A/N: Hey guys. So I'd like to start some things off with a few things you need to know, just take it as some boring details for a while:
This story consists of NozoEli, NicoMaki, and KotoUmi. Also TsubaHono, RinPana, and ErenAnju.
I'm still contemplating about which person belongs where. Read it later on and you'll know.
Don't mind my poor grammar and late updates in the future. I'm just a busy thirteen-and-a-half year old who can only use my damn computer on weekends with TaeKwonDo training thrice a week.
And I love pudding and chocolate chip cookies and anime and manga and-
Okay let's get on with it.
Chapter One: Closed Walls:
Turquoise eyes fluttered open as sunlight filtered through the thin sheets that served as curtains, not providing much shade. The light shone on the curled up figure until she woke up to the faint tolling of the old church bells from afar. Yawning softly and rubbing her eyes lazily, she groaned and crawled away from her bed. Or what she called a bed. It was just a thin mattress made of cheap patchwork she purchased from Yazawa Goods, lying upon a layer of newspapers.
"Good morning. Father, mother," Nozomi smiled weakly, gazing at the photo frame positioned on a small stool. Ever since she had turned eight, her parents had disappeared suddenly, leaving the vulnerable, young peasant girl to fend for herself. She had finally concluded, as she grew older, that she had been living alone all this while in her little cottage hut with her parents residing peacefully in Heaven, while she worked hard at the fields to earn money for the bare minimal of survival.
No sooner had the purplette washed up when she heard a soft knock at the door, a small smile crossing her face as she approached the entrance. Flinging open the door, the expected sight of a shy, younger light-brown-haired girl bringing the edges of her mouth upwards even more.
Hanayo Koizumi was Nozomi Tojo's good friend and fellow villager, who worked alongside with her at the fields. Shy and timid, the bespectacled girl with her rice-loving obsession was reserved even around her closest friends.
"H-Hello..." She tugged at the hem of her shirt shyly.
Nozomi smiled and wrapped her arms around her younger friend. "I'll get ready first." She hummed happily and walked into her room, settling down onto a small wooden chair in front of another cheap mirror she got from some equally cheap hardware store.
Grabbing hold of a black hairband, she decided to doll up a little more for today, braiding her hair in a slightly lopsided position so it slung onto her left shoulder before picking a decent outfit from her tiny cupboard. The thriving village of Unition didn't and couldn't really have a cause to dress up nicely a lot, but since today was the Harvest Festival, everyone could celebrate this joyous event at the central square later on, and the farmers could have some time off today as well. The Harvest Festival was a day where the whole village and townsfolk got together to make preparations for the sacrificial gods to shower the village with fortune and wealth for the rest of the year until the next festival, and until now, eighteen-year old Nozomi still didn't know why people worshiped the 'gods' so much. But then again, it was a rare and wonderful occasion to enjoy annually, which meant food to take back home for free. Sacks of rice and bundles of vegetables distributed. Tins of oil and chunks of firewood delivered. Something that was worth all the hard work hauling bundle after bundle of wheat onto a horse-cart to drive off and deposit to the small shrine uphill, where Nozomi's late parents used to work at. Now, she only went up to help a couple times a month.
But that wasn't the only reason why she was dressed up so nicely today. It was also because the Knights were coming back home.
The Knights of Unition were the very pride of their village, well-respected and the privileged ones in the village. Known for their courage, these chosen ones ventured out from the safety of the walls to journey on to slay dangerous beasts lurking in nearby forests and plains. to trade and make deals with neighboring countries and towns. However, the Unition Knights always stayed away from the Kingdom of Evilous, which was another thing Nozomi was baffled about. Evilous was the nearest country to Unition, but there were...
Rumors.
The things the townsfolk said about Evilous were never positive. They always claimed that it was a dark country, full of mysterious beasts and strange creatures, and some suspected that they worshiped the Devil, or were even terrifying monsters themselves.
Well, not that Nozomi ever cared. Maybe she could ask more from Hoshizora Rin, an energetic Knight who was friends with her and Hanayo, especially the latter.
But now, she had a job to be getting to.
"All right, everyone. Let's wrap it up here, then we'll move on the the Harvest preparations!"
Nozomi sighed with relief and wiped her sweat off with a little handkerchief she kept in her pocket, glad that the day's work was about to end. Putting in the last bit of cotton into the tightly-woven basket, she rubbed her aching back tiredly and stared into the seemingly-endless distance, knowing well enough that there was the vague sign of a towering grey wall surrounding the entire village.
She had always wanted to see what the outside world was like. How did animals look like? Well, other than the dead ones that served as a meal. What were these endless waters called the 'sea' she had always heard about from Rin, who claimed that it was rough waters laced with dangerous animals and predators and thousand salt crystals? Salt was a precious resource in their village, and it took dangerous trips just for it. Sure, they had streams and grass and fields and plains and buildings, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to explore the world so much more. All these limited grounds of the village just didn't seem right.
Then again, Nozomi couldn't express her longing to anyone. Unition's Chief Leader so happened to be a strong-willed Mrs. Minami, who thought that what this town had was already enough, and that they couldn't risk anymore trying to improve. Nozomi also heard that she had a daughter about a year her junior, but never really associated herself with her. Kotori Minami, was it? And there was some other girl who was her cousin or something like that who was usually seen with her. Ah, Kira Tsubasa. She was the daughter of a well-known merchant or trader. Tsubasa was a fairly nice person, with a gentle smile and kind heart, she was quite popular with the townsfolk of Unition.
"Ah! I better start getting ready to greet Rin at the Knights' Welcome Ceremony!" She grabbed the basket and placed it in the storage area, running off towards the main entrance of the Village of Unition. In the distance, she could spot a small head of light-brown hair bobbing among the tall rice fields and grasses, smiling fondly to herself.
Now all she needed was...
"Eh~ But I really want to tag along, Nico!" Whined a small, childish voice.
"Me too, me too!" Another voice piped up, accompanied with tugging on a decent-looking shirt.
"Knight!" A younger, boyish voice called out.
Yazawa Nico sighed, finishing up the last of the laundry and washing her raw, red fingers as her siblings continued pestering her."Look, it's not some game, okay? It's a serious ceremony. And my friend will be there, too."
"Pooh, no fun," Cocoa pouted, returning to play with her younger brother, Cotaro.
Cocoro turned around and waved to her sister happily. "Have fun then!" She was singing such a different tune than from just now, which made Nico smiled a little.
"I'll bring some peppermint candy for you guys later then. Be good!"
"Yay!"
Nico waved goodbye to her younger siblings with a smile, stepping out into the festive mood of the village as she rushed towards the entrance of the Village. She couldn't wait to meet up together with her good friends. With the shop and everything, she hardly found time to actually meet up with Nozomi and Hanayo. Rin didn't count because she was a Knight and she had duties every week and only one day off in those busy seven days.
Sometimes she valued friendship so much more than she thought she did. Or at least, she didn't.
A/N: And that concludes our first chapter! If you guys want updates, I'll try making chapters longer and stuff, becuase I can only upload once a week. My bad. And also I did notice after writing that...
I might have just written an Attack On Titan X Love Live Fanfiction.
Sorry.
Please don't kill me.
I still want pudding and chocolate chip cookies and candy.
Enjoy! Ja ne, minna!
(P. S. Please review your opinions.)
