younger than her excluding me, so being with someone that young?! I highly doubt it. ¡°So like¡­ do you usually see angels and devils this often? Because it seems like you¡¯re not surprised at all.¡± ¡°I see angels almost every day at the meetings we do in the shrine with the other elders, but devils? It¡¯s not that often you see one around, so yes, I am a bit curious about you two, but I am no scientists, I respect everyone¡¯s life and privacy to invade their things.¡± ¡°Oh.. thank you, sir.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Anything else?¡± ¡°Oh yes, do you know any way to break a curse?¡± ¡°Breaking a curse?... no but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± Suddenly, two young cloud elves entered the church from the backdoor, they didn¡¯t seem normal like the other cloud elves. I instantly thought they were advent children since they were girls that didn¡¯t have the usual blue hair and silver eyes look. ¡°HEY UNCLE MIZAR!!! We¡¯re back!¡± Yelled one of the girls. She had short, straight blonde hair barely covering her left eye that reached down to her shoulders. She had blue eyes and an energetic gaze and smile. He had a mole below her left eye. She was wearing something incredibly unique, she was rocking a white baseball styled hat, it had a green biohazard sign below the visor and a radiation sign on the front panels of the hat. She had a white high-neck cropped tank top while also wearing an emerald bandana around her neck with skulls on it, and a green tracksuit jacket slightly rolling off her shoulders. She also had track pants to match her jacket and some extremely lovely white sports shoes. I actually really like her shoes. Hell, I like her style in general. Even if she seemed like a tomboy. But her chest size was¡­ probably around a B. She had gloves covering the top of her palm so I couldn¡¯t make sure if she was an advent child or not, but I was pretty sure she was. ¡°M-Misaki! Yumi! What are you doing here this early?!¡± ¡°We were getting bored down there, so we decided to come for a quick visit.¡± Said the girl with short blonde hair. The other walked in front of her and said, ¡°We just needed to buy some stuff.¡± This other girl was different, I could definitely tell they were twins, but she had extremely long hair, unlike the other girl. She had a mole below- her right eye. She was wearing green and brown leather armor, while she also had an armored skirt. She gave off the vibe of being more serious and to mature. She also seemed like her chest size was about a D-cup. ¡°Yumi, you know you can¡¯t come throughout the day, if the guards see you both, you will both be going straight to the king.¡± The girl with short hair looked at us and opened her eyes wide. ¡°Huuhh?!¡± She rushed towards us and said, ¡°Red hair?! What is this madness?!¡± Oh boy, here it comes. ¡°Y-Yellow eyes?! You both are so cool!¡± Kasai turned towards me and asked, ¡°Is this what you have to deal with in school?¡± ¡°Something like it.¡± ¡°Misaki¡­ please.¡± Said the priest. ¡°Oh sorry!¡± She closed her fist for a fist bump and said, ¡°What¡¯ up, yo! I¡¯m Misaki. It¡¯s cool meeting unique people like you around this boring place that only has blue haired and silver-eyed people.¡± I smiled at her show friendliness and fist-bumped her. ¡°Hey Misaki, my name is Rukito, and she is Kasai.¡± ¡°Sup, sup!¡± She also fist-bumped Kasai. The other girl named Yumi walked down towards us and slightly bowed. ¡°Good evening, I¡¯m Yumi Elledan. The 7th Advent Children. And she is my twin sister Misaki, she is the 8th Advent Children.¡± As she bowed down, I noticed that she had flower pins on her hair. And I instantly noticed the difference in personalities between them. The priest turned towards us and said, ¡°What a coincidence!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± We all looked towards him. ¡°Rukito asked me how to break a curse, and coincidentally Yumi and Misaki know exactly the place.¡± ¡°Oh, they need to break a curse?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°I think they do.¡± I turned towards Misaki and said, ¡°Kasai has been cursed, she can¡¯t talk at all, I need someone to break the curse.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about someone¡­¡± Said Misaki. ¡°There¡¯s a fruit that grows on a specific tree in the land below that can dispel any curse on someone if eaten.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Really?!¡± I said. ¡°Yes, But it¡¯s in the land below, where no-one else lives.¡± ¡°Except us!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Wait, but isn¡¯t building any sort of structure in the land below banned?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. That¡¯s exactly why the priest said that if guards see us, it¡¯s over. We live in the land below since we grew bored with the clouds and wanted to venture into something else.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°I understand but, do you really know where we could find this tree?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s on top of a mountain guarded by a griffon. I doubt that just two people will be enough to slay the griffon.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°I don¡¯t care, it¡¯s essential for me to get her voice back.¡± ¡°She lost her voice?¡± Misaki asked. ¡°Yes, someone cursed her, and now she can¡¯t talk anymore.¡± ¡°No wonder she was so quiet.¡± ¡°Yeah, but if I could get some sort of map or something to get there it would be awesome!¡± ¡°You could come with us to our house first.¡± Said Misaki. Yumi looked towards Misaki and said, ¡°Misaki, we don¡¯t know these people.¡± She looked towards us and said, ¡°No offense, but you could be part of the black tombstone as far as we know.¡± ¡°Black tombstone?! We are actually also trying to fight them back! They have been attacking us before.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± ¡°Yumi it¡¯s fine! They seem like good people; my senses don¡¯t lie to me!¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t say! You say that about everyone Misaki! I told you to stop being so friendly with everyone. Remember that one guy that scammed us? You said he seemed like a good person too! Turns out he took all of our money and dipped.¡± ¡°Hahaha, but that was something else!¡± ¡°Still!¡± Kasai and I started snickering. ¡°They seem like fun people to be around,¡± I told Kasai. ¡°Yeah, they do.¡± A couple minutes later, after Yumi and Misaki finished chit-chattering about their decision, they came up with a conclusion. Yumi turned towards us and said, ¡°Alright, alright. We¡¯ll let you both come with us, just promise to stay silent about everything that you see! If the king hears that we¡¯ve been around here, then he will lock us in our rooms.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Oh, of course! I promise!¡± I said. ¡°We also want to know a bit about you both before we go! We have to make sure you aren¡¯t some spies sent by the king to find our hideout.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Oh¡­ alright.¡± ¡°What kind of music do you listen to?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Uhm¡­ anything is fine really, I like music in genera-¡± ¡°What¡¯s your favorite color?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually pretty sick of red, so I¡¯ll have to go with orange-¡± ¡°What¡¯s your favorite ice cream flavor?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ Coffee?¡± ¡°Now, what¡¯s your favorite gun?!¡± ¡°Woah, uhm¡­ I don¡¯t know I never really had one or-¡± ¡°Ok thanks, bro! That¡¯s all! You pass!¡± ¡°Wait¡­ seriously?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Most spies would actually get nervous about choosing the wrong answer, believe it or not.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Instead of asking logical questions we ask random stuff.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ interesting.¡± ¡°Misaki and I are leaving in an hour or so. Let¡¯s meet up here when an hour passes. Meanwhile, you can do whatever you want.¡± ¡°Ok! Thank you so much! I¡¯ll be back in an instant.¡± I said. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Kasai I really need to talk to Shizuka about the fact she is an angel. I want you to wait for me here, I think it¡¯s better if only I go.¡± ¡°Rukito¡­ please, I don¡¯t really trust her anymore, she could try to kiss you for all I know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry sweetheart, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll let her. Plus, it¡¯s going to be quick! It¡¯s something that she deserves to know, it might open up a lot of mystery surrounding our parents.¡± ¡°Ok¡­ please be quick.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± Chapter 12.5: Green Eyes of Envy
"Envy comes from insecurity; pride comes from arrogance... where exactly is the point in-between?" -Shizuka Aizawa
I was so excited to show Rukito my spiritual singularity; I¡¯ve been studying and practicing this power so much that I have been able to get a good grip of it, but after I heard that he and Kasai got together as a couple I lost every single drop of joy I had in me. ¡®Rose Sorceress¡¯ is what I came up with as a name, the singularity allows me to write my own spells and infuse them with my soul so I can use them whenever I want if I recite the name of the spells. There is still much I have to learn, I know that I¡¯m not the only person with a singularity like this, most people that do don¡¯t understand how to use it, so I plan on to opening an academy in the future to teach them how to use this singularity. The only way I found information on how to use my spiritual singularity was in my parent¡¯s library; sometimes I wonder how they can hold so much unknown information from others. I was in my hotel room laying on my bed thinking on how much I despise Kasai. Everything was going well until she arrived, and now she has him¡­ WHY HER?! I LOVE HIM WAY MORE! Tsk, that bitch is going to pay, I swear. While I was in bed, I heard a knocking on my door. ¡°Leave!¡± I said. I expected it to be the room service, but then I heard his voice. ¡°Shizuka? Hey, I want to talk to you about something.¡± I hesitated to let him because I thought that he was with Kasai. ¡°Are you alone?¡± I asked him. ¡°Yes, Kasai stayed back at the church.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± I opened the door and let him in. I didn¡¯t make eye contact with him since I was still incredibly pissed off, but I tried to be as calm as possible. ¡°Shizuka, I need to have a serious conversation with you, no hard feelings.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I asked as I went back to my bed lying down facing the ceiling. He sat at the end of the bed and looked at me. ¡°I heard something from the priest that I think you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re an angel.¡± I sat up and looked at him with a dumbfounded look. ¡°HUH?! Excuse me?!¡± ¡°Yes, he said that he felt an angel soul in you, he didn¡¯t tell you because he thought you already knew.¡± ¡°Me? An angel?!¡± Now it makes sense! Everything my mom kept away from me was so I didn¡¯t find out the truth about my origins! ¡°I don¡¯t know if I told you, but I¡¯m also a half devil, not just Kasai.¡± ¡°This¡­ this seems too much of a coincidence.¡± ¡°I know, and this is why I wanted to talk to you. I think our parents planned everything that has happened¡­ Kasai and I meeting each other¡­ you and I meeting, and who knows, maybe even this trip.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ you¡¯re right, I didn¡¯t expect her to let us go that easily, but if they had a plan in mind, then this trip is definitely part of it.¡± I said. ¡°We need to talk to them as soon as we get home, texting would probably alert them, talking in person will be a lot better.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± Maybe Rukito was right¡­ I spent way too much time reading books, so much that we barely have any time to talk, but it sure feels nice being alone with him again¡­ his eyes, and his smile just draws me closer to him¡­ but her¡­ that girl ruined everything! ¡°So now that we are no longer humans, how are we different?¡± ¡°Well I won¡¯t die by aging; my aging will probably stop around my 20s.¡± ¡°Oh really? How about Kasai and me?¡± ¡°Devils also don¡¯t die by aging, but since you¡¯re half, I don¡¯t know. Probably not since devil cells are stronger than humans.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Well, we can still die if someone kills us, so we better be careful with black tombstone.¡± He said. ¡°Right.¡± Why¡­ why did he choose her? ¡°Hey, Ruki¡­¡± ¡°You too now? Stop calling me that!¡± I giggled. ¡°I will if you tell me something.¡± ¡°Tell you what?¡± ¡°Why did you choose that¡­ Kasai.¡± ¡°Why? Because I love her.¡± ¡°Y-¡­ you don¡¯t¡­ love me?¡± My heart felt like it was about to break into a million pieces. ¡°I¡­ I love you more as a sister rather than a partner, Shizuka¡­ maybe when we first met, it could have been different, but instead of spending time with me you decided to stay in your room and read books.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± No, no, NO! I can¡¯t accept this! Why did I have to be so dumb?! ¡°Sometimes I even invited you to go out somewhere, but you decided to stay inside instead. You were too late to fall in love with me.¡± Why? Why did it take me so long to realize it?! Why can¡¯t he gaze into my eyes like he does with Kasai?! Dammit! ¡°Are you crying?¡± I noticed that tears were running down my cheeks. I subconsciously activated a spell, and the room started to get windy. I HATE HER!... I HATE HER!... I HATE HER!... I HATE HER! ¡°Shizuka! Calm down please.¡± But I was enveloped in rage and envy. Shelves started to get knocked down, mirrors, dressers, and frames. He got close to me as I was losing control of myself and then¡­ he hugged me. ¡°Just because you¡¯re not my girlfriend, doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t look out for you and hate you. I will still be at your side if you need help, I will still comfort you if you feel down, I will still hang out with you if I have the time.¡± That was the warmest hug I¡¯ve ever gotten so far; my heart skipped a beat, and the spell started to die down. ¡°Ruki¡­¡± I felt tears running down even more. ¡°And please don¡¯t hate Kasai, it¡¯s not her fault that I fell in love with her. That girl has gone through enough in her early life; it¡¯s time for her to see the positive side of living¡­¡± But no matter how much he told me about her, I still hated her¡­ I couldn¡¯t take off the hate out of my head. ¡°I¡¯ll try¡­¡± He let go of me¡­ I wish I could hug him forever¡­ I wish¡­ time stopped. ¡°Thank you. We found some elves that are willing to help us find the cure for Kasai; have you heard anything about the king?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ actually, he will be leaving sooner than he planned to, he said he wants to have a last meeting with the cloud elf king, then he will be making his way back to Greenterra.¡± ¡°Ok, good. What happened to that cloud elf you were with?¡± ¡°Oh, I ditched him as soon as I got here, after that, I went around to look for the king. I got no tolerance for cocky kids like him.¡± ¡°Well damn.¡± ¡°What? He was very annoying.¡± ¡°Anyways, do you want to come with us?¡± ¡°I wish I could, but now that I know that I¡¯m an angel I have to look deep into this matter.¡± ¡°Could you also look into half devils or devils in general if you could please? Kasai and I will probably just be two or three days out, once we get back, you should be able to tell us most of the things.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Anything for you¡­ ¡°Thank you, Shizuka. I owe you a lot.¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t mention it.¡± Then be with me¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to go, people are waiting for me.¡± Don¡¯t go¡­ ¡°Alright, be careful! And take your time.¡± Come back to me as fast as possible¡­ ¡°Ok, it¡¯s just for two days anyway.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I¡¯ll miss you to death¡­ he got close to me again and hugged me before he went off. Another warm hug¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll miss you; please be safe my little cherry blossom.¡± Even though I¡¯m older than him¡­ even though I know more than him, even though I may seem smarter than him¡­ I always feel inferior when I¡¯m with him in every sense, I always feel like I¡¯m a little kid compared to him, I always feel¡­ an extreme amount of love and admiration. He¡¯s been helping people since this all started, he helped me realize what¡¯s important in life, he helped Sachi get used to her surroundings, he helped Kasai settle in and fix her issues that she initially seem to have, and now he¡¯s going to cure her curse. He helped the people in Greenterra by coming here and warning the king¡­ has ever thought about what he wants? I¡¯ve gotten to read many amazing books here; I¡¯m sure Kasai got to see many beautiful things that she probably never has seen in the orphanage, what has he given himself? What does he want? What are his hobbies he likes doing?... I¡¯ve never figured anything of this out, how can I expect to be his girlfriend if I barely know his goals and ideals? I should have spent more time with him¡­ how much I envy Kasai. How can a girl with everything like me envy someone with nothing? This makes no sense¡­ but I envy her so much! I guess while having everything a girl wishes to have, I had no goals¡­ nothing to look forward. I¡¯m rich, I¡¯m beautiful, I¡¯m smart, I¡¯m popular, and I have and can have anything one could ask for. What now?... all I want is genuine love, and out of all those things, Kasai definitely has the only thing I don¡¯t have¡­ maybe Rukito is right, it¡¯s not her fault¡­ perhaps she had no intentions of hurting me, perhaps I can¡¯t have everything I wish for. Money can¡¯t buy what I mostly want¡­ and it hurts. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t hate me for what I¡¯ve done¡­ I¡¯m sorry I yelled at you and got mad¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± He hugged me tighter. ¡°We all have feelings Shizuka, sometimes we can¡¯t control them, I understand. I¡¯m not going to give you the benefit of the doubt though¡­ I think you''re a bit too rude to Kasai, and she doesn¡¯t deserve it, she actually admired you a lot and looked up to you, but now¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She¡­ admired me?... and I¡­let her down? ¡°Instead of asking me for forgiveness, you should ask her.¡± ¡°W-when you will be back¡­ I¡¯ll be ready to ask her for forgiveness.¡± ¡°Alright! Good, good!¡± He got super happy, I can see that we both mean a lot to him, and that makes me smile¡­ her really does care about us both. ¡°You be safe too ok?¡± I said. ¡°Mhm, no worries.¡± He started walking away, but then looked around and said, ¡°This room is a mess now¡­¡± I giggled, then said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry I got it.¡± ¡°Ok, bye!¡± Chapter 13: Emerald Death
"I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, their death will not be kind." -Misaki Elledan
I went back to church. Apparently, Kasai and the twins were getting along. Misaki looked at me and said, ¡°Yo! Welcome back.¡± Then Yumi turned towards me and said, ¡°I would have never guessed that you two are a couple¡­ I could have sworn you were also twins.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Yeah, we get that a lot, I guess that is because we are both half devils.¡± ¡°Taking the ¡®couples start to look alike¡¯ to another level.¡± ¡°We also get that a lot.¡± Kasai hugged me and said, ¡°So, how did it go?¡± ¡°Pretty good actually.¡± ¡°Thankfully. I actually expected her to go crazy.¡± ¡°Nah, it was fine.¡± Yumi smiled while looking at us and said, ¡°You both sure make a cute couple though.¡± ¡°Heh, Thanks!¡± We said our goodbyes to the priest and walked away. We walked all the way to the edge of the cloud, we had the vision to the land below, it was huge but not as big as Greenterra, I had eyes on a desert in the center, and snow in the north. I was actually fascinated by how those two climates could be so close to each other, maybe this is also a work of the elders? But why would they do so? ¡°I talked to Yumi and Misaki, they said it¡¯s because the elders want as much diverse wildlife as possible.¡± Dammit, Kasai! Stop breaking in my inner monologue! She then giggled. ¡°So, how do we get to the land below from here?¡± I asked. ¡°We jump!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°J-J-JUMP?!¡± I exclaimed. Misaki snickered and said, ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just playing.¡± ¡°Oh ok, but you sure didn¡¯t sound sarcastic when you said it.¡± Then Yumi looked at us and said, ¡°Because she wasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Huh?........¡± Then, Misaki pushed us off. ¡°Wait! WAIT! WHAAAAATTT?!!!¡± While I was dying, Kasai was beside me holding onto me while laughing. ¡°Hahaha, It¡¯s just like the roller coaster!¡± ¡°WOMAN WE ABOUT TO DIE!¡± Then we hit something, but as soon as we touched it, we teleported back up where Yumi and Misaki were. ¡°W-wait¡­ what happened?!¡± Yumi sighed and said, ¡°Misaki could you stop showing people the blue barrier THAT way?¡± ¡°Hah, but it¡¯s fun, Yumi!¡± ¡°The blue barrier?¡± I asked puzzled. ¡°Yes. With a kingdom in the clouds, you would expect it to be dangerous. If kids accidentally fall off or any object does, then they will automatically teleport back up.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°These elders have thought of everything!¡± I said. ¡°They have indeed.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°So then¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll jump with you this time. This is Misaki¡¯s job.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. Misaki giggled, grabbed our arms, and jumped with us while saying, ¡°Water Diffuse!¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± Then, she also said, ¡°Ocean Arsenal, a Rocket launcher!¡± Water started forming on her hand creating a rocket launcher shape, she aimed down towards the barrier and fired what It seemed to be a water rocket. This was undoubtedly an exciting singularity. The rocket exploded in the barrier and opened a hole that we could go through. ¡°There! We go through that hole, and we should be a-ok!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°THIS IS CRAZY! HOW ARE WE GOING TO LAND?!¡± ¡°This is where Water Diffuse takes place!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Suddenly, all of our bodies turned into pure water. No more skin, no more anything, we were all just bodies of water shaped into our body form. It was the weirdest feeling I¡¯ve ever felt, I still somehow could look around and use my body as if it was a normal one, but I was indeed no longer 55% water, I was 100% now. ¡°Honey look! I¡¯m as shallow as Shizuka!¡± ¡°Ok, ok, good pun Kasai, but that was a bit mean!¡± Then, we were about seven seconds from slamming against the ground. We were about to land in the middle of a green open field. ¡°WHAT NOW?!¡± I yelled. ¡°We slam against the ground!¡± Yelled Misaki with a concerning happy tone. ¡°Ah¡­ makes sense¡­¡± Then we all splashed against the ground and dispersed. My vision went black, I was sure I died until the water particles started rebuilding themselves until our bodies were back to shape. I got my vision back, and the water particles disappeared. I had my solid body back again. ¡°Oh my god! That was the scariest thing ever.¡± I looked up, and Kasai was there with a super happy face. ¡°Yeah! That was so much fun!¡± She said with sparkling eyes. ¡°See? It was cool right?¡± Asked Misaki. I turned back to Kasai, laid my hands on her shoulder while sighing and said, ¡°Baby¡­ I could fight a lion for you, I could fight a death wanderer for you, I would sacrifice myself for you, I could even sleep in a haunted house with a hundred ghosts¡­ but jump from that height? I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re on your own next time.¡± The girls giggled. Misaki walked up to me patted me in the back and said, ¡°You did good man; how did you like my singularity though?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ could you explain please?¡± She took out a water bottle out of her bag and said, ¡°Ocean Arsenal allows me to use my own body H2O to make weapons. Of course, it¡¯s limited by the amount of water I consume a day. Humans are usually supposed to drink at least half a gallon a day. I drink around¡­. Three gallons depending on how often I use that ability.¡± ¡°Oh, what happens if you use it too much?¡± ¡°I get exhausted, my skin gets dry, and¡­ I¡¯ve never pushed myself that far so I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a damn cool singularity, to say the least.¡± ¡°Thanks, bro!¡± ¡°What about that Water Diffuse thingy?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s my spiritual singularity, it allows me to transform a person into the water for a couple seconds. They stay in the water form for a while. They only get out of that form if they hit a thing at a fast speed.¡± ¡°Cool, cool.¡± ¡°Right?!¡± ¡°Misaki, you really telling them how your singularity works?!¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Come on Yumi, you still don¡¯t trust them?¡± Yumi took a deep breath and said, ¡°Hmm¡­ you¡¯re right, they seem like good people. At least Kasai does, I don¡¯t know about Rukito.¡± ¡°Hey! What did I do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just joking Rukito, you seem like a nice guy, while you were away Kasai wouldn¡¯t be quiet about how nice of a guy you have been to her.¡± I blushed and said, ¡°Wait, really?¡± ¡°As much as I heard.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ you can hear her?¡± Yumi smiled and said, ¡°The elders made special earrings for the advent children so they could communicate with mystical beasts like the griffons. How they work is that they basically let us use telepathy with them as a way of communication, I¡¯m guessing I got your signals with it and could hear you.¡± ¡°You could hear us all this time?!¡± ¡°Pretty much. You have a keeper, she really loves you, you better not treat her bad.¡± ¡°Yumi, would you squash a puppy?¡± ¡°No, how could I?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Kasai looked back at me and said, ¡°Wait¡­ are you comparing me to a puppy?!¡± I looked back at her and chuckled. ¡°I mean, am I wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know I¡¯m stronger than you!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°That¡¯s a lie. I easily beat you at arm wrestling back at the hotel.¡± ¡°I mean that I could beat you in a fight!¡± I chuckled again and said, ¡°I can agree that your singularity is a lot stronger than mine, and you¡¯re a lot more skillful than I am. But I¡¯m a bit smarter and more strategic. And nothing wins fights more than strategy.¡± ¡°S-Shut up!¡± She said while blushing. Yumi started giggling and said, ¡°Kasai, you going to let him call you dumb like that, Sista¡¯?¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t call her dumb!¡± Kasai smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I know I¡¯m not one of the smartest people. He¡¯s not wrong on that topic.¡± I felt bad now. I got close to her and gave her a quick kiss. ¡°I love you either way, ok? You don¡¯t need to be on Shizuka¡¯s level to be with me.¡± ¡°You two are just too cute.¡± Said Yumi. Misaki walked up to Yumi and said, ¡°Hey, Yumi, why don¡¯t you show them your singularity?¡± ¡°Hmmm, maybe another time, when it¡¯s needed.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°By the way, I forgot to ask¡­¡± I said. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Who is the strongest Advent Children?¡± ¡°Strongest? As in strength or intelligence?¡± ¡°Both!¡± ¡°The smartest one is definitely the oldest one. Her name is Methuselah, we usually just call her Selah for short.¡± ¡°How about the strongest?¡± I asked. Misaki giggled and said, ¡°It¡¯s me of course!¡± Yumi looked back at us and said, ¡°We should hurry up before night falls. Scary and dangerous creatures actually roam around these places when it¡¯s dark, there are no guards to keep them at bay.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, Yumi.¡± Said Kasai. Damn, it¡¯s weird seeing her interact with other people. We started making our way towards the desert I saw before landing. I didn¡¯t really know where we were going, I was just following Yumi. ¡°We will soon arrive onto a desert filled with crabs and scorpions.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Uhm, that doesn¡¯t sound that bad,¡± I said. ¡°They are giants¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ well, then take out your singularity Kasai.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not needed.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Misaki can take care of all of them.¡± ¡°Wait, are you sure?¡± Misaki turned around and said, ¡°Hell yeah, I can!¡± ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡± Minutes later, we arrived in the desert. Tall rock formations and hills were ahead. It was very dusty, I bet this place usually has sandstorms. ¡°Luckily I have other sand scarves around in my bag¡­ Misaki¡¯s bag is only filled with water bottles after all.¡± ¡°So there are sandstorms here huh?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Mhm.¡± She gave Kasai, and I sand scarves. ¡°If a sandstorm is about to hit us just cover your eyes.¡± ¡°Roger that,¡± I said. We kept walking deep inside the desert. Out of nowhere, a bunch of scorpions started to quickly crawl towards us, there were¡­ more than I could count. They were the same size as dogs, I¡¯ve never seen such huge scorpions before. ¡°Misaki, it¡¯s showtime.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need to tell me twice! Ocean Arsenal!¡± She made two Uzis out of the water and dual-wielded them. ¡°Just stay behind me.¡± She put her green bandana on and started shooting the scorpions that were approaching us. ¡°Woah! She is so cool!¡± Said Kasai. I noticed that her eye movement was quick, she was reacting to every single scorpion approaching us from every angle¡­ now I see why Yumi trusts her so much. Right, left, front, back. She was simultaneously covering each of our sides. I was starting to understand why she is the strongest advent children. But she completely lost that innocent look of hers¡­ her eyes were full of seriousness and focus, they were full of concentration and cunningness. ¡°I¡¯ll go up ahead clearing a path, the herd should stop coming. They usually attack the first thing they feel touching their zone, but they learn to back off when they realize they can¡¯t win.¡± That was the last things she said before walking up ahead of us. ¡°Have you noticed?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°Yes¡­ I have.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°What exactly?¡± I asked. ¡°When Misaki puts that bandana on, she becomes someone else. She is no longer innocent and full of energy.¡± ¡°I noticed that, but how come?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to tell you this but¡­ I trust you so don¡¯t tell anyone.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t, I promise.¡± ¡°Well¡­ Misaki is the boss of the gang ¡®The Rebels.¡¯¡± ¡°THE REBELS?¡± ¡°Yes, they are actually a very influential gang across the world. You could even call them a mafia at a point.¡± ¡°But she doesn¡¯t seem to hate humans. She seems like such a nice girl to be around.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Yeah, not anymore. She is so good at managing her two lives that no one could ever guess that she is the boss.¡± ¡°Yeah, no shit. I would have never in my life imagined it. But again, she doesn¡¯t hate humans, right?¡± ¡°Before she used to despite humans since they also had gangs that were racist against cloud elves. The only reasons the rebels exist right now is to control the reputation of the cloud elves outside the kingdom.¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Our father, the king, is too nice to show any intimidation, so the humans never really respected us that much since we are known to care a lot about nature and entertainment, so they think we are soft people who only think for ¡®plants and laughs.¡¯¡± ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡± ¡°Misaki created the rebels because she was sick of humans looking down on our race and giving NO respect whatsoever. Our father had to beg, so humans had a peace treaty with us, the war was too much of a big toll for the whole kingdom.¡± ¡°So that guy that attacked us in the ship was¡­ a rebel?¡± ¡°Oh, that guy?¡± Said Yumi. ¡°No, he¡¯s just a wanna¡¯ be rebel. There¡¯s a lot of people claiming that they are in the mafia since they think it¡¯s cool, especially kids; they don¡¯t understand that it¡¯s not cool, it¡¯s actually very harsh.¡± ¡°Oh ok, that makes sense.¡± ¡°Apparently, it¡¯s also tough to join.¡± ¡°What do you have to do?¡± ¡°Not sure, Misaki doesn¡¯t even want to talk about that life of hers with me.¡± ¡°Oh wow.¡± ¡°All I know is that they call her, ¡®Emerald Death¡¯ or E.D for short.¡± ¡°Thanks for trusting me with this, Yumi,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just¡­ sometimes I really worry for her¡­ one day she might not come back you know?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I understand.¡± ¡°Rukito¡­ could you possibly talk to her about it one of these days?¡± ¡°But of course! I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with the bandana though?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°I heard that her best friend died in a fight against a human gang, and now she carries her bandana as the respect of her death.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ that must suck.¡± I said. ¡°Also, she hates guys touching her.¡± ¡°Oh, so basically a Kasai 2.0.¡± ¡°And by that I mean¡­ she gets aggressive if you touch her. Since she is in an environment with a lot of criminals¡­ too many guys have been trying to sexually assault her¡­ they have all died so far so, be careful when you get close to her, she might pull out a gun out of reflex.¡± ¡°Ah, great.¡± ¡°She is cool but¡­ she is quite scary now.¡± Said Kasai. I don¡¯t know Kasai¡­ I think you¡¯re even scarier¡­ seeing Kasai killing people without a single look of care is actually pretty frightening. How come are the little innocent girls always the scariest ones inside huh? Misaki walked back towards us, took her bandana off and smiled at us. ¡°Path cleared!¡± Kasai and I were looking at her with a concerned look. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really good with those guns,¡± I said. She giggled and said, ¡°Thanks, bro, I practiced a lot.¡± Now, I was really curious to ¡®accidentally¡¯ bump into her. I need to gain her trust if I want to talk to her about her other life. I¡¯ve never dealt with someone like her, so breaking through her shell won¡¯t be easy¡­ but then, I did it with Kasai so it should be easier to make her feel comfortable around me. ¡°Mind if you teach me sometime? I only know how to use swords.¡± ¡°YO?! I¡¯ve wanted to also learn how to use a sword man! I think they are so cool!¡± ¡°Alright, then I guess we can set up a day to teach another.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. I just need to find the time.¡± ¡°Oh alright!¡± Yumi looked at us and said, ¡°It¡¯s starting to get dark, we should set up a camp somewhere around here.¡± ¡°Good idea.¡± Said Kasai. We found a large spot on top of a rock and decided to camp there. ¡°I¡¯ll be setting the tent up, luckily, it can fit four people.¡± The thought of sleeping in a tent with three other girls made me quite nervous, but I have to remember, I am a taken man now. Kasai looked at me with an evil grin and said, ¡°Don¡¯t we need someone to be outside for guard?¡± This girl¡­ ¡°Oh yeah! You¡¯re right.¡± Yumi looked at me. ¡°Rukito, you¡¯re the man here.¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¡°By following human culture, isn¡¯t it your job to defend girls?¡± ¡°¡­ I guess¡­¡± ¡°Then Rukito will be the night watch.¡± Said Yumi. I just wanted to sleep with three girls¡­ ¡°Yumi, I¡¯m hungry!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ the sun is just about to disappear. if you want to go look for some food, you better hurry up but remember you won¡¯t find much in this desert.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got it!¡± This was an excellent chance to be with Misaki. ¡°Misaki, mind if I come with you?¡± ¡°Not at all!¡± She said. ¡°Thanks.¡± Kasai walked towards Yumi and said, ¡°Hey Yumi, I¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I want to learn how to cook, could you teach me?¡± ¡°Oh, how come?¡± ¡°Well¡­ all I much know how to do is fight, and I want to learn all the things that a good wife should know.¡± ¡°Aww, you¡¯re so cute. Well, cooking takes some time to learn, but I don¡¯t mind teaching you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try my best!¡± I really am a lucky man, huh? Misaki and I went out to find something. ¡°So, what is edible around this place?¡± ¡°There¡¯s actually desert boars somewhere around here.¡± ¡°Desert boars?¡± ¡°Yeah, they usually like to rest under some tall rocks, so they shouldn¡¯t be that far.¡± ¡°Oh, alright; I really thought we were going to eat some scorpions.¡± Misaki giggled and said, ¡°You¡¯re funny, Rukito.¡± I smiled and looked at her. She is going to be a good friend of mine, I can tell. ¡°Hey, Misaki, where did you learn how to use all those different weapons? You seem really good at using all of them, I¡¯m just curious.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you. I actually practiced by myself.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s admirable.¡± ¡°How about you? How did you learn to use swords?¡± I took out my spirit daisho and showed her. ¡°These? My master taught me, Maria¡¯s fianc¨¦.¡± ¡°Wow! They look so cool!¡± ¡°Nah, I think your singularity is so much better.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Can I see them?¡± ¡°The blades? Don¡¯t you know that if you touch another person¡¯s singul-¡± She used water diffuse on her hand and touched the swords. ¡°I won¡¯t touch them, the water will, and since it doesn¡¯t count as part of me, then I am able to touch other people¡¯s singularity.¡± ¡°Oh, wow. Alright, go ahead.¡± She took my tanto and carefully inspected it. ¡°Wooow¡­ the wolf on it looks so badass!¡± I sheathed my wakizashi out and showed her the other two wolves. ¡°This one looks even better.¡± ¡°WOOOOOW!¡± If I wanted to get comfortable with her, she had to get comfortable with me. We needed to start off from small body contacts like a hand on the shoulder or hands slightly touching. If we would become good friends to the point that she tells me all about her other life, then we have to get comfortable with each other. She played around with the swords for a couple seconds and then gave them back to me. ¡°What about that one?¡± She pointed at my Katana. ¡°That¡¯s a bit special, I still need to train to use it.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± ¡°Misaki, can I see your hand?¡± ¡°My hand? What for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quick, trust me.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ alright¡­¡± She lends her hand out to me and softly grabbed it to check for the Advent Children birthmark. ¡°A comet on top of the hand¡­ wow, looks nice.¡± ¡°Oh, the birthmark? Yeah! Every Advent children have one.¡± ¡°So I¡¯ve heard, I just needed to make sure.¡± I kept holding her hand for a while until I decided to grab her arm and softly pull her away with me. ¡°Let¡¯s go find the boars! Yumi and Kasai are going to starve to death if we take too long.¡± I looked at her to make sure she didn¡¯t show signs of uncomfortableness, surprisingly enough she was smiling. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re right bro! I completely forgot.¡± We kept walking until we found a boar, it was walking beside a rock in the distance. ¡°Hey, Misaki.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I bet you that I can catch that boar with two hands without using my weapons on him.¡± ¡°Hmm, you really think you can do that? Not even I can catch them without my guns.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°What are we betting?¡± ¡°Well if I catch it, then I get to ask you one question you need to answer truthfully.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She looked like she was going to say no, so then I said. ¡°If I don¡¯t catch it in less than a minute, then I owe you 5,000 Crystalis.¡± ¡°5,000?! Ok, I¡¯m down!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s do it then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start counting as soon as you start running.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± I got ready, started planning what exactly I was going to do, and then sprinted towards the boar. ¡°One, two, three, four¡­¡± The boar looked at my way and started running. ¡°Come here you hairy pig! I¡¯ll get you good!¡± The boar was actually quite fast as I expected. I started to make it turn left where some rock mountains were at. ¡°You got 30 seconds!¡± I thought I was close enough to catch it, so I jumped for it, but the boar managed to dodge me. ¡°Plan B it is!¡± I looked up where the small rocky mountain was, then took out my spirit daisho. ¡°Alright, hairy piggy get ready. ¡°15 seconds! I¡¯m about to be rich!¡± I sheathed my tanto out and threw it in the middle of two rocks making the rocky mountain fall in front of the boar making him stop. ¡°I got you now!¡± ¡°10, 9, 8, 7¡­¡± I jumped towards the boar and grabbed him with both of my hands. ¡°GOT IT!¡± I tied the boar up and dragged it towards Misaki. ¡°Oh damn, there were only a couple seconds left.¡± ¡°Welp, now you have to answer one question of mine.¡± ¡°Ok, ok. What¡¯s the question?¡± ¡°Where did you get that cool bandana? It looks like it¡¯s very important to you.¡± I know it was a bit mean to ask, but I had to ask something that seemed not suspicious, and that could get her to talk about her other lifestyle. ¡°Oh¡­ uhm¡­¡± She looked away with the nervous look and said, ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°You have to tell the truth, remember?¡± ¡°Sorry, Rukito¡­ I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fine then! You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t feel like it, Misaki.¡± ¡°But, the bet was-¡± I chuckled, laid my hand on her shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s ok, it was all just for the fun of it anyways.¡± I expected her to pull out a gun on me, but she looked back at me and smiled. ¡°Ah, alright! Thanks, Rukito.¡± ¡°Nah, let¡¯s go! They probably starved to death, plus the moon is already out.¡± ¡°OH! I keep forgetting!¡± We got back to the camp and gave the boar to Kasai and Yumi. They both started cooking while Misaki and I were settling in. A couple of minutes later we all ate together and had a great time laughing and telling stories. The girls went to sleep while I stood outside for watch. Three hours later, Misaki was going to replace me. I sat there at the edge of the tall rock where we were camping, thinking about many things, is Shizuka alright? Is Sachi alright? What are our parents thinking right now? And what is black tombstone up to? As I was thinking stuff like these, Misaki walked out of the tent. ¡°Hey Misaki, there is still 1 hour left before you¡¯re up.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep¡­¡± I noticed that she wasn¡¯t wearing her hat, the earring for telepathy, bandana or jacket, so she looked a lot different to me. I also saw her eyes were soft and calmed, she was herself at this time. ¡°Wow, you look like another person without your accessories.¡± ¡°Haha, you think so?¡± She sat beside me looking at the stars with me. ¡°Is something on your mind?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Her tone was soft and calm, I could tell that she wasn''t her energetic self right now. ¡°Mind telling me?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Rukito, I know Yumi told you about me being the leader; I¡¯m not stupid.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Sorry, I just didn¡¯t think you would like me knowing something like that.¡± I look at her again, and tears were running down her cheeks. I wanted to hug her and comfort her really bad, but she doesn¡¯t like getting touched. Out of nowhere, she jumped at me and hugged me while crying. ¡°I¡¯m so tired of living like that¡­ I see friends that I treat as family dying before my very own eyes over, and over, and over again! But¡­ I can¡¯t stop, for the sake of our race.¡± ¡°Misaki¡­¡± I hugged her back and started caressing her shoulders. I really hope Kasai understands. ¡°I could Imagine that it must suck a lot¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been holding my tears in for so long¡­ if I show weakness, they won¡¯t see me as a good leader anymore. So sometimes I have to act coldhearted in front of them.¡± I was trying really hard to find words to say, I wasn¡¯t prepared for something like this. ¡°Ah¡­ but why didn¡¯t you talk about it with Yumi then?¡± Her voice was shaky since she was crying, she looked up to me with teary eyes and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want her to think I¡¯m weak either¡­ but you¡­ are different.¡± ¡°Different?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get along well with boys, but with you it was different. We get along pretty well, right?¡± I smiled at her and said, ¡°Of course we do. But I want you to understand something Misaki.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± She looked at me. I held her shoulder and look back at her. ¡°Showing emotions doesn¡¯t mean showing weakness. You don¡¯t have to be cold-blooded when wearing that bandana, you don¡¯t have to¡­ emotions are what makes us humans- or¡­ cloud elf and half devil in this context.¡± She giggled and said, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Plus, I¡¯ll always be available if you need a shoulder to cry on, ok? I¡¯ll just have to check on my shoulder to cry on schedule.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± She giggled and wiped her tears off, then, I got up. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re starting your watch early then I¡¯ll take advantage and slide into the sheets.¡± ¡°But, I was hoping we could talk more!¡± ¡°I really like talking to you Misaki, I really do, but I¡¯ve been sleepy for a while. Being a succubus¡¯s boyfriend sure is not easy.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk tomorrow, good night!¡± ¡°Good night¡­ and¡­ thanks.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°Augh, anytime.¡± I went into the tent where Kasai and Yumi were looking at us the whole time. ¡°It¡¯s kind of scary of how fast you can get comfortable with girls¡­¡± Said Kasai. ¡°I¡­ I noticed.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°I have no idea of what you¡¯re talking about,¡± I said with a sarcastic tone. ¡°Well, it sure won¡¯t work on me.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Is that an invitation? Because all I hear is, ¡®Oh Rukito! Please also be my friend!¡¯¡± ¡°S-Shut up!¡± ¡°I have to keep you on a leash¡­¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry sweetheart, I will always love you more than anything physical and intangible. Just that sometimes, some girls need some comfort and venting in their lives.¡± ¡°Oh no, please, no dirty talk about leashes in this tent.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Y-Yumi! You¡¯re making it worse!¡± Said Kasai while blushing. Yumi giggled and laid down, Kasai was at the center, and I was at the right beside Kasai. ¡°I¡¯m tired, good night.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Welp, good night then.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± Obviously, throughout the night, Kasai was teasing me by putting her butt close to my dick. It was getting very annoying to the point that I grabbed her by her face and kissed her. ¡°Stop¡­¡± I whispered. She giggled and said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to go outside with Misaki again.¡± ¡°Go ahead then, damn¡­¡± I slowly started getting up, but then she pulled me down again. ¡°Really? You were actually going to do so?¡± ¡°Could I sleep, please?¡± She puffed her cheeks and said, ¡°Alright, alright.¡± She turned towards me, I put my arms around her, and we instantly fell asleep¡­ it¡¯s as if as soon as I hug her laying down, I get super sleepy. Next day we all woke up, went outside, and noticed Misaki sleeping. ¡°MISAKI!¡± Yelled Yumi. She got up and looked at us. ¡°Mmmm¡­ why is the bed so hard?¡± Asked Misaki. I looked far away into the distance and noticed a sandstorm coming towards us. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Chapter 14: Golden Flames
After a couple seconds of noticing the sandstorm, we all wore the sand scarves and decided to get cover behind some rocks. ¡°That didn¡¯t look good,¡± I said. Yumi was looking down concerned about something. ¡°Yumi, is everything ok?¡± I asked. She looked at me in silence and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back. That¡¯s not a normal sandstorm.¡± ¡°Wait! What do you mean?¡± ¡°Yumi, I don¡¯t think you should go out there.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°It¡¯s ok Kasai. And Rukito, it¡¯s exactly what I mean; that¡¯s not a normal sandstorm. Sandstorms are formed by strong heating of the air over the desert, it causes the lower atmosphere to become unstable. This instability mixes strong winds in the middle troposphere downward to the surface, making stronger winds at the surface of the desert that causes these sandstorms.¡± ¡°Where are you getting at with that?¡± I asked. ¡°I can tell with my spiritual singularity that the sandstorm was not formed by heating of the air¡­ so it must mean that¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s an enemy¡¯s singularity.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°It might be black tombstone, I have to go out there and find out.¡± ¡°But why just you? We can all go.¡± Now that I think about it, Yumi never wore a sand scarf or anything to protect her from the sandstorm. ¡°I¡¯m the only one able to fight in the sandstorm, Misaki¡¯s singularity would be useless against the sand, the water would just get absorbed, and you and Kasai won¡¯t be able to open your eyes in the storm.¡± ¡°How about you then?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She walked away from behind the rock and headed towards the sandstorm with slow but powerful steps. ¡°Rukito.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Remember when I said I was the strongest advent children?¡± As Misaki was talking, I saw Yumi in the distance releasing her singularity, a great sword appeared flying down from the sky, as soon as it landed on the ground a massive beam of golden flames elevated up to the heavens. The great sword was white with radiating heat that could be felt all the way back here where we were. ¡°T-This heat!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Yes¡­ I remember Misaki¡­¡± I said. ¡°Well that was a joke, Yumi is leagues far above me and any other cloud elf.¡± She grabbed the sword, and as soon as her hand touched it, it opened to be even more extensive, and as it opened, two rings of golden flames started circling it. ¡°¡¯Luminous¡¯ Blessing¡¯ is the name of her materialistic singularity.¡± ¡°Wait, Luminous? The sun god?!¡± ¡°Yes, on the prophecy of the advent children, it was written that one of them was going to be born with the blessing of the sun god, and a couple years later, the prophecy was true.¡± I saw Kasai looking at her with eyes of pure admiration. Suddenly all the sand around Yumi started turning white as she entered the sandstorm. ¡°The sand around her is getting heated so much that it¡¯s turning into glass¡­¡± that¡¯s an extreme temperature¡­ how can she handle a melting point temperature?¡± I asked. ¡°Her spiritual singularity is a special one, ¡®Blaze Empress¡¯ it¡¯s a passive singularity, by that I mean it¡¯s always activated. That¡¯s how I think she also found out that the sandstorm wasn¡¯t a real one. She can perceive the heat of everything, her body can withstand extreme temperatures, and she can manipulate fire to a certain level.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ such power and potential, what¡¯s her drawback?¡± ¡°Well since she always increases her body temperature when she uses her blessing, she always gets a high fever after using it, making her extremely vulnerable.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Kasai looked at me and said, ¡°Rukito I want to go with her, she could always use a hand; the enemy is strong.¡± ¡°Kasai, there is no way you can withstand the heat over there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been saving a lot of positive energy in my dagger for something like this.¡± She took out her daggers and released all the positive energy into herself, increasing all her abilities: her speed, her power, her tenacity, and many other things. ¡°You could do that?!¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I wasn¡¯t so sure about it, but I tried it a couple days ago.¡± ¡°Well¡­ be careful ok?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be back.¡± Kasai ran behind Yumi, she got there in an instant with her speed, she had her blindfold on, so the sand wasn¡¯t a problem at all for her. I looked down in anger and said, ¡°Damn¡­ I wish I could also help.¡± Misaki looked at me and said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine not helping for once in a while, you know?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I wish there were more to my singularity¡­ maybe¡­ the katana has something hidden.¡± With my telepathy with Kasai I could hear her thoughts, and what I heard was,
¡°Hey, Yumi! I¡¯m here to help.¡± Her face looks red¡­ I hope she doesn¡¯t get the fever now. ¡°Kasai? How are you able to be around me?!¡± ¡°Positive overdrive, I¡¯ll explain later.¡± I was looking with her to see if the enemy was anywhere around, and after a couple seconds of searching, we found the enemy standing the middle of the sandstorm. ¡°There he is!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to use my singularity since it will make other more powerful sandstorms that will hurt the environment¡­ but you forced me.¡± The hooded person took the hood off and looked at Yumi. It was a¡­ cloud elf?! ¡°Ah, my dear princess, heir to the throne, Yumi Elledan. How delightful to meet you in such place.¡± ¡°A cloud elf?!¡± Yumi looked shocked. ¡°Yumi, do you know him?¡± ¡°No¡­ but he¡¯s a cloud elf, and that¡¯s all it matters to me.¡± ¡°You know, black tombstone is not such a bad place after all. Most people in the group are actually happy to help our boss out.¡± ¡°How can you betray your own race?!¡± Yelled Yumi. ¡°Betray? I only am only working for a greater cause than your dumb father.¡± ¡°You bastard¡­¡± I could tell that she was furious. ¡°Hahahaha, but, I¡¯m sure you will make an excellent queen, unlike your father, you have courage.¡± Yumi spanned around and swung the air with her greatsword, burning the air containing the sand and sending a blaze of golden flames with sharp glass towards the enemy. The enemy took the flames straight on, but the glass managed to cut him. ¡°Tsk, smart using glass to cut me, but your flames won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Ever heard of the devil worm? It¡¯s a creature that can sustain an extreme temperature and low lack of oxygen. In our group there happens to be someone that can transfer animals¡¯ DNA inside of us, and he managed to give me their cells; I was made just to fight you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yumi looked at him with silence. ¡°ANYTHING YOU DO IS USELESS AGAINST ME!¡± ¡°Kasai, I need you to do something for me.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°The glass managed to cut him a tiny bit, but I need you to opened one of the wounds even bigger.¡± ¡°Ah, I see what you¡¯re trying to do.¡± Kasai started running around circling the enemy. ¡°Huh? What is she doing?¡± Yumi swung her greatsword again and shot another blaze of flames. ¡°Keep your eyes on your enemy.¡± ¡°You impudent girl¡­ I always hated you, you think you¡¯re so much better than others just because you were lucky enough to be born with a blessing of a god worshipped by humans?! You prideful little shit!¡± I didn¡¯t think that Yumi would care for his words, but I looked at her and noticed that she seemed hesitant to keep attacking. ¡°Yumi! Don¡¯t let him talk you down!¡± Yumi looked down and softened her grip from her sword lowering the flames. ¡°¡­¡± The enemy grabbed some sand from below and threw it at her, while in the air, the sand got together and formed a spear. ¡°YUMI! MOVE!¡± I decided to run towards her and pushed her off, time seemed to slow down, I pushed her off, but the spear managed to pierce through my shoulder. ¡°Gah!¡± I took the spear out of my shoulder, and the wound started healing quickly since I was filled with positive energy. ¡°Yumi! Why didn¡¯t you move?¡± ¡°I expected him to try something like that; with my sword I am plodding so I knew I wouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge it. Instead, I lowered my flames, so it didn¡¯t turn into glass and pierced me with a fatal blow. Luckily I remembered what you told me yesterday about your singularity so I knew that you could heal yourself or me if we got hurt.¡± Kasai smiled and said, ¡°Ah, I see.¡± We both got up and faced him. ¡°Kasai, what is your max speed right now?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°Uhm.. not sure.¡± ¡°Let me see how strong you are, Kasai.¡± I got ready and dashed towards the enemy as fast as I could, I think I went so fast that he could barely react to me, I got my daggers and sliced him as fast as I could, he still managed to slightly dodge it, so he didn¡¯t get mortally wounded. Unexpectantly, he grabbed my dagger before I took it out of him and said, ¡°Y-You are mine now!¡± I tried to slice him with the other one, but I realized I couldn¡¯t use the negative dagger if I¡¯m on overdrive with positive energy, or else I will lose the boost. He grabbed me and said to Yumi,This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Give up! Or I¡¯ll kill her!¡± The sandstorm was dying since he was wounded. ¡°OK, OK! Don¡¯t harm her.¡± Yumi said as she laid down her great sword. ¡°I will take your magic flow since you¡¯re the strongest one! And with that, our boss should be recovering a lot quicker!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Just let her go!¡± I decided to open my wing and push him away with it, he surely wouldn¡¯t expect something like that. ¡°W-What?!¡± He yelled as he was pushed to the ground. ¡°A DEMON?!¡± I got onto him while he was on the ground and pointed my dagger at his throat. ¡°Checkmate.¡± ¡°Kasai! Don¡¯t kill him.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s a cloud elf? It doesn¡¯t matter! He is the enemy!¡± ¡°I know but¡­¡± ¡°You fools!¡± I turned back to the enemy and felt that he was disappearing from under me, he was turning into sand. ¡°What?! Where did he go?!¡± A couple seconds later, we saw a giant version of him away from us, he took most of the desert¡¯s sand to make himself bigger and stronger. ¡°NOW IT¡¯S WHEN IT ALL ENDS!¡±
That¡¯s all I heard from Kasai, I rushed towards them since the sands storm was gone and asked, ¡°Kasai! Yumi! Are you ok?!¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine, Rukito. Our problem is that thing over there!¡± As she pointed towards the sand giant, we noticed that he threw a tremendous amount of sand towards us. ¡°Watch out!¡± I yelled. Everyone got down and defended themselves against the hit. I looked around and noticed that Yumi was on the ground. Around her the sand became glass. She was looking at the glass and then said, ¡°I have an idea¡­¡± Said Yumi. ¡°What is it?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°You will see. All I need you to do is throw me towards him as hard as you can, Kasai.¡± ¡°Uhm, alright. I should be able to since I¡¯m still in overdrive.¡± Yumi raised her hand, and the great sword flew towards her. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go.¡± Kasai kneeled down and opened her hands so Yumi could put her foot on top and get launched towards him. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¡°Thanks, but I won¡¯t need it.¡± Kasai charged up her positive energy onto her arms and threw Yumi straight towards the enemy leaving a red trail behind her. She charged up her great sword with flames and pierced right through the giant enemy, it all turned into glass and fell onto the ground, he may be able to control sand, but he can¡¯t control glass. Kasai dashed back to her to catch her fall. She managed to catch her and said, ¡°Good job! You are amazing!¡± Yumi giggled and said, ¡°Without you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it, it¡¯s all you.¡± We all ran back for the person, he was hurt on the ground but still capable of standing back up again. ¡°Are you deaf? I said that fire doesn¡¯t work on my skin!¡± ¡°I know¡­ said Yumi. She threw one last blaze of flames towards him, he didn¡¯t even try to dodge again, but this time it hit the wound that Kasai made, and he started burning internally. He began to scream and roll around the ground burning. ¡°FUCK! FUCK! DAMMIT!¡± Kasai got close to him about to kill him, but Yumi stopped her again. ¡°Kasai please!¡± ¡°Yumi! We can¡¯t let him live anymore!¡± ¡°I know but¡­ I just¡­ I can¡¯t-¡± Before finishing what Yumi was about to say, we heard a loud gunshot and saw a bullet piercing the person¡¯s head instantly killing him. ¡°Hmm? What was that?¡± Asked Kasai as she took off her blindfold removing her singularity. We looked at the distance and saw Misaki shooting around 200 meters away with a sniper from the very top of the rock formation; I¡¯m guessing she climbed up there to get a better shot on the target. All the sand that was in the air fell onto the ground, half of the desert at this point was white since it had been turned into glass. ¡°Misaki?! How dare you kill someone of our race?!¡± Yelled Yumi. Misaki walked from where she was towards us as Yumi was extremely pissed at her. We all turned off our singularities as Misaki approached with her green bandana on. ¡°Yumi, you have to stop with that mindset.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°What do you mean?! Have you gone crazy?!¡± ¡°No, I just learned that you have to kill when you have to kill¡­ and I think you have to learn that too; no matter who, or what it is, if it¡¯s threatening your life and people you care about, you have to kill him.¡± ¡°Tsk, whatever!¡± Yelled Yumi as she was storming off. Kasai took a deep breath and said, ¡°Well¡­ that was one hell of a battle.¡± ¡°Yeah, I wish I could have helped somehow¡­¡± I said. Kasai sighed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to keep helping people of the time honey, I appreciate all the help and everything so far, but it¡¯s fine to let people take care of stuff once in a while.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ if you say so.¡± I looked at Yumi storming off and decided to go and talk to her. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, I¡¯m going to try and calm her down.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll catch my breath for a while.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°She is a hot-head when it comes to trying to help her, good luck with that.¡± Said Misaki. Even though Yumi might not like receiving help from others, I¡¯m sure that she could use some friends. I speed walked towards Yumi since she was a bit far away. When I arrived, I said, ¡°Hey, Yumi.¡± ¡°Go away.¡± She said. ¡°Listen, I get that you¡¯re mad at Misaki for doing that, but she did it to protect us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it! I¡¯m sick and tired of that attitude of hers.¡± I grabbed her arm to stop her, but she pulled away, ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°When that person talked about your privileges¡­ you actually got hurt didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Listen, Yumi.¡± I took a deep breath and smiled while saying, ¡°Just because you were born with privileges it¡¯s not an excuse for other people to insult you, they are just envious of what you have, even if you didn¡¯t earn it, it doesn¡¯t mean that you don¡¯t deserve it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?...¡± ¡°Look at me and Kasai, Besides the fact that we recently just found out that we were half devils, we were born without any sort of privilege, the only lucky thing that finally happened to us was when the Aizawa family took care of us, but before that we were completely at the bottom of society.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that even though you have all these privileges we don¡¯t envy you, we understand that it wasn¡¯t your choice, and we admire the fact that you are able to stay at the top even though you have the future of this kingdom on your shoulders.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She stood silent there staring at the ground with a melancholy expression. ¡°How about you become the greatest ruler of the cloud kingdom and prove them all wrong? Prove to them that you got what it takes and more.¡± ¡°But, I¡¯m sure they all know by my blessing.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I mean that you should show them your leadership and grace. They can¡¯t love a future queen if they don¡¯t know her, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ you have a point there.¡± She looked at me and smiled. ¡°Thank you, Rukito. You really are good at helping people.¡± ¡°Yeah, at this point I might as well be a life counselor¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re also pretty funn-¡± She held her head for a moment, and then lost her balance, she was about to hit the ground, but I managed to grab her before she fell. ¡°Yumi, what happened?¡± She had her eyes closed looking away while breathing heavily. I felt her forehead, and as soon as I touched it an, I got burnt. ¡°Ow! Holy fever! Misaki wasn¡¯t lying when she said she gets a high fever.¡± I tried picking her up, but since she was wearing armor, she was pretty heavy. I need to tell Misaki. I looked back, but Kasai seemed too far for the reach of my telepathy. ¡°KASAI! MISAKI!¡± I tried yelling, but they still didn¡¯t hear me, the sound of the strong wind pushing against the sand was not working for me. I looked back at Yumi and decided to pick her up with all the strength I had. ¡°Alright Yumi, I¡¯m going to take you back.¡± After a couple seconds of walking, I didn¡¯t notice that we were in a steep dune. Therefore I slipped off, and we started rolling down together. ¡°Dammit!¡± After rolling for a good amount of seconds, we reached the bottom, the sun was still hitting us, so I told myself, ¡°I have to get her to a cool place, the sun will make it a lot worse for her. I looked around and notice a nearby rock-forming, I decided to pick her up again and take her there to see if there was any small hole or cave I could lay her inside of. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get tired¡­ but don¡¯t worry Yumi, I¡¯ll find something.¡± After circling the rock-forming for a couple seconds, I finally found a small chilly cave where to lay her. ¡°I would take off your armor if you had something under¡­ but for now, you have to deal with being a little uncomfortable.¡± I took out a water bottle out my bag, took off my off scarf, wetted it and laid it on her forehead. ¡°Alright, this should make you feel better.¡± Her cheeks were red, and she was still breathing heavily, but at least she wasn¡¯t burning hot anymore. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, just hold tight.¡± As I was getting up to leave she grabbed my shirt and said with a soft tone, ¡°Stay here, please¡­¡± ¡°But I have to tell Kasai and Misaki about this.¡± ¡°I know my sister¡­ she will wait for us outside the desert with Kasai; we once agreed if we ever get lost in the desert, this is what we would do.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡°Yeah, we got lost in a sandstorm once.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°We-¡± She groaned and stopped talking. ¡°Sorry, you should probably just relax for a while.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± I said as I looked out to see if Misaki and Kasai were looking for us, but nothing, I guess Yumi is right. ¡°I guess you¡¯re not the only lucky one to have met Kasai¡­ she is also lucky.¡± ¡°Hmm? I said to just relax and be quiet!¡± I said while chuckling. ¡°¡®It won¡¯t work on me¡¯ she said, haha.¡± She giggled and said, ¡°Be quiet.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one that is supposed to be quiet,¡± I said. She giggled and decided to do so. ¡°Going out and meeting people really made my life more interesting¡­¡± I said. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Before all of this happen, I just had the same day cycle over and over again. Wake up, go to school, get back home, study and walk around the garden, go to sleep and repeat¡­ the same thing, over and over. But now that I¡¯ve met you and many other amazing people along the way, I realized that sometimes you can¡¯t just wait for something to happen¡­ you just have to go out yourself and look for it.¡± At this point, I was just rambling on what I was feeling like since all she could do right now was listen to me with a smile. ¡°I see¡­¡± We stayed there chatting for a while until she got better, it probably was around an hour or so, she slowly got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m feeling better.¡± ¡°Ready to go?¡± She looked at me and smiled. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go, Rukito.¡± We started walking away towards the outside of the desert. ¡°Yumi, do you have a boyfriend?¡± ¡°W-Why are you asking?!¡± ¡°You seem pretty cute, I was just expecting that you did.¡± ¡°Cute?! Well, I take care of myself, so I guess¡­ but no, I¡¯ve been asked out a lot since I will be the new queen, so other guys are looking to be the king, but I''m not dumb, I know what they are trying to do.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± ¡°I just want to have friends for now.¡± She said while smiling at me. She didn¡¯t smile much before, I guess as she gets more comfortable, she lets more of herself show. ¡°I got you. Mind if I ask something else?¡± ¡°Hm, no I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why did you leave the kingdom with Misaki?¡± ¡°Hmmm, well, Misaki wanted to start her own group, and I wanted to escape my father since he kept training me day by day to be a warrior and a queen, it was getting annoying, so I agreed to leave with Misaki. Plus, down here in the wild is amazing and relaxing, up there in the clouds is boring.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand.¡± ¡°What about you? Why are you here?¡± ¡°Well besides trying to find a way to get Kasai¡¯s voice back, we wanted to warn the king about black tombstone since it seemed that the word wasn¡¯t spread till here.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t until a couple days ago, and I¡¯m still confused on how that guy managed to arrive at this land.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°I know that the group was created in Greenterra, but maybe that cloud elf never went there, he got hired from there and always lived here.¡± ¡°Hmm, possibly.¡± We stood quiet for a while thinking while looking at nature. I started noticing how cool cloud elves can be, both Misaki and Yumi are interesting people with different but yet so close goals. ¡°Have you talked to the king?¡± ¡°Yeah, I had to since I am the heir to the throne. He actually made me fight all of the king¡¯s guardians.¡± ¡°You fought them?! They are said to be humanity¡¯s best warriors.¡± ¡°Really? Ahahaha.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even break a sweat beating them.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that explains a lot.¡± ¡°Humanity and Caelumians have been in peace for so long that their blades have gone dull.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, maybe we should train soldiers more often, how about a world tournament?!¡± ¡°Awesome idea! I¡¯ll see to do something similar in the future.¡± ¡°Yumi! Rukito!¡± We saw Misaki and Kasai waving at us from a distance. ¡°There they are!¡± We walked towards them. When we arrived, I said, ¡°Yumi had the high fever, but I managed to cool it down.¡± ¡°Eeeh, I would have been fine.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Yeah, sure you would have,¡± I said with a sarcastic tone. ¡°Kasai here almost got a heart attack!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± I looked at Kasai, and she was blushing look away. ¡°She couldn¡¯t stop worrying about you, she was driving me insane with her, ¡®What if¡­¡¯ questions.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Really? That¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°S-Shut up! That¡¯s not true.¡± Said Kasai. Now that I think about it, this is the first time we got separated for some time since we became a couple. I opened my arms and said, ¡°Then come hug me if you really missed me.¡± She looked at me while blushing and ran towards me giving me a hug. ¡°Dummy¡­ stop embarrassing me in front of them, I¡¯m not a kid!¡± She said before she kissed me. ¡°I was so worried, honey¡­¡± ¡°Hmm, but who is the one kissing me huh? Thought you didn¡¯t want to be embarrassed.¡± She pushed me hard to the ground and said, ¡°STOP!¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Kasai, it¡¯s ok to show emotions.¡± I guess that when she is not with me, it triggers a panic switch in her brain to get extremely worried since she needs my affection for her succubus side to keep her emotions alive with my positive energy. But I¡¯m sure she was also genuinely concerned, those two things mixing together make some extreme worries. It can be adorable at the beginning, but I have to teach her to control that emotions through meditating; I¡¯m not sure she has ever meditated in her life. ¡°I love you.¡± She told me. ¡°I love you too.¡± We looked back at the girls and Misaki was tearing up. ¡°Yo, you two are just too cute, my heart is going to melt.¡± While Yumi was walking away. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry, it¡¯s starting to rain.¡± ¡°Rain?¡± As soon as I asked that it began raining. ¡°How did you know?!¡± ¡°Well besides the point that this is a rain forest, I could tell by the sudden lowering of the temperature.¡± ¡°A rain forest? Besides a desert?!¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yeah, this land is known to have weird nature.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say!¡± I said. ¡°For me, it¡¯s normal since I was born only knowing this, but for humans is known to be weird.¡± ¡°Yeah, and a lot.¡± ¡°Rain?! YEAH! I LOVE RAIN!¡± Yelled Misaki. ¡°Huh? How come?¡± ¡°I can use the rain instead of my body to make the weapons, and I can move a lot quicker!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s quite convenient!¡± ¡°This reminds me of how much a miss a shower already.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°We got a hot spring at our house if you want we could use it.¡± ¡°Really?! Of course, I will!¡± I started laughing to fit in. ¡°I can join, right?¡± Kasai started laughing with me, but exceptionally sarcastically. ¡°You want that to be your last day?¡± I continued laughing nervously and said, ¡°Hahaha, it was a joke, of course, ahahaha¡­.¡± Kasai started walking forward with Yumi, Misaki walked back to me and whispered in my ear, ¡°I can make that work if you really wish to bathe with all of us, I owe you one for helping me after all.¡± ¡°Wait, really?!¡± ¡°Shhh, but you have to be quiet.¡± ¡°That would mean the world to me.¡± ¡°I got you, bro.¡± She said while winking at me. Chapter 15: Katana of Wind
"Throw me to the wolves, and I''ll return leading the pack." -Akira Angelus Diabolus
After some walking through the rainforest, we arrived in front of a small mountain. For a moment, it seemed as if the mountain was their house. ¡°Where¡¯s the house?¡± I asked. ¡°Remember elves are not allowed to build in this land, scouts always go around to check for buildings, so we had to hide ours extremely well.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Where?¡± Asked Kasai. Yumi walked towards rock and started talking some foreign language. ¡°Ashma la kamp wo lockrinato strada.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s ancient cloud elvish language. Before we agreed to use the common language with humans after the peace treaty, we used to talk like that.¡± The rock opened, and it showed a path onto her house. ¡°Oh, nice! That¡¯s actually very hidden.¡± ¡°How does air get in here?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­ another advent child had to help us with that, the electricity, sewers, and the water system. So it¡¯s a perfectly working house.¡± ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re not the only advent child that knows that you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Wait, so how does the water system work in the clouds? How do they get any water?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°There¡¯s a big portal inside the middle of the cloud that leads straight into a huge sewer. While the water is just huge tanks that are replenished every other week in the clouds.¡± ¡°Those elders sure thought of everything.¡± ¡°Our race has been alive for centuries, it¡¯s only natural we have everything under control.¡± We walked inside Yumi¡¯s house, it was spacious with a lot of decorations of animals, and pictures of the whole family, but most images were just Yumi and Misaki which made it really cute. ¡°These are all the 11 advent children?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°It¡¯s like looking at a rainbow. Wait that one has actual rainbow hair!¡± ¡°Hahaha, yeah, people say that a lot. And she is a special one, I¡¯ll explain another time.¡± Yumi walked in and said, ¡°We only have one guest room, I¡¯m sure you both don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll start cooking then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll join you!¡± Said Kasai. They both ran off to the kitchen. Misaki walked close to me and whispered, ¡°Yo, here¡¯s the plan¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m all ears¡­¡± ¡°There is a blind spot in the hot spring; a rock is in the middle of it, if you hide behind that rock and act like you¡¯re meditating or something it will give you an excuse to be there before us, just say the usual ¡®Oh, I didn¡¯t expect you to come in¡¯ line.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t think Kasai will buy that, she will blame everything on me.¡± ¡°I know, that¡¯s where I say that I allowed you to use the hot spring so you could meditate and that I forgot, that will equally share the fault to us both and she won¡¯t get that pissed off.¡± ¡°Y-You would do that for me?¡± I said while crying. ¡°Of course bro, I owe you one, and when I owe a person a favor, I make sure it¡¯s never unpaid.¡± I hugged her unexpectantly and said, ¡°Thank you so much, Misaki-¡± As I was saying that she jumped back, pull out a pistol to my forehead out of reflex. ¡°D-damn. Sorry, Rukito. I¡¯m not used to people touching me out nowhere.¡± I chuckled nervously and said, ¡°It¡¯s fiiiine.¡± She hugged me back while saying, ¡°Here, as an apology, I¡¯ll do so. But remember, next time I might pull the trigger out of reflex.¡± ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am!¡± I said while sweating. I have to remember we only know each other for a day, and that she is a mafia boss, but it seems like she is already one of my best friends. We all ate together, the food was exceptionally delicious today, so I said, ¡°Damn Yumi, you overdid yourself today.¡± ¡°Actually Kasai cooked everything, I just made sure that she did everything right, which she did.¡± I looked at her with surprised eyes and said, ¡°You cooked?! This is delicious, sweetheart!¡± She instantly blushed and looked away, ¡°T-Thank you; I tried my best.¡± ¡°She will make an amazing wife.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Hell yeah, she will!¡± Said Misaki. I chuckled and looked down, then looked back up at her eyes with a smile. ¡°I can already see our children loving your food every single day.¡± ¡°C-C-C-Children?!¡± As soon as she heard that word, she fainted. ¡°Kasai?!¡± I yelled. ¡°My heart melts.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Rukito!¡± Yelled Yumi. ¡°What?... I was serious!¡± After a while, Kasai woke up and looked at me, holding her in my arms. ¡°H-Honey?! What happened?¡± ¡°I was just saying that our children will-¡± ¡°Children?!¡± She fainted again. Yumi looked at me again and yelled, ¡°RUKITO!¡± A couple of minutes later I instantly went inside the hots spring to make sure that I arrived before Kasai and the other girls. I wrapped a bath towel around me, and I entered the hot spring. It felt comfortably warm and relaxing, it¡¯s almost as if it was healing me. I went behind the rock and actually thought of genuinely meditate to see if I ever am able to unlock that Katana. Minutes passed, and then I heard the girls giggling inside the dresser. I heard Misaki¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Damn Kasai, I didn¡¯t think anyone could beat Yumi in cup size!¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s not fair, I¡¯m a succubus, so I¡¯m bound to have a decent body.¡± ¡°Decent?! Girl, you are crazy if you call your body decent.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°I¡¯m actually glad there¡¯s someone else better than me for once, horny cloud elves will stop looking at me as if I was Greenterra herself.¡± ¡°Greenterra?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yeah, she was said to be the sexiest deity, she is mother earth after all.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡°Mind if I feel them a bit, Kasai?!¡± Asked Misaki. Yumi sighed, ¡°Misaki, just because you don¡¯t have big boobs it doesn¡¯t mean you can feel everyone else¡¯s-¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°HUH?!¡± Yelled Yumi. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything if it¡¯s not Rukito anyways.¡± ¡°Wait, Really?!¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a special kind of succubus apparently.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s got nothing to worry then, you will be the most loyal girl in the world.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s not fun without a reaction.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°GYAH!¡± I heard Yumi squealing. ¡°Misaki! Stop!¡± ¡°Hoho, sometimes I wonder why I never got them as big as yours since we are twins.¡± ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t know! Just¡­ stop!~ It feels weird.¡± That was the breaking point of my meditation¡­ I couldn¡¯t hold the concentration anymore. Besides all of what I heard, my heart was pounding fast since I was scared of what Kasai would do if she noticed I was here. Of course, as a teenager, it¡¯s completely normal to fantasies having all three girls at the same time in the bed¡­ but there¡¯s only one spot in my heart, and that¡¯s for Kasai¡­ four girls in the bed?! I could invite Shizuka! NO! STOP! DON¡¯T LET THESE FANTASIES OVERTAKE YOU! Or else, my wakizashi will be once again locked. AND SACHI! WAIT, NO! I SHALL NOT GET HARD- As I was in my inner fantasies, I heard the girls opening the door and walking in. The moment of truth¡­ ¡°Mhmmmm¡­ This feels so good.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Hey, Kasai.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I always wonder how come you can laugh, giggle and groan, yet you can¡¯t talk.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t talk, it¡¯s because I can¡¯t move my tongue when I decide to use my vocal cords, it likes automatically doesn¡¯t let me move it whatsoever when I try to say something in my mind.¡± ¡°Aaah, alright, that makes more sense.¡± I was still behind the rock, I don¡¯t know what Misaki was going to do, but I just waited there with my heart in my throat. I saw her circling around the hot spring, she found me, she was covering her chest with one arm and signaling me to come to them. Since she had a bath towel under I was guessing so did the other girls; I had one too. ¡°A-alright¡­ It¡¯s my part.¡± I walked from outside the rock walking away to get out of the hot spring not making eye contact with the girls so they would think I didn¡¯t know they were there. ¡°AAAAH!¡± Yelled Yumi. ¡°Hmm?¡± I turned back and saw them. Their unique and nice cloud elf skin was really calling my attention, the blue birthmark tattoos around their bodies made them look even better. And Kasai looked even better now that she has the succubus body, to the point that it¡¯s obvious who has the best body here. She had an upper ponytail, so her hair didn¡¯t get wet; showing her neck and making her even hotter. Yumi comes to a close 2nd, her birthmark tattoos really boosts her body up as much as Kasai was before. While Misaki is just genuine personality, I always just see her as a fun person to hang out with, I¡¯m sure she feels the same¡­ but she does have an ass though. ¡°Oh hey! I didn¡¯t know you were here!¡± ¡°GET OUT!¡± Yelled Yumi. I looked at Kasai and saw her releasing her singularity. ¡°I warned you¡­¡± She was approaching me with a menacing look on her face. ¡°Oh, Kasai, this is my fault.¡± ¡°Huh?..¡± She turned back and looked at Misaki. ¡°Misaki doesn¡¯t try to save him, he deserves it.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m serious, I allowed him to come here and meditate, I said that I was going to warn him if we all decided to come, but I forgot¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ alright, I guess it can¡¯t be helped then...¡± She said while turning off her singularity. ¡°R-Really?¡± I asked. ¡°LIKE HELL IT CAN¡¯T!¡± She said while turning it back on. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you couldn¡¯t tell we weren¡¯t coming in! You definitely heard us talk!¡± ¡°Kasai, I swear! Please!¡± Misaki walked up to Kasai and whispered something in her ear that I couldn¡¯t understand. She then instantly blushed, turned off her singularity, and said, ¡°Alright¡­ you can stay.¡± ¡°M-Misaki?... I didn¡¯t know you were a sorceress?!¡± ¡°Misaki, Kasai! You let him stay here just like that?!¡± Kasai turned back and said, ¡°U-Uhm¡­¡± She looked down and blushed. ¡°Misaki?!¡± ¡°Come on Yumi, it will be fine!¡± ¡°No, it won¡¯t!¡± ¡°He will just stay put with his girlfriend, we can enjoy a talk.¡± ¡°Tsk, w-whatever!¡± Kasai walked up to me and hugged my arm squeezing it between her breasts. She dragged me towards the edge of the hot spring where Misaki and Yumi were and sat down right next to me laying her head on my shoulder still hugging my arm. ¡°You should give me more affection you know¡­ I want it, and I need it to feel emotions.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you can feel a lot of emotions.¡± She sighed and said, ¡°I''m serious¡­¡± I kissed her forehead and said, ¡°Alright, alright. You deserve it, after all, you have been a good girl.¡± ¡°Stop treating me like a little girl I said!¡± I mocked her with a girly voice, ¡°Stop treating me like a little girl I said~¡± She puffed her cheeks and looked away from me while still hugging me. I chuckled and said, ¡°You can look away, but you can¡¯t let me go.¡± ¡°Dammit! I hate y-¡­¡± ¡°Woah, were you really going to say that to me? That hurts me.¡± I said with joking intentions. ¡°N-no! I love you! I love you! Sorry, I was just joking!¡± ¡°You better.¡± I looked to the side smiling and saw Misaki knocked out in Yumi¡¯s arms. ¡°Misaki! Misaki!¡± ¡°What happened to her?¡± I asked. ¡°I think her ¡®heart melted.¡¯¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Sorry girls, how about we all talk huh?¡± Yumi giggled and said,Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°It¡¯s fine, It¡¯s fine. You two deserve some alone time after all; we¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡± ¡°Thank you, Yumi.¡± Said Kasai. Misaki got up and said, ¡°I promised I would after all, right Kasai?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± She said while blushing. ¡°Oh yeah, what did she whisper in your ear?¡± I asked. ¡°I-I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± ¡°Hey, Yumi,¡± I said. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Once all of this is over, do you mind throwing a party with every advent children?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She said with a smile on her face. ¡°Great!¡± A couple of minutes later, Yumi and Misaki decided to leave the hot spring. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s time for us to go.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Alright, see you later!¡± ¡°We might be sleeping by the time you come back, so if anything makes yourself at home, the guest room is the end of the hallway turning right.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Ok, thank you, Yumi.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± She said as she was walking away with Misaki. They closed the sliding door therefor it was only Kasai and me in the hot spring. ¡°So what was it?¡± I asked Kasai. ¡°Misaki told me that her whole plan was to leave us alone in the hot spring for an hour or so to do whatever we want.¡± I owe that girl a bigger favor now¡­ ¡°Ah, that makes sense.¡± Kasai got up, took off her towel and sat on top of my thighs while turned to the side. ¡°I wanted to have sex with you really bad but¡­ I had other plans for tonight.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? A succubus doesn¡¯t want to have sex?¡± I said jokingly. She giggled and said, ¡°No, I wanted it to be a bit more romantic tonight.¡± ¡°Is your definition of romantic being on top of me completely naked?¡± She blushed and said, ¡°N-No but I can get down if you wa-¡± ¡°NO-NO-NO! I never said I¡¯m not enjoying it, baby.¡± ¡°Ah, alright.¡± ¡°Well, what exactly is it that you want to talk about?¡± I asked. ¡°Honestly¡­ I don¡¯t know. I just wanted to be with you as long as possible.¡± At this point I realize that I have to start thinking of things that were going to make her happy, I¡¯ve also realized that yesterday and this morning I didn¡¯t pay too much attention to her, so she really deserves some. We sat silently there thinking for a while and then I said, ¡°I¡¯m always so grateful that I met you¡­¡± She smiled and said, ¡°You changed my life more than I changed yours¡­ trust me¡­ you have no idea what you have done for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I have a sweetheart, but you also changed mine for the better. It went from boring to an amazing adventure, both literally and figuratively.¡± Kasai giggled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t throw big words at me, I was barely in school you know.¡± ¡°Right, right. Sorry.¡± More silence of us just smiling caressing each other went by, but instead of being awkward silence it felt as if the silence itself was speaking thousands of words on how much we love each other. I decided to ask the old¡¯ question therefore I said, ¡°What would you do if I died?¡± She looked down and said, ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t answer that.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because I¡¯ve never gone through those types of emotions¡­ I¡¯m not sure what I would do.¡± ¡°Hmm, I understand.¡± ¡°But I would probably try every single way to get you back¡­ find every single wizard or witch in the world and make them make a spell to revive you or something¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Hmmm, that sounds like it will change you for the worse¡­ I would want you to try and live on without me even though I¡¯m not there to give you emotions; try your hardest.¡± ¡°Well, then what about me? What if I died?¡± ¡°If you died?... I¡­ would first burry you, then burn the world to the ground, then come back to your grave where I would just stay there¡­ waiting till my day''s end.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re saying I would change for the worse?¡± She said while giggling. ¡°Hey, I''m honest¡­ well maybe not¡­ I still have other people to care for in this world, so that would probably be a bit different, but the same idea. It would be selfish if I said I ONLY care about you.¡± ¡°I know honey, your weak spot is that you start caring and trusting other people a bit too easily.¡± ¡°I noticed that¡­¡± ¡°Well, all that negative talk aside, I think I¡¯ve figured out how to unlock your Katana.¡± ¡°Really?! How?¡± ¡°Well maybe it¡¯s not about meditating anymore, maybe it¡¯s about finding a purpose.¡± ¡°A purpose?¡± ¡°Yeah, What I mean is¡­ find a purpose to fight for; what are you fighting for?¡± She asked me. All this time I¡¯ve never thought about it that way¡­ I was always confused about why do I train, why do I still fight? Is it for myself? For my friends? I gazed straight into her eyes and said, ¡°Now that my life has been blessed with you¡­ I have to protect what¡¯s most precious to me.¡± She blushed and smiled. ¡°Well try to focus on that when you unsheathe the katana. Think about what you¡¯re fighting for.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, sweetheart. I will definitely try that out.¡± I said before I French kissed her.
All this time I was getting teased by her precious body right on top of me, I¡¯ve been trying my hardest not to get excited by her, since she wanted this night to be more of a romantic night. But... I got to the point that I couldn¡¯t resist myself, so I slowly started running my hand across her breasts as I French kissed her. She began to lightly moan as we were kissing. ¡°Hey-¡± She said while getting out of the kiss, but I lightly pulled her back in and kept kissing her. ¡°What is it? Can¡¯t use telepathy while we kiss?¡± ¡°N¡­ It¡¯s- not that-¡± I took off my towel and started running my right hand all across her body. ¡°I thought this body was perfect before¡­ I had no idea that it could be this much better.¡± I started giving her a lot more hickeys all across her body. ¡°H-honey, what if people see all of that?!¡± ¡°Then they will know that you¡¯re already mine and no-one else¡¯s, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± She leaned forward more onto me and kept tongue kissing me and said, ¡°My whole body belongs to you and no-one else.¡± She then also gave me a hickey on the neck and said, ¡°But so does yours belong to me and no-one else.¡± She went down and started to give me a boob job. ¡°So, how much better is it now that I have bigger boobs?¡± With the water was making everything a lot easier, her tongue wrapping around my whole dick, and her perverted facial expression, made everything go again into a more profound feeling of ecstasy, I was guessing that her succubus powers had to do something with the extreme amount of pleasure given from just a boob job. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it feels too good.¡± I said. I noticed that her tail was moving left and right as she was sucking on it, her succubus side must be getting satisfied just from this. I was to the point of cumming already, no normal man could resist that long with someone like her. I decided to not even tell her and came more than usual inside her mouth and all over her boobs. ¡°Mmm~ I love it, all your cum is so delicious.¡± She said as her eyes were sparkling. She grabbed my dick and rubbed it all against her tits again. Then, she kept sucking every single drop out, and that was the point where I felt like I almost fainted. ¡°After having sex with you, baby¡­ I don¡¯t think I could enjoy it anymore with any other person either.¡± I said. I really wanted to keep sexual tension between the both of us so sex was always intense and exciting so I decided to stop after that. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for tonight,¡± I said. She frowned and looked at me while saying, ¡°But I want more!¡± She jumped on top of me and said, ¡°Give me more!¡± I decided to really tease her to the maximum limit. Even though she was completely wet I could still smell that sweet aroma that she always gives off, it feels like when we are having sex it just gets stronger. I started tongue kissing her as my dick was just slowly rubbing against her pussy. I was then about to insert it in, inserting only the tip as she was moaning, but then I pulled it out and said, ¡°Na-a, if I let you have it all already, then you won¡¯t stop, and if you don¡¯t then when I cum inside you, I will lose all my energy to reach the bed.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ you can¡¯t do that!¡± She said with a sad face. ¡°How about this, we will get dressed, go to bed and be a lot more romantic than this, and if you do it right then, I¡¯ll let you have as much sex as you want.¡± ¡°A-Alright. But I¡¯m already satisfied with just a boob job, your cum is delicious as it is.¡± ¡°But, it seems like you want more.¡± ¡°Of course I do! But if I could somehow give you a boob job daily, then I won¡¯t complain¡­¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s a bit difficult to do, maybe once we are done with our missions.¡±
We both got up, dried each other and went back to our bedroom, we started talking about the future and what we were going to do while holding each other in bed and gazing into each other¡¯s eyes. In the end whether I liked it or not I knew that she was going to want to have sex with me again, and so did I, so we did, and we did for a long time; we tried every single position that came into my mind, and in the end we only stopped because we didn¡¯t want Misaki and Yumi to wake up and we would be still having sex. I lost count of the number of times we climaxed, I was sure that she had to shower again after that, but I also came inside of her at the very end... I hope nothing drastic happens. ¡°I hope that¡¯s enough affection for you,¡± I said. ¡°Mhm¡­ yeah, it is.¡± We both quickly fell asleep, and we concluded that being the best night we have had so far. The next day, I woke up somewhat later than usual; It was a crazy night after all. But still¡­ seeing her peacefully sleeping right next to me always brings me happiness; I wish that from now on every day I could wake up to her. I slowly got up, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and then came to kiss her even more. ¡°Good afternoon, baby.¡± She slowly opened her eyes, and as soon as she saw me, she gave me a sweet smile, giggled and then said. ¡°Were you looking at me sleeping, you weirdo?¡± ¡°The weirdo is the person that wouldn¡¯t look at you sleeping.¡± ¡°But I only want you to look at me.¡± She pulled me in, kissed me, then said, ¡°Are we ever going to wake up not late?¡± ¡°Well not if we sleep together,¡± I said while chuckling. We kept kissing more and more. Usually, people wake up with bad breath, but Kasai always has a sweet aroma, and her breath still smells like mint. Being a boyfriend of a succubus sure is lucky. She doesn¡¯t smell bad, she doesn¡¯t sweat, she doesn¡¯t grow hair anywhere but her head, she barely needs to eat that much, she will never feel anything for anyone else, she is lustful when she needs to be, she automatically wears makeup, and she can defend herself from harm. I can see why Shizuka didn¡¯t want her to go to our school, she would have destroyed her competition. ¡°Honey, I appreciate all of those things you think about me, but¡­ sometimes having an extreme sensitivity of hygiene gets annoying. If I get slightly dirty I have a strong urge to shower, if sometimes I want to eat specific things, my body doesn¡¯t let me enjoy it since I HAVE to eat healthily. If I want to change my makeup to something different I can¡¯t because everything I put on my face or my body¡ªeven scars! Will be completely gone after a couple of seconds, for some reason only hickeys are not gone! If you happen to not be there to satisfy me, and I want to satisfy myself thinking about you, I can¡¯t do so or I will feel disgusted even by myself! And let me not start with these huge boobs! I struggle way too much putting pants and tights on with this butt!¡± ¡°Alright, I get, I get it.¡± I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s hard being perfect, I get it.¡± ¡°I love myself for being so ¡®perfect¡¯ for you, but sometimes it just gets annoying.¡± Kasai and I still weren¡¯t wearing shirts or anything on top, I got on top of her and kept kissing her. ¡°I love you so fucking much,¡± I said. She giggled and said, ¡°Will you ever let me get up?¡± ¡°You know, your giggles are adorable; I can¡¯t wait until you get your voice back so I can hear your sweet voice clearly.¡± ¡°Let me get up then, so we can get ready.¡± I grabbed her hands and pinned her down while kissing her neck. I noticed that she was still filled with many hickeys all over just her upper body. She slightly moaned and said, ¡°Come on baby, I¡¯m the succubus here, not you.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t lust for you.¡± And at that moment, Yumi slid the door open and said, ¡°You two have been sleeping for a while, I think it¡¯s time to-¡­¡± Kasai and I were wearing pants, but from her view, it probably didn¡¯t seem like it since we were covering our torso down with the bed sheets. ¡°Don¡¯t they teach cloud elves to knock first?¡± I asked with a jokingly tone. Kasai turned red and looked away. ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Yelled Yumi as she slammed the door closed. ¡°H-Honey! I told you to let me get up and get dressed!¡± ¡°But I like seeing your chest!¡± ¡°You can look at them all you want at night!¡± ¡°But there¡¯s barely any light!¡± ¡°Oh my god! Stop!¡± She said with a flushed face. Later on, after we got dressed and ready, I decided to meditate together with her for once. I walked up to Yumi which was shining her armor and said, ¡°Hey Yumi, sorry for before.¡± ¡°Oh no, it was my fault I didn¡¯t knock.¡± ¡°But anyways, mind if Kasai and I meditate outside?¡± ¡°Of course not, go ahead!¡± ¡°Where is Misaki?¡± ¡°With her gang somewhere.¡± ¡°Ah, alright. We¡¯ll be right back.¡± As soon as Kasai and I walked outside, we noticed that we could see the sky and everything else. ¡°Wait¡­ I thought we were inside a mountain.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°So did I¡­¡± We walked back to where Yumi was and asked, ¡°Yumi, what¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Let me explain.¡± ¡°Please do, I¡¯m so confused,¡± I said. ¡°One of the advent children has a hybrid singularity called, ¡®The spectrum illusionist.¡¯ What is basically does is it can create solid holograms that can be enabled and disable anytime by a switch that I have.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ so you are telling me that¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, the whole mountain was just an illusion. If people touch it, it will feel like solid matter, but if they were to dig a hole or destroy it, then the hologram will be gone. We only activate it at night because that¡¯s when the scouts decide to go look for buildings since it¡¯s easier with the lights.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impressive, such singularity has great potential.¡± ¡°It does, but since our race is more on entertainment, then my sister uses it for the amusement of other people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice of her. What¡¯s her name?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Catherine Elledan. She is the one that had rainbow colored hair, she is a funny one.¡± ¡°I would like to meet her one day then!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Yeah, she seems cool,¡± I said. ¡°You will, you will. Food is about to be ready in a bit, don¡¯t take too long out there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± We went outside to start meditating. Throughout the whole session, Kasai was having trouble clearing her mind from any thoughts and said, ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Remember to control your breathing.¡± ¡°When I close my eyes and clear my mind all I see is¡­ my past.¡± It¡¯s easy to forget what she has gone through all this time by looking at her smiling every day, I needed to help her somehow, so I decided to sit right beside her touching shoulder and holding hands. ¡°Try now.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She tried clearing her mind, she took a deep breath and let herself go; erasing every single negative thought from her head leaving nothing but peace of mind. I released her hand, and as soon as I did, she broke out of her meditation. ¡°I-I can¡¯t! I can¡¯t do it without you!¡± ¡°Baby, I¡¯m sure you will get it.¡± ¡°I tried! It¡¯s not working!¡± I sighed and said, ¡°You have to learn how to be separated from me without panicking at this point. Who knows, something might happen and we won¡¯t be able to see each other for days.¡± ¡°But, what¡¯s wrong with me wanting to be with you?¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just sometimes I would like to be alone for a while and relax.¡± ¡°You can relax with me, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I can, but¡­¡± ¡°Am I boring? Is that what it is?¡± ¡°What? No, n-¡± ¡°No I get it, I¡¯m not fun to be around. I¡¯m clingy, and annoying sometimes. I understand.¡± ¡°Baby, please, don¡¯t say that about yourself. All I¡¯m asking is for you to be ok when I¡¯m not around.¡± ¡°Really? You are not lying to not hurt me are you?¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be honest. I never in my life found you annoying, but I have found you clingy sometimes, but that¡¯s completely fine! I don¡¯t mind most of the time at all, I love being with you.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ thanks for being honest, Rukito.¡± ¡°Rukito? Wait, are you mad at me?¡± ¡°I want you to tell me everything I¡¯m doing wrong! If I''m clingy, then tell me, if I¡¯m ever annoying then tell me! I want you to be as happy as possible with me¡­¡± ¡°Sweetheart, having bad sides it¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t have to be afraid of showing your bad moods to me, that¡¯s my job, I¡¯m the person who is supposed to cheer you up, but don¡¯t be mad at me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you¡­ sorry I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m acting like this.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I guess that meditation did work then. Let it out, I¡¯m here to listen.¡± I said as I wrapped my arm around her abdomen. ¡°¡­ Sorry if I am a pessimist and act insecure. I can¡¯t help it sometimes.¡± I caressed her hair and said, ¡°You know¡­ being similar really helps me understand you a lot more; we have avoided so many fights together by just trying to understand each other before starting to yell.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed¡­ and please let¡¯s never fight¡­ I get really hurt when we do, it¡¯s way worse than anything I¡¯ve gone through.¡± ¡°Of course baby, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m looking to fight you, haha.¡± ¡°Thank you, that means a lot to me.¡± I got up, took out my spirit daisho and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see if what you said was true, I was meditating for a reason to fight.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± She said while smiling. I closed my eyes and held the Katana firmly in my hands, suddenly, I heard a voice in my head that sounded like mine but a bit deeper. ¡°What is it you fight for, kid?¡± ¡°I fight for the future of Kasai. The future of my close friends that have helped me with my journey. I fight for¡­ hopes to protect them.¡± My katana slowly unsheathed, a strong wind picked up. Trees started moving, dirt started flying up, and I felt a strong weight on my shoulders. Then, I heard the voice say, ¡°This is the weight of your determination, you lose this determination¡­ you lose a reason to fight¡­ the Katana of Wind will not be unsheathed if not by a stronger resolve.¡± I pulled out the entire katana, the wind blew up extremely fast. A pack of wolves appeared out of nowhere circling around Kasai and me, they seemed to be spirits. ¡°Woah!¡± The Katana was glowing white like the other blades, this one had many wolves running around across its handle. ¡°This is it¡­ I can feel the strength of this blade radiating through the wind.¡± I swung the blade once, and a strong wind followed up behind the blade. I pierced towards a direction, and all those wolves ran towards the direction I pointed. ¡°They¡­ attack?¡± ¡°They are so fluffy!¡± Said Kasai while trying to catch one. ¡°K-Kasai?! You ruined the cool moment!¡± I expected the wolves to try and attack Kasai, but some of them jumped on top of her and started licking her face. She started giggling and said, ¡°Stop, it tickles.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they supposed to be murderous wolves?...¡± I asked myself. Sooner more wolves started surrounding Kasai and starting taking a liking to her, I walked towards them and started petting one by one. ¡°They sure are cool though.¡± They all had the same shining aura that my blade had. ¡°I like them. So this is your final blade¡¯s power?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Seems like it. I can control the wind as far as I noticed. I don¡¯t know much what these wolves do, but we will find out sooner or later.¡± Kasai got up and said, ¡°Yeah, we should talk to Yumi to see if it¡¯s possible getting that fruit today.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± We went back inside the house, Yumi looked at us and said, ¡°Was that wind outside from you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I managed to unlock my final blade.¡± ¡°Oh cool, so it¡¯s wind?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know too much about it for the moment, but I¡¯ll figure out as I go.¡± ¡°Well if it is, then we should be able to work really well together since your wind should be able to make my flames stronger.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ll train a lot so we can make it work!¡± Yumi smiled at me and said, ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it then.¡± Kasai walked up and said, ¡°Hey Yumi, do you think it¡¯s possible to get that fruit today?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s an hour walk from here, so yeah, it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Really?! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°But like I said¡­ a griffon is protecting the tree from selfish criminals.¡± ¡°How do we manage to kill it?¡± ¡°Kill it? You¡¯re not going to kill it, you have to talk to him, if he sees you as worthy of the fruit, then he will allow you entry.¡± ¡°Worthy? How are we supposed to prove it?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Griffons are wise creatures, they will measure your wisdom and ethics to see if you are a good person or not.¡± ¡°What if we are not?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you will have to find another way to get your voice back¡­ I will not allow a battle between you and the griffon, he has been protecting this land below for centuries together with the Arcana Eater.¡± ¡°The Arcana Eater?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°I think that was the huge piranha we saw while on the ship,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, right.¡± ¡°Sorry Kasai, you are a close friend of our race and everything, but those two creatures are vital for us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Look at her, already acting like a queen.¡± Yumi smiled and said, ¡°I have to start somewhere.¡± I stepped forward and said, ¡°Well, give us a map, and we will be on our way.¡± ¡°Uuhh¡­ yeah, it¡¯s on top of the shelf over there.¡± She pointed to my left. I checked under some papers, and then later found it. ¡°Thanks, we¡¯ll be back in around three hours or so.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful both of you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°If he gives you trouble, just remember his name is Di¡¯Ophion.¡± Chapter 16: DiOphions Trial
"You are free to choose, but you''re not free to decide what the consequences are." -Di''Ophion
The way there was peaceful, nothing much happened that would stop our walk. We were admiring the beauty of the nature around us on the way. One hour later of walking we finally got to the tree; it was pretty high compared to the other trees. It was about 150 meters from us. As soon as we stepped forwards into the zone of the tree, the griffon flew from the very top of the tree towards us. Kasai took out her singularity, but as soon as she did, I stopped her. ¡°No, we are not going to fight.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± The griffon landed 50 meters from us and then, we heard his voice in our heads saying, ¡°Step no further.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not here to cause harm,¡± I said. ¡°Words are easily deceiving. How can I trust a man?¡± ¡°We¡¯re friends with the advent children; Maria, Misaki, and Yumi in specific.¡± The griffon slowly started walking up to us. ¡°Any proof?¡± ¡°Your name¡­ it¡¯s Di¡¯Ophion, right?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­If what you say is indeed true, I still can¡¯t just let you pass through.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Tell me, boy, what are your intentions with the fruit of Phoenix?¡± That¡¯s the name? That¡¯s so damn cool. ¡°My¡­ my significant other needs this fruit to break a curse.¡± ¡°A cursed girl?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ someone sealed her voice with a curse, and all I want is to get her voice back.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ not a selfish wish, I can respect that.¡± ¡°Wait, the fruit can be used for something else?¡± ¡°Yes, it grants youth to the person who eats it. It won¡¯t make them immortal; however, it will change their age back to their prime.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°The girl seems to be already on her prime, eating it won¡¯t change her much.¡± The griffon was something that I¡¯ve never thought of seeing in my entire life. With the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle, and the wisdom of the elders. ¡°Please¡­¡± I bowed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do anything¡­ just¡­ just let us pass.¡± Kasai looked at me and said, ¡°Honey¡­ maybe we could find another way.¡± ¡°No! I¡¯m not giving up this close.¡± ¡°How about you, girl.¡± ¡°Me? You can hear me?¡± ¡°I can. Why do you want your voice back?¡± ¡°Why?... well¡­ all I want is to Rukito to be happy if getting my voice back makes him happy, then I¡¯ll get it back.¡± ¡°Wait, so you are doing this for my sake?!¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t really mind being mute as long as I¡¯m happy with you, but I do want my voice back since I know it will make you happy.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ how intriguing; a true love, Though¡­ I must give my condolences, I can¡¯t let anyone but elves get the fruit.¡± ¡°R-Really?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes¡­ I suggest you to not come back.¡± I was shocked¡­ The cure for her was right in front of us¡­ but nothing, we weren¡¯t allowed to get it. ¡°But-¡± Said Kasai. I stopped her and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine Kasai¡­ I guess we will just find another way; we have to respect this place, we are not that big of a deal compared to what this fruit could do to other people that are worse than you.¡± When I said that, the griffon flew up into the air back to the top of the tree. ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s leave, Kasai.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± As we were walking away, Di¡¯Ophion stopped our way ahead, it had an orange fruit in its beak. ¡°That was a test to see if you would have been selfish and still walked in. Your response was very wise and understanding, and for that, I must commend you with the fruit of Phoenix.¡± ¡°Wait, seriously?!¡± I said. ¡°You must hurry before I change my mind.¡± Kasai let out her hand, and the griffon gave her the fruit. ¡°Don¡¯t rejoice, the test has just begun.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You must devour the fruit, or it will attract too many other creatures. After you do, fewer creatures will be attracted, but they will still come to you and kill her to then eat her.¡± ¡°Oh, alright. Thanks for everything, Di¡¯Ophion.¡± I said. ¡°Yes, thank you very much!¡± ¡°No, you both deserve it; you are good people, send future queen Yumi my regards.¡± ¡°I sure will!¡± I was filled with happiness and accomplishment. I wanted to use my Katana, but there are enemies to come. Di¡¯Ophion flew off and then, I saw Kasai looking at the fruit. ¡°So¡­ do I peel this or what?¡± ¡°I have no idea but do it quick.¡± She took out the dagger and instantly peeled it. ¡°Alright, I hope it tastes well.¡± She took a bite out of it and then said, ¡°This is delicious!¡± She instantly ate all of it. ¡°So, can you talk?¡± I was super nervous, I didn¡¯t know why but I was. I could finally hear her sweet voice clearly. She started coughing a bit; purple lights exited her body, then, a phoenix appeared flying around her, it took off into the skies and left. ¡°R-Rukito?¡± She spoke softly. I rushed towards her and gave her a warm hug. ¡°See?! I told you I was going to get your voice back!¡± She started crying and said, ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I caressed her head, kissed her, then said, ¡°No problem, now all we have to do is talk to the king, and we can go back home.¡± She started coughing a bit more. I took out water out of the bag and gave some to her. ¡°You haven¡¯t talked for years, let your vocal cords get used to it again.¡± ¡°I love you-cough-I love you so much.¡± I was filled with joy and relief, she finally could talk to people around her. I smiled and said, ¡°I love you too, but please take it easy.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± We both started walking back to Yumi¡¯s house, the sun was about to set. 15 minutes later we heard a musical instrument being played, it sounded like a harp. ¡°Where¡¯s that music coming from?¡± I asked myself. We were both attracted to the music like moths to light; it was such sweet harmony. We deviated from the path and walked in the woods, there we saw a fairy playing the harp, sitting on top of a stump with many different animals surrounding her to hear her song. She was beautiful and tiny, she was around 3 feet tall with long purple hair and a gorgeous black dress. She opened her eyes, and we noticed that they were a calming ocean blue color. What struck me was that she had no wings whatsoever. ¡°Good evening, travelers.¡± I also noticed she had a halo also with different shades of purple tilted on top of her head. ¡°G-Good evening.¡± Said Kasai. She was still playing the harp as we were speaking. ¡°You¡¯re really good at playing the harp,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m not very skilled yet.¡± ¡°Sounds awesome to me.¡± ¡°Rukito, I got a bad feeling about this.¡± Said Kasai with her telepathy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a fairy. They are good people, only pixies are sometimes evil.¡± ¡°How do you know that she is a fairy and not a pixie?¡± ¡°Fairies are small, while pixies are as big as us! Or is it the other way around?... I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t paying attention in mystical class.¡± Suddenly, the fairy changed songs and started playing a quicker song. ¡°Well, then let me show you more of what I¡¯ve learned throughout the century.¡± Suddenly I couldn¡¯t move a muscle, I was completely frozen, I could only talk. ¡°W-What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°I warned you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry travelers, I¡¯ll quickly explain.¡± She continued playing her harp as she stood up. ¡°My name is Nightshade, I¡¯m an exiled pixie from the black ash house.¡± She kept a serious face all along. ¡°Dammit, baby!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Hey! Not my fault the teacher was too boring.¡± We still couldn¡¯t manage to move an inch. The harp had to do something with it. ¡°This is my materialistic singularity, ¡®Physical Crescendo¡¯ I can control people¡¯s bodies with different songs.¡± ¡°Haha! That¡¯s a cool singularity, now can you let us go?¡± ¡°Not so fast.¡± She started walking around Kasai and me. ¡°I shall finish this song.¡± She then started singing along with her notes, the harmony between the two beautiful sounds made Kasai and I start to cry. ¡°Despair¡­Sorrow¡­ filled the boy¡­ but only¡­ if he had some joy.¡± Tears were running down my cheeks faster than ever. I looked over to Kasai, and she was also crying a lot. ¡°Everyone, around him died¡­ He slowly, but surely cried.¡± ¡°Y-You can also control people¡¯s emotions?!¡± She looked at me and said,This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Not just people¡­¡± We suddenly stopped crying. ¡°Drips, drops, falling lightly from the heavens~¡± It suddenly started raining out of nowhere. ¡°W-Wow! You¡¯re amazing!¡± I said. I was trying to flatter her so she would let us go, I heard that if you praise a pixie good enough they will leave you alone. ¡°My sisters didn¡¯t find it amazing...¡± As soon as she stops singing the rain stopped. She walked towards Kasai and asked, ¡°You just ate the fruit of Phoenix, right? I can smell it on you.¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± ¡°My apologies, but I¡¯ll have to kill you.¡± ¡°W-Wait! Why?!¡± I yelled. ¡°Quiet down, you will scare the animals away.¡± ¡°S-Sorry¡­¡± I was trying not to get agitated since I was still trying to appeal to this pixie. ¡°Say¡­ I noticed you don¡¯t have wings, what happened to them?¡± She gave a slight look of sadness and said, ¡°That¡¯s none of your concerns, traveler.¡± ¡°You need the phoenix fruit to get them back, huh?¡± ¡°I said it¡¯s none of your-¡± ¡°Di¡¯Ophion found that as a selfish wish and he didn¡¯t allow you in, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Even if that was true, what would it matter to you?¡± I need to distract her from playing the harp somehow¡­ Pixies value their looks a lot, maybe she thinks she is ugly now without wings. ¡°You know, you look precious even without the wings.¡± She quickly stepped back, blushed and said, ¡°W-what did you just say?¡± She stopped playing the harp for a second, I managed to take out my spirit daisho and lay my hand on the handle, but she quickly resumed playing. On the other side, Kasai was right about to slice her stomach. ¡°Y-You liar! You just want to escape!¡± ¡°Kasai! Don¡¯t hurt her, we can make this work out without the needs of blood.¡± ¡°Ugh, alright.¡± ¡°No, Nightshade, I wasn¡¯t lying.¡± ¡°Then why are you reading your weapon? She was about to kill me!¡± ¡°I already told her to not do that, she will not kill you, I promise.¡± ¡°How can I trust a stranger?...¡± ¡°Because¡­¡± I had to say it to get another second to pull my katana. ¡°I think I¡¯ve fallen in love with you.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± She stopped playing the harp again, I unsheathed my katana and pointed it at her, but she quickly started playing again. ¡°That¡¯s it! I¡¯m not stopping anymore!¡± ¡°Sorry, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Sorry? For what?¡± She started looking around her, and many spiritual wolves started surrounding her. ¡°Who are they?!¡± ¡°Rukito, didn¡¯t you said not to kill her?¡± ¡°Counting that the wolves are part of my singularity¡­ they won¡¯t kill her.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Suddenly, a wolf jumped on top of Nightshade and bit her neck, but it seemed like the wolf bit her soul, not her physical body; doing so, made her faint. ¡°Another person can¡¯t touch one¡¯s singularity, if they do, they will faint.¡± ¡°Ah! I see, so the wolves are part of your singular-cough- goddammit!¡± ¡°Take it easy, hahaha.¡± We walked towards Nightshade and told each other, ¡°So we are just going to leave her here?¡± ¡°Of course, We need to go back to Yumi.¡± ¡°But¡­ she seems like a nice person.¡± ¡°She is a pixie!¡± ¡°She is also exiled¡­ maybe she is not like the others? Maybe exiling someone means ripping their wings off.¡± ¡°Come on baby, stop trying to help everyone in your way, it¡¯s not our problem to deal with.¡± ¡°Imagine if I had that same mindset when I first met you, that it wasn¡¯t my problem to deal with getting your voice back or warning the king about black tombstone!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± ¡°I want to help her, she seemed alone and depressed. We both know how that feels¡­ plus, her singularity could prove of great use to us in the future!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ alright, let¡¯s help her then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pick her up and take her to Yumi¡¯s house.¡± I picked her up like a princess and said, ¡°Damn, she is so light! Feels like I¡¯m carrying a pillow.¡± ¡°How are you going to make sure she doesn¡¯t wake up?¡± I took out my tanto and laid it on top of her. ¡°She will feint forever like this!¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a way to do it.¡± We walked back even further, suddenly, we noticed that the whole forest started to get misty and dark. ¡°Uhm¡­ are we going the right way?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°I¡¯m not a human GPS, but I¡¯m sure we are.¡± ¡°Well¡­ let¡¯s just keep walking then.¡± ¡°This reminds me a lot of Charlotte.¡± As we kept walking the trail back, we then heard a voice saying, ¡°The path shall be found once you complete the word.¡± ¡°Huh? What the hell was that?¡± I asked. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Kasai and I kept walking in silence for 10 minutes and still seeming as if we kept looping the same way over and over. ¡°What the¡­¡± As soon as I said those two words gallows appeared at our right. ¡°Wrong, try again.¡± We heard. ¡°What?!¡± I yelled again. When I said that, I felt a light invisible rope tied around my neck. I looked to the gallows, and the head of my soul was on the rope. ¡°Honey!¡± Yelled Kasai. As soon as she screamed that, the bottom part of the gallows were duplicated into another one. ¡°Wrong, try again.¡± We heard once more. ¡®The path shall be found once you complete the word¡¯¡­ I think I was starting to get what was going on, we were¡­ playing a real-life hanged man! ¡°Kasai, don¡¯t talk using your voice, just communicate with telepathy,¡± I told her about my telepathy. ¡°Really?! I just got my voice back, come on!¡± ¡°We have to find what the word is¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You never played hanged man?¡± ¡°No.¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got it.¡± I was going to start with syllabus since every word has at least one. ¡°A?¡± I asked. The silence was heard, a couple of seconds later, the blank words appeared in front of us. It was a three lettered word, those can be the hardest one to guess¡­ ¡°Wrong, try again.¡± My body joined my head on the rope, and the rope got tighter around my neck, but I could still talk. With a three lettered word, it should be easy to find if I had a hint¡­ it¡¯s worth the shot. ¡°Hint?¡± A sudden silence was in the air for a couple of seconds, to then be interrupted by, ¡°You ask questions, I never answer. You ask who, what, when, how, and why? I answer¡­ who?¡± ¡°Huh? How the hell is that a hint!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°It¡¯s a riddle¡­¡± ¡°A what?¡± ¡°Haha, sometimes you¡¯re just too cute with your lack of knowledge.¡± ¡°Hey! At least I don¡¯t read books 24/7.¡± Hmmm¡­ I don¡¯t want to risk it and say more words, I might not be able to answer with the rope very tight on my neck. ¡°Who¡­ he answers no question with an answer, he only says¡­ who¡­ who¡­ who.¡± Kasai started giggling. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°Nothing, you just sound like an owl.¡± ¡°An owl? AN OWL!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Owl!¡± I said. ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re right. Damn, I guess I have to let you go now.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The mist instantly disappeared and an owl with a fedora hat on top of a tree branch looking at us. ¡°You can go, leave.¡± ¡°Wait, you can talk?!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, just go!¡± Said the owl. Kasai instantly dashed towards the owl and caught it in a second. ¡°Aww, who is a handsome little owl?!¡± ¡°H-Huh?! Let me go human! And my name is Edward!¡± ¡°Kasai, let him go, I don¡¯t want to be in that stupid minigame again.¡± ¡°Stupid?! I¡¯ll let you know that my ¡®Hanged Man¡¯ singularity is extremely good!¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have used a better word?¡± ¡°Better word?! Owl is the best word!¡± The sun was almost gone, Kasai and I had to hurry back to Yumi¡¯s house. ¡°Kasai, we have to go, come on.¡± ¡°Alright. Goodbye, Edward!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, just leave me alone.¡± He said while flying away. We kept walking and walking, 30 minutes later we finally arrived back at Yumi¡¯s house. I still had Nightshade in my arms. I realized that I didn¡¯t know the secret words to unlock the rock since now the little mountain was there again. ¡°Uhm¡­ Kasai, do you remember?¡± ¡°Yes, and now that I can finally talk I can open it.¡± ¡°Thank god.¡± ¡°Ashma la kamp wo lockrinato strada.¡± The rock opened once again. ¡°Wow, you have an excellent memory.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± We walked inside and opened the door, as soon as Kasai opened the door I noticed Yumi in the kitchen cooking. I laid down Nightshade on the sofa and walked towards Yumi. ¡°Hey, Yumi!¡± Said Kasai. Yumi turned around, looked at her with eyes of surprise and smiled. ¡°You did it! Congratulations, Kasai.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± ¡°You have such a sweet voice, I¡¯m glad you got it back.¡± ¡°Mhm, now I can sign all I want!¡± ¡°You like signing?¡± I asked. ¡°I used to do so before when I was bored, I grew attached to it, so I started signing every morning.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you and Nightshade can make an amazing duet.¡± ¡°Nightshade?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°Yeah, she needed some help. I hope you don¡¯t mind if she stays here for a night.¡± Yumi walked to the living room and saw her sleeping on the sofa. ¡°Oh, a pixie. And an exiled one at that!¡± ¡°So I was right! When they get exiled, they rip their wings off.¡± ¡°Yes, most of the time they get exiled because they were seen helping people, they aren¡¯t allowed helping people since they are supposed to misguide them and trick them.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Yumi got closer to her and said, ¡°But wait¡­ she is from the black ash house.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°The different colored dresses they were signifies their houses. The black one is from the black ash house. There¡¯s the maple house, the redwood house, and many other houses named after trees.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± I wouldn¡¯t have thought that pixies had their own branches. ¡°But the black ash house is from Tokiri Islands¡­ she got exiled all the way over here?!¡± ¡°Tokiri Islands?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an archipelago at the east of us, there is said to be a little civilization of humans over there.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± I removed my singularity from her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for her to wake up so we can discuss it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on her.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Kasai, can you continue cooking for me?¡± ¡°But of course.¡± Said Kasai walking towards the kitchen. ¡°Yumi, where¡¯s Misaki?¡± ¡°She locked herself into her room for some reason. I tried talking to her but nothing.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯ll talk to her.¡± I walked towards Misaki¡¯s room, knocked, and said, ¡°Misaki, It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Rukito?¡± I heard from the other side of the door. She instantly opened the door and said with a big smile, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Mind if I come in?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± I walked inside Misaki¡¯s room. It was filled with things that you would typically see in a boy¡¯s room, but it had that sweet scent of a girl¡¯s room. ¡°Where were you today?¡± I asked. ¡°We are getting closer and closer to finding out where the black tombstone hideout is at; I had to go and check on my group.¡± I looked at her bed and noticed some tear stains on the pillow, but I could be wrong. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! All we got to do is tell the king and-¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I want the cloud elves to take care of this so we will never be looked down upon.¡± She had a fair point there. Maybe I should just let them take care of it. ¡°I still want to help out though,¡± I said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you know when we find it so we can think of a plan together.¡± ¡°Shizuka is really good at strategizing, she could really help us on that part.¡± ¡°Shizu who?¡± ¡°A good friend of mine.¡± But then¡­ wouldn¡¯t she get more jealous after coming back with these many girls? ¡°Any other friend that could help us?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ actually Sachi-¡­¡± I felt a sudden void in my head like something important was gone entirely. ¡°Huh? Sachi?¡± ¡°Wait, what? Who¡¯s that?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know! You said the name Sachi.¡± ¡°I have no idea of who you are talking about.¡± ¡°Ah, maybe I just heard things,¡± Said Misaki. ¡°We could definitely use Nightshade for the battle.¡± ¡°Nightshade?¡± ¡°A pixie we found on the way that needed help.¡± ¡°Oh, alright. The more people we find, the better.¡± I looked around her room for a while, later, I asked her, ¡°Are you alright Misaki?¡± ¡°Huh? Why would you ask something like that?¡± She said smiling. I knew that she wasn¡¯t ok, but I didn¡¯t want to invade her privacy if she felt that she wanted to be alone, so I just brushed it aside while saying, ¡°Remember, Misaki¡­ if you ever need to someone to talk to and vent, I¡¯m here, ok?¡± She gave me a half smile, came close and hugged me. ¡°I know Rukito. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± She said while hugging me tighter. ¡°I just¡­ keep losing people, you know? I can¡¯t ever learn to let people go and understand that they died.¡± I hugged her back and said, ¡°We¡¯ll stop black tombstone, I promise.¡± She gave a quick snicker and said with a soft tone, ¡°Hell yeah, we will¡­¡± She quickly pushed me off and said, ¡°Oh! Sorry! I keep forgetting that you have a girlfriend and I shouldn¡¯t be this close to you.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry. Hugging is completely normal; Kasai is not a jealous girl, after all, she can get insecure about herself not being good enough, but I¡¯m always there to remind her how amazing she is.¡± Misaki giggled and said, ¡°I envy you both so much. Hopefully, I find someone like you in the future.¡± Did she just low-key say she likes me without even noticing? Damn, I mean, being with a mafia boss is a scary thought. ¡°Oh trust me, you don¡¯t know what envy is until you meet Shizuka.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°She has been forever envious of Kasai, but at least she said she will apologize to her.¡± ¡°Oh! Talking about Kasai, I want you to do something.¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± She got close and whispered into my ear, ¡°I heard from her that a couple of days ago it was your birthday, so I felt bad that I wasn¡¯t able to give you something.¡± ¡°Haha, we didn¡¯t know each other.¡± ¡°I know! But still, I feel like giving you something.¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¡°I will buy for you your engagement ring.¡± ¡°E-Engagement right?!¡± I said while blushing. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure Kasai will love it.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t it a bit early? We have only been with each other for a month or so.¡± ¡°I know, I know! But listen, Maria will also get married a year from now with Hachimura, so I thought that it would be amazing if you both can have something like a double wedding!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, my master will get married too.¡± ¡°So, what do you think?!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s still early though.¡± ¡°Do you really see yourself breaking up with her? And finding someone better?¡± ¡°Hell no.¡± ¡°Exactly! Plus, didn¡¯t the priest tell you that you were both soul mates?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Then voil¨¤!¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying you are going to get the ring?¡± ¡°Yeah-yeah; tomorrow I¡¯ll come here with the ring.¡± ¡°Tomorrow?!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I took a deep breath and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m counting on you then.¡± Chapter 16.5: Devils Mind
"I am a devil said by others, but I am no evil being." -Rei Regiis Diaboli
Never in my life, I thought that I would have been able to get out of that cage. I must thank him¡­ he has helped me so much it¡¯s almost unbelievable, while he makes it seemed like he¡¯s not even trying at that. I remember when I first arrived at the mansion, I didn¡¯t want to touch any stranger, I did anything someone told me to do, and I barely showed any emotions whatsoever. What a change¡­ is this what love does? I was always wondering what this ¡®love¡¯ thing was when I heard it around the orphanage, I initially thought it was some stupid excuse that people use to get close to someone; how na?ve I was. But not ever receiving love by anybody, I don¡¯t blame myself, I didn¡¯t grow up with loving parents after all. Sometimes I feel like I got too addicted to love, to the point that I feel like he doesn¡¯t want to be with me as much as I want to be with him; to the point that I feel like I¡¯m not good enough for him to want to be with me. I know now for sure that he does, but I¡¯m still not entirely convinced¡­ and I don¡¯t understand why¡­ if he does love me so much, then why doesn¡¯t he just tell Shizuka in her face that he doesn¡¯t like her at all? That all he loves is me and no one else? Or is that selfish of me to think of? I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯m not smart enough to know what people think, or to know what to believe myself most of the time; looking at him¡­ he looks like he knows everything around him, he knows what he is doing, and he most definitely knows what other people think. He makes it seem so easy to understand people that it just seems like it¡¯s natural to him, or is that what meditating a lot gives off? I wish I could understand Shizuka¡¯s feelings a little deeper, I always looked forward to being friends with her, after all, I still think that she is an amazing woman¡­ I¡¯m just a little girl compared to her. I tried lying to myself by saying that Shizuka is just a super envious person that doesn¡¯t care about anyone but herself¡­ but I know it¡¯s not true, I know that deeply below all that envy she is actually a beautiful woman, and an exceptional wife... a better wife than I could ever be to Rukito. Sometimes I want him to go with her instead so he could be happier, but that would just hurt me too much¡­ I don¡¯t want to be selfish¡­ but I can¡¯t help but be selfish when it comes to keeping him with me and no one else. Is this my succubus side? Or is it my little girl mindset? Maybe both. One thing is for sure, I¡¯ll never lose the worth of my life ever again. He taught me that life can be beautiful, and life can also be horrifying. I have to thank god and destiny for not allowing me to kill myself back then¡­ suicide is not an answer to anything if anyone pulls through any type of mental and physical pain if they allow themselves to have hope, if they have the patience for their life to change for the better, if they try their hardest every day to ignore the negatives and focus on the positives¡­ I promise that it will all be worth it at the end. I believe that everything has to have balance in life, just like martial arts and their Yin-Yang, if someone has a horrifying past, they are bound to have a sweet and beautiful future, they just have to pull through, and I can promise, everything will end up being alright. Coming from nothing to finally have something, it makes you appreciate the little things in life, I¡¯m glad that I even have food to eat, water to drink, a roof to sleep under, and fresh air to breathe. That just makes you adore the big things in life, even more, I adore the freedom I¡¯m given now that I¡¯m not closed in a cage, I adore my friends even though they might not see me as their friend, they are the closest things to friends I ever had¡­ and yes, Shizuka too. But most importantly, I adore the person I love and lust more than anything, not only he gives me lots of help and love but having lots of lust for each other helped me forget evil thoughts off my head like my step-father almost taking my virginity when I was younger¡­ maybe being a succubus is not so bad, it has quite helped me a bit, especially with my self-esteem since now I have a better body to think good about myself of. I opened my eyes, I was in the king size bed that Yumi and Misaki have in the guest room, but for some reason, today I felt like it wasn¡¯t as spacious as it usually was; it¡¯s a king size bed after all. I looked to my side and noticed that Yumi was sleeping next to me. I think it was 5:30 AM, we went to sleep early yesterday night since we were tired from the other night. ¡°Y-Yumi?¡± I slowly got up and noticed that Rukito was sleeping in between both Yumi and Misaki. ¡°H-Huh?! RUKITO!¡± I yelled. He slowly opened his eyes and said, ¡°What is it, baby?... Why are you yelling?¡± He looked to both his sides and Yelled, ¡°HUUUUHHH?!!¡± I honestly expected this to happen¡­ he will probably pull some lies like he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. ¡°I promise! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on!¡± Yup¡­ Yumi and Misaki also slowly opened their eyes, Yumi looked at Rukito and yelled. ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± Misaki then said, ¡°Oh, hey Rukito.¡± ¡°You have 10 seconds to explain,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t want to instantly kill him without giving him a chance to explain. ¡°Kasai! I promise I didn¡¯t do anything! I fell asleep with you and next thing you know, I woke up with Yumi and Misaki.¡± We then heard a harp being played in the living room. Rukito got up looking like he knew what happened and rushed towards the living room, I decided to follow up behind him. ¡°Nightshade!¡± I heard him yelling. Nightshade was playing her harp while sitting on top of the sofa. She looked at Rukito and said, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Why did you do that?!¡± ¡°Oh, I wanted to thank you for wanting to help me to recover my wings; I heard everything while I was unconscious, so I made those girls sleep with you, I heard human boys like it.¡± ¡°I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!¡± ¡°Wait, you do? Who?¡± I walked up while saying and said, ¡°I am his girlfriend¡­¡± ¡°Wait¡­ you¡¯re not his sister?!¡± Yumi and Misaki walked in from the bedroom. Misaki walked up to us and asked, ¡°Woah! What¡¯s your singularity?¡± ¡°I can control people¡¯s emotions and the weather with a signing, while I can control their bodies with this harp.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very dangerous¡­¡± I said. It was still hard getting used to talking for me, but I tried to speak more than usual, so my voice could get used to it. ¡°She could be of great use in the battle against black tombstone.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I thought!¡± Said Rukito. ¡°Black who?¡± Rukito sat on the sofa with her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal, Nightshade.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°If you help us in a future battle against black tombstone, I¡¯ll promise we¡¯ll get your wings back.¡± ¡°Alright, but who is this black tombstone?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a group of terrorists going around and absorbing people¡¯s magic from their dead bodies so their boss can be fully recovered.¡± ¡°Huh?! That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± ¡°I know, apparently their boss is someone who once lost a great power, and now he is counting on everyone in his cult to heal him with other people¡¯s magic.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ alright. But I¡¯m not a good fighter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s completely fine! All we need you for is for baiting, your singularity is perfect for it.¡± ¡°Ok, deal.¡± It was really bothering me that all Rukito¡¯s friends so far have been girls not counting his master, like seriously, what is the birth ratio of girls over boys in this continent? ¡°Oh, Kasai.¡± Said Misaki. I looked at her and said, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I heard from Rukito that he once knew someone named Sachi, he then told me he forgot, do you know who this Sachi is?¡± ¡°Sachi? I¡¯ve never heard such a name, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ then I did hear things.¡± The name didn¡¯t sound familiar whatsoever to me, if I did, I would remember since I don¡¯t have many friends. ¡°Well, we should hurry up and go back to the kingdom and talk to this Shizuka girl. Rukito said that she can help us in the battle to come, right?¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Uhm, yeah! She is brilliant.¡± ¡°Yes, she really is,¡± I said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask Hachimura¡¯s help.¡± ¡°My master?¡± ¡°Yeah, his singularity is really useful for defense.¡± ¡°Wait! We can¡¯t go yet!¡± Said Misaki. Rukito jumped and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! We can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I was confused. I got my voice back, so we should be able to leave now. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for a package to be delivered by one of my gang members. It should be here any more-¡± Shortly after, we heard a knock on the door. ¡°Wow, this timing is unbelievable.¡± Said Rukito. I noticed him starting to get nervous, he started tapping his leg repeatedly on the floor and brushing his hair back with his hand over and over. I decided to sit beside him and ask,Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Honey, are you ok?¡± He instantly looked at me and started blushing. ¡°Y-Yeah, I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± I¡¯ve never seen him this nervous before since we first kissed. He sure looks cute when he is nervous though! Misaki went to get the door, I decided to lay my head on his laps, close my eyes and say, ¡°I had a nightmare¡­¡± He started caressing my cheeks and hair, then said, ¡°What was it about?¡± ¡°I was alone¡­ emotionless, but scared in the middle of a coliseum fighting for my life.¡± ¡°And where was I?¡± ¡°I think¡­ you were¡­ dead.¡± He started chuckling and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry baby, I¡¯ll always be with you from now on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not funny¡­ I was really scared, and I usually don¡¯t feel fear.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ maybe it¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t there.¡± ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Then, I heard Nightshade switching songs to a happy one, I suddenly felt happy, and those negative thoughts escaped my head. ¡°Is that better?¡± Asked Nightshade after singing. I smiled at her and said, ¡°Yeah, thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Now I felt bad that I was trying to kill her¡­ ¡°Hey, Nightshade, I¡¯m sorry for yesterday¡­ I tried killing you without thinking about it twice.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I tried killing you both too, so I say we are on equal grounds.¡± I smiled at her understanding and said, ¡°Right.¡± Misaki came back with a box. She called Rukito to go with her in her room, and he said, ¡°Y-Yeah! I¡¯m coming. Sorry baby, I¡¯ll be back to cuddle with you in a second.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± I don¡¯t know what that box contained, but I¡¯m not really that curious of a person, so I didn¡¯t care. I actually started talking a bit with Nightshade, I wanted to make more friends after all. ¡°So Nightshade.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Do you have a boyfriend?¡± ¡°A boyfriend? Pixies don¡¯t have such things called ¡®boys.¡¯¡± ¡°Then how do you¡­¡± ¡°We are born from the power of the tree that we are from. I¡¯m from the black ash house so yeah; there¡¯s only one gender in our race.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± ¡°What about you? How did you meet him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been alone most of my childhood, I never really got along with boys since I naturally dislike most of them, some of them were nice and everything but I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to like them like that.¡± ¡°So you are a shy girl?¡± ¡°Not really, I¡¯d say that my succubus side only wants one person and one person only, I¡¯m happy it did since it the end he ended up being my soul mate and the person perfect for me. I got taken in foster care by the Aizawa family, that¡¯s where I met him.¡± ¡°Ah right, you showed your wing yesterday, so you are a devil.¡± ¡°Half devil.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, all I know is that I only have one wing, no horns, and a tail.¡± ¡°Ah, cool. But why did your succubus side only want him in specific?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ we are connected somehow, apparently what we heard from the constellation priest was that half of our souls are the same, I don¡¯t know how or why, but they are.¡± ¡°Is he also a half devil?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he is, he just hasn¡¯t unlocked that side yet.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know, but we heard from Maria, the advent child, that it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t unlock it. Apparently, it¡¯s too powerful.¡± ¡°Really? Something to threaten the advent children sure has to be strong.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ it actually worries me a bit.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I changed when I awakened my succubus side. So I¡¯m afraid he will too, maybe his personality will also change, and I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t like me anymore.¡± Yumi walked in from the kitchen and sat right next to me. ¡°Kasai, how many times do I have to tell you?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I can see it in his eyes the immense amount of love he has for you.¡± ¡°Yeah she is not lying, I can also see it, it¡¯s so obvious! But I thought that it was just sibling love the first time I saw you both.¡± ¡°You think?...¡± ¡°Come on Kasai!¡± Yelled Yumi. ¡°Open your eyes, his love is so big for you that I¡¯m sure in the next couple months or even weeks he will propose to you.¡± ¡°P-Propose?! No way! I¡¯m not thaaaat good enough.¡± ¡°Kasai¡­ shut up before I slap you.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Ok, ok! I¡¯m good enough for him! I can be an amazing future wi-¡­ wif¡­ ¡°Wif-?¡± ¡°I can be an amazing future wif¡­¡± ¡°Kasai!¡± ¡°Wife!¡± ¡°There you go! It wasn¡¯t that difficult now was it?¡± ¡°No.¡± Nightshade sighed and said, ¡°Love¡­ something I will never understand.¡± ¡°Are pixies even able to fall in love?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°I don¡¯t know, It has never happened in the history of time.¡± Yumi started giggling out of nowhere, so I asked, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°I know that you will also be an excellent mother.¡± ¡°M-Mother?!¡± I felt my cheeks and nose burning, I¡¯m sure I was blushing a lot. The thought of me holding Rukito and me¡¯s baby made my heart race faster and faster. I can barely believe that I¡¯m able to have intimate things with him; if it wasn¡¯t for my succubus side, I think I would have been way too shy to even kiss him even though we are a couple. As I was blushing Rukito walked back from Misaki¡¯s room also blushing. ¡°Wait, why are you blushing,¡± I asked him. ¡°Shut up! Your whole face is red!¡± He said. Misaki walked in and fell on the floor. ¡°My poor heart can¡¯t handle this!¡± She said while falling. ¡°Your poor heart?! You¡¯re a mafia boss!¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Hey! That doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t like romance!¡± ¡°Romance?¡± Rukito walked in front of me and asked me, ¡°Kasai, want to go for a walk outside? I want to get my blood flowing.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± We exited the house and started walking outside looking at nature, the dawn was about to rise, I think it was around 6 AM, dawn should be here soon. ¡°I always enjoy going for walks in the middle of nature¡­¡± He said. I decided to stay silent so it could give him time to say anything he would want to say. ¡°But I enjoy being around you even more¡­¡± He said as he grabbed my hand and held it while we kept walking. ¡°What else could be better?¡± He said while looking at me with a sweet smile. My heart started pounding fast again, I don¡¯t know why but I felt this sudden rush of nervousness out of nowhere, I think my succubus side was dormant at that moment, so touching him made me really embarrassed. ¡°I¡­ I enjoy being with you too.¡± What?! NO! Why did I just say the same thing back? That¡¯s boring! Come on Kasai! Show him how much he really means to you! Don¡¯t be shy! ¡°I¡­ lo¡­¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong?¡± When I mostly need my succubus side to get rid of my shyness, it¡¯s not there! ¡°I like you a lot!¡± I yelled. He started chuckling and said, ¡°Like me a lot? Did I downgrade from love?¡± He said jokingly. ¡°I thought I said sorry for waking up with the other girls around.¡± ¡°N-NO! It¡¯s not that, I just¡­ don¡¯t feel good enough for-¡± He quickly stopped. ¡°Wait! You don¡¯t feel good? Are you sick? Does your head hurt? Is everything ok?¡± He started feeling my head and touching my cheeks to check if I have a fever. ¡°Woah! Your cheeks are burning, but your head is good.¡± As we were walking we heard something moving behind us, Rukito looked and whispered, ¡°I think they are following us¡­¡± ¡°They?¡± ¡°The girls¡­¡± ¡°W-Why would they do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in a bit, first, I want to show you something.¡± ¡°Show me what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a surprise.¡± We kept walking for 10 minutes, all this time we were walking uphill towards to what it seemed to be the cliff of a mountain. ¡°Where are we going?¡± The anxiety was killing me. ¡°Be patient, we are almost there, sweetheart.¡± We kept and kept walking for 5 more minutes. ¡°Hurry, we have two minutes to fully see it.¡± ¡°See what?¡± We got on top of the hill overlooking an amazing panorama. The dawn sky had many different mixes of different shades of blue, orange, and purple. The air around us smelled like fresh flowers. There was somewhat of a little strong wind blowing so my hair and his were blowing in the wind. I noticed some white particles flying up to the sky and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?!¡± ¡°I think they are little fairies, they fly up at dawn and dance to welcome the new day.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ this is all so¡­ beautiful.¡± I looked back at him, he looked back at me with the sweetest smile I¡¯ve ever seen so far from him. Every time I gaze into his eyes, my heart starts beating really fast, my body starts shaking when I touch him, and my mind starts to get filled with nervousness and anxiety. ¡°I need to tell you something, Kasai.¡± I looked at his arm in his pocket and noticed that he was slightly shaking. ¡°W-what is it?¡± My mind was too anxious to think at that moment, I had no idea of what was going on. He kneeled, took out a box from his pocket, opened it showing a gorgeous ring, and recited the words I¡¯ve been dreaming of hearing, ¡°Will you marry me?¡± As soon as I heard those words¡­ tears started running down my cheeks; am I in a dream? I gasped, covered my face and stepped back. ¡°M-m-m-marry y-you?¡± My heart felt like it was going to blow up. I never thought I would ever have felt in love with anyone, now here I am in front of the love of my life proposing to me while I can barely stand up; I bet my legs are noodles right now. ¡°Yeah, I love you to death!¡± He said with a wholesome smile. ¡°I want to live my whole life with you, I want to smile together with you, I want to wake up next to you every morning, I want to learn things about life together, I want to have many children with you, I want to have a loving family with you, I want to adventure the whole world with you¡­ I¡­¡± He started shedding some tears and said, ¡°I can barely tell you all of this without getting emotional, but that¡¯s just how much I love you; you gave me a reason to succeed even more in life, you gave me a reason to unsheathe my katana, you gave me a reason to¡­ a reason to love.¡± I¡¯ve never seen him this emotional, I can tell that this means a lot to him. I jumped onto his arms and started crying. I was just worried about him not loving me enough¡­ and here he is in this amazing scenery proposing to me, saying the sweetest things I¡¯ve ever heard in my whole entire life. But¡­ is he going to be able to handle me? I¡¯m not that great¡­ ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t know how to be a good wife.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I still love you.¡± ¡°But, I¡¯m not that smart¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, I still love you.¡± ¡°Shizuka is so much better than me¡­¡± ¡°So? I only love you.¡± ¡°Why?... I¡¯m nothing special.¡± I said while crying my eyes out. My cheeks and my eyes were burning, and I could barely breathe. ¡°I love all of you Kasai; your good and happy side, and the bad scary side. Your faults and your merits. Your na?venss and your sweetness. Your personality and your body. The way you look at me, the way you kiss me, the way you tease me, but most importantly¡­ the way you smile at me.¡± I¡¯ve never heard such sweet words in my life. I felt like the world didn¡¯t matter anymore and at that point, it was just him and me gazing into each other¡¯s eyes. I rushed towards him and jumped on top of him laying down against the floor while crying on his chest. ¡°Yes, yes, yes! More than anything!¡± He hugged me back. I gazed into his eyes and kissed him. I wish I could just show how much he also means to me to him¡­ but I¡¯m way too shy! ¡°I love you so, so, so much!¡± I said. He smiled again and said, ¡°I love you more than you could ever imagine.¡± We kissed again, got up and held hands while gazing into each other¡¯s eyes. He then said, ¡°I promise to treat you well from this day on forever.¡± I smiled back at him and said, ¡°You have been doing that all along, honey.¡± I looked at him and noticed he was shedding a tear. He stayed silent and hugged me tight again. ¡°I¡¯m so grateful and happy¡­ I¡¯ve been waiting for you my whole entire life.¡± ¡°¡­Me too.¡± He took the ring and put it on my finger. That was the best morning of my life¡­ My love for him will never disappear¡­ we will love each other for eternity and build a loving family together. ¡°I will do everything in my power to raise our future children¡­¡± I said. ¡°I will do everything in my power to protect all of you.¡± ¡°I love you¡­ and I will, forever¡­¡± ¡°And ever¡­¡± I then heard him thinking to himself, ¡°This girl has done the impossible¡­ she somehow made me deeply fall in love with her even though many girls before her have tried and failed¡­ she really is special, she really is everything I ever asked for. All those tears in the bed at night were for something¡­ she easily managed to understand me more than any other girl¡­ I finally found her.¡± We slowly kissed one last time, then started walking away, holding hands. Please destiny¡­ let us be with each other¡­ for eternity. We kept kissing passionately while the sun rises, all the thoughts of us having a beautiful future together overflowed my head. I then heard Misaki screaming, ¡°Yes! Finally! HAHAAA!¡± I looked to the side and noticed that she jumped out of a bush with a camera on. Did she take a picture of us? Yumi pulled her down and said, ¡°Misaki! Get down!¡± ¡°W-w-what are they doing here?!¡± I started getting light-headed, probably by my cheeks being too hot, and then, I think I¡­ fainted. ¡°Baby?! Kasai?! KASAI!¡± Was the last thing I heard before blacking out. My little heart has never felt such deep love before. Chapter 16.75: Angels Mind
"I am an angel said by others, but I''m no virtuous being." -Akira Angelus Diabolus
Being alone these past days has been rough. I managed to make a meeting with the king and the cloud elf king through an advent child, so I¡¯ll have to go in a bit. As of right now, I¡¯m just sitting in my hotel room looking out the window thinking to myself what to say to apologize to Kasai. After all, I¡¯m sure they will take a while developing their relationship, so I¡¯ll get used to it somehow. Kasai seems like an OK girl to be around, but I never really had a normal conversation with her, so I can¡¯t say much about it. Contemplating about it, there¡¯s always a possibility their relationship won¡¯t work out like they plan to, and maybe then, I can try with Rukito¡­ and that time¡­ I will not be oblivious about him and prioritize him over my books and everything else. I don¡¯t think I should be waiting or hoping something like this¡­ but what else can I do? All I want for him is to be happy, but I can¡¯t bear the fact that he is pleased with another girl, I can¡¯t bear the fact that another girl has something I don¡¯t. If anybody compares Kasai and me, I¡¯m sure that every single thing a wife needs I have more than her, the only thing she has more than me is looks, but that¡¯s because she is a succubus, not because she worked for it. I¡¯m an angel. I must be good, I must be uncorrupted, I must be nice. I will try my hardest to be the nicest girl I can be to him. I remember back half a year ago when I had a boyfriend he started to get jealous, I actually used the guys I was with to make Rukito jealous; I never kissed those guys or anything, I maximum held hands with them, but I said they were my boyfriend to make Rukito very jealous. I told him how cool they were and he really started to get annoyed but he never really got that jealous as I expected¡­ I think I shouldn¡¯t have done that. Now I know how he feels¡­ He once told me I need to be more at peace with myself, I don¡¯t know what he meant, but he kept sighing every time I bought a new dress or wasted a lot of money into materialistic things. He comes from the low class so I can¡¯t understand his way of thinking that well. I looked at my ring and said, ¡°No matter how many things I buy¡­ I¡¯m never happy with them.¡± I started realizing that every time I buy something new, I get a temporary feeling of happiness, but that feeling fades away after a short period. While on the other hand, no matter how many times I hug, touch, talk or look at Rukito, I always get happy for some reason. No matter how many times I¡¯m with him, I still get delighted. I looked at my watch and noticed that it was time to go to the meeting. This meeting will be crucial for my future¡­ I better give it my best. After walking to the King¡¯s Cloud, I entered his castle. I got directed towards the meeting room by the guards. They opened the large wooden door for me and inside, I saw the Greenterra king, and the Cloud elf king sitting across from each other, with their counselors at the side of them to talk. There was also the advent child that helped me get into this meeting. ¡°Is she the girl?¡± Asked the cloud king to the advent child. Her name was Olivia, she had brown hair and green eyes just like mine, but of course, mine look better. The Human king was a middle age man with a beard and brown hair. The cloud elf king was pretty young, cloud elves maintain their youth for a long time anyway, he had long blue hair and silver eyes like every other cloud elf, but he had many tattoos or birthmarks. ¡°Yes, her name is Shizuka.¡± ¡°Hello Shizuka, you¡¯re welcome to sit down.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± Ugh, I don¡¯t like lowering my head to anybody, now I have to talk like a lowly peasant to them. I decided to sit next to Olivia. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Olivia that you are interested in the topic at hand.¡± Said the elf king. ¡°Uh, yes. I¡¯m very aware that the reason for this meeting is to let some magic be available to society.¡± I met Olivia at the library. We instantly became friends by our love of books, so I told her my intentions in the cloud kingdom; she explained why the whole meeting is happening, and she said that the Greenterra king wanted to open an academy named N.A.O.S, National Academy Of Singularities. Since I already wanted to open one myself in the future, I used this moment as a chance to tell them my vision for the academy. ¡°Good, good. I¡¯m happy that you are here as to represent our nation.¡± Said the Greenterra king. ¡°Oh, no problem your majesty.¡± ¡°First things first, we discovered that 23% of people that unlock their magic flow had the same singularity.¡± ¡°That is no singularity, your majesty,¡± I said. He¡¯s talking about my rose sorceress. It¡¯s not a spiritual singularity, it¡¯s something that some rare people get once they are born; they are born with a higher magic flow than usual, so that allows them to unlock something more significant than the singularities. ¡°Hmm? Then what it is?¡± Asked the Greenterra king. ¡°Some people are born with more magic flow than usual. It depends on their parents; if they both have powerful magic flow, the child will be born a sorceress.¡± ¡°How does this power work?¡± Asked the cloud elf king. ¡°Well, as far as I have discovered it¡¯s a bit simple but yet complicated. There is this system called ¡®The Diamond of Souls¡¯ it¡¯s basically a whole different magic system for these sorcerers.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°The Diamond of Souls?¡± ¡°Yes, apparently it was made by a sign of peace between angels and devils. They both shared their powers and cultivated it to be even stronger.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ this is quite confusing.¡± Started saying both councilors. It soon started getting loud in the room with every single side talking with each other. I took out a book I had and slammed it against the table. ¡°Here, This will explain everything much better¡­¡± ¡°This is the diamond?¡± Asked the cloud elf king. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What kind of writing is this? I¡¯ve never seen such a thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ancient writing, and I learned how to read it on my own.¡± ¡°You learned how to read such thing on your own?!¡± Asked the Greenterra king. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ you seem like a smart young woman.¡± ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡± The cloud elf king got interested in it and said, ¡°Tell me more about this diamond.¡± ¡°Teachings can acquire the diamond of souls, you don¡¯t have to be born a sorceress.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see.¡± ¡°At each side of this diamond there¡¯s power; at the west side of the diamond there¡¯s an attack, or what the ancient people called it, ¡®Imki.¡¯¡± ¡°Imki?¡± ¡°Yes, it can create offensive spells.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°Then at the north of the diamond, there¡¯s healing and clairvoyance, or what the ancient people call ¡®Hitem.¡¯¡± ¡°Healing could sure be beneficial in our society, especially in hospitals.¡± Said the Greenterra king. ¡°At the east of the diamond, there¡¯s defense, which is ¡®Deis¡¯ in the old language. The opposite of Imki. It is used to create defensive magic.¡± ¡°Attack, defense, and healing¡­ interesting.¡± ¡°And lastly, this is located in the south of the diamond, people call it differently, some may say: utility, agility or even entertainment magic, the ancient people called it ¡®Yuem.¡¯¡± ¡°We could always use more entertainment here in our culture after all.¡± Said the cloud elf king. ¡°How do you learn each side?¡± Asked the Greenterra king. ¡°Everyone is born with one side; once you start practicing it, you will realize which one you fall on. But there¡¯s a limitation.¡± ¡°What limitation?¡± ¡°If you fall in one side, you can¡¯t learn the opposite. If you were born with Imki (attack), you can¡¯t learn Deis (defense) because they are opposites. Same with Hitem and Yuem.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Said the Greenterra king. ¡°I want to hear your idea for this said academy¡­¡± Said the cloud elf king. ¡°Hmm¡­ I believe we should open an academy for singularities, but there are so many different and unique ones that it would be hard teaching people how to use them.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ what¡¯s your solution for this?¡± ¡°My solution is to group people that have similar singularities to specific classes.¡± ¡°We are listening.¡± Said both kings. ¡°We will undoubtedly split the academy in four for a spiritual singularity side, a materialistic singularity side, a hybrid singularity side, and a diamond of souls side. In all these different zones inside each side, we will have different classes specialized for a specific type of singularity. Some examples are Guns and artillery, blades, Armor and defense, healing, Intel, and others.¡± ¡°Wonderful idea, but why would we do something like that? What¡¯s our profit?¡± I realized at this point that they were just trying to test me. But they are foolish if they think I didn¡¯t plan every single thing. ¡°If we don¡¯t open the academy, people will slowly realize that singularities do exist, and they will find out how to unlock them themselves and use them to cause harm to others. If we open an academy and make it public, the amount of terrorism will decrease since we will teach them that it can be used for good. As proof, black tombstone exists, we can¡¯t allow more terrorists like them coming out of nowhere.¡± Both kings got alerted when they heard me saying black tombstone. ¡°Have they attacked you too?¡± ¡°Yes, they have.¡± ¡°I apologize¡­ we are working really hard to find their hideout.¡± Said the Greenterra king. ¡°Yes, so are we.¡± Said the cloud elf king. ¡°It¡¯s ok, I understand.¡± The kings looked at each other and nodded. They looked back at me and asked, ¡°Could you please give us a second?¡± ¡°Uhm, of course.¡± I walked out of the room. They kept chatting for a little while and then called me back in. I walked in, and the first thing they asked was, ¡°May I know how you know all of these things?¡± Asked the cloud elf king. I bowed down and said, ¡°My name is Shizuka Aizawa; I¡¯m the proud daughter of Haruko and Ayumi Aizawa.¡± ¡°Aizawa?!¡± Said the Greenterra king. ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t call me your majesty, I¡¯m nothing compared to the Aizawa family.¡± ¡°Huh? Who are they?¡± Asked the cloud elf king. ¡°They are a royal family of angels that lend us help in Greenterra with their super advanced technology that we can¡¯t even comprehend. They are the reason we know what magic is and how it works. They are the ones that created the crystalis currency after all.¡± ¡°Royal Angels?! I don¡¯t believe it!¡± I released my wings and halo. I learned how to do so while I was at the library researching for some books about angels. ¡°Oh my god¡­ it is true.¡± Both kings got up from their chairs and bowed in front of me. Huh?.... is this how it feels to be¡­ an angel? I¡¯m surprised the Greenterra king knew that my parents were angels, but I didn¡¯t, maybe they had different plans for me. ¡°Please, no such need for such politeness.¡± ¡°No, you are an immortal divine being. Not only you are an angel but coming from one of the two royal families of the angel planet?!¡± The kings turned around and signaled everyone to get down and bow to me. They all did, in front of me; I like being honored, but I was trying to avoid it since Rukito didn¡¯t seem to like it. What the king just said reminded me of something; angels and devils live in separate planets in the universe, they own many worlds, but their kingdom is set in one specific planet only. ¡°Please, I beg of you, don¡¯t be so polite.¡± ¡°As you say, lady Shizuka.¡± Said the Greenterra king. ¡°All we wanted to say is that you have all the power you want in managing the academy; you will be the principal if you wish so.¡± Said the cloud elf king. This is all I ever wanted since the begging. I gladly accepted the offer and left without any regrets¡­ My parents have a lot of explaining to do. Chapter 17: Envy Vs. Lust
"Peace can only be brought by war." -Crypthonic Indigo Regiis Angelus
We received help from Di¡¯Ophion to fly back towards the elf kingdom; he took all of us on its back and flew up into the clouds; apparently, he and Yumi made a pact that if Yumi took care of the environment with Misaki, then they would help them get back up into the clouds when they needed to. Kasai was having a great time on the ride there, she extended her arm out to touch the clouds; her small gentle hands opened with the engagement ring on her ring finger that shined brighter than the sun. She started giggling out of the amusement she was having and said, ¡°This is far better than the rollercoaster!¡± ¡°We are riding a griffon after all. It¡¯s not something you usually get to do, so enjoy it.¡± ¡°Thank you again, Di¡¯Ophion.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°No need to thank me, Yumi. This is just part of our pact.¡± After a couple minutes of flying we touch down on the kingdom to a spot where no one could see us which was under the church. ¡°Is this why nobody sees you coming?¡± I asked looking at Yumi. ¡°Yeah, we found this little tunnel under the church some time ago; it really helps us come unseen from people.¡± We walked inside the church and exited through the main gate. ¡°So, where is your friend resting at?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I do know a good way of finding her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a phone?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°No, only Shizuka does.¡± We walked to the twilight hotel, as we were walking into it I bumped Kasai in her shoulder and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this place remind you of something, baby?¡± She instantly blushed, covered her face and said, ¡°Shut up!¡± We walked towards the front desk. I then asked, ¡°Where is the most expensive room?¡± ¡°Uhm, room 436Z, but it¡¯s already booked by someone.¡± ¡°Oh, I know. Yumi, Misaki, could you wait for us here?¡± ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Asked Yumi. I didn¡¯t want to tell them straight up that if Shizuka saw me with two more other girls, she would have gotten extremely jealous. ¡°It¡¯s quick, I¡¯ll be back with her.¡± ¡°Do as you please then.¡± Said Yumi. Kasai and I started going upstairs to room 436Z. She was holding my hand tight throughout the way as a way of telling me that she doesn¡¯t care if Shizuka sees us anymore, I respected that, she is learning by herself to be more confident. ¡°I¡¯m really proud of you, baby,¡± I said while holding her hand firmly. The look of both of our hands held together with the engagement rings on made my heart warm up. ¡°T-Thanks.¡± We arrived in front of Shizuka¡¯s room and knocked on the door, but no one answered. I knocked again, but nothing. I tried opening the door, and it surprisingly wasn¡¯t locked. ¡°Kasai, wait for me here, you never know if this could be a trap from black tombstone.¡± ¡°You going to be alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be back really quick.¡± ¡°If you say so. If anything goes wrong to use the telepathy.¡± I walked in and closed the door behind me. I looked around the living room and noticed that there was a lot of empty wine bottle all over the place. I saw the door to her room opened, I decided to carefully walk in. As I turn the corner, I quickly smelled the cherry blossom aroma she always gives off, I looked on the bed and noticed it was all messy, she was laid on top of it facing to the side with only her white underwear on and wine bottles all around her bed. The first thing that came to mind was that I didn¡¯t know she liked to drink alcohol, the second thing I noticed was that she was only wearing her underwear on, I instantly got pissed thinking that anyone could have come in and taken advantage of her. I walked to the side of the bed, sat down and covered her up. Shortly after, I softly tapped her on the shoulder and said softly not to bother her, ¡°Shizuka, I¡¯m back.¡± She slowly opened her emerald eyes, looked at me and quickly jumped at me hugging me and pulling me down with her on the bed. ¡°Rukito! I¡¯ve missed you so much.¡± ¡°Shizuka, stop!¡± I pushed her away and stood back up. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong?¡± She said. I could quickly notice that she was still a bit drunk. ¡°First of all, seriously?! I told you to not do dumb things, and the first thing I see when I come back is your room completely opened, and then you laid on the bed with only your underwear on! Do you understand that anyone could have opened this room and raped you?! You don¡¯t have a singularity to defend yourself with!¡± She grabbed my arm and pulled me very close to her to the point her breasts were pressing against my chest. I was very embarrassed by the situation, but my anger and disappointment were far more significant, plus, I¡¯m engaged now. ¡°I don¡¯t mind getting raped by you though¡­ you¡¯re the one I¡¯ve been waiting to give my first time to after all.¡± Her eyes were lost in the amount of alcohol she drank. I understood that these were the emotions she genuinely felt inside her. ¡°Shizuka, I said sto¡ª¡± She grabbed me and gave me a soft kiss. It felt weird since it wasn¡¯t Kasai on the other end. I¡¯m not going to lie to myself and say that it didn¡¯t feel good, you could feel all her emotions towards me in that quick kiss, but she is nothing compared to Kasai, Kasai gives perfect kisses. Shizuka¡¯s kisses felt a bit dry compared, especially since she is drunk and not herself. I quickly pulled back and said, ¡°Shizuka, I¡¯m really disappointed in you¡­¡± She then instantly started to cry and said, ¡°That was the best thing I¡¯ve ever felt, and it was only for a second¡­ why can Kasai have all of that for more and more than just a second?!¡± The rage inside me was building up quicker and quicker. ¡°Shizuka! I don¡¯t love you! Stop acting selfishly for fuck sakes!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I showed her my ring and said, ¡°Look, Kasai and I will get married in a year! Now, you need to stop acting so fucking childish and as if you own me!¡± ¡°Marry her?...¡± She held her head and looked away. ¡°You told me you were going to apologize to Kasai when she came back, I still expect you to do so.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ wait for me outside, I¡¯ll be there.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± I got up and walked outside where Kasai was waiting for me. She had a suspicious look, she got closer to me and smelled my neck. ¡°What happened in there?¡± I promise to myself that I wasn¡¯t going to lie to her now that she is my fianc¨¦, so at this point, I had to tell her that Shizuka forcefully kissed me. ¡°Shizuka¡­ she forcefully kissed me, but I pushed her away as fast as possible.¡± ¡°She¡­ kissed you?!¡± She started walking inside the room with heavy steps, I grabbed her arm and said, ¡°Kasai, she is drunk, she probably isn¡¯t thinking about anything twice.¡± I didn¡¯t want to give Shizuka the benefit of the doubt, but I have to be understanding for the sake of our friendship. ¡°Drunk?! That¡¯s not an excuse to do whatever the fuck she wants!¡± She slapped my arm off and kept walking inside. ¡°Kasai, please don¡¯t use violence.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t, I will just have a nice little talk with her.¡± I walked in behind her, and as soon as we entered her room, we noticed that Shizuka was dressed, standing by the window looking to the land below. She seemed not drunk anymore at this point. She looked at the ring on Kasai¡¯s finger and said, ¡°So you two will get married now?¡± ¡°Yes, we are.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Shizuka¡­ don¡¯t you have something to say?¡± She sighed and said, ¡°You know, the more I think about it, the more I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°And I think I might be pregnant too.¡± Said Kasai with a smirk. Pregnant?! She sure as hell hasn¡¯t told me anything. Isn¡¯t it too early to know if she is?! Maybe she has had some symptoms? Or maybe her succubus side can quickly tell her if she is or not. Or is she¡­ lying?! ¡°Kasai, what are you sayi-¡± She used her telepathy to tell me, ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ll prove to you that she definitely hasn¡¯t changed her thoughts about me. I know that she wanted to apologize, but if she does is only for your acceptance, it¡¯s obvious.¡± ¡°P-Pregnant?! Are you serious?!¡± Shizuka started scratching her head and yelled, ¡°You¡¯ve only been together for a month or two, and this is how far you have gotten?! IS SHE REALLY THAT MUCH BETTER THAN ME?!¡± The room started shaking. Everything hanged on the wall fell to the ground. She looked at Kasai with eyes I have never seen before. Pure envy and hatred filled her green eyes. ¡°Shizuka, calm down, you¡¯re better than this,¡± I said. ¡°She isn¡¯t¡­¡± Said Kasai. ¡°SHUT UP!¡± A sudden wind picked up Kasai, she instantly reacted to it and turned on her singularity, but as soon as she did, the wind quickly blew her off the window making her free-falling into the land below. ¡°SHIZUKA, STOP!¡± I yelled. Shizuka released her angel wings and halo, then jumped out the window to chase her down. I quickly rushed towards the window and looked down. Kasai also released her devil wing, but she only had one so it just allowed her to glide down, while Shizuka could freely move in the air. ¡°Dammit! I don¡¯t have my wings yet, I can¡¯t do anything!¡± This was in the back of the hotel, so the people and the guards didn¡¯t have a view of the whole thing. Shizuka made a magic circle and pulled out a spear out of it. Kasai noticed that she couldn¡¯t fight while being blindfolded in the middle of a fall, so she turned off her singularity. Shizuka flew straight down like an eagle to pierce her, but Kasai managed to dodge the attack. ¡°I don¡¯t need my singularity to beat you.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°YOU STOLE EVERYTHING FROM ME!¡± Yelled Shizuka. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal anything¡­ it was never yours, to begin with.¡± ¡°YOU ARE LIVING THE FUTURE I WANTED!¡± ¡°Shizuka doesn¡¯t know anything about Kasai¡¯s fighting ability, she will probably underestimate her¡­ Kasai is bound to win this fight, but knowing her¡­ she won¡¯t wound Shizuka.¡± Shizuka kept trying to pierce and slice Kasai, but Kasai kept dodging every single attack even though all she could do was glide and slightly maneuver left and right as she fell. I couldn¡¯t just stay there watching so I decided to jump down, I could probably use my Katana to make some air to catch my fall. I unsheathed my Katana and flew down faster. I intended to stop Shizuka by making one of my wolves bite her before anything happened to either of them. ¡°My past days have been so full of joy that my fighting senses are a bit rusty.¡± Said Kasai as she kept dodging every single attack. ¡°Thankfully, you are still a newbie in combat.¡± Kasai got so used to the attacking patterns that she grabbed Shizuka¡¯s spear out of her hands and kicked her away with both her legs. ¡°Learn how to use your body¡¯s acrobatics at its full potential, and then you can use a weapon at its fullest.¡± She grabbed the spear firmly and snapped it into two. ¡°For now, don¡¯t even try using a weapon¡­ you are embarrassing yourself.¡± ¡°Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!¡± Shizuka flew all the way up on top of her, opened a magic circle and said, ¡°Let¡¯s see how you can dodge this¡­ Imki!¡± The magic circle then released hundreds of arrows that seemed that they were made out of water. Kasai realized that she couldn¡¯t dodge them, so she guarded vital parts as she started getting sliced and stabbed by these arrows. The arrows also managed to open a hole were to fall through in the barrier surrounding the cloud kingdom, so now were falling even further below into the land. I managed to reach Shizuka, I grabbed her and looked straight into her eyes with anger. ¡°R-Rukito?¡± A wolf appeared on my shoulder and jumped at her, pushing me down. ¡°W-What?!¡± The wolf almost managed to bite her, but Shizuka quickly kicked it away before it could get to her. I kept falling straight down and reached Kasai. She was bleeding from almost every single limb. ¡°Kasai, is everything ok?¡± ¡°Yeah, this doesn¡¯t hurt. I¡¯m more worried about you though.¡± I chuckled out of nervousness and said, ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. Stay close to me, she won¡¯t hurt me. Once we land on the ground, it should be way easier stopping her.¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Right.¡± We were about 10 seconds from hitting the ground. We were in the middle of an open field. I turned around facing the ground, pulled my Katana and before touching the ground created wind with a slice that bounced off the ground blowing me up and catching my fall. Kasai glided with her wing and landed softly. Shizuka landed 5 seconds right after us looking ever more pissed. She cast a spell looking at me, and said, ¡°Paralyze¡­¡± I quickly realized that I couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Shizuka! Stop it!¡± I yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to accidentally hurt you.¡± Said Shizuka. Kasai quickly took my katana off my hands and said, ¡°Let me use this.¡± Shizuka looked at her surprised and said, ¡°H-How can you use his singularity?!¡± I looked at her and said, ¡°Our souls are connected Shizuka, she is my soulmate.¡± ¡°N-NO! I am the one you deserve to be with!¡± Yelled Shizuka. I noticed that Kasai was having a hard time standing on her own two feet and holding the Katana with her two hands since she was slightly shaking every now and then, but she wasn¡¯t showing any sign of pain. ¡°Those arrows were meant to pierce your muscles and tear their ligament¡­ you shouldn¡¯t be able to stand at this point!¡± ¡°Shizuka¡­¡± Said Kasai as she started walking towards her. Wolves started appearing behind Kasai walking with her. ¡°You never bothered to ask me about my past, and that made you underestimate my tenacity.¡± ¡°W-What are you talking about?!¡± ¡°If you think Kasai has always been an innocent and na?ve girl, you¡¯re very wrong,¡± I said. ¡°She is far more dangerous than you could think of.¡± Kasai pointed at her with the Katana, and every single wolf behind her rushed towards her. Shizuka tried pushing away as many wolves as she could with her magic, but one of them managed to get through her defense and jumped on top of her slamming her against the ground. ¡°It¡¯s over, Shizuka¡­¡± The wolf went for her neck, but as the wolf was about to bite her, Shizuka opened a giant magic circle on the ground that surrounded us and yelled, ¡°I HATE YOU TO THE CORE! YUEM!¡± Suddenly, everything inside the circle got paralyzed. Kasai and the wolves couldn¡¯t move an inch. ¡°W-What did you do?¡± Said Kasai. I saw her struggling to move. Shizuka pushed the wolf off of her and started walking towards Kasai while making another spear. ¡°Those yellow eyes¡­ I hate them¡­ that hair of yours, I hate it. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE HIS APPEARANCE?!¡± ¡°Shizuka! STOP!¡± I yelled. She spun her spear around, then sliced Kasai¡¯s face, making her right eye bleed a lot. ¡°Good luck looking good with only one eye!¡± The paralysis spell dissolved, Kasai and everything but me could move again. Kasai fell to the ground holding her face. She was bleeding from many different wounds on her body, but now, she was mostly bleeding from her eye. This is an unfair fight¡­ Shizuka wants to wound her as much as possible, probably even kill her, but Kasai only wants to knock her out. ¡°SHIZUKA!¡± I mind started to get fuzzy. I felt the anger boil my blood more and more. ¡°If you touch her¡­ one more time¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ I¡¯m ok.¡± Said Kasai with a weak voice. She ripped part of her clothing off and made an improvised eyepatch with it. She then stood up as Shizuka looked at her with an astonished expression. ¡°Y-You can still stand up?! Aren¡¯t you hurt?! Aren¡¯t you tired?!¡± Kasai quickly used this moment of Shizuka dropping her guard to grab her arm and throw her over her shoulder, slamming her against the ground. ¡°Gah!¡± Shizuka spat out blood and looked at Kasai with fear this time. ¡°WHY WON¡¯T YOU DIE ALREADY?! BLEED OUT!¡± Kasai looked concerned about the fact that she spat out blood, while she was bleeding from many wounds across her body, she lends her hand out to Shizuka and said, ¡°Shizuka! Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you this much.¡± Shizuka looked at Kasai, gave a false smile and said, ¡°I think I¡¯m fine.¡± She grabbed her hand, then quickly grabbed the spear that was on the ground with the other hand. ¡°KASAI! DON¡¯T TRUST HER!¡± Shizuka got the spear and sliced Kasai¡¯s legs, even more, to make sure she didn¡¯t walk anymore. Kasai fell to the floor in pain and started groaning. ¡°Tsk! Shizuka¡­ you really hate me this much?¡± ¡°You¡¯re finally feeling the pain huh?!¡± Shizuka then tried stabbing her even more, but Kasai still managed to dodge the attacks while rolling left and right. Kasai grabbed the spear, pulled Shizuka in and headbutted her. Shizuka fell on the opposite side of Kasai on the ground in pain. ¡°You¡¯re not used to pain, Shizuka. I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± Shizuka quickly faced Kasai and used the paralysis spell once again on her. ¡°Dammit! The more I use this spell, the more tired I get!¡± She slowly got up and grabbed her spear one more time. ¡°I don¡¯t care if Rukito won¡¯t be with me after this, but if I can¡¯t have him, THEN NO ONE CAN!¡± She aimed the spear right onto Kasai¡¯s neck. ¡°Shizuka! DON¡¯T DO IT!¡± I had enough of watching¡­ my thoughts were disappearing from my head, everything was getting filled with hatred, anger, and self-conflict. Chaos enveloped my brain, I had lost the ability to control my emotions; it was as if I never meditated before, everything was a complete disaster in my head. ¡°Do I kill her? Of course not, she is my best friend, but then the most important in my life will die. Do I kill her? Maybe I should, that will stop all of this fuss. Do I kill her? Maybe it¡¯s probably not the best idea. DO I KILL HER?!¡± I then heard a voice in my head saying, ¡°Kill her¡­¡± Everything around me didn¡¯t matter anymore. My vision turned black, and the only thing that I could see was Shizuka. I grew horns, a wing, and my limbs were enveloped by scales and hard skin. My nails grew longer and sharp, and I couldn¡¯t think of anything but¡­ killing. As Shizuka was about to pierce Kasai¡¯s neck, it all started to move in slow motion. I rushed towards her, broke her spear with a chop of my hand, and grabbed her by the neck with the other hand, looking straight into her eyes with hatred and death in my eyes. ¡°R-Rukito?... I-I can¡¯t breathe¡­¡± Her face was full of fear, but that didn¡¯t faze me. I didn¡¯t feel a single positive emotion in me¡­ it was all¡­ chaos and discord inside of me. I pointed my sharp nails towards her neck, but then I heard Kasai saying with her weak voice, ¡°H-Honey, please¡­ let her go¡­ everyone deserves a second chance.¡± The only thing that could go through my chaotic mind right now was the sweet voice of Kasai. Should I stop? Isn¡¯t that what would make her happy? If I kill her, then she will be disappointed in me¡­ I don¡¯t want that. ¡°Ru¡­ ki...to¡­I¡¯m sorr¡­y¡± Said Shizuka. She fainted since she was out of the air. Kasai dragged herself onto my leg and hugged it. ¡°Please, sweetheart¡­ don¡¯t kill her; I promise everything will be alright.¡± Her voice quickly made everything better, I started gaining control back of my body, and my devil side started disappearing. I dropped Shizuka onto the floor, and everything started getting blurry. ¡°Kasai¡­ I need¡­ to heal you.¡± Kasai took out her singularity and said, ¡°Here¡­¡± I grabbed her positive dagger and wrote the symbol of the ancient writing on her arm. I have no idea how I still remember it. ¡°Thank you, honey.¡± I then quickly fainted onto the ground. The last thing I saw was Kasai¡¯s smile. I had no idea of the time we were unconscious. My memory actually started to get fuzzy by the whole thing. I woke up in the guest room at Yumi¡¯s house on the bed. I looked to my side and noticed that Kasai was sleeping right next to me with her eyepatch still on. I quickly take off the covers and start watching all around her body for scars or wounds, but all I saw were the hickeys I gave her, then remembered that her succubus body doesn¡¯t leave scars or wounds, only hickeys. I took a deep breath of relief when I saw her peacefully sleeping right next to me with no scars. I lightly shook her and said, ¡°Baby, wake up.¡± She slowly opened her eye and said, ¡°Good morning honey.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s morning or not actually.¡± She slowly sat up holding her head and said, ¡°My head is throbbing¡­ what happened-¡± She quickly started to remember everything and said, ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± I also sat up and hugged her. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re ok.¡± She smiled and hugged me back. ¡°All thanks to you.¡± I quickly remembered that her right eye was sliced. ¡°Let me see your eye really quick.¡± ¡°Oh, I think it¡¯s fine,¡± she said as she took off her eyepatch. The eye was red, no longer yellow. So now she had different colored eyes, a red one, and a yellow one. ¡°How does it look? I can see perfectly from it.¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s¡­ red.¡± ¡°H-huh?! The eye is red?!¡± ¡°Yes. But don¡¯t worry, I actually think it looks hot.¡± ¡°B-b-but¡­¡± I kissed her and said, ¡°Calm down, calm down. It¡¯s alright. I like it.¡± She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Alright¡­ if you say so. After all, I only want to look good for you.¡± We looked to the side and noticed that Yumi was looking at us the whole time. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of hickeys¡­.¡± ¡°Yumi?! W-what are you doing here?!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Uhm¡­ it¡¯s my house?¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± ¡°Where is Shizuka?¡± I asked with concern. ¡°She is resting on the sofa¡­ what the hell happened?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a long story. Can I check on her before I explain?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°By the way,¡± Said Kasai, ¡°How did you find us?¡± ¡°We were waiting downstairs for a while. We met Maria, and she said she was looking for you both, we decided to come to the room and realized what happened. Misaki jumped down the window with her singularity and went scouting for you, she found you, called her gang, and brought you three here. She seemed worried.¡± ¡°Is she here? I want to thank her for what she did.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°She got a word from the gang that they found the black tombstone hideout, she went there to get the details.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± ¡°By the way, nice red eye,¡± Said Yumi, ¡°It looks badass on you.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you!¡± I got up and went to check on Shizuka. I was still incredibly pissed at her, but I still want her to be ok. ¡°Wait, honey, before you go.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Do you remember what happened? Before you fainted?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ no, why?¡± ¡°You turned into a devil for a second, you looked really scary¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t remember.¡± Did I turn into a devil? I kind of don¡¯t remember anything at the ending; all I know is that Kasai was winning against Shizuka and then I woke up here. ¡°Well¡­ I think Maria is right, you probably shouldn¡¯t awaken it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ if I knew how to, I could avoid it.¡± ¡°Talking about Maria, she is here.¡± ¡°Oh, she is?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, in the living room.¡± I made my way to the living room. I noticed Shizuka sleeping on the sofa, Nightshade eating an apple while looking at Shizuka, and Maria taking a sample of her hair. ¡°Uhm¡­ privacy?¡± I said walking up to them. ¡°Oh, hey big brother!¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that.¡± ¡°Rukito! Ha-ha, I was just you know¡­ I heard she is an angel of the royal family so¡­¡± ¡°Royal family?¡± ¡°Yeah, the Aizawa clan is a royal family in the angel planet, together with the Spatium clan.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ ok. So why are you here?¡± I have news for you and your cute fianc¨¦. ¡°W-who told you?¡± ¡°My sister Yumi of course.¡± Kasai walked in from the guest room and said, ¡°Hi, Maria! Hey Nightshade!¡± ¡°Woah! That¡¯s so cool!¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°What is?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Your red eye!¡± ¡°Oh, thanks!¡± I sat on the sofa next to Maria. Kasai sat next to me. ¡°So what is it?¡± ¡°I''m not sure if I''m right, but based on the testing I did, I discovered some royal devil DNA in her. Furthermore, the devil DNA that she has goes back a very long time; there was once this succubus whose name was, ¡®Rei.¡¯¡± ¡°A royal devil?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yeah, I don''t exactly know why, but you have a very identical DNA as Rei.¡± ¡°So who is this ''Rei?''¡± I asked. ¡°That''s the part that impresses me a bit.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Rei wasn''t just any normal succubus, she was the very first devil princess that ever existed.¡± ¡°DEVIL PRINCESS?!¡± I looked at Kasai, she had her mouth and eyes wide open. She couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. ¡°I never expected to have the DNA of a former devil princess .¡± ¡°Yeah, she was alive billions of years ago.¡± ¡°So how exactly do you have such DNA in your database?¡± I asked. ¡°We don¡¯t, I sent the DNA to an angel friend of mine, they have all of the data.¡± ¡°Oh, anything about me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s where I¡¯m going to go next.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Your DNA is weird Rukito. You definitely have devil DNA, but you also have angelic DNA¡­ but we know that you¡¯re not a hybrid since you don¡¯t have any angel wings or halo.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure¡­ not even the angels know. But the angel DNA is small, it shouldn¡¯t change much in you. You¡¯re mostly a devil.¡± ¡°Hmm, alright.¡± We need to know more about our past, there has to be a reason why Kasai and I look alike. ¡°All devils don¡¯t look alike, right?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Hmm¡­ ¡°Does the DNA from Rei have Red hair and yellow eyes?¡± ¡°It only had red hair, I¡¯m not sure why Kasai has yellow eyes¡­ well, a yellow eye.¡± ¡°Well, we could say that all half devils have yellow eyes right?¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Hmm¡­ yeah, we could, after all, you two are the only half devils we have ever seen.¡± ¡°So why did one eye turn red?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Well, probably since you recently awaken your half-devil side, your eye turned red over time, all it had to do was rebuild itself with healing magic.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying if I awaken my half-devil side, over time one of my eyes will change to red?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, probably. Most likely. You just have to wound it and heal it again so it can rebuild its DNA pattern.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯m good.¡± Shortly after, Shizuka opened her eyes. ¡°Shizuka?¡± I said. She looked at me and covered her face. I¡¯m guessing she was too ashamed to even look at me. I sighed, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside¡­¡± we both got up and walked outside. It was afternoon, probably around 5:00 PM. ¡°Rukito¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know what came onto me.¡± ¡°Shizuka, I won¡¯t forgive you¡­ I¡¯ll tell you straight up,¡± I looked at her in the eyes, ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you.¡± I was trying to stay as calm as possible. ¡°I know¡­ I just wanted to say¡­ I fucked up, I know I fucked up. I now see how much into my head I was¡­ I get it now when you said things like, ¡®Open your eyes.¡¯¡± ¡°Do you really though?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ I¡­¡± She started crying and sobbing, ¡°I was so stupid¡­¡± Girls genuinely crying are my weak spot¡­ I find it so heartbreaking to hear one cry her eyes out. But this won¡¯t make me forgive what she has done to Kasai. ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say to this. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t bring trouble anymore¡­ I just¡­ I just-sob-I just wish for you to forgive me one day¡­¡± She covered her face and started crying even more. You have no idea how much I wanted to hug her and comfort her, but this is what she deserves. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be apologizing to me¡­ you should be apologizing to Kasai for being such an asshole to her, and you should be thanking her for not hurting you in the fight when she easily could have.¡± ¡°I know¡­ c-can you call her out here?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ of course.¡± It then suddenly started raining. I walked inside the house, walked towards Kasai who was talking to Nightshade and said, ¡°Kasai. Shizuka wants to talk with you.¡± ¡°With me?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± She walked outside with me where Shizuka was waiting for us. ¡°How are you feeling, Shizuka?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°I-I¡¯m ok, thank you.¡± Kasai smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°H-How¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Kasai said while looking at Shizuka. ¡°How can you smile at someone that tried killing you?¡± ¡°Aw, come on. No hard feelings, I get it. Us girls sometimes we get caught in our feelings and emotions then do dumb things over boys, especially if we like them a lot. And, we¡¯ve been friends for the longest, it''s natural for them to fight once in a while right? Or so I¡¯ve heard¡­ maybe not as big of a fight but you get what I mea¡ª¡± I looked back at Shizuka and Kasai, and in a blink of an eye, the next thing I know, Shizuka was hugging Kasai firmly. ¡°Y-yeah¡­ we¡¯re-sob-friends. Really dumb friends.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes at that moment¡­ Shizuka was hugging Kasai?! Kasai had her mouth open by surprise as Shizuka was hugging her. Kasai started gently stroking Shizuka¡¯s head while giving a genuine smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for hurting you! I¡¯m s-sorry for being rude and cruel to you! I¡¯m thankful for you giving me a second chance¡­ I really am!¡± This was the sweetest thing I¡¯ve ever seen in my life, screw the proposal, this is where it¡¯s at. ¡°S-Shizuka I¡­ I never really had a grudge over all of that, I actually was understanding of your feelings towards me, I really did steal Rukito away from you.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t steal anything¡­ he had a choice, and he chose you since you are better than me. It¡¯s not anyone¡¯s fault but mine!¡± She yelled as she hugged Kasai tighter. ¡°Shizuka¡­¡± Now that I think about it, Shizuka has never really had a close friend before, I guess ironically enough Kasai will be the first one. ¡°Instead of hating and loathing you, I should have been friends with you and help you to show Rukito that I am a good person¡­ but I wasn¡¯t¡­ so I deserve all of this.¡± I¡¯m starting to see that she really is sorry for everything she has done. ¡°But from now on, I¡¯m glad that Rukito has a good person at his side like you, Kasai. I¡¯m glad that he chose the better person, not the worse.¡± She looked at me and said, ¡°In the end, I just want to see him happy.¡± ¡°T-Thank you¡­ Shizuka.¡± ¡°And if you¡¯re insecure about anything, I¡¯ll teach you. I¡¯ll teach you how to cook a large variety of foods, I¡¯ll teach you how to raise babies, I¡¯ll teach you how to have professional manners. And I can plan the wedding with you! I also want you to be happy too¡­¡± ¡°I would love that, Shizuka¡­¡± The rain made this scene even more heartwarming. I think I was going to turn into Misaki and fall on the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong though,¡± Said Shizuka while giggling, ¡°I still envy that amazing body of yours.¡± Kasai giggled back and said, ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t ask for it!¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± They were both giggling together, I think tears started running down my cheeks from this heartwarming moment. Thankfully it was raining so they didn¡¯t notice. I wiped them away, started running towards them with open arms and said, ¡°Let me join too!¡± They both quickly moved to the side, and I slid off, faceplanting the floor. ¡°This has nothing to do with you.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°You just want to take advantage of the situation¡­¡± Said Kasai. Sometimes I wonder why they couldn¡¯t just have made a deal for both to be with me so they both could have been happy¡­ ¡°NO!¡± They both yelled. ¡°Oh, was I saying that aloud?¡± I smiled and looked at them. Got up, then said, ¡°Shizuka, I¡¯m glad you apologized to her, but I still won¡¯t be able to forgive you that easily, you have to prove it that you actually got a change of heart.¡± ¡°I know, I will prove it to you, and Kasai.¡± Kasai looked at Shizuka smiling and said, ¡°So what made you change your mind?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I had a weird nightmare. Additionally, I was able to release the dumb anger I had within me in the fight, so now I realize how stupid all of that was.¡± Kasai smiled again and said, ¡°Ah, I see. I¡¯m finally your friend then?¡± ¡°Of course you are, Kasai¡­¡± Chapter 18: Calm Before the Storm
"Tactics without strategy are nothing but mere guesses." -Greenterra King
We all decided to go to the rebel¡¯s hideout where Misaki was. Maria decided to go back to the kingdom and bring my master. The rebels managed to find the black tombstone hideout, so we had to talk with Misaki and the gang about a plan to stop black tombstone. The walk there was quite peaceful, but we had to go through a waterfall and through some other rocks to get to the hideout. She sure as hell don¡¯t want anyone to find out where this is. ¡°Are we¡­ almost there?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°Almost.¡± Said Yumi. We finally got into the entrance where a man was guarding it. ¡°L-Lady Yumi, what brings you here?¡± He asked. ¡°I need to talk to my sister.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He let all of us pass, but as Kasai walked right beside him, he stared directly at her. I find it quite amusing that other people see Kasai as really hot and attractive, but it starts to get annoying after a while. Shizuka was inspecting every single corner of the place with curious eyes. Walking in, we first walked through a launch room where many different people were eating; as we started walking right by them, everyone directed their eyes to Kasai. ¡°Oh, good evening lady Yumi.¡± Said someone in the crowd of people eating. ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?!¡± Asked someone else. I noticed that some of them were looking at me with eyes of envy¡­ I guess being surrounded by the hottest girl ever, a beautiful royal angel, the future cloud elf queen, and a cute little pixie made them want to be me. Misaki walked in from another room with her bandana on, saw me and yelled, ¡°RUKITO!¡± She rushed towards me and jumped on me making me fall on the floor. ¡°Are you ok?! I was worried!¡± Everyone suddenly gasped and said, ¡°B-Boss?! Even you?!¡± ¡°YO! I¡¯ve never seen her being buddies-buddies with anyone like that before.¡± Misaki got up, looked at them, coughed, and said, ¡°He is my best friend. His name is Rukito.¡± It¡¯s actually pretty impressive how fast Misaki and I got along¡­ but now that I think about it, it¡¯s with every other girl too. ¡°Hi, Rukito¡­¡± Everyone said with an uninterested tone. ¡°H-Hi!¡± I said back. ¡°This is Kasai. She is¡ª¡± ¡°HI KASAI!!!¡± Everyone yelled. Kasai smiled back and said, ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°She is engaged to Rukito¡­ you idiots.¡± ¡°NOO!¡± Yelled some people. ¡°Awwww¡­.¡± Said, everyone. ¡°That¡¯s not his sister?!¡± ¡°Why are the hottest ones always taken.¡± I started chuckling and said, ¡°I had to work really hard for her.¡± ¡°This is Nightshade, she is an exiled pixie that needs our help to get her wings back after this battle.¡± ¡°H-Hi everyone!¡± Yelled Nightshade the cutest way possible. ¡°SOO CUTE!!!¡± Yelled everyone else. ¡°And you all know my twin-sister Yumi, no need for introductions.¡± ¡°Blessings to the future queen!¡± Said, everyone. ¡°Thank you,¡± Answered Yumi. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the second time you came here, Yumi?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure they all remember me though, I¡¯m their future queen after all.¡± We walked off to another room with Misaki to discuss the plan. ¡°Before we discuss all of this, I got new clothes for both Kasai and Rukito!¡± ¡°New clothes?¡± I asked, ¡°Like, for battle?¡± ¡°Yeah! You should try them on.¡± ¡°Wait, how did you exactly know how much we measure?¡± ¡°I uh¡­ Kinda took measurements while you both were knocked out.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Well, you have people that can make clothes pretty quick.¡± ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s actually one of my rebel¡¯s singularity.¡± ¡°Oh wow, sounds convenient.¡± Both Kasai and I walked into another room, got dressed, and walked out. Kasai was wearing a short, red and white miko hakama kimono; I was wearing a samurai-styled outfit, I¡¯m guessing after seeing my swords Misaki just had to make something samurai related. ¡°You both look so cool and adorable together!¡± Yelled Misaki. Kasai smiled and started moving around. ¡°It¡¯s really comfortable moving around in these clothes, thank you Misaki!¡± ¡°I like how cool this outfit looks, my plain shirt and pants got boring, so thank you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get into the real talk now¡­¡± said Yumi. I noticed everything getting more serious; we all sat around a table where many pictures and a map was laid on top of. ¡°We found the black tombstone hideout in an island in between Greenterra and the Cloud Kingdom.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Is that why it took people so long? It was on an island?¡± ¡°Yes, not only that, but the island wasn¡¯t marked in the map.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± I said. ¡°The island is surrounded by mist, so it was hard getting information. Luckily my friend here,¡± She said as she was pointing towards the guy standing at the door, ¡°Marcus can shapeshift into different animals. So he was able to go around the island and scout.¡± ¡°Oh, wow. Thanks, Marcus.¡± I said. I looked at him and noticed that he was also looking at Kasai. I ignored it and went on with it. ¡°Uh, yeah. No problem.¡± ¡°Apparently, the basement is in a cave that¡¯s being guarded by many different black tombstone guards. It has many watchtowers surrounding the entrance to scan the area.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ it will be hard to sneak in then. Do you know how long does it take for them to check in and out the island?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Every 30 minutes, a ship comes and drops people or supplies in.¡± ¡°Great, we can raid one of those ships halfway and use it to enter the island undetected.¡± ¡°Great idea!¡± Said Misaki. I was still looking at Marcus at the door; he kept staring Kasai¡¯s body head to toe, it was starting to bother me, but I tried my hardest not to seem a jealous and obnoxious fianc¨¦. I guess there was just something about him that didn¡¯t rub the right way, he kept refusing to give eye contact to people; maybe he is just shy. ¡°Can I know everyone¡¯s singularity? I need it to start planning.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Yeah, yeah!¡± Said Misaki. We all explained our singularities one by one to makes sure everyone got it, after some minutes, Shizuka closed her eyes and said, ¡°I think I got it.¡± We all looked at her and asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I will stay here directing you guys since I¡¯m the intel. Yumi and the rebels will go through the front and make as much as noise as possible as a diversion so Rukito and Kasai can sneak through the back and enter. Both Rukito and Kasai have good synergy together so it should be easy for them to fight off people if they get into a pinch.¡± I have no problems with such a plan; I¡¯m actually glad I can stay with Kasai and keep her safe. ¡°What about me?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Misaki, you will be at the crow¡¯s nest on the ship sniping people from afar. You should focus on taking out those watchtowers.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ alright, Piece of cake!¡± ¡°How about me?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°Nightshade, with such a strong singularity, you must have a drawback, right?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Yeah, actually¡­ I can only play a song to control someone¡¯s body for a minute, then the harp will stop playing. While I can sing as much as I want, but only in one breath, if I breathe then the effect will vanish; but most people, all they need is a couple of second of happiness to get their true happiness back.¡± ¡°Ah alright¡­ can you make people fall asleep?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°Yes, I can do that.¡± ¡°Great, then you will go with them and make everyone fall asleep in the ship so we can raid it.¡± ¡°But if I do that, then even my friends will fall asleep.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why all they have to do is cover their ears.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Alright.¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°Can¡¯t we also use such thing for battle?¡± Asked Yumi. I looked at Yumi and said, ¡°Hmmm¡­ I don¡¯t think so. Nightshade is not a fighter, I don¡¯t want her to be in the middle of bloodshed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°But you can protect me, right big brother?¡± Said Nightshade with an innocent tone. I sighed and answered, ¡°I already have to protect another little girl¡­ sorry, Nightshade.¡± I said as I was rubbing Kasai¡¯s head. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not a little girl!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Shh¡­¡± I said as I was covering her mouth with my index finger, ¡°You stay quiet.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°So when are we doing this?¡± Asked Yumi. Shizuka crossed her legs, looked up while sighing and said, ¡°That¡¯s up for you to decide, future cloud elf queen.¡± ¡°Right¡­ then, how about tomorrow? We should get ready mentally too. It¡¯s a battle to the death, not a game.¡± ¡°I completely agree.¡± Said Shizuka while closing her eyes and smiling. ¡°We¡¯ll come back tomorrow here again to review the plan and go.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I said as we all got up. Shizuka walked towards Kasai and said with a smile, ¡°Want to walk ahead? I have many things to talk about with you.¡± Kasai smiled back at her and said, ¡°Of course!¡± They both walked out of the room and went ahead. Marcus walked right behind them. Yumi walked up to me and said, ¡°You were right about Shizuka, she seems quite smart and useful.¡± ¡°See? I told you.¡± ¡°Can you explain to me why you were all injured and bloody when I found you?¡± Said Misaki out of nowhere. ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s¡­ a long story.¡± ¡°We got all evening.¡± Said Yumi. I decided to sit down again and explain every single thing to Misaki and Yumi. ¡°Wow¡­ I mean, I can understand Shizuka, but that¡¯s still too much from her.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Nah, I¡¯d say Kasai had every right to be with him. It¡¯s not like Shizuka owned him beforehand.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Right? That¡¯s what I said!¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you just get both?¡± Asked Nightshade. I instantly looked at her smiling, walked up to her and hugged her. ¡°We need more people like you in this world, Nightshade.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how love works!¡± Said Yumi. ¡°Both the cloud elf king and the Greenterra king are allowed to have two wives, I don¡¯t see the problem for Rukito to also have two.¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°Who knows, maybe in the distant future you can convince Kasai to let Shizuka into the relationship, they seem to get along so far.¡± Said Misaki with a smile. I chuckled and said, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t love Shizuka as much as I love Kasai¡­ but the love is still there for her. I still care for her future, I still want her to be happy, I still want to talk to her and hug her time to time, and I still think she is beautiful; so if she joins the relationship I don¡¯t mind, but I know Kasai will, and since I care a lot about how she feels, I won¡¯t allow such thing. I wish I could¡­ but I care too much about Kasai to do something like that to her.¡± ¡°I understand a little¡­ I guess.¡± Said Nightshade. I looked at her, and said jokingly, ¡°You want to join too?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She said with a serious tone. ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s a joke, it¡¯s a jok-¡± ¡°Hey, I can be the first pixie to love a human!¡± ¡°IT¡¯S A JOKE!¡± We all laughed it off and walked out of the basement. We caught up to Kasai and Shizuka walking towards Yumi¡¯s house. I held Kasai¡¯s hand while walking and asked, ¡°Everything ok?¡± ¡°Yeah... it¡¯s just that, that weirdo Marcus person¡­ he tried hitting on me.¡± ¡°In front of me! And then he proceeds to look at me and shrug!!!¡± Yelled Shizuka. ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Those stupid things that horny guys always say,¡± She started talking with an annoying deep accent and said, ¡°Hey baby, how was your day? I haven¡¯t seen you around here before. Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are? Blah, blah, blah, blah.¡± We all started laughing, then I said, ¡°I told you every single guy in the world that is not in a relationship will want you.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so annoying! All I hear is, ¡®blah blah blah, I am horny, desperate virgin, blah blah blah.¡¯¡± I then started laughing even more. ¡°Just thinking about hugging him makes me want to puke.¡± ¡°Come on, he is not that ugly.¡± Said Yumi. ¡°I don¡¯t care! He disgusts me!¡± She said as she hugged my arm, ¡°I only want you¡­ you didn¡¯t talk to me just because of my body right?¡± I coughed, started sweating and said, ¡°I mean¡­ it was a BIG part of it¡­ a very, very big part of it.¡± Sometimes I miss not having guy friends¡­ I could have made sooo many dirty jokes thus far. ¡°S-Seriously?!¡± She said as she was blushing. ¡°Ha! You¡¯re not disgusted now though are you?!¡± ¡°S-Shut up!¡± She said as she rubbed her face across my arm. Thank you, god¡­ for giving me the most loyal girl possible. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding sweetheart, of course, I didn¡¯t propose to you just because of your body, and you know it.¡± She smiled at me and said, ¡°Yeah, I know. I was also joking around.¡± ¡°You two are too cute.¡± Said Misaki. I expected Shizuka to be a little envious, but I looked to her and saw her smiling at me. I could tell it was a genuine smile, she wasn¡¯t faking it since when she does a fake smile, she closes her eyes. ¡°They really are.¡± Said Shizuka. I remember what she once told me, ¡®Seeing you happy makes me happy¡­¡¯ I guess she wasn¡¯t lying then¡­ We got home, ate, then Shizuka stayed in the kitchen to talk with Yumi. Misaki went into her room, and Nightshade remained in the living room. Kasai and I walked to our room, I opened the door, and yet again¡­ the room was messy. I tried ignoring all this time the fact that Kasai is a messy girl since she never really had any property to organize¡­ but this crosses the line¡­ this time, I turned around, faced her and said with a sarcastic smile, ¡°Kasai¡­ I need you to please stop being a live-tornado every time you are looking for something!¡± ¡°S-Sorry! I¡¯ll get right to it!¡± She dashed towards the messiness and started throwing every single type of clothes under the bed. ¡°There! You can¡¯t see it anymore!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how you organize things, you dummy!!!¡± ¡°Ah! Sorry!!!¡± She started picking them all up and throwing them into the dirty clothes basket. ¡°When we get married, we will buy our own house and live there for a long time; I won¡¯t be able to stand such chaos.¡± ¡°Right!¡± ¡°And when we will have children it will be even worse!¡± ¡°Y-yes, sir!!!¡± She yelled while blushing. While she cleaned, I decided to take a bath in the jacuzzi tub in the bathroom to relax a little. I filled it up with hot-steaming water, took off my clothes, went in to relax. I made sure to lock the door since I knew that Kasai was definitely going to join me, but I felt like relaxing alone for just a little while. Many things started to storm into my brain, but it wasn¡¯t things about me, it was all about Kasai. I can understand how hard it is for her to love herself since, in the end, it¡¯s hard to love yourself when you know soo much¡­ every single nonmoral choice you have done, every single mistake, every single negative thought. But that¡¯s why I¡¯m here so I can make sure she understands that under all of that she is still a good person, most importantly, a lovable person. Sure she can get easily stressed and anxious; sure she can be insecure about herself most of the time, be really messy¡­ and sure that she can also be a little na?ve occasionally¡ªand I say na?ve since I know that she is not dumb¡­ she is a smart girl, she learns quickly, she just doesn¡¯t know many things that most people do, and that doesn¡¯t necessarily make her dumb, but just unknowledgeable. She is a naturally good person that can easily relate to how people feel, but she struggles to help them with their feelings because she can¡¯t even help herself most of the time. What I see in her is just a girl with a lot of potentials, and I am not wrong in perceiving people¡¯s potential most of the time. With her tenacity that she has built by herself thus far, she could accomplish many things even if I wasn¡¯t here to help her. She is easily sensitive to others; under all of that shyness, I also can tell that she is a very passionate person. When I see her talking about our future and the things she wants to do her eyes light up, it¡¯s really the cutest thing ever. But most importantly of all, she is an exceptionally charming girl; I don¡¯t actually think this comes from her succubus side, I believe that this is her actual charming personality. After realizing how valuable life is, she now wants to live life to the fullest, and that makes me, and other people, like her a lot to the point that we all admire her in a way. I could even see Shizuka starting to respect her for that; how easily she can appreciate every single thing that she has, and not complain or greed for more. Hmmm¡­ sometimes I even impress myself of how good I am at understanding people¡­ and it all just comes to me naturally, really. As I was in my head, I heard the doorknob trying to open. ¡°No sweetheart, I want to be alone for a while-¡± As I was saying that, the door opened, and Kasai was there smiling with a towel around her. ¡°How did you open that door?!¡± She gave off a cute, mischievous giggle and said, ¡°I can picklock with my tail.¡± ¡°What?! That¡¯s cheating!¡± ¡°I could always leave if you want¡­¡± She said while frowning and looking to the side, ¡°I don¡¯t want to seem clingy or anything¡­¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine,¡± I looked at her with a smile and said, ¡°How about we have a little chat? I love talking to you.¡± She smiled back at me, and gladly joined me in the jacuzzi tub. She took off the towel around her, revealing her sexy, warm-ivory skin color, together with her soft and gentle texture. I didn¡¯t have plans to do anything intimate since I knew that tomorrow I was going to be out of energy, and I need that energy, I¡¯m sure Kasai also understands that; but damn is it hard to not jump on her when she is completely naked, she is so attractive; she is an irresistible eye candy. I don¡¯t blame other guys for hitting on her, thankfully I meditate so I can control myself in times like these. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± She asked while gently laying her head on my shoulder. ¡°Well, I told you what I envision for our relationship, how about you tell me what you envision.¡± She slowly looked at me with a dumbfounded smile and asked, ¡°W-What does envision mean?¡± I lightly chuckled and said, ¡°Envision means, visualize; how do you think our relationship will go? What do you want it to be like?¡± ¡°Oh, ok. And don¡¯t laugh at me! I just¡­ never learned these things.¡± See? I was right. When I was at the orphanage I actually got to know many people, I think that¡¯s where my understanding of people started from. ¡°I¡¯m not laughing at you for not knowing. I¡¯m laughing at you for being so cute.¡± ¡°Sure, sure.¡± She said with a cute tone. ¡°So? What do you think?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I want to explore the world with you! Adventure into lands that no-one has ever gone through before; it has been very fun so far.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, as long as we don¡¯t have to jump from an extreme height.¡± Kasai giggled and said, ¡°I know, I know.¡± ¡°What else? That¡¯s it?!¡± She giggled again and hugged me. I could feel her soft breasts pressing against my abdomen, then, she said, ¡°Darling, I can barely believe that we are engaged, I need some time to let that sink in and start to ¡®envision¡¯ our future. But I really do have a lot of things in mind.¡± ¡°Yeah, I understand. And could you please not hug me? I know you¡¯re doing it on purpose, you naughty girl. I¡¯m trying really hard not to¡­ you know¡­ go crazy.¡± She gave me a cheeky grin and said, ¡°Sorry, I know that we need our energy for tomorrow, but my succubus side keeps poking me.¡± ¡°Well, tell it to stop!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying my best!¡± She said with a sorrowful face. ¡°Maybe we just need to get out-¡± ¡°No, no, no! I can move away.¡± She said as she sat on the opposite side. ¡°You sure?¡± I asked. ¡°Y-yeah!¡± I gazed deep into her eyes from afar while grinning. She slowly started blushing and said, ¡°Don¡¯t do that! You¡¯re making me want to go back!¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Sorry, I guess I also want to tempt you sometimes.¡± She giggled, then we both looked to the side away from each other, so we both didn¡¯t get tempted. We were silent for a couple of seconds, she then looked back at me and asked, ¡°Can I kiss you?¡± ¡°That will make it far worse, we both know what that will lead on.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine though, we have a lot of time in the future to do anything we want.¡± ¡°I know but¡­ this feels like torture right now... I rather starve than be kept away from you.¡± ¡°I can relate¡­ but trust me, we will need the energy for tomorrow.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ talking about envisioning things, I also want to help people.¡± ¡°Help people?¡± ¡°Yeah! Maybe by being a teacher, or a psychologist, or even a counselor.¡± ¡°Hmm, I definitely can see you as one. I¡¯m guessing your motive is, so people don¡¯t make the same mistakes you have done in the past, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly it.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll always support you no matter what you choose, ok? But I really think such a career fits you.¡± ¡°Thank you, honey. How about you?¡± ¡°Me?¡± I started laughing, ¡°I have no idea of what I¡¯m going to do¡­ for now, I only know that I will marry you and give my best to make you as happy as possible every day. But a goal for me? Hmm¡­¡± ¡°That means a lot to me, but I also want you to do something you like.¡± ¡°I mean¡­ I would love to do you right now, but I can¡¯t.¡± She instantly blushed and said, ¡°H-Honey! Stop it!¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just joking¡­ well, I wasn¡¯t really joking, I just meant that-¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What makes you happy?¡± She said with a serious expression. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Baby! I know! please, I¡¯m trying to help you!¡± ¡°Ok, ok,¡± I looked up and closed my eyes. ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess when I lead people the right way, and they improve because of it or even thank me for leading them to the right path¡­ it makes me really happy.¡± ¡°Sounds like any leadership role will be great for you!¡± ¡°Like what, exactly?¡± ¡°Maybe a captain of a team, or even a headmaster. Or¡­ how about you join the rebels and some humans to make a bigger organization that defends both lands?¡± ¡°Wait¡­ that actually sounds awesome.¡± ¡°See? It¡¯s not complicated,¡± she giggled and said, ¡°How can you lead other people to the right path but have trouble leading yourself?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but that¡¯s what you¡¯re here for, to lead me the right way; and I¡¯m so grateful for that.¡± I said with a genuine tone. She started tearing up and jumped onto me. ¡°I love you so much!¡± ¡°N-No! Stop!¡± After her emotional hug, I decided to get out of the tub before things escalated quickly. We both went to bed. As I was about to cover myself, I heard a knocking at the door. I got up and opened it, it was Shizuka. She had nowhere to sleep since Nightshade was on the couch, and the guest room was taken. ¡°How can that tiny pixie get the whole couch?!¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t¡­ I just can¡¯t sleep in a couch.¡± ¡°Of course¡­ well, you¡¯re more than welcome to join us!¡± Kasai walked up to us and said with a menacing smile, ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Shizuka will sleep with me while you sleep with Nightshade.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?!¡± I yelled. ¡°One, you¡¯re only sleeping with one girl. Two, Nightshade is just an innocent pixie. Three, she treats you like a big brother. Four, your charm doesn¡¯t work on her.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right Kasai, that is the best choice.¡± Said Shizuka while giving an evil giggle of pity. ¡°Sorry honey, but this is how it¡¯s got to be.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ I didn¡¯t expect you to send me to sleep on the couch this early in the relationship.¡± I said as I started walking away towards the couch with a pillow on my hand. Nightshade was sitting on the sofa swinging her legs back and forth. ¡°Hey, Nightshade¡­ I uh, have to sleep with you apparently.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t care¡­¡± Well, at least I can use her as a body pillow, she is extremely soft and light after all. I hope I can sleep without any problems with her¡­ she pats a spot right beside her and said, ¡°Come, big brother. The couch is comfy.¡± Oh lord¡­ Chapter 19: Misaki’s Rebellion
"We either win as heroes or die as warriors." Yumi Elledan
Here it was... the day of the battle. I opened my eyes and realized that this might have been the last time I slept. But of course, as soon as I opened my eyes I noticed Nightshade resting on top of me, it was weird since I didn¡¯t feel anything, that¡¯s how little she weights. I could probably throw her up in the air, and she would float down back into my arms¡­ actually, let¡¯s try that now. I grabbed her and threw her up in the air. ¡°Wiii!¡± I said as she touched the ceiling and then floated back down to me, still asleep. ¡°Wow, this is amazing.¡± I lightly hugged her, thinking that she was the best hugging pillow ever. Being three feet tall she was around as tall as my torso up; if I sat down somewhere and she stood in front of me we would basically be the same height. Hmmm¡­ I guess treating her as a younger sibling is not as bad as I thought. I turned to the side and tried going back to sleep while still hugging her; I¡¯m surprised that she still didn¡¯t wake up. ¡°She is so soft¡­ and smells like lavender.¡± I opened my eyes since I had this weird sensation that someone was looking at me. I looked to the side and noticed that Yumi was looking at me as if I was a weirdo. ¡°Yumi¡­ I can explain¡­¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s fine¡­ I¡¯ll uh, act as if I didn¡¯t see a thing.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± As soon as Yumi walked away, Nightshade opened her eyes while I was still hugging her. ¡°Oh, good morning, big brother.¡± She said looking at me with a neutral expression. I quickly let go of her so she didn¡¯t also think I was a weirdo and said, ¡°G-good morning, Nightshade!¡± ¡°Why did you let me go? I heard you talking about how nice of a hugging pillow I am.¡± She kept talking with a neutral face; she really didn¡¯t care. ¡°Oh uhm¡­ I don¡¯t want to seem like a weirdo.¡± She got up and stretched letting out slight moans. ¡°It¡¯s fine; I said many times that I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Yeah, but still¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine; we¡¯re siblings.¡± ¡°No, we are not! Why do you keep saying that?¡± ¡°I always wanted an elder sibling¡­ and you act like one!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ alright, I guess.¡± ¡°I can call you big brother?!¡± She said while her eyes sparkled. ¡°Yes, yes; but don¡¯t expect me to call you little sister.¡± ¡°Aww¡­ ok, big brother.¡± ¡°And¡­¡± I said while looking away. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I promise I¡¯ll get your wings back as soon as possible,¡± I looked back at her, ¡°I promise.¡± She smiled back at me and said, ¡°I believe you.¡± ¡°By the way,¡± I said while getting up, ¡°Why did you get exiled?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to obey their orders¡­¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°They wanted me to use my singularity for evil things¡­ and I didn¡¯t want to do so.¡± ¡°Ah, I see¡­ well, you did good, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Did I really?¡± ¡°Yeah, and I bet most pixies were envious of your singularity, right?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ yes¡­ many; to the point that I got bullied¡­¡± It sickens me to hear innocent people getting bullied. ¡°We¡¯re all your friends here,¡± I smiled, ¡°You can always stay with us after you get your wings back.¡± ¡°R-really?! I very much like hanging out with all of you!¡± ¡°Well¡­ you would have to ask Yumi; this is not my house.¡± ¡°Of course she can!¡± Said Yumi while walking out from the kitchen, ¡°She hasn¡¯t been trouble so far, so I don¡¯t see the problem.¡± Nightshade jumped up and hugged me. ¡°Thank you so much, big brother! See? You¡¯re just like a brother to me!¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Why are you thanking me? You should be thanking Yumi.¡± ¡°Right!¡± She jumped on Yumi and hugged her too. ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Yumi smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I walked towards the guest room to see how Shizuka and Kasai were doing. I opened the door, and the first thing I saw was the sweet image of Kasai spooning Shizuka; they looked so peaceful sleeping, so much that I didn¡¯t want to wake them up¡­ I bet they were all night talking. I walked up to Kasai and tapped her. ¡°You two have gotten along pretty quick.¡± She slowly opened her eyes to notice that she was spooning Shizuka. She slowly moved back and said, ¡°Oh¡­ I got too used to sleeping with you¡­ but she does smell like cherry blossoms.¡± ¡°Right? Such a pleasing smell!¡± Shizuka woke up and turned back. ¡°Good morning,¡± She started rubbing her eyes and asked, ¡°What time it is?¡± ¡°Time to get ready and Sail off.¡± ¡°Right, it¡¯s today.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll start getting ready.¡± I went to the wardrobe and started to look for the clothes that Misaki gave me. I took Kasai¡¯s outfit and threw it to her. ¡°Come on, the earlier, the more we can plan out the plan execution.¡± I looked at the clock, and it was 8:37 AM, ¡°Wasn¡¯t my master also going to come with us?¡± ¡°As far as I heard, yeah.¡± Said Shizuka while getting up. I decided to walk out and knock on Misaki¡¯s door to wake her up. As I was about to knock, she opened the door and said, ¡°Oh, yo! You¡¯re ready?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was just going to tell you that we are all almost ready.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll be at the base waiting on you guys.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll see you there then.¡± This was a bit nerve-wracking to think about the seriousness of this situation¡­ some people might die, and I can¡¯t imagine any of my friends dying before my eyes. But I can¡¯t be scared, I have to show courage. I talked to everyone to make sure that they were all ok, we all got fully prepared and walked out of Yumi¡¯s house going to the rebels¡¯ basement. We reached our destination. Misaki was there waiting for all of us with Marcus. ¡°Hey, Misaki!¡± Yelled Nightshade. ¡°What¡¯s up!?¡± I looked over to Kasai, and she shivered as soon as she saw him. ¡°Not that weirdo again¡­¡± I heard Kasai¡¯s thoughts in my head. I chuckled and said, ¡°We just need to work with him, and that¡¯s it.¡± She launched herself to me and grabbed my arm pulling it close in between her breasts. ¡°I hope everything goes alright, babe!¡± Said Kasai aloud to make sure he heard it. She was trying too hard at this point, but I looked at him and noticed that he got annoyed. ¡°Kasai, this is not necessary,¡± I said, right before she decided to kiss me multiple times. ¡°K-Kasai!¡± I said while my face was flushed. Shizuka started giggling, I¡¯m sure she knew why Kasai was like this even without telepathy. ¡°What¡¯s with the sudden kisses?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°Who knows, this might be our last kiss!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Don¡¯t say that! Be positive!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Right, sorry! We got this!¡± ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s the spirit!¡± ¡°Where are the rest of the rebels?¡± I asked. ¡°They are all already in positions to raid the island. They just need my signal.¡± ¡°Wait, we are doing this in broad daylight?¡± Asked Yumi. ¡°Yeah, aren¡¯t you stronger under the sun, Yumi?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°I am, but¡­¡± ¡°Throughout the day is when most people are out of the base, plus, that¡¯s when you would least expect an invasion, don¡¯t you think?¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Hmm, yeah, but still¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be fineee, Yumi,¡± I said without worries. But deep down, I thought I was the person that worried the most for this mission. We all started following Misaki towards the coast while Shizuka stayed in the base. Misaki gave each one of us a small walkie-talkie so we could communicate, but most importantly, so Shizuka could provide us with information about the enemies with the help of one of the rebels¡¯ radar singularity. Yumi went to a position somewhere else with other rebels since she was supposed to arrive first at the island. ¡°When is the next ship going to board at the island?¡± I asked Misaki. ¡°The next ship will arrive at the island in around 10 minutes. Unfortunately, we won¡¯t make it in time, so we have to take the next one, it comes in about 40 minutes from now.¡± We arrived at the ship off the coast. It was a brigantine; I¡¯m guessing we didn¡¯t sail on a galleon since it would have attracted too much attention as it is. ¡°You know how to sail one of these things?¡± I asked Misaki. ¡°No, but he can.¡± She pointed at someone coming up the deck. It was my master, Hachimura. ¡°What¡¯s up, disciple!¡± I smiled and said, ¡°Would you look who¡¯s there! The man himself!¡± ¡°Sorry I took a while, riding on that griffon sure was scary.¡± ¡°Di¡¯Ophion? He¡¯s a chill beast, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Oh no, I know that. I just don¡¯t like heights.¡± ¡°Ah, trust me, I can understand.¡± ¡°Yeah, he is also afraid of heights.¡± Said Kasai to my master. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not afraid of heights, I¡¯m just afraid of falling!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Oh! I see you finally got your voice back, Kasai.¡± Said Hachimura. ¡°Ah, yes. Thanks to my sweet fianc¨¦!¡± Said Kasai with a cheerful smile. My master opened his eyes wide and ran towards me lifting up my hand that had my engagement ring. ¡°HUUUHHH??!!¡± I blushed and looked to the side. ¡°Yeah, we got engaged two days ago.¡± ¡°SO QUICK?!¡± ¡°Well¡­ I do love her A LOT, so¡­¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ well, with Maria and me it was the same thing, we got engaged around a month or two later¡­ but I didn¡¯t expect it from you!¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¡°You always were the type of guy that got with a girl and then a day or two later lost interested in her, and then said that you would rather be alone! Now you¡¯re engaged?! What have these cloud elves fed you?!¡± ¡°Nothing, I just¡­ she is not like other girls, master. Kasai is different¡­ no matter how many times we kiss, I always have that feeling of extreme love towards her, even when she is negative and annoying, I still love her.¡± ¡°Wait, annoying?!¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Seriously?! Out of all of what I said, that is what you focused on?!¡± ¡°I like the morale, but we have to focus on the mission from now on.¡± I turned around and saw Misaki with her bandana on. Right, this wasn¡¯t a day to fool around, we have something important to take care of. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Said Hachimura. He got onto the steering wheel and yelled, ¡°Lower the sails! Pick up the anchor! We¡¯re sailing off!¡± There were some rebels already on the ship waiting for the command to sail off, so after they heard it, they quickly executed every single command without any flaws. We were sailing off; Misaki got her walkie-talkie and told Shizuka, ¡°Sails are down, we¡¯re on the move.¡± ¡°Good. The next ship will arrive in 34 minutes, if you catch the strong winds, you should be able to get there in no time.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Roger.¡± I felt Nightshade getting closer and closer to me, clenching my shirt. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. ¡°I-I¡¯m scared.¡± I smiled, kneeled down, laid my hand on her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s all going to be ok, Nightshade. I will protect you, and if not, you¡¯re really strong! You can defend yourself no problem.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± I started thinking of a way to make her feel more secure. I walked towards my master and said, ¡°Hey, master, could you put your singularity on Nightshade?¡± ¡°Nightshade? The pixie?¡± ¡°Yeah, her.¡± Even he knows she is a pixie and not a fairy¡­ ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± He activated his guardian angel and built the spiritual armor around Nightshade. I looked at her and asked, ¡°Is that better?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Yes! Thank you so much!¡± We kept sailing and sailing until we finally saw another ship in the distance.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Is that it?!¡± I said while pointing at it. ¡°Yeah, I think so. But we must be sure.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°How?¡± ¡°My water diffuse allows people to walk on water since you will become less dense than the ocean. The body contains less salt than the ocean, making the ocean denser than your liquid body.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. But wouldn¡¯t our bodies just join the ocean¡¯s water?¡± ¡°No. You should keep your shape as long as you don¡¯t crash into anything at high speeds.¡± ¡°Got it. So, I¡¯m guessing Kasai and I will run to the ship?¡± ¡°No, you definitely won¡¯t catch it in time, but if Kasai uses her overdrive state, she could run fast enough.¡± ¡°Yeah, but could she manage to fight all of them by herself?¡± ¡°I could take Nightshade with me, she doesn¡¯t weigh anything.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Good idea, I¡¯ll be sniping from the crow¡¯s nest.¡± ¡°You can snipe from this far?!¡± I asked. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve had many years of practice. Ready Kasai?¡± Asked Misaki. I walked up to Kasai, kissed her and said, ¡°Be safe, ok?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She picked up Nightshade and asked, ¡°Do I still need to cover my ears even though my body is pure water?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Alright.¡± She activated her overdrive, jumped down the ship and started running towards the enemy ship. I took out my katana and sent many wolves running behind Kasai to back her up. I was super worried, but I had to keep the focus on the upcoming fights. Misaki climbed up to the crow¡¯s nest, took out her singularity, and aimed down sights. By the time that Misaki climbed all the way up there and took out her singularity, Kasai was already about to board on the enemy ship with Nightshade. I took out my walkie-talkie and told Shizuka, ¡°We¡¯re about to raid the ship. So far it has been good.¡± ¡°Roger that,¡± Said Shizuka, ¡°Yumi, you can sail out to the island now. Do you copy?¡± ¡°Copy. We¡¯re sailing off.¡± Answered Yumi. I looked at Misaki and asked, ¡°You see anything?!¡± ¡°¡­No, there¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There¡¯s literally no one in the ship!¡± ¡°Huh?! How¡¯s that possible?¡± ¡°Marcus, can you check it out?¡± Asked Misaki. Marcus turned into a falcon and flew towards where Kasai was to check out the ship for any enemies. Seeing Marcus turning into a flacon made something spark in my head¡­ if the wolves are part of my souls, then that probably means¡­ I sat down, crossed my legs and started to meditate. I concentrated on my wolves and the connection between us, and before I knew it, I was looking through the eyes of one, but not just watching, I was able to control the wolf itself. I was beside Kasai right under the ship looking towards it. I looked at Kasai as a wolf and tried using my telepathy with her. ¡°Kasai, can you hear me?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Kasai started to look around, then asked, ¡°How can you communicate from so far away?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the wolf that¡¯s right next to you.¡± She looked down and said, ¡°Wow, you could do that?¡± ¡°I literally just tried, and it works.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s awesome! Follow me then.¡± We jumped on top of the ship to look around. We noticed that literally no-one was sailing it or taking care of it. I started to look around the whole ship, and all we found were capes for the people and food. ¡°They must have some sort of singularity that can direct ship to a destination without the need of someone sailing it¡­¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s probably it. It would be too risky for them to sail in the middle of the sea.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°I¡¯ll inform Misaki and Shizuka about it,¡± I said. I stopped meditating, went back to my body and told Misaki, ¡°Misaki, there¡¯s not a single person in that ship.¡± ¡°Yeah, Marcus informed me about it, we should probably tell Shizuka, in case it¡¯s a trap.¡± ¡°Right on it.¡± I got my walkie-talkie and said, ¡°Shizuka, there was nobody in that ship.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ here in the information that I received from the scouts stated that they only saw the ship. They never checked to see if people were sailing it. That probably means that they are using a singularity to guide the ship towards the island.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was thinking. So it¡¯s not a trap?¡± ¡°Probably not, but stay on your guard, you never know.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I put the walkie-talkie away and went back to meditate. I controlled the wolf again and told Kasai, ¡°Kasai, can you stop the ship so the rest of us can get on it?¡± ¡°Sure thing!¡± She tried pulling up the sails and lowering the anchor, but they didn¡¯t want to budge. ¡°I-It¡¯s stuck!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that must be the singularity controlling the ship. It makes sense that we are not able to stop it.¡± ¡°What should we do then? Isn¡¯t this ship going to arrive at the island in around 20 minutes?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ let me ask Misaki.¡± I went back and told Misaki that the ship wouldn¡¯t stop. ¡°That¡¯s fine, just get Hachimura down from the wheel. Marcus can turn into a griffon and fly us over.¡± ¡°What?! Couldn¡¯t he had done that earlier?¡± ¡°That would have called too much attention if people were actually on the ship.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I rushed towards my master and told him to come with me. ¡°What for?¡± He asked. ¡°We¡¯re riding Marcus.¡± ¡°Woah, woah¡­ what?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s turning into a griffon and taking us to the other ship!¡± ¡°OH! I understand now.¡± We walked back to the center of the ship where Marcus was waiting for us. We all got on his back, and flew off towards the other ship while my Master was yelling, ¡°I DON¡¯T LIKE THIS!¡± ¡°You get used to it¡­¡± I said. We landed on the ship where Kasai and Nightshade were waiting for us, we talked about what to do from there on, Kasai and I were going to wear the capes and enter in the island as if we were black tombstone members. We will enter the cave and reach the room where the boss is, and we will kill him before he awakens his old powers; Yumi and the rebels will be fighting most of black tombstone outside, while Misaki, Nightshade, Marcus, and Hachimura will stay in the ship in case they try to escape. We informed the plan to Shizuka, then, we patiently waited to get closer to the island. 15 minutes later, it all started to get foggy to the point that we couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Is this it?¡± Misaki asked Marcus. ¡°Yes, there should be a check up ahead, we should all hide somewhere, so they don¡¯t see anyone. Kasai and Rukito should sneak in while they are boarding off the goods off the ship.¡± Answered Marcus. ¡°Alright.¡± We all hid in different places around the ship. Kasai and I both hid inside a large enough box that could barely fit us both in. ¡°Hmm¡­ this is not so bad.¡± Said Kasai while her whole body was pressing up against mine. I was laid down on top of her, so we were really squashed in together. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have hidden somewhere else?¡± I said. ¡°Of course not, I love this,¡± Said Kasai, ¡°I always preferred you being on top after all.¡± She said with a smirk. ¡°This is no time for this, Kasai,¡± I said while slightly blushing. ¡°Then why do you keep touching my boobs? You perv.¡± ¡°Because I have nowhere elsewhere to rest my hand!¡± We heard people boarding the ship, so I covered her mouth. ¡°Be quiet¡­¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking! Plus, we got telepathy!¡± ¡°Right, we do.¡± Suddenly, we both felt like we got picked up by someone. ¡°Wow, this box is heavy.¡± Said, someone. ¡°That must be the weapons box, be sure to leave it in the arsenal.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± How the hell is this one person carrying both of me and Kasai¡¯s weight?! We got transported somewhere else for a minute or two, then, we hit the floor, making my head fall forwards in between Kasai¡¯s breasts. ¡°See? You¡¯re doing it on purpose!¡± ¡°You know damn well I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t mind if we quickly just-¡± I didn¡¯t even let her finish her sentence, I opened the top and jumped outside the box. ¡°Really?!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Kasai, we will have as many kisses and cuddles as you want after we¡¯re done here, ok?¡± She puffed her cheeks and said, ¡°Ok.¡± We looked around and noticed that we weren¡¯t inside of an arsenal room at all, it was actually in the middle of the forest inside the island. ¡°Wait, what? Didn¡¯t they talk about leaving the box in the arsenal?¡± Slowly, many different black tombstone members walked out of every single tree surrounding us. Kasai and I instantly took our singularities out and stood back to back. ¡°How did they figure it out?¡± Asked Kasai. Suddenly, Marcus walked in from behind a member clapping. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Good job, good job. You know, the plan would have been an amazing success if I wasn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Y-You are a traitor?!¡± Yelled Kasai. ¡°Oh yes, baby. Indeed I am. I was so attracted by you, that if you actually ended up liking me, I would have spared you.¡± ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t fucking call me baby ever again.¡± He quickly started chuckling weirdly, then said, ¡°You still have a chance¡­ if you join me, I will spare you.¡± ¡°No thanks, I¡¯d seriously rather die than listen to your voice once again.¡± ¡°Plus, Yumi should be here anytime!¡± I said. He then started laughing weirdly. ¡°Yumi? Oh, I think you got all of this wrong.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°This is not even the right island¡­ our ship was sent to another island. So while you both are here getting ambushed, Yumi is alone in the real island losing the fight getting outnumbered.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I yelled. I quickly picked up my walkie-talkie and tried reaching Shizuka. ¡°Shizuka! Yumi!¡± But all I could hear was the buzzing sound from the signal being completely jammed. ¡°There is no way out of this¡­¡± ¡°How dare you betray Misaki! She cares so much about each and every one of her rebels!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to deny that Misaki was a good leader¡­ but ours is just so much better¡­¡± ¡°How can you say that?! She has never even stepped out of her basement to help nobody!¡± ¡°Oh, but she has, Rukito¡­ she has actually been by your side most of the past times.¡± ¡°What?! What are you talking about?!¡± ¡°Well, now we know that it¡¯s a she.¡± Said Kasai. I used my katana to summon wolves around Kasai and me while all the black tombstone members were getting closer and closer. There were at least about 12 of them surrounding us. It didn¡¯t seem like most of them had singularities or they would have activated them by now, but thinking about it, the boss needs magic from people to recover her old powers, meaning that she can¡¯t afford to hire a lot of people with singularities, so her numbers must not be high. Marcus suddenly turned into a death wanderer, while saying with a distorted voice, ¡°Your journey ends here, Rukito.¡± ¡°Great, another one of those,¡± I said. ¡°We just need to kill all of its hearts, right?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yeah, there has to be a drawback to his shapeshifting, so let¡¯s figure it out.¡± ¡°On it!¡± Responded Kasai. The battle started, the clashing of the black tombstone members¡¯ blades and ours was loud. The sparks created by the clashes were bright. I was trying to focus onto every direction as much as possible, someone could always come running in and stab me in the side, luckily, Kasai was quick enough to take care most of the enemies. She was on another league compared to me when it came to assassinating many targets at once. You could see that she was instantly draining positive energy from the people¡¯s bodies and immediately releasing it into herself to boost her speed. As I was getting distracted by how amazing she was, I noticed Marcus swinging his scorpion tail at me, but luckily, I manage to react in time and parry it away. ¡°Nice try.¡± ¡°You lucky bastard!¡± He yelled. ¡°Wait, how was that luck? I literally parried it with my reaction ti-¡± ¡°SHUT UP! I mean that you got lucky getting such girl.¡± ¡°Oh.. buddy¡­ if it¡¯s really about that, we can talk about it.¡± ¡°Be quiet! You arrogant bastard!¡± ¡°Alright, you can¡¯t just use bastard again for an insult now.¡± I was saying as I was dodging his attacks and trying to get a chance to slice his tail¡¯s heart. ¡°YOU GET ON MY NERVES!¡± He yelled, then proceeded to use his tail again, but this time, I was expecting it so instead of parrying it, I got into a stance, and sliced his tail with one single strike. He quickly started groaning and said, ¡°Fuck you!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why don¡¯t you shapeshift into something else?¡± ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± ¡°The bigger they are, the easier it is to hit them.¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± He said as he was in pain on the floor. ¡°Ah, I think I got it. You can¡¯t shapeshift all the time.¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s not that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you have to wait at least 10 minutes or so to shapeshift into something else.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Bingo!¡± ¡°Honey, are you done playing around with him?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°How about you?¡± I looked at Kasai and noticed that every single black tombstone member that was at the sidelines was dead. ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± ¡°I can hear the heartbeats inside the beast, but since there¡¯s many, it confuses me. I might have to disable my singularity to fight him.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°That¡¯s no problem!¡± I said as I threw my Katana to her. ¡°Here! You can use this.¡± She disabled her singularity and jumped towards the Katana in mid-air to grab it. I took out my wakizashi and tanto to dual wield them. ¡°Thanks! I see them now clearly!¡± I got into a stance to slice one of his hearts, while Kasai sliced the rest. I dashed towards him, but he swung his claws at me. I dodge it, run up his arm and sliced his lower abdomen, while Kasai activated her overdrive and sliced the rest of the hearts in the blink of an eye. It seemed like she only used one thrust of the sword to pierce through every heart. She is so hot¡­ Marcus instantly turned back to his cloud elf from and kneeled on the floor bleeding from many parts of his body. ¡°Please! Have mercy!¡± ¡°Oh, here we go¡­¡± I mumbled. Kasai and I walked in front of him and sighed. ¡°Do you really deserve mercy?¡± I said. ¡°I promise! I¡¯ll never show myself again!¡± ¡°Then tell us where the real island is!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°¡­¡± He quickly sliced his arm with a dagger he had in his belt and used the blood to taint our eyes. ¡°GAH! Disgusting! I can¡¯t see a thing!¡± I then heard him running away. Luckily, Kasai managed to react faster than I did and dodged the blood splatter. She activated her overdrive mode once again and chased behind him. I took out the water canteen I had in my belt and used it to wash the blood off my face. Kasai managed to catch him in an instant and threw him to the ground. ¡°Let me go!¡± He yelled. Kasai slowly sat on top of him while he was on the floor. Bit her lip and said, ¡°How about this, Mr. bad guy. You give me a map of where the island is, and I¡¯ll make you feel really, really good.¡± She said as she took out her tail and caressed his face with it. I quickly understood that she was trying to seduce him, but it was kind of bothering me a bit, I¡¯m not going to lie. ¡°Y-You¡¯re lying! You wouldn¡¯t do such a thing!¡± She took out her singularity and healed him. ¡°Do you believe me now?¡± ¡°I¡­ I still don¡¯t believe you.¡± He said as he ran his hands across her legs. ¡°Aww¡­ is that so?¡± She pulled her hair back and leaned in for a kiss. She quickly has him a kiss that lasted barely 2 seconds, pulled back her head, opened up her kimono a bit more to show off her cleavage and said, ¡°How about now?¡± ¡°Don''t you care that your little boyfriend gets mad?¡± ¡°Nah, he will understand.¡± ¡°Ok, well the island is¡­¡± He took out a map of his pocket and pointed towards a place that had a pen marking on it, ¡°1000 ft east from this point, you will find the island.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Said Kasai as she took the map and put it in her pocket. ¡°Now, let¡¯s have some real fun¡­¡± he said as he grabbed her boobs. Kasai instantly slit his throat in the blink of an eye. This has definitely been the fastest I¡¯ve seen her move. ¡°Like if I¡¯d let you do such thing¡­¡± Said Kasai as she was getting off of him. I took a deep breath of relief and asked, ¡°Are you ok?¡± She quickly ran off behind a tree and started vomiting. ¡°T-That was the most disgusting thing I¡¯ve ever done in my life¡­ I prefer drinking water from a pond than kissing another guy.¡± ¡°Well damn, I didn¡¯t think it was that bad for you,¡± I said. She sat down and said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel so good¡­ can I get your water?¡± I gave her my canteen and said, ¡°Sure.¡± She washed her mouth multiple times with it, gargled and spat it out. ¡°That was¡­ disgusting, revolting, sickening!¡± She got up, walked towards me and started kissing me over and over again without giving me a chance to breathe. ¡°I only want your lips¡­¡± She said after her barrage of kisses. She grabbed my hand and laid it on her breast. ¡°I only want you to touch me.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you do, but we have a mission to finish, sweetheart.¡± ¡°Oh, crap! Right! Yumi is fighting alone!¡± She yelled. We started running back, and then once again, we got surrounded by many black tombstone members. But this time, they were double the amount. ¡°Dammit! I don¡¯t have enough positive energy left to go in overdrive!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°Yeah, how do you always manage to have some?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± she blushed, ¡°When we have sex they get filled to maximum¡­ and since we didn¡¯t have it last night.¡± ¡°What?! You could have told me!¡± They were at least 20 different tombstone members around us, this time we really had no idea of what to do. I took out my singularity and said, ¡°I¡¯ll defend us!¡± But then, out of nowhere, we heard chains clanging. ¡°Wait, you hear that?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yeah¡­ I do¡­¡± Suddenly, purple chains started wrapping around the black tombstone members and slamming them against the ground with a powerful force, crushing every single bone in their bodies. ¡°Huh?¡± A human figure started walking in from the mist. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked. The man came out of the fog with a suspicious, yet gentle smile. He had narrow eyes which appeared as if they were almost shut, and short purple hair which he wore in a bowl cut under a white fedora hat that matched with his dress suit. At first glance, he looked like a reserved and weak young man, since he was skinnier than average, but seeing those chain crushing and smashing the black tombstone members with such violence, I quickly changed my mind on his weakness. He was wearing a white dress suit with a long white coat with two small purple chains that worked as belts wrapped around his pants. He had black fingerless gloves on, and black shoes that also had chains wrapped around them. He looked like he was around 20 years old, but I could be wrong. ¡°Oh my, and who are you two love birds?¡± He asked with a courteous tone. ¡°Wait¡­ he didn¡¯t think we were siblings?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a first.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°I¡¯m Rukito, she is Kasai¡­ are you¡­ an enemy?¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°An enemy? If by that you mean like those black tombstone over there having fun with my chains, then no. Are you?¡± ¡°We¡­ we are just trying to look for their boss.¡± ¡°What a coincidence! So am I!¡± ¡°Really? What¡¯s your name?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°You can just call me Volpe.¡± ¡°Volpay?¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s an eastern name, you pronounce it, Volp-eh.¡± ¡°Oh, ok. What are your intentions with the black tombstone boss?¡± ¡°I just want to have a little chat, that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°About?¡± ¡°Now, now, let¡¯s not get too comfortable, I won¡¯t be discussing my plans with people I just met.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right,¡± I said. He reeled his chains back in, and they wrapped around his leg and waist. ¡°But you two had a good first impression on me, so I¡¯ll tell you a bit about my intentions if you tell me where the real island is.¡± ¡°Hmm, ok.¡± We showed him the map and told him exactly where the island was. I knew that this could have been a risky move, but we needed as much help as we could. ¡°Ah! I see. Thank you very much for the information.¡± ¡°Now, your part of the deal?¡± ¡°But of course, of course. I¡¯m a man of my word.¡± He said while lowering his fedora hat. ¡°Have you ever heard of the divine gemstones?¡± ¡°The divine gemstones?¡± ¡°Thought so¡­¡± He sighed and said, ¡°Well, they are nine different gemstones that contain a unique deity inside that gives you an enormous amount of specific power.¡± ¡°Huh? Never heard such a thing.¡± ¡°Only royal angels and devils know such thing, I don¡¯t expect you to know.¡± Royal angels? Devils? How does he know about all of that? ¡°Where are these gemstones?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s exactly where I¡¯m getting at, let me explain.¡± He said while resting his back on a tree and crossing his arms. ¡°Ok, we are listening,¡± I said. ¡°Long ago, all the deity were threatened by a great being, they all sealed themselves into gems to be shielded against this great power.¡± ¡°Hmm, you mean the deities? Like Greenterra, and so on?¡± ¡°Correct! All those gems were then scattered across the solar system to be one day found by someone that could use their powers to destroy the great being that was once threatening them.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s one here in Greenterra?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Well, yes, my dear. The nature gem, Greenterra¡¯s gem is located somewhere in Greenterra¡­ who would have thought!¡± He ended off with a sarcastic tone. ¡°Where are the others?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s as far as I¡¯m going to give information.¡± Said Volpe with a smile. He got his back off the tree, and then slightly jumped as he saw his coat dirty, ¡°Oh, for the heavens! Not my precious white coat!¡± He said as he was trying to get the dirt off his coat. ¡°Can you help us get to the boss then?¡± Asked Kasai. He chuckled and smiled at us, ¡°You two are really cute, you know that? But I must give my condolences¡­ I¡¯m a person that rather travel alone. You two seem to attract violence, and I¡¯m not a violent person!¡± After seeing those members of black tombstone getting squashed to death and smashed against the floor¡­ I highly doubt that. But we weren¡¯t going to persistent, so we just let it go. ¡°That¡¯s fine if anything we will meet there.¡± ¡°Maybe we will.¡± He grabbed his fedora hat, slightly bowed, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way now. It was a pleasure talking to this lovely couple.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, the pleasure was mine,¡± I said. I still tried to be as polite as I could¡­ he has a strong singularity, I don¡¯t want to rub him off the wrong way. ¡°Thank you for the information!¡± Said Kasai with a smile. ¡°Aww, you¡¯re welcome dear, it was just a little trade of info.¡± He said while walking away before disappearing into the mist once again. ¡°He seems like a cool guy,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah¡­ but something about him seems off¡­¡± ¡°I noticed that much.¡± Chapter 20: Apocalypsis Rukito (Final Chapter of V.1)
"A man with nothing to lose is what you should be afraid of." -Rukito
Kasai and I walked all the way back to the ship, we got lost once or twice on the way, but we ultimately found it. We explained to Misaki precisely what happened and she was extremely disappointed by Marcus; I also told Shizuka about everything that happened and she said that Yumi is having a hard time fighting off the black tombstone in the real island, so we had to hurry up as fast as we could to the actual island, hopefully, Volpe is kind enough to help Yumi in her battle. Yumi told us that Marcus gave her the real information, while he gave us the fake one so she could be fighting all alone with the rebels, but we were coming to offer her support. We got on the ship and quickly started sailing towards the real island. We noticed that the ship¡¯s spell was not there anymore, so we were able to navigate it wherever we pleased. Around 15 minutes later, we arrived at the back of the island; hoping the black tombstones didn¡¯t know that we survived the ambush. Kasai and I boarded off the ship while Misaki went up to the crow¡¯s nest to snipe people in the battlefield while we searched for the entrance of the cave so we could meet the boss. By what we have heard, the boss shouldn¡¯t have enough power to fight, so she is probably not in the battlefield, if this is true, this is a big chance we can kill her and stop all of these problems. We were hearing blades clashing and gunshots on the other side of the island, while the people in the watchtowers were getting sniped one by one by Misaki. We looked up, and suddenly a massive pillar of golden flames appeared that shined very bright. ¡°That must be Yumi,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, it sure is her. She is so cool.¡± Said Kasai. We noticed that no one was guarding the entrance, so we just decided to sneak inside as quickly as possible. We started walking deeper and deeper inside the cave. We began noticing tubes on the wall that led towards the end of the cave. There was bright blue plasma going across inside the pipes. ¡°That must be¡­¡± ¡°The magic flow of other people¡­¡± We started picking up our pace. We then saw in the distance, the same guy with the white dress suit, Volpe. ¡°Well hello there, you both took your time.¡± ¡°How did you get here before us?!¡± I asked. ¡°I have my tricks up my sleeve.¡± He said while smiling. We were all standing before a large iron door. It seemed that whoever made this wanted to keep whatever is inside safe. There was a keypad at the right of it to open the door. ¡°Do you also have a trick for this?¡± I asked. ¡°Haha, I actually do!¡± He walked over to the keypad, typed in the key code, and the door opened. ¡°What?! How did you-¡± ¡°As I said, tricks up my sleeve.¡± He said with his usually suspicious, yet innocent smile. As the door opened, the dirt from the ceiling started falling on top of Volpe. ¡°Curses! As much as I like wearing white, this is absurd!¡± The door opened to show a lot of advanced machinery that was getting the magic flow and giving it to someone that was seating on a throne at the end of the room. ¡°Welcome¡­¡± mumbled the boss. She was completely covered by a large black coat with a hoodie so we couldn¡¯t see her face or her skin color. Volpe walked up to her and said, ¡°Good morning, my name is Volpe.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re here to kill me?¡± ¡°Oh no, no. I just wanted to quickly ask you a question or two.¡± ¡°Very well¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t happen to know where the nature gem is located, is that correct?¡± ¡°No¡­ I have no interest in the divine gemstones.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Well, how unfortunate¡­ I came all the way here for nothing.¡± ¡°Though I heard¡­ it¡¯s somewhere in the Leonia province, in Greenterra, I would be delighted to know if you find anything over there.¡± ¡°Oh, how kind of you. Well, that¡¯s all I needed, thank you very much.¡± Volpe turned around, waved at us, and walked away with no worries, just with his usual smile. Kasai and I stepped forward. As soon as we got close to the boss, she got up from the throne. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are¡­ but this has gone on long enough.¡± She kept walking towards us. ¡°You exactly know who I am... Rukito.¡± ¡°How do you know my name?!¡± I yelled. ¡°Honey, step back.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The boss took one more step forward and took off her hoodie. Under it, she had short jet-black hair, some over her eyes as if she was trying to hide them. ¡°W-Who are you?!¡± I asked. She sighed and said, ¡°Of course you don¡¯t remember me¡­ let me explain to you what I¡¯ve been through, Rukito.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She pulled her hair up with her hand and showed her completely black eyes. ¡°What the¡­¡± ¡°You see these? I¡¯ve been possessed by the great deity, Ochiru.¡± ¡°T-The great deity?! You mean the one that created the 7 deities?!¡± ¡°Yes¡­ I was born like this; I guess you could say I¡¯m also a reincarnation of her. Her name is Ochiru Koriyama.¡± I stepped back out of surprise and shock, then said, ¡°But¡­ that¡¯s unbelievable! Why would the great deity care so much for this place?!¡± ¡°She once lost her powers from a battle that happened many billions of years ago¡­ this battle was against Akira.¡± ¡°A-Akira?¡± I suddenly got a headache once again when I heard that name, then, I heard a voice in my head saying, ¡°Rukito¡­ Rukito¡­ run, you have no chance against her.¡± I started rolling on the ground groaning and asked, ¡°W-Who are you?!¡± But the voice didn¡¯t speak again. ¡°Hmm¡­ I see you¡¯re starting to remember.¡± She said. ¡°Remember?! Remember what?!¡± ¡°Rukito, you are the reincarnation of Akira¡­ The one and the only person that was able to stand a chance against Ochiru.¡± I looked up and noticed Kasai jumping at her with her daggers trying to kill her, but the boss instantly teleported right beside me. ¡°What?! I didn¡¯t even see her move!¡± Said Kasai. The boss looked at me and said, ¡°You really don¡¯t remember me, Rukito? I¡¯m Sachi.¡± ¡°S-Sachi?! Again with this name! I don¡¯t know who you are!¡± ¡°¡­ of course not. I have a passive singularity that whoever meets me, they instantly forget about me if we haven¡¯t talked in a whole week¡­ it¡¯s called ¡®Oblivion Memories.¡¯¡± This really bothered me¡­ the fact that I didn¡¯t know who she was since her singularity erased my memories about her without even knowing. But that didn¡¯t matter, she is still a wicked person. I took out my singularity and tried piercing her stomach, but she instantly made a metal spear appeared out of pure darkness and parried my attempt. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you, Ruki¡­¡± ¡°Ruki?! That¡¯s what Kasai used to call me!¡± ¡°And you know why? Because she first heard me saying it.¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± This proved the point that I did use to know her. Kasai tried slicing her again out of nowhere, but she managed to also clash blades with her. ¡°Please, Kasai¡­ I don¡¯t want to hurt you either.¡± ¡°Then stop all of this!¡± She yelled. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ she doesn¡¯t let me.¡± ¡°She? You mean, Ochiru?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes¡­ before, she used to only get control of my body at midnight, but now that I¡¯ve given in to her power, she can control me the whole night. She threatens me that if she doesn¡¯t recover her full power, she will kill all of my friends.¡± ¡°Y-You still can¡¯t do something like that! You¡¯re killing off many people and families for her!¡± Said Kasai. ¡°I know but¡­¡± ¡°How much more energy does she needs?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s at barely 20%...¡± ¡°20%?!¡± I yelled. ¡°I know¡­ I¡¯ve tried killing myself to end all of this, but she still doesn¡¯t allow it¡­ so, please¡­ kill me now, before it¡¯s too late!¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Kasai walked forwards and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Sachi kneeled down, and said, ¡°Thank you¡­ and¡­ it was fun having friends, as long as it lasted.¡± Kasai sighed, and got her negative dagger ready. She got into a stance and quickly swung the dagger at her throat, but in an instant, Sachi grabbed her dagger with her bare hands which were now filled with darkness and said, ¡°No! I SHALL NOT DIE AGAIN!¡± She yelled with a distorted voice while grabbing Kasai¡¯s dagger. Dark energy started surrounding Sachi, all the lights in the cave were flickering. ¡°KASAI STEP MOVE!¡± I said while pushing her away. Sachi opened both of her angel wings, they were huge compared to Shizuka; they also weren¡¯t white, they were pure darkness. The force of the wings opening pushed me off far, crashing against the wall at an incredible speed, making spit blood. ¡°Honey! Are you ok?!¡± Yelled Kasai from a distance. ¡°She¡­ she is not Sachi anymore.¡± Ochiru stood up, flapped her wings, and hovered from the ground, flying in the air looking directly at me below holding her metal spear. ¡°AKIRA! I Won¡¯t die by thy hands ever again!¡± She started screaming. Feathers from her wings started flying all across the room piercing every single thing that they found. Kasai began wall-running while dodging and parrying every single feather trying to pierce her. I unsheathed my Katana making a strong wind towards Ochiru, making the feathers go back at her, but, they didn¡¯t hurt her, they just went straight through her. ¡°I don¡¯t know what has happened in the past between the gods¡­ but I must protect the present!¡± Kasai came wall-running towards me, dropped right beside me and gave me a kiss. ¡°Let me get some positive energy.¡± She said after the kiss. She took out her positive dagger and stabbed herself with it, making her go in overdrive. All her senses were intensified, now she stood a chance against Ochiru more than I did. I took out my spirit wolves, then we all started running towards Ochiru. ¡°This is it! We either kill her now that she is at 20% or never!¡± I yelled. Ochiru threw the spear to the ceiling, to make boulders fall down and crush us. Sachi¡¯s body doesn¡¯t seem that fit, so she probably can¡¯t rely on pure strength alone, she has to strategize. ¡°Watch out, Kasai!¡± But when I saw her, she was so fast that she could jump rock to rock and reach Sachi which was all the way at the top. ¡°I may not have two wings¡­ but I don¡¯t need them to reach you.¡± The boulders were falling down to me, but I quickly managed to cut them in two with my tanto, which was the sharpest blade of my spirit daisho. ¡°Yumi is outside fighting for her life with every single ounce of power she has¡­ she counting on us to kill you!¡± Yelled Kasai as she was about to pierce Ochiru right through her stomach. ¡°S-So fast.¡± Said Ochiru before getting pierced by Kasai¡¯s dagger. Ochiru groaned and fell on the ground below where I was. I quickly got ready and swung my katana. It sliced her back making her fall forwards from me. She slowly got back up, kneeled and said, ¡°I underestimated the girl¡­ yet now I remember. ¡±Said Ochiru. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Rei¡­ ''tis thou, isn''t it?¡± Kasai was gliding down with her devil wing and said, ¡°R-Rei?! You mean the first devil princess?!¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s you¡­ I see that thou and Akira are still lovers e''en ''i this timeline¡­¡± ¡°What are you talking about?!¡± I yelled. She was talking with an old version of our language, but I was still able to understand what she meant, it was still difficult to understand it without context. ¡°Poor children¡­ thou both hast no imagining of how important thy souls are.¡± ¡°Just die already!¡± Yelled Kasai as she went for another attack. "I hast a goal that I must accomplish! I won''t die hither!¡± She started building up dark energy around her whole body to prepare for an attack, but out of nowhere, purple chains appeared around Ochiru and apprehended her, stopping the attack. ¡°Huh? Volpe?!¡± I looked behind me and noticed him tipping his fedora hat saying, ¡°Hey! I thought about it again, and I decided that becoming allies with the both of you will prove beneficial!¡± ¡°Great!¡± Kasai went for the attack, and so did I, slicing an X shape injury on her front and back. She started bleeding a lot, then dropped to the ground. ¡°No¡­ I hast to live¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ but this is it, Ochiru.¡± Said Kasai as she got ready to slice her head off. ¡°K-Kasai, wait¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I leaned in, took out my tanto, and inserted it at the temple of her head to quickly kill her. The darkness suddenly disappeared. The light was able to shine stronger than ever. ¡°I want to bury her¡­ leave her body intact.¡± ¡°Sure¡­ she was your-¡± At this point, all the memories of Sachi came flashing into my head. I now¡­ remember everything, I¡¯m sure Kasai and Shizuka also must have all these flashes in their heads right now. ¡°Yeah¡­ you also remember? Now that she is dead, her singularity disappeared.¡± I told Kasai. ¡°I remember her¡­¡± Volpe walked up to us and asked, ¡°Are you both ok?¡± I looked at him and said, ¡°Yeah, Kasai can heal me, thanks for the help.¡± ¡°No problem, next time I need help, I¡¯m guessing I shall expect you both to come?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course, man. Anytime.¡± I picked up Sachi¡¯s corpse and carried it outside. Yumi and the rest of the crew were outside waiting for us. As soon as they saw me carrying Sachi¡¯s body out they all gave a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± Said Yumi. Every rebel started cheering and screaming. ¡°YES! WE MADE IT!¡± ¡°WE SAVED THE WORLD!¡± As they were all happy from our accomplishment, I walked off with Sachi¡¯s body. I felt awful for her¡­ all she ever wanted was friends, but because of Ochiru, she never was able to have those things. I eventually found a good spot where to bury her, and so I did. Kasai helped me a bit with it, then Yumi and Misaki found us and asked, ¡°You¡­ used to know her?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll explain when we get back,¡± I said. We all recovered from the battles and sailed back to the rebel¡¯s basement. I wanted to introduce Volpe to the group, but before I knew it, he was gone. I cuddled with Kasai in the ship¡¯s sleeping cabinets all the way back since I genuinely felt sorry for killing Sachi, and I promise Kasai that in the end, we were going to cuddle. ¡°You alright?...¡± She asked as we were both hugging each other in the bed. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry sweetheart. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She gazed into my eyes, kissed me and said, ¡°I love you, you know. I don¡¯t like seeing you down like that.¡± I gave her a soft chuckle and said, ¡°I love you too.¡± I got better and better by the second the more I was with her. ¡°Thanks for cheering me up.¡± As said before she kept kissing me to try and bring my mood back to normal. Thirty minutes later, we touch land. We all walk all the way back to the basement were Shizuka was waiting for us. As soon as she saw me, she jumped on top of Kasai and me, then said, ¡°Rukito! Kasai! I was so worried about you two!¡± She was tightly hugging both of us with a genuine smile. We all sat back where the planning room was while all the rebels were screaming in the launch room from the joy of finishing the mission. This was a victory for both humans and cloud elves¡­ but for me¡­ this didn¡¯t feel like a victory. My good friend died¡­ and all she wanted was to have a healthy life with friends like I used to want, and like Kasai used to want¡­ this¡­ feels more like a defeat. It didn¡¯t take long for Shizuka to also notice that I was down. She quickly pulled me to the side of the room and asked if I was ok. I explained everything to her, and then, she soon understood. She gave me a warm hug and said, ¡°Listen, people, die¡­ and that¡¯s just what must happen sometimes.¡± ¡°I know that¡­¡± ¡°You just have to understand that sometimes¡­ you can¡¯t save everyone, Rukito. You can¡¯t help every single person you meet.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was completely silenced by her words, but I understood¡­ this is the reality, and that is something I must face. ¡°Yeah¡­ I know! But only if I saw her suffering before, then maybe¡­¡± ¡°Rukito! Please, use your brain. You¡¯re a smart guy. We both know that no matter what you or anyone did, she was destined to end up like that.¡± ¡°¡­ I guess.¡± She was right at that time, but I was too stubborn when it came to things like these to understand. Kasai walked in from the corner and said, ¡°I have an idea, why don¡¯t we have a party to celebrate the fact that no more people are going to die by black tombstone?¡± ¡°Good idea Kasai!¡± Said Shizuka, ¡°let¡¯s do it at our mansion! We can invite many people!¡± ¡°That sounds cool,¡± I said. Ultimately, we all decided to hold a big party back at the mansion a week from now. We invited Yumi, Misaki, some of the rebels, and my master. Maria couldn¡¯t come since she had researches to take care of. Nightshade also couldn¡¯t come since by then, Yumi would have given her the fruit of phoenix to get her wings back, and then, she would have gone back to the pixie black ash house in Tokiri Islands. We informed both kings that black tombstone was taken care of by the rebels, boosting the influence and respect of the cloud elf kingdom, making Yumi and Misaki really happy and glad towards us. Kasai and I informed the kings that we didn¡¯t want to be given credit for the whole thing, after all, it was Shizuka¡¯s plan. So Shizuka¡¯s popularity grew even more significant in Greenterra. And now, she was also popular in the cloud elf continent. She would eventually become an idol for younger girls to aspire to become when they got older. Shizuka explained everything to me about the chatter she had with the kings about N.A.O.S, National Academy of Singularities. She was planning onto opening it on north Greenterra a year from now; now with the more significant popularity that she has gotten, she was even more motivated to open the academy. She promised Kasai to give her a position in the mentoring field, that made me and especially Kasai very happy. The next day, it was time for Kasai, Shizuka, and I to leave the cloud elf continent and go back to Greenterra. Luckily, the very own priest that opened the portal under the cloud kingdom offered us if we wanted to get back to Greenterra in an instant so we wouldn¡¯t have taken 5 days of traveling. We instantly accepted, and he opened the portal to Greenterra. We were in Yellow Dolphin port. All we had to do was take a carriage to the train station, then take the train back to the mansion. Before taking the carriage, I remembered something. I went to a near flower shop and bought the best flowers they had. Kasai thought it was for her, but it wasn¡¯t¡­ then Shizuka also thought it was for her, but it also wasn¡¯t. We got onto the carriage and began traveling back. I stopped the wagon in the middle of the travel and told him, Kasai, and Shizuka to wait for me a second. I walked in between the woods to find a grave. Yes, Charlotte¡¯s grave. I laid the flower on the grave and said,A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Hey Charlotte, I¡¯m back.¡± She quickly appeared out of nowhere seating on her grave and said, ¡°Rukito! Welcome back!¡± ¡°I promised I was going be back, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yeah, you did! So how were your travels?¡± ¡°How were they you ask?¡± I Scoffed, laid down on the grass looking at the clouds and said, ¡°It was¡­ an emotional rollercoaster.¡± ¡°Huh? What does that mean?¡± ¡°I felt so many emotions that I didn¡¯t think I would ever compare to when I was in the orphanage¡­ I met so many new and amazing friends¡­ I also lost a huge friend of mine.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°At least she can finally rest in peace now¡­¡± ¡°Did you enjoy the adventure?¡± ¡°Yeah, even though it had to bumps in the road, the ride overall was worth it. I got to develop a relationship with Kasai that I never thought could exist. I helped Shizuka get rid of her ugly side, I helped the future cloud queen take confidence on herself, I helped a mafia boss understand to accept her true self, and last but not least¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned more about myself, I¡¯ve improved as a person.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Before this journey, I had no idea of what I was going to do with my life¡­ I had no goals to look forward to, and no motivations to help me keep going. It was the same cycle of the day, over and over.¡± ¡°What changed that?¡± ¡°What changed it?... I guess¡­ having friends did. I didn¡¯t realize how necessary they are in life before all of this.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you found your happiness, Rukito.¡± I got up, smiled at her and said, ¡°Thank you, Charlotte. But I still have a lot about myself that I need to know.¡± I looked at my hand and thought¡­ Akira, who are you? ¡°But, I really enjoy coming here, it makes me feel at peace.¡± ¡°Anytime!¡± I started walking away while waving at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon!¡± ¡°Alright! Bye-bye!¡± I got back onto the carriage, and we proceeded to reach the train station. We got onto the train and started traveling back to the mansion. ¡°This sure brings back memories.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Yup, it sure does.¡± We finally arrived at the mansion, we opened the gate and saw our parents waiting at the front entrance with a smile. Shizuka released her wings and halo, while Kasai released her devil wing. They sure have a lot of explaining to do. ¡°Hey, kids!¡± Said Ayumi while giggling. ¡°I know, I know, we will explain everything.¡± ¡°You better.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Come inside.¡± Said Haruko. We all sat on the couches in the living room. Kasai and Shizuka sat right beside me while our parents sat parallel to us. ¡°Are you kids hungry or-¡± ¡°Explain, now.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Ok, ok!¡± Said Ayumi while giggling. ¡°Where do we start¡­¡± Said Haruko, ¡°We always planned for Rukito to be adopted.¡± ¡°Yeah, that was obvious,¡± I said. ¡°Angel scientists and devil scientist have had a deal since the beginning of time.¡± ¡°Huh? What deal?¡± I asked. ¡°Akira never defeated Ochiru¡­ it ended in a tie.¡± ¡°Ok, ok. The whole thing about the deities¡­ explain right from the beginning.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Very well. The real religion is not Yinarus or Yangamus, it¡¯s actually a mix between both. Long ago, there were these 2 omnipotent beings, Hikari and Ochiru. Hikari existed to create things like planets, people, basically anything. While Ochiru existed to destroy.¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± I said. ¡°Ochiru one day grew annoyed of Hikari, and she thought, ¡®Can¡¯t I just destroy Hikari?¡¯ So she attempted to do so. She managed to kill Hikari, but before Hikari died, he split himself in half, creating two archangel siblings, Akira, and Suisei.¡± ¡°Akira¡­¡± That name always gives me a slight headache. ¡°Ochiru acquired the power to create, but she didn¡¯t want to create anything. Shortly after, the universe started shaking and fading out of existence, since without Hikari, the balance is lost, and without balance, the universe was going to get erased by itself. So she created her 7 children, Lira Deus (Time) Ginga Deus (Space) Zeus Deus (Energy) Bakuretsu Deus (Chemicals) Luminous Deus (Heat) Yoru Deus (Cold) and Greenterra Deus (Nature.) All her children were archangels, and they proceeded to work together and make more planets, galaxies, and normal angels. They one day realized that they needed another race, so they made devils and gave them half of the planet.¡± ¡°What happened to Akira and Suisei?¡± ¡°Ochiru brainwashed them into thinking that they were also her children, but it didn¡¯t take too long for them to figure out that it was all a big fa?ade. Ochiru got worried that she was going to get killed by Akira and Suisei, so she killed Suisei and Akira¡¯s lover.¡± ¡°Akira¡¯s lover?¡± ¡°Yeah, Akira grew fond of the devils. He met this devil princess; her name was Rei. As an archangel, Akira was prohibited to date devils, and they both knew that, but that didn¡¯t stop them from loving each other.¡± ¡°So Ochiru killed his girlfriend for not obeying the rules?¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yes, and she also killed his sister too at that.¡± ¡°Why? Why kill Akira¡¯s lover, and then also kill his sister?!¡± I asked. ¡°Ochiru was scared. Plus, she is supposed to be a destroyer.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s horrible.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°And you Kasai, you are the reincarnation of Rei.¡± ¡°Akira¡¯s girlfriend?!¡± Asked Kasai. ¡°Yes. And since Rukito is the reincarnation of Akira, that means that you and Rukito were meant to be together since you were born.¡± ¡°You knew this all along?!¡± I said. ¡°Well, not really. We went back to the orphanage to check if any other children had the same soul or DNA as any of the past deities, and we found nothing. But we did find Kasai, and she has the same DNA as the same devil princess that dated Akira, so we thought this was perfect for Rukito.¡± ¡°Ok, ok¡­ wow¡­ I got to let all of that sink in first, but, what was this plan that you and the devil scientists have?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh, it was basically an experiment called, ¡®Project New Generation¡¯ it¡¯s about trying to have a hybrid angel and devil child, so I took my daughter, Shizuka to Greenterra. ¡± Said Ayumi. As soon as they said that Shizuka looked down, covered her face while letting out a sigh. ¡°While I, took Rukito to Greenterra.¡± Said Haruko. ¡°S-So you are a devil? And¡­ my real dad?!¡± ¡°Yeah! Luckily my son was the reincarnation of Akira this time.¡± ¡°T-This time?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Ochiru always ends up killing every single reincarnation, so I also quickly took you here to protect you from her.¡± I had no idea of how to react to this¡­ I was glad that he was my real dad, but¡­ wait¡­ ¡°Then how do I remember being in an orphanage?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry about that¡­ I had to leave you alone for a couple years since Ochiru was about to find me again, and we didn¡¯t want that to happen.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± ¡°I hope you can understand, son.¡± ¡°Oh no, I understand¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ a lot to take in right now.¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T UNDERSTAND!¡± Yelled Shizuka, ¡°You could have used any two adults to have a hybrid baby! Why did you have to use us?!¡± ¡°Shizuka, calm down.¡± Said her mother. ¡°Two adult angel and devil can¡¯t have a child together¡­ we had to take two babies and change their DNAs so they could have children when they were older.¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T CARE! You know how much I¡¯ve suffered?! Because you thought it was a good idea to use your child as a guinea pig!¡± She yelled to her mother as she stormed off to her room. ¡°That little girl¡­ she doesn¡¯t understand how important all of this is.¡± Said Ayumi. I sighed and said, ¡°She does have every reason to get mad though.¡± They both looked at us and said, ¡°How about you two? I noticed you both have an engagement ring.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, we got engaged a couple of days ago.¡± Said Kasai. They smiled and said, ¡°Well, nothing less to be expected from destined lovers.¡± ¡°W-what about Shizuka? Now you both can¡¯t finish the deal.¡± Said Kasai. ¡°It¡¯s fine, this deal has been going on for millennia, another little failure won¡¯t make it much of a difference; plus, you both got together, and that¡¯s also important. You both may actually end up having the strongest devil ever, and we could use him to finally kill Ochiru.¡± ¡°Actually¡­ we killed Ochiru.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go as far as say kill. She will reincarnate into someone else, and the same thing will happen.¡± ¡°W-What?! Then how do you stop her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we are trying to figure out¡­ hopefully, we can find that answer soon. We hoped that maybe with a hybrid angel and devil we could finally manage to banish her, that¡¯s why we made this deal between angels and devils.¡± ¡°Ah, ok¡­ but wait if Akira was an angel¡­ then why am I a devil?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a story for another day.¡± Said, my father. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve already heard so much that I got a headache.¡± I got up with Kasai. ¡°And here I wanted a normal life¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of hard to describe anything as normal nowadays.¡± Said Ayumi. ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± I sighed and said, ¡°So is that why you let us go on this trip? Because you knew that it was going to develop our relationship with each other?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly why.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you afraid that Ochiru might have killed us all?¡± ¡°Yes, but that was just a small variable.¡± Said Ayumi. I sighed. There is no reason into getting mad at them¡­ they are just scientists who love what they do, they must take risks like these. ¡°Whatever...¡± I said while grabbing Kasai¡¯s hand and walking upstairs towards Shizuka¡¯s room. Both Kasai and I tried our best to make Shizuka feel better, but she just wanted some alone time. It was a lot for her to take in¡­ in fact, it was a lot for all of us. A week passes by, Kasai and I so far have been trying to comfort Shizuka as much as possible, and it has been slowly working. She joined us to watch movies every now and then, which was helping her a lot. Tonight was the night of the party; I told my parents about it, so they were ready for it. They were actually really excited to meet some of the advent children. Yumi and Misaki both arrive with beautiful yellow, matching dresses, the rebels also came to join the party and spice it up, while some cloud elves that were here just to talk with Shizuka since now she was more popular. My master, on the other hand, is late like always. The party started, and it was actually pretty fun. I walked around with Kasai meeting new people and having friendly little chats with each one of them. Kasai was wearing a beautiful, long, red dress. She had golden sandals and a golden bracelet. We walked outside to the balcony where we could be alone under the moonlight. ¡°You look so beautiful tonight¡­¡± I said while I lost myself into her lovely dual-colored eyes. She giggled and said, ¡°Just tonight?¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°No, not just tonight,¡± I pulled her closer to me and said while staring deeply into her eyes, and her gentle red lips, ¡°But the more I kiss you, the more attractive you get.¡± She smiled, got really close to my face and said, ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± We slowly started kissing ever so softly. Again, this feeling of love I have towards her is truly the best feeling ever. We stopped kissing, then she asked, ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s next?¡± ¡°What¡¯s next?... I don¡¯t know,¡± I looked up to the moon and said, ¡°These Divine Gemstones thingies¡­ if we find all of them, we could gather all of the archangels back again to erase Ochiru from existence.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Sounds fun.¡± I looked back at her and said, ¡°Yeah but¡­ sometimes I worry¡­ you know.¡± ¡°Worry? About what?¡± ¡°You¡­ all of these things that we are involved in are extremely dangerous, and I know that you¡¯re a strong girl that could break any wall in front of you¡­ but¡­ if you died¡­ I don¡¯t know what I would do without you.¡± She giggled, pinched my cheek and said, ¡°Look how cute you are all worried about me and stuff.¡± I blushed and said, ¡°S-shut up¡­ you never know.¡± ¡°Well, if something like that were to happen, you will be there to protect me, right?¡± She said with a smile. ¡°Right¡­ of course I will,¡± I said while looking down. She grabbed my face with both of her gentle hands, looked at me straight in the eyes, and said, ¡°And remember, if anything, I¡¯ll always come back to you¡­ one way or the other.¡± ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford to disappear from existence without having children with you first!¡± ¡°Yeah but¡­ how would you stop death?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Wait¡­ w-what? I¡¯m so confused!¡± She started giggling, tapped my nose and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, honey.¡± We walked back. Kasai decided to talk to Yumi while I started looking for Shizuka. I noticed that she was seated alone in the corner of the room looking down. She was wearing a well-designed white dress and silver sandals. This time, she let her hair down, so she looked exactly like I wanted her to. I decided to take another chair and sit right beside her. She had a melancholic look on her face when I saw her, but as soon as she saw me seating beside her, it quickly transformed into a smile. ¡°Hey, Shizu! What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hey! It¡¯s nothing, I just¡­ wanted to be alone for a while; people have been talking to me since the party started.¡± ¡°Ah, makes sense.¡± She was barely making eye contact. I didn¡¯t think that she was still bothered by her parents, I guess¡­ that it might be because she has no couple. Most people that came here have couples, and I¡¯m guessing that made her feel bad¡­ maybe I should comfort her. I moved my chair closer to her, wrapped my arm around her and softly pulled her in close to me. ¡°R-Rukito, what are you-¡± She started blushing. I softly started caressing her hair while smiling and said, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Kasai and I agreed that I could cuddle with Shizuka as long as if it was only to comfort her. ¡°I¡­ I just don¡¯t think I¡¯m worthy of all the idolization and praises that I get from those people¡­ they think that I¡¯m this amazing person, but in reality, I¡¯ve made many wrong things.¡± This was normal for me. Any person who suddenly gets popular will have this type of feeling inside them if they are not psychopathic. ¡°Aww come on, we both know you¡¯re better than this! Where did all your pride go?¡± ¡°That was the old me; I¡¯m not that arrogant anymore.¡± ¡°I know. This is why I believe you changed¡­ saying things like this, acting so kindly to Kasai, being understanding and mature about everything¡­ you really have changed, Shizuka; you truthfully are an amazing person.¡± She then started slightly tearing up. ¡°T-thank you¡­ you know¡­ even though you¡¯re in a relationship¡­ even though you probably don¡¯t feel the same way¡­ I will always love you.¡± I had no idea how to respond such thing¡­ I stood there silent for a while until then, I said, ¡°Of course I love you too Shizuka, it¡¯s just not the same type of love that I feel for Kasai. I still care very, very, very much about you; you and Kasai mean the world to me.¡± She smiled, then said, ¡°Thank you, Rukito. For what I¡¯ve done¡­ I don¡¯t deserve such forgiveness.¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t say that.¡± I slowly got up, and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to use the bathroom really quick. I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be here waiting.¡± I went to the bathroom, used it, and came back. When I came back, I had a weird feeling chilling up my spine¡­ not sure what it was at that moment, but I tried looking for Shizuka, but she was gone. I tried looking for Kasai, but she was also gone. I tried looking for anybody else that I knew, but they were all missing. ¡°What the hell?...¡± Then, I suddenly heard three knocks coming from the main door. I rushed towards it, and slowly opened it. Instantly, when I opened the door, everyone¡¯s face in the room switched from a happy, joyful smile, into a terrified, and trembling expression. Opening the door, I remember thousands of sharp feathers flying into the room and killing off every single person that was behind me, one by one. No mercy¡­ Man, Women, even children, and babies were sliced by thousands of extremely sharp feathers. Hearing cries and screams being silenced one by one¡­ while I was still looking at the person in front of me with a shocked expression. ¡°Hey, Ruki. I¡¯m back.¡± Said¡­ Ochiru, standing right in front of me, yes, the person that just killed dozens of people behind me was Ochiru. Her voice was distorted with a tone of a mix of rage and sorrow. ¡°I had a feeling you were going to be back¡­ just not this early.¡± I said. Ochiru started laughing and said, ¡°Do you like my entrance?! I tried to make it cool and scary!¡± I was disgusted by what she just said. ¡°Shut up you monster! You just murdered many people without a single look of concern!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that¡­ they hurt me, you know?¡± ¡°How can an angel be so evil¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Ruki. Angels and devils are just two different races. The fact that one is evil and one is not, doesn¡¯t exist¡­ they can both be terrifying and lovely. Angels were smart to trick humans to think that they are good while devils are pure evil.¡± ¡°¡­Where did you take my friends?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about them. I¡¯m taking good care of them!¡± I got furious and grabbed her cape. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me! If I see a single scratch on any of them, you¡¯re going to pay even more, and I¡¯ll make sure to kill you too this time!¡± Suddenly, I got pushed away by the person¡¯s wings and fell to the floor. ¡°Ruki! Are you ok?! Sorry I can¡¯t control them that well, I-¡± ¡°SHUT UP! Don¡¯t act like we are friends you weird fuck!¡± ¡°Tsk, I see you still don¡¯t remember anything, Akira.¡± The person snapped its fingers, and all my friends were lined up in front of me in cages. Shizuka, Yumi, Misaki, Hachimura and even my parents. But Kasai was still missing. ¡°Maybe I need to kill one of them to bring back your senses.¡± The person made 10 swords appear in the sky floating around each person¡¯s cage. ¡°What?!¡± As I was going to get up, I noticed that feathers were pinning me down to the floor. ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°Now¡­ who should I murder in front of you?¡± ¡°Stop!¡± I heard every single person in the cages calling for my help, but I was there powerless pinned down to the floor. ¡°How about we kill¡­¡± ¡°STOP IT!¡± I Yelled. I tried using every ounce of power in my body to move, but I couldn¡¯t. I tried activating my singularity, but it didn¡¯t work, these feathers and maybe even those cages might have something that doesn¡¯t allow the people to use their singularities, or else, Yumi and Misaki could have easily escaped. ¡°Now that I took complete control of Sachi¡¯s body, I gained all her memories and even the modern language¡­¡± ¡°Leave her body alone already!¡± ¡°Now it¡¯s time for you to remember every single memory of Akira!¡± ¡°They have nothing to do with this! Please!¡± ¡°How about¡­ you choose which one I should kill.¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± ¡°You heard me¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t do such thing!¡± ¡°You get 10 seconds, Akira.¡± ¡°I said I can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Nine¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Eight¡­¡± Choosing someone? I can¡¯t do such thing¡­ They are all vital to me¡­ I looked at Shizuka and noticing that she was the only one not gagged. She was just looking down with a sad look on her face. ¡°Rukito¡­ pick me.¡± ¡°W-What?! I can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Six¡­¡± ¡°COME ON! STOP BEING A COWARD!¡± I¡¯m not stupid¡­ I know that she is taunting me to pick her. ¡°Four¡­¡± Why¡­ why does it have to be me?! ¡°If you don¡¯t pick, I¡¯ll kill all of them.¡± Said Ochiru. I knew I had to pick someone, but every time I looked at each one of them, I couldn¡¯t help myself but to not pick them. ¡°Three¡­¡± I¡­ I can¡¯t. ¡°Two¡­¡± ¡°RUKITO!¡± Yelled Shizuka. My thoughts were disappearing from my head, everything was getting filled with hatred, anger, and self-conflict. Chaos enveloped my brain, I had lost the ability to control my emotions once again. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the last time I felt this, but I definitely couldn¡¯t think straight without the thought of killing. ¡°One¡­¡± I felt half of my body getting enveloped by darkness. One wing grew out of my back once again, and two horns appeared on my head out of nowhere. ¡°Zero¡­¡± All of the swords around the people quickly started going down towards them. Time slowed down; my body¡¯s instinct was to rush towards Shizuka out of all of my friends and grab five swords, while the other five pierced my body instead of hers. Unfortunately¡­ I wasn¡¯t quick enough to stop the other ones, so all of my friends were¡­ dead. ¡°R-Rukito?¡± Asked Kasai, walking in from another room, ¡°W-What¡­ happened?¡± ¡°There you are! AKIRA!¡± Said Ochiru. As soon as I looked at Kasai, I started tearing up. My powers faded away. She noticed every single person in the cages, except Shizuka, dead. Blood was filling up the floor extremely fast, their bodies were¡­ you could barely even see the bodies being pierced by 10 swords from almost every angle. Kasai rushed towards Ochiru with anger. She activated her singularity mid-way, but Ochiru instantly teleported in front of her, and punched her in the abdomen, making her spit out a lot of blood as she got launched into a wall breaking it down. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me now¡­ all of those people¡¯s magic flow, my power has increased to 50%!¡± Her wings appeared once again, but this time, there was also a dark, double halo on top of her head. Yumi and Misaki¡¯s magic flow definitely was massive¡­ that fed her up all the way till 50%?! ¡°50%?... Impossible¡­ we can¡¯t beat her anymore.¡± I said. I then heard the voice inside of my head saying, ¡°Run¡­ LEAVE!¡± I quickly removed the five swords that were piercing me. Took out my singularity, opened Shizuka cage, and picked her up. I noticed that she fainted from the shock. ¡°Come on Shizuka¡­ I¡¯m not leaving you behind.¡± Kasai got up from the rubble, walked towards me and said, ¡°Wait¡­ let me heal you.¡± She took out her positive dagger and proceeded to heal me with them. ¡°It¡¯s futile¡­ heal each other all you want, but you¡¯re not getting out of here alive.¡± Said Ochiru while crossing her arms. All my wounds healed. I held Shizuka more firmly and started running away. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kasai. We can¡¯t beat her¡­¡± ¡°I realized that from a single punch¡­ she broke my ribs, but I managed to heal them.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry!¡± We kept running and running. We knew that Ochiru was just toying with us at this point¡­ in fact¡­ I¡¯m sure we both knew that we weren¡¯t going to run away from her¡­ was this it? It got to the point that Kasai and I stopped, looked at each other, and then I said, ¡°We have to fight¡­ we have no choice.¡± I laid Shizuka on the floor and walked beside Kasai. She looked at me and kissed me. Then, she activated her singularity once again and went into overdrive. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­¡± but as soon as she said that, Ochiru teleported in front of me, grabbed my face, and said, ¡°Let me show you your deepest fear¡­¡± Kasai tried slicing Ochiru, but every single attempt that she tried, Ochiru dodge every single one by teleporting left and right with me. Even though Kasai was in overdrive, she wasn¡¯t fast enough¡­ ¡°Kasai¡­ take Shizuka, and run¡­¡± I said before my vision turned black. I suddenly started having visions and nightmares. They were all about Kasai killing herself¡­ countless of times. First, it was her in her old home actually succeeding in the attempts of killing herself. Then, it was just many and many different scenarios of her dying by the hands of Ochiru. I tried saving her in every single situation, but¡­ I couldn¡¯t touch her; my hands just went through her. It¡¯s just a vision Rukito¡­ calm down¡­ ironically enough, I was saying that as I was already starting to transform back into my devil form. The last vision I remember was very similar to the current situation I was in. Kasai grabbed Shizuka who fainted and started running away with her from Ochiru. Ochiru started sending feathers towards Kasai, piercing every single muscle tissue in her legs making her unable to stand, but she was still holding Shizuka and protecting her as much as she could. ¡°S-Shizuka, you can¡¯t die here, I¡¯ve got you.¡± She was bleeding from wounds on both of her legs. She kneeled down. Ochiru sent even more feathers to toy around with Kasai, this time, piercing all the muscle tissues in her arms, making Shizuka fall. ¡°You¡¯re more useful than me¡­ you¡¯re much smarter.¡± She used her own body to shields the remaining arrows flying towards Shizuka. ¡°Just¡­ take care of Rukito for me¡­ ok?¡± She fell on the ground bleeding even more¡­ frozen in shock, I still believed it was a vision. I unconsciously ran to grab Kasai and all this time¡­ it wasn¡¯t a vision¡­ all of this was real¡­ I managed to pick up her head. ¡°Kasai?... no¡­ this is still a vision right?¡± But no response¡­ she¡­ was not here anymore. ¡°She is gone, Akira. This is your realit¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± I moved Kasai¡¯s hair off of her face and said, ¡°Kasai¡­ this¡­ is a vision¡­ right?¡± Tears starting building up in my eyes. The dirt and ashes from the ground started slowly rising around us. I could feel that something inside of me¡­ was soon about to snap. ¡°Kasai¡­ wake up¡­ come on, you¡¯re stronger than this¡­ please¡­¡± my master once told me that the scariest thing in the world was a man with nothing to lose. What am I right now? No¡­ she is not dead, she can¡¯t be dead. ¡°We were going to build a family, remember? You can¡¯t die on me! I didn¡¯t even get to say that I love you one last time!¡± I started crying. Never in my life, I¡¯ve felt such pain; nothing physical could ever hurt me this much. The same wolf that once played with Kasai appeared out of nowhere and started licking her cheeks while crying, in hopes of her getting up. ¡°This is the end, Akira.¡± ¡°You¡­ you took everything from me¡­ my friends¡­ my love¡­ my mentor¡­ my future.¡± The ground started shaking, I completely lost sight of everything. I took out my singularity one last time, but since I didn¡¯t have focus whatsoever, my sheath was black with flames surrounding it. Discord filled my entire body, even my soul. I unsheathed the katana slowly, and as I did, the same wolf that was with Kasai, looked up at Ochiru and started getting mangled black fur, glowing red eyes that stroke fear to whatever it saw, super speed capable of outrun angels and devils, and the bite strength of a Nile crocodile; more and more hellhounds then started appearing around me. I slowly got back up on my feet, faced Ochiru with the hellhounds beside me. ¡°Y-You think you can beat me?!¡± Suddenly, all the hellhounds started howling. The deep, and dark howls were sending chills up Ochiru¡¯s spine. Out of nowhere, I remembered Kasai saying, ¡°Well, if something like that were to happen, you will be there to protect me, right?¡±¡­ I snapped. A beam of negative energy shot up in the sky, completing my devil form. It suddenly started storming, I didn¡¯t waste time and instantly cut both of Ochiru¡¯s wings in the blink of an eye. This didn¡¯t feel satisfying¡­ I turned around, sheathed my blade and started punching Ochiru as hard as I could while the hellhounds began running towards her. ¡°Tsk, y-you filthy devil!¡± There was so much rage built up inside of me¡­ but I couldn¡¯t scream¡­ instead, I let every single punch that I threw let out the anger I had in me. I stopped, the hellhounds arrived and bit all of her limbs, detaching them from her body. ¡°AAAH!!¡± She groaned. She instantly used the darkness to re-grow the missing limbs, but I grabbed her head and ran away as fast as I could while dragging her across the floor. We reached a moving train, I smashed her face across the moving train and ran the opposite way, afterward, I grabbed her even stronger and slammed her against the floor making a crater. I got on top of her and started punching her repeatably. With every single punch that hit her, the crater got deeper and deeper. While all of the rage built up inside of me was getting released, I kept having multiple flashbacks of the sweet memories I¡¯ve had with Kasai, fueling my flames even stronger. I got to the point that I stopped, slowly walked away, while the hellhound that initially transformed walked in towards Ochiru that was on the floor and started ferociously biting her, or almost eating her alive. The fear and pain in Ochiru¡¯s eyes were priceless. ¡°This world¡­ doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± When I was out the crater, I quickly lashed out in anger and started destroying every single thing that I saw. I instantly arrived at Silver Stream, ran up the skyscrapers, took out my katana, and with a single swing of the blade, cut them in half. ¡°The entire world¡­ is rotten¡­¡± I looked below me and noticed 10 old people appeared through a portal¡­ they must be those infamous elders. They all tried to seal my powers away like that one time the constellation priest once tried, but my consciousness was too lost. I was the pure personification of rage and hatred. ¡°W-We can¡¯t hold him!¡± ¡°Get back to the portal! We¡¯re going to die!¡± They then quickly got back into the portal and closed it, right as I was about to kill them all. Continuing my rampage, I think I destroyed most of the Phoenix province¡­ and maybe even more¡­ my memories of that time are too blurry to remember precisely what happened. I do remember though that I got back to the Aizawa mansion, now half destroyed. I started to completely destroy that too, until then, I ran into Shizuka who was now awake. ¡°R-Rukito? Is that you? Please¡­ stop this.¡± She was in complete tears. Never in my life, I¡¯ve seen her cry this much. I wish I could have stopped at that moment, but I ignored her continuing to destroy every single thing that I saw, luckily she didn¡¯t get harmed. It got to the point that I ran into Kasai¡¯s body. I instantly came back to my senses and picked her up into my arms. ¡°Kasai¡­ I miss you already¡­¡± I instantly got a flashback at the back of my head of two people that looked almost identical to us, I guess that those were Akira and Rei when Ochiru killed Rei. I grew my remaining wing, then flew all the way up into the sky and flew away, as far as I possibly could. I think I got so far that I reached south Greenterra. I found the best spot possible where to burry Kasai, facing the rising sun. I then got another flashback, ¡°Well, then what about me? What if I died?¡± ¡°If you died?... I¡­ would like first burry you, then burn the world to the ground, then come back to your grave where I would just stay there¡­ waiting till my day''s end.¡± That¡¯s right¡­ I remember that. ¡°Maybe I should just stay here with you¡­¡± I laid Kasai on the ground, walked back and slammed my katana against the ground, slowly splitting the whole continent in half, making many tsunamis and earthquakes, my katana broke by the amount of force I put into it¡­ I think I won¡¯t be able to use it anymore; but Kasai and I were safe, I made a safety shield around our whole entire zone where I could bury her in peace. ¡°You know Kasai¡­ even though it came to this¡­ our adventure¡­ it was fun.¡± I opened a deep hole, softly laid her into to it, kissed her forehead one last time, and closed the hole. I sat on top of the grave, closed my eyes, and said, ¡°I hope we can be with each other in the afterlife, sweetheart¡­¡± I took out my tanto and tried stabbing myself in the chest with it, but something pulled my arm away. This feeling¡­ Kasai doesn¡¯t want me to die; she¡¯s right¡­ maybe I should try to keep going if that¡¯s what she wants¡­ but without her, I¡¯m nothing¡­ my mind went utterly blank; that was the last thing I remembered that happened. I didn¡¯t know what happened to Shizuka, I didn¡¯t know what happened to the whole continent. I just lashed out and made an apocalypse from the pain of losing everything. One last flashback raised up¡­ this was right after I proposed to her. ¡°I will do everything in my power to raise our future children¡­¡± said Kasai. ¡°I will do everything in my power to protect all of you.¡± ¡°I love you¡­ and I will, forever¡­¡± ¡°And ever¡­¡± END
Epilogue of V.1: The Beginning
"If only life had a reset button, it would make everything so much easier. But even if it had, those memories will stay engraved in our souls." -Fuji Chisei
I had many dreams while I was in a deep coma that I can¡¯t recall; at this point, I thought I was dead¡­ but wait¡­ why did I die? I slowly opened my eyes realizing that I had a throbbing headache. I woke up in a room that I¡¯ve never seen before. It had cement walls, a couple of candles here and there that were off; dust particles moving through the rays of light that were shining through the little cracks of the wooden window. Where the hell am I? I slowly got up from the bed and noticed that I had casual clothes, a white T-shirt, brown cargo pants, and white socks. Was is the last thing I remember? I tried recalling back my memories, but nothing came to mind, not even my name, age, families nor what the present time was. I noticed a bowl with clean water by my bed; someone must have been taking care of me. I went up to a mirror and saw that I had brown hair and black eyes. ¡°Hmm... I don''t look half bad!¡± Right now I felt as if I was inside another person''s body. Like if I invaded their life out of nowhere... it was a weird feeling. I looked down on my neck and noticed I had a golden heart locket-necklace, I opened it, and there was a picture of a charming girl that had crimson hair and dual-colored eyes. ¡°Wow¡­ she is so charming. I wonder who she is, and what did she mean to this person?¡± As I was looking at myself, the door slowly opened, letting out a screech. A young woman around the age of 20 opened the door, she had another bowl with some more clean water on her hands. As soon as she saw me, she dropped the bowl on the floor, gasped and covered her mouth. ¡°Good... morning?¡± ¡°You''re finally awake!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Who... am I?¡± I asked. She took a deep breath, sat down on the bed and said, ¡°Come here, I''ll explain everything.¡± Without hesitations, I sat next to this mysterious woman; the curiosity of my past was killing me. I started looking at her even more. She was wearing a maid outfit, she also had her brown hair in twin braids; personally, I think she looked very gorgeous. I looked into her eyes as fast as I could to not make it awkward and noticed that she had beautiful pink eyes.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Wow... you''re eyes... they are pretty!¡± She got startled and said, "Oh! Thank you." She said with a smile and a blush. I crossed my legs and looked straight at her with a curious smile. "So, who am I?" "Your name is Rukito, and you''ve been in a coma for 1 entire year." "A coma? For a year?!" "Yeah, I found you at the edge of the south coast and decided to take you in." "What was I doing there?" "You... went on a rampage a year ago, killing many people and... splitting the continent in half." "M-me?!" "Yeah, you''re a devil Rukito, a powerful one at that!" This all sounded like a fairy tale, but I have no one else to believe in, so I have no other choice than to have faith in what she is telling me, she doesn''t seem like a liar. "Why... why would I kill so many people?" "I don''t know that part... but I brought you in hoping that I could... change you, but as I see, you have no memories of what happened." "I was... a horrible person." "That doesn''t matter anymore, you don''t have any memories." "Yeah, but... I am mad at myself now." "Well, you''re being hunted by the whole world right now... so I changed your hair color and eye color for your safety." "Wait, really? What color do they use to be?" "You had red hair and golden eyes." I noticed that these were the same colors that the girl in my necklace had, so maybe¡­ she was my sister? "Wow... such weird colors." She softly giggled and said, "Don''t say that! You actually didn''t look bad." I smiled at her, bowed and said, "Thank you so much for helping me..." I instantly looked up and said, "Wait, I never got your name." "It''s Fuji." "Thank you, Fuji." "Don''t mention it; I always help people who are in need." "Weren''t you scared?" "I was... but the urge to help you was stronger than my fears." "You''re a nice person, Fuji." "So, what are you planning on doing?" She asked me. "Hmmm... I''d like to stay here for a bit if you don''t mind. I would love to hear more about this world and many other things I don''t know. But for some reason... I remember one specific thing out of everything that I forgot," I said while looking to the side. "What is it?" She asked while tilting her head. "I need to find all of the divine gemstones... and it''s vital that I do before it''s too late." Prologue: Awakening (Volume 2: Brotherhood ↓↓↓)
Weeks passed after I woke up from my coma. Fuji talked about everything I should know, like, singularities, different races, the mystical war, the apocalypse, and many other things I should keep in mind. She also said that I should stay hidden for as long as I possibly can; if I was found, I was sure bound to be killed, so my name is now Kaiser; Rukito is now in the past¡­ I found myself getting easily irritated and annoyed by most people, but Fuji was one of the few people that I didn¡¯t mind talking a lot to. One of the few people that I actually cared about, Fuji and her three children. Yes, she has three children, two boys, and one girl. Ralon, Ethan, and Maya. They are all the same age, she must have had triplets, but she insists on not telling me who the father is. We were stationed in a church in the east of South Greenterra. Fuji was the maiden that cleaned it every day, so she was allowed to be here for free with her children. Now that I split the continent in half, there¡¯s South Greenterra, and North Greenterra, I really made a mess¡­ luckily, the coasts were safe since strong people from the military used their singularity to stop the tsunamis and ease the earthquakes. The Greenterra king has a sister, so she became the queen of North Greenterra since the former king resides in the south, he can¡¯t control north from south, so he sent his sister north so she could rule the north continent. N.A.O.S was open in North Greenterra, which stands for National Academy of Singularities, with the principal of the whole school and district being a famous girl named, Shizuka Aizawa. By what I¡¯ve heard of her, she seems to be an intelligent woman; not only that, but she holds the title of the most beautiful girl in the world ranked by the national beauty contest. She is an angel after all. I decided that I was ready to find these gemstones, but before I started my solo journey, I needed to recover some of my memories; I really want to know what brought me to the point of doing such horrible things. I was meditating this whole time in my room, but I can never stay focused. The door slowly creaked open, and I heard a voice saying, ¡°Rukito!- I mean, Kaiser! I just found out something about you.¡± It was Fuji¡¯s voice. She entered the room and added, ¡°Your singularity is broken¡­ I don¡¯t think you can use it anymore.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that sucks. I really wanted to start fighting, my body feels rusty.¡± ¡°But I also have good news!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± She walked away, grabbed a big silver case, and brought it to me. ¡°I¡¯ve been working on this for years¡­¡± She said as she opened the case, revealing a white gauntlet with a futuristic look. ¡°What is this? It looks amazing.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t given it a name yet. It¡¯s just called, ¡®Prototype Silent.¡¯¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°I used red laser manipulation to form the shape of a blade. As of this version, it doesn¡¯t melt things, but it does cut and burn. The blade comes out of the top of the gauntlet, so you don¡¯t have to worry about losing the grip of the sword.¡± ¡°Wow! That¡¯s amazing, Fuji!¡± She giggled and said, ¡°That¡¯s not all, it can also activate a smaller, but sharper blade at the bottom of the gauntlet that can assassinate people in an instant, not only that, but you can also launch that blade from the bottom and control it in mid-air, kind of like a ballistic knife.¡± I walked up to her and gave her a hug of appreciation. ¡°Thank you so much! You have done too much for me.¡± She hugged me back while smiling and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡°by the way, how do you have such advanced technolog-¡± As we were hugging, her three children ran up to us and said, ¡°AAAH! Mommy and Mr. Kaiser are together!¡± ¡°Beat him!¡± The boys started lightly punching me while Maya pulled Fuji away. These kids were around the age of four. Fuji giggled and said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you all playing outside?¡± ¡°Yes, but we are hungry!¡± ¡°Alright-alright. Excuse me, Kaiser.¡± She said while looking back at me, slightly blushing of embarrassment. ¡°That¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll see how to use this gauntlet.¡± Fuji left with her children. I sat on the bed with the gauntlet and started playing around with it. I ended up almost cutting the bed in half, opening holes in the ceiling, and burning myself quite a bit, but in the end, I managed to understand how it works¡­ well, just a bit. I looked down to my necklace, opened it, and saw this picture of this gorgeous girl again that I¡¯m guessing was my sister. I promise¡­ I¡¯ll remember you. Are you still out there? Maybe she is also looking for me. I need to find someone that can help me remember all of my past memories¡­ but who can that person be? She must have a strong magic flow. Shizuka Aizawa¡­ maybe she can help me. But how is a nobody like me going to meet with her? Perhaps I can go to this academy and see if I can to talk her face to face, she must be the strongest one, so she has to know how to help me, if not, one of her students might have a healing singularity that can help my problem. I don¡¯t want to leave Fuji by herself though. Or perhaps I should¡­ I can bring many issues to her if they find me here. I should probably talk to her.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I walked out of my room and went to the second floor. Fuji was cooking. Meanwhile, I tried to slowly walk up behind her and scare her for fun, but as soon as I got close to her, she turned around, looked at me with her pink eyes and said, ¡°Hey, something wrong, Kaiser?¡± ¡°H-huh?! How did-¡± She instantly looked around my whole body with an incredible eye movement speed. ¡°You burned yourself?! You dummy!¡± She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the dining table. I sat down, she dipped a towel in cool water and gently started applying it on the burns. ¡°You don¡¯t really have to¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± I mumbled. She looked up to me with a serious expression and pressed the towel harder. I felt a sudden pain of a thousand needles piercing me in the same spot. ¡°Ah! What the hell?!¡± ¡°See? You¡¯re not fine. Stop acting so tough, it can get you killed.¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± I mumbled once again. She took bandages and wrapped my arms with them. ¡°So, you wanted to tell me something?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ but first, how do you have access to such advanced technology?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ it¡¯s a long story for another day.¡± ¡°Are you an angel?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not an angel.¡± ¡°A devil?!¡± ¡°Negative.¡± ¡°A cloud elf?¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯ll tell you another time.¡± ¡°Well, whatever, I still care about you either way.¡± ¡°T-Thanks.¡± She said while smiling. I was fortunate about the fact that she was the one who found me. If it were anyone else, I would have been dead. ¡°Secondly, I¡¯m going to leave today. I¡¯ll be making my way up to the North Continent to meet with Aizawa, if not, I¡¯ll search for someone in the academy that can help me recover my memories.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± She frowned, looked down, then said, ¡°Are you sure that is what you want to do, Kaiser?¡± I laid my hand on her shoulder and said, ¡°I appreciate everything you have done for me Fuji, but I need to go and recover my memories. After I do, I promise I will come back. You and I will look together for the Divine Gemstones, ok?¡± ¡°That¡¯s something dangerous to put my children through¡­ I just want you to come back safe, Rukito¡­¡± I smiled, hugged her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll come back in one piece, I promise. But first, I also want to eat your perfect cooking!¡± As we were hugging again, the children ran up the stairs, saw us, and yelled, ¡°Kill him!¡± I started chuckling as I was getting filled with a barrage of punches. I ate, then started packing my stuff in a backpack to get ready and leave for North Greenterra. I still had that painite crystalis ring I woke up with. I haven¡¯t used it since it would attract too much attention, but at this point, I need the money to travel. I also needed an outfit that kept me on a low profile. Maybe something with a hood that doesn¡¯t have any strong colors like red and yellow. I went outside and saw Fuji waiting for me at the exit of the church. ¡°Hey, Kaiser.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I also wanted to give you one last thing before you go, it will help you go through your journey without being noticed much.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± We both walked away under the church through a secret passage. ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°I found this little passage when I first arrived here. It was never discovered by anyone, but unfortunately, it didn¡¯t have anything. But I did find a spot where to put the important things that I used to use.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ so this gauntlet that you gave me¡­ you used to use it?¡± ¡°Yeah, it has never failed me.¡± I was starting to get more and more curious. I really wanted to know who Fuji was, but I respect her decisions, so if she wants to wait to tell me, then so I shall wait. She opened a chest that was at the end of the corridor. Grabbed what seemed to be one of those robes that priests and high nuns wear. They were white with a big hood that covered their face from the sun, making a dark shadow envelop someone¡¯s face. ¡°Why are you giving me this?¡± ¡°This is not just a normal priest robe; this robe changes color based on the surrounding to camouflage yourself. If you are in a city with many people passing by, it will turn white disguising yourself as a priest. If you are in the night, it will turn black to almost be unseen. If you are in a forest, it will turn dark green to seem like a cloud elf. If you are sailing on an ocean, it will turn dark blue to make you seem like a captain.¡± ¡°W-wow¡­¡± This advanced technology... how can she do this? ¡°The robe is designed in a certain way that just changing the color will make it look like different but similar styles being used by already existing people. If you want to deactivate it and just leave it on the default color, which is white, just don¡¯t put the hood on. Without the hood, the robe color shouldn¡¯t change color, it will actually turn into a normal hoodie jacket to make you seem like a normal person, but it will not hide you as well.¡± ¡°Is this all from your singularity?!¡± ¡°I told you already that I don¡¯t have a singularity, this is all advanced technology.¡± ¡°But¡­ why do you have things like this? I would never expect such a charming and peaceful girl like you to have deadly things like these.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the point¡­ I used to live a bad life that I didn¡¯t like, Kaiser. But after I decided I wanted children, I had to leave all of those things behind, and start a new life. I¡¯ll tell you once you come back.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Well thank for all of this, it will sure help me on my travels.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. The outfit should automatically morph into your body size, so don¡¯t worry if it look s a bit too short. I used to wear it after all.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She went through her pockets, and said, ¡°Also, get this.¡± She gave me a fake I.D with the name Kaiser Chisei, and a picture of me with my new hair and eye color. On it, it said that I was 19 years old. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to ask how you manage to get this at this point¡­ but thanks. And, I¡¯m 19 years old?¡± ¡°Yes, with your DNA I managed to get an exact date of your birthday. You were born on January 17th, 3300.¡± ¡°Well damn, I applaud you. I¡¯ll be putting this robe on then.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± I walked back up to my room, put the robe on, and as soon as I was putting on, it stretched to my body size, but then instantly turned into a white hoodie. ¡°Woah! This is so weird!¡± But I liked how it looked. I walked out once again to the exit of the church where Fuji was looking at me while smiling. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°You look like as if you were my twin.¡± ¡°You have one?¡± ¡°No, but now I do!¡± Outside it was already starting to get pretty dark, so I decided to hurry up. I hugged her one last time and said, ¡°Goodbye, Fuji.¡± She hugged me back and responded, ¡°No. See you later, Kaiser. Come back safe. Call me time to time!¡± I started walking away as I put my hood on while the hoodie turned black together with my gauntlet, and then morphed into a robe, stretching the bottom of the jacket and making the hood bigger. This was going to be a very long journey¡­ I can already see it. What does the future have in store for me? Is it good, or bad? Life or death? Love or hate? The only way for me to find out is to keep walking forward. Just like Fuji once did with this same robe.
Vol.2|Chapter 1: The Boy Who Gazed Comets (Jinns chapter)
"You don''t know how much you value something until it''s gone." - Jinn Dalton
I woke up by the sound of chirping birds outside my window. I looked at the time and noticed it was the day to leave this island and go to South Greenterra, where I would travel to the other coast and go to North Greenterra. I quickly got ready and woke my parents up. ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m leaving!¡± I started walking away, but then I heard them calling my name, ¡°Jinn, wait!¡± My mother quickly got up and started asking, ¡°Did you pack up your clothes? Did you brush your teeth? Are you sure you have enough money for the trip?¡± I smiled at her show of caring. ¡°Yes, mom. I got everything.¡± My dad walked up to me and said, ¡°Be sure to bring back the cure for Yosuke, Jinn.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t come back empty-handed,¡± I said. ¡°Take care Jinn! Make friends that will help you find a cure for Yosuke!¡± Said my mother. Friends? I was never good at making them. I always preferred hanging out with my little brother instead, or just be alone, but now that he is sick... ¡°I¡¯ll try my best!¡± I started walking away from my peaceful home in the mountain that my father built, ready to venture whatever destiny has for me. My name is Jinn Dalton, and I live in an archipelago, more known as, ¡®Tokiri Islands,¡¯ In the Segondo province. These islands are said to be blessed by the goddess of comets and stars, Suisei; that is one of the biggest reasons why it didn¡¯t submerge underwater when the apocalypse happened a year ago, it was all defended by the goddess herself. As I was walking through the forest towards the port, I saw many pixies at the side of the forest yelling out my name. ¡°Jinn! Jinn! Where are you going?!¡± Said a small pixie as I kept walking. ¡°I¡¯ll be going straight to North Greenterra! I need to talk to Shizuka Aizawa or someone in the new academy that can help me.¡± ¡°Good travels!¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± The Black Ash house resides in Tokiri Islands, so many pixies that wear black dresses live around here. I finally reached the port. The good ol¡¯ smell of salt enveloped my nose. The usual sound of seagulls flying overhead. And the many people doing trading and exchanges on the port was the cherry at the top of this beautiful scene. At a distance, I heard someone complaining, ¡°What do you mean pixies are not allowed on board?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sweetie. If a pixie doesn¡¯t have a permit from the counsel of Tokiri Islands, then they are not allowed to leave the island.¡± ¡°But I got exiled! I came back, then realized I will rather be with other people. I¡¯m sick and tired of these other pixies.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t help.¡± I realized that this pixie was talking to the man that was supposed to take me to South Greenterra. She was cute and tiny; she was around 4¡¯5 feet tall with long purple hair and a gorgeous black dress. Her eyes were a calming ocean blue color, just like mine. The 32-year-old man looked at me as I was walking in towards his ship and said, ¡°Ahoy, Little smurf! I was waiting on you.¡± He calls me a smurf since I have natural blue hair and blue eyes. This was extremely rare for me, but the priest of this land believes that I was a miracle sent by the goddess, Suisei. But really, that¡¯s all just crazy talk, I¡¯m no miracle. ¡°Hey, Capt. Edward, how was your day?¡± ¡°The same old stuff: fishing, trading, treasure hunting; you know, sailor things.¡± The pixie looked back at me and said, ¡°You, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°J-Jinn, a pleasure to mee-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, I just want this stupid ship to take me to South Greenterra.¡± Wow, I ¡®ve never seen such a rebellious pixie before, no wonder she was exiled¡­ but she still has her wings for some reason. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t insult the white orc!¡± Said Edward. ¡°Can¡¯t you just fly over there with your wings?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you dumb? No! It¡¯s too far!¡± ¡°Well, excuse me- uhm¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! I just need to leave this stupid island!¡± I needed to help her. I know that she is just being rude to both me and Edward, but I¡­ want to help her. Pixies have helped me in the past, so I need to repay them back. ¡°Edward, she is coming with me,¡± I said. ¡°But she still doesn¡¯t have a permit.¡± Said the captain. ¡°She can use my guest spot in my permit.¡± If you want to leave Tokiri Islands with a pixie, she can use your guest spot, but since most pixies don¡¯t like humans, it rarely happens. ¡°Wait¡­ you would do that for me?¡± Asked the pixie while looking back at me. ¡°You said you wanted to be with other people, right? I¡¯ll help you get back to them, but after that, I need you to do me a favor and help me with finding something.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ alright.¡± We both boarded the ship. She quickly flew up to the crow¡¯s nest with her purple wings, while I shook Edward¡¯s hand. ¡°You said you went treasure hunting. What was it this time?¡± I asked Edward. ¡°Aye, same old legends. A fierce lad named ¡°Red Devil¡± Dominated the seven seas. He used to hide treasures just for fun and make riddles to then bet on other pirates that they wouldn¡¯t find it in less than a week.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s some pretty dangerous thing to do.¡± ¡°Aye, it was. And yet no one was ever able to find his treasures.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s why you¡¯re treasure hunting.¡± ¡°Aye, little smurf. Lads, weigh anchor!¡± We then started sailing off into the horizon on the Terra Ocean.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Huh¡­¡± I walked over to the side of the ship. ¡°How long will it take us to reach South Greenterra?¡± ¡°Just a day.¡± ¡°Great. So, what happened to Red Devil in the end?¡± I asked. ¡°In the end, he just became shark bait.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s what happens when you poke your nose into dangerous stuff,¡± I said while looking off into the horizon. While sailing, I tried talking to the pixie to see if we could become friends¡­ I¡¯m awful at it, so I better start somewhere. It¡¯s hard for me to understand people. She was up in the crow¡¯s nest. I was too scared to climb it up, I might have slipped and hit my head on something, so I didn¡¯t take the chance. ¡°Hey! Pixie! Can you come down here?¡± She looked down at me, sighed, and flew down. I can already tell that I¡¯m going to be incredibly awkward. ¡°What is it?¡± She asked with an annoyed tone. ¡°So uhm¡­ how was your day?¡± ¡°Huh? It was crap, why?¡± ¡°Nah, I just wanted to know.¡± Three awkward seconds passed¡­ ¡°So, uh¡­ that¡¯s it?¡± She asked me. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m nervous or anything! I just, I don¡¯t know what to say! I¡¯m not nervous at all! ¡°N-no! So, what made you leave the Black Ash House?¡± She sighed, sat down on the air, and said, ¡°When I was exiled¡­ I met this person¡­ he changed my life.¡± ¡°What person?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to say his name, but he changed me into another person, he looked out for me, he came to me when he was sad and told me his problems, and most importantly¡­ I think I fell in love with him.¡± ¡°W-what?!¡± A pixie falling in love with a human has never happened before- A pixie falling in love, in general, has never been a thing! ¡°Fell in love?!¡± ¡°Yes, but what I feel, I think humans categorize it as ¡®Family love.¡¯ I care about him more than I care about myself¡­ I would sacrifice anything for his wellbeing; I saw him building the same type of love back for me, but sadly I had to leave to this stupid island where the pixies didn¡¯t welcome me at all.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. I understand how you feel.¡± ¡°I felt more at home the last times I was with him more than I ever did in my entire lifespan¡­ I was never really liked by the pixies back in the Black Ash House, so I was always more of an outsider; with him, I feel like I¡¯m exactly where I¡¯m supposed to be. I also miss the calming and secure feeling I get when he holds me close to himself¡­ I love him just as if he were my big brother.¡± This is the closest thing to love I¡¯ve seen a pixie have so far, it¡¯s quite fascinating thinking about it. And I¡¯ve grown up with pixies since I was a baby. ¡°That¡¯s the exact way I feel for my little brother. It¡¯s definitely family love.¡± ¡°You have a little brother?¡± ¡°Yes, he is sick with a deadly virus in the hospital. We had tried every medicine and mages in the continent, but none seem to work; that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to North Greenterra to meet Shizuka Aizawa.¡± ¡°Shizuka Aizawa¡­ that name sounds very familiar.¡± ¡°Yeah, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me, she is extremely popular.¡± ¡°Hmm, pixies are known to have bad memories.¡± Said the pixie. ¡°By the way, I didn¡¯t get your name.¡± ¡°Nightshade.¡± ¡°Well, we are going to find your big brother, Nightshade.¡± We kept sailing for a whole hour. THUMP While in the middle of the ocean, we heard something beating at the side of the ship over and over, making it shake. ¡°Woah! What is that?!¡± I yelled. ¡°Shiver me timbers! Take cover!¡± Yelled Edward. The sailors, Nightshade, and I all ducked as the boat was almost getting flipped over. ¡°What the hell?!¡± I yelled again. ¡°It¡¯s an Arcana Eater!¡± Yelled one of the sailors. ¡°Arcana Eater?! Aren¡¯t those things supposed to be defending the cloud kingdom?!¡± ¡°While in the apocalypse, they all got scared and swam away from their ocean. So now they attack every single ship that doesn¡¯t have a cloud banner, and we don¡¯t have any!¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°Great¡­¡± Think Jinn, think. With your singularity, you could do something¡­ but I need a clear view of the fish. I instantly looked up at the crow¡¯s nest and thought; I can¡¯t climb up there, it¡¯s dangerous¡­ but¡­ If I don¡¯t, people in this ship will be in extreme danger. While I was thinking of a plan, many people tried throwing spears and shooting the Arcana Eater, then, Edward yelled, ¡°It¡¯s useless lads! Those things can¡¯t be hurt by any kind of metal!¡± What?! Then how are they supposed to kill it?... It¡¯s really up to me, huh?¡± Then, I heard a voice in my head saying, ¡°Jinn, you can do it! Don¡¯t be afraid. You need to protect them at all costs.¡± Yes, I know, little voice. I started climbing up the ladder. ¡°Where are you going?! Have you gone crazy?!¡± Yelled Nightshade. ¡°Jinn! Get down!¡± Yelled Edward. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I got it,¡± I said. I felt the adrenaline building up inside of me while I was climbing up. The more I went up, the more of a clear shot I had to this Arcana Eater; he looked like a giant piranha. ¡°Just a little higher¡­¡± When I got to the top, I stood up to look at exactly where the Arcana eater was. I was about to use my singularity and take aim, but he charged against the boat once again made me trip off and start falling head first towards the top of the ship where all the people where. Time seemed to slow down while I was upside down in the air¡­ this is over¡­ it ends here. I closed my eyes, there was no chance I would come out of this alive. ¡°Jinn! Wake up! Believe in your power!¡± As soon as I heard this feminine voice cheering me on, I opened my eyes, and activated my singularity, creating a crosshair lens on my pupil. A bunch of blue holographic screens started appearing in the air ahead of me, which gave me a lot of information. ¡°Target Acquired¡ªLoading Stardust Magazine¡ªEnhancing Optics¡ªMagazine Loaded¡ªSmart Optics Operational¡ªFinding Enemy weak spot¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± ¡°Hurry up! I¡¯m about to lose sight of it!¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ Enemy weak spot found. Middle of the spinal cord¡ªAstral Guardian Ready. Good luck, Jinn.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, little voice!¡± An advanced pistol appeared on my hand. I aimed down sight while holding the pistol with both of my hands, took a deep breath and shot five times. You would think that bullets wouldn¡¯t hurt the Arcana Eater since they are made of metal, but I don¡¯t use bullets. My pistol uses a special type of plasma that I called stardust; this stardust slowly freezes anything it touches, but if you shoot more than four shots, all the shots will combine into one, and they will make an extremely sharp, fine icicle; if this icicle hits the weak spot of a creature, it will 99% kill it, and if not, it will freeze it from the inside. The stardust combined in mid-air, the icicle was formed, and it pierced right through the Arcana Eater¡¯s Central point of its spinal cord. It suddenly starting flapping around in the water, until it stopped swimming and sank down. But as I noticed, I was still falling headfirst towards the ground. ¡°Welp, I did my best.¡± I closed my eyes. Saw my life flashing before my eyes until it was interrupted by one of the sailors catching my fall like it was nothing. ¡°Woah! How did you do that?¡± He asked me. ¡°No, forget me, HOW DID YOU do that?¡± ¡°My singularity allows me to absorb any type of shockwave or force into my body like it was nothing.¡± ¡°Ah, wow, where did you learn how to unlock it and use it?¡± ¡°The National Academy of Singularities of course.¡± Edward ran up to me and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned¡­ little smurf, you are quite strong.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing really.¡± It¡¯s all my little voice in my head guiding me. I¡¯ve been hearing this voice of a woman since I was born. When I¡¯m in danger, or when I need some confidence it comes into play, also when I need information from my singularity, I hear it too. I really appreciate it, but I wish I could directly talk to it.¡± Suddenly, all the sailors picked me up and started cheering me and throwing me up. ¡°A good lad!¡± Yelled one of them. ¡°THE ARCANA SLAYER!¡± ¡°There will be songs about you!¡± Yelled the other one. Damn¡­ I hate being in the center of attention, but¡­ this ain¡¯t so bad, I guess. I looked to the side and noticed that Nightshade fainted on the floor. ¡°Nightshade?¡± A couple of hours later, she woke up. She saw me sitting right next to her and asked me, ¡°Did I do it again?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°A year ago, I started having insomnia¡­ I don¡¯t know why, but after I stopped sleeping with my big brother, I can¡¯t bring myself to fall asleep at nights alone anymore without him.¡± ¡°You mean to tell me that you haven¡¯t been able to sleep well for a year?!¡± ¡°No¡­ if I wasn¡¯t a pixie you could probably see my eyebags, but we still keep our beauty even if we have bad health¡­ which can be bad sometimes.¡± ¡°Did you really feel that much different when you slept with him?¡± I guess I can see how. Pixie usually can fall asleep only beside the thing they love the most, being their trees, so for her, it would be the black ash tree; but in her context, she will only be able to fall asleep peacefully beside this so-called big brother. ¡°Yes¡­ being hugged by him while I slept made me feel so safe and relaxed, and probably even loved; something that I never felt before.¡± ¡°Ah, ok.¡± That proves my point. ¡°And now, I can¡¯t sleep by myself anymore¡­ I¡­ get too anxious for some reason.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s find him as soon as possible then.¡± ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s-¡± She crumbled down again like an old building being demolished by construction workers. ¡°Huh¡­ well, we can¡¯t find him if you¡¯re sleeping all the time.¡± I then heard that voice again. ¡°Good battle, Jinn. I¡¯m proud of you.¡± ¡°Well, you still haven¡¯t told me who you are, but thank you like always.¡± And of course, I didn¡¯t get a reply. Vol.2|Chapter 2: Brotherhood
"I''ve never felt I belonged anywhere until I met someone just like me." -Nightshade
I¡¯ve found a problem recently. Not too long ago, I decided to go outside the town to train against some creatures in the wilderness, but every time I start fighting, I get this sudden feeling of fear, hatred, and chaos, which unfocussed me and didn¡¯t allow me to battle. The only thing I can do is quickly assassinate my target because I don¡¯t get the sudden stress. I waited a couple of days to see if it went away, but it was still there, so I decided to go back to Fuji and see if she could understand what was wrong with me. ¡°Hmm¡­ if what you¡¯re telling me is exact, then you are showing symptoms of PTSD, but since you have amnesia, it has to be something subconscious.¡± Said Fuji while looking at an advanced technology board she had on her hand. ¡°PTSD?¡± ¡°Yes, post-traumatic stress disorder. I¡¯d advise you to find something to take your mind off the actual battle.¡± ¡°Like what? I can¡¯t fucking meditate.¡± ¡°Kaiser, please, watch the profanity, there are children around here.¡± ¡°Right¡­ sorry, Fuji. I¡¯m just a little pissed about this; I don¡¯t even know the reason why I get such a thing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will find a way to solve this little issue.¡± ¡°Hopefully¡­¡± ¡°Maybe Shizuka can also help you with that.¡± Said Fuji. ¡°I don¡¯t like relying on people for my problems¡­ and I¡¯m already relying on Aizawa to cure my amnesia.¡± I wonder what happened to my past self to mess up my brain this much. ¡°I understand Kaiser, but this is not something you can help yourself; you must rely on other people to cure such things.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll find a way.¡± ¡°Kaiser, please¡­ listen to me and just ask Aizawa or someone else close to her.¡± ¡°Fuji, I appreciate your help, but I don¡¯t need it.¡± I realized as soon as I said it that it sounded rude, but I couldn¡¯t take the words back. She looked down in sadness for a quick second, then looked back at me and said, ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ trying to help you, Rukito.¡± ¡°¡­ Sorry, I-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just do what you want. I don¡¯t care as long as your safe.¡± ¡°Are you saying that because of fear of me going into another dumb rampage or¡­ you actually care?¡± She started walking away while saying, ¡°Both.¡± I decided that I had to go out and search for a way to cure my disorder one way or the other¡­ If I can¡¯t fight, I can¡¯t acquire the gemstones. Screw it, I¡¯m going to talk to this Aizawa woman and make her help me, either she likes it or not. My whole life is at risk, a man is what his memories make him be, and if I have no memories¡­ who am I? I¡¯m not going to this for anyone but myself, and¡­ this girl in my necklace. Afterward, I headed out and decided to go to the north port of South Greenterra, Green Dolphin. This robe is amazing, I wasn¡¯t even noticed going through crowds and forests. It took me around 3 days of walking and walking to reach Green Dolphin. Very lonely days, but I can¡¯t cry and whine now, I need to reach my destination. I walked up to the port, took off my hoodie in an alley where no one could see me, then my robe turned into a regular civilian hoodie. Shortly after, I walked out of the alley and soon noticed that I already had some eyes on me. I walked to where the ships were to see if I could rent one, but there was a large crowd in front of the docks yelling. I soon looked up to one of the ships and noticed that a middle-aged man was holding a pixie hostage by pointing a gun at her forehead while yelling, ¡°These creatures mislead my family into misfortune! You all have to understand that they are not deserved of walking into human land!¡± ¡°Let her go!¡± Yelled someone in the crowd. ¡°She has done nothing wrong!¡± ¡°Kill her! Show everyone how mischievous they are!¡± ¡°Burn her alive!¡± Said someone else. The pixie was scared, but she was trying to maintain her cool as much as she could. I looked to the side of the pixie and noticed a young man with blue hair tied up with a rope also yelling, ¡°Let her go you, coward! Fight me head on!¡± ¡°Be quiet boy, you have nothing to do with this! I¡¯ve always dreamed of executing one of these bitches!¡± Yelled the man holding the pixie hostage. Should I help? It really has nothing to do with me¡­ I probably shouldn¡¯t. I started walking away, but as I did, I felt something stare at me, I looked back, and the pixie was staring straight at me. I looked back at her, and when our eyes met, she smiled. Huh? Why is she smiling at me? I suddenly got a headache and heard the words, ¡®Big brother¡¯ in my head while I started getting quick flashbacks of my past self and her. Who¡­ who is this girl? My¡­ little sister? But she looks nothing like the one in my necklace!The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I quickly put my hood back on, making the hoodie morph back into the camouflage robe while everyone was distracted looking at what was happening in the ship. ¡°Yes, yes! Gather more people around, more people need to see this!¡± Said the person on the ship. I decided to walk around the ship, to scan for every single criminal up there¡­ 4, 5¡­ 8, counting the leader. I hope this gauntlet is waterproof¡­ I swam through the opposite side of the ship where no one could see me, I climbed up the ship silently and took out the laser blade underneath my gauntlet. I First saw one right at the edge of the ship looking off for other ships, I quickly climbed up and pierced him with my laser blade right through his eye socket where it will easily reach the brain and instantly kill him without any pain. Maybe is not right to kill these people¡­ but if anything is stopping me from recovering my memories, I will not back off! I threw his body into the ocean. 7 remaining. I instantly remembered that there was one at the very top of the crow¡¯s nest; the only way for me to kill him was to shoot my dagger as a ballistic knife, but for that, I must have extreme precision¡­ thankfully I can control the blade after I shoot it. I shot the blade, and it started flying away slower than I thought, so it was easy for me to control it in mid-air right into his temple. He fell down instantly. 6 remaining. There were three at the very back of the ship where the steering wheel was. They seemed to be chatting about the next pixies they would capture. How am I going to kill three people in a row?... I threw a ballistic knife right behind them, so they all turned towards it, no longer having a vision of me and started inspecting it. ¡°Woah! What is this? It¡¯s so shiny and¡­ wow.¡± I quickly walked up to the one in the back, covered his mouth and stabbed him through the back of the neck pointing towards the brain. I quickly threw him away while stabbing the second one and promptly stabbing the last one before he noticed. Three left¡­ I walked down and saw that one of them looked to the boy who was tied up in the ground. There was no way I could walk up to him without being un-noticed, so I had another idea. I shot my ballistic knife to cut the ropes that were tying the guy with blue hair. He instantly noticed. A gun appeared out of nowhere, and he froze the person¡¯s mouth. ¡°This is the end of your run, criminal.¡± Said the guy with blue hair. I slowly walked up to the criminal and stabbed him through the heart, to then throw him off the ship. The guy with blue hair looked at me and said while pointing his gun at me, ¡°Who are you?!¡± I looked back at him, noticed his fear in his eyes, and knew that he wasn¡¯t going to shot. I ignored him and walked off for the last remaining people. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t ignore me.¡± The last two were the man holding the pixie hostage, and the other was right beside him. I can¡¯t kill him in front of all this crowd¡­ it would attract even more attention. What should I do?... I¡¯ve heard these people talk, maybe I can imitate their dialect and voice pitch to lure him in¡­ would that really work? Am I capable of sounding similar? I signaled the guy with blue hair to come with me inside the cabin, leave the door open and then I said, ¡°Yo, Boss! Guards bout¡¯ to be here!¡± Hmm¡­ I said that better than I thought it would come out. ¡°I don¡¯t think he will fall for something as simple as tha-¡± ¡°Guards?! Where?!¡± He rushed by himself inside the cabin without the pixie where I instantly stabbed him through his chest; I wanted him to scream for help before he died so he could catch the last remaining person¡¯s attention so he would also run in, and he did. I stabbed the last remaining person through the temple and finished the other one off. I got their bodies and threw him into the ocean on the opposite side while saying, ¡°May your souls flow through this ocean in peace¡­ and may them never feel a disturbance.¡± Just cause they were on my way doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have to respect their death. ¡°May you all be re-born as angels in the next life.¡± The blue haired guy rushed towards the pixie and instantly untied her, while I immediately picked up the anchor and lowered the sails before the actual guards arrived and imprisoned us. If they check my DNA, they will know I¡¯m Rukito Nokuwa. As we started to sail off, I heard people in the crowd saying, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Did she die?¡± ¡°Where are they going?¡± We all started to sail off to North Greenterra. I don¡¯t know where the pixie and the blue-haired guy were going, but they would have to wait for me to arrive at my destination first. I quickly let go of the steering wheel, I remember that the pixie was someone I already knew once, but my memories were still kind of blurry. But before I decided to go down where she was, she quickly rushed to where I was. She ran up the stairs to where I was. She was breathing heavily, then, I said, ¡°You¡­ I have a strangely familiar feeling coming from you.¡± She heard my voice, and as soon as she did, she jumped on top of me, hugging me extremely tight. ¡°BIG BROTHER! I FOUND YOU! Well¡­ you found me, BUT STILL!¡± Big brother? Then I was right, she is my sister! But she is a pixie though, and she doesn¡¯t look anything like me. ¡°I was so scared! I¡¯ve heard of all of those mean things you did a year ago, what happened to you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ your big brother?!¡± Exclaimed the guy with blue hair. The pixie took off my hood, morphing the robe back into a hoodie, showing my brown hair and black eyes. ¡°Hmm? Why did you change the style? You looked good.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m so confused right now,¡± I said, ¡°What¡¯s your name? What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t remember me?... wow¡­ that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I woke up with amnesia so¡­ I don¡¯t remember anything. You must know me as Rukito Nokuwa, but my name now is Kaiser Chisei.¡± ¡°What¡­ no¡­ it can¡¯t be,¡± Said the pixie, ¡°It¡¯s me, Nightshade!¡± ¡°Sorry Nightshade, I don¡¯t remember much, but I do have a familiar feeling¡­ especially holding you in my arms. Are you really my little sister?¡± ¡°Wait¡­ RUKITO NOKUWA?! The devil that cause the apocalypse?!¡± Yelled the guy with blue hair before pointing his gun at me. ¡°You touch that trigger, and that will be the last thing you will touch,¡± I said. I really wasn¡¯t going to kill him since apparently, he is a friend of my little sister, but it was just intimidation, so he didn¡¯t shoot. ¡°No, Jinn! Don¡¯t kill him!¡± Yelled Nightshade as she got in front of him. ¡°What do you mean? Do you know how many people he has killed?!¡± ¡°I know¡­ but he is not a bad person!¡± ¡°Screw that! This guy has made many families suffer!¡± He then boldly pulled the trigger while moving Nightshade aside. Vol.2|Chapter 2: Brotherhood| Part 2
He was out of ammo... he quickly stepped back and said, ¡°W-why did you kill so many people?¡± I quickly got aggravated and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?! I said I woke up with AMNESIA! I don¡¯t remember anything about my fucking past!¡± He clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Whatever¡­¡± ¡°Why are you getting so aggressive with him, Jinn? Leave him alone, he probably didn¡¯t do it consciously! He would never do something like that!¡± Said Nightshade. She¡­ is defending me? I really mean a lot to her, don¡¯t I? ¡°One of my friend¡¯s family died from an earthquake that week of the apocalypse¡­ maybe I shouldn¡¯t be holding grudges like these but, he was a good friend.¡± ¡°Well Jinn, I apologize for whatever my past self did to the people of Greenterra, but you got to realize I¡¯m not that person anymore.¡± He sighed, leaned back on the side of the ship and said, ¡°So, where are you taking us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to meet with Shizuka Aizawa, I need her to help me with problems I have.¡± I didn¡¯t want to tell him about my personal problems, so I didn¡¯t go too much into detail about it. ¡°Are you trying to recover your memories?¡± He asked me. ¡°Yes, I want to remember all the people dear to me, for now, I only remember a few things about Nightshade.¡± ¡°Ok¡­ just, don¡¯t go crazy again after you remember.¡± ¡°Yeah, I promise I won¡¯t, but not to you, I promise to Nightshade,¡± I said. ¡°Hey, what did I do?!¡± He asked me. ¡°Seriously? You realize I saved you, and then you proceeded to point a gun at me?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ whatever. I let my emotions take over.¡± I looked at Nightshade and asked, ¡°Hey uhm, Nightshade, could we talk in private for a minute?¡± She looked at me and said, ¡°O-of course.¡± We walked down to the sleeping quarters where we were alone. ¡°What is it?¡± She asked me. ¡°Could you¡­ tell me about my past?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t remember much since pixies have a bad memory, but I can try my best.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°One condition though.¡± ¡°What is the condition?¡± ¡°So¡­¡± she blushed, ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to sleep well for a year¡­. So¡­¡± ¡°So¡­?¡± ¡°I was wondering if¡­¡± Hmm? Why is a pixie getting nervous? Then, I heard her softly talking under her breath, ¡°What is this feeling?¡± Some seconds passed, and I said, ¡°Uhm¡­ anytime now.¡± ¡°W-whatever! I¡¯ll tell you all I know.¡± She started talking about me meeting her on my way back from eating a fruit that she wanted or something like that. She said that I was with someone that looked exactly like me, that must be the girl on my necklace, so I showed it to her, and she said, ¡°Yes, her! I forgot her name but, I think she was your girlfriend.¡± ¡°My girlfriend?! But she apparently looked just like me!¡± Oh god, I hope I wasn¡¯t a weirdo back then. ¡°I forgot that part, but you weren¡¯t siblings.¡± After that, she talked something about a battle, us winning, and then her leaving for Tokiri Islands where she would be accepted back into the pixie kingdom of the black ash tree, but she decided to leave because she missed me. I quickly started growing attached to her as I saw her eyes sparkling when she mentioned things about us and the fun conversation we had together. ¡°I was also very na?ve back then compared to now. Pixies age quickly to their prime, so in this past year, I went from 13 to 16 years old in human years. Every human year that passes, pixies grow 3 years older both mentally and physically, 22 is the max. Before I was three feet tall, now I am 4 feet 5 centimeters tall-¡± I decided to get closer to her and give her a warm hug.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re ok, Nightshade. From now on, I want you to stay at my side; I promise I¡¯ll find somewhere safe to keep you while I-¡± I softly felt a deep breathing pattern on my chest. I looked down at her and noticed that she was sleeping since her wings disappeared. (When pixies sleep beside the thing they adore, their wings disappear, and their body warmth rises) Hmmm, that¡¯s probably what she wanted, have a little nap with me. Her hair smells like lavender¡­ and she is so soft, almost like a pillow. I felt her warmth quickly rise as she fell into a deep state of sleep. I softly picker her up and laid her on a nearby hammock where we both could fit. Poor girl, for not sleeping well for a year, she finally deserves some sleep, it¡¯s going to take us two or four days to arrive at North Greenterra anyways. I yawned, I¡¯ve been on the move for three days, I¡¯m can¡¯t lie and say I¡¯m not tired too. Jinn walked in while I was laid next to her. ¡°Yeah, she told me she hasn¡¯t been able to sleep without you.¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit weird, but I felt a sudden attachment to her.¡± ¡°Well, she is technically your little sister, right?¡± ¡°I guess you can say that counting the foreign pixies rules in, she is my sister in law,¡± I said. The foreign pixie rule states, ¡®A pixie can¡¯t travel by herself; she must have a human or cloud elf at her side. If she does travel with a human or cloud elf, she will be considered a family of said person until the human or cloud elf isn¡¯t there to support the fact.¡¯ As you can see, pixies are not liked very much by humans, but cloud elves convinced them to allow them in with this rule. ¡°Tell me about you, Jinn. Where are you heading?¡± ¡°Hmm, now that Nightshade found you, I will also need to go to the N.A.O.S to find some people that can help me with a problem of mine.¡± ¡°Ah, ok. Then we can both head over there if you want.¡± ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind.¡± Out of nowhere, I heard Nightshade say softly, ¡°I love you¡­¡± ¡°Huh? I thought Pixies are unable to fall in love.¡± I said. ¡°They say that a lot while they sleep on their tree, since they can talk to them, so the tree understands those words, and it makes the tree feel better.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ well, I surely feel better.¡± Jinn chuckled and said, ¡°You know, I also have a younger sibling.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, his name is Yosuke.¡± ¡°How is he?¡± ¡°He is actually in a coma¡­ that¡¯s why I need someone to heal his illness.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see. So, what¡¯s that behind your back that you had before?¡± I asked him. ¡°Oh,¡± He took out his singularity, a cylindrical shaped glass container appeared behind his back strapped around him with shiny blue lights in the middle, ¡°This is my Astral Accelerator.¡± ¡°Your what?¡± ¡°To recharge the special ammunition that I use for my astral guardians.¡± ¡°Ah, so all of that is part of your singularity? That¡¯s impressive.¡± ¡°Well, not exactly. I had a woman build the Accelerator for me; when I didn¡¯t have it, the only way for me to charge my pistols was to stargaze.¡± ¡°Stargaze? How does that even work?¡± I asked. I felt Nightshade softly tightening her grip on me as she slept. ¡°I use my Eagle-Eye to absorb all the information given by the stars.¡± ¡°Eagle-Eye? Information given by the stars?¡± ¡°Ok, ok, let me start from the beginning. I was born with two singularities, Astral Guardians and Eagle-Eye; the priest in Tokiri said I was special because of that specific reason.¡± ¡°What does Eagle-Eye do?¡± ¡°It scans for weak spots in enemies, giving me a bunch of information; if I scan stars, I will get their information which will feed the weapons.¡± ¡°Stars have information. Interesting.¡± ¡°Yes, every single star has a history to them, they are very special to me. But sometimes I can¡¯t stargaze, so I can¡¯t refill my ammunition, instead, I asked this woman to make this accelerant which builds up stardust as I move.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I get it now.¡± ¡°What about you? What¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t think I have one.¡± ¡°What? Everyone has one.¡± ¡°Well maybe I did, but not anymore¡­ I actually have PTSD every time I enter combat.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t Nightshade help you with that?¡± He asked me. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Physical Crescendo plus her Divine Vocals could possible heal your illness, if not, at least let you fight while you listen to her music.¡± I instantly started getting flashbacks of Nightshade¡¯s singularity. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right! Thank you for reminding me, I¡¯ll talk to her when she wakes up.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll head back up; someone needs to keep watch for other ships and beasts in this open ocean.¡± He started walking away from me. I look at Nightshade who was resting her head on my shoulder, I saw her long and mystical purple hair flowing across the hammock. Gentle red lips and a fragile nose letting out a soft and restful breathing pattern. Her lavender aroma. All these characteristic made me even more attached to her, how can someone be annoyed by this? I softly brushed her hair off her face and thought to myself, ¡®I¡¯m really glad she is ok; she is too innocent for the horrors of this world.¡¯ ¡°Hey, Jinn,¡± I said. He stopped, then turned his torso towards me. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ for keeping Nightshade safe¡­ It means a lot to me.¡± My little sister? I definitely feel somewhat of a similar love for her as a little sister. I just want to protect her and see her grow up happy, hopefully by my side so I can teach her all I learn. If Jinn feels a similar way like this to his little brother, then I have to help him. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you out with your little brother after I talk to Aizawa; I owe you a big one.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He smiled at me and said, ¡°Alright, deal.¡± I got up and shook his hand. He left, and as I turn back I noticed Nightshade flying towards me with arms open, knocking me into the ground while she was on top of me softly punching my chest. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to sleep like that forever! And you just get up and leave?! You¡¯re so mean! You know I¡¯ve missed it.¡± I smiled at how cute she was. Noticed that she was still blushing even now. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even going to leave. I was going to go back to the cutest pixie ever.¡± I said while playfully flicking her nose. She stood quiet with an embarrassed look for a second, then hugged me. I¡¯ve recently not felt much emotions lately¡­ it was all cold and dry. But as soon as she reached into my emotional depth by a simple feel¡­ by a simple hug, I started feeling more alive. ¡°Nightshade?¡± As I looked back at her, she was asleep again. Vol.2|Chapter 3: National Academy of Singularities
"If it wasn''t for time, the brain could learn an infinite amount of things. But without time, we would be in complete chaos." - Shizuka Aizawa Regiis Angelus
After three days of chatting and sailing, we could see the coast from really far away. It was North Greenterra. ¡°Wow, you mean to tell me that both of these continents were once connected?¡± I asked. ¡°Yup, but I never visited it so I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± said Jinn. ¡°Luckily we didn¡¯t have much trouble with storms on the way here.¡± ¡°With Nightshade literally singing the storms away, it couldn¡¯t have been easier to sail.¡± I looked closer to the coast, I noticed that there wasn¡¯t a port anywhere on sight. ¡°Where are we docking?¡± Asked Nightshade flying in, ¡°I looked around the whole coast, it doesn¡¯t seem to be a port around here.¡± ¡°After the apocalypse, many docks, if not all, were destroyed. This side of the continent shouldn¡¯t have docks yet.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Then we will have to leave the ship in the open,¡± I said. ¡°Anybody could steal it while we are away,¡± said Jinn, ¡°Are you really going to take that risk? It¡¯s not going to be easy finding another ship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. If we do lose the ship, I¡¯ll find a way to get a new one.¡± ¡°Alright man, I hope you do.¡± Nightshade walked up to me while talking to Jinn and said, ¡°Hey, big brother, I have to tell you something.¡± ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± ¡°I think¡­ my singularity developed.¡± She said while looking at her harp. ¡°Developed? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Pixies are the only creatures that develop with their singularity naturally, so now I think that no matter which musical instrument I play, my singularity will work.¡± ¡°Great, even better!¡± ¡°Hopefully we don¡¯t run into more people that hate pixies.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Was it always like this?¡± I asked. ¡°No. while the apocalypse was happening, many pixies mislead humans into dangerous places, which caused many casualties, so now the whole human society is against pixies.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s why I hate my sisters,¡± said Nightshade. ¡°But on the other hand, the king is trying his best to be understanding so we will see how the laws will end up being, but for now, whoever is caught killing or hurting a pixie will still go to jail, but most people won¡¯t report it since they all hate pixies.¡± ¡°Stay close to me, Nightshade,¡± I said. She flew up and softly wrapped her arms across my neck. ¡°D-don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let go.¡± She doesn¡¯t weight anything so I didn¡¯t really mind if she clung onto me, but it did attract a lot of attention. ¡°Hmmm, we are going to go through a city, this would attract too much attention.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just walk by myse-¡± I grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Just hold onto my hand, and we should be fine.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± She said while looking down. I couldn¡¯t see her facial expression so I don¡¯t know if she felt uncomfortable or not. ¡°How far is the Academy?¡± Jinn asked me. ¡°Uuh, I think it shouldn¡¯t be that far from here,¡± I said pulling out a map, ¡°If we hurry up, we should be there before sunset.¡± While half of the way there, Nightshade looked at me and said, ¡°Ru¡­ big brother, can you please let go of my hand? I¡¯m not a kid anymore¡­¡± I didn¡¯t understand what she meant, but I did as she said and let go of her hand. ¡°Just stay close to me then-¡± Right after I finished saying that, she grabbed my hand again, but this time she interlocked fingers with me and mumbled, ¡°I feel better like this¡­¡± Man, girls sure are weird¡­ what the difference? I guess she has missed me a lot, it¡¯s been a year. I looked over to Jinn and just saw gazing off into the sky. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± I asked. ¡°Huh? Just scanning for Sirius.¡± ¡°Sirius?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the first star that usually appears at night, not counting Kaliner 14.¡± ¡°Kaliner 14?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s another planet close to us. It¡¯s the only planet that has never been conquered by either angels or devils since it has a strong acid gas cloud that kills anything that tries to land on it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ interesting. Thanks for the information, Jinn.¡± ¡°No problem. If you want any more, I¡¯ll be here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I won¡¯t use you as a human wiki¡­ at least not now.¡± A couple of minutes later we finally reached our destination. We were overlooking onto a big campus with many people walking outside with books. It was evening, the sun was about to set. ¡°My legs are killing me.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Aw come on, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°You are a pixie! You don¡¯t get fatigued except by being away from your tree.¡± ¡°Are you calling me a tree?¡± I asked. ¡°Kaiser, the tree¡­ what an amazing title,¡± Said Jinn. Nightshade hugged me and said, ¡°Yes¡­ he¡¯s my tree, only mine.¡± ¡°Hey! I did not approve of this! I shall not be remembered as a tree of a pixie.¡± I said. ¡°Well, she exactly feels towards you as if you were her tree. She even says the little ¡®I love you¡¯ thing while she is sleeping.¡± Nightshade instantly covered her face and said, ¡°I s-said that?!¡± Is she blushing? I can¡¯t tell. ¡°This is no time for chatter, we arrived at our destination; let¡¯s get to the office and ask for Aizawa,¡± I said. A couple of minutes later¡­ ¡°What do you mean I can¡¯t make a meeting with Ms. Aizawa?¡± I said. ¡°Our condolences, but her schedule is filled with meetings and interviews for 3 months.¡± Jinn walked up and said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­ this is very important for me!¡± ¡°Sorry sir, but you will have to wait. She is the strongest being on this planet as of the time being, she has amazing spells and magic, and she is the most popular woman around Greenterra.¡± ¡°Are you serious?! I really need her help!¡± Yelled Jinn. ¡°Sir, I need you to calm down; she also has her own goals, as of right now, she is trying to find a person that she once knew before the apocalypse happened.¡± ¡°Is there not another way we could meet her?¡± I asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ luckily, in two days there is the monthly singularity showdown. Classes with different singularity types combat each other to see who is best, afterward, they all get their singularities upgraded by Shizuka Aizawa herself.¡± ¡°Huh, alright. Can we sign up into the Academy then?¡± I asked. ¡°You can, but it¡¯s going to take a while. We have to unlock your singularities and-¡± As she was saying that, Jinn took out his pistol and turned on his accelerant, I used my glove to make it seem like it was my singularity and took off my hood to change my robe into a normal hoodie. ¡°Oh¡­ well, follow me this way.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Nightshade, we will be right back, wait for us here,¡± I told her. ¡°Ok, big brother.¡± Jinn and I walked down a hall, turned right at the third door and sat down in front of someone that seemed important. ¡°Who are they?¡± He asked. He seemed to be around our age. I looked at his nameplate on the desk and it said, ¡®Mr. Blake.¡¯ ¡°They already unlocked their singularities. They were wondering if they could join the academy for the contest.¡± Said the woman before walking away. ¡°So¡­ you two want to win the contest?¡± He asked us. ¡°We just want to meet Aizawa, that¡¯s the only reason why we are interested in joining this contest,¡± I said. ¡°Hmm? Lady Aizawa?¡± ¡°Yes, Shizuka Aizawa.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°I¡¯m actually her secretary. What do you two boys want from her? I¡¯d let you two know that she is not interested in meeting any kind of random people that have no experience in the academy.¡± ¡°We just need her help for something,¡± I said. ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry but she currently isn¡¯t available, and since you have no experience or education with us, I highly doubt you will be able to win the contest.¡± I sighed. I figured that with Shizuka Aizawa being this popular she might have some bootlickers, and this is probably one of the many. I realized that it was futile trying to convince him into letting us in now that he knows that our only goal is to talk with Aizawa. I got up and decided to use the restroom to get some time to think without seeming suspicious. ¡°Excuse me, where is the restroom?¡± ¡°Go outside, turn right, go all the way at the end of the hall and make a left.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I decided to make my way to the bathroom, but before that, I left a note on Jinn¡¯s lap that read, ¡®Call me on your phone and leave it there so I can hear the conversation, I will come back with something in mind.¡¯ I got to the bathroom, locked the stall and started hearing the conversation between Jinn and Blake. ¡°Well, just let us join the academy.¡± ¡°I can do that, but you won¡¯t be able to attend this month¡¯s contest, you will have to wait for one more.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Well sorry, that¡¯s all I can offer.¡± Hmmm¡­ maybe if I tell him that I will pay him¡­ but that¡¯s illegal, if the room is recorded then I could go to jail for illegal trading. Suddenly, I heard a knock coming from the phone, someone must be knocking on the room. The door open and then I hear Blake saying, ¡°Oh! Lady Shizuka Aizawa!¡± Then, I heard a smooth calming voice responding, ¡°Hi, Blake. Are you in the middle of something?¡± ¡°No! No! Nothing is more important than you. By the way, you look astonishing today.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ thanks. Can I get those Results from the investigation of South Greenterra?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah! As you please!¡± I then heard Jinn moving. I¡¯m guessing he stood up. ¡°Hello, Ms. Aizawa. My name is Jinn Dalton, and I-¡± ¡°I said no!¡± Said Blake, ¡°She is too busy-¡± ¡°Oh, Hi Jinn. I apologize for not introducing myself, I almost didn¡¯t notice you were here.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no problem. I was just wondering if you could help me with something¡­¡± I heard Aizawa sighing and said, ¡°Depends on how important it is.¡± ¡°My little brother¡­ he has a virus that no-one in my country has been able to cure. I was just wondering if you could maybe¡­¡± ¡°Jinn, I understand where you¡¯re coming from. But you have to realize that you¡¯re not the only person that has asked me to heal said family member, most of my schedule is filled with meetings with families so I can help them.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I see.¡± ¡°If you want me to help, then sure, I can, but you will have to wait just like the other families are.¡± ¡°A-alright.¡± ¡°Have you tried asking my healing class? They should be able to help you even though they still are not that skilled.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve tried calling many students from this academy to heal my brother, but none of them could get the job done¡­ and I¡¯m getting desperate at this point.¡± ¡°Ooh, so you were that client! I heard that no one was able to heal this person, I was going to go myself but I heard some news about the person I was searching for.¡± ¡°S-so can you come now? It would mean the world to me.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, Jinn. The contest is in two days, and I have to be here to congratulate the winner and upgrade hers or his singularity, and the upgrade takes three days to develop, anything might go wrong so I need to be here. Can¡¯t you wait till then?¡± ¡°What if¡­ I win the contest. Will you instantly come to Tokiri Islands?¡± ¡°If you win? Of course.¡± ¡°So can I join the contest without past experience for this deal of ours?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ yeah. Blake, allow him to enter the contest.¡± ¡°But, Shizuka-¡± ¡°I said to not call me by my first name!¡± She said with an annoyed tone. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°One more thing, I also have another friend that wants to talk to you.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Sorry, but I have to go. I¡¯m in the middle of a search for someone. I just got the results of the latest search, and I have to go through them.¡± I was going to leave the bathroom and talk to her, but I didn¡¯t want to interrupt her busy day, plus if she really is as strong as everyone says she is, she might recognize me as the person who caused the apocalypse even under all of this disguise; I¡¯ll avoid her as much as I can until Jinn wins the contest so I can talk to her on the way to Tokiri Islands. For now, I¡¯m just glad that I met Nightshade. I¡¯m usually not a patient man, but I don¡¯t mind spending more days with my little sister. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let him know.¡± I heard someone walking away with high heels, so I got out of the restroom and walked back into the office. Blake sighed and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll sign both of you up. Come tomorrow for your first class, then, after tomorrow the contest will start after the academy.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Said Jinn. We walked out of the office, and I managed to get a glimpse of Aizawa walking away, she really seemed like a beautiful woman. ¡°So, what do you think of her?¡± I asked to Jinn. ¡°She is gorgeous. She also gives off a wise vibe.¡± As we were walking back outside, I notice a group of people surrounding Nightshade. I¡¯m guessing Aizawa didn¡¯t see her since she is in the middle of the group of people. ¡°Hey, little pixie, what are you doing here all alone?¡± ¡°We got some for you¡­ do you have any idea of what your kind has done to my mother?!¡± ¡°L-leave me alone. I got nothing to do with that.¡± She said while her eyes were frightened. I instantly started feeling my chest get warmer and warmer as my blood pressure raised. I was about to use the gauntlet without noticing that I wasn¡¯t wearing the robe, but Jinn quickly grabbed my arm. ¡°Kaiser, no need for violence.¡± I clicked my tongue in anger and walked through all of them and stood between them and Nightshade. ¡°You guys better back off from her,¡± I said. ¡°And who are you?¡± ¡°The man that will bash your face in if you don¡¯t leave her alone.¡± ¡°Oh reeeaally? You think you can take all of us on?¡± There were around six people, I couldn¡¯t battle since my PTSD would kick in, but I would do anything to protect Nightshade from these stupid thugs; I hate seeing people taking advantage on the weak. ¡°Big brother¡­ t-thanks a lot for defending me, but¡­¡± She took out her singularity and started playing the harp, Jinn and I instantly covered our ears while everyone around us fell asleep. ¡°There is no need for violence just to protect me.¡± I looked back at her and she was blushing. ¡°Let¡¯s go before somebody notices this.¡± Said Jinn. We all walked away in search of an Inn where we could stay. The sun was almost gone, the city outside the academy was very busy and crowdy, but we still managed to find a way around. ¡°Hey, Nightshade, has there really been not a single pixie that has fallen in love with a human?¡± I asked out of sheer curiosity. ¡°W-why are you asking?¡± She asked. ¡°Well, I was just thinking that it could be possible, I¡¯m surprised it has never actually happened.¡± ¡°It has, just that pixies are prohibited to talk about it.¡± ¡°Really? When? And who?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Romeo and Juliet, have you heard of that story?¡± ¡°Yes, but I thought they were humans.¡± ¡°No. Juliet was a pixie, while Romeo was a human. That¡¯s why in most books it says that Juliet was 13 since she was a pixie and looked really young.¡± ¡°Ooh, I get it. They were prohibited to be with each other, but they still remained with each other till death.¡± ¡°Mhm, isn¡¯t it romantic?¡± She asked me. ¡°Romance?¡± I chuckled, ¡°What do you know about romance?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I thought pixies were unable to feel that way for someone.¡± ¡°Well¡­. Uhm¡­¡± She started blushing and looked away while playing with her hair, ¡°I¡¯ve actually recently started to-¡± I soon noticed an Inn and said, ¡°Oh! There it is! Don¡¯t worry, I can pay all of it, I have lots and lots of crystalis.¡± We walked in and said, ¡°Good evening. Could we get three separate rooms?¡± I looked down to Nightshade and noticed that she was sad. That¡¯s right, she can¡¯t sleep without me. ¡°Three?¡± ¡°Sorry, make that two.¡± She got happy and looked at me while smiling. We all went upstairs and entered our rooms, I was going to sleep again with Nightshade, which I didn¡¯t mind. I actually prefer sleeping with her than to sleep alone. I have trouble sleeping sometimes, but staying close to her puts my soul at ease. ¡°Are we going to call room service to eat?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°I¡¯m not that hungry, devils can go years without eating.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re half human.¡± ¡°That is true.¡± She really is this caring for me? I really appreciate that; I should probably show her that I do too through actions. Wait, is she ticklish? I slowly started walking up to her. ¡°Uhm, big brother? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I quickly jumped on top of her and started tickling her. She started laughing and crying from it. ¡°You¡¯re so damn cute, you know that?¡± I said while laughing with her. ¡°Stop it! P-please!¡± I decided to stop and start walking away towards the bed so I can remove my hoodie, but before I know it, Nightshade jumped on top of me, making me fall onto the bed by the force of her wings and started tickling me back while sitting on my stomach. ¡°How does this feel, huh?!¡± I started chuckling and laughing while she was tickling my sides. She suddenly stopped, gazed into my eyes, took a deep breath and said while hugging me, ¡°I haven¡¯t had a good laugh in a long time. Where were you all this time?¡± She said with an emotional tone, almost as if she was about to cry. She had her head on my chest so I couldn¡¯t see her facial expression. Those words made my stomach warm; I don¡¯t really know why. Every time she touches me the slightest way my emotions start feeling more sensitive. ¡°I¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say, all I could think of was, ¡°I will be at your side from now on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so warm¡­ it feels so nice hugging you¡­¡± She said with a soft tone. ¡°So are you. You smell way better compared to my usual pillow.¡± I said letting out a slight chuckle. She quickly fell asleep and then I heard, ¡°I love you¡­¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I love you too, my little pixie.¡± A couple of seconds later I also heard, ¡°You really are her tree, huh?¡± Jinn was standing around the corner looking at us the whole time. ¡°How long were you planning on being there?¡± I asked. He chuckled and said, ¡°Sorry, you two are just so cute together.¡± ¡°She is the cute one here, not me.¡± ¡°You know that she-¡± ¡°That she loves me? Yes, I had an idea¡­¡± ¡°So? What are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Jinn. The path that I¡¯m taking is very risky and dangerous¡­ I don¡¯t want her to be in any kind of danger.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I understand.¡± ¡°Plus, I don¡¯t know much about love¡­ I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something between me and her, but maybe I think it¡¯s better if I keep it as a sibling type of love. At least until I¡¯m sure of my future.¡± ¡°That will hurt her a lot, she is bound to confess, and you have to give her an answer.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll think about it. I love her and all, but¡­ I need to recover my memories first, I feel like there is something missing, something important.¡± ¡°She is a good girl, Rukito. You probably shouldn¡¯t take this lightly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m just saying that-¡± ¡°Follow your heart, not your brain. Love is not about logic or critical thinking; it¡¯s about how you feel deep inside.¡± I suddenly got a flashback of someone with green hair and black eyes with glasses and a headband giving me lessons about love. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it¡­ Jinn. As for now, it¡¯s prohibited for us to be together that way.¡± He started walking away while saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, we both know that doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He¡¯s probably right. In the middle of the night, I decided to go for a cup of milk, while coming back I heard Nightshade groaning. ¡°Ah¡­ no¡­ oh.¡± She was moving left and right on the bed. My poor little pixie¡­ she must be having a nightmare without me being close to her. ¡°R-Rukito, please¡­ not so rough! Ah!¡± ¡­ goddammit¡­ Vol.2|Chapter 4: Sorafhto Fastarhan II
Next day, I woke up with Nightshade on top of me like always. But This time, I woke up hearing Jinn screaming. I looked around in alert, tried to slightly push Nightshade off me, but she wouldn¡¯t let go of her grip, so I just decided to walk over the entrance while she had her arms and legs wrapped around me. ¡°Jinn, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. He was pushed against the corner of the entrance while shaking and looking at the opposite direction with terror in his eyes. Nightshade woke up and looked at Jinn, then looked down at the same direction that Jinn was looking towards. Her wings quickly appeared, and she zoomed away to the opposite side of the room. ¡°Guys, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. I looked in the same direction where Jinn was looking and noticed a cockroach on the floor. ¡°KILL IT!¡± Yelled Jinn as he was trying to shoot it with his gun. ¡°Jinn, stop! Really? This is what this mess is about? Even you, Nightshade?¡± I asked. ¡°Pixies like animals, but we hate insects!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a roach¡­¡± I said. ¡°Then kill it!¡± Said Jinn. ¡°No,¡± I answered back with a serious face. ¡°Why not?!¡± Yelled Jinn. ¡°Because¡­ I¡¯m just a tiny bit disgusted by them too.¡± I said with a shameful smile. We all ended up leaving that Inn and completely renting another one miles away. They are not the only ones that hate bugs¡­ I get disgusted just by thinking about them. Only Jinn and I signed to the Academy since pixies weren¡¯t allowed. So before leaving the Inn, I told Nightshade to stay there and be safe until we came back. ¡°Good luck big bro! I know you can win the contest tomorrow easy! They¡¯ve got nothing on you!¡± I really appreciated the cheering, but I¡¯m already confident enough to know that. ¡°Thanks, but remember, you have to stay here.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m going to be sooo bored.¡± ¡°Hmm, you said your singularity developed, right?¡± I asked her. ¡°Yes, I can use any musical instruments.¡± ¡°Do you think digital instruments also work? Maybe you could even mix your voice in too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about computers, but I would love to learn.¡± ¡°I actually know a lot! I could teach you when I have free time.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Thank you, Jinn, but I would prefer if Rukito taught me instead.¡± ¡°Wow, ok. I see how it is.¡± He said while crossing his arms. ¡°Sorry, nothing personal.¡± I picked up my phone and dialed a number to call. Ring¡­ring¡­ring. ¡°Good morning! This is Sister Chisei, how can I help you today?¡± ¡°Fuji? It¡¯s me, Kaiser.¡± ¡°Kaiser? Oh my, I told you to call me! I was so worried about you!¡± ¡°Heh, sorry, I kind of forgot.¡± She sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, at least you finally called me.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I scoffed, ¡°I actually need a little favor from you.¡± ¡°Of course, you do¡­ well, what is it? Did you get a girl pregnant?¡± ¡°Wh-what?! Of course not!¡± ¡°I already have Ethan, Maya, and Ralon; I don¡¯t mind taking care of more.¡± I started chuckling. ¡°On a serious note, do you happen to know any¡­ DJ programs? And maybe also a basic computer navigation course?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ bizarre request. You¡¯re planning on being a DJ now?¡± ¡°No, not for me, but for my little sister.¡± ¡°You have a little sister?!¡± ¡°Long story¡­ she can explain for me.¡± ¡°Well yeah, I can easily find all of that in five minutes or so and send it over to your laptop.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll give her my phone so she can talk to you about all of these things, if what I¡¯m thinking is correct, then this will help me a lot with my PTSD.¡± ¡°Ok. I¡¯m glad to know you¡¯re doing fine by the way.¡± ¡°Oh, how about you?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m doing alright, as long as I¡¯m with my children I should never have a problem.¡± ¡°Good, well, take care!¡± ¡°Call me more often!¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t forget, then yeah!¡± ¡°I swear, I should just call you Goldfish.¡± ¡°Bye-bye!¡± I ended the call and explain to Nightshade my plan. She got super excited and said, ¡°That sounds amazing! I will also dye my hair red! And get yellow contacts so I can look just like your original look!¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that attract too much attention? It would definitely catch the attention of detectives that are looking into Rukito.¡± Said Jinn. I swear, sometimes I forget he is even here. ¡°That¡¯s the whole point¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m planning on starting something.¡± Said Nightshade with a serious tone. ¡°Starting what?¡± I asked. ¡°I will let you all know when I clearly know what I¡¯m going to do, but for now, it¡¯s just a future goal.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± I gave Nightshade my phone since she didn¡¯t have one, and Jinn said, ¡°I¡¯ll be walking up ahead to get the train tickets in advance.¡± ¡°Alright, Jinn.¡± Said Nightshade. Is he leaving me alone with Nightshade on purpose? ¡®Train tickets in advance¡¯ my ass. That bastard! I looked back at Nightshade and saw her looking at the floor with a serious expression. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I asked her. ¡°H-huh?¡± She looked back into my eyes, ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± Maybe I should just deal with her¡­ maybe I should just try out a relationship with her¡­ but¡­ it doesn¡¯t feel right yet. Yes, she has the body and appearance of a late teenager, but I still see her as a little sister, even though every time we touch, I feel that there is something that sparks. Maybe my brain has too much discord at the moment¡­ or maybe is love what would fix it¡­ Hachimura¡­ what should I do? Wait¡­ who is Hachimura? ¡°R-Rukito, are you ok? You¡¯ve been staring into my eyes for a while.¡± She said while blushing. ¡°It¡¯s easy to get lost in your eyes¡­¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°A deep, calming blue¡­ It¡¯s almost as if they were a mirror into my own mind.¡± I had no idea of what I was saying, but maybe I should have just left right there, but something didn¡¯t want to let me go. She slowly started flying up to my head level, now she was right in front of me. I felt my blood pressure rising, and my palms sweating as we kept gazing into each other¡¯s eyes. Her pupils dilated, and her eyes shined even brighter. ¡°C-¡­ come back safe, ok?¡± She said with a shaky voice. Poor girl, she probably has no idea how to deal with this strong emotion¡­ but I don¡¯t blame her, I don¡¯t either. ¡°And you don¡¯t leave this room, alright? I Wouldn¡¯t want you to-¡± She closed her eyes and started getting closer for a kiss. On the cheek? Or on the lips? What does she want? Should I kiss her?... she has grown a deep affection to me, and so have I for her. I really want to kiss her¡­ but¡­ there¡¯s something deep inside of me telling me to wait. We were just a few inches away from touching lips. Her warm-color, adorable yet alluring lips were drawing me in. My sense of smell quickly got overwhelmed by her lavender aroma, and it felt as if the rest of the world became silent as if it was only me and her in this period of time and nothing else, no humans, no devils, no angels, just me and her. I¡­ I¡¯ll just kiss her with all the love I¡¯ve got for her; from the feelings, this kiss will give me, I will get my answer. I slowly brushed her indigo hair off her face to behind her ear and slightly pulled her head closer for the kiss as I also closed my eyes. Are my lips dry? Do I have bad breath? What if she doesn¡¯t like it? And right as our lips were about to make contact, ring, ring, ring, ring! The phone started ringing, she quickly jumped back and started breathing heavily while her cheeks burning red after letting out a gasp. ¡°Uhm! Excuse me!¡± She landed on the ground and picked up the phone, ¡°Hello? Fuji? Yeah. His little sister? Yeah, something like that.¡± Welp, saved by the phone, I guess. Now it will be awkward between me and her¡­ I¡¯m just going to give her a kiss on the cheek, hopefully, that makes her believe that all along I was just going for a friendly good-bye. I slowly walked over to her and gave her the peck, interrupting her sentence and making her blush even more. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later, Nightshade,¡± I said as I walked away. A couple of minutes later, I reached Jinn at the train station. He looked at me with a smirk, he definitely knew that I knew that he did it on purpose. ¡°So, how did it go?¡± He asked. ¡°Screw you man, I said I wasn¡¯t ready yet.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°So, you didn¡¯t kiss her?¡± ¡°No! I mean¡­ I was, but the phone stopped me.¡± ¡°Well, see?! You do have feeling for her, you just keep denying it.¡± ¡°Jinn, I said many times that I see her more as a little sister.¡± ¡°Alright man, whatever you say.¡± ¡°Did you get the tickets?¡± ¡°Yup, the train will be departing in ten minutes.¡± We walked around, talked, joked, and looked at girls passing by. ¡°What do you think of that one?¡± I asked him. ¡°She¡¯s pretty cute.¡± He said. ¡°Then let¡¯s go! I will introduce you to her.¡± I said while pulling his arm, but he stood still. ¡°No man! I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Come on Jinn! Just meet her, maybe she is your type.¡± He instantly pulls out his gun and aimed at me. ¡°I said¡­ I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Alright-alright, calm down. You¡¯re the one missing out.¡± ¡°Let me. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m shy, I can¡¯t just walk up to someone.¡± ¡°How about Aizawa? You said she was cute, right?¡± ¡°Are you crazy?! I would never even have the slightest chance! Do you know how many guys are behind her? I¡¯m surprised she doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend yet.¡± ¡°Maybe she is waiting for ¡®the one,¡¯ and you could be him.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no way.¡± We looked over to the side and noticed our train arriving. We got on and began our travel to the academy. When we got there, we soon got assigned to a class. Since I said I had a hybrid singularity, I got placed in the same class as Jinn. We got there early; ten minutes before class started. We both sat on the back, right beside the window so we could look cool like those anime main characters. I quickly look at the entrance while the students start coming in, I look back and noticed Jinn looking out the window with his hair blowing in the wind and his eyes glittering. ¡°Wow, you would be a great main character,¡± I said. ¡°Yare yare daze.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. He looked back at me and said, ¡°Oh, sorry, I got too much into the role.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to do that in the middle of class, not now, you dingus,¡± I said. ¡°I know, I know.¡± All the students that walked in were looking straight at us, but none of them would dare approach. ¡°Hey, cutie! Who are you?¡± Said a girl. I looked back with a smile and the hopes of becoming one of those popular kids with the girls, but as I look back and noticed that the girl was talking with Jinn. The girl had an average height, brown hair and pink glasses covering blue eyes. ¡°H-hi! M-my name is Jinn Dalton. I moved from Tokiri Islands.¡± Counting that Jinn looks like your average pretty boy, I should have expected this. I already have Nightshade to worry about, I shouldn¡¯t be looking for more drama after all. The more I think about it, the more I don¡¯t see Nightshade as my girlfriend; I¡¯m not sexually attracted to her whatsoever, it¡¯s all pure platonic love. But her loving me both ways make me sad¡­ I don¡¯t want to refuse her future proposal; I don¡¯t want to see her broken. ¡°Tokiri?! I¡¯ve heard that the beaches and the weather are always so nice over there!¡± ¡°W-what¡¯s your name?¡± Can¡¯t he hide the fact that he is nervous a little more?... ¡°My name is Violetta Altanheim.¡± She said with a smile. ¡°A-Altanheim?! As in¡­ the royal family?!¡± Yelled Jinn. Royal family? She must live in such a nice life. ¡°Yes! A pleasure to meet you.¡± Hmm¡­ the king¡¯s last name is Fastarhan, she must be a cousin or something. As more time passed, more and more girls started to show up and go to Jinn, completely ignoring my existence. ¡°Who¡¯s the new boy?¡± Whatever, I don¡¯t really care. Suddenly, a guy walked in with three girls behind him. He looked a little annoyed by these girls, he looked at Jinn, and as soon as he looked at him his expression changed to be even more annoyed. The girls that were behind him suddenly rushed to Jinn and I noticed as he crossed his arm. He looked at me and approached me. Wow, the first person that makes eye contact with me; I guess this brown hair blends me in more than I thought, Jinn having blue hair makes him look special. ¡°Yo, new student?¡± He asked me. This guy had blond hair, but not any normal blond, he has more saturated blond, you could easily get deceived by it and think it¡¯s fake, but I can tell it¡¯s natural. His hair was spiky, waved to his right, and he had blue eyes. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t plan on staying long.¡± He sat in front of me, turned around, laid his elbow on my table and said, ¡°Why not? This academy is actually better than you think.¡± He was wearing his uniform in a rather neat way compared to the other people. He also had some accessories that made him stand out as if his hair and eyes weren¡¯t enough. Man, how come everyone looks like a potential main character besides me? ¡°It¡¯s not so much about the academy, but I have no interest in learning anything about singularities.¡± Counting the fact that I don¡¯t have one. ¡°Then why are you even here?¡± ¡°Well, I-¡± ¡°Is it because of the principal? She is hot, isn¡¯t she?¡± Aizawa? I¡¯m guessing everyone has a crush on her in this school¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve only seen her from the back, so I can¡¯t really tell.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s her best part!¡± ¡°She was wearing a skirt.¡± He started chuckling and said, ¡°I¡¯ve had a crush on her for almost a whole year now.¡± Huh, who would have thought? ¡°I think I didn¡¯t get your name,¡± I said. I have no interest in meeting more people, but I need to not seem suspicious, so I¡¯ll go along with this student life. ¡°Just call me Sora. How about you?¡± ¡°My name is Kaiser. Kaiser Chisei.¡± As I stopped my introduction, I noticed him looking at Jinn with envious eyes. Or maybe it was just hatred. ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°Oh, Jin? We¡¯re together.¡± ¡°T-together? As in¡­¡± ¡°No, no. We¡¯re friends.¡± ¡°Friends? Huh, he¡¯s not even acknowledging you. I¡¯m sure he must be a great friend.¡± ¡°Oh, no, he¡¯s been pretty good so far, he¡¯s just not used to being assaulted by women.¡± ¡°Well, whatever; class will start soon.¡± ¡°Who is our teacher?¡± ¡°Our teacher? You will soon see¡­¡± he said with a smirk. Everyone eventually went back to their seats. Jinn turned towards me with a sweaty face and gave me a thumbs up. ¡°What did they do to you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but I didn¡¯t enjoy it. I will rather be alone.¡± ¡°Yup thought so. It¡¯s fine, I got you next time.¡± Man¡­ I feel tired. Moving to another inn because of a damn cockroach was dumb. I rested my head on the desk and suddenly fell asleep in an instant. Damn, was I that tired? I got woken up by a slight knock on my table. I then heard a mature yet sweet voice that said, ¡°Uhm¡­ excuse me, sir, the class has begun.¡± As soon as I went back to my senses, I got greeted by a sweet cherry blossom aroma. And with that aroma, I also got some flashbacks, quick and unexpected, but I didn¡¯t know what any of them meant. I pick my head up and the first thing I noticed was a long and beautiful pink hair, loose, no twins, no ponytail, just loose hair. I looked even higher and noticed some round big pair of¡­ eyes. Yes, eyes. What am I thinking? I was looking straight at her breasts even though she didn¡¯t show any cleavage, I could clearly notice that she had a D-cup. But no! I can¡¯t look there for too long or else everyone will think I¡¯m a- ¡°Pervert¡­¡± Mumbled another girl in the back. I keep looking up and noticed her beautiful and womanly emerald eyes. But at this point it was too late, they notice me looking at her breasts for more than a second. I looked around the class and noticed all the girls looking at me with a disgusted face. Welp, there goes my reputation, I guess. But how can you NOT look at them?! I looked at Aizawa¡¯s eyes with shame to see her reaction, but she was just looking at me with a surprised expression. ¡°Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean-¡± ¡°Have I seen you before?¡± She asked me. ¡°Not that I know of, no.¡± That¡¯s not good¡­ she might know the person that caused the apocalypse if I stay close to her, I better avoid her for now. ¡°N-never mind.¡± She said as she walked back in front of the class. Man! What happened?! I suddenly got that flashback and then I turn into a pervert? ¡°Anyways, back to what I was saying¡­ tomorrow is the contest, and of course, I want my class to win. Afterward, I will reward every single one of this class by upgrading their singularity if possible.¡± Sora raised his hand. ¡°Yes, Sora?¡± ¡°What if our singularities can¡¯t be upgraded further?¡± ¡°Then we will discuss other ways I could help you.¡± ¡°Can I just get your number then?¡± Said some other student in the back. ¡°Mahad, sneaky flirting is not allowed in any classes.¡± She said after sighing and crossing her arms. Her uniform was special compared to the rest. For being the principal, she had the insignia of the Academy on her left arm. She was wearing stockings and high socks, she seemed that she wanted to cover as much skin as possible. The school uniform was black and white, so it really contrasted well with her hair. She has a high-crop school uniform on, hiding 90 percent of her chest, all you could see was from the collar bone up. Fuck, I should probably stop looking at her chest. She is just¡­ so hot. ¡°For you guys to win, you will have to remember that-¡± I couldn¡¯t even listen to what she was saying without looking at her with loving eyes. When I first heard of her, I promised myself that I wasn¡¯t going to fall in love for her beauty like the rest of this people, but she has me completely on the floor for her. I can¡¯t let her get the best of me¡­ I have to show some resistance, or else she will think I¡¯m just another guy. Man¡­ whoever has slept with her in the past must have been a lucky guy. I wonder if she is even a virgin. ¡°Kaiser? Kaiser!¡± Yelled Jinn. I looked up and said, ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°We have to present ourselves.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± We walked up to the front of the class as everyone was giggling. ¡°I quickly got a glimpse of Aizawa¡¯s eyes while walking up to the front and noticed that she was also looking at me. She quickly shifted her eyes away and so did I. Damn it, I can¡¯t let her find out! Jinn introduced himself, and all the girl¡¯s ears were open. Then it came to my turn, and soon realize that only the guys were listening to me, but I yet look again to Aizawa while talking, and noticed that she was looking straight at me. She shifted her gaze once again. It¡¯s fine when this happens once, but twice?! It becomes awkward. I quickly gazed back at her and the same thing happened. TRICE?! We finished introducing ourselves and Violetta stood up. ¡°As the class president, I welcome you all into class Red Wolf.¡± ¡°Red Wolf?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, this is the name that Ms. Aizawa chose herself.¡± Hmm, I¡¯m guessing red is her favorite color. She is wearing a red bracelet for some reason, and¡­ I just noticed that her crystalis ring is the pink star diamond¡­ wow¡­ that was expected, but still, its mind blowing. Wait, isn¡¯t she also the owner of the crystalis corporation or something like that? We bowed and walked back to our seats. At the end of class, when the sun was setting and everyone leaving, Sora tells me that he will wait for me outside the school to talk to me about something. Jinn approaches Aizawa and tells her, ¡°You remember our deal?¡± She looked back at him, smiled and said, ¡°Of course, I do, Jinn. If we win, I¡¯m going straight to your brother.¡± ¡°Grea-¡± Suddenly, a bunch of girls come into the class and gather around Jinn. I quickly grab him and pull him away. ¡°Sorry girls, but my friend here is currently not available.¡± ¡°Ew, it¡¯s the pervert.¡± ¡°leave the boy alone.¡± ¡°Yeah, he has nothing to do with you!¡± Aizawa took a deep breath and said, ¡°Girls, could you please take it outside? I¡¯m going to need the room to relax a bit.¡± ¡°Alright, Ms. Aizawa.¡± We all started walking outside while I heard Aizawa saying, ¡°Kaiser¡­ can you stay here for a minute?¡± I looked back at her, notice that this was once in a lifetime chance and that I could probably flirt a little bit with her, but I soon remembered that I can¡¯t let her find out I am the devil that once destroyed everything. ¡°Uhm, my sincerest apologies Ms. Aizawa, but I have some errands to run for my little sister.¡± ¡°Little sister?... never mind then, I thought¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± She said while losing her smile. It was like seeing a kid dropping her ice cream cone on the dirty floor. All hope was lost from her eyes as she looked away and said, ¡°Have a nice day.¡± ¡°You too.¡± Now that I think about it, I wonder if Fuji also changed my voice. I met Sora at the gate. Jinn was right behind me and he said, ¡°Dude did you seriously decline to be alone in a room with Shizuka?!¡± Sora heard Jinn saying that and he said, ¡°WHAT?! Are you out of your mind?!¡± ¡°Listen, man, she is hot and everything, but-¡± ¡°But what?! How could you possibly do that?!¡± ¡°I have a little sister to take care of, she is alone at the Inn, I have to come back to her.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ never mind then, I understand your choice.¡± ¡°So, who is he?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Who am I? Who are you?¡± Said Sora with an angered tone. ¡°Excuse me? I¡¯ve known Kaiser for a while now.¡± Not really, but I¡¯ll let him pass. ¡°So? You seem to be a horrible friend.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± ¡°Guys, guys, please; I appreciate the interest in being my friend, but there is no need for fighting.¡± Sora walked up to me and patted me on the back. ¡°Well Kaiser, I¡¯m glad that Shizuka shows interest in you and not this dude. You seem to be the better guy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just jealous that all the girls are talking to me.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even care about most of them!¡± ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t?¡± He asked Jinn with a puzzled look. ¡°No, I will rather be alone and meet one girl at a time.¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­ my bad for assuming things then.¡± Jinn sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± We started walking away towards the train station. I looked at Sora and said, ¡°Sora, why did you want to walk to with me?¡± ¡°Oh, uhm¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Jinn also looked at him. ¡°I¡­ I just felt like it!¡± ¡°You sure?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, yeah!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have other friends to walk with already?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what it is.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°let me guess, everyone is envious of you?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, yeah¡­ my full name is Sorafhto Fastarhan II.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Yelled Jinn. ¡°You¡¯re the Greenterra prince?!¡± A prince? ¡°Yes, well¡­ I¡¯m the middle child out of the three, so I won¡¯t be heir to the throne, but I don¡¯t really care much about the throne.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to be like the others¡­ but now that I told you, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± I smiled, patted him back on the back and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, man, prince or not, I don¡¯t mind being friends.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also another thing¡­ people use me to chase clout, so I had many fake friends.¡± ¡°I could care less that you¡¯re a prince.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Really, Jinn?... by your reaction it says otherwise.¡± ¡°You know what I mean! I¡¯ll only be friends with him if he¡¯s a good person, not because he is a prince.¡± We finally reached the train station, we got a ticket and started waiting for the train. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to go home?¡± I asked him. ¡°Y-yeah! I can call my limousine when I want, and they will pick me up.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± We kept chatting more and more as the train was arriving. ¡°So, what¡¯s your singularity?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ll see tomorrow!¡± He said with a grin. ¡°Fair enough.¡± The train arrived and we all got up, we said our good-byes and got on the train. ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± ¡°Count on it!¡± While on the way to my town, I started thinking of Aizawa. I wonder what she thought about me¡­
On the other hand, without me knowing, back in Red Wolf class, Shizuka was laying her head on the desk while sobbing. ¡°Rukito¡­ are you really dead?... I miss you¡­ I miss you so much.¡± Vol.2|Chapter 5: Final Judgment (???)
"With only light, we would be blinded from the truth. With only darkness, we would be obscured by the lies; we need a balance of both." - Lira Tempus Deus
Deepened in the waters of death, I had no thoughts in my mind, I had no regrets in my life. I might have done detrimental things and might have stated controversial opinions, but if I had the choice to change anything, I wouldn¡¯t. I¡¯m glad of the life I¡¯ve had, destiny chose this for me, and I can¡¯t get angry with it, it¡¯s just life. I opened my eyes and soon noticed I was underwater still able to breathe somehow. I quickly started swimming towards the very top where I saw a dimmed light. I looked down to the abyss and noticed that everything was pure darkness, it looked terrifying. I quickly emerged out of the water and the first thing I noticed was a place with very little light; I was probably inside a cave of some sort. After getting out of the water, I looked back into it and noticed that it was now shallow. Did I really swim that much? Was I just imagining things? It didn¡¯t take me too long to realize that it was a fountain. I want to say about ten feet in diameter. Looking into the reflection, I saw myself. Wait¡­ who am I? I was a woman, I want to say roughly around 5 feet tall, long crimson hair, and dual-colored eyes, the left eye being yellow and the right one red. I was completely naked, thankfully it was warm wherever I was, supporting my initial idea that I was underground, maybe some sort of ancient sanctuary. I tried to close my eyes and think of any memories that would appear, but as much as I struggled to remember, nothing came to mind. I sighed, looked around the room to see if there was anybody, but nothing. I saw a pathway which seemed to be the exit, so I followed it. I didn¡¯t hear a thing; I couldn¡¯t smell a thing¡­ this place is strange. All I had left was the bitter taste of the water that I had just emerged from. As I follow the pathway, I enter a room where the first thing I glanced at was a huge golden gate at the east, and another silver gate at the west, in between, there was a person, a woman to be exact, waiting for me. I slowly started walking up to her as she kept a smile on her face. ¡°Welcome to the limbo, Kasai Regiis Diaboli.¡± This woman had silver hair and silver eyes. ¡°Is¡­ that my name?¡± I asked. Right now, I am completely oblivious to anything that I am, I need to get answers. ¡°It indeed is.¡± She said with a smile. She was wearing very fancy clothes and had a halo behind her head that was gracefully flowing around her. I quickly remembered that I had no clothes and said, ¡°I apologize for my indecency, but I have no clothes to wrap myself with.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that, dear. I am unable to see physical beings; all I see is the flow of time and past memories of every living thing that is capable of remembering.¡± She sounds like she is some sort of divine being. But she is blind? ¡°W-who are you?¡± I said while slowly walking closer to her as my heart was pounding faster of the nervousness. For all I know, she could kill me any time she wanted to. ¡°I am ¡®Tempus Deus¡¯ she who is known as ¡®Lira¡¯ from the place where you come from. I am the manager of timelines and goddess of the time gem.¡± What is such being doing in front of me? Was I important? ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I am not just here, I am everywhere. In every point in time, in every event, in every death of a star and birth of others.¡± This is getting too complicated for me¡­ and I don¡¯t really care that much for her reasons, I just need to know who I am and why am I here. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to me?¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°I will quickly scan through your past life and see if you¡¯re worthy of going to heaven, or hell.¡± ¡°Wait, I died?¡± ¡°You sure did. Luckily you were half devil, and they are still allowed to get a second chance after they die.¡± ¡°Half devil?¡± ¡°But¡­ you will be the last one that falls under this convenience. The past people throughout history that had this second chance, always took it for granted.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Should another half devil or half angel die, they will be gone forever and sent to the void.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ well¡­ am I worthy of heaven?¡± I asked. She got closer to me, laid her hand on my head, then instantly removed it and teleported back, so fast that I didn¡¯t even have time to react. She sighed and said, ¡°You have murdered¡­ many people. You have stolen many things. And you are a sin that falls under the level of lust.¡± ¡°I-I have?!¡± ¡°On the other hand, you always had good intentions, the world was just against you since you were born, which is something that happens very frequent.¡± I soon started getting all my memories back. My abusive parents, the orphanage, the Aizawas, but most importantly¡­ him¡­ the person who helped me get out of the hell I was in. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t have a choice. PEOPLE WERE TREATING ME LIKE TRASH!¡± ¡°You should have known forgiveness. Truth be told¡­ everyone can change If they don¡¯t have a mental illness. Those people from black tombstone weren¡¯t ill, they were just a lot of kids with no guidance in life. And many were murdered by your hands, and all of it was caused because of your lust to this boy.¡± ¡°For Rukito? No! I did it because I wanted to stop Ochiru!¡± ¡°Kasai, you can¡¯t lie to me, nor to yourself. You would have murdered anyone who this boy told you to murder. Ochiru was never your priority; you never cared about black tombstone, you just wanted to be with him.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the problem in that?! I LOVE HIM! I owe my life to him! Can you blame me for looking at him as the only little happiness I had left?!¡± I said while tearing up. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for anything, Kasai. The world made you what you became. I don¡¯t fault the boy either, he saw himself in you and didn¡¯t want you to go through the same lonely life he went through.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Heaven and hell were created to separate two different types of people that would not be able to live in harmony. I don¡¯t want you to think that hell is bad while heaven is good, that¡¯s just corruption in religion and history that has happened over millennia.¡± ¡°So either way, I¡¯ll be fine?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that you will¡­ hell has become a systematic dystopia after the new devil queen was crowned. So, everyone by now thinks that they were made to be evil, so there is this self-placebo effect happening that makes them do evil things.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± ¡°Since you were half devil, I should be sending you to hell. But¡­ deeply inside, you¡¯re a nice kid, Kasai. Your innocence was corrupted by selfish humans. I¡¯ll give you the chance to go to heaven.¡± ¡°Really?¡± At this point, I started thinking about it. Is hell really that bad? People over there are suffering by the hands of the queen for no reason¡­ they¡­ they are all suffering just like I once was. ¡°Can you¡­ send me to hell instead?¡± ¡°Huh? Are you sure?¡± ¡°There are probably genuine people in hell that are suffering by the dictatorship of the queen for no reason¡­ I want to help them.¡± ¡°Ah, I see¡­ you see yourself in them.¡± ¡°If Rukito helped me because he saw himself in me¡­ I want to do the same and spread the genuine help to others like he once did.¡± ¡°Are you really sure? There is no turning back after you cross one of those gates. If you go to heaven you have more chance of meeting Rukito again.¡± ¡°I-I do?!¡± No! I can¡¯t let lust get in my way¡­ I can come back to him after helping the people in hell. I will come back as a better person, so much better to the point that he will admire me just like he once admired Shizuka. ¡°Well¡­ I still don¡¯t want to go to heaven.¡± She sighed, gave me a big smile and said, ¡°You truly are the reincarnation of Rei.¡± ¡°Can you tell me more about her?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will find out a lot about her in hell.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell me before I go?¡± ¡°I already gave your memory back, which is something I¡¯m not allowed to do. I can¡¯t interfere with any human, angel, or devil affairs. These are the rules set by our god.¡± The gods have a god?! Wait, she must be talking about Hikari. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Clothes instantly appeared on me. They were the same as the ones that Misaki once gave me. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give you these as a parting gift.¡± She said while winking. ¡°How did you get them?!¡± ¡°I went to Greenterra in a timeline where Misaki loses this outfit. I found it and came back and gave them to you.¡± Wow¡­ she did all of that in an instant? I can¡¯t imagine how much power she has. ¡°Are you the strongest goddess?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s enough talking. Now go through the silver gate and save the innocent from the devil queen.¡± ¡°Right!¡± I said while quickly walking towards the gate. I looked back, she smiled at me one last time and suddenly disappeared. I opened the gate and instantly started warping to hell. Vol.2|Chapter 6: Eternal Twins (???)
"People fight stronger when they are fighting for something they care about." -Crypthonic Indigo Regiis Angelus
¡°Vital signals functioning¡­¡± ¡°Heart rate normalized¡­¡± ¡°Angelic ether has completely overtaken¡­¡± Thump-thump¡­ thump-thump¡­thump-thump. The sound of my heartbeat was all I could hear together with the blood flowing around my body. I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a man with a white beard, angel wings, and a lab coat looking at me, and then rapidly switching his gaze into something else besides me. ¡°Her eyes opened!¡± He yelled. As soon as he shouted that out, every single person in the room quickly glanced at me. I look around me and noticed that I was inside some sort of tube, filled with violet and golden dust. ¡°Let her out!¡± Yelled another scientist. The tube quickly opened, and I dropped on the floor on my knees, feeling like as if I just ran a marathon. I was tired, hungry, thirsty, and I had a huge headache, but I wasn¡¯t sleepy. Someone quickly rushed towards me and gave me a towel to wrap myself around with, since I was naked this entire time. ¡°T-¡­thanks.¡± My voice was very soft and faint, I doubt that she even heard what I said. My throat was very dry. ¡°Someone! Give her some water!¡± Someone rushed to get a cup of water and quickly came back to lend it to me. I chugged the whole cup and asked for more as I tried to get up form my knees. I was struggling to stand up, but I eventually made it while shaking from the weakness I was feeling. ¡°Arthur! Call our king and let him know that one of the girls has awoken!¡± ¡°I¡¯m right on it!¡± Girls? I looked back and noticed another similar tube with a girl that had green hair in it. Who is that? Most importantly¡­ who am I? Are¡­ they going to kill me?! My heart quickly started racing as I was getting more nervous. The next glass of water arrived, I carefully grabbed it, and the water quickly evaporated as soon as I made physical contact with the cup. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s working!¡± Yelled a scientist. As I kept holding the glass of water, I realized that the glass was melting in my hands. The water evaporating¡­ it¡¯s the glass that is heating to an extreme temperature! I turned around and realized that one of the scientists was on the phone. ¡°Uhm, y-your majesty?¡± ¡°I was sure I said to not bother me right now, I¡¯m in the middle of a meeting!¡± ¡°One of the girls have awoken! Your majest-¡± ¡°What?! I¡¯ll be right there!¡± As soon as the scientist that was on the phone ended the call, I heard, ¡°Good morning, sunshine,¡± behind me. No way¡­ he was just on the phone! How did he instantly appear behind me?! As I turn my head with goosebumps all over my body, I saw this hooded man looking at me with a serious expression. He was pale, but I could only tell from his arms since he wasn¡¯t showing much skin. He was wearing a long, black and purple trench coat hoodie. Under it, he had a white Asian-style tunic. For being a king, he sure doesn¡¯t look like one. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked again with my weak voice. He gently closed his eyes, sighed while getting closer, kneeled in front of me removing his hoodie and said with a genuine smile and look in his eyes, ¡°From now on, you and the girl behind you in the divination capsule, are my daughters.¡± He was a mature-looking and slender man with short, spiky yet stylish violet hair and eyes. ¡°D-daughters? But¡­ I don¡¯t remember anything. What am I?¡± He looked around and said, ¡°This is no place to talk. And as the daughter of the Indigo Regiis Angelus family, you must wear something that fits your royal title.¡± His genuine expression made me feel safe, so I was able to trust him. ¡°Come, follow me.¡± I looked back to the other girl inside the divination capsule with concern, he noticed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, she will soon wake up and join you. She is now also one of my daughters.¡± ¡°How many daughters do you have?¡± I asked him as we kept walking. He put his hoodie on and said, ¡°None, you both are the first. I¡¯m the last royal angel remaining from the Indigo branch. The Aizawa are the other, but I am the one ruling over all the angels since the Indigo branch is the first of the two to ever be created. He looked off while showing no emotions. ¡°Is it rude if I¡­¡± I said with a doubtful look. ¡°You want to know what happened to them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to tell me.¡± He sighed, looked at me and said, ¡°You¡¯re my daughter now¡­ I¡¯ll be sure to take good care of you so we will have to build trust in each other, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then hiding secrets it¡¯s not a good way to start, correct?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°I do have a son; he went missing a couple of years ago, and I¡¯m trying to look for him.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Oh, so you want us to look for him?¡± He looked at him with a slightly surprised expression and said, ¡°Huh, smart girl. I like that,¡± he smirked and looked forward, ¡°Yes, I want you both to look for him, his name is Daku. Daku Indigo Regiis Angelus Silvermoon.¡± That¡¯s a long name. ¡°I would gladly help you, but do you mind telling me who I am?¡± ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± We walked outside the building that we were in. The bright light of the sun almost blinded me. I covered the rays of light from hitting my pale face with my hand while squinting my eyes. ¡°Let the sun give you energy, Yumi.¡± ¡°Yumi? That¡¯s my name?¡± ¡°Yes, that was your name. I was going to give you a new one, but I thought you felt more comfortable with your old name.¡± ¡°O-old name?¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s King Crypthonic!¡± Said an angel civilian while pointing at him. Everyone suddenly towards him and said, ¡°Your majesty! Good morning!¡± He looked back at him with a smile and said, ¡°Good morning, everyone. Spread the word, I will be doing an announcement at 14:00.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty!¡± ¡°Wait, who is that woman?¡± Said someone while pointing at me. ¡°She only has a towel on!¡± ¡°Is that the new queen?!¡± ¡°I will let everyone know who she is at the announcement.¡± Walking under the sun felt like it gave me lots of energy, I thought it was going to get me tired instead. We soon walked inside the colossal castle that had a giant angel statue at the very top. Walked up the main stairs by the throne and went to the back where all the rooms were. We entered a room which seemed as if it was reserved for me and he said, ¡°Well, get comfortable. This will be your new room.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He looked around, then looked at me and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± he suddenly disappeared in a blink of an eye, then came back a couple of minutes later. ¡°Here, I told the dressmaker to make a royal outfit for you,¡± he said while giving me a fancy white dress with purple ribbons and emblems of the Royal Angel family. ¡°Wow, this looks beautiful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s infused with purified threads. It should protect you from any curse magic that might be castes on you by enemies using the diamond of souls.¡± ¡°Oh, the diamond of souls? Wait¡­ I know what it is! Hitem, Imki, Yuem and Deis.¡± ¡°Yes, I see my scientists did a great job at uploading angel knowledge into your mind.¡± I quickly noticed that I could also read the angel alphabet. ¡°Wow, this feels weird.¡± ¡°Get dressed, I¡¯ll be here waiting for you.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± I quickly got dressed, then I came back. He looked at me and said with a smile, ¡°You look gorgeous. Now you look like a princess.¡± ¡°Thank you! I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°Now, sit here on the sofa, I¡¯ll explain what has happened to you.¡± As I went to sit down on the sofa, I slightly burned the top of it as I was laying my hand to sit down. ¡°Oh! Sorry!¡± He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not your fault. After all, this is your room now, not mine.¡± ¡°It is my fault, I apologize.¡± He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Yumi¡­¡± he started explaining all of my backstories. My cloud elf origins, my singularity, my sisters, and most importantly, my death. ¡°O-Ochiru?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes¡­ the most powerful being in the whole universe.¡± He kept on informing me about the origins of Ochiru and he also talked about the divine gemstones. ¡°But¡­ how am I still alive then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always had an eye on you, Yumi. You and Misaki really caught my attention when I heard that you both manage to beat one of my best angel knights in a duel. And hearing about the Luminous blessing you got as a singularity, made me even more intrigued.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°So, when I heard that you both died, I instantly rushed to the place. But I got the news a bit late, so I arrived at the scene one day late.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I found both of your body and Misaki¡¯s at the scene. Picked you both up and brought you to heaven.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t cloud elves also be reborn as angels and devils?¡± ¡°No¡­ that¡¯s a lie. Cloud elves can¡¯t have a second life, only humans have that privilege since their lifespan is very short.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand.¡± ¡°Luckily, I have already found the radiation gem and half of the sun gem. With the gems and some science, I was able to revive you both as angels.¡± He opened his palm in front of my face and said, ¡°Break.¡± I instantly got a purple halo sideways on my head just like he did, and my wings appeared on my back. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I broke the seal that kept you from transforming.¡± ¡°You were talking about the gems¡­ so you¡¯re telling me that I have half the power of the sun gem?¡± ¡°Yes, Yumi. I believed that you would be a perfect fit for it since you were blessed by Luminous himself.¡± ¡°Can I talk to him? And do you plan on getting all the gems? What about Misaki, my twin sister?¡± ¡°Woah, one question at a time. No, you cannot talk to Luminos until you get the full gem.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡°About getting all the gems, yes. We need to stop Ochiru before she destroys the whole universe and resets it again.¡± ¡°She can do that?¡± ¡°Yes, only if all the gems are destroyed. She has already reset the universe four times.¡± ¡°how do you know?¡± ¡°Each time a universe resets, the power of the gems keeps getting weaker and weaker by getting halved. Our studies have proven that the gems are 25% of the power they used to be, so the universe must have been reset four times.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand now.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m afraid if it gets halved again¡­ we might not be able to beat her.¡± ¡°So, I have 12.5% of the sun gem¡¯s power? Since I only have half of it,¡± ¡°Correct, that¡¯s why right now you¡¯re having trouble controlling its power,¡± he said while smiling. ¡°Do you have a gem?¡± ¡°Patience; you asked me about Misaki, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Oh yeah! What about her?¡± ¡°I had the full radiation gem stored for her, so once she wakes up, I would love for you to explain everything to her.¡± ¡°So where is this gem? I can¡¯t see mine.¡± ¡°In order to revive you and Misaki, we had to liquify the gems and mix them with your blood, then leave you both on the Divine Capsule for a year to recover.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ that¡¯s better than to have a normal gem.¡± ¡°Yes, and no.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Anyways, Misaki should be revived soon.¡± ¡°By the way, why did my hair turn orange? And Misaki¡¯s turn green?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of the side-effects of the gems. They change your hair color based on the gem that you have. That can be a problem because you can easily spot people who are hosts, (Gem users) so both devils and angels came to an agreement one year ago to manipulate humans into thinking that multi-colored hair is natural. It¡¯s still taking effect, but eventually, it would be treated as something completely normal, so everyone will start dying their hair.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very intelligent!¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You planned it?¡± He seems like a very intelligent king. ¡°Yes, I did. It¡¯s not that complicated; humans have been toyed with by angels and devils for ages.¡± ¡°I see that¡­¡± Crypthonic instantly got a call on his watch. He touched a button and a hologram appeared in front of him. ¡°Your majesty, the other girl has awoken.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Vol.2|Chapter 7: Shield of Humanity (Jinn)
"The stronger the resolve, the stronger your shield." - Jinn Dalton
It was the day of the contest after school. All the classes were going to go against each other in a tournament. Our class, having hybrid singularity should have the biggest advantage, but the down sight is that we can only use 1 singularity, while the rest can use more than one. But having Shizuka Aizawa as the teacher of the class, we should be prepared, I just don¡¯t feel too confident about this. Kaiser and I were waiting for our turn in the waiting lobby behind the arena. He turned towards me and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to fight¡­¡± ¡°Right, you never talked to me about your PTSD. Is it from¡­ a year ago?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it is.¡± ¡°Then, what are you going to do?¡± I asked with a puzzled face. ¡°I might be late on my turn¡­ but I¡¯ll be here.¡± He said while getting up and walking away. ¡°Wait, where are you going?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t leave me alone!¡± ¡°I told Sora to come, he should be here anytime.¡± He walked outside, then two minutes later, Sora came into the room and said, ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Did you see where Kaiser went?¡± ¡°Hmm? No, why?¡± ¡°Never mind.¡± ¡°Are you excited for your battle?¡± He asked me. ¡°Excited? If it counts as nervous, then yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you got this, Jinn.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going against Archdragon. I¡¯ve heard that he can summon a dragon to fight for him and that his partner can also summon small meteorites.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ a materialistic singularity.¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯ve never asked you about your singularity,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll see it in action.¡± He said smirking. ¡°We don¡¯t go against each other in our own class, right?¡± ¡°Yes, we do. But that¡¯s only at the end. We have tournaments of two versus two first.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ so¡­ KAISER NEEDS TO BE WITH ME!¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t come back in time, you will have to fight by yourself.¡± ¡°WHAT?! Who is your partner then?¡± ¡°My cousin¡­ Violetta Altanheim.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like each other?¡± ¡°Not at all. But since our singularities work really well together, Ms. Aizawa made us team up.¡± An hour later, someone knocked on the door and said, ¡°Jinn Dalton, Kaiser Chisei, you¡¯re both up next. I¡¯d advise getting ready.¡± Great! Just great! I have no idea where Kaiser is, and I won¡¯t be able to deal with a dragon and meteorites. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure Kaiser has something in mind,¡± Said Sora. ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°He seems like a smart guy, and would he ever have a reason to leave you hanging?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ not that I know of.¡± I got up and decided to walk out and get ready for my battle. I have to trust that he will arrive to help me before It¡¯s too late. But¡­ I don¡¯t think he will. I then heard the little voice say, ¡°Jinn, trust in him. He¡¯s a good person inside.¡± She is probably right¡­ we have been friends for quite a while now, I can¡¯t keep doubting him. I went to the entrance of the arena, where there was a man that looked busy, checking through a list in front of the gate. ¡°Uh¡­ excuse me.¡± He instantly looked up and asked, ¡°Jinn Dalton?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Where is Kaiser Chisei?¡± ¡°He will be joining the battle a bit later.¡± ¡°Alright. You may enter.¡± The gate opened, and I started walking in looking around. It was a triangular arena. Shizuka Aizawa was sitting on a fancy chair at the top, looking down onto all of us. It felt like I was in a colosseum of some sort. I looked at her, and we briefly made eye contact. She smiled, waved at me, and I instantly looked away. I hate being shy. Every other teacher was besides Aizawa looking at me and smiling. I walked over to the person at the gate and asked, ¡°Do they all really need to be watching? I thought this was going to be something a little more¡­ private.¡± ¡°Most of the professors are just here in case something really bad happens and need our help, especially Ms. Aizawa.¡± ¡°Well, I would like to know the rules.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our announcer will explain everything.¡± ¡°Great.¡± I walked back, and the announcer quickly picked up the microphone and said, ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the fourth, monthly singularity showdown!¡± Everyone started cheering. Wait, I¡¯m doing the first battle?! Oh no¡­ most of the attention will be on this battle! Most people usually remember first and last. ¡°On the left side, we have Archdragon and Blazhone from the materialistic singularity class, Orange Salamandra!¡± Many people started cheering. ¡°They are known around the academy to have won the last showdown!¡± They are¡­ THE PAST CHAMPIONS?! ¡°Since you are only allowed to win a showdown two times throughout your academy experience, this might be their last showdown if they win.¡± Ah, makes sense, if not it would be unfair to the other participants going against people with upgraded singularities. ¡°On my right side, from the most elite class, Red Wolf, we have Jinn Dalton and Kaissss¡­- Where¡¯s Kaiser?¡± Someone called the announcer on the phone and then he mumbled, ¡°Oh¡­ alright.¡± He turned back to the crowd and said, ¡°It looks like Kaiser will be joining late. Will the solo contester be able to hold up against the champions duo?¡± Hell no I won¡¯t. I looked back at Ms. Aizawa and saw her sighing. We are from her class after all. ¡°The rules are as always! Fight until someone surrenders or until the time is over. If the time runs out, the party with the most mana wins!¡± I started jumping in place to get prepared while thinking, well¡­ I better prepare myself mentally and-Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°BEGIN!¡± One of them quickly opened an enormous portal behind him. What the hell?! Already?! ¡°Just so you know, we are not really talkative, we win, then we talk.¡± Said the person in front of me as a dragon started emerging from the portal. There was a lot of ancient writing circling around the dragon as he came out of the portal, spreading his wings. ¡°ASTRAL GUARDIAN: FROZEN HOPE!¡± My pistol appeared on my hand as the stardust accelerator appeared behind my back making a big flash, as blue lights and glitter enveloped the whole arena. I started running around them. The more I move, the more ammunition will accumulate my stardust accelerant. As the accelerant started spinning, I activated my Eagle-eye and quickly started scanning the dragon. ¡°Target Acquired¡ªLoading Stardust Magazine¡ªEnhancing Optics¡ªMagazine Loaded¡ªSmart Optics Operational¡ªFinding Enemy weak spot¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± Both of my enemies mounted the dragon. The other one that has the meteor singularity, which I believe is called Blazhone, released his singularity. A bunch of smaller portals appeared in the sky; these must be the meteors! ¡°Flashy singularity, but it¡¯s not going to help you much.¡± Said Blazhone. Crap¡­ they are right. What the hell am I going to do against a dragon?! ¡°Jinn¡­ breathe deeply, you can do this.¡± I sure hope I can, little voice. Before I noticed, the meteors started falling, after they picked up from the ground and flew high up, on top of the portals, so the meteors didn¡¯t hit them. Huh¡­ I see¡­ That¡¯s their strategy. I started shooting each meteor falling on top of me, but then I quickly realized that the crowd was also in danger, so I also started shooting some of the meteors that were going to fall on them. The announcer quickly said, ¡°Jinn, there is a magic barrier around the people, you don¡¯t need to defend them.¡± ¡°O-oh! Ok!¡± Man, Ms. Aizawa sure must be an amazing sorceress if having meteors falling on me is legal. Now that I think about it¡­ I don¡¯t think there was any talk about overkill magics not being allowed. ¡°¡­ ¡­ Enemy weak spot found. Middle of the oesophagus¡ªAstral Guardian Ready. Good luck, Jinn.¡± That took waaaay longer than expected. ¡°Apologies. This is the second time I¡¯ve dealt with a dragon.¡± Second time?! Is there something you need to tell me, little voice? ¡°...¡± Of course not. As I kept shooting the meteors, I tried thinking of a way I can get a clear shot to the dragon¡¯s mouth. Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t have anything that can make me go that high up. ¡°Low ammunition!¡± Crap, I better start running. I let go of the pistols, making them disappear, and started dodging the meteors so my accelerant would recharge more. Think Jinn¡­ think. I quickly got an idea and started shooting the ground. ¡°Huh?! What is Jinn doing?!¡± Yelled the announcer. Quickly, all the arena¡¯s ground became Ice. I quickly tapped the side of my boots three times, and they released the blade that they had hidden at the bottom. I usually use this in case of emergencies for self-defense, but this is a good way I can use these blades for now. I started skating around the arena, dodging the small meteorites better and faster. ¡°Wow! Jinn freezes the floor of the arena to skate on it!¡± This is not just for shows though¡­ I have to make some sort of ramp to reach the dragon. I looked around and noticed that the fragments of the meteorite were not disappearing, so I quickly rushed to the side of the arena to accumulate a lot of meteorites so I could freeze them all in a pile and use that as a ramp to reach the dragon. Since there was a sky limit, the dragon couldn¡¯t fly far from the arena, or the enemy duo would be eliminated. ¡°Hey! You guys suck! Can¡¯t even hit me once!¡± They started spawning more and more meteorites as I dodged every single one of them. I managed to pile up enough fragments in a small hill so I could freeze it and make a ramp. So I did. They quickly noticed what I was trying to do, so they tried destroying it, but I managed to shoot the projectiles away. I took a big running start and skated all the way to the ramp and jumped really high up, about to reach the dragon. I quickly noticed that the dragon opened its mouth and started charging up something. There was no way I could dodge it in mid-air, so I shot its mouth, but as soon as I did, he shot a laser out of its mouth that burned my left arm. I groaned, landed on the ground and went up against a wall holding my left shoulder. ¡°Clear hit! Jinn, are you ok? Or do you want to tap-out?¡± I slowly got up and said, ¡°I got it¡­¡± The dragon quickly started charging another shot as I slowly started walking forward towards it, making sure not to slip on the ice. I¡­ I have to save my brother from that virus if I give up here¡­ all of this would be rendered to useless! ¡°Do you want to know why my singularity is called Astral Guardian?!¡± I asked. ¡°Huh?! Like it matters! This will be my dragon¡¯s full mana power!¡± Ms. Aizawa quickly gasped and said, ¡°If he uses all of it¡­ I don¡¯t think Jinn will be able to sustain the damage.¡± I kept walking forwards. As the dust picked up from the benches where the people were sitting. The dragon fully charged his ability, then shot a white laser towards me. ¡°ASTRAL GUARDIAN: DIAMOND KNIGHT!¡± An ocean-blue shield around the same size as me appeared on my arm. It had many diamonds and jewels at the front. The laser impacted on my shield and the ice around me quickly broke from the impact, and dust started flying all over the place. My hair was blowing from the high winds that the impact was making. My arms felt shaky while I was trying to push back the laser, but I had the determination to save my brother, so I couldn¡¯t give up. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know how much longer I can hold it back!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up! Jinn!¡± My arms were feeling like wet noodles. I was starting to get pushed back from the force of the laser, so much that my back touched the wall of the arena, so I had no other choice than to hold the laser back, or I would have serious injuries. ¡°I respect your resolve to win this battle¡­ but we are stronger!¡± Said Blazhone as he started making a big portal to shoot the last meteorite against me. ¡°It was a nice fight¡­ Jinn. I¡¯ll remember your name.¡± Said Archdragon. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t hold it back any longer¡­ I feel like¡­ fainting.¡± The medics stood up, ready to heal me if anything drastic was to happen. The clouds quickly turned black; the wind started to get really strong out of nowhere. Ms. Aizawa stood up from her chair and said, ¡°This feeling¡­¡± Suddenly, I saw a silhouette falling from the sky at an incredible speed with the corner of my eye, I think I saw devil wings, but they quickly disappeared. ¡°BROKEN SPIRIT¡­¡± he whispered. The whispered somehow echoed across the whole arena. The figure landed on the dragon with a typhoon behind him which cleared all the dark clouds, piercing the dragon with his sword, making all the impact of the fall push against the dragon, smashing him against the floor of the arena, while in the air quickly cutting his wings, making it groan of the immense pain. I instantly faceplanted on the ground since all the energy left my body. I looked up and saw that Kaiser finally arrived. ¡°And Kaiser makes an amazing entrance right at the last second!¡± He quickly ran towards me and yelled, ¡°Jinn! Are you ok, bud?!¡± He held out his hand, I smiled, grabbed it and got up. ¡°Took you long enough. Did you fall on the toilet?¡± He smirked and said, ¡°I wish it was that simple.¡± I looked at his arm and noticed that he had a really cool sword. It looked like a Katana, but it was broken. It clearly had something missing, but it was red and orange, with a blazing aura around it. He was also wearing some futuristic headphones, is he listening to music? ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He turned around to the enemies and said, ¡°I¡¯ll explain later, for now, let¡¯s deal with these guys.¡± Looking at him, I could see that a burden was off his chest. His eyes were a bit glitterier and he definitely gave off more of a positive energy¡­ what happened to him? Where did he go? I quickly noticed with my Eagle-eye that the dragon was preparing to shoot another laser through the smokescreen. I stepped in front of Rukito with the shield and said, ¡°WATCH OUT!¡± I blocked the laser beam and fell on the ground again. ¡°Jinn! You should probably let me take care of this. You¡¯re exhausted.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t just been taking all these shots for no reason¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I stood up again, this time with shaky legs. ¡°Shield power 200% Release ready, Jinn.¡± I clenched my shield close to me and said, ¡°Any projectile that hits this shield is absorbed, and if I release it, its strength will be doubled.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I charged up the shield and was about to release all the energy back to them doubled. ¡°Archdragon¡­ Blazehone¡­¡± The wind started picking up again, making my hair flow while the shield¡¯s diamonds were shining white, ¡°I agree¡­ it was a nice fight indeed.¡± ¡°Impossible! How are you still standing?!¡± ¡°He has important things to take care of¡­ his motivation is nowhere near as trivial compared to you guys.¡± Said, Kaiser. ¡°ASTRAL GUARDIAN: RELEAS--¡± ¡°Divine Lock.¡± The arena floor became a colossal yellow magic circle. Instantly, all the singularities in this circle disappeared. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Said Ms. Aizawa. ¡°W-what?! We were just getting started!¡± Yelled Kaiser. ¡°If they got hit by that laser at double strength, they would have died¡­¡± I looked up with one eye closed and said, ¡°So¡­ do we win?¡± ¡°The victory goes to class Red Wolf.¡± Said Ms. Aizawa with a serious voice. All of our class started cheering, and then everyone started chanting, ¡°JINN, JINN, JINN, JINN, JINN!¡± I blushed, smiled, and faceplanted again, but this time, I don¡¯t think I got up. The last thing I heard was Kaiser saying, ¡°HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME?!¡± Vol.2|Chapter 8: Fate Gambler
"He who gambles doesn''t rely on good luck; he who gambles makes his own luck." -Vincenzo Peruggia Lynx
After the battle, I went to the healing zones with Jinn. It¡¯s a number of rooms next to each other which heal people who are in it. The healing class of the academy is very surprising; Aizawa sure did a good job. There weren¡¯t people inside these rooms since our battle was the first. I helped Jinn sit down on a chair and then took one for myself. I sat parallel to him looking at him and asked, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had better battles.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± I¡¯m not usually a guy that likes to apologize or does so easily, but this is unacceptable from my part. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be there earlier.¡± He looked at me, smiled and said, ¡°We won, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, man. I¡¯m fine. That battle helped me unlock a power I once used a long time ago.¡± ¡°The shield?¡± ¡°Yes. Diamond Knight is one of the strongest ability Astral Guardian has.¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m surprised your singularity has so many different abilities.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s unique about it.¡± He looked to the side, then looked back at me and said, ¡°Talking about singularities, what¡¯s the deal with that sword? And the headphones?¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Let me explain.¡± ¡°We got time.¡± I leaned back on the chair and said, ¡°I went back to the inn before the battle. I bought good quality headphones along the way and arrived at the inn.¡± ¡°Is Nightshade ok?¡± ¡°Yes, thankfully she heard what I said and stayed inside. I¡¯m glad she is not rebellious.¡± ¡°Actually¡­ she is rebellious.¡± Said Jinn with a disappointed smile. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Before we met you¡­ along the way, she kept complaining and starting arguments with other people for silly reasons. But it might have been insomnia, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Oh, wow. I didn¡¯t expect something like that from her.¡± ¡°It might also be that she doesn¡¯t want to look like a bad girl in front of you.¡± ¡°But of course! She is my little sister; I wouldn¡¯t tolerate something like that from her.¡± ¡°No, Kaiser¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it that way.¡± ¡°Anyways, back to the main topic. I asked if she has done any music throughout the morning, and she did, but only one song. Which is¡­ really good.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Yes; I¡¯m surprised she learned this quickly.¡± ¡°What genre?¡± ¡°Drum and Bass.¡± ¡°That so much different to what she usually does! That¡¯s amazing! I want to hear it too when she comes out with a full album.¡± ¡°Right?! She told me that she uses her vocals remixed to further enhance the emotional manipulation.¡± ¡°Is that what helped you with your PTSD?¡± ¡°Yeah, every time I battle now, I just have to put the headphones on and play her music.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± ¡°While listening to it on my way back-¡± ¡°Did you give her a ¡®thank you¡¯ kiss?¡± I took a quick breath and repeated, ¡°While listening to it on my way back-¡± ¡°You must have given her a kiss, she basically helped you with a huge problem.¡± ¡°JINN!¡± ¡°What?¡± He said chuckling. ¡°No, we didn¡¯t kiss, now, can you let me finish?!¡± ¡°Ok, ok. But you¡¯re rude for not doing so; she deserved it.¡± ¡°While listening to it, on my way back, I felt a weird power in me. It was a burning feeling in my arm. I focused on the energy on my arm and I unlocked the singularity.¡± ¡°She also helped you unlock it?! Boy, when is the wedding?!¡± ¡°SHUT UP! I don¡¯t like her like that!¡± ¡°Then why are your cheeks are getting red?¡± I walked away and said, ¡°Heal by yourself, I¡¯m going to watch Sora¡¯s battle.¡± ¡°You two would look so cute together though! The cold-hearted beast and the delicate little flower that needs protection who tames the beast.¡± I looked back frowning with a smile and said, ¡°Wow, I never took you for a romantic.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had my dose of poems, want to hear them?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m good. Happy healing!¡± ¡°W-wait!¡± I closed the door and walked away. While walking in the corridor towards the arena, I heard someone say behind me, ¡°Rukito.¡± I turned back out of instinct and saw Aizawa looking at me. When I turned back her expression changed from serious to surprised. ¡°W-why did you turn back?¡± ¡°Huh? I-¡± Oh crap¡­ she got me, what can I make up now?! ¡°It was a rhetorical question.¡± ¡°Well, anybody hearing the name of a bloody demon who killed thousands of people would turn back.¡± ¡°You turned around a little too quickly¡­¡± ¡°Are you really suspecting me of being such a person?¡± ¡°I saw your devil wings as you were arriving. I was never told by anyone that you were a devil.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not something I easily share with people I don¡¯t know. Unlike you, I don¡¯t use my genes to gain popularity in this world.¡± I don¡¯t know why I said something so mean to her, but she was getting on my nerves by getting into my life out of nowhere. ¡°¡­ I never asked for popularity. I just wanted to prevent a disaster by opening this Academy and use my knowledge to good use.¡± It was only her and I in this corridor. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be watching Sorafhto¡¯s battle?¡± ¡°The battle is already over. He finished in less than a minute and won. Up next, he goes against his own partner to see who makes it first out of our class. You will go against Jinn. But I''m still not sure, I might just make you and Jinn go against Sora and Violetta.¡± Already over? Wow¡­ he must be really strong. She got closer to me, about two feet in front of me. ¡°Your eyes¡­ even though they are brown, they seem familiar.¡± Damn, she is pretty¡­ I can¡¯t stare at her too long without looking away, the boys were right. We gazed into each other¡¯s eyes for three seconds and then instantly looked away blushing. ¡°D-don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a bit weird to walk up to someone and say that?¡± I asked. ¡°I-I have a feeling that you¡¯re the person who I¡¯m looking for; I just need to find evidence.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t stalk me¡­¡± I said. ¡°What?! No! I¡¯m not a weirdo!¡± She said while blushing. ¡°Good, good.¡± I can¡¯t admit being Rukito¡­ who knows what she could do to me right now, she is powerful, she could probably kill me if she wanted to, I should probably gain her friendship and trust, so she doesn¡¯t look more into the matter. She looks like a delicate fine woman¡­ what could she be interested in? ¡°Hey, after the contest, mind taking some coffee or tea together? I would like to talk more about this misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re asking me for a date?¡± ¡°Uhm, yeah?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Why is she acting so surprised? ¡°Yeah, you, who else? The wall! Yeah, wall! What about going to a date where I would have a lovely conversation about your construction.¡± She started giggling, but then stopped herself. She brushed her hair behind her ear, crossed her arms while slowly blinking and said, ¡°Alright. But don¡¯t think of it as a date! It will be an appointment to talk about the investigation I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°S-sure¡­ today is Friday, right? how does Sunday sound? At that local cafeteria beside the forest? Maybe at 2 PM.¡± She started walking away, then said, ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± She is clearly making up an act to protect her persona. ¡°But I¡­ look forward to you being there.¡± I then heard her mumble, ¡°My first date¡­¡± First date?! Has no one ever had the balls to ask her out?! ¡°Yup, I¡¯ll be there.¡± Damn, she is cute. I walked over to where Sora was in his preparation room, he was relaxing. As soon as I opened the door, he looked at me with a smirk and asked, ¡°So, did you watch it?¡± ¡°I had to take Jinn to heal, sorry.¡± ¡°Aww¡­ that sucks. Alright, next battle then.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So, I¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I have a date with Shizuka.¡± ¡°WHAT?! The heart breaker herself?!¡± ¡°The what?¡± ¡°Every time someone asks her out, she dumps them. This has been happening for a year now, so she gained the title of ¡®Heart breaker.¡¯¡± Oh... that¡¯s why she was so surprised? ¡°Oh, ok.¡± Damn, but it really wasn¡¯t that hard. Does she like me? Hmm¡­ I better not jump to conclusions. ¡°Hahaha, but come on man, you¡¯re joking about the date though, right?¡± Asked Sora. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d be damned¡­ I never actually tried with her, she seems too uptight and serious to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the type of girls I like, but I need to get to know her more.¡± ¡°Calm down bud, you still don¡¯t know if she is slightly interested in you.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t accepting my date request a big hint?¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± ¡°I know, but whatever, we¡¯ll find out this Sunday.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Jinn?¡± He asked me with a concerned look. ¡°He¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°He is really strong! I never expect a quiet boy to hold such power.¡± ¡°Hahaha, trust me, neither did I,¡± I said while I got a text message on my phone. It was Nightshade. That¡¯s right, on the way back I bought her a phone so I could use mine since I need ways of communicating with her, I need to know if she is safe or not. ¡°Who is it? Could it possibly be Shizuka?! You got her number?!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my little sister.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you mentioned her before. Is she alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, she is good, I just feel like I worry too much sometimes¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± He came closer and patted me on the back. ¡°I know the feeling. I have a little sister too.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I heard that you also have a little sister.¡± ¡°Yes, her name is Zue Fastarhan, she is fifteen years old.¡± ¡°Oh, just like my little sister¡­ well¡­ technically.¡± ¡°Technically?¡± ¡°Nothing, nothing. I¡¯ll go look at the brackets, bye!¡± ¡°Alright, let me know how they look.¡± I walked over to the brackets and noticed that next up it was Jinn and me against Sorafhto Fastarhan and Violetta Altanheim. Damn, this is not good, I need to know his singularity before we battle, or else he will have a huge advantage over us. Apparently, our class has beaten every other class, so now it comes down to a battle between ourselves to see which duo comes at the top. Whoever wins between Sora¡¯s duo and mine, will go to the finals. I better start practicing with Jinn; our battle against Sora is at 10 PM (In 40 minutes). Walking back to the healing zones, I noticed that many people were missing on the corridors, is there an interval show? Walking across the stone pavement, I looked forward and noticed a¡­ cat? No, that¡¯s a lynx! A Satana Lynx to be precise! They are fully covered in black fur and have glowing yellow eyes; legends say that they come from hell itself. I know that we are in the north and this is where they live, but it¡¯s strange seeing one in the school; how did he even get in here? As I slowly walked up to him, he instantly noticed me and started backing off. ¡°Hey buddy, I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡± He seems pretty young. If I had to guess, he was born 3 months ago. He looks like a kitten but knowing the Satana Lynxes they don¡¯t grow as big as other lynxes, so he could definitely fit in my bookbag. ¡°Yeah, right!¡± I heard someone say. I looked around but I didn¡¯t see anyone. ¡°Huh? What was that?¡± Whatever, I should probably take this lynx out of here before he causes any troubles. I kept slowly walking up to him not to alert him until I saw his fur and tail rise, and then heard growling, he definitely thought of me as a threat. ¡°Listen, cat. I¡¯m not here to fight.¡± Even though¡­ I could sell him instead¡­ they go for really high prices on the market based on their rarity, and the group is running short in money¡­ hmmm. Priorities Kaiser, priorities. ¡°Alright, cat. I¡¯m selling you.¡± I said while walking up to him. ¡°WHAT?!¡± I heard. Am I imagining things? I should probably go heal with Jinn too just in case. ¡°You¡¯re a kitty too, so they will pay more.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just sell me without my consent! This is Greenterra!¡± Alright, I¡¯m not crazy, this lynx is actually talking. ¡°You can talk?¡± ¡°Yes, I can talk! Who do you think I am?!¡± ¡°A lynx?...¡± ¡°¡­ Well, yes¡­. but I used to be the greatest gambler and thief ever! Everyone knew who I was in hell! My name is VINCENZO PERUG-¡± I picked up the boasting lynx and closed him into my bag. ¡°Good for you buddy, now you will be the greatest source of money I ever had. You can talk? They will pay a fortune for this.¡± ¡°Hey! Let me out!¡± ¡°Sorry bud; looks like the one who hit the jackpot was me.¡± Man, a talking lynx? This sure is strange. I¡¯d have to ask Shizuka and see if she knows more about the Satana Lynxes. I walked over to Jinn¡¯s healing room with the lynx in the bag. I left the zipper a bit open so he could breathe. I opened the door to the room and saw Jinn on the ground with a laptop. ¡°Since when you had that?¡± ¡°Oh, I always did, I Just never had a chance to use it. In the ship, there was no Wi-Fi either.¡± I dropped the bag on the ground and heard the lynx letting out a yelp. ¡°What was that?¡± Asked Jinn, alarmed. ¡°Oh right, I completely forgot.¡± I took the lynx out of the bag and showed Jinn. ¡°W-what is that?¡± ¡°Our pot of gold, Jinn¡­ our pot of gold.¡± ¡°Pot of gold?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a pot of gold!¡± Yelled the cat. ¡°IT TALKS?!¡± ¡°Yup, it sure does.¡± ¡°Is this your new addition to your harem of Nightshade and Shizuka? Is she going to turn into a cat-girl and sleep with you?¡± Asked Jinn with a serious face of a man of culture. ¡°No, but that would be amazing. And there is no harem!¡± I looked back to the lynx and asked, ¡°You¡¯re a boy, right?¡± The lynx jumped back and said, ¡°Of course I am a boy, you morons! Does Vincenzo sound like a girl¡¯s name?!¡± ¡°Just making sure.¡± After settling, Jinn and I sat Infront of the lynx as he started telling us his story. He apparently was a really popular gambler in hell which once lost a bet. The bet was set on a game of poker, the conditions were that if he lost, he would have been stripped down from his fortune and sent to Greenterra to live with the other Satana Lynxes. ¡°Well, a fitting end for the carrier of the best gambler,¡± I said. ¡°What do you mean?! I¡¯m sure he cheated! But everyone was in on the plan, so they didn¡¯t say anything!¡± ¡°Gambling is a risky thing to do, you should have expected something like this to happen.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Again! It¡¯s not my fault!¡± ¡°So, you mean to tell me that you can turn into a human?¡± ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t do so until I¡¯m older. When I was sent here, my age restarted for some reason, so I¡¯m a kitten again.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ I read about this somewhere on the internet.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Hmm?¡± He turned around and started typing on his laptop. ¡°Here it is!¡± He showed us the monitor and said, ¡°Published by a research paper of Shizuka Aizawa six months ago, here it says if a non-divine being travels through heaven or hell, they will be reborn in the new world with their memories. Their memories will only be wiped off if they die.¡± ¡°Ah, so basically to be sent to Greenterra I had to be reborn again.¡± ¡°Did you have a family?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s what worries me¡­¡± He looked down. ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°I have a twin sister, the reason why I was gambling was to leave third class.¡± ¡°Third class?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yes, hell is divided into three levels, First class, middle class, and low class. They are pretty self-explanatory. At the top, there are the royals, the rich, and famous. While at the bottom there is the poor and the slaves. In the middle, there is a balance.¡± ¡°Hmm, so the only way to ¡®upgrade¡¯ from low class to the middle class was to gamble?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, I see you¡¯re not dumb as I thought. The only way to upgrade from third to second class is to gamble and win pay the expensive price or win as the champion of the Colosseum.¡± ¡°Those sound like extreme and rare ways of doing so, how come is it so difficult?¡± Asked Jinn, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that make the population of the top classes low?¡± ¡°Well, once you¡¯re reborn, you have a 25% chance of being middle class, 70% chance of being low class, and a 5% chance of being high class. This is how the devil queen keeps her society in control, by lining up new people in a file line, and pointing where they should go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ horrible.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Yes¡­ and the worst part is that the Satana Lynxes are treated as a slave race in hell. And the only way to free yourself is by paying the royal family an amount of money that no normal citizen could pay.¡± ¡°So, you won the jackpot and bought freedom for yourself and your sister, correct?¡± I said. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. I needed a little more money to upgrade to 2nd class, but those bastards cheated me into losing all my money!¡± ¡°That sucks¡­¡± said Jinn, ¡°Is your sister alright?¡± ¡°She should be fine for the moment. She has half my money, but I need to go back to free her, or bring her here, one of the two.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t she just come by the same means you came?¡± I asked. ¡°No, those high-class bastards transported me here so I would keep my mouth shut from their cheats if they killed me it would have brought too much attention to the matter¡­ so by now people probably noticed I went missing.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I would be glad to-¡± I quickly stopped Jinn before he finished his sentenced and said, ¡°Jinn, we can¡¯t afford to add more weight on our shoulders, we already have to heal your brother, get back my memories, and find the gemstones.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll deal with the matter myself.¡± Said the lynx. ¡°You sure?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You can stay with us until you find a way to get your sister back. But we won¡¯t help you until we deal with our problems first.¡± I said. It might be mean, but we can¡¯t afford playing heroes. The more connections we have, the better; we need to find all the divine gems after all. ¡°Fine, if you insist. You don¡¯t look like evil people, and you two could be helpful.¡± I got closer to Jinn and whispered, ¡°Little does he know; I¡¯m going to straight up sell him on the black market.¡± ¡°Hey! I heard that!¡± Someone knocked on our door and said, ¡°Jinn, Kaiser, you¡¯re up against Sorafhto and Violetta.¡± ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± I said. ¡°Vincent, you can wait here for us, it might not be safe out there for a baby lynx.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Now you¡¯re just intentionally trying to piss me off! And it¡¯s not Vincent! It¡¯s Vincenzo!¡± Jinn and I walked away. On the way there, Jinn looked at me with a concerned look and said, ¡°You know, you never told me why you wanted to search for this gemstones thingy¡­ what are they going to do for us?¡± ¡°My memory it¡¯s still hazy, but If we don¡¯t collect them all and use all their powers at once, we won¡¯t be able to stop Ochiru.¡± ¡°Ochiru? Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The cause of the Apocalypse¡­ that¡¯s as far as I can remember.¡± ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It was me¡­ but I¡¯m sure he was the reason why I did so¡­ I had many nightmares about that one night before I started sleeping with Nightshade.¡± ¡°Hmm, see? The relationship benefits you both!¡± ¡°Come on dude! Why do you care so much anyway?¡± He looked down, smiled and said, ¡°Before we encountered you¡­ well, you encountered us, Nightshade and I were adventuring together for a week or so. She wouldn¡¯t stop talking about you and how big you managed to change her life even if it was only for a couple of weeks.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°She never had any friends, Kaiser. She has always been an outcast for being too good compared to the other pixies, and I can relate to that a lot¡­ I¡¯m sure you also can. But that girl¡¯s whole life has been changed by you, and honestly, all I want to see is her happy and genuine smile that she has when she is with you.¡± ¡°You see yourself in her, don¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, I suppose that¡¯s what it could be¡­ and sorry if I¡¯m getting annoying for encouraging you to be with her, but I know how happy that would make her, and I know how much it could help you get better, and maybe take your mind off your obscure past.¡± ¡°Sorry Jinn, but¡­ I think what I¡¯m feeling for Shizuka is what I¡¯m looking for. Yeah, I love Nightshade to death, but as a little sister. I¡¯m sure she can be happy with just that, she is not meant to love after all.¡± I sighed, looked at the starry sky and said, ¡°maybe I should just straight up have a heartfelt conversation with Nightshade before this gets any worse.¡± ¡°As long as she is happy and you¡¯re good, it¡¯s fine for me.¡± He said with a slight genuine smile. ¡°How about you though? Mr. Playboy.¡± ¡°M-me?! For now, I just want to heal my brother, man!¡± I chuckled, pushed his shoulder and said, ¡°Come on! You have a girl drooling for you.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± He asked. ¡°I know so!¡± ¡°Kaiser¡­ no, Rukito.¡± He said. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry for wanting to kill you when we first met each other. I truly am. I hate being so prejudice.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Jinn. Who wouldn¡¯t want to kill a mass murderer?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think you did it on purpose.¡± ¡°¡­ thanks, that means a lot. But who knows? I could be an asshole in reality. That¡¯s actually what I fear the most.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°What if the person I¡¯m trying to remember¡­ the me that I¡¯m trying to recover could live happy. If I ever get my memories back- ¡°No, when we get your memories back.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Yeah. Well, when we get my memories back, I just hope I don¡¯t possibly go into another stupid rampage.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let that happen.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°My diamond knight is unbreakable, you know. Plus, I¡¯m sure Nightshade would be able to calm you down with her songs, if not, with her words, and if not, with her touch.¡± ¡°Damn Jinn, again with the poetics; I¡¯m telling you; those ladies won¡¯t handle you.¡± ¡°S-shut up!¡± We arrived at the arena. We looked around and saw the staff confused talking to each other. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°Sorafhto has forfeited the match.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I yelled. He was so excited to fight, what happened? ¡°Violetta suddenly informed us about it. Apparently, a family emergency.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°So¡­ what will happen to the match?¡± I asked. ¡°You win by default, and since you are at the top of your class, your singularities will be upgraded.¡± ¡°Wait, I thought there was one more battle after this,¡± I said. ¡°No. The final duo emerged from each class will have their singularities upgraded. These are new rules so all classes can have a fair advantage for the next contest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing! You heard Jinn?! Your brother is going to be ok!¡± I said while looking at him, but he was looking down in sorrow. ¡°Jinn?¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel like a victory though¡­ it¡¯s not Sora¡¯s fault that he had an emergency.¡± ¡°Sorry, boys. But those are the rules.¡± Said the staff person. ¡°This is for the greater good of your brother, Jinn,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah¡­ I know.¡± ¡°Jinn, go talk to Shizuka about your reward, I¡¯ll look into the matter.¡± ¡°Alright, Kaiser. Text me if anything.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± I went to search for Violetta to see if she knew anything. I was expecting to see her annoyed and pissed, but she was actually pretty calm. ¡°Violetta, what happened?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Sorafhto told me that his little sister got mugged, and she is currently in the hospital in the emergency room." Vol.2|Chapter 9: Pure Hearted
"An honest person is respected and trusted by everyone." -Zue Fastarhan
I was walking back to the healing zone. I didn¡¯t know if I should go to the hospital and visit Sora¡¯s little sister or not. He has been a nice guy to me for a while¡­ maybe I should go, he would appreciate it if I do so. I took a detour and started asking around for directions to the hospital. I texted Jinn and Nightshade that an emergency just came up and that I¡¯d be late to the Inn, then I made my way to the hospital on a train. Walking inside the hospital, I noticed many nurse mages rushing around the halls. This place must be pretty busy while being in the center of North Greenterra. I walked up to the desk receptionist and said, ¡°Hey, my name is Kaiser Chisei. Are the visiting hours over?¡± She was a woman who looked quite confident. ¡°Uhm, visiting hours end at 9 PM, so yes. But if it¡¯s to visit Lady Fastarhan, they are always open.¡± ¡°Good, good. Because I¡¯m here to visit her.¡± ¡°I need some sort of I.D or way I know that you are one of her acquaintances.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ is her brother here?¡± ¡°Sorafhto? Yes, he just arrived twenty minutes ago, does he know you?¡± ¡°Yes, we are classmates, and pretty good friends too.¡± ¡°Alright, then go ahead, he shall see you there.¡± She gave me the room number and I walked upstairs to find it. Looking around I noticed many people outside waiting on something. I realized this was the wrong floor and went up again, and for sure this time, I knew that I found the room. There were over 20 people lines up outside her room waiting to go in one-by-one to see her. I looked around and saw Sorafhto sitting on a nearby bench looking down in sadness. I sat beside him and asked, ¡°Hey, why are you out here?¡± He looked at me, smiled and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect you to come. How is Jinn?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dodge my question.¡± ¡°Zue¡­ she doesn¡¯t like me, Kaiser.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Not just her¡­ I¡¯m hated by my whole family.¡± Oh, so that¡¯s why he cares a lot about his friends? ¡°How come? You seem pretty normal to me.¡± ¡°Well¡­ besides the fact that sometimes I get lazy, I¡¯m almost against this whole royalty thing. I think there are much better ways to rule a country that¡¯s not a monarchy.¡± ¡°Is that why they don¡¯t like you?¡± ¡°Not entirely, I believe it all started when I beat my father in a duel when I was ten years old.¡± ¡°Wow, really?! That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Yes, apparently I have a special singularity that runs through my family¡¯s bloodline, that only one person gets every millennia.¡± Huh? So, he got pushed away from his family for being unique? ¡°After the duel, I was really excited since I thought I was going to become the next king, but my father looked at me with rage in his eyes¡­ he then started spreading lies to the rest of the family saying things like ¡®demon child¡¯ or things like that.¡± ¡°Even your little sister?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the deal with her, Kaiser. She was always the one that supported me from a young age, and that made me forget of the rest of the family, but not too long ago our father set up a marriage of her and one of the elf king¡¯s royal knights since the elf king doesn¡¯t have sons.¡± Oh yeah, I heard something about the elf king having ¡®advent children¡¯, and all of them being daughters, but two of them died in the apocalypse. ¡°Hmm, ok.¡± ¡°She really doesn¡¯t want to marry this guy, and she blames me for not saying anything to our father¡­ she says things like ¡®I have helped a lot in the past, you know. I also wish you did the same to me when I need it.¡¯ But she doesn¡¯t understand that my opinion won¡¯t matter a single bit to our father or mother.¡± ¡°What about your older brother?¡± ¡°He could care less; all he cares about is the throne.¡± I¡¯m starting to see a pattern in today¡¯s society. Jinn was also pushed away from people based on his uniqueness, but thankfully his parents and his brother were there for him. Nightshade was also pushed away for being exceptionally good compared to her sisters, but she never had anyone to talk about it with, I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s why she so attached to me, and now¡­ Sorafhto too? It almost seems like these powers that they all have is mostly a curse, not a blessing. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go inside,¡± I said grabbing his arm. ¡°W-what are you doing? Didn¡¯t you hear? She hates me¡­ just like everyone else in our family.¡± I sighed, and said, ¡°Girls are complicated, Sora. I¡¯m sure all she wants is your attention.¡± ¡°A-attention? No, if she wanted to, she could have just asked.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hopeless¡­ how do you even get those girls on you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! They just chase me around.¡± A person left the room, we cut the line and walked inside. The first things I noticed were many gifts and flowers around her. She had long blonde hair running across the bed. Two calm, blue gentle eyes, and angelic white skin. As soon as she looked at Sora, she got a joyous genuine smile that she couldn¡¯t hide. ¡°S-Sora¡­¡± She said with a gentle tone. ¡°Z-Zue! A-are you ok?!¡± He said while rushing to her with a worried expression. ¡°The doctors said that it luckily didn¡¯t pierce any vital artery, so I should be fine in a week or so.¡± I can clearly see the genuine care she has for her elder brother¡­ she definitely just wanted attention from him. She kind of reminds me of Nightshade in a way on that aspect. ¡°Thank god¡­ I was so worried!¡± She looked at me with a confused face and asked, ¡°Who is your new friend? He seems¡­ unique.¡± Huh? What is she talking about? ¡°Oh! Right! Zue, this is Kaiser, he is a great friend of mine that has helped me with many things.¡± Not really, but ok. Shortly after, Sora also looked at me with a curious expression and said, ¡°K-Kaiser!¡± ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± ¡°Did¡­ you always had red hair?¡± Red hair?! WHAT?! I instantly looked at the mirror and noticed that it was red. Oh no¡­ is it only temporary? I thought Fuji said it was permanent! ¡°Oh, this? Hahaha, it¡¯s my actual real hair, I just use some magic to turn it into brown.¡± Might as well be honest. ¡°Red hair?... Where have I heard something similar before?¡± He asked himself. ¡°Rukito Nokuwa.¡± Said the sister. ¡°Oh, right! That evil being¡­ what a coincidence though! You have the same hair color!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s why I hide it, I don¡¯t want people to think I¡¯m that thing. I am not Rukito Nokuwa.¡± Zue squinted her eyes and said, ¡°Brother¡­ don¡¯t you think that¡¯s too big of a coincidence?¡± ¡°What? Kaiser? Being Rukito? Hahaha, please, he is nowhere to be compared with that scummy being. He is actually a very nice guy; he came here to visit you after all.¡± Well damn, I guess that makes me feel better.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°H-he did? You didn¡¯t bring him along?¡± ¡°No. He came here by his own will.¡± ¡°T-thank you very much, Mr. Kaiser.¡± She said while bowing. ¡°O-oh! No-no, please, I¡¯m nobody compared to you, princess, don¡¯t lower your head for me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Blood or looks doesn¡¯t make us special, it¡¯s the soul that matters.¡± ¡°I agree, but¡­¡± wow, she is really kind, ¡°by the way, you¡¯re very popular considering the number of people outside.¡± What am I saying? She is a princess, of course she is popular. ¡°You know, Kaiser, she is actually the most popular and most liked person of our family.¡± ¡°Even more than the king?!¡± ¡°Even more than the king.¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t say that,¡± She said while blushing, ¡°I¡¯m not that popular. Thankfully Shizuka Aizawa is more popular,¡± She sighed, ¡°now I don¡¯t have to worry about paparazzies everywhere.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°She has donated a lot of money to charities and churches, plus she always tries to help the people when our father does something unjust.¡± She really does have a pure golden heart¡­ such kindness cannot go to waste. I see why Sora¡¯s wants to protect her now. ¡°C-can we stop talking about this? I don¡¯t do it for the attention.¡± Clearly, she only wants her brother¡¯s attention from time to time, but she is really mature for her age. ¡°Well, I hate to break the good mood, but¡­ who mugged you?¡± Asked Sora. ¡°¡­ I was alone in a crowd.¡± She didn¡¯t specifically answer his question... ¡°Weren¡¯t the guards with you?¡± ¡°No, I wanted to go out by myself for once.¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t blame you,¡± said Sora, ¡°But next time, be more careful, please.¡± ¡°I wanted to hang out with you, but I didn¡¯t want to call you¡­ I thought you would be busy with the contest.¡± ¡°Oh, you should have just called me.¡± ¡°So, who won?¡± ¡°Kaiser.¡± ¡°Oh wow! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Sora started walking away and said, ¡°Be right back, I¡¯m going to use the bathroom.¡± ¡°Uh, alright,¡± I said. He left the room and closed the door softly. ¡°Congratulations, Kaiser!¡± Said Zue. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. If your brother didn¡¯t leave to visit you, he probably would have won instead.¡± ¡°He left? For me¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, he actually really cares about you.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ say, Rukito.¡± ¡°R-Rukito? I said-¡± ¡°I can tell when someone is lying by looking at their hearts, Rukito. That¡¯s my spiritual singularity, ¡®Pure hearted¡¯.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± Damn it, I underestimated her. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, the information going around seems to not be real. Not only I can tell when someone is lying, but I can also tell how good this person is. You¡¯re a nice person, Rukito.¡± She said while smiling. I noticed that while she was saying that, her eyes turned a clear yellow, that must mean that she was looking at my heart. ¡°Well¡­ you got me. That¡¯s an impressive singularity¡­ it can be very dangerous if used correctly.¡± ¡°I agree, but it comes with two drawbacks.¡± ¡°Which are?¡± ¡°One, I can¡¯t tell truth from lies when it comes to little things. For example, if I ask someone what they ate for breakfast, and they lie, I wouldn¡¯t know, since it¡¯s not that big of a deal. But when it comes to serious things, I can certainly know.¡± Interesting¡­ very interesting. ¡°Two, I cannot lie. I must be perfectly honest about everything I say.¡± ¡°What happens if you lie?¡± ¡°I go in a coma, for a whole month by punishment. This¡­ is actually how I figured it out when I was a child,¡± she said while giggling. ¡°I was very confident until then.¡± Just because she has to say the truth, doesn¡¯t mean that she can¡¯t decide to not answer the question, so even if I ask her something, she can just stay silent. ¡°So, tell me, I noticed that you dodged your brother¡¯s question. Who mugged you?¡± ¡°I-I¡­¡± She sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t really ignore it at this point¡­ it was an elf, Rukito.¡± ¡°An elf?!¡± ¡°Yes. Someone probably doesn¡¯t want me to marry the royal knight, someone despises humans.¡± ¡°Ah, I get it. You didn¡¯t want to tell your brother or anyone because you know it will start a war.¡± ¡°Exactly¡­ all I want is peace and happiness, not another war.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even want to marry him¡­ and please! Don¡¯t tell anyone it was an elf!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯d do anything! Please!¡± Anything? Hmm¡­ I looked at her from head to toe and hummed even more. ¡°W-what is it?" She asked with an oblivious expression. ¡°Anything?... even the dirtiest things?¡± ¡°Dirty? Well¡­ I hate getting dirty, but I¡¯d dig a thousand holes if I had to! And build hundreds of houses!¡± S-she is more na?ve than I thought¡­ ¡°I-it was a joke¡­¡± ¡°A joke? Oh, ok.¡± I¡¯m getting mad Nightshade flashbacks right now. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal...¡± I said. ¡°Okay!¡± She said while furiously nodding. How can you be smart, but so innocent at the same time? I guess being knowledgeful and being smart are different things. ¡°I want you to clear Rukito¡¯s name,¡± I said. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the most popular girl in the royal family, right? Your opinion must be a huge influence on public opinion.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess I can do that, you¡¯re not evil after all.¡± She said with a smile. Damn, I feel bad taking advantage of her, but I need this. She looked at me with her bright yellow eyes once more and this time she changed to a curious expression. ¡°Do you¡­ feel remorse?¡± ¡°A bit¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t mind helping you! You came all the way here to visit me.¡± I smiled at her and said, ¡°You know, you are going to make a great and dangerous wife.¡± ¡°What?! I don¡¯t want to get married to that royal elf!¡± She is mature and innocent at the same time¡­ is that even possible? ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯m just joking,¡± I said while chuckling. ¡°So, how do you want me to clear your name?¡± ¡°To be honest with you, I can¡¯t really remember why I did all of that in my past since my memories got erased, but if you say that the body was controlled by a demon or some evil entity, you should be fine.¡± ¡°But remember, I can¡¯t lie.¡± ¡°Right. Does the public know about your singularity?¡± ¡°Yes, most of them do, that¡¯s why they trust me so much.¡± ¡°Great! You can just say that Rukito is not evil and that he is not guilty of his crimes, you told me you believe that the information is false, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can see it with my own eyes, your heart doesn¡¯t scream of murder and genocide.¡± ¡°Ok, then deal?¡± I said lending out my hand. ¡°One condition.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Can you help me getting out of this marriage?¡± ¡°If you clear my name, I promise to do everything in my power to stop your marriage.¡± She shook my hand and said, ¡°Then deal it is.¡± Sora came back and asked, ¡°Did I miss anything important?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­. I explained to him what my singularity does, apparently, he didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Oh! Isn¡¯t it amazing, Kaiser?¡± ¡°Yeah! It really is.¡± It¡¯s more scary than amazing¡­ she would be a terrifying wife. I said my last goodbyes and left them alone. I put on my hoodie, so no-one noticed my hair. I took a train back to the Inn and called Fuji on the phone. ¡°Rukito? Why are you calling so late?¡± ¡°My hair is back to red.¡± ¡°Oh my! What did you do?¡± ¡°Nothing! I was just talking and-¡­ is it that I unlocked my singularity?¡± ¡°Oh, possibly. Come visit me as soon as you can, I¡¯ll turn it back to brown.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for too long, I met the princess of Greenterra, she said she will clear my name for me.¡± ¡°Oh my, how in the world did you manage to do that?¡± ¡°Long story, I¡¯ll tell you once I come back.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± "How are the kids?" I asked with concern. There was a short silence and then she said with a happy tone, "They are doing great! Thanks for asking." "I can''t really say I don''t miss them, you know." "They miss you too, Kaiser." "Well, I have to go, Fuji." "Be careful!" "I''ll be fine, don''t worry." I ended the call and started thinking. Hmmm¡­. So now I have to go to Tokiri Islands with Jinn and Shizuka to heal his brother, on the way I could stop by Fuji¡¯s place. After that, I will recover my memories with Shizuka¡¯s help. Wait¡­ Shizuka will notice I have red hair! And I have a date with her in two days! I can try to dye my hair¡­ yes, I¡¯ll ask Nightshade to help me dye my hair back to brown. I arrived at the Inn, and as soon as I opened the door, Nightshade jumped on me. ¡°RUKITO!¡± ¡°Hey little pixie, how have you been?¡± She gasped. ¡°Your hair! Is back to red! Yes!¡± She said while digging her face into my hair and moving it right and left, causing my face to go in between her breasts. ¡°P-please get off, you¡¯re not a little girl anymore.¡± This is definitely a close C-cup. ¡°S-s-s-sorry!¡± She said while getting red and zooming away back to the bed on her laptop. ¡°I-I-I made new songs; want to hear them?¡± I yawned, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it tomorrow, I¡¯m really tired.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they are amazing anyway.¡± She smiled. ¡°I decided on a name and a look!¡± ¡°Hmm, ok. Let me see.¡± ¡°The name is DJ Exiled.¡± Hmm... of course. It fits, I like it. ¡°I like it,¡± I said while smiling. ¡°Here is the look I want.¡± She turned the laptop and showed me a skinsuit that stopped at her thighs, then from her thighs down there were pantyhose and then boots. It all had this cool futuristic look, and the wings were audio visualizers. ¡°Way too slutty,¡± I said with a serious tone. ¡°S-s-slutty?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to let my little sister go out there looking like a bunny girl.¡± ¡°B-b-but-¡± I¡¯m not going to lie to myself, I would like to see her with that outfit, but I must keep my dignity. ¡°How about you cover your whole body in the suit? Maybe have a little jacket too with a face mask, I¡¯d say that would be cool.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ alright, and you¡¯re probably right¡­ there is a reason I want to do this.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I want pixies like me to join the human side¡­ most of them are doing evil purely by peer pressure.¡± Ah, I see, so this is what she meant. Making a change with music? Sounds interesting. ¡°You know that humans don¡¯t like pixies, they won¡¯t allow you to do such things.¡± ¡°I know¡­ but I¡¯ll find a way!¡± I smiled, walked up to her with a smile, scratched her head with my knuckles and said, ¡°You¡¯re growing up by the day, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Jeez! Stop treating me like a little girl¡­¡± I decided to go and talk to Jinn after what I was going to tell Nightshade. ¡°Hey, Nightshade¡­ I need to talk to you.¡± ¡°About?...¡± ¡°Our¡­ relationship.¡± ¡°¡­huh? Relationship? But, there''s nothing wrong between us... right?¡± Her face instantly changed from a smile to an anxious expression. I have to tell her¡­ If I keep going without telling her it might break her heart even more. Vol.2|Chapter 10: Dystopia (Rei)
"The rulers don''t make a country, it''s the people that do." -Rei Regiis Diaboli
Teleporting flips my stomach upside-down; I hope I don¡¯t need to take another gate like that. I was in a huge room chained and lined up with many and many other people. In the end, there was a man with three doors behind him; I wonder where they lead to. A couple of minutes later, it was my turn to walk up to this man, ¡°Kasai¡­ you don¡¯t have a last name?¡± ¡°No, sir.¡± He started looking at me head to toe, I guess having fancy clothing in comparison to everyone else does make me stand out. ¡°And who are you?¡± He opened the book he had in hand and started looking for something. ¡°Ah, an orphan girl, huh?¡± This man was not human, he had what seemed to be lynx ears and many face marks. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ your childhood is horrible; how did you even end in hell?¡± ¡°I have a mission to accomplish, if you could send me to where the royal family is at, then I would greatly appreciate it.¡± The queen must be somewhere where her family is at after all. ¡°Hmm?¡± He started chuckling. ¡°You really think I would send someone as stupid as you to the top class?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± Top class? ¡°I can only send 5% of the people I get in a day to high class, and you think you¡¯re so special that you deserve being there?¡± ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not-¡± ¡°Just because you found your soulmate, it doesn¡¯t make you special! Just because you have a decent singularity, it does not make you special in any way, you bitch!¡± And here I thought that he sympathized with me. ¡°My condolences if you haven¡¯t found your own soulmate, but I¡¯m sure you will find her soon.¡± ¡°Shut up you half whore!¡± Does he really think insults will hurt me? ¡°You will go to the bottom class!¡± He said while he pointed at the door all the way at the right. ¡°Now!¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± I said while walking my way over. The door opened, and I walked through it. Three doors¡­ top and bottom class¡­ there must be different said classes in hell, and right now I¡¯m heading towards the lowest one. In a blink of an eye, I was somewhere else, kneeled on the ground. I got up and noticed that I was in some sort of ruined urban area. Many buildings were old with plants growing around them, the roads were bumpy with many holes on them, the cars didn¡¯t even seem to work anymore, as in everyone was walking on the roads like it was nothing. Through the whole crowd, I noticed that there were many poor people that had wretched clothes¡­ no, not many, it seems like everyone here is like that. Many quickly started looking at me. I do stand out with these fancy clothes after all. A lot of people from the crowd started clicking their tongue and said, ¡°You think you¡¯re better than us?!¡± ¡°It must be a high class¡­¡± ¡°Why are you even here?!¡± I quickly started walking away from the crowd and went into a back alley, I have to tear up these clothes if I want to blend in with the people. As I was going to start to break the clothes, I saw a man approaching me. I tried to take out my singularity, but it didn¡¯t work. ¡°It¡¯s no use, singularities only activate in the middle class.¡± ¡°W-who are you?!¡± I don¡¯t need weapons to defend myself anyways. As he was approaching, I noticed that he was also wearing fancy clothes. ¡°I¡¯m the one who is known as ¡®Silver Tooth¡¯.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°My job is to go around the low class, and collect many beautiful gals like you, and all it took was a blink of an eye to realize how eye stunning you are. Heterochromia? You don¡¯t see that around very often.¡± I think I know where this is going¡­ ¡°I appreciate the compliment, but sorry, I¡¯m taken.¡± ¡°Taken? You just arrived in hell. Don¡¯t tell me that¡­ you still have your memories; only high class are given their memories back.¡± ¡°¡­ I do.¡± ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. If you would be nice to join my group of girls, I could instantly boost you up to middle class¡­ and who knows, maybe even a high class with your looks. I bet even the royal family would be interested in such a hot gal.¡± There is no way I¡¯d ever accept such deal¡­ but that makes me think of how many girls have sold their bodies just to get out of here¡­ that¡¯s horrible. I started walking away, but I had to walk by him to leave that alley.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not interested, I¡¯ll find a better way.¡± Even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t enjoy it at all. He grabbed my wrist and said, ¡°Playing hard to get, I see.¡± I quickly wrapped my hand around his neck and slammed him against the wall. ¡°Don¡¯t, ever, touch me.¡± ¡°Gah- let me- go.¡± I quickly released my hand from his neck. What am I doing? I¡¯m usually not this aggressive. ¡°You bitch! I¡¯ll make you pay for it one of these days!¡± He said while running off. I looked down at my hands and said, ¡°Maybe I just need a breather¡­¡± I managed to rip my clothes a bit just to try and blend in, I also rubbed the clothes against some dirt to get them even dirtier. ¡°This should do.¡± I looked down at my breasts and thought to myself, I¡¯m really going to stand out to men like him with these¡­ hmm¡­ I looked into a nearby garbage can, as nasty as it sounds, for something that I could use. I luckily found some bandages that I could wrap myself with. I used the bandages to bind my chest. I know this is not safe, but I can¡¯t even use my succubus powers in low class to change the size of them, so I have to do this the painful way. If my skin or anything gets damaged, I¡¯ll just heal it when I reach the middle class. I have to do something about my face too¡­ I¡¯ll think about it another time. I got out of the back alley and quickly started looking for some sort of map or something that could lead me to a way to access the middle class. It got a bit harder breathing with the bandages binding my chest, but it¡¯s not too bad, I¡¯d have to take it off in eight hours or so. After searching and searching around this never-ending town, I sat on a nearby bench to start thinking. Hmm¡­ I saw many slaves looking around this place, and many were the same race of that guy that had lynx ears at the gate, maybe I ask for help from one of them. As I was thinking, I saw a demon walking by, whipping a lynx boy to carry a block of cement. This scene reminded me a lot of myself when I was a little girl and got forced to do things I didn¡¯t want to do. ¡°Hurry up, you idiot!¡± I quickly got up and stopped the whip from hitting the boy again. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked. ¡°Huh? Who are you?!¡± I quickly knocked him out with the martial arts training I learned back in Greenterra; having my memories gives me a great advantage over them. I hit two pressure points in his head that made him fall on the ground instantly. ¡°W-woah¡­ that was so cool.¡± Said the boy. He seemed to be around the age of fifteen, but I could be wrong, he is from another race I don¡¯t know about after all. ¡°I need you to come with me,¡± I said. ¡°F-for what?¡± He asked. ¡°Just come! Do you want to be found by another demon?!¡± ¡°N-no!¡± I feel myself more prone to anger now, what¡¯s happening with me? We walked back to the back alley where I was to talk in private. ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me, right?¡± ¡°Of course not! I saved you for a reason.¡± ¡°T-thank you.¡± ¡°You can thank me with some information.¡± ¡°Information?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes, I need you to explain everything; I just arrived here in hell not too long ago.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± He kept staring at my eyes for some reason. ¡°What are you looking at?!¡± I asked with an annoyed tone. ¡°N-nothing!¡± ¡°Then hurry up and explain!¡± ¡°Yes! So, hell is¡­¡± He went on explaining how hell is divided into three levels, and how the devil queen was the person who made all these rules. He went on to explain how the only way to go to middle class from low class was to either win the nearby casino or win the colosseum deathmatch tournament they host every week. ¡°Hmm¡­ fighting is all I¡¯m good at, so I think I might try this Colosseum as dangerous as it sounds.¡± ¡°Why do you want to go to high class anyways?¡± He asked me. ¡°I¡­ I will kill the devil queen and make hell a better place for people to live, and I will free all the lynxes from slavery, I promise.¡± He looked at me with glitter in his eyes and said, ¡°R-Rei? You finally arrived?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He jumped on me while crying and said, ¡°Finally! We knew that you were going to save us, we knew it all along!¡± ¡°Hey, get off me! Don¡¯t touch me without my permission!¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± He said while getting off and blushing. ¡°Can you explain who this Rei is?¡± ¡°Oh, right, your memory must be erased. Come with me to our basement, we can talk more at peace in there.¡± Basement? We walked away into a ruined building. We sneaked and crawled under some rubble and we arrived at this room that had many other lynxes in the refuge. Many of them looked sick and tired. ¡°Big brother is back!¡± Yelled a young girl with ruby hair. She seemed special compared to everyone else. Since everyone else had black hair, she was the only one with ruby hair. ¡°Thomas! What happened to you?¡± asked another boy. ¡°Sorry, I got caught by a demon when I tried to get some food for you all.¡± ¡°Who is she?¡± Asked the girl walking up to me. ¡°She is the person who saved me.¡± ¡°Woah, really?! Thank you so much!¡± Said the young girl. ¡°N-no problem¡­ uhm...¡± ¡°Aiko! Aiko Peruggia.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Aiko.¡± She smiled at me. ¡°So, these are your siblings? Aiko and that other one in the back?¡± ¡°My name is Nicolas.¡± ¡°Yeah, Aiko, Nicolas, and¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know what happened to one of them, his name is Vincenzo. He almost had enough money to take us out of here with the casino rewards, but he disappeared.¡± ¡°Oh, that sucks.¡± ¡°I think he just left to the middle class without us¡­ what a bastard.¡± Said Thomas. ¡°No, I think he will still come back to us, I believe in him.¡± Said Aiko. ¡°Whatever¡­ anyways, here we got Rei!¡± ¡°Rei?! Like¡­ THE Rei?¡± Said Nicolas. ¡°Yup, Rei herself.¡± ¡°H-hey, I don¡¯t think you should go around and say that I¡¯m-¡± The girl jumped on me and hugged me. ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± I didn¡¯t mind much that she hugged me. I just smiled and stood there quiet. ¡°I forgot to tell you, but Rei was the very first devil queen!¡± Hmm, I remember Maria saying something like that, but I think she said princess instead, I guess she was wrong. ¡°She was said to be the best queen that ever reigned. She made everyone live in the same class, and her benevolence was incredible. Some say that she even gave up half of her devil blood to save an angel.¡± So, I¡¯m supposed to be the reincarnation of this queen? ¡°What happened to her?¡± I asked. ¡°She was¡­ assassinated by the first angel king, Ochiru.¡± So the Aizawas and Maria were right; Ochiru killed Akira¡¯s fianc¨¦, which was Rei, then he also killed his sister Suisei, Akira went berserk and fought Ochiru, ending it in a tie, killing both in battle¡­ and I am the reincarnation of Rei, while Rukito¡­ is the reincarnation of Akira. I see this is starting to make more sense now to me. ¡°Some people say it was this current queen the one who snitched on Rei¡¯s relationship with Akira to Ochiru. But Rei was said to be reincarnated one day and save us from this dystopia! We never lost hope because we knew you were going to come one day!¡± He said while smiling together with his siblings. ¡°So, she basically is the cause of death for Rei?¡± ¡°Yes, and now you, Rei, you have to take the throne back from this fake queen.¡± Vol.2|Chapter 11: Utopia (Salamander)
"Rules are like chains that are waiting to be broken." -Bakuretsu Deus
With the sun high up in the sky, beaming down on me and giving me energy, I glanced at the thousands of people in front of me. Crypthonic said that he was going to announce something at this time of the day, that¡¯s why there were so many people gathered in the center of the plaza. ¡°Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of Icarus Kingdom.¡± Said Crypthonic. Misaki was already up and she was standing right next to me. She still had a very confused and disoriented look on her face, but so did I. Even though we technically just met, I feel a really close bond with her. I can definitely see that we were sisters in our past life. A lot of people were very happy seeing Crypthonic, most of them were clapping and cheering his name. ¡°I¡¯m going to get straight to the point here. These two gorgeous women right next to me are my daughters.¡± ¡°Huh? Daughters? I thought he was the last of his family.¡± A lot of people were whispering with each other. Things like, ¡°What are their names?¡± ¡°Why do they look so lost?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with the hair color?¡± ¡°They do have the Indigo family halo though.¡± ¡°Order, please.¡± Said Crypthonic with a calm while pointing his finger down. As soon as he did, there was a sudden tremor. Misaki and I looked at each other with a concerned look and looked away. ¡°Their names shall not be made public for security reasons. As for the time being, you all shall address her as ¡®Salamander Indigo,¡¯¡± he said while pointing his hand at me, ¡°And her as ¡®Chaos Indigo¡¯¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± Said the whole crowd. ¡°They are to be treated and respected just as, if not, more than myself; I really care about my little girls, and I know that this might be very sudden, but they are now royalty.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± ¡°And as you all know, since my son Daku was killed by demons,¡± killed by demons? Why would he say such lie? ¡°I have no successor, so from now on, since Salamander is the oldest out of the two, she will be the next Ruler of this land after I am no longer standing.¡± WHAT?! ¡°Huh? The future queen?¡± More and more whispering starting going around the crowd. ¡°That will be all for today. As always, honor from divinity, and most importantly, many thanks to Hikari for the life he allowed us to have.¡± ¡°HONOR FROM DIVINITY! ALL HAIL KING CRYPTHONIC!¡± Yelled everyone. Walking back to the royal building, I asked Misaki, ¡°Have you gotten used to your powers yet?¡± ¡°No¡­ but I¡¯m starting to understand it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. She took some small coal out of her pocket and said, ¡°I was testing it on these. I still don¡¯t know how to manipulate atoms at the fullest, but carbon atoms arranged in a different way can make diamonds. So basically, I can turn this coal into a diamond.¡± She said as she turned that exact piece of coal into a diamond. Her whole body started glowing green together with her green hair and green eyes. ¡°See?¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Fascinating, Misaki. I didn¡¯t expect less from you.¡± Said Crypthonic. ¡°What about you, Yumi.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ not so much as of now, but I was able to change the temperature of the water. I wanted to drink something cold, but no matter what liquid I touch, it becomes warm.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s perfect.¡± Said Crypthonic. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°There is a planet that is complete ice where we highly believe that the comet gem is at. Unfortunately, no one has been able to get close to the planet without instantly freezing to death, and you, Yumi, you sound like the perfect person that can go there.¡± I don¡¯t know why, but it made me happy to feel useful for this man. Well¡­ I guess I should probably address him as a father from now on, I don¡¯t want to sound rude after all. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great!¡± I said. ¡°But first, I want you to find Daku.¡± ¡°Yes, father,¡± I said. He quickly let out a quiet gasp, then smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t really have to call me that if you want.¡± ¡°No, you deserve more than just respect from us for saving our lives.¡± Said Misaki. Crypthonic looked at us, scoffed and said, ¡°You two are adorable.¡± We smiled and kept walking. ¡°Do you have a slim idea of where Daku could be hiding?¡± I asked him. ¡°I do, but we need a specific someone to find his planet.¡± ¡°Is the planet hidden?¡± ¡°It uses very strong magic that it can make itself invisible from any telescope and radar, and we can¡¯t really go randomly across the universe until we just happen to cross it.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I understand,¡± I said. ¡°Who is this person?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°It¡¯s an Artificial intelligence created by the Aizawa Family many years ago. The android was initially created to be used as an ace war machine against our previous battles with the demons.¡± ¡°Battles with demons?¡± I asked. ¡°Artificial intelligence?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Magic is limited by the life energy in someone¡¯s body, but things such as machines don¡¯t require this energy, so they can infinitely make as much magic as they possibly can. The productions of such machine were prohibited by me since it requires the sacrifices of divine lives for its core, and it also requires a sacrifice of a divine gemstone which we can¡¯t afford to lose for some dumb machinery.¡± ¡°S-sacrifices?! And a gemstone too?!¡± I said while in shock. ¡°Yes. Divine souls are the greatest source of energy, so they needed 1600 divine souls for such thing, if they decided to use human souls it would take more than a billion, so they took the easiest way out and used people who willingly sacrificed their lives for the greater good of our race.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Good.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Good?! That¡¯s horrible!¡± I Said. ¡°Yumi, sometimes sacrifices are needed to save many more lives.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°I understand, but¡­ at least father was smart to ban such thing, since it will show that he is no tyrant, and people will follow him even more.¡± ¡°Hm, I¡¯m surprised you understood it that easily. But it was also because we used the wind gem, we sacrificed such a good gem for something that escaped.¡± He said. ¡°Are there more wars going on right now with the demons?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°No, as of right now there have been no wars. The creation of that A.I crushed our enemies¡¯ hope.¡± ¡°Where is this machine?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡­ have lost it.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Yes, I know, but it apparently grew a consciousness and escaped. It even knew how to program its own body so that the EMP bomb that we had I it wouldn¡¯t explode.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ scary. Such machine in the wild could cause many problems.¡± ¡°Yes, it has killed more than millions of demons, from babies to elders, and that¡¯s exactly why I need you both to find the machine and neutralize it or at least convince it to come back.¡± ¡°It sounds incredibly strong.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ it is said that the machine was equal to 70% of Ochiru¡¯s strength.¡± ¡°So¡­ we have many things to do.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t bring you back to life just to relax.¡± ¡°We have to¡­ find this machine first, then with the machine, we are going to be able to find Daku. Wait, this might sound rude but, why do we need to find Daku?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, he has one of the gems.¡± ¡°He does?! Which one?¡± ¡°The moon gem. It''s very special and powerful, that¡¯s how he is able to hide his planet. With one more gem on our side, we will have more chances of fighting Ochiru back. I don¡¯t really care about Daku in specific since such a rebellious son is not deserved of the throne.¡± I kind of feel bad to just take the throne from Daku though¡­ I hope we become good friends once we find him. We heard the bell from the church, and quickly everyone got out of their home. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s happening?¡± I asked. ¡°There¡¯s a set time when people have to go outside and pray to Hikari once a day.¡± ¡°Such order¡­ I admire it.¡± I said. ¡°Hmm¡­ what if you don¡¯t feel like it?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°There is no such thing as that, Misaki. A kingdom without discipline and order will just turn out like how hell did. There is a set time for almost everything in this kingdom, and people seem to be happy with it as long as they are safe.¡± Said Crypthonic. ¡°But¡­ there¡¯s no freedom.¡± Mumbled Misaki. ¡°Misaki, are you doubting our father¡¯s ruling?¡± I asked. ¡°No, no! I¡¯m just saying¡­ I mean, this looks like an actual utopia; many people seem happy and stuff, but¡­ that¡¯s because they don¡¯t know what they are missing.¡± ¡°Misaki!¡± I yelled at her. ¡°Yumi, don¡¯t yell your real names out; and Misaki is right. Misaki, I understand where you are coming from, but with freedom comes chaos and abuse of such freedom, and with chaos comes a failure of a kingdom.¡± ¡°I-I understand, father.¡± ¡°What people mostly care about is love, and with safe walls and order, love can grow as strong as possible. As long as people have love, they have happiness.¡± Father is such a smart leader¡­ could I ever be on his level? We suddenly heard someone saying, ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t feel like praying today, I¡¯m just going to go back home.¡± As soon as our father heard that, he started to look around. ¡°There are no guards nearby¡­ well, it looks like I have discipline him myself. Yumi, Misaki, wait for me at the royal building.¡± ¡°Yes, father.¡± Our father put his hood on and started walking back with that person. ¡°Yumi, I have a bad feeling about this, let¡¯s follow him.¡± ¡°He told us to wait for him at the royal building, we shouldn¡¯t follow him.¡± ¡°Screw that, aren¡¯t you curious?¡± ¡°A bit¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± ¡°But-¡± She grabbed my arm and pulled me. We followed our father around a corner, but when we turned one specific corner, he was gone. ¡°Huh? Where did he go?¡± We started looking around, but he was gone together with that person. ¡°We should just hurry back, Misaki,¡± I said. ¡°Hmm¡­ how did he disappear out of nowhere like that?¡± Asked Misaki. Thinking about it, I¡¯ve seen him appearing and disappearing out of existence time to time¡­ it¡¯s weird. ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just go back, I¡¯m thirsty and hungry.¡± After coming back, I started having a nice dinner with Misaki, our father came back and I said, ¡°Hey, father! How did it go?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh, you mean that guy? Hopefully, he learned his lesson.¡± ¡°You want to join us?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°No, thank you. I¡¯m not that hungry right now.¡± Misaki and I stood the rest of the night practicing in the training area that he had prepared for us back at the lab. I was getting used to using my gem in stronger ways, and so did Misaki. ¡°By the way, have you been able to talk to your archangel?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Luminous? No, I need the other half of the sun gem. How about you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have. And he is actually a very cool guy! His name is Bakuretsu.¡± ¡°Ah, good for you. I can¡¯t wait to meet Luminous; I need to thank him for his blessing and many other things. Was Bakuretsu a famous warrior once he was out of his gem?¡± I asked. ¡°Hahaha, no, he was a funny drunk.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I guess he fits you in a certain way.¡± After our training, we went to sleep. The next day, the newspapers arrived. I took one since I was bored, sat on a bench in the plaza, and opened it. On the headline, it read, ¡®Citizen brutally beaten by guards, he was pushed on the ground, stomped on, and kicked fifty times.¡¯ Wow¡­ did our father call guards? ¡°Did you read the newspaper?¡± Said a random citizen to another. ¡°Yes, but I think he deserves it for ignoring such an important event. We pray for our one and only god.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you think they went a bit far?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you go against the rules.¡± I guess father is really not merciful when it comes to breaking the rules. I went back to the royal building where I saw Misaki playing with a wolf. ¡°Chaos! Where did you find her! She looks adorable!¡± I said while petting the wolf. ¡°Apparently, us angels have an honorable race that serves us, they are called the ¡®Hakujos.¡¯ ¡°Huh?¡± The wolf that was in front of me, suddenly turned into a human-looking girl with wolf ears and a tail, while it had clothes made out of its own fur. ¡°Good morning, princess Salamander.¡± ¡°Woah! You can shapeshift?!¡± ¡°Yes. Just like demons have Satana Lynxes, angels have Hakujos. But we are not slaves, we are a clan that once made an oath to serve and aid the angels when in need.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so cute!¡± I said. ¡°Cute?¡± Asked Misaki, ¡°It¡¯s the coolest thing ever!¡± As we were petting the Hakujo, our father walked in. ¡°Girls, we have an idea of where the A.I is hiding.¡± ¡°Where?!¡± We both yelled. ¡°The planet where humans reside¡­ and where you both once lived, Greenterra.¡± ¡°Oh, ok. Does this A.I have a name?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Irma Tempest Airflow, or at least that¡¯s the name it decided for itself, such damned machinery better thank us for having the honor of acquiring a name.¡± Vol.2|Chapter 12: Juliet&Nightshade’s Lullaby
"There are far better things that await us ahead better than any we leave have behind, all we need is courage." -Nightshade
I saw her getting more and more nervous by the second. She stepped back and asked, ¡°W-what do you mean, our relationship?¡± I sat on the bed and told her to sit beside me. ¡°I¡­ I want you to know that I really care about you, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¡°And I need you to know that I would sacrifice myself for you anytime, in fact, I wouldn¡¯t for anybody else but you.¡± ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± She asked with a worried expression. Damn it, it breaks my heart seeing her this worried already. ¡°I think we should keep our relationship as very close friends that treat each other like siblings, it¡¯s really cute and I enjoy it.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± She said after looking down at the floor. I couldn¡¯t see her expression since her hair was covering her face from my viewpoint. I kneeled on the floor, softly grabbed her arm and said while gazing straight into her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I still love you a lot, but¡­ no in that kind of way, Nightshade. I have the desire to protect you and see you happy, not¡­ to be married.¡± She looked at me with tears in her eyes, her cheeks and nose were getting red as she showed a sorrowful expression, I feel¡­ so guilty. She slowly got up and started walking away. ¡°H-hey, where are you going this late?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere¡­ I¡¯ll sleep on the couch today¡­¡± She was crying, but she wasn¡¯t sobbing or showing it too much. Her tone of voice was depressed, without energy. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, you can still sleep with me.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°You know damn well you can¡¯t sleep alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a way.¡± I wasn¡¯t going to let her suffer like that, but people sometimes do need some alone time¡­ but at the same time most girls when they get angry, they mean the opposite of what they say. I started following her, but she turned back and said, ¡°Please¡­¡± She had tears running down her cheeks like a waterfall, ¡°Leave me alone, Rukito.¡± At least I didn¡¯t let this get worse¡­ if this would of have kept going it was going to be even worse. ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯m going to Jinn¡¯s room to have a short chat about the reward we are supposed to get.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She remained silent and laid down on the couch. I walked out of our room and headed towards Jinn¡¯s room. I knocked on the door and opened it. ¡°Hey, Jinn!¡± Vincenzo was on the couch sleeping, he opened his eyes and said, ¡°He¡¯s showering.¡± I sat beside him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just wait for him here then.¡± ¡°How was your visit to the hospital?¡± ¡°It actually went better than I thought, I got a useful connection with the princess of Greenterra.¡± ¡°Wow talk about lucky. You definitely would have won the casino in hell in no time.¡± ¡°You think so? How¡¯s hell anyway?¡± ¡°It¡¯s horrible¡­ honestly, I don¡¯t even want to talk about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk about that pixie that I saw in your room?¡± ¡°Hm? Nightshade?¡± ¡°Yeah, when Jinn and I arrived here we passed by her room to check on her, and I was surprised that such an evil person like you was able to turn a pixie into a good person.¡± ¡°Evil? What do you mean?¡± ¡°You wanted to sell me on the black market!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right! Thanks for reminding me.¡± I pulled out my smartphone and checked on the bidding that I was hosting online. ¡°Oh! There¡¯s an offer for 4000 Crystalis! ¡°What?! I thought smartphones were banned!¡± I locked the phone and said, ¡°I have a special someone that helps me with technology,¡± I said while winking. ¡°Ugh, whatever. Anyways, what¡¯s your relation to that pixie?¡± ¡°Oh, we¡­ we are siblings.¡± ¡°Siblings? Impossible, a half devil and a pixie can¡¯t be siblings.¡± ¡°How do you know I¡¯m a half devil?¡± ¡°Trust me, I know when I see a devil.¡± ¡°Anyways, she is my sister believe it or not. She had nowhere to go since she was a child and I took her in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not being siblings tough¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same thing! We¡¯re just not blood-related.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ so she likes you.¡± ¡°How do you know?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious! She used that as an excuse to get close to you.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ you think so?¡± I suddenly got a flashback of Jinn saying, ¡°Before we encountered you¡­ well, you encountered us, Nightshade and I were adventuring together for a week or so. She wouldn¡¯t stop talking about you and how big you managed to change her life even if it was only for a couple of weeks.¡± Did I do the wrong thing?... Should I have tried being with her? ¡°She never had any friends, Kaiser. She has always been an outcast for being too good compared to the other pixies, and I can relate to that a lot¡­ I¡¯m sure you also can. But that girl¡¯s whole life has been changed by you, and honestly, all I want to see is her happy and genuine smile that she has when she is with you.¡± Damn¡­ maybe I did the wrong thing. But¡­ I looked at my necklace locket and saw the picture of that girl with red hair again¡­ there¡¯s something telling me that I¡¯m forgetting something very important. Doesn¡¯t matter, important or not, I can¡¯t bear seeing Nightshade crying, I¡¯m sure she has done that way more than enough at a young age, she doesn¡¯t deserve this at all, she did nothing wrong. ¡°Thanks, Vincenzo.¡± ¡°Huh? For what?¡± ¡°I know what to do now, I can¡¯t leave her alone more than she already has been.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jinn got out of the shower with a towel around him, looked at me and said, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Jinn, we¡¯ll talk tomorrow, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Uhm, alright.¡± I walked out of the room. ¡°What¡¯s up with him?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°No idea. He¡¯s crazy.¡± Before opening the door to the room, I eavesdrop to hear if she was still crying to herself and she was. She was quietly sobbing. I opened the door and she instantly stopped. I sat at the end of the couch and said, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to sleep with me, Nightshade?¡± ¡°I said no.¡± I smiled, and softly laid down beside her, while gently hugging her. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep with you then.¡± She was shaking. She suddenly started to softly push me away. ¡°L-let me go.¡± ¡°I have some trouble sleeping too at night, you know. I get these weird and terrifying nightmares that just won¡¯t stop happening.¡± ¡°Leave me alone.¡± ¡°Do you also get these nightmares?¡± ¡°I¡­ leave, please.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok, Nightshade. You will never be alone ever again, I¡¯ll always be here, for you, even if we are not in a relationship.¡± She suddenly started crying and sobbing.¡± ¡°D-do you mean that?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± I said while chuckling. She lightly pushed me again and said,¡¯ ¡°S-stop joking around! This couch is too small to fit the both of us!¡± ¡°What are you talking about? The closer we are, the better.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She blushed, buried her head into my chest and said, ¡°You promise?¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I promise. Even if I get married someday, I¡¯ll never abandon you. I can¡¯t imagine how lonely your life must have been.¡± ¡°This means a lot to me, Rukito¡­ thanks for existing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going too far, I¡¯m just helping my little sister like a good elder brother.¡± ¡°Yeah, thank you, big brother.¡± Love is so complicated¡­ but thankfully I stopped her getting more and more in love with me in that way, who knows what she would have done later in the future if she saw me with another girl. Thankfully I learned since Sachi, I knew she was in love with me, but I didn¡¯t have the courage to tell her that I found someone else. Wait¡­ what? Who¡¯s Sachi? I just¡­ need some rest, my head hurts. ¡°Hey, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can you sing a lullaby? I want to fall asleep faster.¡± ¡°Uhh, sure, which one?¡± ¡°The best one you got.¡± ¡°Alright, this is my own lullaby.¡± ¡°You made it?¡± ¡°Yeah, the beginning I heard somewhere else, but since I don¡¯t remember how it ends, I finished it myself.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t wait to hear it now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s filled with love and hope.¡± She started humming a nice and sweet song while singing in some parts, and I quickly dozed off.
In my dreams, I kept seeing a pixie getting bullied and excluded from having an exceptionally good singularity. At playing games with her sisters, at any normal conversation people would ignore her, and when she brought up a good idea for the whole kingdom, they laughed at her and ignored it as if she was stupid. It got to a point where she got framed for hurting her own tree. ¡°It was her! Nightshade hurt the black ash tree with her evil songs!¡± ¡°W-what? No! I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± The maiden pixie looked at her and said, ¡°Why did you do so, Nightshade?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± ¡°She is lying! She doesn¡¯t even want to trick humans with us! How can we trust her?!¡± ¡°Throw her out!¡± ¡°Maiden! Please! Don¡¯t throw me outside with those evil humans! Please!¡± The maiden Pixie looked around and said, ¡°Alright, everyone, leave. I will have a final discussion with Nightshade myself.¡± ¡°Yes, maiden.¡± Everyone flew away, and only Nightshade and the maiden remained.¡± ¡°Maiden Juliet! Please! Don¡¯t do this to me!¡± She said while crying. ¡°Nightshade, stop crying.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The maiden looked around, got closer to her and said, ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you, my daughter.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°I knew you were also going to break the cycle, Nightshade.¡± ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± ¡°Most Pixies are¡­ pure evil, Nightshade. Only a few like yourself break that cycle and become benevolent.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Pixies are not ¡®mischievous¡¯ being. They were created by the goddess of comets and stars, Suisei for the sole purpose to help humans to the right path, but a long time ago some evil angels with indigo hair tricked us to believe the opposite.¡± The maiden Pixie was very tall compared to the other pixies, she looked like an actual woman, but just a tiny bit shorter than the average height for a woman. She had the same hair color as Nightshade. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± ¡°I was also like you once¡­ na?ve and oblivious of the world, believing everything one told me, but I never really understood the hate for humans. I went outside the village and then got caught. I got taken back and then got exiled. They ripped my wings off and sent me to the human world.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s horrible!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not as bad as you think, Nightshade¡­ that¡¯s where I met my love.¡± ¡°Your love? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Yeah, love¡­ It¡¯s complicated, but you will find it one day.¡± ¡°Does it have a name?¡± ¡°Yes, his name was Romeo. What a sweetheart¡­¡± Said the maiden while blushing. She giggled and said, ¡°His friends always made fun of him because they thought I was a child at first.¡± ¡°What happened to him?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°He is no longer with us. You see, humans don¡¯t live as long as we do, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°And, you¡¯re the precious daughter that I had with him.¡± ¡°Daughter? That you had with him?¡± The maiden instantly blushed and said, ¡°I-it¡¯s hard to explain, you will know when you¡¯re old enough. I just¡­ want to apologize for not being there for you, Nightshade. If the other pixies knew that I was once exiled and that I had a daughter, they would have not chosen me as the maiden of the black ash tree.¡± ¡°You are an exiled pixie¡­ wow, that¡¯s crazy!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ now you will be one too Nightshade.¡± ¡°W-what?! No! I don¡¯t want to go! I don¡¯t want to lose my wings!¡± ¡°A pixie¡¯s body grows older depending on also their mental maturity, Nightshade. That¡¯s why most pixies stay tiny for a long time, and others like me can fully evolve and grow faster.¡± ¡°I can grow mature here!¡± ¡°No, Nightshade, that¡¯s almost impossible. I don¡¯t have much time left in this world, even if I might look young, I¡¯m hundreds and hundreds of years old, and I might die in a year or less.¡± ¡°S-so you want me to be the next maiden?¡± ¡°No, even better¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Please, free these pixies from this lie¡­ I wasn¡¯t courageous enough to do it myself after Romeo passed away, so please, can you do it for me?¡± She said while bowing. ¡°N-no maiden Juliet! Don¡¯t bow to me!¡± ¡°P-please¡­ Nightshade. As my daughter¡­ do it for me, and your father.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what those words mean, maiden¡­ but¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°If it will help everyone and make everyone happy then¡­ I¡¯ll do it!¡± Juliet suddenly hugged Nightshade and said, ¡°Thank you, thank you so much, my sweet winter daughter.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ what are you doing?¡± Asked Nightshade not knowing what a hug was. ¡°I-it feels nice and warm though.¡± Juliet stepped back, and said, ¡°The singularity that you have has been passed down by me, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes, I was the one who developed it to the point that it¡¯s at, then I had you and passed it down to you. Remember, only pixies can pass down singularities.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s so amazing!¡± ¡°Yes, and I need you to develop it to become even better. Play every instrument in the world with passion, sing every song ever sung with love, dance the most beautiful dances ever seen with grace, but most importantly¡­ live, and be free.¡± She got closer to Nightshade¡¯s wings. ¡°M-maiden, are you sure about this? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good enough¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re perfect, Nightshade. Once you step out of this forest, your memories might be fuzzy of this moment, since pixies have trouble if they are too far from their trees. But that¡¯s until you find love.¡± Juliet suddenly started crying while looking at Nightshade one last time. ¡°O-ok! Maiden!¡± ¡°Please¡­ can you call me mom before you go?¡± ¡°M-mom? What does that mean?¡± Juliet smiled and hugged Nightshade one last time. ¡°I love you, my sweet winter daughter. A lonely road awaits you, but not for long.¡± ¡°I-I think I¡¯ll be fine, Ma- mom!¡± ¡°Remember, you need to free all pixies from the lie that the evil angel once made us believe, don¡¯t ever forget that.¡± ¡°Yes, mom!¡± ¡°Now¡­ close your eyes, this might hurt a bit.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The maiden quickly ripped her wings off. Nightshade yelled from the pain and the whole forest got agitated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my daughter. Find Di¡¯Ophion, he will help you heal your wounds if you¡¯re kind enough.¡± Nightshade was on the ground crying from the pain. ¡°Y-y-yes.¡± ¡°The fate of this house is on your hand, Nightshade. But don¡¯t stop just on this house, help everyone else, help all the pixies. I know this might be so sudden, but we don¡¯t have much time left¡­ I feel like humans are up to something evil.¡± Nightshade got up and said, ¡°Ok, mom,¡± Juliet called some other pixies to throw Nightshade out. On the entrance of the forest, Nightshade got dropped on the ground by the pixies. ¡°You weirdo, this is what you deserve for being such a smartass.¡± ¡°Yeah, I hope a human finds you and kills you.¡± Nightshade slowly got up, turned back and said, ¡°I-I promise, I¡¯ll save all of you.¡± The pixies looked at Nightshade weird and then started laughing. ¡°What?! You¡¯re crazy, get out of here already.¡± Nightshade turned back and started walking away. The other pixies started throwing rocks at her as she was leaving. ¡°And never come back!¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not nice!¡± Yelled Nightshade. ¡°Bye-bye!¡± ¡°Whatever¡­ I¡¯ll come back; I promise.¡± Thought Nightshade. Months passed, and Nightshade wasn¡¯t able to get on Di¡¯Ophion¡¯s good side, so she decided to wait outside of the tree and wait for someone to eat the fruit so she could go and absorb this person¡¯s energy for herself. One day, two travelers with red hair and golden eyes deviated from the path and walked in the woods, there we saw a fairy playing the harp, sitting on top of a stump with many different animals surrounding her to hear her song. She was beautiful and tiny; she was around 3 feet tall with long purple hair and a gorgeous black dress. She opened her eyes, and we noticed that they were a calming ocean blue color. What struck the travelers was that she had no wings whatsoever. It was Nightshade. ¡°Good evening, travelers.¡±
I was fast asleep soon after she sang the lullaby, but I got all those flashbacks of her memories myself. ¡°Are you asleep? Rukito?¡± I heard in my subconscious. It must be Nightshade talking to me while my mind is asleep. ¡°I really love you too¡­ even if we treat each other as siblings, as long as I get to hug you, I don¡¯t mind.¡± My mind was completely asleep, all I could do is hear her sweet and calming voice. ¡°You know, I never knew where I learned that lullaby from¡­ I always heard it in my head when I was a child, almost as if someone else was singing it to me.¡± Vol.2|Chapter 13: Raven Black
"A simple compliment to a stranger can change their day." -Rukito Nokuwa
The next day, I woke up with a headache, I was trying to remember all day of the dream I had, so I decided to go and walk around the city with Jinn. ¡°Tomorrow night we will leave to your hometown, Tokiri Islands,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s great! Did you text Aizawa?¡± ¡°Yeah, she said she was ok with it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait! By the way, how did it go with Nightshade?¡± ¡°We just came to close terms that we would remain in a sibling type of relationship; she just wants cuddles after all, I don¡¯t really mind.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ fair enough!¡± Said Jinn. As we were walking through the city, we kept talking about each other, he soon asked me what my singularity did, which I soon responded, ¡°If I have it activated for too long it starts corrupting my body with this burning feeling, so I can¡¯t really rely on it too much.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Said Jinn while looking down and humming, ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why the apocalypse happened; you used your singularity too much.¡± ¡°Huh, that actually could be it.¡± I closed my eyes and said, ¡°But if so¡­ that means this power is far more dangerous than I thought it was¡­ maybe I shouldn¡¯t use it at all, or I would put everyone at risk.¡± ¡°Yeah, good idea. Only use it as a last resort, until then, you can count on me as a shield of humanity!¡± He said while letting out his hand for a handshake. I shook his hand with a smile and said, ¡°Alright, Jinn, we¡¯re all counting on you.¡± I quickly heard an energetic voice coming out of nowhere that said, ¡°And I¡¯ll be the sword!¡± It was Sora, he also let out his hand to shake mines. ¡°Sora?... how much of that did you hear?¡± I asked. ¡°Enough to know who you are, ¡®Kaiser¡¯.¡± He said with a sigh. ¡°Well¡­ I want to apologize for not letting you know beforehand.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, knowing that you are on our side puts me more at ease.¡± I lent out my hand and said, ¡°Then¡­ deal it is!¡± He shook my hand with a smile and said, ¡°We should make it a thing.¡± ¡°A thing?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yeah! Like a badass group that goes around protecting the people from criminals and unfair laws from my father.¡± ¡°So, like a vigilante team?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yeah!¡± Said Sora. ¡°Hmm¡­ wouldn¡¯t that bring too much attention to us?¡± ¡°Yeah, but that would mean that criminals, tyrants, and unjust rulers will know our existence, so maybe that will force them to think twice before doing anything bold.¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­ I don¡¯t want to get Nightshade caught up into this, and I¡¯m sure even you, Sora, wouldn¡¯t want your sister to be caught up into this either.¡± Wait¡­ Nightshade¡­ That¡¯s right, she was raised by Juliet; and the goal entrusted to her was¡­ to unite pixies and humans once again. Maybe I¡¯m just trying to push her away from her goal¡­ maybe I¡­ ¡°You¡¯re right, but Zue is not dumb, if we tell her our intentions, I¡¯m sure she will manage to be cautious no problem, she is way smarter than I am.¡± Maybe I should trust in Nightshade more, just like Sora trusts his sister. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll think about it, Sora.¡± I said. I first have to check to see if everyone is ok with it. ¡°Great! Can¡¯t wait to wear some cool masks!¡± I¡¯d have to see to make some cool masks for all of us too, I don¡¯t really have anyone that I know of or trust at the moment that is skilled in crafting¡­ or¡­ maybe I do. As I was about to reach down to my phone to call Fuji, the giant billboard on the city changed to an announcement by princess Zue Fastarhan herself. ¡°Good morning, good people of Greenterra.¡± Greenterra? Is this a country broadcast?! ¡°My name is Zue Fastarhan, first of my name, and princess of this magnificent country of beautiful people and creatures.¡± The crowd suddenly started screaming her name. ¡°Zue!¡± ¡°Princess!¡± ¡°She is always so gorgeous and graceful!¡± ¡°Speaking of the devil,¡± said Sora with a smirk. ¡°Today I¡¯m going to make a quick, but a very important announcement.¡± Is this it? Is she going to be able to clear my name? Show me what you got, princess. ¡°What could it be?¡± Asked a random citizen. ¡°I¡¯m going to address the events of last year¡¯s apocalypse, so if any of you are sensible for this topic, I apologize. The apocalypse was something horrible that should have never had happened, and I¡¯m genuinely heartbroken by all the casualties we had. I would like to send all my condolences to the happy families that were hurt the most.¡± ¡°She is so sweet¡­¡± Said Jinn. Yeah, I can see that she is really skilled with words. But she is not lying, or else her singularity would take action. ¡°I promise that humanity will never forget such an event from the devils. Therefore, we started communicating with the angels to figure out a way to investigate more on the matter, more specifically, Shizuka Aizawa.¡± ¡°Ms. Aizawa?¡± Asked Sora. ¡°I had a chat with her not too long ago about the matter, and we concluded with a good theory¡­¡± She sighed and said, ¡°but that¡¯s why it hurts me to say that¡­ we don¡¯t believe that Rukito Nokuwa was guilty of his crimes.¡± Suddenly, everyone gasped, but Jinn, Sora, and I had a smile. ¡°She¡­ didn¡¯t faint!¡± ¡°She not lying.¡± ¡°I actually had a chance of having an encounter with Rukito Nokuwa not too long ago, and we had a nice chat. He explained that he believed that he was overtaken by some sinister power. At first, I didn¡¯t believe him, but then I noticed that his heart was pure and clear of genocide.¡± ¡°I-Impossible!¡± ¡°But¡­ she is not lying, she can¡¯t lie!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe this crap.¡± ¡°I know this might be hard to believe, but you all have to trust me! If we are understanding of him, we could have him on our side and then use him as a weapon back to the devils!¡± ¡°She is right! We could get our revenge!¡± Damn, she didn¡¯t have to be that brutally honest. But I doubt war is what she really wants, she is just saying that to manipulate people¡¯s opinion of me, and she is doing such a great job at it¡­ she completely gained my full respect. ¡°Well, that is all. Please think about it, as we could finally stand a chance and fight against the devils if we use him. And remember,¡± She stood in attention and said, ¡°Glory from neutrality!¡± Then soon everyone else stood in attention and repeated the same quote, except Jinn and I. Sora looked to us and said, ¡°You two don¡¯t know about the race quotes?¡± ¡°Race quotes?¡± I asked. ¡°What?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yeah, humanity has, ¡®Glory from neutrality,¡¯ angels have ¡®Honor from divinity,¡¯ and devils have, ¡®Freedom from wickedness.¡¯¡± ¡°Oh wow, I actually didn¡¯t know that.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Yeah, me neither.¡± After the broadcast, everyone started going with their day, thinking if to either acknowledge Rukito as a person or not. I then quickly heard a familiar female voice saying, ¡°Uhm¡­ excuse me.¡± I turned around. It was a woman with long black hair, down to her butt, and gorgeous blue eyes. ¡°Woah, and who are you?¡± Asked Sora. ¡°Me? I¡­ I don¡¯t have a name, but I heard you both talking about making a group of vigilantes, s-so, I would like to join!¡± Yup, I knew that talking in a crowd wasn¡¯t a good idea. ¡°Uhm¡­ can we go somewhere more¡­ less crowded?¡± I asked. ¡°Y-yeah!¡± She said. We started walking in a back alley. I turned around towards this girl and looked into her eyes for a couple of seconds. She¡­ has familiar eyes, I actually think I¡¯m starting to get a headache here. ¡°What¡¯s your name? For real.¡± I asked. If she heard all of our conversations, we couldn¡¯t just let her go by as nothing happened. ¡°I-I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t have a name.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any sort of identification?¡± I asked. ¡°N-no¡­ I actually don¡¯t remember much, of anything¡­ of who I am¡­ of who I was. I woke up a couple of weeks ago in the middle of a forest, naked¡­ then I walked in the city and quickly got treated by nice people by a church, and since then I¡¯ve been trying to remember something, but nothing.¡± ¡°And you just want to join our vigilante group just like that? Our leader still hasn¡¯t chosen if we are really going to do it or not.¡± ¡°Hey! Who decided I¡¯m the leader?!¡± ¡°I know¡­ it¡¯s weird, but¡­ he¡­¡± she blushed. ¡°As soon as I saw him, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off him.¡± ¡°Not another girl¡­¡± ¡°Wow, Kaiser just won¡¯t stop with his harem.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°N-no!¡± Said the girl while blushing more and holding her face. ¡°Not attracted like that!¡± ¡°Hmm? Then what do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it¡¯s a weird feeling... it¡¯s almost as if my body¡­ aches to¡­¡± Hmm? I had a weird feeling. The wind picked up, the birds stopped singing, everything went silent. My heart starting racing for some reason, and then she said those words that sent a chill down my spine, ¡°My body aches to kill you¡­¡± She said with a distorted voice. She spread her enormous and obscure raven black wings, her eyes turned fully black and she said, ¡°Akira¡­ this is a reminder.¡± Jinn rushed right in front of me, an ocean-blue light flashed. ¡°ASTRAL GUARDIAN: DIAMOND KNIGHT!¡± The mysterious girl made a spear of shadow, and threw it towards Jinn shield, breaking it and shattering it in multiple pieces. ¡°Gah! What is¡­ that power?!¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Jinn, are you alright?!¡± ¡°Rukito! Stay back!¡± He yelled. We soon heard Sora yelling, ¡°STATIC EMPEROR: LAST TWINS!¡± A bolt of lightning fell on top of him, but without damaging anybody around. Sora ran across the wall towards this woman with two swords made out of electricity and yelled, ¡°Stay back!¡± ¡°I¡¯m still alive¡­ I can reincarnate one more time, even if I die here.¡± She dodged Sora¡¯s attack and teleported behind me while saying, ¡°This is my last tick of power, from here on, I will spend the next years trying to recover 100% of my power in another planet, and until then, you best remember me, and protect my vessel at all cost, I know you won¡¯t hurt her¡­ in fact, I will give your memories with her back to you.¡± ¡°W-what? How is she faster than me?! I didn¡¯t even see her!¡± Said Sora. The darkness suddenly disappeared and left the girl on the floor crying. She looked up while Sora held a sword to her throat. She started crying even more and said, ¡°Please, help me¡­¡± ¡°You better explain before you lose your soul!¡± Said Sora. ¡°Sora, wait!¡± I yelled. I got closer to this girl, and asked, ¡°You look very familiar¡­ and somehow I don¡¯t feel threatened by your eyes.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Rukito, what are you talking about?!¡± Yelled Jinn. ¡°Get away from her!¡± Yelled Sora. ¡°It¡¯s fine guys, she is not¡­ someone evil.¡± I slowly walked up to her crying and held her hand gently while gazing deep into her blue eyes.
As we made physical contact, I got some sudden memories. I was 16 years old in a huge orphanage building with a beach at the back. I was very familiar with this building since I was raised almost my whole life in here, but not too long an eastern new girl with long black wavy hair and blue eyes arrived. She had a thin body, but you could clearly see that she took care of herself, and she was around my age too which was weird since most kids are left at a young age. She got to settle in and get comfortable in her own skin, because every time I looked at her, she seemed very uncomfortable when people approached her. We used to get these ¡®Throughout Soul Evaluation¡¯ or T.S.E every six months. The scores were never released, but they always announced the top scorers on the Intelligence Quotient tests, Creative Quotient test, and Emotional Quotient test. I always got the top score on the Emotional Quotient test, it apparently means that I¡¯m really good at managing my own emotions and understanding other people¡¯s emotions. Surprisingly, this new girl completely aced the C.Q and I.Q test on her first try, I¡¯ve never heard of someone that¡¯s both really creative and really smart at the same time, she is definitely a prodigy. But being popular, awkward, and shy is not a good combination, so other kids started to make fun of her for any little thing that they found since they didn¡¯t want to be her friend. Some kind girls that I knew walked up to her and tried being friends, but they soon left; all they say is that they found her ¡®too weird.¡¯ We were in lunch; I was with my group of friends eating while I shortly stared at the new girl. ¡°Rukito, what are you looking at?¡± ¡°Is it Robot girl?¡± ¡°Sure, she is good looking, but she is a real weirdo.¡± Said, my friends. ¡°Maybe I should try and talk to her myself¡­ I¡¯m the one that has the highest EQ score here anyways.¡± I said. ¡°Good luck then.¡± I decided to walk up to this girl at lunchtime since I know that she might feel very uneasy with all this unneeded hate. As I was walking up to her, I noticed that she kept her hands in her pockets and always sat far away from everyone else, but now that I think about it, she does it all the time. I thought of something funny to say since that¡¯s the best way to talk to a shy girl. ¡°If I were to ask you out on a date, would your answer be the same as the answer to this question?¡± I was saving that pick-up line for the most interesting and intelligent girl in the orphanage, so far, she seems to be that person so that¡¯s why I used it now. She let out a quiet and nervous giggle then said, ¡°R-Rukito, right? You¡¯re pretty popular for having such E.Q scores.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question,¡± I said. ¡°I-I can¡¯t answer that you fricking silly tomato!¡± She said while blushing. I chuckled, sat down beside her, and said, ¡°Silly tomato? That¡¯s a first,¡± I looked down to her lunch and said, ¡°you always pick seafood out of everything.¡± I said. ¡°W-well, It¡¯s my favorite food.¡± I tried to add long pauses in between my sentences since usually shy girls are too shy to interrupt you. ¡°Really? I prefer pasta.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fan, but I respect your choice.¡± She said. ¡°By the way, why does everyone keep calling you robot girl?¡± ¡°O-oh! Uhm¡­ I guess¡­ since having an IQ and CQ top score is not normal, so they probably think I¡¯m some kind of robot.¡± She talked quite fast compared to the rest of the people. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s pretty rude of them. I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t like the name.¡± ¡°I fricking hate it, but I learned to deal with it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Who cares what they think of you, so far you seem a pretty cool girl to me.¡± ¡°Y-you think so?¡± She said while blushing. She shortly paused then looked at me with an intention to scare me which was cute. ¡°Waarh~ I¡¯m the robot girl called Andromeda that will eat every last human being~! Piece by piece, bone by bone!~¡± I chuckled from her cute intent to scare me away and said, ¡°Robots don¡¯t eat people.¡± ¡°Damn it¡­ I thought it would work.¡± She was clearly trying to scare me away so she could be alone. ¡°Do you want me to leave?¡± I asked. ¡°N-no! Sorry, I was just testing you, I thought that someone dared you to talk to me, but I guess I was wrong.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do something like that! I¡¯m here to be your friend!¡± ¡°My friend?... You?¡± ¡°Yeah, why? Is something wrong with me?¡± ¡°N-n-not at all! I just¡­ didn¡¯t expect a popular boy to be interested in being friends with me.¡± ¡°Please stop. Popularity doesn¡¯t make me better than you.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ you know¡­ you seem like a nice person, Rukito.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call myself nice, but sure!¡± I said while chuckling. ¡°Can we really be friends?¡± ¡°Only if you tell me why I always see you going around the place collecting bottle caps.¡± ¡°W-w-when did y-you see such thing?!¡± She asked. ¡°After lunch, when everyone leaves, I sometimes stay to clean, and I see you walking around the place with your hands in your pocket looking for bottle caps.¡± She blushed and said, ¡°W-well, I¡­ please don¡¯t tell anybody!¡± ¡°Of course I won¡¯t, now tell me.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I collect bottle caps as a hobby!¡± I started laughing loudly from what she said, ¡°S-stop laughing! Everyone is looking this way!¡± ¡°S-Sorry, I¡± I kept laughing. ¡°Stop laughing, Rukito!¡± She said while holding my shoulders and shaking me with an adorable nervous expression. ¡°Sorry, I just- I find it really cute, and I usually laugh at cute things.¡± ¡°C-cute...¡± She instantly let go of me, covered her blushing face and looked away. ¡°Everyone always says it¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to them. Any other cute hobbies?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I like taking pictures of things I enjoy.¡± ¡°Aww, so sweet.¡± ¡°C-can you stop?!¡± I chuckled. ¡°How about you tell me your name, huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s...¡± ¡°It¡¯s?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a name¡­ I don¡¯t have parents.¡± ¡°Oh, so basically just like me.¡± ¡°You have a name though!¡± ¡°Not parents, as much as I know of.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand. It freaking sucks.¡± ¡°You say that a lot, huh?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°''Freaking''¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like cursing.¡± ¡°Even cuter.¡± ¡°S-shut up! I don¡¯t like you anyways so why are you trying to flirt with me?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t like you either!¡± I said with a serious face. We clearly knew that we both liked each other, but I guess neither of us had the courage to admit it at first. ¡°Who likes someone that has red hair and yellow eyes anyways?¡± ¡°A lot of girls actually.¡± ¡°Shut up! Then go to them!¡± ¡°And who likes someone with bland black hair and overrated blue eyes that collects bottle caps?¡± ¡°N-nobody¡­ I know that!¡± She said while looking away. Crap, I didn¡¯t think it will go this way, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt her. ¡°I-I¡¯m joking.¡± ¡°Whatever¡­¡± She said with a sad tone. I got even closer to her, held one of her shoulders to start getting comfortable with each other in physical contact and said, ¡°Hey, I really mean it. I didn¡¯t mean to insult your hobby; I find it unique.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¡°How about we think of a name for you, huh?¡± ¡°A name? Why do you have to be the one giving it to me?¡± ¡°Well damn, sorry¡­¡± I said with a hurtful tone. ¡°I just¡­ wanted to brighten up your mood, that¡¯s all.¡± She smiled at me and said, ¡°You brightened up my day, Rukito. Thank you for going out of your way to talk to me and make me happy.¡± Those words of gratitude were deep for me. ¡°Y-you¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Happy¡­ in eastern culture, the word happy can also be read as ¡®Sachi¡¯ so¡­ what do you think of that name?¡± ¡°Sachi? That sounds great for you!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The bell to go back to class rang, so we said our goodbyes and told each other to meet at the same spot every lunch. We kept talking, making fun of each other and slowly but surely falling in love more and more without even realizing. It got to a point where I made a multi-colored bracelet for her that shined every time she wore it. I was the only one that knew how to make them so there were only a few in the world. I later told her that it shined because she had a singularity; back then there were classes that taught us how to unlock our singularities. A couple of months passed, and one night, she sneaked into the boy¡¯s dorm just so she could chat more with me at night. I was about to fall asleep when I felt some movement coming from below the bed, Sachi slowly crawled up and I started freaking out. I thought it was a demon coming for my life, my days as a carefree boy were finished, I guess this is what I get for hanging out with so many girls and not picking one. Damn it, I wish I could have just married Sac- ¡°Hey!¡± She said while jumping beside me.¡± ¡°Shush! Everyone else is sleeping. W-What are you doing here? Most importantly, how did you get here?¡± ¡°This is not a maximum-security prison, it¡¯s not that hard sneaking around. Especially with my spiritual singularity.¡± ¡°Right¡­ Phantom Queen. It allows you to teleport in any spot where there is a shadow, and in the night, you can do so anywhere where your eyes can see.¡± ¡°Pretty strong, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, definitely better than my stupid spirit daisho. That damn katana and wakizashi won¡¯t unsheathe, so I¡¯m stuck with the tanto.¡± ¡°Have you tried meditating? I do it all the time as my morning routine.¡± ¡°Meditating? No, that¡¯s stupid.¡± ¡°You¡¯re stupid!¡± Said Sachi. ¡°Keep it down¡­!¡± Sachi got under the sheets while blushing with me and said, ¡°Let¡¯s meditate together then.¡± ¡°That shyness sure rubbed off quick,¡± I said. ¡°Shut up¡­! If I liked you, I would be too embarrassed to even be here. Goodness, I can definitely see how I got a higher IQ than you¡­!¡± She said as her whole face was red. ¡°Suuure¡­.¡± ¡°Do you want to unlock your wakizashi or not?¡± ¡°Yeah, I really do,¡± I said with a serious tone. ¡°Alright, then meditate with me¡­!¡± ¡°If you get caught here, you will be in big trouble.¡± ¡°Y-you care about me that much?¡± She said. ¡°N-no¡­! I¡¯ll just get in trouble too if you get caught here with me. I don¡¯t care about you¡­!¡± ¡°S-stop lying¡­! I¡¯m not na?ve¡­¡± She got really close to my face, almost as if she really wanted to kiss me but stopped at the last second, to the point that we could feel each other¡¯s breath. We held eye contact for three seconds and then she looked away blushing. ¡°W-why are you staring into my eyes like that? You perv¡­!¡± ¡°W-what are you talking about?! You¡¯re the girl that sneaked into my bed, and I¡¯m the perv? How the hell do you keep getting top IQ scores?¡± ¡°I just¡­ my mind and heart are always so nervous when I¡¯m around you¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said while blushing. ¡°But don¡¯t get it twisted¡­! It¡¯s only because I have Glossophobia¡­!¡± ¡°Sachi, we both know that the only phobia you have is the one about stupid baked beans,¡± I said while starting to laugh inside. ¡°Leguminophobia is not a joke¡­! Your singularity is!¡± She said while giggling. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not nice¡­!¡± I said while still laughing inside. We both gazed into each other¡¯s eyes once more, but this time it was for longer, and it was sweeter. We both were so deep in love with each other, but so nervous to confess thinking that it was going to ruin our friendship. ¡°You know¡­ out of all the girls I¡¯ve hung out with, you¡¯re the first one that makes me feel¡­ myself,¡± I said. ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­.¡± She stood frozen while blushing. ¡°Can you sleep with me tonight? Sachi.¡± ¡°S-s-sleep with you? But they will see me in the morning.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have the far end bed, it has a weird angle so their field of view should be away from you if you stay close to me at the right side of the bed, and if anything, hide under the covers.¡± ¡°I have trouble sleeping at night, you know¡­ I always take too long to fall asleep, and when I do sleep, I oversleep.¡± ¡°Even better, maybe if you sleep with me you fall asleep faster.¡± ¡°A-alright, but only for tonight! We¡¯re just friends after all.¡± I didn¡¯t expect her to answer that quick. ¡°Really? I was hoping for more.¡± ¡°I mean, if you really want to, we could do this more ofte-¡± ¡°See! You¡¯re the pervert here¡­! I was just testing you to see if you would sleep with me again!¡± I said. But deep inside, I wanted to sleep with her not just tonight, but every other to come. I¡¯ve really grown attached to her by the fact that she is so much different compared to other girls. She is special and unique. The way she talks, the way she reacts, almost everything is special about her. ¡°I just want you to meditate, that¡¯s all¡­!¡± She said. Immediately after, someone opened the door, but luckily, I quickly laid down and Sachi hid under the sheets. It was a sister checking on us to see if we were all sleeping. She closed the door and then we heard her say to someone else, ¡°They are sleeping.¡± ¡°Good, then come with me, I have something important to tell you.¡± Said someone with a very old voice. ¡°Yes, grandmother.¡± ¡°Rukito, did you hear that?¡± Asked Sachi. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± ¡°Want to go follow them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it sounds dangerous.¡± ¡°You scared?¡± She asked with a smug. I really wanted to kiss her to shut her up and wipe away that smug of hers, but I was way too nervous. ¡°No, I just¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want her to get in trouble or to get hurt. ¡°You¡¯re definitely scared.¡± ¡°Shut up before I throw baked beans at you¡­!¡± ¡°No, please, don¡¯t do that, Rukito¡­!¡± We ended up following them. Since Sachi¡¯s singularity was perfect to chase people in the night, she didn¡¯t have a problem, but on my side, I did. I still managed to chase them. They entered a secret room behind a wall that I had no idea of and started walking underground. As they were walking Sachi and I heard, ¡°How is the find for my next vessel going?¡± Asked the old woman. Vessel? ¡°It¡¯s going perfect, grandma. The new girl that arrived with no name has achieved the highest scores on the IQ and CQ test. She also seems to have no connections whatsoever with the outside world, so if she changed or disappeared out of nowhere, no one would care or know.¡± Huh? Why are they talking about Sachi? ¡°Very well¡­ we have to watch out for the new reincarnation of Akira, this is the last one, but it¡¯s going to be the strongest one. The last one wasn¡¯t so easy to kill¡­¡± ¡°H-how about you, grandma? How many reincarnations you have left?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only died once against Akira, and it was when I first fought him and ended in a tie. So, my soul is still strong enough to reincarnate three times.¡± Akira? Who¡¯s that? ¡°Well, we¡¯ve been absorbing energy by the ones who get a really low score on the T.S.E for your recovery.¡± ¡°Good. After my power passes on onto this girl, I will need that energy to fully awaken my powers so I can go in the hunt for the last Akira.¡± Wait¡­ so all of my friends that went missing¡­ they¡­ they died?! It makes sense since all of them told me that they always bombarded the T.S.E. I was completely shocked hearing all of this, my heart started racing faster and faster as I understood how dangerous this old woman is. We entered in a room full of tubes and kids in machines; those kids¡­ were my friends. I had a rage building up inside me, slowly but surely. ¡°Poor kids¡­ living a happy life just to end so abruptly, I almost feel pity for them.¡± Said the old woman. Sachi had a really shocked and scared expression on her, but for me, that fear turned into anger. I took out my singularity and held my katana firmly in my hands, suddenly, I heard a voice in my head that sounded like mine but a bit deeper. ¡°What is it you fight for, kid?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m going to kill her; I WILL kill her!¡± I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder as I was dashing towards her with my Katana in my hands. ¡°This is the weight of your determination; you lose this determination¡­ you lose a reason to fight¡­ the Katana of Wind will not be unsheathed if not by a stronger resolve.¡± I unsheathed the entire katana; the wind blew up extremely fast. As I dashed behind the old woman to slice her legs off. I started seeing everything in slow motion. The old lady jumped the attack and kicked me away with all her strength. I went flying against the wall, making a huge crack in it. She looked at me with a surprised expression and asked, ¡°And who are you?¡± ¡°How dare you take their life for granted!¡± I yelled. The sister looked at me and said, ¡°Rukito¡­ what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Is that his name?¡± Asked the old woman. ¡°Everyone trusted you, sister Tina! Each one of those kids!¡± ¡°Tsk, and I found each one of them annoying.¡± I rushed back to them again while spitting blood, but this time glowing wolves appeared and attacked the sister with rage. The old woman rushed to me and grabbed me by my neck. She had no pupils¡­ both her eyes were entirely black. ¡°You seem like an interesting kid¡­ it would be such a waste to kill you; you have so much potential.¡± ¡°L-let me go¡­¡± ¡°Red hair¡­ yellow eyes¡­ are you Akira¡¯s reincarnation?¡± ¡°I have no idea of who that is!¡± ¡°If you are¡­ then I¡¯m not going to be able to kill your inner devil with my current power.¡± Sachi suddenly appeared behind the old woman and tried to slice her neck with a dagger she had. But Ochiru quickly noticed it, turned around, kicked Sachi¡¯s knees and made her fall on the ground. She placed her foot on top of Sachi¡¯s neck while she still had me in her hands. ¡°You¡­ you must be my vessel.¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t touch her, you bitch!¡± I yelled while my body started growing a black aura around me. She looked at both of us, smiled and said, ¡°Is that Rei? No¡­ she doesn¡¯t look like that. How sweet, you found love even though it isn¡¯t Rei.¡± ¡°Let her go!¡± ¡°This is going to be really interesting¡­ two lovers fighting each other from fate.¡± ¡°W-what is she talking about?¡± Asked Sachi. ¡°Rukito, was it? I will let you live, as of now I won¡¯t be able to kill your soul.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what happens to me, just let her go!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that, but don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill her, in fact, you will definitely see her again in the future.¡± The black aura fully covered me, and I quickly pushed her off, horns appeared on my head, but no wings appeared. ¡°Leave her alone!¡± I yelled. ¡°That¡¯s not good, I have to end this quick.¡± She said. I tried slicing her with my Katana, but she barely dodged every single attack, I suddenly thought of breaking all the tubes instead, and so I did. ¡°YOU IDIOT! Those are years¡¯ worth of energy!¡± ¡°Sachi! Get out of here!¡± I yelled. She stood up and said, ¡°I-I can¡¯t just leave you alone!¡± ¡°Get out of where? We¡¯re on an island, millions of miles away from any coast.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± I said. Ochiru released a lot of energy, dashed behind me and hit me in the neck making me lose consciousness, and the last things I heard were, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will be sent to another orphanage. Your memories will be erased of everything that happened here thanks to my Void oblivion.¡± My memory? Erased? No¡­ I don¡¯t want to forget her. I don¡¯t want to forget Sachi. I hit the ground and I passed out. ¡°Rukito!¡± Yelled Sachi. But it was too late. She tried teleporting next to me and picking me up but Ochiru stopped her. Ochiru grabbed her wrist and said, ¡°I have great plans for you.¡± Vol.2|Chapter 14: Mind Games and Tea
"The moment you think I only have one plan, I''ve already outsmarted you." -Shizuka Aizawa Angelus
I snapped back into the present. Those memories felt like I was re-living them again, and this is not the first time I have such a flashback. I looked back at my friends and notice they were all on guard ready to kill her, I stood in front of Sachi and said, ¡°Don¡¯t kill her!¡± While opening my arms to stop them. ¡°Isn¡¯t she the cause of the apocalypse?!¡± Asked Sora. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure¡­ I only gained a few of my memories.¡± ¡°You gained some memories?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I looked at Sachi on the ground crying and said, ¡°She was the first person I ever loved.¡± ¡°Rukito, you can¡¯t let emotions get in your way, this is humanity at risk!¡± Said Sora. ¡°Sorafhto, I understand¡­ but she is not the same person you saw not too long ago.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°She is controlled by a deity named Ochiru; from what I understood, Ochiru needs time to charge her powers in another planet, and until then, Sachi will not be possessed.¡± ¡°What if we kill her right here? Wouldn¡¯t that stop that from happening?!¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­ there has to be a way to stop Ochiru from possessing her.¡± ¡°Rukito, you can¡¯t play on luck that we find a way! What if we don¡¯t? Who¡¯s going to stop her then?¡± ¡°Luck has never failed me¡­ plus, it¡¯s not luck, we just need to find the right person¡­ or maybe we already did.¡± ¡°Shizuka Aizawa?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Yes, she can probably help us.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we relying on her a bit too much?¡± Asked Sora. ¡°Yeah¡­ but I have a feeling that we can trust her.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell her you¡¯re Rukito?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°Because I¡¯m 90% sure she wants to kill Rukito. She is the strongest being alive in Greenterra at the moment.¡± I suddenly got softly punched on the back of the head, and heard, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t fricking underestimate me that much.¡± It was Sachi. She was smiling while having tears running down her cheeks. She hugged me from the back and said, ¡°Jeez¡­ thanks for sparing me, Ruki.¡± ¡°Again, with that nickname? I told you to stop calling me that back at the orphanage! Jinn, do you have any baked beans?¡± ¡°Hmm? Baked beans? What for?¡± Sachi quickly let go of me, dropped on the floor and started bowing over and over. ¡°No! NO! Please, Rukito! Don¡¯t be so cruel!¡± Jinn started laughing, while I was grinning. Sora still had a worried look on his face and said, ¡°Rukito! Get away from her she might be-¡± Jinn rested his hand on Sora¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Sora, give it up.¡± ¡°Jinn? What are you talking about? She-¡± ¡°Do you really see her as a threat at this point?¡± Sora looked at Sachi while she was crying her eyes out and still bowing in front of me. ¡°PLEASE, RUKITO!¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Said Sora while loosing up his grip on his swords. ¡°Big brother?¡± I heard. Nightshade was the end of the alley looking for me. ¡°I felt Jinn¡¯s singularity activate somewhere around here.¡± That¡¯s right, pixies can feel people¡¯s auras. ¡°Nightshade? What are you doing here?! I said it¡¯s too dangerous for-¡± ¡°AHHH! Who is this cute pixie?!¡± Said Sachi while running towards Nightshade and pinching her cheeks. ¡°Hey!~ Who are you? S-stop it! It hurts!¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°What a little fricking cute girl you are!¡± Sora deactivated his singularity, smiled and said, ¡°Yeah¡­ maybe you¡¯re right, Jinn.¡± I walked forward to where Nightshade was, laid my hand on her head and said, ¡°She is my little sister.¡± ¡°R-really?! You never told me you had one!¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story. But anyways, let¡¯s go in a caf¨¦ or somewhere where we could talk freely, I actually had to talk to you too, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Me? About what?¡± ¡°Your past; I remember my dream now.¡± We walked into an almost empty caf¨¦, named ¡®Ispy¡¯s tea¡¯ we got a table to start discussing our situation. ¡°Rukito! Why can¡¯t I sit beside you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to get murdered.¡± ¡°But Ochiru is gone!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared of Ochiru, I¡¯m scared of you! Ugly hag!¡± ¡°U-ugly hag?! You¡¯re older than me! Tomato head!¡± ¡°Woah! Guys, calm down!¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Jinn, this is how we catch up on old times,¡± I said while smiling. ¡°Just¡­ don¡¯t fight! We¡¯re here to talk about important things.¡± ¡°Jinn is right.¡± Said Nightshade already beside me at my left with her cheeks still red from the pinching. ¡°Sit down next to Sora, he¡¯s a nice guy.¡± ¡°He looks so full of himself though!¡± Said Sachi. ¡°HEY! What was that for?!¡± Yelled Sora. ¡°I mean¡­ she is not wrong.¡± I said. ¡°I agree.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°I¡¯m not too fond of this new ¡®friend¡¯ in our group.¡± Said Sora. Sachi looked at Sora, smiled, and said, ¡°I¡¯m just joking around,¡± She looked at everyone and said, ¡°I hope no one here takes my jokes personally.¡± Sora smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I guess.¡± After we all settled, the waitress came up to our table and asked, ¡°What would you all be getting?¡± ¡°Uh, nothing really, maybe just some tea.¡± ¡°Ok, which one?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like some black tea.¡± Said Sachi. ¡°How about the rest of you?¡± ¡°Green tea is fine,¡± I said. Everyone agreed and we got our tea. ¡°First, let me explain what the plan is,¡± I said. I asked Jinn for a map, he pulled it out of his bag and gave it to me. I opened it on the table and said, ¡°Tomorrow afternoon, Jinn, Aizawa and I will be going back to Tokiri Islands to heal his brother.¡± ¡°Can I come too?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°Hmm¡­ alright, you have to pass by Fuji¡¯s place anyways.¡± I said. ¡°How about me?¡± Asked Sora. ¡°Don¡¯t you have to take care of your little sister?¡± I asked. ¡°Right¡­¡± ¡°Me?¡± Asked Sachi. I took a deep breath and said, ¡°It might be a problem.¡± ¡°W-why?¡± ¡°Considering that we are going with Shizuka, there might be a slight chance that she could find out who you really are, but if you are sure that Ochiru is gone, then we shouldn¡¯t have a problem.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t feel her presence anywhere, so I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s gone for the meantime.¡± ¡°And then?¡± Asked Jinn. ¡°After we heal my brother, what¡¯s next? I will be forever grateful so; I¡¯ll try my best to help!¡± ¡°Well, gathering the divine gemstones of course. If we want to stop Ochiru, I believe that gathering the gems is our only option.¡± ¡°And if you guys can¡¯t¡­ I¡¯ll just have to kill mys-¡± I cut her off and said, ¡°Sachi, we¡¯re going to find a way to help you, there is no if.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re innocent, it¡¯s not your fault that you got possessed.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°What kind of team would we be if we don¡¯t help ourselves?¡± Said Sora. ¡°Stop being negative, I promise we¡¯ll help you,¡± said Nightshade. ¡°T-thank you...¡± She said while lowering her head with an emotional tone. This might be one of the first times she ever had the chance to have friends, so I understand her feelings. ¡°So, this is official? Are we a team?!¡± Asked Sora with an excited face. ¡°Hmm¡­ what good would this do to us though? Besides bringing attention.¡± I asked. ¡°Well, we would be more organized for future battles. We can¡¯t expect to get all gemstones without considering the fact that many of them might already have been taken, and maybe those people who currently have them, are not nice people.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think of that possibility.¡± ¡°Plus, we could also help the people that are in need.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Jinn, we don¡¯t have time to play hero, we have a literal goddess that is a threat to humanity to deal with.¡± ¡°Well¡­ for now, we should probably gather information on where the gems are believed to be kept at,¡± said Jinn. ¡°What if they are in other planets? How the hell are we supposed to get there? Only angels have that advanced type of technology.¡± Said Sora.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Shizuka Aizawa,¡± I said. ¡°We can¡¯t keep relying on her for everything!¡± Said Sora. ¡°Well, we will have to find a way for her to join our team,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t she trying to kill you?¡± Asked Nightshade. ¡°Yes, but we could come to an agreement I believe.¡± ¡°Ask her to join what? We don¡¯t even have a name for our team.¡± Said Sora. ¡°A name? Hmm¡­¡± ¡°How about the gem thieves?!¡± Said Nightshade. ¡°Nah, too literal,¡± I said. ¡°The phantom thieves!¡± Said Jinn. ¡°Where the hell did you get that from?¡± I asked him. ¡°Oh, just a random thought.¡± ¡°I mean come on; we aren¡¯t going to be stealing every single gem,¡± I said, ¡°we aren¡¯t thieves.¡± ¡°The power rangers!¡± Said Sora. ¡°Nah, sounds too cheesy,¡± I said. ¡°Then¡­ well, you all have different hair color of the spectrum which is a big coincidence, and we are hunting for the gemstones, so¡­ how about¡­ The Spectrum Hunters?¡± Asked Sachi. ¡°Hmmm, I like it, but¡­ black is not technically a color.¡± I said. ¡°S-shut up! I know that!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s set! Then the Spectrum Hunters it is!¡± No wonder Sachi¡¯s C.Q was high. That makes me wonder¡­ is she smarter than Shizuka? Anyways, I need to inform Nightshade about her past. ¡°That¡¯s all for today, we¡¯ll meet again at the same place tomorrow afternoon before I leave to Jinn¡¯s hometown.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Said, everyone. Sora left with his limousine; Jinn, Nightshade, and I started walking back to the inn, soon Sachi caught up to me and said, ¡°Rukito! Wait!¡± I turned back and asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a place to stay.¡± ¡°What? Then where were you all this time?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know¡­ I was controlled by Ochiru.¡± I sighed. Looked at Jinn and said, ¡°Can she be with you?¡± Jinn quickly got a shaky voice and said, ¡°W-with me? I already have Vincenzo at my place.¡± That¡¯s right, he has that stupid lynx. But her being with me would make even more drama¡­ hmm¡­ I guess Nightshade and Sachi get along pretty well, so I¡¯ll let them both sleep on the bed while I sleep on the couch¡­ but then Nightshade wouldn¡¯t be able to fall asleep. ¡°Nightshade, there has to be a way for you to sleep without me, what if one day I¡¯m gone somewhere for a long time?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault¡­ I never wanted to be a tree.¡± ¡°A tree?¡± Asked Sachi. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The couch fits both Nightshade and me, but that would make her really nervous¡­ I guess Sachi has to sleep on the couch. ¡°Sachi, you don¡¯t mind sleeping on the couch, do you?¡± ¡°What? Of course not! But¡­ I kinda wished to¡­¡± ¡°Then the couch it is!¡± If I plan on dating Shizuka, I can¡¯t be sleeping with two girls at the same time. Plus, one of them could kill me in my sleep, while the other one could literally make my body move with her music. We ended up with Sachi sleeping on the couch while Nightshade slept on the bed. The next day it was the day that I set up a date with Shizuka, I told Sachi to look more into the divine gemstones to see if we can find the location of them and asked Nightshade to help me dye my hair back to brown. I decided I would tell her what her backstory was after I came back. ¡°Why brown? Red looks so good on you!¡± ¡°Just do it please.¡± Later that morning, I went to coincidentally the same caf¨¦ where I formed our team. Shizuka and I both arrived at the same time, we saw each other and said, ¡°Oh hey, I honestly thought you would have arrived late,¡± said Shizuka. She was wearing a long, white and blue, beautiful dress that contrasted well with her pink hair. She definitely took the time to pick a good outfit, she even smells really sweet. ¡°And I thought you weren¡¯t going to come at all.¡± I opened the door for her and said, ¡°Come in.¡± She looked at me, crossed her arms and smiled. ¡°Why would I miss an investigation about Rukito?¡± She walked in and we sat down on chairs facing each other. ¡°You¡¯re still on this Rukito thing? We both know this is a date.¡± ¡°This is no date; don¡¯t think I¡¯d be such an easy woman.¡± ¡°Whatever you say.¡± ¡°Now please, tell me what you know about princess Zue Fastarhan.¡± She is not one to beat around the bush, huh? If I say that I met her before she would suspect me being Rukito more, but if I say I don¡¯t, it would make me be still a suspect since Rukito wouldn¡¯t admit that he is Rukito. ¡°Zue? I¡¯ve met her before, she a kind girl.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She said while smirking. The waitress arrived and asked for our orders. ¡°The usual.¡± Said Shizuka. Hmm, she goes to this place quite often huh? I ordered some green tea and then resumed our talk. ¡°You come here often?¡± I asked. ¡°Please, Kaiser, let¡¯s not side-track from our initial conversation.¡± She said while gently sipping on her tea. This woman really has a charm, her red glossy lips and green emerald eyes are drawing me in more and more, in addition to that smug expression of hers. She crossed her legs, looked at me and asked, ¡°I heard from the announcement of princess Fastarhan that she doesn¡¯t think that Rukito is a bad person, and coincidentally, it happens to be the same time as you met her.¡± ¡°Hmm? How do you know when I met her?¡± I asked. ¡°I asked for the logs for the hospital visits on March 7th, which is when the contest ended, and you went to check on Sora¡¯s little sister.¡± ¡°You really care about finding this Rukito that much?¡± I asked. Is she that determined to kill me? I better watch what I say, she is a very smart woman, I can¡¯t let anything slip. She looked down, sighed and said, ¡°Yes, I do.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ private matters.¡± Did I kill her family or something? Is she after me for revenge? ¡°I understand,¡± I said before sipping on my tea. ¡°I tried talking to Zue about how she contacted Rukito, but she stayed quiet. It does really seem like you, Kaiser Chisei, are very likely to be the devil I¡¯m looking for. In fact, you are a devil too.¡± I smiled, looked at her, and said, ¡°Have you ever thought of the possibility that I might be someone related to Rukito? Maybe like a cousin, or even a brother.¡± ¡°W-what?...¡± She froze for a second and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, that could be a possibility. I guess if you were Rukito, you wouldn¡¯t have a problem trusting me.¡± Problem trusting her? I guess I do have that problem, but is it possibly because she is an angel and I am a devil? Do we naturally feel this way to each other? No way, I¡¯m actually attracted by her, this couldn¡¯t be natural, angels and devils are opposites. ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­¡± ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s change the topic for a bit. This afternoon we¡¯re leaving to Tokiri Islands, right?¡± ¡°Indeed. You and Jinn won the contest, and I did say that today was going to be the day.¡± ¡°Alright, I just want to make sure. This is a big thing for Jinn, and I wouldn¡¯t want it to go bad at the last second.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so thoughtful for your friends aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Uh¡­I guess so.¡± ¡°You remind me of someone.¡± ¡°Really? Well, I can understand how he feels, I too have a little sister.¡± ¡°Right, about your little sister, mind if I know who it is?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re asking too many questions, Ms. Aizawa.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that out of school grounds¡­¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Alright.¡± We looked into each other¡¯s eyes for a split second, then looked away. ¡°By the way, I completely forgot to tell you that you look astonishing today, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯re sick of hearing that.¡± ¡°N-no, I appreciate it, thank you.¡± She said while lightly blushing and brushing her hair behind her ear. ¡°Well, clothes aside, I really like your eyes you know¡­ well your eye, since you¡¯re always covering the other one.¡± She blushed, giggled and said, ¡°I had someone in my naive kid days telling me that he thought I looked prettier like that, so I listened to him and kept this style since then.¡± ¡°Oh, a childhood crush?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess you can say that.¡± As she started talking about this person, her eyes quickly lit up with energy and her tone changed to a cheerful one. ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°He¡­ he chose someone else.¡± That''s a quick shift in tone! ¡°He did? I find it hard to believe that there could be someone out there better than you.¡± I said casually. ¡°Yeah¡­ I used to think like that too. But that¡¯s not a good mindset. Additionally¡­ I¡¯m not all sunshine and rainbows, Kaiser.¡± ¡°None of us are, I completely understand.¡± She started looking sad. She looked down at her hands and said, ¡°I have done so many mistakes in the past, Kaiser¡­ I wish I could turn back time and fix them all, but I can¡¯t¡­ if she didn¡¯t die defending me¡­ then none of all those people would have died in the apocalypse.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?...¡± I asked with a perplexed expression. Her eyes were building up tears as I tilted my head from confusion. She gasped, looked up and said, ¡°N-nothing! Forget I said that!¡± ¡°Want me to walk you back home? You should get ready for this afternoon.¡± I asked her. ¡°Alright¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay the check.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, they allow me to drink here for free with guests.¡± ¡°Really? How lucky.¡± We started heading back to her place. Throughout the walk there was a negative and sad mood, I was struggling with myself since I wanted to hold her hand, but every time I tried going for it, my heart skipped a beat and then I stopped. ¡°So¡­ mind if I ask why you always turn down every guy?¡± Her eyes weren¡¯t teary anymore, but I could still tell she was sad. ¡°Well, I promised myself that I would find Rukito first, and then after that, I would start caring about relationships.¡± ¡°Ah, and that¡¯s how you became the heartbreaker.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t think I¡¯m still not suspicious of you, no matter how friendly you act.¡± She started looking at her watch more often. Is she planning something? What could she be planning? I¡­ don¡¯t know, I feel so intimidated by her intellect that there could be so many possibilities of what she is planning. As we kept walking and walking, we suddenly stopped. ¡°Hmm? Did we arrive?¡± I asked her. ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Then why did we stop?¡± I started getting cautious. ¡°Hey, Ms. Aizawa.¡± I heard a voice behind me. I turned back and it was Zue. If she asks Zue if I am Rukito, Zue won¡¯t be able to answer, indicating that I am Rukito. ¡°Hey, Zue! How are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, why did you call me here for?¡± She called her huh? That¡¯s why she was looking at her watch, she was waiting to see if Zue was here already. ¡°You know him, right?¡± She asked Zue. ¡°Yeah, he is my brother¡¯s classmate, he went to the hospital to visit me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°His name? I think it¡¯s Kaiser something.¡± ¡°His real name.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Let me ask this in a more direct way¡­ is he the person you¡¯ve been in contact with? Rukito Nokuwa.¡± ¡°He¡­¡± ¡°Are you not going to answer?¡± Said Shizuka with a smug. ¡°He is not Rukito Nokuwa. He¡¯s my brother¡¯s classmate, that¡¯s all.¡± After Zue said that, Shizuka looked up with a slightly shocked expression. ¡°See, Shizuka? I¡¯m not Rukito Nokuwa.¡± In fact, Zue and I had all of this planned already. Once Shizuka made this appointment with her, she called me telling me the details. Of course, if she would have declined, it would have been obvious that I was Rukito, so I told her to send a duplicate of her at her place. Many popular people, especially actors always have a doppelganger that is sometimes used to replace them for emergencies. Luckily she had one, so we used her as a way to lie to Shizuka. ¡°Please, don¡¯t think Kaiser is Rukito, he is just a NAOS student.¡± Shizuka quickly glanced at her phone, smiled and said, ¡°Alright, well, thank you for your confirmation.¡± ¡°Ok, goodbye!¡± As we were walking back to Shizuka¡¯s place she scoffed and said, ¡°A doppelganger huh?¡± What?! How could she have known? ¡°What?¡± She pulled out her phone and showed me a text. It was a chat between her and Sora. She was asking him if Zue was ok, and where she currently was, which Sora responded¡­ ¡®right next to me having a quick nap.¡¯ ¡°She probably came here after the nap she was having,¡± I said, thinking that she texted Sora before our date since I didn¡¯t see her at all reaching for her phone to text him. She smiled once again with that smug expression. ¡°I specifically made this appointment with Zue at 11:35 AM, I told her to be here on the dot, which she was.¡± ¡°Ok¡­ and?¡± ¡°I set up a bot to send a message for me before coming here to go out from my phone at 11:36 which was directed to Sora, asking him where Zue was, casually. He always answers to me in an instant, so he did, telling me that the real Zue, is actually with him.¡± What? There¡¯s no way! She played on luck! If Sora wasn¡¯t with Zue, then my plan would have worked! ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking that I gambled this a bit, but you¡¯re wrong,¡± she said. What?! ¡°I specifically asked Zue to come at 11:35 AM because the royal family has breakfast at 11:00 AM, and by 11:35 AM, they should all be done, if not close to finishing. And of course, Zue and Sora would be in the same room. If I pulled out my phone in the middle of our little investigation, it would have seemed too suspicious and you might have tried to text Zue herself to be cautious, and I couldn¡¯t afford that.¡± This woman¡­ she got me. ¡°She might have been busy or tired and sent a doppelganger on her place.¡± ¡°That is possible, in fact, I knew you would use that as an excuse¡­ but how about we go right now to the royal mansion and ask herself if you¡¯re Rukito?¡± No¡­ that would be futile. She got me¡­ I have no other option than to confess who I am. ¡°Alright Shizuka, you got me¡­ I can¡¯t fool you.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± She said with a shocked expression. ¡°Can we go somewhere private?¡± I asked. ¡°Y-yeah.¡± We went to her place. She actually didn¡¯t live in a mansion; she lives in a normal apartment. It was nicely decorated with fine and classical adornments. It almost looked like the inside of a castle, I guess she is a woman that likes the finer things in life. ¡°I thought you lived in a mansion.¡± ¡°They¡­ bring bad memories to mind.¡± She sat down on her sofa, I sat on the opposite sofa parallel to her it was cozy and warm. The whole apartment smelled of cherry blossom for some reason, and this smell is actually very familiar. ¡°Anyways¡­ I actually think you¡¯re a nice person, so please don¡¯t kill me.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡­ I am Rukito Nokuwa.¡± ¡°W-what? N-no way!¡± She said with an incredibly astonished look on her face. ¡°Hm? You don¡¯t believe me now?¡± ¡°I-I just¡­ didn¡¯t really think that it was true. I thought I was being desperate to find Rukito¡­ so much that I was making the evidence fall on you.¡± She said as she started building up tears again and clenching her dress. ¡°How can you prove that you¡¯re Rukito?¡± ¡°Not much, most of my memory was wiped out, but I remember Nightshade and Sachi.¡± ¡°Nightshade¡­ Sachi¡­ yeah, I believe you now.¡± Tears started running down her cheeks as her voice became shaky. ¡°Shizuka¡­ why were you looking for me?¡± She started crying, a lot then started sobbing. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve been looking for you, f-for so long¡­¡± She jumped on me and hugged me tightly. ¡°I was so scared, Rukito¡­ but so, so, so scared.¡± I didn¡¯t know why, but tears also started running down my cheeks. Why am I crying? ¡°S-scared?¡± I started caressing the back of her head to make her feel more at ease. ¡°Y-yeah, there were some days that I thought you died, that I was left alone on this planet looking for a d-dead person. But I never gave up, I knew that you weren¡¯t dead!¡± What did this girl mean to me before? ¡°Shizuka¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°W-why are you apologizing?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, nothing is your fault. I-It¡¯s all my fault!¡± I raised her chin gazed into her eyes and asked, ¡°Hey, nothing is your fault, so please don¡¯t blame yourself¡­ I¡¯m sure the apocalypse was caused by me and no one else.¡± I could feel her breath on my neck, we were really close to each other, it was probably not the best moment, but I thought a kiss would have made her feel better, I really have fallen in deep love with her, and I feel she is also in love with me. I went in slowly for the kiss, she also did, but she stopped herself for a second and looked away. ¡°N-no¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ this is not right.¡± ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Kasai died protecting me¡­ I don¡¯t think this is what she would want.¡± ¡°Kasai? Who¡¯s that?¡± I asked. ¡°¡­¡± Vol.2|Chapter 15: The Divine Lynx Sage Oracle, Aiko (Rei)
"Most of the time, the most obvious is the least expected.¡± - Aiko
I remained with the lynxes in the hideout for a while. I got to know each one of them, one by one, they all seemed to admire me for being the reincarnation of Rei, I can¡¯t let them down. I got to the last one, she was the sister of Thomas the lynx that I first met. Her name was Aiko Peruggia, she seemed special compared to everyone else because of her ruby hair that closely reassembled my crimson hair color. She also had yellow eyes just like mine, but so did the other lynxes. ¡°Hello there, Aiko.¡± ¡°Rei, we¡¯ve all been waiting for you for a very long time.¡± She said. She gave me a wise vibe. She looks very young, and yet she emits an extreme amount of wisdom just from her way of speaking. She was close to my height, a bit shorter, with gentle eyes and short straight hair, she doesn''t seem like a fighter. ¡°You seem to be different from everyone else, mind if I know why?¡± I asked politely. ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± She asked me. ¡°Remember what?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I see, so you forgot everything. Makes sense, after all, it has been millions of years since we last talked.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± She said as we started walking somewhere alone. What could she mean by that? ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­ what do you mean by millions of years?¡± She scoffed and then said, ¡°Millions of years and you¡¯re still the same-old simple-minded Rei. No wonder you and Akira attract each other so much, your complete opposites when it comes to personality. But at the same time¡­ so similar.¡± What¡¯s up with this change of personality? She seemed like an innocent little child when I first entered. ¡°Uhm¡­ that¡¯s a lot to take in, Aiko.¡± ¡°Right, I apologize.¡± She rested against the wall with her arms crossed, looked at me and then smirked. ¡°I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t miss you though, sometimes someone simple-minded is what you need for motivation.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ Aiko¡­ can we start from the beginning?¡± I could barely understand what she was trying to say. I was very confused. ¡°Right. So first let me tell you that when I¡¯m with the others I have to switch my personality to something more innocent and na?ve.¡± ¡°Why do you have to do that? Isn¡¯t it better to just be yourself?¡± She giggled and said, ¡°You¡¯re so cute, Rei. The issue is that the devil queen has been trying to find me for millennia, and the only way for me to hide is to change who I am. I have been called many names throughout my lifespan, and since I''m the only immortal lynx, I''ve lived almost forever. Some people called me the Divine Lynx, other people called me the lynx sage, other people called me the Oracle.¡± Yeah, my subconsciousness was right, she is extremely wise. ¡°Wow, that sounds so cool! But isn¡¯t your hair a big giveaway? And your eye color?¡± I asked. ¡°Only you, Akira, and the other lynxes can see my real hair color, you want to guess why?¡± ¡°Well, I guess¡­ it¡¯s because¡­ uhm¡­¡± She giggled again and said, ¡°We all have yellow eyes, Rei.¡± ¡°You know why we have yellow eyes?!¡± ¡°Of course, I do.¡± ¡°Can you please explain?¡± She sat down and said, ¡°Make yourself comfortable.¡± I sat down too. She then looked up through a small window and said, ¡°Long ago, when Akira and Rei got together, they decided to get a pet, as the usual couple does-¡± ¡°So it was you!¡± ¡°L-let me finish!¡± ¡°O-ok.¡± ¡°Akira had a very strong power. He was able to make a new life, for Greenterra to take care of.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He could create new races and new animals. After he did that, he gave those living beings to Greenterra, mother nature, so she could take of them and develop them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ amazing.¡± ¡°Yeah, it was, but of course that didn¡¯t help him in combat at all. Making life was not an option in combat, since it also took a long process, he couldn¡¯t just snap his fingers and make life, he had to make a long ritual.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± ¡°But it didn¡¯t matter to him, he was happy with himself. That¡¯s not the most interesting part though, he was the strongest being in the universe after Ochiru for a very long time; but the toll he paid was an immense amount of physical and mental training.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s the person that is in Rukito¡¯s soul?¡± ¡°Rukito? Who¡¯s that? I¡¯m guessing the last reincarnation of Akira.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡­ we were together back on Greenterra before I died.¡± Now that I think about it¡­ what if when I come back, he is already with another girl? It definitely would be Shizuka¡­ I don¡¯t care, as long as he is happy, I¡¯m happy. ¡°Ah ok, and what is your name then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kasai.¡± ¡°Well, Kasai. I don¡¯t think this Rukito is even 10% close to Akira¡¯s full power.¡± ¡°What? But he is pretty strong.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my point¡­ he probably doesn¡¯t even have Akira¡¯s gem right now, right?¡± ¡°Akira¡¯s gem? No, we haven¡¯t found a single gem.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bad¡­ that¡¯s really bad.¡± She sighed then said, ¡°Anyways, Akira made the Satana Lynxes for the devils to take care of, but as you can see, they didn¡¯t treat us well. But I was the first one he ever made, that¡¯s why he gave me his hair color and kept me.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m your owner?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± She said while smiling. I quickly rushed towards her and started pinching her cheeks and caressing her tail. ¡°Alright, alright, alright, alright. Who¡¯s a real cutie now?¡± ¡°H-hey! Stop it! This is no time for~¡± She started meowing and purring. After some petting, we came back to serious talk. I coughed and said, ¡°S-sorry about that.¡± ¡°For real¡­ you¡¯re hopeless.¡± ¡°Anyways, we were talking about Rukito.¡± ¡°Right. Well, he definitely has potential, but if he wastes it, it¡¯s over. This is the last reincarnation of Akira, he told me that he could only reincarnate four times, same as Ochiru.¡± ¡°If Rukito managed to kill Ochiru after I died¡­ then that means he can reincarnate¡­¡± ¡°Two more times. The first reincarnation was the tie between the two, and the second was killed by the third generation of Akira.¡± ¡°Do you mind explaining more in-depth?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ well, my memory is not that good to remember events thousands of years from today. But I did write a diary that I kept with very useful information as the location of almost all the divine gemstones that Akira told me, and every single reincarnation of Akira¡¯s story.¡± ¡°Where is this diary?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s the problem¡­ I think I left it somewhere in Greenterra after the third generation of Akira died, which was, if I remember correctly, in the year 1901 A.D of Greenterra. In this period the devils dominated Greenterra behind the curtains, so I moved here in hell to hide from the devil queen.¡± ¡°Where most devils are?¡± ¡°If you think about it, this is the smartest place where I could be at. I can blend in with the other lynxes, and this is the place where she would least expect me to be at. Most of the time, the most obvious is the least expected.¡± ¡°Why does the devil queen want you?¡± ¡°Not only her, if the angels knew about my knowledge, they would also want me, but the devil queen is the only one that knows of my knowledge. I know how everything, and why everything works, Kasai.¡± ¡°Shizuka would sure like to speak with you¡­ I don¡¯t really care for information as long as everyone is ok.¡± She giggled again and said, ¡°You never change, no matter how many times you reincarnate. Just so you know, I was the one that kept telling the lynxes that you were going to come to save all of us, that¡¯s just how kind you are, Kasai. I knew you wouldn¡¯t have chosen to go to heaven even if you had the choice of doing so.¡± ¡°How do you know-¡± ¡°Lira is my friend. In fact, all of the archangels inside the gems are.¡± ¡°LIRA HAS A GEM?!¡± ¡°Yes, it has never been found though, it¡¯s one of the gems that I even have no idea of where it is.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how powerful someone must be with the power of time¡­¡± ¡°Very. Maybe it¡¯s for the best that she didn¡¯t tell me, if someone found that diary containing the time gem¡¯s location with evil intentions, they will dominate both angels and devils.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t they all join powers and go against Ochiru?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t leave the gems, Kasai. Ochiru was the one that locked them inside those gems.¡± ¡°Then how was Lira...¡± ¡°She goes back in time before she was locked and uses that body to travel to the future.¡± ¡°That almost seems like cheating!¡± ¡°There is no cheating, it¡¯s her power.¡± ¡°Anyways¡­ that¡¯s a lot to take in at a time, I think it¡¯s better if you finish explaining the rest later.¡± ¡°Just know that the diary is somewhere in Greenterra with a spell. The spell was casted on the diary so it wouldn''t rot away, so it should look brand new.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°And the reason why we have golden eyes it¡¯s so the lynxes could recognize each other no matter what generation we were on. Not even contact lenses can replicate the uniqueness of our eye color. The actual reason of why your attraction to Rukito happened is because of your golden eyes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason!¡± ¡°I know, you both have loved each other for literally forever. The golden eyes were so if you two made random eye contact in a crowd, you wouldn¡¯t ignore each other. Think of them as a family last name that Akira made. Rei married Akira and instead of making a last name, he inherited Rei¡¯s eye color and gave them to himself and the lynxes.¡± ¡°So Rei¡¯s original eye color was yellow?¡± ¡°Yeah, she was blonde with golden eyes. She gave her eye color to Akira, and Akira gave his hair color to Rei and me. That¡¯s why you, Rukito, and I both have the same hair and eye color.¡± ¡°But why? Isn¡¯t that a little bit extra?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t just for looks, in fact, they both gave half of their soul to each other. When Akira was exiled from heaven for defying Ochiru, he was sent to hell. An angel can¡¯t survive in hell without dying slowly, so Rei gave him half of her devil powers, while Akira gave her half of his angel powers since she would have died with half her soul.¡± ¡°Is that why I only have one wing and no horns?!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s exactly why. You gave the other wing and horns to Akira, and he managed to develop that devil power to even further lengths and grew a second wing.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why I also have one red eye¡­ it was given to Rei by Akira with his angel soul.¡± ¡°Yes, you both have dual eye color. You both genuinely are two halves of a whole.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ they must have suffered a lot, Akira and Rei.¡± ¡°They certainly did¡­ an angel was forbidden to be with a devil, and vice versa.¡± ¡°But why don¡¯t I have an angel wing too? Didn¡¯t I get half of Akira¡¯s soul?¡± ¡°He lost his wings when he got exiled from heaven by Ochiru.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°You should still have his halo though.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ it has never appeared.¡± ¡°That¡¯s weird. Maybe it¡¯s written somewhere in my diary, I don¡¯t remember too well.¡± ¡°Well, thank you, Aiko.¡± ¡°For what?¡± She said with a monotone voice. She actually talks a lot with this monotone voice. ¡°For everything. For waiting so long for me, and for always having hopes for us to ultimately save everyone.¡± ¡°Oh, I never really had hopes for Akira, that guy was always screwing things up over and over, no matter which generation.¡± ¡°O-oh¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ he sure never thought of giving up a single bit. When he got discouraged you and I were always there to help him, and all the other crazy bunch of friends he made along the way.¡± ¡°I bet it was sad for you to see him die three times¡­¡± She looked away, sighed, then said, ¡°Yes¡­ I rather not talk about it.¡± She looked back to me, smiled and said, ¡°But I can¡¯t wait to meet Rukito!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s meet him again together, once we get out of here and save all the lynxes.¡± I lend out my hand, she smiled then gladly grabbed it. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± As we were walking out, she stopped and said, ¡°Before we go, here.¡± She took out a shining red stone that illuminated the whole room red from her pouch. It emitted a feeling of power, hope, and prosperity, but also death, and sorrowfulness. The tension of such stone sent a shiver down my spine. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping this on me for quite a while. I was waiting for either you or Rukito to give this away.¡± ¡°W-what is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the blood gem!¡± ¡°The... blood gem? I¡¯ve never heard of such a gem.¡± ¡°This is Akira¡¯s gem. It was never written anywhere in religion to be kept secret.¡± ¡°Well if it¡¯s Akira¡¯s gem, then it doesn¡¯t belong to me.¡± ¡°But¡­you¡¯re half of him.¡± ¡°Still, it¡¯s not right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just half of the blood gem, the other half is on another planet. Stop being a hard head!¡± ¡°Hold onto it! You will be the one to give it to Rukito once you meet him, it¡¯s destined to be his.¡± I said. ¡°But you can use it meanwhile! You just have to pass the test that the archangel gives you to see if you¡¯re worthy! And since you¡¯re Rei, I¡¯m sure you will pass it no problem.¡± ¡°Is Akira in there?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°No, there someone else. The other half on the other planet is where Akira is at, in this one¡­ there¡¯s someone who was a very close friend to Akira.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if the first person she saw was Rukito?¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Aiko,¡± I said while resting my hand on her head. ¡°I¡¯m quite strong even by myself.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Indeed, you¡¯ve always been stronger than Akira, until he surpassed you. You used to be his mentor after all.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re done talking for today, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t just leave it like that! There isn''t much food out there anyways!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t keep wasting time; Lira told me that we don¡¯t have too much time left until Ochiru comes back at 100%" I sighed. I really hope Rukito managed to kill Ochiru, and I hope he is staying far away from Sachi as much as possible. Vol.2|Chapter 16: Sly Fox (Salamander)
"Information can be more valuable than money itself." -Volpe
To find this artificial intelligence, we first had to gather more information about it, it would be close to impossible to find it on Greenterra without any clues that will lead us to it. But¡­ even if we do find it, would we be strong enough to capture it? Maybe our father is going to go himself to capture her, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s really strong. I was on my bed ready to sleep; Misaki came to sleep in my room since she wanted to talk. As I was about to fall asleep, I heard Misaki saying, ¡°Hey, Yumi.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to recover all of our memories?¡± ¡°Huh? There¡¯s no need for that, our father already told us our past life.¡± ¡°We both know that there has to be some stuff that he didn¡¯t tell us.¡± ¡°Are you suspicious of father?¡± I asked with an annoyed tone, ¡°were you always this rebellious?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s not that! I just feel like I¡¯m missing a big part of myself¡­¡± I can understand how she feels, in fact, I also feel like that, but we promised our father that we were going to help him. ¡°A-alright¡­ we can ask father about it tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ thank you, big sister.¡± Big sister¡­ I guess I¡¯m not used to being called that yet, but I¡¯d definitely put my life on the line for her well-being. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Next morning, our father was writing some papers at his desk, we walked in and said, ¡°Good morning father.¡± He looked up, smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m a bit busy here, girls. Can it wait?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s important,¡± I said. ¡°Very well.¡± He said while placing his pen down. ¡°May I ask what you¡¯re doing?¡± Said Misaki. He cracked his neck, groaned and said, ¡°The duties of a King is to protect the kingdom from the inside and outside while increasing the wealth and trade. Right now, I¡¯m just signing contracts and making trades with other small angel communities.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you rule all of the angels?¡± ¡°I do, but they are all allowed to make their communities, and I have to play fair with them if I want my image to remain a genuine king that loves their people.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, but to an extent. I was also writing a letter to the Aizawa family; there¡¯s a girl called Shizuka Aizawa in Greenterra that is giving humans a lot of our knowledge.¡± ¡°Really? Why would she do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Anyways, what is that you needed to tell me? Is it about your full memories?¡± He asked with a neutral face. ¡°Yes, how did you-¡± ¡°It was eventually going to happen. But giving memories back to people who died is near impossible.¡± ¡°Near?¡± I asked. ¡°If you both manage to find the damn machine, then we can use it to get your memories back.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s that powerful?!¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Yes, it is incredibly powerful.¡± ¡°Then how are going to capture it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my job. I might struggle a bit though, so if I ask for your help, I¡¯m expecting it. This machine is incredibly powerful. She could wipe out all of those humans in a day if she wished.¡± ¡°By the way, father,¡± I said. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Why are humans so important? And where did they come from?¡± ¡°Well, humans were a race made by Greenterra, the nature gem goddess. She never planned on having specifically humans, they just evolved from an earlier species of primates. Angels and devils noticed this, so we made a pact to give them singularities and the diamond of souls, and in return, we would use their race to experiment on them, so that we could avoid those mistakes within our society, though I¡¯m not sure devils learned anything.¡± ¡°That makes more sense,¡± I said. ¡°The devils don¡¯t know that the machine is lost, so we have to find it before they find out, because if they do find out, they will start another war.¡± ¡°Got it! You can rely on us, father.¡± I said. ¡°I will give you a spaceship to travel the solar system. This spaceship was made by the A.I, and it¡¯s named Xlora. There is an exceptional training augmented reality room in it, and many other things.¡± He pulled out a book from his cabinets and said, ¡°This is the manual for how to work the whole ship, pick one of you to be the pilot, and read all of it.¡± Misaki quickly grabbed it and said, ¡°I got it!¡± He gave us a strange-looking crystal button and said, ¡°This is the teleporter. You will be teleported to the ship, which is currently orbiting this planet, Caelum.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, father!¡± I¡¯m surprised he trusts us this much with this spaceship, but I won¡¯t take it for granted. Right now, Misaki and I just have to focus on getting stronger and search for things that can lead us to the A.I, Irma Tempest Airflow.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Goodbye, and remember, Honor from divinity.¡± ¡°Honor from divinity!¡± We left and walked outside to teleport to the spaceship. ¡°So¡­ how does this work?¡± I asked myself. ¡°You should have asked him.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°He was already busy enough!¡± Misaki grabbed the teleporter and pressed the crystal button while saying, ¡°Just press this thing-¡± we suddenly got teleported in some open capsule in a strange-looking room. There were many flashing light around the walls together with cameras. There was a strong metallic odor together with many beeping noises from machines that I had no idea of how to work, but Misaki got the manual so hopefully, she learns most of it, and then she could explain some to me. ¡°Wow, this place is¡­ different.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Since our culture in the angel kingdom is more leaned towards the old classical times of castles and architecture, yeah, it is really different.¡± We walked out of what seemed to be the teleporter room, and soon arrived at two corridors. We kept walking through the one that seemed to be the main one and we arrived at the front lobby. Every wall, floor, and ceilings were white with some black, making everything look even more futuristic. There were plants in each corner of the lobby with some sofas at the bottom left of the room to relax in front of a beautiful view of the planet Caelum. ¡°That''s our planet?¡± ¡°Wow¡­ it¡¯s so beautiful.¡± I said. The planet had two rings that the people in heaven call the haloes. ¡°Wait, there must be a map of the solar system around this manual.¡± Said Misaki as she rushed through the book to find a picture. ¡°Here it is!¡± ¡°We¡¯re far closer to Greenterra than I thought,¡± I said. ¡°How long would it take us to reach that planet though?¡± Suddenly, we heard someone say in a courteous tone, ¡°Seven months to be precise. Well, it can take more or less depending on the planet¡¯s orbit.¡± I quickly turned around. There was a man standing with a suspicious, yet gentle smile. ¡°Who are you?¡± Asked Misaki with a worried look while readying up her weapons. ¡°H-hey! No need for violence, I come in peace!¡± He had narrow eyes which appeared as if they were almost shut, together with short purple hair which he wore in a bowl cut under a white fedora hat that matched with his dress suit. If he has purple hair¡­ then could he be¡­ Daku?!¡± ¡°Wait, Daku?!¡± I said. ¡°Daku? Who¡¯s that?¡± He asked with a confused expression. ¡°My name is Volpe.¡± ¡°Volpee?¡± Asked Misaki with a grin. I¡¯ve never heard such a name before. ¡°N-No, it¡¯s an eastern name, you pronounce it, Volp-eh, not Volp-ee, I-I find that quite offensive.¡± ¡°Who are you? And why are you here?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re wondering why my hair color is different, it¡¯s because I dyed it.¡± Ah, father did say that he started brainwashing humans into thinking that multi-colored hair was normal. ¡°But why is a human on the ship?¡± I felt no angel energy coming from him¡­ but at the same time, I didn¡¯t feel devil nor human energy either. I wasn¡¯t afraid of him though, I mean, what could he do? He looks so frail and weak. ¡°Oh dear, then let¡¯s get straight to the point.¡± He said while softly seating on the sofa. He was wearing a white dress suit with a long white coat with two small purple chains that he used as belts wrapped around his pants. He had black fingerless gloves on, and black shoes that also had chains wrapped around them. He looked like he was around 22 years old. ¡°Don¡¯t get too comfortable, we still don¡¯t trust you.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Please¡­ violence is not my forte, so let¡¯s just set things with a civil conversation.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± I said while sighing and seating parallel to him. ¡°Your ¡®papa¡¯ is not who you think he is.¡± Huh? What is he saying? All our father has been until now is kind and nothing else. ¡°Hmm?¡± Said Misaki with a concerned look. ¡°He has helped us and taken care of us until now¡­ I won¡¯t let someone talk badly of him freely like this.¡± ¡°P-please, Salamander,¡± he said while putting his hands up. ¡°All I¡¯m doing here is trying to help you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust you¡­¡± I said while releasing my sword and held it up to his neck. I had a very bad feeling coming from this man. ¡°Let him talk, Salamander.¡± Said Misaki while slowly brushing my arm away. ¡°T-t-thank you, Chaos.¡± Said the man. ¡°You better say something before I can¡¯t stop Salamander anymore.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Y-yeah! Well, first of all, I got valuable information about who Irma is.¡± Irma? How does he know about her? ¡°Hmm? Go on.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Wait, you surely don¡¯t expect me to say things like this for free.¡± He said while smiling. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you have a choice now,¡± I said. ¡°Who is the one that needs to know the information the most here? Don¡¯t you have to find Irma?¡± He¡¯s right¡­ even if we do kill him, we will never find out about Irma. I sighed and said while putting my weapon away, ¡°Very well, what is it that you want?¡± ¡°And it better not be something weird!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a simple man! I just want the same back. Information.¡± ¡°What kind of information?¡± I asked. He coughed and said, ¡°Well, how about¡­ how about you tell me what the king is currently up to? You surely would know since you¡¯re his daughters.¡± ¡°No way in hell, that would be us backstabbing him!¡± ¡°Very well, then I guess there¡¯s no business to be had here.¡± He said while getting up and walking away. It¡¯s alright, Misaki and I will find another way to know about Irma. ¡°He is writing a letter to the Aizawa family about his knowledge of Shizuka.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Chaos?! Are you serious?!¡± The man stopped. Looked back with a grin and said, ¡°So, he knows about Shizuka Aizawa¡­ oh dear, that¡¯s not good, that¡¯s not good at all.¡± ¡°Now tell me the information about Irma!¡± Yelled Misaki. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m a man of my word.¡± He took a deep breath then said, ¡°Irma is currently in Greenterra as you already know, and she has children.¡± ¡°What?! But she is a machine!¡± I said. ¡°She obviously made them herself so she wouldn¡¯t feel lonely. She also lives in South Greenterra. Now, if you want a name, then it will cost you a bit more information.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t the deal!¡± Yelled Misaki. ¡°I never said I was going to tell you everything now, did I?¡± He¡¯s right. ¡°What else do you want to know?¡± Asked Misaki. ¡°Chaos! Stop! We can¡¯t just tell him everything!¡± ¡°Do you both currently have a divine gemstone?¡± He asked us with a smile. We both looked surprised for a second, then he said, ¡°Judging from your reaction, you do. I noticed the green hair and green eyes on chaos, and the orange highlights on Salamander, so¡­it¡¯s not just hair dye and contacts, is it?¡± ¡°I¡­ I won¡¯t tell you that.¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Perhaps this will change your mind.¡± He pulled out his phone and showed us a video of our father stomping and beating that same civilian who refused to pray without mercy. ¡°W-What¡­¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t believe that our father was hiding this¡­ from us. He kept stomping and beating that person with a pleasureful grin on his face together with a scary laugh. ¡°Learn how to appreciate your gods! You ungrateful piece of trash!¡± I stopped the video and said, ¡°T-That¡¯s enough¡­¡± ¡°So? Care of telling me now?¡± ¡°I told you something was off about him, Salamander.¡± Said Misaki with a sigh. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Well, Volpee, I have the radiation gem, while Salamander has half of the sun gem.¡± ¡°Just as I thought! Both Misaki and Yumi have the gems. Then that¡¯s less work for me! How grand!¡± Huh? What is he talking about? Wait, how does he know our real names?! ¡°How do you-¡± ¡°I¡¯m a man with many connections, Yumi.¡± ¡°Now tell us Irma¡¯s name that she uses in Greenterra!¡± Said Misaki. ¡°Hmm¡­ I had to show you a video to gain that information, so I don¡¯t think this deal is fair.¡± ¡°What, but you said-¡± ¡°Eh, I say many things, but if the deal if unfair, then I can¡¯t work with you.¡± ¡°You little¡­¡± Misaki readied her weapons and aimed them at Volpe. ¡°C-come on! Don¡¯t kill me now! I¡¯m just a businessman that travels place to place in hunger of information about the mystery of this universe! That¡¯s all! I swear!¡± ¡°I hate saying this, but he could be of great use to us, Misaki,¡± I said while sighing. ¡°Whatever.¡± Said Misaki while putting her weapons away. ¡°We will meet again, but for now just act as nothing happened, or your papa will be suspicious.¡± He walked around a corner. "Hey! What are you after anyway?!" Said Misaki as we chased behind him but as we turned the corner, he was gone. ¡°Misaki¡­ what if telling him those things was a bad idea?¡± ¡°Well, we need to know where Irma is, either way, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true¡­ she is a genocide machine.¡± ¡°She has children though¡­¡± Said Misaki. ¡°So? She still killed millions.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­¡± Vol.2|Chapter 17: The End of Rukito Nokuwa
"One creates oneself. Time changes oneself. The best self will come out victorious." - Aiko
¡°Shizuka, I said, who is Kasai?¡± She kept quiet. She kept avoiding eye contact and making a sorrowful expression. ¡°Rukito¡­ I don¡¯t think telling you right now is a good idea.¡± I took out my golden necklace locket that showed a picture of both of that girl and I then said, ¡°Is it her? Is she Kasai?¡± Judging from the fact that she didn¡¯t want to kiss me, Kasai wasn¡¯t my sister, she was my lover. Shizuka gasped and said, ¡°Y-yes¡­ it¡¯s her.¡± ¡°Can you please tell me what happened? You were there, right?¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± She looked up at me and said, ¡°Call Nightshade over, I¡¯m going to need her singularity to calm you down in case anything happens.¡± What if I end up hurting everyone like I once did? No¡­ I won¡¯t allow that to happen, especially since Nightshade will be with me in the same room. ¡°Alright,¡± I called Nightshade and gave her the address. After she arrived, Shizuka looked at her and said, ¡°Good afternoon, Nightshade. I haven¡¯t seen you in a while.¡± ¡°Oh, I remember you now, you were the one that lead the raid of Ochiru¡¯s island.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you still remember; Pixies have a bad memory when they leave their tree for too long.¡± Right, I keep forgetting to tell her about her past, I¡¯d have to tell her after I recover my memories. But wait, if Shizuka can recover my memories, can¡¯t she recover Nightshade¡¯s memory too? ¡°Shizuka, can you recover her memory too?¡± ¡°Hmm, probably not. Using this spell consumes a lot of energy from me, so I¡¯d have to give Nightshade her memories back tomorrow.¡± Yeah, I¡¯m relying on her way too much. ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s begin. Nightshade, I¡¯m going to need you to play some calming music while Rukito gets his memories back, ok?¡± ¡°Will he be alright?¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to be fine.¡± Shizuka knows that there is a high chance that this might not go well. ¡°If you say so.¡± Nightshade looked worried, but she was prepared to do what she needed to do. ¡°Sit down on that sofa.¡± Said Shizuka. I sat down and took a deep breath. What will happen to me? ¡°Rukito¡­ If anything happens, just know that I-¡± I looked at Shizuka and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Alright, close your eyes, relax, this might take a while.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Nightshade started playing her harp, and Shizuka grabbed a spellbook that she had on a shelf. She opened it, started whispering some words and my consciousness started drifting away more and more. I had no idea of what happened in that room, but in my head, I started gaining all my memories. When I first met Shizuka, my adoptive parents. Kasai, Misaki, Yumi, and my master¡­ Hachimura, he was more of a father to me than any. The beginning of the apocalypse, when all of them except Shizuka died. Sachi¡­ killed them all. No! It was Ochiru, she took control of Sachi without her permission. Kasai¡­ she was the love of my life, killed by Ochiru. I CAN¡¯T FORGIVE HER! ¡°Hey, calm down buddy.¡± Said a voice behind me patting me on the back. It was a younger version of myself, it was the me when I first met Sachi in the orphanage, the human me. Everything around me was black, I couldn¡¯t see a thing but myself. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Do I really grow into someone with anger issues? I now hope to stay this age.¡± ¡°Yeah, and you can¡¯t forget your main goal.¡± Said another version of myself appearing beside me. ¡°W-what?¡± It was me one year ago when I was with Kasai, the half-devil me. ¡°Just because Kasai is gone, it doesn¡¯t mean that you don¡¯t have other people to take care of.¡± ¡°You know more than anyone of how much you love her!¡± I told the half-devil. ¡°Yeah¡­ but your initial goal was to live a normal life, and that is not possible anymore. So¡­ what do you want to do now?¡± The younger version of myself smirked and said, ¡°I just want to have fun. Nothing much on my side, but think of yourself, old me. You had three different personalities throughout your lifetime.¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to find out which one is your real one.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re not going to force it upon you, it¡¯s up to you to choose if you want to keep living as a playful and happy human.¡± Said the younger me. ¡°A cool-headed half devil.¡± Said the half-devil me. ¡°Or a cold-blooded full devil that only thinks of revenge and genocide.¡± Said another distorted voice behind me. It was the transformed version of me that killed all those people, the full devil. ¡°So, I was me the one that killed everyone¡­ not Ochiru¡­ maybe I deserve to die for all those innocent lives I¡¯ve taken.¡± ¡°Or you can keep living to prove everyone else that you can redeem yourself.¡± Said the half-devil me.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°What¡¯s the point?! Kasai is dead! No-one in the public cares about me! And the only people that do care about me, don¡¯t need me at all to keep going!¡± ¡°Think of Shizuka, she would fall in deep depression if you died. You¡¯re the only remaining piece of evidence that she has. proving that she lived before becoming popular.¡± Said the half-devil me. ¡°Think of Sachi, she would kill herself so that Ochiru doesn¡¯t come back anymore if you¡¯re not there to stop her.¡± Said the human me. ¡°Would Kasai want you to give up?¡± Said the full devil version of me. And¡­ Nightshade is also waiting for me. Fuji worries about me as if she were my big sister. And, the rest of the friends I made along the way¡­ ¡°NO! I STILL KILLED MILLIONS!¡± I yelled while falling on my knees. ¡°Look behind me, Rukito.¡± Said the full devil version of me. ¡°Huh?¡± I said looking back. I saw millions and millions of people looking at me with a neutral face. ¡°These are the people we¡¯ve killed. Most of them would probably end up in hell and serve as slaves.¡± ¡°S-Shut up!¡± ¡°LOOK AT THEM! WE TOOK THESE INNOCENT LIVES!¡± All their eyes were looking dead at me, men, women, and kids. I¡¯ve never felt such humiliation before. ¡°Do you think they all want to see you giving up on yourself? Did Hachimura teach you nothing?¡± Said the half-devil. ¡°Do you want all the children to go through human trafficking based on their singularity and get these ¡®Throughout Soul Evaluation¡¯ tests?¡± Said the human. ¡°Do you want to disappoint Kasai even while she is on the afterlife?¡± Said the devil. ¡°No, I don¡¯t¡­¡± I said. ¡°Let me show you one last memory before you go, Rukito.¡± Said the devil me. A blue light appeared in the air, suddenly removing all the black around me and changing it into a purple and blue galaxy. Everything was beautiful, and together with that light, I felt hope, motivation, and happiness within me. Shortly after, a woman appeared floating down from the heavens. Glittering and sparkling more than a clear river. She had long blue hair and was wearing a white outfit. She had a major halo behind her; is she a goddess? She floated down with a smile on her face while she kept looking at me. ¡°How you¡¯ve changed.¡± She said. Her voice was sweet and calming, it made all the anger that I had inside die down. I looked around me and all the versions of me disappeared in a smile. There was angel writing on her majestic halo behind her; now that my memory is recovered, I remember Shizuka teaching me on how to read some letters. ¡°Su¡­ Suis¡­ Suisei?¡± ¡°Mhm, that¡¯s one of my many names.¡± She said with a big smile. She wasn¡¯t speaking the common language, she was speaking some sort of ancient language, but I somehow understood what she was saying and could reply. ¡°The star goddess¡­ w-why are you here?¡± Wait, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t she the sister of Akira? ¡°I¡¯m here to tell you that the stars shine upon you, Rukito.¡± I stood silent. Her presence filled the void with colossal energy of grace. ¡°Please, keep going through the genuine path and you will find resolve.¡± ¡°Y-you¡­ have a divine gemstone, right? Please! I need to know where it is!¡± ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t say for sure. This is just a memory, we once met already, Rukito, long before I got enclosed inside a gem.¡± ¡°We did? But when¡­¡± I don¡¯t recall seeing her ever in my life. ¡°Please, know that there are genuine archangels and gods like me, willing to help humans and other life. But there are also careless and evil that have no interest in helping humans whatsoever, you need to find their gemstones, and prove to them that humans are more than just primates.¡± I gazed deep into her eyes, and I¡­ I could see the andromeda galaxy; her beauty and presence were still astonishing me. ¡°A-Alright¡­¡± Everything started to clear up, I knew what I was going to do now, I was going to redeem myself and prove that I¡¯m not a monster, and I¡¯m going to find all the gemstones to help Sachi and stop these wars from happening because of them, I will also prove to those archangels inside the gems that humans are not just some primates, humans have evolved and can evolve even further. ¡°From the look in your eyes¡­ I see that you found your resolve.¡± She said. ¡°Yes. Thank you very much, Suisei. I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, thank Nightshade, she is the one that allowed me to reach to you through her music. I gave her that singularity just for this one moment.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I am the one that created pixies after all.¡± She said with another smile. ¡°Huh?!¡± She started giggling, floated towards me and gave me an unexpected hug. My whole body felt at peace, I felt happiness, I felt so free and relaxed. I closed my eyes as she whispered, ¡°You can do it, brother. Don¡¯t let anger blind you this time.¡± I didn¡¯t expect to get a hug from a goddess, but I am technically her sibling after all, just a slight percent, since I''m the reincarnation of Akira, and Akira was her brother. But this feeling¡­ I¡¯ve never felt such feelings before, it¡¯s even hard to describe with just words. I opened my eyes and she was gone. Instead, it was Nightshade the one that was hugging me. She was bruised and was bleeding from her head to toe, while Shizuka was enclosed in a protective spell. The whole room was messy and destroyed. I quickly came into my senses and stopped. ¡°Brother¡­ please.¡± I hugged her back and said, ¡°Thank you, Nightshade.¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± She looked at me with sorrowful eyes. ¡°Thank you for everything,¡± I said while shedding tears. She started crying and said, ¡°No! Thank you!¡± Doesn¡¯t she notice? She is bleeding! ¡°S-Shizuka, can you heal her?¡± I looked at her, and she was also crying. ¡°Y-Yeah!¡± She wiped her tears away and said, ¡°Of course!¡± While Shizuka was healing her I said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you protected her too?¡± ¡°She jumped on you and didn¡¯t want to let go, so I couldn¡¯t protect her. Such a hard head!¡± ¡°You idiot! You could have gotten yourself killed!¡± I said. ¡°Sorry! Damn! I was just trying to help!¡± she said while sticking her tongue out and mocking me. ¡°But¡­ you didn¡¯t.¡± I said with a smile. I sat down on the sofa thinking of everything I¡¯ve recovered. Nightshade finished healing up, and then her phone started ringing. ¡°Oh! Be right back! It¡¯s Fuji!¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I said. It must be about her DJ outfit and stuff. She left the room therefor it was only me and Shizuka. She got up and started walking towards the shelf to put the book back. As she passed in front of me to get to the shelf, I said with a serious tone, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how you¡¯ve felt this past year, Shizuka, I apologize.¡± She stopped, looked down, and then suddenly jumped on me. ¡°S-Shut up!¡± She hugged me with all her strength, which wasn¡¯t much at the moment. ¡°I¡¯m very impressed though, you didn¡¯t give up, no matter how much you tried.¡± ¡°How could I? That¡¯s not me.¡± She is right, she is not a person to give up easily. I started caressing her hair and said, ¡°Still have the same cherry blossom perfume?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your favorite! Isn¡¯t it?¡± She said with a smile and tears. ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± She was still hugging me. She then said, ¡°Can we stay like this for a while?¡± ¡°Yeah, you deserve being happy, more than anyone.¡± Later that same afternoon, we all gathered up in the city plaza to say our goodbyes to Sora. Shizuka, Sora, Jinn, Nightshade, Vincenzo, and I were there. ¡°Where¡¯s Sachi?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, she should be here somewhere.¡± ¡°Wait, who did you just say?¡± Asked Shizuka. ¡°By the way, Sora, I don¡¯t think you know, but Shizuka and I are close childhood friends.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Sachi suddenly showed up and said, ¡°Hi, tomato! Or maybe stoplight-head fits better¡­ but you don''t have red hair anymore, nor the yellow eyes.¡± ¡°Hey, emo goddess!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not emo! I-I just like this style, ok?!¡± ¡°Wait¡­WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!¡± Yelled Shizuka. Ah, right, I completely forgot about this. ¡°Oh, by the way, Jinn, he recovered his memories, so you were right, he was the one that killed those people.¡± Said Nightshade innocently. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Yelled Jinn. ¡°I CAN''T BREATHE! NYAH!" Yelled Vincenzo from inside my backpack. ¡°DID I JUST HEAR A CAT?!¡± Yelled Nightshade. Oh boy, this will take some time to explain. Vol.2|Chapter 18: Sirius
"Remain calm and collected; cool as ice, when things go south." -Suisei Deus
After I explained everything to everyone, we said our goodbyes to Sora. I told him that we were going to come back and start hunting for the gemstones. We then were on Shizuka¡¯s private ship, sailing towards south Greenterra. It was nighttime, the ocean was pitch black and the sky was lit up with millions of stars and our andromeda galaxy could be seen. Jinn was at his sleeping cabin using his laptop after a long session of stargazing, Nightshade was with him doing a website or something for her DJ page, while Shizuka was reading a book at the side of the ship, but she then closed it to come and talk to me while I was hanging out with Sachi. ¡°So, got any information on the divine gemstones? Ms. Black is a color.¡± I said jokingly. ¡°Nothing yet, I¡¯d have to look more into it with Shizuka, Ruki.¡± As we were talking, Shizuka walked in and asked, ¡°Rukito, are you sure keeping her like this is a good idea?¡± ¡°Shizuka, don¡¯t worry, I trust Sachi; if she says that Ochiru is gone, then Ochiru is gone.¡± Sachi blushed, held her shoulder while saying, ¡°Thanks, Ruki, but Shizuka is right to be worried.¡± Shizuka sighed and said, ¡°Whatever, as long as you keep her in check.¡± I wrapped my arm around Sachi¡¯s neck, scratched her head with my knuckles and said, ¡°This idiot isn¡¯t going to do a thing.¡± Shizuka took a deep breath, shrugged and said, ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°Hey! That hurts!¡± Said Sachi. Did Shizuka really change? Did she let go of her envious self? As of now, it looks like she has. If I ever plan on being with her I can¡¯t have that side of her with me. For now, I¡¯m not going to get into any relationships, I¡­ still have to let go of Kasai after all, so I¡¯m just going to be friendly with all of them. Finding the gemstones and proving people that I¡¯m not evil comes first. I also need to talk to Akira somehow. ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk and get along with each other? I¡¯m sure you both will be great friends counting that you both have an exaggerated amount of IQ.¡± ¡°S-Sure.¡± Said Sachi. ¡°Uh¡­ if you say so.¡± Said Shizuka. I walked up to Shizuka, laid my hand on her shoulder and said, ¡°Come on, I understand why you would act this way towards her, but give her a chance, she is not Ochiru, she is the most unique girl you could ever meet.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She said while smiling. ¡°One condition.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Can you come to my sleeping cabin tonight?¡± ¡°Woah! Woah! Shizuka, I didn¡¯t think that-¡± She instantly blushed and said, ¡°No, you perv! I just want to talk now that you recovered your memories!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, sure it is, and when I¡¯m about to leave you¡¯re just going to throw yourself on me, maybe a little drunk and-¡± She covered my mouth, blushed even more and said, ¡°A-a-alright Sachi! Let¡¯s get to know each other!¡± That worked better than expected. This is how you beat smart girls, with emotions! ¡°What is he talking about drunk?¡± She asked Shizuka. ¡°O-oh! Nothing at all!¡± ¡°Did¡­ did you drunk kissed him in the past?!¡± She is way too smart and creative. ¡°What?! No! Of course not!¡± I left and walked towards Jinn¡¯s sleeping cabin. I¡¯ve recently noticed that I can read ancient language now, and I can also speak it and understand it. After I talked with Suisei and got my memory unlocked, that has not been a problem; I guess deep back in my memories I used to be able to fully comprehend it. ¡°FUCK! WHY IS IT NOT WORKING?!¡± I heard Jinn yelling. ¡°J-Jinn, it¡¯s fine, if it doesn¡¯t work then-¡± I heard Nightshade saying. ¡°N-No! I swear! I know how to do this! I just can¡¯t look up the problem since there is no damn Wi-Fi on this old ugly ship! I¡¯m clicking on the links to navigate outside the homepage, but they are not working!!!¡± I opened the door and said, ¡°This is your ship news reporter, to report that we are currently passing near the equator so the tides are going to be small, allowing us for a smooth and restful night.¡± ¡°Rukito¡­ I¡¯m not in the mood for laughing, but thanks.¡± Said Jinn. ¡°I heard,¡± I said. ¡°Hey brother, aren¡¯t you excited for my first DJ concert?!¡± ¡°A concert? Already?¡± ¡°Yeah! Jinn uploaded some of my songs online this morning, and people quickly caught up with it, and since my singularity changes their moods, they really love my songs!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s amazing! What''s the URL?¡± "Djexiled.netlify.com, Jinn hasn''t bought a domain yet." "I''m broke! And it''s still not done! I''m working on it!" Talking about songs, now that my PTSD is healed, I don¡¯t really need the headphones¡­ but at the same time I feel like listening to her music makes me even stronger when I fight, so I think I¡¯ll keep the headphones. ¡°Yeah, the concert will be two weeks from now! Fuji helped me set up the event and everything, so hopefully, everything goes right.¡± Counting the fact that people hate pixies, I have to be there at that concert to make sure nobody tries to hurt her. ¡°Nightshade, I need to talk to you about something,¡± I said. ¡°Oh. Uh, yeah, what is it?¡± ¡°Come to my cabin,¡± I said while walking away. ¡°Uuuu¡­ what is he about to do?¡± Said Jinn with a playful tone. ¡°Shut up, Jinn! Worry about fixing your bug.¡± ¡°Right¡­ sorry¡­¡± We arrived at my cabin, I sat down on the bed and signaled her to sit down beside me. ¡°U-Uhm, what is it?¡± ¡°I know what has happened to you, Nightshade. I know your whole past. ¡°What do you mean? How?¡± ¡°I think it was your lullaby.¡± I began explaining to Nightshade everything that I knew. How she wasn¡¯t liked by her sisters, and that Juliet was her mother, at the same time being the pixie maiden. Most importantly, how she had the goal of re-uniting pixies with humans. She was completely shocked, she still had the urge to help them but she didn¡¯t know that she was the daughter of a human and a pixie, but apparently the pixie genes are stronger so she is still a full pixie with small human qualities like her height being taller than the common, and her hair being purple while all of her sisters have black hair. ¡°Shizuka will soon help you get your memories back, but this is as far as I can tell you, Nightshade.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that¡­ everything makes sense now. Thanks for telling me, brother.¡± ¡°You have to know, after all, you have a goal to achieve, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡±
On the other side, Shizuka and Sachi¡¯s chat changed from a normal friendly conversation too¡­ ¡°You seem like a genuinely nice person, Sachi, but we are both smart so let¡¯s just get to the question you¡¯ve been wanting to ask me, and I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°I was waiting for you to say that.¡± ¡°What are your intentions with Rukito?¡± Shizuka asked her. ¡°Hmm¡­ he is free to choose himself. I¡¯m not going to force myself on him, and I¡¯m not going to chase him around. If he wants to be with me, then I¡¯ll gladly accept him with open arms, but as for now, I¡¯m more than glad that he wants to be close friends with me.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not specifically what I¡¯m trying to say.¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°You want to know if I like him? Of course, I do, just as you do, do I love him?... I¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to answer that; I don¡¯t know exactly what love is, but I¡¯d sacrifice myself for him, that¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°Well, I just wanted to know because I don¡¯t want to make the same mistake again.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°If he chooses you, then I¡¯ll be fine with it, you seem like a nice girl. I just needed to make sure you were.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ thank you, Shizuka. In fact, you¡¯re the one that deserves him more than anyone, I don¡¯t even think I have that big of a chance compared to you, but I¡¯m glad hearing that you will support his decision no matter what.¡± ¡°No¡­ the one that deserves him more than anyone is not alive anymore.¡± ¡°Right, Kasai. You know she seemed like a sweet girl from the first time I met her.¡± ¡°She was¡­ way too kind and sweet. That¡¯s what got her killed in the end.¡± After that, they went back to a normal conversation.
After Nightshade left my cabin, Shizuka knocked on my door twice, then I said, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Spell.¡± ¡°Spell who?¡± ¡°Okay: W.H.O.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°You can come in.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you still remember that.¡± ¡°Well, I got my memories back, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yeah, you did.¡± ¡°Come here,¡± I said signaling her to sit beside me on the bed. She scoffed and said with a smug, ¡°I¡¯m not that easy of a woman-¡± I got up and pulled her onto the bed. ¡°Aw shut up with that crap!¡± I said while chuckling. ¡°W-what do you want from me?¡± She asked while blushing. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re the one that wanted to talk to me!¡± I said. ¡°R-right! It was quick!¡± She started playing with her hair, while her legs wouldn¡¯t stop moving. ¡°I-I just wanted to say that¡­ t-that.¡± ¡°Shizuka, are you ok?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine!¡± It¡¯s not often you get to see this young girly side of her. ¡°What happened to that woman act you were putting? Now you just look like a cute little girl hiding behind your blushes.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°S-shut up! Y-you silly!¡± I chuckled again and asked, ¡°So? What did you want to say?¡± She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. ¡°I just wanted to let you know that¡­ if you need help with anything or want me to you know¡­ maybe¡­ c-c-¡­ cuddle! I¡¯m here for you!¡± Aw, that¡¯s so cute. She wants to sleep with me, but¡­ I don¡¯t think I can bring myself to do so. ¡°Oh, then how about now?¡± I asked with a jokingly tone. She soon started taking off her jacket, and shoes, ¡°Wait! I was joking!¡± Damn, she is really serious about it. I guess she really wants to help me emotionally, she is really that worried about me? ¡°Oh, ok.¡± She said. She looked at me, looked away, then looked back at me again while still blushing, she gave me a quick and awkward hug, then got up. ¡°Uhm¡­¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s all! Close friends cuddle, right? So there¡¯s no problem of doing so with each other, r-right?¡± ¡°I would love to! But not now, I¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for that yet.¡± I said. ¡°O-ok! I¡¯m not really good with these¡­ social things, Rukito¡­ it¡¯s incredible how much you can miss when you have your head buried in between books and research papers. But I hope I can help!¡± Shizuka is a bookworm and a logistic girl, when it comes to emotions and social life, she doesn¡¯t know a thing or two about it. ¡°I understand, Shizuka. Thanks, for everything, once again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°And if you want, I can teach you.¡± ¡°T-teach me on what? Aren¡¯t you technically still my student?¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mean that kind of academic teaching.¡± ¡°So?¡± I got up, got close to her and said, ¡°I mean more of a¡­ social teaching.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand now.¡± She said while playing with her hair. ¡°So you¡¯re going to teach me how to¡­ kiss people and stuff?¡± ¡°W-what?! No! I mean- I could, but- wait, no! Stop baiting me!¡± ¡°H-huh? I¡¯m not trying to!¡± She said while still twirling her hair around her finger. ¡°I need some time first. I¡¯m not ready for ¡®kissing practice¡¯ yet.¡± I said. We were both dodging the question if we wanted to date each other so much, but we were so nervous that we didn¡¯t really think about what we wanted to say. I was sure I was going to decline if she asked anyway, since I still need some alone time to cool down. On Shizuka¡¯s side, I don¡¯t think she wants this either since she thinks it¡¯s wrong getting with me after Kasai passed away, but she can¡¯t lie to her heart, it must be hurting her a lot. ¡°Oh, I wholeheartedly understand that you need time! That¡¯s completely fine! I-I just don¡¯t know how to help you right now.¡± Would being in a relationship with her really make me forget the broken feeling of losing Kasai? Of course not¡­ but¡­ It really could help me not think about it, and maybe I¡¯d even fall in love with Shizuka as much as I did with Kasai¡­ no¡­ probably not¡­ If I didn¡¯t have that internal fight between myself, I would have probably never looked at another girl for years, but¡­ life goes on. Kasai would want me to be happy, not to cry. Right? ¡°For now I¡¯ll just be your social teacher!¡± I said. Let¡¯s keep things slow and steady. ¡°O-ok!¡± ¡°After you heal Yosuke I¡¯m going to teach you on how to act on dates!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± As she was walking away she stopped herself, paused for a second and said, ¡°Kasai¡¯s last words were for me to take care of you¡­ that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s all I want to do, Rukito. I don¡¯t want you to think I¡¯m taking advantages or anything¡­ in the end¡­ I loved Kasai as a sister.¡± I remained silent; I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. She stepped out, looked back with a smile and said, ¡°Goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight, Shizuka.¡± She looked down to the ground, paused for a second and said, ¡°Do you mind if I¡­ would it be ok if we-¡± Suddenly, a large bump was heard at the side of the ship, causing Shizuka to lose her balance. I dashed towards her and grabbed her. ¡°W-what was that?!¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± We quickly rushed outside. It was all pitch-black, all we could manage to see was from the light on the ship, the ocean was all dark. We all rushed outside to check on the problem, and we saw Sachi crouched on the side of the ship looking down into the ocean. ¡°Sachi! What happened?¡± I yelled. ¡°I knew we couldn¡¯t trust her¡­¡± Said Shizuka. ¡°Let¡¯s not jump to conclusions¡­¡± Said Sachi while getting down from the side and walking towards us. ¡°I have a bad feeling.¡± ¡°What happened?!¡± Yelled Jinn while running towards us. ¡°I think we encountered a menacing predator.¡± Said Sachi. She was keeping calm, while at the same time showing some worry. We suddenly heard a loud and deep hiss. Shizuka¡¯s face suddenly dropped and then she asked me, ¡°R-Rukito, you said we are sailing through the equator?¡± ¡°Yes, why?¡± Something quickly appeared out of the water, it was too dark to see, but I could see its silhouette, it looked like¡­ ¡°Lux!¡± Said Shizuka while opening her Wisdom-World. A ball of light suddenly shined on top of the ship, illuminating everything around it. The giant creature was a¡­ ¡°SNAKE!¡± Yelled Jinn. Shizuka flipped through her book and said with a shaky voice, ¡°H-his name is Titanoboa. They are a genus of very large snakes that live on the equator. They could grow up to 12.8 m (42 ft) long and reach a weight of 1,135 kg (2,500 lb). But this one¡­ this one is an Emperor Titanoboa, it¡¯s completely black to hunt better at night, and it¡¯s even bigger than normal! They were extinct for many years, but they came back after we limited Chlorofluorocarbons, and nature started growing again. ¡± Shizuka started shaking. ¡°W-what do we do?¡± Asked Nightshade. She released her harp and said, ¡°My singularity works on animals, so maybe-¡± ¡°No, Nightshade! Snakes don¡¯t have ears, they can only hear vibrations and low-frequency sounds, so it¡¯s not going to work!¡± They snaked quickly went for Shizuka. He could swallow her in one big bite. Thankfully I reacted in time, and grabbed Shizuka while jumping away from the snake. ¡°Shizuka, are you ok?¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­ sorry, I.¡± She was shaking from head to toe. She almost seemed like she was going to die of hypothermia from how much she was shaking. ¡°Shizuka, do you happen to have¡­ Ophidiophobia?¡± ¡°I¡­ m-maybe!¡± ¡°Head back inside, we will take care of this.¡± ¡°A-alright.¡± ¡°Guys, the snake is going to wait for us to plan on how to kill it.¡± Said Jinn. Shizuka walked inside, then I said, ¡°I heard that most snake usually like to wrap around their prays to kill them, but since it¡¯s so huge, it can just swallow us in one bite, and the worst part is¡­¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t going to die quick, the digestive fluids will be the ones doing that job.¡± Jinn finished saying. ¡°Can we please look at the positive side of things?¡± Asked Sachi while making a spear out of the darkness. ¡°OMBRA ARSENAL¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid there isn¡¯t one at the moment.¡± Said Jinn while activating his singularity. ¡°ASTRAL GUARDIAN¡± ¡°No¡­¡± This is my chance to start redeeming myself. I, right now, am the strongest version of myself¡­ a clear mind and a strong will. ¡°Huh?¡± Said everyone while looking at me. ¡°This fight is mine to take,¡± I said while standing on the edge of the ship looking dead into the snake¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ruki, don¡¯t be an idiot.¡± Said Sachi. ¡°Brother, are you sure about this?¡± Jinn scoffed and said, ¡°Make it quick.¡± ¡°Jinn¡­¡± I said while looking down at the ocean. ¡°On it.¡± He used took out his pistol and shot 6 times at the ocean. I then decided to jump down. ¡°RUKITO!¡± A small area on the ocean froze, I fell on top of it and maintained balance. Alright, counting the fact that my singularity changes with my soul, right now it should be the best version of itself. The snake started breaking the path of ice that Jinn made, I then looked at Jinn and said, ¡°Jinn! I¡¯m counting on you to keep it frozen!¡± ¡°Got you!¡± I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a second while the snake was breaking the ice around me and thought, what is your name?... speak to me. ¡°Those who oppose my soul shall bend the knee. The past, the present and the future are all up to this¡­ o¡¯ great Hikari, the god of light, and life, bless my last hope with the universe¡¯s best blade.¡± A blue light started shining from the heavens, piercing the clouds with blue beams. A hole opened in the clouds as a sword slowly floated down to me. It was a katana with the name of it engraved that read in ancient writing, ¡®Sirius Ultima¡¯. I got an instant flashback of Akira receiving this sword by Suisei, his sister, to defend their family. Akira kneeled as Suisei gave him the sword in front of a giant crowd in heaven. ¡°You may only use this sword for good, you hear?¡± She said with a playful expression. Akira looked at her, smiled then said, ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll try, little star.¡± It had a white handle and a blue, frozen blade with writing engraved on the blade itself. ¡°It will not come to you unless you are at peace with yourself, got it? The stars know and see everything, brother.¡± ¡°But what if-¡± She flicked his nose and said with an adorable yet angry expression, ¡°Na-ah! I don¡¯t wanna hear it!¡± Akira chuckled and said, ¡°Alright, little star. I promise.¡± ¡°You better!¡± I came back to reality, grabbed the sword. As I made contact with it, I felt a chill run down my spine. I started breathing out breath vapor, and started getting cold, but not cold enough to stop fighting. I had that same calming sensation I had when I was with Suisei. I looked at the snake while pointing the sword at it and said, ¡°You should have remained extinct.¡±