"Zaku!" fourteen-year-old Mina ran towards the green-haired boy and tackled him in a hug, "I found you!" The surprised boy spun around to face his attacker and smiled when he realized who it was.
"Why, hello, Mina." He chuckled, "Are you ready to go yet?"
"Of course! Let's!" Mina giggled as the Battle Mage grabbed her small hand and led her towards said place.
The young girl placed a bouquet of beautiful white roses, her father's favourite type of flower, upon a tombstone. She stepped back right after she did and clasped her hands together to say a silent prayer.
Zaku stood beside her, saying a prayer of his own for his deceased commander. Mina made a sign of the cross and brought her hands down to her sides. She fiddled with the material of her white cotton dress.
"It's been 3 years, hasn't it?" The now grown up girl smiled to herself and sighed.
"Yes it has." Zaku simply replied and went back to being silent.
"He was the only one I had." She said softly.
"Pardon?"
"Father was the only one I had back then. That was why I was so afraid of losing him." She repeated.
"Oh…" Zaku blurted, not knowing what else he could say.
"But," Mina added with a genuine cheerful smile, "Lucky for me, I met you! You're kind, fun to play with and cool, just like my father."
The boy lightly smiled to himself in satisfaction and pride. He turned to look away from the girl as to hide his red face.
Before she could say anything further, Zaku interrupted, "It's getting late. Let's leave before it gets dark."
Mina looked up at the orangey-red sky that was already turning dark blue. Puzzled, she thought that it was too dark for 7 o' clock, but then again, winter was just around the corner and the days ended faster.
She kept her thoughts to herself, and instead nodded and took her friend's hand. They both walked out of the cemetery in a cloud of nostalgia. Before the silence could kill her, Mina began with her usual blabbering, "What shall we have for dinner, Zaku?"
"Hmm…anything you like." The quiet Battle Mage shrugged. Honestly, he didn't care. As long as there was food on the table.
Mina put on a thinker's pose and was drowned in her thoughts for a few seconds before exclaiming out loud, "Ahah! How does pasta sound?"
"Sounds good to me." Zaku mumbled as the girl clapped her hands and giggled. Then, she grabbed his hand and started running back to their house so fast, Zaku was almost being dragged behind.
"We'd better hurry then!" She yelled while running and dragging the unamused boy, "I'm hungry!"
"Zaku, could you please pass me those carrots on the cabinet?" The girl asked, gesturing toward the 3 baby carrots, both her hands full with a ladle in one and an onion in the other. "Sure." Zaku lazily replied as he passed her the carrots obediently.
"Thank you." Mina smiled as she threw the carrots into the tomato broth-filled pot. She stirred it a bit more and then tossed the onion she was holding in.
"Uhmm…shouldn't you have diced the onion or something first?" Zaku asked, furrowing his green eyebrows. The moment he had said that, the girl gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth.
"OH, MY!" She exclaimed and began to squeal, "I forgot! How could I forget about something like that?! Stupid…stupid…" She started hitting herself on the forehead with her balled-up fists.
"H-Hey, stop doing that. It's fine. It's not like I mind or anything." Zaku stuttered as he ripped her hands away from her forehead and held them in his.
"R-Really?" Mina squeaked, embarrassed, as she tried to pull her hands away from his strong grasp.
"Yeah." The Battle Mage shrugged and let go of her small pale hands, "Go ahead and continue cooking."
The red-faced girl nodded and quickly shifted her attention to the broth. Zaku walked out of the kitchen and sank into the living room couch as he waited for dinner to be ready. They have been living a simple and comfortable life like this for 3 long years. He was pretty much her bodyguard and friend.
The boy glanced over to the table right next to the couch and eyed the averagely thick book that was lying atop it. He made a grab for it and scanned the book cover. He then simply flipped through the pages, inhaling the fragrance of the paper.
"Dinner's ready." He was cut short from his actions by Mina's voice. He placed the book back on its original spot and walked towards the small dining table that had just enough space for the two of them.
He silently sat down in his seat as the smiling girl placed a large pasta-filled plate in front of him. "Thank you." He muttered. Mina giggled.
He was about to jab his fork into the pasta when the girl slammed her hands on the table. "What is it?" Zaku asked, annoyed. "Prayer before meals." Mina scolded as she clasped her hands together and grew silent. The hungry Zaku sighed and clasped his hands together as well, copying Mina.
After a good 2-minute prayer, they began eating.
"That was a good dinner." Zaku commented as he sat down on the couch beside Mina. The girl shot him a toothy smile and cuddled next to him.
"Thank, Zaku!" She nodded, nuzzling his arm. The astonished boy turned a light shade of red and gently shook her off before getting up. "It's late. Why don't we go to bed," He said, "Goodnight, Mina."
The disappointed girl watched him walk towards his room and shut the door behind him. Mina sighed and got up as well. Then, she walked towards HER room and closed the door.
The next day…
"Zaku! Stop staring at me like that, you pedobear!" Mina yelled as she swung her dragon staff in the Battle Mage's direction. He effortlessly dodged it, causing the outraged girl to get dragged along to the ground by her heavy staff.
"I'm only staring at you because I want to see whether the way you're holding that staff is correct." Zaku pointed out with a blank expression on his face, "And I'm NOT a pedobear."
"W-Well…" Mina pouted, still on the ground and defeated, "Y-You were creeping me out. That's all."
The Battle Mage sighed and pulled the girl back onto her feet and sighed, ruffling his hair. "Let's continue where we left off, shall we?" He said flatly.
"Uhmm…where were we again?" The girl scratched the back of her head cluelessly before giggling.
"I was about to have a duel with you." Zaku mentally face-palmed himself, but kept on a blank exterior. "Oh, yeah!" Mina burst out as she grabbed her staff, "But that's unfair! You're much more advanced and higher levelled than I am! You're obviously going to beat me."
"I'll go easy on you, okay?" Zaku assured her, "I won't use my fourth job skills. Fair enough?"
The girl thought for a while and finally nodded confidently. The two stood quite a distance away from each other in the vast park clearing, both buffed with readied staffs. "GO." Zaku commanded as she dashed towards the already nervous girl.
He fiercely lashed out at her with Dark Shock. The girl barely dodged the bolt of dark lightning and landed on the ground on her bum. She quickly got up as Zaku attacked her with Quintuple Blow. She teleported a few feet away from the more advanced Battle Mage and countered his attacks with a Dark Shock of her own.
Zaku easily dodged the attack and teleported right next to his friend. She gasped in surprise and before she could teleport away to safety, she was pulled towards him by a Dark Chain. It didn't deal any damage but slightly electrocuted her.
"Z-ZAKU!" She yelled, breaking free of the chain with all her might. "Sorry." He simply apologized before lashing out at her with his staff again.
"Z-Zaku, I'm tired already!" Mina cried out in exhaustion while dodging his attacks, "When does this duel end?!"
"When you finally manage to at least scratch me." He replied, not pausing his attacks at all.
"WHAT?!" Mina squealed incredulously, but was cut off when she got hit in the chest by another one of Zaku's strong Dark Shocks. The impact made her fall backwards onto the grass on her back.
Zaku blew the head of his staff, causing bits of smoke to escape from it. Mina slowly attempted to sit up but fell back onto the ground. She gently grabbed her chest and a squeak escaped her. The pain was excruciating.
The fourth jobber Battle Mage trotted towards his defeated friend and crouched down by her side. He pulled her up into a sitting position and placed a hand on her back for support. "The duel's not over yet, you know?" He smirked, "You haven't even planted a scratch on me. Get up and continue it when you're feeling better."
Before he could blabber further, the girl whacked him hard on the head with her metal staff. "OWW!" Zaku yelled as he lost his balance and fell onto the grass on his back. Mina fell back as well due to lack of support.
"Stupid girl! What was that for?!" He screamed, rubbing his injured head, "Damn! Now look! I'm bleeding."
"Don't yell at me. Thank me instead. I just ended the duel." Mina giggled and crawled next to the boy to lie down beside him.
"Ah, you- damn it." Zaku grumbled as he turned away from her, red-faced from embarrassment. Mina giggled again and finally managed to sit up on her own.
"There, there. I promise I'll nurse your head once we get home, okay?" She smiled gently, placing her hand atop his injured head to rub it. Zaku blushed even more, wanting to turn his face away to hide the redness, but he did not. If he did, she would pull her hand away.
"I-I'm fine. I'm not a child." The stubborn Battle Mage grunted as he sat up and eventually stood up, "Come on, let's go home already."
Mina laughed and snorted, "You're just impatient to go home because you want me to nurse you. If you deny it, it means it's true."
"Of course not, dummy. Why would I be so impatient for that?" Zaku sniffed, refusing to give in.
"See? You denied it. Admit it, you dumbass."
"No, I'm not going to. And that's because it isn't true."
"You can't resist me. Don't deny that!"
Alright! Second chapter: DONE. Sorry if it's a bit too fluffy and weird. I'm not the pro-est in these things but I just decided to make one. R&R please! :D