An RPG AU, based on a very nice fanart I found. It would be nice if FF allowed us to post links but they don't so... :P
Though she had been preparing for this day, somehow she had always thought that this would happen to someone else in the village. After all, there were many other houses nearby, some even with two stories or basements! They would surely be far more appealing than her tiny hovel. Why he would pick her little cottage to walk right into was a mystery.
The white-haired man stood before her, clearly awaiting a response. The girl attempted to hastily rehearse her monologue once more in her mind before delivering it, but to her horror, it was as if marauding bandits had made off with her memory. Her panic further intensified at her next thought: What if this man wasn't a 'hero' at all, but a villainous robber? Heros weren't the only ones who would stroll right into strangers' houses.
"Hello," the man standing inside her doorway attempted for a second time, expression still amiable, seemingly unperturbed at the wait.
She at last abandoned the elusive monologue. "I- I don't have any treasure chests, or anything hidden in the jars, b-but please take this!" shakily, she pulled a first aid kit out of her apron pocket. "It's all I have; please take it! Don't attack me!"
The intruding man looked mildly surprised, but accepted the offering, popping it open and inspecting the contents. He removed the shimmering vial of emerald potion from its compartment, holding it up to the kitchen window, twirling it as he watched the liquid slosh about.
"Would you, by any chance, have had a monologue prepared? I'll wait if you need time."
Tears began to well up in her ashen eyes. Not only did this unnerving stranger now posses her last first-aid kit, he was also clearly mocking her.
The girl scrunched her eyes shut, wringing the edge of her apron. "…S-sir…the Despair Mountains are too dangerous to traverse at the moment, but please take this first aid kit. It might be of use once the pass finally opens…" she recited.
"Great job!" the man praised. "Hmm, so you were supposed to give away the kit anyway?" Clearly this amused the man, as he let out an odd laugh.
The young woman returned the sound with a weak titter of her own, glad that he seemed pleased, rather than angry.
"I hope you don't mind if I say this, but, um, your outfit is unusually… 'neat' for a hero's…" Still not entirely convinced that he wasn't a robber who was just playing with her, she made an attempt to feel him out.
"You think I'm neat? I'm so happy to hear that! It's pretty hard to keep clean out there on the road, but I try to do what I can. A little magic doesn't hurt, even if it's not good for much else… I'm Komaeda Nagito, by the way."
"I'm Tsumiki… Tsumiki Mikan. Um, forgive me for asking this, but could it be that you aren't a hero at all, but a mage?" she asked, hesitantly. Tsumiki had never actually seen a hero in person before, but the more she took in Komaeda's pure-white outfit, the more she began to wonder. The mage robes she had seen for sale at the local mercantile generally came in much airier tones than the armor and other such effluvia marketed toward those more skilled at the sword.
"You're a healer," he stated, pressing the medical kit back into her hands, all the while ignoring her question. "I think it would be best if you hang on to this for the time being. Our party actually does have a hero, but what we're lacking is someone with medicinal skill. Would you mind coming with me?"
"What? Oh no, you're mistaken!" Tsumiki took a step backward. "I only have very weak healing powers! I'm…mostly just okay with potions…sometimes."
"That's wonderful! There's someone in our group who really needs you!" With that, he took her by the wrist, leading her toward the door.
Though his grasp on her was gentle, the girl didn't attempt to pull free. The mage seemed so pleased to have found her, and even more than that, he had said that someone needed her.
Sure, there were times now and then in which villagers came to the healer for minor colds or bruises, but no one so important as a hero and his party had ever had any use for her. A wave of excitement crashed through her previous apprehension.
After leaving the cottage, Komaeda navigated the village with the ease of someone born and raised there.
"H-have you been staying in this village long?" Tsumiki questioned as they arrived what at what seemed to be the destination: the armor shop.
"No, we just got here this morning." He smiled cheerfully. "Guess I just got lucky."
Despite living in the village her entire life, Tsumiki had only ventured into this particular shop once or twice, out of curiosity. Though she wasn't a particularly artistically inclined person, even she could see the beauty and craftsmanship in some of the pieces.
"Pick out anything you'd like," Komaeda offered, glancing over her shoulder at the finely-crafted corset she was inspecting. "Plus five on defense! You have a good eye!"
"'Pick out'? But I could never afford something like this!" she turned to face him, dismayed.
"Sir!" the mage beckoned the shop keep. "We'll take this one."
"A very good choice," the merchant replied, taking the piece out of the window in order to wrap it up.
"Wha- But-" Tsumiki stammered.
"Didn't I tell you? I'll pay for everything. Please, pick out anything you think you'll need for the journey."
Journey…? Hadn't he only said that she'd be meeting the party's hero? Before she could question this, the mage was holding out a pair of purple boots for her to inspect.
By the time the two left the shop, Tsumiki was entirely clad in armor that would leave any enemy hard-pressed to believe that she was no more than level one.
"I'm sorry that I didn't have anything useful of my own…that you had to buy all of this for me…" she plucked at one of her flowing sleeves. "Is there anything I can do to repay you? You…you could send a herd of Slimes after me. I've been told it's pretty funny when I scream…"
"All you have to do for now is meet our hero."
"An NPC?" the brown-haired man looked up from the map he had been engrossed in. "Did you agree to take on a side-quest? We don't have time for things like that…"
"Hinata, even I could tell that she's a healer, and I'm completely useless," Komaeda chided the man. "She's exactly what we need!"
The mage had led her to the inn he and his party were staying in and introduced her to the hero, Hinata, who was currently seated at a table, pouring over a collection of maps and journals. For all the talk of a 'party', it quickly became clear that it consisted only of the two men.
"I have some stuff to attend to in the room upstairs. How about you two have some dinner and get to know each other?," Komaeda suggested before taking his leave.
"Would you like to sit down?" Hinata offered, noticing the girl hovering uncomfortably.
The girl hesitantly seated herself across from the hero. "Um…forgive me if this is none of my business," she began, "but Komaeda-san said that there was someone in your party who needed my help…but you don't look like you're in need of any healing…"
"Oh, that? He was probably talking about himself," Hinata explained. "He's kind of a weird guy, but his spell-casting ability is really something. The only thing is, he takes part of the damage each time. He's probably lying down up there, trying to recover some HP. It's getting to be pretty rough on him, I guess."
The inn keeper delivered their dinner part way through the story. It was much better, and not to mention there was a great deal more of it, than what she usually made for herself at home. She wondered if Komaeda had paid for this as well.
As the two ate their meal, Hinata outlined the details of their quest to regain the Shards of Hope from the malevolent Queen Enoshima. Once the shards were reunited, the comrades of the two men would be revived from their cursed eternal slumber. Apparently, the party had been much more populous at one time, though the group had always been lacking in a healer.
The two eventually fell into an awkward silence, Tsumiki rolling an unfortunate cluster of peas back and forth on her plate, until a sudden thought hit her:
"Isn't Komaeda-san going to eat anything?"
"Probably not since you just finished his dinner. …I don't think he'd want those peas," Hinata said, as Tsumiki dropped her fork onto the nearly emptied plate.
"Komaeda…san?"
If she hadn't called out, he never would have heard the faint ghosting of a knock at his door. He rolled over on the bed and considered pretending to be asleep.
He didn't deserve having such a sweet girl at his beck-and-call to heal him, especially not as often as he'd require it.
He had left the inn that afternoon, figuring that his luck would lead him to a healer, although he had half hoped that his skill would fail him for once.
The young mage's luck stats were off the chart; they had been since he was a child. In addition to gaining an abnormal amount of coins at the end of each battle, his magical attacks never missed their target. Unfortunately, each time he fought, his own body would take on some of the damage as well.
He had always envied healers, their skills a burden to no one, always useful, always wanted.
"Come in, it's unlocked." He sat up on the edge of the bed.
The girl peeked in hesitantly. "…I brought you an apple. I-it was the only thing I could afford. I'm so sorry I ate your dinner… You can cast any spell you'd like on me…"
"Thank you, it looks delicious." He accepted the fruit, setting it on the nightstand without taking a bite.
"Y-you should eat something. It'll help recover your HP faster…"
"So, Hinata-kun told you … Tsumiki-san, are you sure you don't mind coming with us? I'm sorry if I'm pushing you into anything. No one will be upset if you can't do this. I mean, I really can't imagine that you'd want to travel with someone like me of all people…"
"I want to! I want to help you, I really do!" Tsumiki exclaimed earnestly.
"Alright then. If you don't change your mind, meet us in front of the inn tomorrow morning."
Tsumiki spent the night back in her own cottage. She awoke quite early the next morning, though she was too full of nerves to take note of the time. Donning her new gear, she made her way back to the inn.
Upon her arrival, however, neither of the boys were there waiting for her.
Panic set it in. She could go up to their room and knock on the door, but there was clearly no point; the entire thing had been nothing more than a cruel prank.
She could feel the corners of her eyes begin to itch as tears requested clearance for departure.
"Tsumiki-san?" came the voice of Hinata from the tree-lined trail leading between the inn and the town marketplace.
"Hinata-kun, haven't you heard that it's rude to keep ladies waiting? We're sorry, Tsumiki-san, we just ran out to stock up on provisions. Hinata-kun here thought it was early enough that we'd be back in time."
The group embarked immediately. Tsumiki found herself so delighted that she hadn't been stood up after all, that she hardly took notice of the woods growing rapidly darker around them, despite it still being mid-morning.
She did notice, however, when a rustling took up in the overgrowth.
The mage heard it as well. "Tsumiki-san, get behind me!"
Before the healer could move, a swarm of Mono Slimes bounced out of the greenery, all six of the black and white monsters chattering their hideous trademark laugh. Men had been known to be driven mad by the sound, were they too unfortunate to not defeat the creatures in time.
Hinata's weapon began to glow as he fed his MP into the hilt. While the majority of the creatures seemed to be transfixed by the light, one rushed forward, heading straight for Tsumiki who had been standing stunned.
"Look out!" Komaeda cried, pushing her out of harm's way. The two crashed to the leaf-strewn forest floor.
Sword fully charged, Hinata slashed at the creature, though dealing only a modest amount of damage.
While the hero continued peppering blows, the mage righted himself, offering his hand to the healer.
"Are you alright, Tsumiki-san?" Komaeda asked, guiding her up.
"Heads up, you guys!" Hinata called over his shoulder. "Crap! I can't hold all of them off!"
Though the hero had slain two of the monsters by now, his power was beginning to dwindle. Two of the Mono Slimes were coming at the other two travels again.
Still clasping the girl's hand, the mage began casting a spell. As he chanted, Tsumiki could feel both of their hands gradually growing warmer. It reminded her of the cozy feeling she got when settling into bed at night, safely tucked in her own little space, safe from the other villagers who were fearful and jealous of her healing abilities.
Tearing her eyes away from the terrifying creatures, she realised that her and Komaeda's intermingled hands now emitted a soft pink light.
"Hope Drive!" the mage called out.
A blinding beam shot out of his staff, completely obliterating one of the creatures. Nothing but a gold coin remained where it's gelatinous body had stood.
Komaeda looked to Tsumiki wonderingly. She jerked her hand from his.
"I'm sorry!" she apologised, frightened by his current expression. "I didn't help at all, and, and you had to waste MP because of me…"
"…It didn't hurt. There was no recoil!" his voice was filled with awe.
"Um, guys?" A few feet away, Hinata was still grappling with one of the things.
"Crashing Hope!" the mage attacked, but immediately crumpled in on himself, crying out in pain "Guh! Ah!"
"Komaeda-san!" Tsumiki wailed, grasping his arm.
"Tsumiki-san…stay like that," he advised between ragged breaths. "Crashing Hope!"
Tsumiki felt the same warmth envelope her once more as every single remaining Mono Slime was wiped out by the blast.
"Are you two alright?" Hinata asked as he approached them, sheathing his sword.
"I've never been better," Komaeda replied, mater-of-factly.
"You're joking. She healed you that fast?" the hero turned his eyes to Tsumiki. She removed herself from the mage's arm, taking a self-conscious step backward.
"I didn't-" she began. She had never healed anyone that quickly before; it just wasn't possible.
"You're right, you didn't," Komaeda responded.
Her heart sank. Of course- he must have taken a potion when she wasn't paying attention. How could she ever have been that useful?
However, he continued, "Except for the time I let go of your hand, I didn't suffer any damage. Somehow, when I'm in contact with you, I can use my power safely."
"A-are you sure? It couldn't be…"
"He's probably right," interjected Hinata. "We've been traveling together for months, and I've never seen him not take any damage before."
"You're amazing, Tsumiki-san!" Komaeda praised.
The girl was speechless for a moment, in complete disbelief. This person, a powerful mage on an, important quest no less, truly needed her help!
"I'll come with you!" she blurted at last. "I want to help you, so I'll come…on…your quest." She looked back and forth between the two boys, half way expecting them to burst out with cruel laughter.
However, both only smiled, sincere thankfulness plain on their faces.
"Thank you, Tsumiki-san," Komaeda said, taking her hand once more. "It might be best if we stay like this as we walk, just in case we get ambushed again."
So the three travelers set out on their quest once more, mage and healer hand-in-hand.
The end