Disclaimer - Still, that's right, still, don't own Rune Factory Frontier
Characters - See Side-Note
Side-Note- Alright, this was originally only going to be oneshot, but it's transformed into something different. As such, I decided to forgo the Characters section because as I said, this is going to be (I hope) a multi-chapter story. Also, since I've been gone for so long, you get two updates. One being this story, with the other being a new oneshot, titled Picnic, yes I know, poor title, but it fits the theme. And yes, that was in fact, a shameless plug.
'Shit, I can't keep dodging like this,' Raguna thought barely avoided another swing. Needless to say, he was worse for wear with numerous cuts and scratches adorning his body. Luckily, the majority of them were just shallow cuts that he wouldn't have to worry about, unfortunately though some were deep enough to slow him down, making it easier for his opponent to strike him.
'Wahh!' Raguna stumbled backwards, 'That was way too close, but damn she's strong! Definitely a good thing that this Iris doesn't have a watering can,' he shivered, only to be kicked and sent flying into the wall.
'Ugh! Shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that during a fight,' Raguna slowly moved to where his back was leaning against the wall before wincing, 'Now I'm gonna have to visit Lara later, I'm certain I felt a few ribs crack from that.'
"Iris!" he called out to her, "Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends!"
"I've never met you before," she replied in a depressed tone, "I have nothing."
'Dammit, looks like I've got several options here, since she doesn't recognize me, and none of them seem good. I can just sit here and do nothing, continue dodging and eventually wear myself out, or I can fight back and hope that I'm able to knock her out, and unfortunately that seems to be my best option. I really don't want to have to attack her cause if what that guy said was true, this Iris and the Iris that I know are both the same person, sort of anyways. Doesn't seem like I have any other choice but to attack if I don't want to get myself killed. Here goes nothing I suppose.'
Watching from a safe distance, Candy noticed that Raguna was moving again, 'Hey, he's finally getting up.' Continuing to watch him, she was frightened when he reached into his bag and pulled out one of his swords, 'He's not going to try and kill her is he?' Now paying even closer attention she was as he got into a stance and began approaching Iris slowly.
Not wasting any time, Iris ran at him and pulled her leg back from a kick. Expecting it this time, Raguna blocked it with the flat of his sword before quickly giving Iris a few shallow cuts before she jumped away, letting out a hiss of pain.
'Now I don't know what he's trying to do, but it was obvious that he intended to only land blows that wouldn't damage her too heavily,' Candy thought before deciding to wait and see how it all turned out.
Once again, Iris ran at him preparing to launch another kick and just like before, Raguna blocked it with the flat of his sword, but before he could get in some attacks of his own, Iris began to rapidly throw a series of kicks and punches at him. Barely dodging some of them, Raguna was still caught by her fingernails that tore through his skin with ease.
'Dammit, I keep forgetting that her nails can do that,' he then tried to reach her once more, "Iris, we don't have to do this!"
"Why?" she asked, her usual tone being replaced be one of irritation, "You keep talking as if you know me, but I've never even seen you before!" she punctuated this statement by landing a solid kick to his ribs.
Raguna grunted slightly before replying, "That's because I do know you!"
"I don't know why you aren't understanding this," she said avoiding a couple of his attacks, "But I already told you, I HAVE NOTHING!" she yelled before launching a kick that connected with his sword arm, causing it to give of a audible snap.
"AHHHHH!" Raguna cried out, backing away, cradling his arm, 'Shit! My right arm is broken!' quickly he shifted his sword to his left hand, 'This is bad, I'm stuck using my left arm,' he took a few experimental swings, 'Damn, things are gonna turn bad, very quickly now.'
Iris just stood by with a visible smirk on her face and seeing this as an opportunity to catch her off guard, Raguna rushed her. Slightly surprised, she didn't have enough time to react when Raguna started attacking. He managed to get her a few times before she jumped back, stumbling slightly as she landed.
Raguna then took survey of her injuries, 'Lessee, looks like I got her lower legs a couple times and her left arm,' it was then that he noticed something was off, 'What the....? Dammit! I wasn't supposed to cut her that deep. I only wanted to slow her down, not cause her to bleed everywhere. This is going bad, not to mention that I won't be able to last much longer with a broken arm. Looks like I'll have to end this quickly.'
Deciding that it'd be best if he charged her before she had a chance to recover, he ran full speed towards her planning to end the fight. Unfortunately, she was prepared this time avoiding the first few strikes, but not being so lucky with the others, due to her previous wounds slowing her down.
Moving as quickly as possible, she moved back, before charging straight back in, letting loose a full force kick into Raguna's chest, but not before he was able to grab her arm with his still injured one. Iris was then pulled off the ground, and hearing an audible pop, before feeling searing pain shoot up her arm.
As she began to struggle, Raguna, without hesitation, pulled her in close before striking the base of her neck with the flat of his sword, just hard enough to knock her unconscious. 'That takes care of one problem, but at this rate we're going to hit the wall pretty hard. I suppose there's only one thing I can do,' he then pulled Iris closer to him to shield her from the impact, before slamming into the wall and everything going black.
The last thing he heard was Candy and Mist shouting, "Raguna!"
'Ugh, my head is throbbing. Where the hell am I?'
Blinking a few times he noticed a figure hovering above him. After blinking a few more he was able to make out a few characteristics. She was of average height and had lavender hair, as well as eyes with different color irises. She wore a white, patients gown and adorned an arm cast, as well as several bandages.
"Oh thank god you're okay!" she said before looking away ashamed after a few moments, "I'm really sorry about what happened..."
"Wha...?"
But before he could voice his confusion, another woman with red hair and donned in the garb of a nun walked in holding a chart, "Ah, so you are awake," she glanced down at her chart, "Well then, you've got some minor cuts and bruises," she flipped a page on the chart, "A broken arm and some fractured ribs," another flip, "And some head trauma, most likely a concussion," she then glanced up from the chart and gave him a glare, "Not to mention you've been asleep for three days."
"Lara, don't be so hard on him," the first woman said, "It's not his fault."
The other woman, now identified as Lara, let out a snort of derision, "With how often he lands himself in here, I would be too certain. Anyways, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Realising that she was speaking to him this time, he responded, "Three, but-"
"That's good, no brain damage," she said writing things down on the chart.
"Excuse me, but who are you?"
"Pardon?" she said glancing up from the chart.
"Well," he began, "I don't even know who I am, let alone the two of you."
"Well then," she said, scratching out what she just wrote on the chart, "Turns out that there was some brain damage after all."
The first woman then turned to him and spoke, "You mean you don't remember, Raguna?"
Assuming that his name was Raguna, he asked, "Remember what?"
"The fight."
"The fig- AHHHHHH!" he cried out grabbing his head.
"Raguna!" she cried out, reaching for him.
But before she could reach him, he put his uninjured arm out and said, "I'm okay," he glanced up at her, "Wait a second, I fought you.... Didn't I?"
"So you do remember!"
Raguna shook his head, "Not really, I only thing remember right now, is the fight, and even then, it's only bits and pieces of it."
"That's probably the only thing you remember because it was what happened just prior to your head trauma," Lara said still writing things down on the chart, while turning around to walk away, "At any rate, I'm going to go find Stella and have her help me gather everyone here to inform them of the situation," she glanced back at him, "Everyone was worried about you and came to visit y'know, even Brodik, though I don't suppose that it'll mean anything to you in your current state."
With that, she turned back around and walked out the door in search of Stella, leaving Raguna alone with the other woman.
"So..." the woman said, trying to strike up a conversation.
"So..." Raguna replied, not really sure where she was going with this.
"I'm Iris," she said giving him a small smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Raguna, I guess...."
A few moments of silence.
"So, what do you like to do?"
"I can't exactly tell you that."
"Why not?"
"I don't really remember."
"Oh, right."
Really wanting to get off the subject of himself and his lack of memory, Raguna asked, "Why don't you tell me what you like?"
Iris looked downwards, "I enjoy singing," she mumbled, nervously twiddling her fingers.
"Really?" he asked, Iris giving him a shy nod, before he added, "Would you mind singing a bit for me?"
"I-I, su-suppose not..." she took a few breaths, and then began to sing.
It started off slow and nervous, but soon she was singing with confidence, pouring her heart and soul into it.
'Wow, her voice is so beautiful,' Raguna was amazed, 'But it sounds... sad, like someone crying out for help. That kind of song doesn't really suit her at all,' it was then that he made his resolve, 'From now own, I'll make sure she's happy. That way, the next time I hear her sing, it'll sound happy...'
Iris stopped singing soon after, "Wow, you've got a very nice voice..."
Raguna jumped slightly at the unexpected voice, turning to see who it was.
What he found, was a face very close to his, "AHHH!" he jumped back, well attempted to anyways. Instead, he got tangled in the sheets, before falling out of the bed, hitting the ground with a thud.
The person, now identified as a woman with light blond hair, and blue eyes, looked over the other side of the bed at him, "Y'know, you should really be more careful," she chastised him lightly.
Raguna looked at her incredulously, "I should be more careful?! You're the one who snuck up on me!"
She cocked her head to the side, giving him a questioning look, "What d'you mean? I wasn't sneaking up on anybody."
"What do you call that then!?"
"Huh?"
"Ugh!" Raguna gave up, there was no way to get through to this girl!
She gave him another question gaze, before turning to Iris, "So, you must be the girl I've heard so much about!" she reached out her hand, "I'm Mist, it's nice to meet you!"
"I-Iris," she replied, nervously shaking Mist's hand.
"Well," she moved into a chair by the window, "I hope you enjoy your stay here!"
"Thank you," Iris replied, now more comfortable around her. She nudged Raguna, who had moved back into the bed, with her good elbow and whispered, "Say something nice to her."
Raguna turned to her with a shocked expression, "But she's the reason I fell out of the bed!"
"So? She came here to visit us, so the least we can do is be kind to her."
"But-"
"It's not going to kill you to be nice to her."
"You saw what just happened! For all we know, it just might!"
"Raguna..." there was an underlying warning in her tone.
"But-" he tried to protest again.
"Raguna!"
Raguna resigned, "Fine...." he turned to Mist and said begrudgingly, "It's nice to meet you as well," adding in a mutter, "Crazy woman," Iris caught this however and glared at him.
"Nice to meet you?" Mist questioned, "You mean we haven't met before? You look an awfully lot alike my friend Raguna, maybe I should introduce the two of you once I find him..."
Raguna face-palmed, "I am Raguna, I've just got amnesia is all."
Mist gave him a confused look, "Again?"
"Yes aga-" Raguna swiftly turned to her, "You mean this isn't the first time this has happened?!"
Mist nodded.
Raguna moaned, "I must be cursed or something..."
Lara walked in, "If you're done wallowing in self-pity, I'd like to get this discussion started as soon as possible. Any objections?" she paused for a moment, "Good. Now then, follow me."
She lead them from the clinic to the hallway, and from there into the the church, where the entire village was gathered.
She led Iris and Raguna to a couple of chairs off to the side, while Mist went off to one of the pews. Lara then proceeded to the altar and began to address everyone, "Now as you know, these two," she gestured to Raguna and Iris, "Were recently injured, Iris with minor cuts and bruises, a dislocated shoulder, and some deep lacerations. Now Raguna had quite a few cuts and some large bruises, a couple of cracked ribs, a broken arm, and a head injury.
"Now, what you did not know, is that with the head injury, he also sustained some brain damage," she continued.
"So, you mean he's an idiot now, right?" Brodik asked with no tact whatsoever.
"Hey!"
Lara sighed, "No, it means that he has amnesia."
"So he doesn't remember anything?" a short woman, dressed in a mail carrier's outfit asked.
"I'm afraid so Annette," she answered, "He remembers close to nothing."
A few murmurs began to spread throughout the crowd.
"Now then," she started back up, "For the real reason I brought you here.
"With Raguna in his current condition, it would be unwise for him to live alone for the time being. And Iris here, doesn't have anywhere to stay to begin with."
Mist spoke up, "He can come and live with me!"
Raguna's eyes widened in fear, and he gave Lara a look that screamed, 'please don't make me live with her'.
"And this beautiful, young, maiden can come live with me," a young man with mid-length brown hair added, winking at Iris.
"Erik! Have you no shame?" Lara reprimanded him, "And no Mist, I've already decided about their living arrangements. Anyways, as I was saying, since Raguna shouldn't be alone in his condition, and Iris has no place to go, I've decided that the two of them shall live together."
There were some cries of outrage at this.
"She live with him?! After she tried to kill him?!" Iris winced, seeing that the story of what happened had already gotten through town, "Really Lara, it just isn't sensible," this was from a woman with curled purple hair, looking like she came from an affluent family.
"Miss Bianca, you know she wasn't in control of herself," this time it was a woman in a maid's outfit, one could tell she was an elf from her ears.
A woman with pink hair, dressed like a wizard spoke up, "I'm with Tabatha on this one, don't you think that was a little harsh Bianca?"
Bianca just looked away and 'hmphed', "Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact it could happen again."
"Hey!" Raguna gave a yell from his new position near Lara, gaining everyone's attention, "I don't entirely remember what happened, and I don't really care! It won't change the fact that I trust Iris, so I would appreciate it if you stopped treating her like she's going to kill me!" this display wuieted the few murmurs that were still going around about Iris.
Lara smirked, "Also, I should mention that the arrangements are non-negotiable, doctor's orders."
"Doctor? But Lara, I thought you were a nurse," it was a tall man with blond hair that spoke up.
Expecting what was next, Lara said in a false, sweet tone that caused Raguna to back away from her for his safety, "Now why would you think that Danny?"
"Well, I mean, you are a girl after al-"
He didn't get to finish, due to his face meeting Lara's clipboard close-up.
"Now then," she acted as if nothing had happened, "Since the both of you are awake and able to move around freely, the arrangements are effective immediately. Everyone else can leave."
Everyone started to file out of the church, Danny being helped out by Erik and Lute.
"Oh! Rosetta, could you come here please?" Lara asked.
"Sure," a woman with long blond hair, and light brown eyes walked up, "Whatcha need?"
"Well, I know you're going to pick up items at the shipping box soon," she started, "So would you mind showing these two where Raguna's house is and after take Iris by the clothes shop?"
"No problem."
"Thanks," she turned to Raguna and Iris, "Alright, fortunately Stella finished sewing up the holes in your clothes recently, so the two of you can get changed and go. And Iris, since you're new here, you're going to need some extra clothes probably, so Rosetta is going to take you by the clothes shop, after showing you where your new home is. Just tell them that Stella and I sent you, and you shouldn't have a problem."
"Okay, thank you," Iris and Raguna then left to get changed.
"Well, here we are!"
Raguna looked around, 'This is a pretty nice place.'
There was a large house, a barn and, "A farm?"
Rosetta nodded, "You used to be a farmer, amongst other things."
Ragunagave her a quizzical look, "Other things?"
She nodded again, "Yep," she tapped her chin in thought, "You never really talked about it much though, but from what I can remember, you've always been very good with a sword."
Raguna pondered this for a moment, before walking up to the house and trying to open the door, "It's locked...."
"Catch," Rosetta tossed him a key, "We found it in your bag when you were brought to the clinic."
He nodded, then asking, "Where's my-"
"Already inside."
He gave her a nod of satisfaction, before unlocking the door and opening it.
Rosetta grabbed Iris' hand and called out to Raguna, "I'm gonna take Iris with me to the clothes shop now, we might be awhile cause I plan on showing her around town too."
"Mmmk," he called back, walking into the house.
He was surprised to see how large it was, not looking nearly as small as it did from the outside. It had a kitchen adorned with many cooking utensils, a lab, and a forge with a crafting area. In the living room there was a average sized table that had a couch sitting in front of it. It also contained a bookcase, a storage box, and a couple windows.
He walked upstairs to find a room that had a double bed and small table not to far from it, as well as a dresser by the window.
He then went back downstairs and took a seat on the couch, figuring that living there wouldn't be too bad.
Letting out a yawn, he decided that it'd be best if he took a nap until Iris got back. Settling himself into a comfortable position on the couch, he drifted off to dreamland.
Dream Sequence
He was fighting Iris again, and it was progressing just as it had before, eventually reaching the point where she had kicked him.
"Oh no you don't," he said, quickly grabbing her arm, pulling her along with him.
Just as before she had struggled and he had knocked her out, the only difference this time being that instead of hitting the wall, they instead hit the floor and slid across it a few feet.
"Damn that hurt," he groaned, glancing behind him, "But better this than the wall."
He looked up to see a rather large, yellow chicken approaching him.
"Barely got out of that one, didn't we?" Raguna said to the chicken.
It glanced down, and seeing that the enemy was still there, a spotlight shone down on him and he began to dance.
His eyes widened in realization upon figuring out what was about to happen. He struggled to get Iris off of him so he could get them both out of there, but he quickly realised that he didn't have enough strength to do much of anything. There being not much else he could do, he shielded Iris and braced himself for the inevitable impact.
The chicken let out one final crow, before causing an explosion that sent Raguna flying into the wall.
It was then that he blacked out, the last thing he heard was two people calling his name...
End Dream Sequence
Raguna shot up, gasping for air. Surveying the area, he found that Iris was sitting not to far from him, a worried expression on her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked, the concern evident in her voice, "I got back, only to find you tossing and turning on the floor."
Looking around, he saw that she was right. He shook his head to try and clear his mind, "I'm fine, just had a really strange dream is all."
"Do you want to talk about it?" she questioned, still worried about the situation.
"Nah, s'okay," he said, trying to avoid the subject, "Did you enjoy exploring the village with Rosetta?"
Iris smiled, nodding, "Yeah, and I'm pretty sure I know the village pretty well now."
"That's good," he said, walking into the kitchen to fix himself a glass of water, "If you don't mind, you could give me a tour of the village tomorrow."
"I-It's no problem," she blushed at the prospect of spending the day with Raguna walking around the village.
"Great, I'm looking forward to it," he set his glass down on the table, and let out a yawn, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired."
"Well, I am kinda sleepy," Iris let out a yawn herself.
"Alright, there's a bed upstairs you can use, and I'll take the couch," he picked his glass up and took a sip from it.
Iris looked at him confused, "But it's your bed, isn't it? I don't want to inconvenience you by taking it..."
Raguna chuckled, "Really, I don't mind. Plus, I'd feel bad if you took the couch, when there's a perfectly good bed right upstairs."
"Are you sure?" at Raguna's nod she got up from the couch, heading upstairs, "Okay then, I'll see you in the morning."
"Night."
Iris walked upstairs, turning off the remaining lights, while Raguna settled himself onto the couch, drifting into a peaceful slumber.
Alright, several things here. Iris will, for most, if not all, of the story have hours that most people do. Second, for those of you wondering about the dream sequence, that was the ending I had originally planned for the fight, but the other one flowed better, so I figured I'd still get some use out of this one and used it as a filler.
Mist's part had to be one of the most amusing to write, just because she's not all there, allowing me to play with it a little. Also, on Lara: Yes, I realised she was very OOC, but I figured that if you were constantly taking care of someone that kept landing themselves in there due to things that they could of easily prevented, then you too, would have your personality affected. Also, I just think she's way too happy-go-lucky for someone working in the medical profession.
Anyways, that's about it. I appreciate reviews, but if you don't, then you don't, I really don't care either way.
Until next time,
Vee851