Disclaimer:All of the characters in this story belong to Tecmo, not to me. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to make any sort of profit. If for some reason you would like to put this story up on a site, please email me first at asking for permission. Also, please give credit where credit is due. I'd do the same with your stories. Also, the song Kesenai Tsumi is originally from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, an anime too good to ignore, so if you haven't seen it, you really should. It's awesome. With that out of the way, let's proceed with the first chapter.
It was a quiet evening in the town of Alazina, one of the most bustling cities in the floating landmass known only as the Upperworld.
A group of teenagers were walking along the main road, leading out of the urban area, into the sleepy suburbs. There were five
of them, all male. The leader, or at least, the one in front of the rest, is who our story is about. He had short brown hair, with
piercing blue eyes. He was clad mostly in denim, save for the white t-shirt he wore underneath his denim jacket. His mouth was
open, and laughter was escaping from it, as he walked with his friends, the five of them joking. His name? Aldayne Booth. He lived
in the suburbs of Alazina, along with his gang of friends:Rory, Chris, David, and Lang. Looking at his state now, you could never tell
that he had been through hell ten years ago, when he was only five. He and his mother had went for a stroll, when they were
ambushed by bandits, and they happened to be close to one of the many "holes" in the Upperworld. His mother was tossed
over the edge to her death, but it was not without its boon. This alerted the local soldiers, which spared young Aldayne from the
same fate. Back in the present, however, the gang of friends had reached the point where they usually split up. They each started
to go their own seperate ways to head home. "See you guys tomorrow.", Aldayne called out to his friends. "Yeah, later Booth,
Rory answered. The others nodded and waved goodbye. Moments later, Aldayne had reached his front door. He reached under
the mat and pulled out a key, which he then used to unlock the door. Inside, his father was waiting.
"Oh, there you are. I was starting to get a little worried.", said his father, Maladar.
"Why? It's not even eight, Dad.", Aldayne answered.
"I know, but you are all I have left, son"
"Yeah...I dreamed about Mom again last night"
"I'm always dreaming about her too"
Maladar looked over at his teenage son with a smirk, and quietly asked, "Son, have I ever told you where you were conceived"
"No Dad, and I'm certain I don't want to know"
"It was inside a phone booth"
"DAD! I did NOT need to know that"
"Sorry, sorry"
"Geeze...don't ever tell me something like that again. Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed. G'night, Dad"
"Night, son. See you tomorrow. I have to go to work in the morning"
"Right. Be careful.", Aldayne said, before climbing the stairs to his room. After shedding all his clothes, save for his underwear, he
crawled into the bed.
The next morning, he rose out of bed, got dressed, and walked down to the kitchen, half-asleep. As he began to cook some
breakfast, several loud bangs were heard outside, jarring him into full consciousness. "Gun fire! In the suburbs!", Aldayne asked,
his eyes wide. He ran to the window to see what was going on. Out on the street, guns were indeed being fired, at a teenage
girl. She was clad in a black one-piece bikini of sorts, with a matching black cape that swayed as she ran, along with her blonde
hair. Her emerald-green eyes searched frantically for a place to run, for it seemed that the five men armed with guns had trapped
her. She screamed out for help, right before they opened fire on her again. However, the bullets never hit the girl. Instead, they
had hit a pink barrier that had formed in front of her. The girl stared in shock at this barrier, wondering how it got there. As if
answering her unvoiced question, Aldayne stepped out into the open. "It's funny, isn't it?", he said, cupping his chin in his left
hand, with a huge, pompous grin on his face. The gunmen turned to him, preparing to fire. His grin simply grew wider as he
continued to speak, "Something like that barrier only takes an extremely tiny portion of my magical energy to create. And I had
created it a split-second before the bullets hit. Now tell me, do you really want to try to shoot me"
A spray of bullets followed Aldayne's comment, leaving him dancing with comically-wide eyes. However, he quickly regained his
confident composure.
"Look, I don't know why you're after the girl here, nor do I", Aldayne began, but the girl cut him off.
"They're trying to kill me!", she said frightfully. Aldayne just turned his head, his eyes almost completely narrowed in irritation.
"No...really? I would have never guessed with all that damn gunfire"
"Just shut up and look out!", she shouted, as the gunmen opened fire again. This time, however, Aldayne was ready, and created
a second barrier, this time to shiled himself. He then snapped his fingers, and all the gunmen dropped their guns in pain, as the
guns had been superheated with a small but powerful fire spell. The gunmen watched in horror as their guns turned red, then melted
from the intense heat. "Retreat!", shouted the one in front. The others were quick to comply, as the five ran off as fast as their legs
would take them.
"Heh heh heh...", Aldayne laughed, "That'll teach you to mess with Aldayne Booth...", he said, turning toward the girl he just saved.
"Th...thanks.", the girl said, "You really saved my ass, huh"
"Master of the obvious, are we?", Aldayne said.
"Oh hush. I already thanked you, no need to mock me.", the girl said, "However, can you help me"
"Twice in one day? Did someone tape a sign saying 'Hunt me down and try to kill me?' to your back"
"No! I would have felt that awful resin...", she said, sticking her tongue out as her eyes closed in disgust.
"I was joking.", Aldayne said, rather bluntly.
"I know.", the girl huffed, "Do you actually take me for that big of an idiot? Wait, don't answer that"
"Look, why don't we step inside my house?", Aldayne suggested, "It may not be entirely healthy to stay out here if those guys had
any buddies"
"You're right"
Moments later, Aldayne was bringing her a glass of water, in the safety of his living room. "Here you go.", he said.
"Thanks.", the girl replied, with a small smile on her face.
"So...", Aldayne began, then stated, "I never got your name yet"
"It's Gara.", the girl said.
"So, Gara...why were those guys after you?", Aldayne asked.
"Well, I'd seen something I wasn't supposed to, apparently. I saw a man with red hair, and for whatever reason, he was flipping out.
So they grabbed me. Originally, they just tied me up.", Gara explained, "They were gonna sell me into slavery, but I'd escaped.
They were desperate to keep anyone from learning about the redheaded man, it seemed. They tried to kill me, and that's when
you showed up"
"A redhead, eh"
"Yeah.", Gara said, "He was scary-looking. He was tall, and had a lot of facial hair"
'Could it be...!', Aldayne thought, thinking of the leader of the bandits that had attacked him and his mother. He had been tall, with
a lot of facial hair. It had also been red.
"This redheaded man...did he have a scar going across his right eye"
"Yeah, I think so. Why? Do you know him?", Gara asked, a puzzled look on her face.
"He...he murdered my mom ten years ago.", Aldayne said, his gaze shifting downward.
"I'm sorry for your loss.", Gara said.
"Yeah.", Aldayne muttered, then audibly remarked, "I never forgot his face, and my dad's dedicated his life to murdering bandits
such as that man. If only we knew his name...maybe Dad would be able to track him down"
Gara sat silently for a moment, then stood up suddenly, exclaiming the suggestion she'd been pondering in her short state of
silence. "You know, we could try to track him down.", she mused, "I mean, sure, he's probably jumped ship by now and gotten
the hell outta Dodge, but you and I could try our hand at it. What do you say"
"Well...I can't protect you twenty-four/seven, you know.", Aldayne said, staring at her.
"You won't have to. I know you couldn't tell from our initial encounter outside, but I'm a pretty good fighter with a sword or bow"
"Really"
"Yeah. My mother and father taught me everything I know. They're excellent fighters"
"Alright then. I just need to wait for my dad to get home so I can let him know. By the way, we haven't been properly introduced.
My name is Aldayne Booth"
"Gara von Amaboss"
"Wait a second...von Amaboss! As in, the royal family von Amaboss"
Gara smirked. "I see you heard of us. My mother and father are Queen Mara and King Vincent"
"So you're one of the two princesses"
"That's right. But, don't give me any special treatment. I'm just a common person this far away, so just call me by my first name,
okay"
"It'll feel weird referring to you as just Gara, now that I know who you actually are"
"Please. You were nice enough to save me without thought of reward. You're the only person in my age group who's treated me
normally"
"...Alright, sure, why not"
(End music, "Kesenai Tsumi", starts to play)
"Thanks. Let's be friends.", and with that, Gara extended her hand for a shake. After a few seconds, Aldayne heartily shook her
hand.
"Yeah, the best...Gara."
End of Chapter One
"Itsumo no shisen ni kimi ga ite kokyuu ga dekiru Boku ni totte nara Sore dake de Mou Juubun na hazu na no ni"
Panning shot of Aldayne walking down a dirt road, in the rain. His face is lowered as he walks.
"Chippoke na boku wa kurikaesu ayamachi bakari Dorehodo tsuyosa wo te ni shitara Nani mo kizutsukezu sumu no?"
Aldayne trips and falls face-first into a mud puddle. As he lifts his head, he sees a hand extended to help him up. The "camera" pans up to reveal Gara, with a smile on her face.
"Mayowazu ni Kono ai wo shinji ikiteyuku Fusagaranu kizuguchi mo gyu'tto dakishimete"
The rain stops, the sky clears up, and the two take off down the muddy road.
"Futari wa aruki-tsuzukeru Ato ni wa modorenai kara Ima demo kono mune no oku Kesenai tsumi wa itamu kedo"
Random shots of locations the two friends have visited pop up all over.
"DARLING"
Booth turns to the "camera", winks, and flashes a thumbs up.