Blue VIII: A Changed Home
'Damn, why can't I shake off this feeling?' Ragna thought to himself as he sat in the builder's cart. 'I mean, I haven't been away from the village that long... it's only been a couple of days actually, what could've happened since then? At least we're almost there; Emily needs to get off this thing soon...'
The cart was packed tightly with the workers and the less said about the smell the better. Emily was not happy, she would have been miserable enough with her hatred with cart rides and her sickness that went along with it, but when she'd been on Jonathan's cart she'd at least been able to stretch her legs and have the time to survive the ordeal. Now she was squished between Eric and Silvana with barely any room to move, not that the others were much better off. Ragna had tried using the Azure ahead of time like he'd done earlier to make sure that Emily's ride back home would be a bit smoother, but the effect had worn off early and she had gone back to her groaning self long ago.
'I should at least give everyone some room,' Ragna thought before leaping out the side of the cart.
"Something wrong?" the driver in front asked, leaving Ragna to recall that he was the hired help for this expedition.
"No, nothing's wrong; just felt like walking the rest of the way," Ragna told him as he glanced around the area lit by the setting sun. "We're not far from the village anyways."
"Is that so? You recognize the path?" one of the builders asked. The Reaper nodded in response. "Good was afraid we were going to get lost. Traveling in the kingdom's already become more dangerous as of late with the bandit and monster attacks become more and more frequent."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Eric said as he managed to stretch his legs out some now that Ragna had left. Glancing back at his friend, Ragna could see that Eric was trying hard not to think about his town that had been destroyed by bandits before he'd been rescued and brought to the church. Naoto had recently become another example of someone who'd lost their home after an attack after he'd had to watch his hometown and family be slaughtered by goblins.
"That's why I'm here, in the case something does go wrong," Ragna reminded everyone.
"Is that so? Tell me stranger, do you fancy yourself a mercenary?" the lead driver asked.
"I don't fancy myself much of anything really," Ragna told him. "Really, I'm just a traveler trying to make his way around this crazy place." 'That's probably the most honest I've ever been with myself,' he thought to himself bluntly.
"You might consider it though, the way I hear it those who can fight like mercenaries, guards, and bounty hunters are where all of the jobs are going these days... That's the kind of age we live in now. It's actually a miracle we were able to find a few jobs in this place, I wouldn't have thought that too many people would proposed building a new town with all of the chaos."
'That's what I'm worried about, just what the hell is it that Ruth's trying to do?' Ragna thought to himself.
"It's kind of weird though," Naoto decided to say finally breaking his long standing silence. "You'd think that the knights would be protecting us; isn't that their job?"
"I wish kid, I really wish..." one of the workers grumbled. "Knight's only care about serving the king or their lord for an easy life and hide behind their 'honor' as a stupid excuse to ignore the rest of us. Trust me, you won't get far placing your trust in them."
"Not like sell-swords are much better," another put in. "They're the type to save a man's farm and then take the farm and the rest of the food as payment. And the Mages and their guild to tha north? The less said about those freaks and their black magic the better, it's probably because of 'em we have to deal with these monsters in the first place." While Ragna's eyes narrowed into a glare at the words, Silvana didn't say anything and kept her head down.
"Ugh... I can't take it anymore," Emily groaned before she slowly climbed out of the side of the cart. "Solid ground... at last..."
Hometown Gates
"Well that's new..." Ragna muttered as the cart finally neared the town. "Why the hell's there a stone wall around the town?" The barrier in question was about 4 feet in total height and looked like it wouldn't take much effort to knock over. The path into the town was open, but there were a couple of guards positioned there, including...
"Emily?" one of the members holding a sword exclaimed in surprise at one of the two members of the convoy that were walking.
"Uh... Hey dad," Emily said as she nervously scratched the back of her head. "We're back..."
"A-Already? But you've only been gone for a couple of days! What happened!?" her father shouted. Already a few of the other members of the guard were glancing at one another in concern at the display as he father looked over the inhabitants in the cart. "And where's that idiot Ragna!? Don't tell me he left you while you were on the road! The nerve of that heartless bastard..."
"Ouch," the Reaper muttered. Emily father looked at him with nothing more than contempt in his eyes until he got a better look at the man, recognizing the silvery hair and azure blue eyes.
"R-Ragna?" the guard said in amazement as he looked at the man who now stood taller than him. "It... it...it-"
"It's a long story Joshua," Ragna finally interrupted as he crossed his arms. "What's happened to the town since I've left; more to the point,what's Ruth been doing?"
"He's... Well, it's probably better for you to go in and see for yourself," Joshua told him before looking to the builders. "More workers I take it? Put your cart with the others and head for the biggest building in the town, you'll be sorted out there."
"Alright then, looks like our stop," Eric said as he headed out of the cart, followed by Naoto, and-
"Wait, isn't that the half-elf?" one of the townguard asked as they glared at Silvana. "We shouldn't let her back in the-"
"She's with me. Got a problem with that?" Ragna's tone put the men still. With his increased height, Ragna's voice had become as deep as it once had been back in his home world and his narrowed, harsh, and glowing blue eyes now held a demon's gaze that nearly sent the town guard trembling. Seeing Ragna trying to keep her safe, Silvana decided she'd stay as close as she could to her Reaper guide for now. With the guards unable to stop them, the five headed into their changed hometown.
The changes to their home were apparent, but since the four hadn't been out of the town for that long the projects were mostly in their beginning stages. The only completed building was a rather large shack built not far from the center of the town that was about twice the size of Aaron's church. Taking just a quick look inside, the four saw that with the number of beds this was likely the barracks for the workers of the town.
Closer to the center of the town, foundations were being laid for a different building. Already the wooden base had been build and wooden beams that would stretch out a lay the foundations for the walls had been built up as well. The workers had already finished their work for the day, so the project laid unguarded. The only thing left was a sign in the front with parchment nailed to it.
"What's it say?" Emily asked as she lacked the ability to read.
"Um... I can try reading it," Naoto told the others, who only glanced to him in surprise. "B-back in my home town, my sister used to read all of the time... I'm nowhere as good as she was, but I can read a little."
"That so?" Ragna questioned. "Well then, take your best shot kid."
At his rescuers encouragement, the youngest of the group began to carefully read the sign. "This is to be the... site of Ga-... Galevon's first inn. No tre... tross..."
"Trespassing, but good try," Ragna told him as he appeared to be deep in thought. "Galevon though..."
"Village name?" Silvana asked him.
"No, as far as I know this town's never had a name," Emily told him. "In all the time we've been here, no one ever gave this place an actual name. Kids, adults, merchants; we all just called this place the village."
"Tch, so now that I'm gone Ruth goes out of his way to go and give this place a name of his own, and what else would he pick other than his family name?" Ragna grumbled
"Ruth's family has a name?" Eric asked, the news an apparent surprise to him. "Never heard of that before... I mean, does that mean his family actually has some sort of power or something?"
"Probably not, or else they'd have tried taxing the village long ago," the Reaper explained. "No surprise you've never heard of it though; I've maybe heard them call each other by that name only two or three times and always in secret... No idea why they don't talk about it though."
"Bad history?" Silvana suggested, offering her insight.
"Maybe kid, maybe," Ragna told her before he sighed. "It's getting late, I should get Naoto to Aaron, maybe see if I can't get some answers from the old man."
"You guys go on ahead then, I should probably go and see my mum and brother," Emily told them before sighing. "No doubt they're going to drown me in questions about my trip when my father gets back."
"God speed, something tells me that you're going to need it," Eric told her as the group split up and the remaining four headed to church where Eric and Ragna had been raised (Ragna for a second time). "Which reminds me, you think Aaron's going to mind if we try to crash with him for a while?"
"I doubt it," Ragna told him. "He's probably still got beds open for you, Naoto, and Silvana. If worst comes to worst though, I can always sleep outside like I used to."
"Tch, and leave the joy of putting the younger ones to sleep to me? Fat chance," Eric muttered as he thought back to a week prior. Ragna merely chuckled. "Yeah, go ahead and laugh..."
Much to Ragna's relief it looked like the church hadn't been changed in the slightest, still standing the same as he'd left it. Since it was evening, Ragna heard sounds of chatter and laughter coming from inside his second home as the orphanage began their evening meals. He gave a content sigh before turning to the rest of his group. "Wait here for a sec, I'm just going to talk to Aaron real quick."
"Shouldn't we all see him together?" Eric asked before he realized what Ragna was getting at. "...You know we're still going to watch right?"
"Watch what?" Naoto asked with curiosity.
"You'll see kid," Eric said with a smirk as Ragna glared at him. "Well? Go on, it's not getting any brighter out here."
With another sigh the Reaper headed for the front of the orphanage, stopping when he'd made it to the front door. Glancing back, Ragna saw the others were clearly waiting with anticipation at what would happen. Shaking his head, Ragna rapped his fist on the door a few times. The chatter and laughter whiten the church stilled for a moment.
"Who could that be at this hour?" came Aaron's familiar voice. Ragna heard the wizened man mildly grumble to himself as he rose from the table and head over to the front door before opening it. Unsurprisingly, it didn't look like the old man had gone through any drastic changes, which is more than what could be said about himself. Aaron looked at Ragna for a long moment of silence, his face void of all emotion. "...What in the name of the Seven happened to you?"
"I..." Ragna began, realizing he should have come up with an excuse or something that he could tell the Father. "I don't know," he said shaking his head sadly and trying to ignore his friends snickering from behind him.
"You've been gone for a grand total of only six days; not even a full week..." Aaron began, his tone telling Ragna that it didn't matter that he was now taller than his former caretaker; he could still get a lecture all the same. "You talk about wanting to leave the town and go off to join the Mage's Guild, you bring Eric and Emily along with you... and now you're back at my door step as a clueless giant?"
"...To be honest, I had a different reason for coming back," Ragna told them as he stepped out of the way. Glancing where the Reaper had been standing Aaron saw and recognized Eric and Silvana, but his eyes narrowed when they landed on Naoto.
"...I understand," Aaron said after only a moment of examining the boy. "We don't have much supper left, but the again we weren't expecting a homecoming tonight."
"I can make more food if you need me to, been wanting to cook something for a while anyways," Ragna offered before gesturing for his friends to come over, which they did. "Naoto this is Aaron; the priest who raised Eric and I. Aaron, this is Naoto; I met him on my travels."
"Pleasure to meet you young one," Aaron told the youth as he knelled so he was seeing Naoto at eye level. The young child was shy under the elder's gaze, and hid behind Ragna's legs. "He seems to like you at least... Eric, it's nice to have you back."
"Nice to be back," the Axe user told the Father as he gave the old man a short hug which was surprisingly returned. Without further invitation, the axe user made his way back into the church. "Hey guys! You miss me!?"
"Ragna... go in?" Silvana asked the Reaper as Eric received his enthusiastic welcome.
"Nah, I'll wait a bit, let Eric have his moment and all that," Ragna explained before looking to Silvana. "Guest room still open for her?"
"Always, there's always a place here for you Silvana; most of the orphans have actually been talking about how much they missed you," the priest told her kindly. Silvana gave a small smile before heading into the building herself. "Which leaves Naoto..."
"Go ahead and get him acquainted, I'll head in later," Ragna told the priest as he looked down at Naoto. "These kids that you're going to be staying with a good people, you'll be in good hands kid."
"Okay, and... thanks for getting me here," Naoto told Ragna before heading inside.
"His story?" Aaron asked.
"...I'll give you the details later, for right now I just want some air," the Reaper told him.
"You come back and the first thing you want is to spend time alone? I don't think I'll ever understand you," Ragna's surrogate father told him.
"Like you said, I was gone for less than a week," Ragna rebutted with a smirk. "Not enough time for anyone to miss me."
"You'd be surprised," Aaron told him as he headed inside. "...Welcome home."
'Old timer's softer than he lets on,' Ragna thought to himself as he smiled contently, listening to the merry conversation and laughter that his friends were enjoying inside... before noticing the newcomer approaching him. 'And there goes the good mood...'
"I heard you'd come back," Ruth said as he made his way forward. Oddly enough, the ledger he was always seen carrying was absent. His nose seemed to have healed in full from the beating Ragna had given him. His eyes were focused on Ragna in a bit of scowl which was returned in full. "I wasn't expecting a giant..."
"What do you want Ruth?" Ragna asked trying to get right to the point. Surprisingly, Ruth didn't look like he was going to back down.
"Just to talk... and your help." The Reaper shook his head. "I'm putting all of my plans out in the open Ragna, and this isn't just about me; it's about the village itself."
"Yeah, well give me one good reason I should trust you..." he told his long standing antagonizer with a scowl.
"I don't have one, and you probably wouldn't want to trust me after I tried to force Aaron and the orphans from the church." Ragna felt his blood go cold at Ruth's words.
"...Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to tell me that?" Ragna demanded, trying to keep his anger in check so he wouldn't summon his azure.
"If I'm going to have you trust me, I don't want any secrets to come back to bite me," Ruth told him. "Can I at least explain myself?"
"...What the hell happened to you since I left?" Ragna demanded with a scowl. "You were never this polite when I was around..."
"That's just it," Ruth told him. "You were gone, so I could actually start thinking straight... a few harsh words from my parents and the rest of town helped with that as well."
"...Talk then," the Reaper ordered as he crossed his arms.
"I have a problem with the workers; only a third have made it village and those that did have told me stories about monsters, bandits, and other problems that are plaguing the roads... and they might not be that far from the village."
"You think we're going to get attacked?" Ragna asked.
"It's more than likely," Ruth told him. "Some of the builders have said that over half of the travelers on road have been found dead or go missing, and attacks on small villages are another matter entirely... and with ours about to expand, it could become a perfect target for our supplies."
"Should have thought about that before you tried to expand, idiot," the Reaper bit. "So what? What do you want me to do about it?"
"...I can tell from personal experience that you can at least throw a punch, and you've got a sword now; I need you to help the town guard," Ruth told him. "I hired a group of sell-swords to help protect the village; they've got a good reputation, but it's going to take them a few days to get here. Until then, I want you to help protect the village; I need every man I can get there."
"...Tch, fine, I was planning on staying here a few days anyways," Ragna admitted. "...But, are you really trying to turn a village into an actual town at your age? Sounds way too ambitious."
"It's thanks to you that I'd even considered it," Ruth told him as he clenched his hands into trembling fists. "You think you had it rough growing up in some orphanage where everyone treated you like you were the greatest thing just because you didn't have parents? I had to grow up in a house where I'd be compared to you day in and day out by the parents I had. Ragna wouldn't have made that mistake, Ragna works twice as you do, on and on and on... Is it really no wonder I grew up hating you? I've been working on this since my eighth summer; I had to do something to prove I was just as good as you, if not better."
'So that's Ruth's story...' Ragna thought to himself with a sigh. "Still, that doesn't excuse what a dick you've been this whole time."
"I wouldn't think so, but at least you can see where I'm coming from," Ruth told him. "So if you won't help me, at least help the village that seems to love you so much."
"Fine, fine, you've made your point," Ragna told him with a groan. "Consider the hatchet buried or whatever, It's not like I ever had a bone to pick with you in the first place."
"...If we're both being honest; I still hate you," Ruth told him before smirking. "And I don't think that's ever going to change."
"At least you're being forward," Ragna said with a sigh as his old rival left the orphanage. "Looks like I can still make things complicated, even when I'm not trying to... Well, not like I can get killed by it or anything..." Sighing to himself the Reaper looked back at the Orphanage that he'd grown up in as his stomach gave a small rumble. "Unkillable or not, I still gotta eat..."
Heading back inside the church, Ragna saw that everyone had been joined at the dinner table and everyone was about to wrap up dinner, Eric telling the occasional story while a couple of the orphans laughed at the sheer oddity. Ragna also noticed that Silvana who was trying to eat calmly to herself was being bugged by a couple of the kids, now asking if she could really use magic. Naoto was also being bothered, but it didn't look like it was anything that he couldn't handle, albeit somewhat awkwardly. Ragna dearly hoped that the Orphanage still had some diner left; dealing with them all and their countless questions on an empty stomach was hardly something he'd consider fun.
'Well let's do this...' Ragna said as he finally stepped into the kitchen room and revealed himself. The orphans of the church took a moment to notice him, but when they did the orphanage was quickly filled with silence as they stared at the changed Reaper before them. "...Why don't you paint a picture; it'll last longer." Continued silence. "...Hello? Anyone ho-"
"RAGNA!" came the shout from several orphans. The Reaper barely had time to brace himself before he took a nearly crippling tackle from several children of the orphanage. The Reaper was lucky that more excitable also meant smaller as he didn't have to put up with too much weight at the several children that were clinging to him with their hugs. It was then he was hit with the barrage of questions.
"How'd you get so big?"
Where did you find that coat?"
"Can you make one for me?"
"Is that your sword?"
"One at a time, one at time!" the Reaper shouted, but to no avail as the questions just kept coming as was the strain on his body from being gripped by all of the youths. Ragna gave a sad sigh as he looked at the kids, knowing he was in for an exhausting night. Still... it didn't hurt to be back.
The Next Day
"So... this is what you were talking about," Naoto said from where he sat upon the stone wall. The youth was still holding onto his wooden practice sword tightly, refusing to ever go far without it.
"Yep, this is what I was getting at," Eric told him smugly as he crossed his arms and leaned against said wall, watching as the scene played out before the two.
"I'm telling you for the last time, he's going to be coming of to my house for dinner tonight!" Sora shouted as she fiercely clung to Ragna's left arm.
"The other have missed him for months and you want to take him from us!?" Lilith shouted in return as she gripped Ragna's right arm. "We're going to have dinner together and Ragna's offered to help make it!"
"Hold it tomorrow night! I already made plans with him and my family!"
"You hold it tomorrow! At least I'm not trying to hog him for myself!"
With the two cooks shouting at each other and a line of sparks seeming to show between their absolutely heated glares, Ragna would likely be planting his palm square upon his face at this very moment, were his arms not otherwise occupied with his two aficionados. For now, he could do little more than give an awkward smile and hope that their duel of hearts ended soon. The Reaper was at least relieved that he'd changed out of his new coat and black clothing so that they weren't stretched and was now wearing some basic village wool clothing that he'd crafted last night. He still carried his bastard sword on him with the straps around his new clothing.
"So he just stands there and listens to them do that in front of him?" Naoto asked in concern.
"Normally yeah, I mean there was one time where Emily actually tried to break the four of 'em up... It didn't end well," Eric said darkly as he thought back to the day.
"Three of them?" Naoto asked. "How is this Ragna's fault?"
"It isn't, there's just another girl that usually a part of this; Hilda," Eric explained. "Of course she couldn't be here today because she's still in school while the other two are free as can be with their duties as cooks. It didn't stop her from trying to skip class when she'd heard he'd returned though."
"Why are they so crazy about him though?" Naoto asked.
"Wish I knew, but I hope it's not the silver hair; I'm not willing to go that far to get some attention of my own," Eric told him with a chuckle. "Speaking of which, man to man; which one would you go for?"
"Neither, I don't have time for girls," the youth told the axe user. Eric was surprised at both Naoto's tone and his words, only noticing that Naoto was gripping his practice sword even tighter for some reason.
"Hey, don't get all moody on me," Eric told him, his own tone serious enough to break Naoto out of his own state. The youth worriedly glanced at the older boy as he worried that he did something wrong, but the next moment Eric's serious face turned to a playful smile. "That's supposed to be Ragna's job."
"R-Right..." Naoto said still caught a little off guard.
"Are you two enjoying the show?" came a familiar voice. "Move over and make some room for me."
"H-Hello Emily," Naoto said to her as the huntress leaped up to take her seat on the wall on the far side of Eric.
"So, how was last night with the family?" Eric asked.
"Meh, my dad was acting like such a worry-wort the entire time, like he doesn't know that I already have to put my life on the line every time I go hunting."
"You bring that up and he'll just try to keep you from hunting in the first place," Eric reminded.
"Why did you think I made sure not to?" Emily asked rhetorically with a sigh before she looked at the girls and Ragna who was trying not to cringe as they continued to argue. "So how long-"
"Ten minutes," Eric told her.
"And Hilda?"
"School," Eric said, before looking at Naoto. "Which reminds me, starting tomorrow you're going to be in school as well."
"What? But what about you guys!?" Naoto asked worriedly.
"I'm usually out hunting during the day, so I'm already putting my work in," Emily told him.
"And I was out tending the fields during harvest, so I've got an out too," Eric explained with a smile. "C'mon kid, even Silvana's taking classes now. It can't be so bad."
"I never liked school... It was only cause of my sister that I ever managed to learn anything," Naoto told them both sadly. "But I don't want to go to school anyways, I want to learn how to use a sword."
"Woah kid, that's still a long ways off for you," Eric told him.
"So that's why I want to learn from Ragna!" he shouted at both of them. "And... he'll be leaving soon for who knows how long."
"...Tell you what, I'll make a little bet with you," Eric told him with a smile as he gestured to Ragna and the girls. "If you can break that up, Emily and I will find a way to keep you out of classes until we leave? Deal?"
"Deal," Naoto said as he leaped off of the wall and headed over to the commotion.
"...You didn't need to be cruel to him," Emily told him with a smirk.
"Who ever said I was; I'm giving him a chance after all," the axe user told her.
"Right and that chance is how small exactly?" the huntress questioned.
"...Larger than you think apparently," Eric said. Confused, Emily turned her head back to the scene in play, watching in awe as Lilith and Sora both seemed to have let go of Ragna's arms and were departing without complaint, though they both looked a tad disappointed. "The little kid has more charm than we give him credit for."
Naoto was smiling from ear to ear as he made his triumphant return while Ragna just gave a relived groan as he made his way over.
"We had a deal right?" Naoto said happily as he looked from Eric to Emily, both having darkness cast over their faces.
"Aaron's going to kill you, you know?" Emily told Eric bluntly.
"Don't try to shift all of the blame on me; I said that we would find a way," Eric told her.
"I never agreed to that."
"You never disagreed either."
"Do I even want to know?" Ragna demanded with a narrowed glare as he crossed his arms.
"They told me that if I managed to break those two up that they'd find a way to keep me out of school until you leave," Naoto told him proudly before noticing Ragna's harsher glare upon Emily and Eric. "I... I can do it can't I?"
"Naoto... you need to attend the elder's lessons," Ragna told him. "Look, stuff like this is important."
"But... but they promised... and I still want to learn how to use a sword," Naoto told him sadly. "It's just until you leave..."
"There's no telling how long that's going to be, I might be here for an entire week..." Ragna told the youth. The devastated child looked like he was close to tears, making the Reaper submit rather quickly. "Alright, alright... I'll talk to Aaron and we'll try to figure something out."
"Promise?" Naoto asked him.
"Yeah, yeah, kid, I promise... Jeeze, and I thought the puppy dog eyes you gave the girls were convincing enough..." Ragna muttered. "Now... how the hell am I going to put this to the old man?"
Later -The Church Library-
"Absolutely not," Aaron told Ragna with a scowl as he, the Reaper, and Silvana sat in the church's library. The young half-elf wasn't exactly there to join in the conversation, more so to catch up on her reading while the others argued with one another.
"C'mon old man. It's not going to be forever, just until I head off," Ragna tried to defend.
"My answer is still no, that child will be attending the lessons starting tomorrow," the priest insisted. "I'm not about to let one of the children of my orphanage skip their teachings just because they managed to settle one of your petty affairs."
"I already told you, that wasn't my fault!" Ragna exclaimed bitterly.
"And yet here you are; sitting before me and asking to take him out of classes," Aaron said before shaking his head. "Why do you even bother? If Emily and Eric had only asked me I would have told them off and have been done with all of this."
"Kind of the reason why I'm here; I'm probably the only one with a chance of convincing you," Ragna told him. "Look, the kid's already pretty smart for his age; he knows his numbers, he can add and subtract, and he's able to read a bit. What's the problem?"
"The problem is that wooden sword he's carrying," Aaron told Ragna with a scowl. "...Have you taught him how to use it?"
"...Just a couple of basics while we were on the road," the Reaper admitted. "Look, he was still hit hard after having to watch what happened to his family. This was something to keep his mind off of it."
"Was it?" Aaron asked. "Or is the child just developing the starting thoughts of revenge?"
"That's not where this is going; trust me the kid's nothing like that," Ragna told him with a glare. "He's not doing this sort of thing just for the sake of killing or for some useless honor crap; he just wants to be able to save people like I saved him. Can you really blame him for that?"
"Perhaps not, but that still won't excuse him from classes," Aaron told Ragna with a scowl.
"Can't I just teach 'im? I mean I can make sure he knows how to read for one thing. No offense to the elder, but he might get more learning from me anyways."
"The lessons are important, but at this point they're only secondary," Aaron told him. "Naoto's close to your group, but how well will he fare once you leave the village? Having him spend time with the others will prepare him for when you leave. If he continues to only spend his time with the four of you, how well will he manage to fare when you're gone?"
"Old man..." Ragna growled, slowly reaching his wits end.
"Aaron makes... Good points," Silvana admitted from where she was reading her book. Taking another look at the young half-elf another idea started to form inside Ragna's mind.
"Hear me out on this..." Ragna told Aaron. The priest nodded, letting him know that he'd reserve his judgment until Ragna finished. "Back before I left, you had me taking care of Silvana and that worked out okay. I mean, some of the people still like her to this day, even after the whole... incident at the festival."
"Ruth's fault," the half-elf input with a pout.
"I know, I know, but that's not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at is when I was taking care of Silvana, she spent a lot of time around the town and got to know the people and learned a lot in the process. She played with 'em, cooked with Lilith a few times, read some stories and even learned a thing or two about foraging from Emily. Why can't I do that with Naoto? Hell, he'd probably learn even more than if he was stuck in the elder's lessons."
"...You may have a point," Aaron was forced to admitted. "However, you told me that Ruth would need you on guard duty until the other guards he hired made their way to the town. Wouldn't watching Naoto interfere with that?"
"It's less I'm a member of the town guard and more I'll be there to help if there's ever a threat to the village," the Reaper told the priest. "Naoto will be fine, and I'll make sure to keep the town safe while I'm here. It's not going to be a problem."
"I hope you're right," the bearded old man said before he gave a relenting sigh. "Very well, you can spend your time with him if your so adamant about it, but I want the results you told me about Ragna, otherwise I'll put him back into the elder's class immediately. Understood?"
"A chance is all I'm asking for," Ragna told him.
"Though, there is something that I found odd the more I thought of it," Aaron admitted. "You already told me about saving Naoto from the goblins, but why did you end up going to his town in the first place?"
"I was asked to help out be a guy named Kagura in Trudalla after he found out what had happened in the village," Ragna explained.
"I see... and was that before or after your... change?"
"Before," Silvana told him truthfully.
"Which then begs the question, how did this Kagura character know of your skills to begin with?"
Despite being at a crossroads and the possibility of receiving yet another lecture from his old caretaker, Ragna decided to take the honest road. "Because I beat him in the Holy Horizon qualifiers, won the whole qualifier round in fact." Aaron's expression a rare one of shock and surprise as he stared at Ragna, trying to see if he was being serious or not.
"You've had no formal training aside from teaching yourself, your body was bolstered substantially in the few days you've been gone, and now you're telling me that you were able to win the first few matches for the largest tournament the kingdom will ever see in our lifetime?"
"So you did know about this thing," Ragna muttered.
"Of course, I was taught of many of this kingdom's traditions in my days as a priest in training," Aaron told him, causing Ragna to finally realize that Aaron had to be taught about the church's workings by someone. "But are you serious? You managed to win the qualifier round in Trudalla against the countless others who must have been training for years to participate?"
"Yeah, that's the truth," Ragna admitted.
"Met prince... and princess... with Emily... at ball," Silvana told them, uncomfortable with how much she was forced to stretch out her sentence. Aaron's deep gaze at Ragna was unreadable, not even his eyes showing any signs of emotion.
"...I've raised you since you were left on my doorstep on a cold and rainy night," Aaron told him. "You had just been born with your mother's life rope still on you underneath the swaddle... Even since I first saw you, I've always seen that there was something different about you from the other child. The way you talked, the way you acted, and even the way you learned defied anything I had ever seen before in either child or adult... Ragna, be honest with me... who are you?"
"I wish I knew..." Ragna told him seriously. 'It's only half a lie at least, I still have no idea how all of all of this goes together.'"You don't think I'm some kind of freak do you?"
"Never, not once in my life; I've just had more difficulty understanding you at certain times," Aaron admitted. "So... who did you chose to try and represent in the tournament?"
"Reslavia, obviously. I thought you'd know me better than that by now old timer," Ragna accused as Aaron raised his hands in his own defense. "So if I make it through the tournament, I'll be a Paladin Lord for this church?"
"Possibly, it depends on how well you do in the final round and the gods or goddesses the other contestants chose to follow," Aaron explained. "In the final round there will be seven participants left and you'll each have the choice of what deity you want to represent. The winner of the tournament chooses their deity first, followed by second place choosing theirs, and so on and so forth. I'm surprised you're planning on going that far."
"Haven't decided yet," Ragna admitted. "I'm mainly heading to the second round only because I made a promise to Kagura that I'd help 'em through that one."
"Tch, so your obligations only go so far as the promises you personally make then?" Aaron questioned. "Why am I surprised, it fits you perfectly Ragna... Just make sure you stay out of trouble, the churches aren't known for the forgiveness and their treatment towards heretics can be... severe."
'...Is he speaking from experience?' Ragna thought to himself, but only nodded at the advice before rising to his feet. "We're done here then..."
"You're leaving? I thought we'd be eating soon," the priest asked with confusion.
"When Naoto saved me earlier, he made false dinner plans for me... which I'm going to have to make good on if I'm going to avoid those two getting into another fight."
"The shackles of popularity don't fit well upon you," the priest said with a rare trace of whimsy. "Who's to have you as their dining partner tonight then?"
"Emily's family... and something tells me that I'm in for a night of questions," Ragna said with a small groan as he made his way out of the library.
"...Pity him?" Silvana asked the priest.
Aaron smirked. "Not in the slightest..."
That Evening -Emily's House-
'Dammit, there's more tension here than when I was dining with the royalty,' Ragna thought to himself with as he was seated at the family table next to Emily. On the other side of the two sat Emily's younger brother Ludor, her mother Elizabeth, and her father Joshua.
Ludor was clearly the easiest of them to deal with, seeing Ragna almost as a short extension of his family given the time the Reaper had been known to spend with his sister. While Elizabeth had never done anything to slight Ragna personally, given the... awkward beginnings he'd had with her, the Reaper just found her hard to be around. And then there was Emily's father Joshua, the overprotective father of the bunch. Even since they'd been kids, Joshua had always seen Ragna as a bad influence on his daughter; like he was solely responsible for making her start taking risks and having a much more adventurous spirit. When Emily had decided to leave the Elder's classes so that she could start hunting, Joshua had seen fit to lecture the both of them even though the decision had been largely Emily's.
"...Thanks for having me?" Ragna began awkwardly, not really sure where to begin in that situation.
"It's always nice to see you Ragna, it's actually a shame you don't visit more often," Elizabeth told the Reaper before she smiled brightly. "Though its a surprise you've grown so much in the short time since you've left the village. I bet you've been having a hard time keeping the girls away from you."
A slight blush lit up on the Reaper's face. "Not exactly..."
"Tch, he's still denying it," Emily muttered before taking a sip of her mother's stew.
"So how'd you get so big in the first place?" Ludor asked with excitement in his eyes. "C'mon tell me. I'm tired of being so small compared to some of the bigger kids. Was it magic?"
"Not a clue," Ragna told him. "It just... happened really... A lot of the priests were making a big deal about it though."
"What, did they start to think you were a demon?" Joshua demanded, leaving Ragna annoyed at himself that he'd brought it up in the first place. "...Not saying that you are, but if they think you are and my daughter is tied to you-"
"Dad! I've been fine, they didn't do anything that bad to him anyways," Emily exclaimed at her father. "Though... they really didn't know what to think about him; first they thought the gods had punished him when he passed out, then they though they'd blessed him when he woke up with his new body just to save face."
"Mind your manners Emily; they're still holy men," Elizabeth chided.
"Yeah, well I've learned not all holy men are as warmhearted as the old man," Ragna muttered.
"I never said that they were," Emily's mother admitted. "But, have you been fighting with the church?"
"More like he's been fighting for them actually," the huntress admitted. "He entered this big tournament and if he gets far enough in it he can actually be chosen to represent one of the Churches."
"You're serious? That's awesome!" Ludor exclaimed, giving a massive smile at Ragna. "So you'll be really important then?"
"Aren't I already?" the Reaper joked. "But, I mean it's still a long way off and I don't have any idea how long this thing is really supposed to take."
"You're still going to look after my daughter though, right?" Joshua demanded. "The only reason I even considered letting my daughter go in the first place is because I trusted that you, Eric, and the merchants would look after her, but if you're going to be in a tournament-"
"I'll be there for her when she needs me, and I think Emily's capable of taking care of herself," Ragna assured.
"So she's been telling us," the guardsman admitted. "She won't tell us the trouble she's gotten into though."
"She almost took my eye out for one thing," Ragna admitted, surprising the rest of the table.
"We were training!" Emily shouted.
"You were still using actual arrows," he told her with a grimace.
"I need to keep using my bow! I'm not nearly as good with a sword as you are!"
"Which means you still need to work on using one," Ragna retaliated calmly. It was then that the two noticed Elizabeth giggling to herself. "What's so funny?"
"The two of you; you both fight like you're a married couple," Emily's mother told them as a matter-of-fact.
"Like hell!" the two shouted with clear blushes upon their faces before realizing that they had done so simultaneously, glanced at each other, then turned away with embarrassment.
"If they were married, wouldn't Ragna be my older brother?" Ludor asked hopefully.
"In a way, and if they got married maybe they'd at least decide to settle down and live a quite life," Joshua decided.
"YOU'RE ALRIGHT WITH IT!?" the two shouted again, once more realizing that they had spoken out in unison. Elizabeth giggled at the display of the two while Ludor laughed at their expressions. Ragna didn't say anything, only continuing to eat and quite nearly wishing that he'd just taken Hilda and Sora's fighting earlier.
The Next Morning -Orphanage-
A Fitting Second
"Naoto. Naoto! It's time to get up," Ragna said as he tried to awaken the youth by gently shaking him. "Come on, up and at 'em."
"Ragna?" Naoto muttered as he slowly raised his head from his head from his bed and opened his eyes. "Why are you making me get up when it's dark out?"
"Aaron said I could teach you instead of sending you to the Elder's lessons, so we're getting started early," Ragna told the youth. Excitement in his eye, Naoto's hand immediately went for his practice sword. "Whoa now, you're not going to be needing that until later."
"Then why did you bother waking me up before anyone else was even up?" Naoto asked with a groan.
"Because there's a lot more that I can teach you besides how to use a sword," Ragna told him with a smirk. "Come on, get you clothes on and I'll put you to work."
'Put me to work?' Naoto thought with worry,but complied none the less. Soon the two were outside in the chilly and dark morning. "Now what?"
"See that water barrel?" Ragna asked and Naoto nodded. "Your first job's going to be to fill it with water from the well. You'll find the bucket next to it. Try not to spill to much or you'll have to make a couple of extra trips."
"Filling the water bucket? But that's easy," Naoto complained.
"Then go ahead and get started, it shouldn't take you too long with that attitude," Ragna told him with a smirk. "I'm gonna chop some fire wood so come and find me when you're done."
Halfway through the project, Naoto was starting to wish that he'd keep his mouth shut. Since the orphanage was outside of town trips between the well and the water barrel were longer than he would've liked. Adding to the fact that the church was on a hill on the town borders so ever time he filled a bucket up with water it would be a long trek uphill in order to dump it in the barrel. If he didn't fill the bucket up far enough he'd barely fill any of the barrel, but filling it too much it would be hard to carry and easy for the water to spill. He eventually got the thing filled, but by then the sun was starting to rise.
"That... sucked..." he moaned as he dropped the empty bucket and tried to catch his breath. He was about to head over to the firewood pile, but then noticed that Ragna was actually sitting on top of the church's roof with Silvana. "I thought you were chopping fire wood!"
"Quiet kid, there's no need to wake the whole orphanage," Ragna muttered before he leaped off of the roof and landed in front of Naoto. Normally the youth would be startled, but he was too upset and exhausted to care. "I finished up a while ago anyways... not bad though."
"It was a pain to do," Naoto groaned. "So... what's next?"
"Breakfast," the Reaper told him. Naoto gave a sigh of relief, at least he could get a break while Lilith prepared the meals and- "So, know how to cook?"
"Eh?" the youth asked with fearful eyes.
"Cooking, know anything about it?" the Reaper asked a second time. Naoto shook his head, terrified. "Figures, but now it's time for you to start learning."
"B-But I thought that only the women were supposed to cook!" Naoto exclaimed.
'Sometimes I forget about the backwards thinking of this era,' Ragna thought to himself mournfully. "If that's the case, what do you think you're supposed to do if you're on the road and there's not a woman in sight? Starve? Men can learn to cook just like a woman can learn how to work the fields. Nothing stopping you from learning."
Naoto didn't offer a response only waiting and watching as Silvana descended from the roof using her wind magic. "Ragna... Want help?"
"Maybe tomorrow Silvana, today I'm just going to be teaching Naoto the basics of how to cook," the Reaper told her. Silvana looked slightly disappointed, but nodded in understanding. "Come on kid, let's get started."
Heading into the kitchen the two saw Lilith getting the supplies ready for the meal. The cook then noticed the two with an expression of slight surprise. "Oh Ragna, are you going to help with breakfast today?"
"Yeah, but I'm actually trying to show Naoto the ropes of cooking, mind if the kid joins in the next couple of days?" the Reaper asked.
"If it's for you Ragna, anyone can join in if they want," the cook told him happily. Naoto looked up at the Reaper in question of his supposed popularity, but Ragna didn't seem to notice. "Well if you two can grab some fire wood for us, we'll get started."
"You heard her kid, there's some fresh chopped fire wood in the back," Ragna said with a smirk. Naoto sighed as he headed off, starting to wonder if they'd ever get around to the sword lessons.
The rest of the day proceeded very much the same way with Ragna issuing different chores or even lessons to Naoto. After breakfast, he'd begun teaching the youth from the books in Aaron's library, trying to complete his ability to read. Then they moved on to preparing lunch, then cleaning the laundry with Hilda and Sora, then a practice run around the village. By the time Ragna finally thrust the practice sword into Naoto's hands, the youth was physically and mentally exhausted.
"Come on," Ragna told him as he held a regular branch in his own hands for their lesson behind the church. "This is what you spent all day trying to get to isn't it?"
"I know! It was just a pain to get here!" Naoto said as he tried to keep his arms steady.
"I was doing the exact same thing when I was your age kid," the Reaper informed the youth. "Now, let's see what you can do." With a challenging shout, Naoto rushed forward and tried to hit Ragna head on, only for the Reaper's branch to find itself pointed at the youth's neck. "Too straight forward; charging in like that if you haven't developed your speed is a good way to get killed." Growling Naoto nodded and stepped back while Ragna brought his sword back. Naoto tried approaching slower this time, trying to keep his eyes on Ragna sword and arms keeping himself ready. When he thought he saw and opening he stepped into a powerful swing.
"YAAAH-WHAT THE-!?"
Only to see his perspective of the his opponent change to a clear view of the sky as he was swept. cleanly off his feet before landing on his back with a dull thud. Naoto groaned as he looked up, seeing Ragna standing patiently and waiting for him to get up. Slowly rising, Naoto kept his hands on the blade as he slowly stumbled to his feet.
"Mind your footing, you won't last long otherwise," Ragna told the young swordsman-in-training. The taller of the two went for an overhead slash which Naoto raised his sword to block, but Ragna stopped the slash and tried to sweep Naoto feet. Seeing this the youth stepped back, only to to weaving to the right at just the right time to dodge Ragna stab forward followed by barely being able to block Ragna's second overhand strike. "Not bad... again."
The two then continued to spar for the better part of the evening, by the time the two were finished Naoto's was on the ground, barely able to move, and covered in sweat. His practice sword already had several nicks in it, none of which where deep but showed the rough use it had just endured. Ragna's own branch was of poorer wood and was badly cracked across, but he assured himself that finding another would be of little trouble.
"Sun's already starting to set," Ragna muttered as he looked down to the heavily breathing form of Naoto. "You didn't do half bad for your first day."
"First... day?" Naoto huffed as he slowly sat up from the ground, groaning at the minor welts and bruises he'd gotten in their duel. "How long's this going to go on for?"
"Long enough, you'll need to be helping out after I leave," Ragna told him before placing his hand upon the youth's hand and glancing around. Making sure that no one else was watching, he allowed his hand to once again before engulfed in flames as Naoto's minor wounds slowly began to close. "Naoto, what do you think of this village and orphanage?"
"They're okay I guess," Naoto said as he sat calmly, trying to ignore the sting as Ragna forced his wounds to heal with his Azure. "I mean, everyone seems really nice to me... even Aaron doesn't seem that bad when you get to know him."
"He's actually a big softy when you get to know him," the Reaper admitted with a chuckle as he finished his work and brought Noel to his feet. "And the work? How bad was it?"
"It was... tough," the youth admitted.
"Try to get used to it though..." Ragna admitted. "...When I'm out of here, I need someone to stay behind to watch the village... And that's going to be your job."
"My job?" Naoto asked as he looked at the Reaper with a sense of wonder. "B-But why me?"
"I dunno, gotta put my faith in someone don't I?" Ragna told him before smirking. "You've still got a bit to learn, but I can make sure you're good and ready before I go. You still up for it?"
"Of course!" Naoto said before his stomach grumbled. "Ugh..."
"Go on and head head in," Ragna said before sniffing the air. "Smells like Lilith's making her special recipe. Get yourself washed up kid, I'll see you in a bit..."
"Got it!" Naoto said before running off. Ragna watched the youth depart with a genuine smile upon his face, confident that he'd be able to leave the village in good hands soon enough.
Partnership Rank 2 Obtained with Naoto Kurogane
"Kid's got some spunk to him, that much is obvious," Ragna thought to himself with a chuckle before he glanced at his makeshift branch which was falling apart. "His sword work could be good too, if I give it some time... Hmm?"
Glancing over his shoulder Ragna saw Eric standing heading over towards him and his best friend didn't appear to be smiling for once, in fact he looked grimly serious.
A Trust of Foundlings
"Who the hell took a crap in your food?" Ragna asked as he crossed his arms.
"...Where's Naoto?" Eric asked him, not bothering to answer Ragna's question.
"Inside, washing up for supper," Ragna told the axe user before giving a small sigh and a small smile to his friend. "They'll probably save a little food for both of us. Let's go for a walk..."
"Yeah, that sounds good," Eric agreed just as seriously.
The two then headed off down the short dirt path that lead from the orphanage to the town below. It wasn't going to be that long of a walk, but Ragna hadn't planned on going to far in the first place. As he walked he decided it was time to address the issue at hand.
"So... what's eating you?" Ragna decided to finally ask.
"Do you think I'm slowing you down?" Eric finally decided to ask. The Reaper didn't speak. "It's alright if you think I am; I can take the truth."
"...You're just starting out," Ragna told him. "Trust me, considering you've barely been taught how to use an axe you managed to do pretty well, especially against that bandit group we had to deal with on the road. A little more traveling and you'll be even better."
"Yeah... but give me a year and I get the feeling that you'd still be worried about me," Eric admitted with his own sad smile. "Trust me, you've never made any sense. The girls in town were doing everything that they could to get your attention, but you weren't doing anything to take advantage of it."
"Wait, they were?" Ragna asked, sounding earnest. Eric was stupefied as he looked at his best friend, only for Ragna to break out into a smirk. "Yeah, I noticed... I'm not that dense."
"Kind of a surprise honestly," Eric told him with a groan as Ragna chuckled. "I've done some thinking, and... Well, I'm thinking about staying here when you head off again."
"You're serious?" Ragna asked as the two came to a stop. "What brought this idea on?"
"For one thing, the fact that I won't risk a heart attack every time you talk to someone of the nobility," the axe user told him, leading Ragna to scratch the back of his head guiltily. "Also, looks like I was missed by the orphanage a lot more than I thought; I'm sort of worried about Aaron and the other kids, especially if Ruth's going to start building up and changing the village as we know it... Someone has to look out for them."
'Kind of what I was trying to get Naoto to do,' Ragna thought, but didn't comment that. "If that's what you want to do, go ahead."
"You're not upset?" Eric questioned.
"Nah, everyone's got their own thing that they're trying to do; if you think your place is here helping the village, it's not my place to get in your way," the Reaper told him. "Just promise me you'll be careful, don't want to come back here and find out that something happened to you."
"Hey, I'm the careful one between us. You're the one I'm worried about; pissing off the royal family and all," Ruth said as the two friends shared a small chuckle. "I'll be here when you come back to visit; that's a promise."
Partnership Rank 1 Established with Eric
"So... what about Emily?" Ragna asked as the two began heading back to orphanage. "Any ideas what she's thinking of doing?"
"Not at the moment, but my guess is she's going to try to stick with you, even if I'm staying behind," the axe user told him. "Haven't told her my plans yet though, but I guess that can wait for later."
"Don't wait to long, but for now let's head back and try to get some food from Lilith," Ragna told him as the two started making their way back to the orphanage. "So, thinking about finding a job around the town then?"
"Maybe, I think I'd do pretty well if I were to join the town guard," Eric decided. "I doubt Aaron would exactly approve, but maybe I could at least be confident I was doing my part to keep the town safe. What about you; what would you do if you had to stay behind?"
"Probably the same, a quite life doesn't sound like it'd suit me," the Reaper admitted.
"Heh, you have that right," Eric agreed.
The Next Morning
"You're getting better at your reading kid; only had about half the mistakes that you made yesterday," Ragna told Naoto as the two exited the churches library. Naoto's schedule today was proceeding much like what had happened the day prior, the only difference so far having been today he'd chopped firewood instead of gathering water. "So... on to the next task..."
"Laundry?" Naoto guessed.
"Nah, we did that yesterday," Ragna admitted. "Let's see..."
"You could teach me some more sword-work," Naoto asked hopefully.
"Later, that's the deal remember?" the Reaper denied with a smirk. "Nice try though.'
"Darn..." Naoto groaned. "We could go and spend some time with Emily right?"
"She's probably still out hunting, I'll have her teach you about foraging another day," Ragna told the youth as he thought. "Actually, there's one thing I can have you do."
"What's that?" Naoto asked with curiosity.
"You know your way into town right?" Ragna asked leaving Naoto to nod. "Good, head that way and you should find the other children coming out of the elder's lesson right now. For now I want you to go and spend some time with 'em; play some games, run around, that sorta thing."
"I thought you were supposed to be teaching me," Naoto argued. "That or putting me to work."
"Yeah, but all of that work you do won't matter if the town doesn't know who to thank," Ragna explained to him. "Just try to talk to them, they're not bad people and they don't bite."
"You never talked to anyone while we were on the road," Naoto told him with a scowl. "In fact most of the time it looked like you were trying to avoid attention."
"That's because... Well, just take this as one instance I'm not leading via example. Just go and have some fun, I'll come grab you when it's time to move on for the next part."
"Alright, alright," Naoto eventually relented as he started walking off. It didn't look like he was exactly happy that he needed to be separated from his role-model, but with Aaron's orders to make sure that Naoto would be prepared when Ragna left the village, he'd need to spend at least some time without the Reaper.
With Naoto going off on his own, Ragna decided it was time to address a problem he'd been having as of late. Heading into the forest, the Reaper eventually found his old training spot. Taking his bastard-sword out of its leather sheath the Reaper then gave the sword a powerful swing, cutting through a tree with ease and even managing to topple one of the ones behind it with the force of the shock-wave.
'That's not looking too bad, still could use some work though,' the Reaper thought to himself before looking at his sword. Placing the blade against his palm, the Reaper made a quick and clean cut into his flesh. The cut itself wasn't exactly deep, but he figured this would be a good way to judge if his healing factor had improved at all... it hadn't.
"Great, that's still a problem," Ragna thought aloud as he channeled his azure into his hand... only to see that it wasn't healing any quicker. Scowling he continued to try, only for the wound to close slowly via his weakened healing factor. The Reaper then turn sweat the arm upward and unleashed a powerful Sapphire Spike on a nearby tree, only to that it had taken a small chunk out of it at best. He gave a growl as he saw that his Azure's combat usage had actually decreased substantially. Hoping that maybe he'd get more use if he didn't try to incorporate his old style into his usage of Azure, he channeled his power before firing a raw blast of the power into on of the other trees, with no noticeable results.
"Tch, so the Azure made me taller and bulked my body, but now I can barely use it otherwise. This is starting to piss me off. Is that bitch Pandora responsible for this shit? No, it's gotta be that place that I was sent to before I woke up like this, but what even was that hell hole?"
Ragna shook his head before he crossed his arms and leaned against one of the trees. He then looked up at the cloud sky above him. While the weather wasn't that bad now, sooner or later winter would show it's ugly face to the world. Ragna had never liked the cold much back in his home world, but here he absolutely despised it. There was no way to escape it... it was everywhere. Ragna continued to stare into the sky above.
"Maybe I should head to the Mage's guild after all. Attacking without any form of strong magic ain't gonna cut it without being used to this body" the Reaper eventually told himself before glancing to his still cut hand. "For now I'm gonna have to rely on what physical attacks I have and hope that I don't get messed up to bad while my healing factors gone to hell."
Knowing that Naoto still had sometime left with the other children, Ragna attempted to work with his azure once more. Channeling his power into his fist before rushing forward, Ragna let the energy carry him into his attack. While the rush was powerful and it swept a strong breeze through out the area, it didn't carry him nearly as far, nor did it carry even half the power that he'd had earlier. He tried adjusting his channeling and attacked again only to find similar results; the increase in power was either non-existent or unnoticeable and he only gained a few inches in rush length at best.
"Guess I'll need to practice whenever I have any free time to myself," Ragna muttered aloud as he walking. "This is going to be a pain in the-" A sudden and thunderous crack was heard behind him. Quickly glancing behind him, Ragna saw that one of the trees exploded with great force, sending chunks of wood around the area. Glance closer, he realized that the tree was the same one that he'd fired a blast into before he'd tried to work on his Blue Fang technique.
"So I can unintentionally make my azure into a time bomb," Ragna thought to himself with a sigh. "Damn it, the more I try to get this thing under control, the more I realize that I understand that I know next to nothing about it . If I'm going to be able to use this thing to get into the Mage's Guild then I'm going to need to work on using this thing whenever I've got time to... Dammit, no reasonable rest for me."
Time Skip
How right he'd be; over the next few days Ragna's days were almost entirely filled up with either teaching Naoto about the village, helping out himself wherever he could, or be forced to give up his own time to spend it with the residences of the village. Even when some days should have been at an end for the Reaper, he'd be forced to take a turn standing guard around the town to protect it for the night. It wasn't that Ruth was forcing him to do the work... more that he was becoming nervous as the building process progressed.
Naoto certainly wasn't squandering what time he had with Ragna, using all of his remaining stamina after whatever chores Ragna had put him through that day. He was learning much from the Reaper and not just in sword arts either. The youth had since become able to make a few simple dishes by himself and had managed to nearly master the art of reading books without assistance. Emily had also stepped in teaching the brown haired orphan several techniques in foraging from the woods.
Things had more or less returned to the way they'd been when Ragna was still part of the village, which wasn't to surprising since (again) he'd been gone for less than a week. As the work around town proceeded, the workers and Ruth found the first fruits of their labor...
"Citizens of Galevon! As winter approaches, I'm pleased to announce the opening of our first Inn! Now travelers from across the kingdom while find themselves a place to stay during the dark and harsh nights, bringing more coin and prosperity to our city!" There were a few cheers from the townspeople that had been gathered around as Ruth made his announcement. The youth stood in front of the building with a his mother and father standing behind him, still faced and serious as ever. "Next! Onto the construction of our first bar!" That got everyone's attention and the cheers were at least five times as loud as the last time.
"Is alcohol all anyone ever cares about?" Emily asked in annoyance as she watched the Inn's opening from a distance. She and the others were either sitting on or leaning against the cow fences. "Seriously, what's the big deal with it in the first place."
"I keep telling you, you've got no idea what you're missing out on," Eric told her with a smile. "Heck with a new bar coming into town we'll have a decent selection of drinks from now on."
"Eric needs... Limit drinking," Silvana told the axe user with her usual monotone voice. "Not healthy."
"Hey, I haven't had a drink since we stopped at Fortune Step's!" Eric defended himself. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with looking forward to your next drink, right Ragna?" No response. "Ragna?"
The man in question said nothing and didn't even appear to have heard Eric as he leaned again the cow fences with his arms crossed and his eyes closed tight. He breathing was light and unrestrained, making it seem like he'd fallen asleep. Eric was about to try and awaken him again before he was interrupted.
"Surprise attack!"
Leaping into the air, Naoto had his practice sword raised above his sword as he descended upon the Grim Reaper, finally having found and opening in his teacher defense. The sword sailed closer to Ragna's body, only for him to snatch it out of the air without difficulty. Naoto lurched in surprise as he saw that Ragna's eyes were still closed, nor did he seem to even strain himself as he tossed Naoto away effortlessly. As Naoto quickly rose and tried to rush forward, Ragna's own sword was out in a split second poised to stop Naoto his tracks.
"Nice try," the Reaper said as he strained to get a few pops out of his neck before sheathing the blade. "Sorry, just feeling a little tired."
"Big surprise, most days you haven't been getting back to the Orphanage until sunrise," Eric reminded him. "Are you still that worried about the town?"
"It's not that; I've just got this feeling that I haven't been able to shake off, some kind of premonition or something," Ragna told them as he let out yet another yawn. "And on top of that, those sell-swords that Ruth hired still haven't arrived yet."
"Hence why we haven't been able to leave yet," Emily said with a sigh.
"Having problems with your dad?" Ragna asked.
"He's still trying to convince me that staying behind is the right thing to do," Emily told him before glancing off in the distance. "But... he's been starting to act differently now whenever he brings it up, like he's got something that he wants to tell me."
"But he won't say what it is?" Ragna questioned. "Weird... Your family's never really been known for keeping secrets... You telling everyone what's on your mind is proof enough." That statement earned him a harsh glare from his redheaded friend. "Well, whatever... Hey kid, mind heading into the Elder's lesson for today? I'm gonna try to catch up on some sleep in the meantime."
"Can we still do sword training later?" Naoto asked, relieved when Ragna nodded. "Okay, I'll spend so time there, just for today."
"Just try to have a good attitude about it," Ragna told him before sighing and laying down on the grassy ground.
"You're just going to nap there?" Emily asked with surprise. "Next to the cow fences?"
"Yep, at this point I can fall asleep wherever I want to," Ragna told her before closing his eyes. "Just gonna rest my eyes for a couple of hours."
"I've lived in the same church as you for most of my life and I still don't get you," Eric muttered.
"Join the club," the Reaper muttered as he continued to lie. Eventually, he managed to relax his eyes and rest his body completely only to fall into a deep sleep.
?
"...Shit, this again?" Ragna said to himself. He was once more standing in front of the completed church from his first life. Glancing at his own person, he saw that he wasn't dressed in his original clothing; instead still carrying his increased muscle mass along with the uncompleted form of his red coat and sword, having apparently changed from his villagers garb. He also lacked gloves, showing that he still carried hands of flesh.
"What's the matter? I thought you liked this place." Glancing to the top of the church, Ragna found the hooded form of Pandora sitting a top the church roof. Despite the darkness her hood created, he could easily see her lips pursed in a sly smile. "Come, join me."
"...I'm not getting out of this damn vision if I don't, am I?" Ragna asked with a groan before effortlessly leaping to the top of the church's roof beside the enigmatic woman.
"Sit," the woman told him pleasantly. Ragna crossed his arms and remained standing, not in the mood for being treated like a dog. "Suit yourself then. Care for something to eat?"
"Why would it matter if I did? I can't really eat something in the middle of a dream and have a full stomach afterwards... can I?"
"Almost certainly not," Pandora told him before summoning a pear to her hand. "But I don't drink wine for nutrition, nor in hopes of become drunk like some of those slobs... No, I do it for the experience of enjoying something. So won't you try one with me?"
"Still pass," Ragna told her before he crossed his arms. "C'mon, can't you just tell me what you're here for and we can end this already?"
"When I just got here? You're an impatient one, were you hoping that you'd have a scandalous dream to get back to?" A slight blush hit Ragna's face. "No, what am I saying? You've been surrounded by pretty women this entire time and you've yet to make any effort to court them."
'Kind of like how I was back in my home world,' the Reaper thought to himself. 'Then again I doubt I've ever met a normal girl in either of my lives.' "...If I'm being honest-"
"I'd prefer that you were," Pandora said before she took a smile bite of her pear.
"Well... I haven't had a single dream since I got to this crazy place," Ragna told her.
"Since you-?"
"That last vision you pulled me into," Ragna told her, trying to save face. The truth was he hadn't had a single dream since he'd arrived in this new world as an infant. "I mean... I just don't dream, all I do is fall asleep then wake up after a few hours..."
"Odd, I've never heard of anything like that before," the enigmatic woman told him as she continued to chew on her pear. "That world is... mysterious; even I have little idea what it could possibly be and there's barely a piece of information that's ever outside my knowledge."
"You're talking like we're not there right now," Ragna noted as he took a look around. "So what? You made this place for me?"
"I thought it might be a good setting for the two of us to get to know each other," Pandora told him. "I felt like a good idea to get to know a person if I'm to make them a champion in my honor."
"Not happening Pandora. Besides, I'd make a terrible champion for you, whatever that would mean."
"Hmm... I doubt that very much; you've certainly proved that you're an able fighter," the hooded woman said to him with a playful smile upon her lips. "Besides, I don't see you having say in this matter along your road."
"Yeah, I've heard that one before," the Reaper muttered with a groan.
"Growing up inside a church devoted to the Goddess of Choice? You've had someone tell you that you were left with no choice?" Pandora asked with a whimsical smile.
"You've never met my foster father... and quit spying on me," he added with a bitter anger brimming inside.
"Please, I only want to..." Pandora paused abruptly looking into the sky. She didn't say anything, only appearing to gaze further. "There's trouble approaching."
"Shit, there is?" Ragna thought as he drew his sword and glanced around the area.
"No, it's not here..." Pandora said with a sigh of disappointment. "Just when I was starting to make some significant progress with you. Such a bother... I guess I could keep you for just a little longer to-"
"Don't even think about it," Ragna told her with a harsh glare. "Get me the hell out of here already."
"...Spoil my fun why don't you," Pandora moaned before she waved her. "Off you go then... Do put on a good show, I'll be cheering you from the sidelines and watching your every move, Ragna."
"NO YOU WON'T! QUIT STALKING-!"
Without allowing Ragna to finished, the Reaper disappeared from the illusionary landscape. Pandora smirked to herself as she took another bite out of her pear. Her undiscovered quest was putting her in a far better mood than she thought it could, first imagining it'd be a dull and boring affair. At least her supposed champion was making things interesting for her.
Back to his Reality
"-ME!" Ragna finished as he jolted from the ground he'd been lying upon. Glancing around his surrounding and his more casual villagers clothing, he realized that he was back in his world. Glancing up in the air he glanced at the sun's position and gave a small groan. "Dammit, that probably wasn't even an hour... Wait, what about the threat that-?"
"Ragna!" Emily shouted as she ran over to him her. Bow out and her quiver full of arrows. "Come on, get moving! There's something wrong over by the East Entrance! Most of the guards are headed that way in a hurry!"
"Wonderful," Ragna groaned as he quickly leaped to his feet and started running for the gates with Emily. "Where's Eric and Silvana?"
"Silvana's at the Orphanage with Aaron and Eric's trying to keep the other gate safe, but I don't know if we're going to have enough to defend the East one," Emily told him worried. "I don't know if we're going to have enough to keep the town safe."
'Looks like I might have to try going all out,' Ragna thought to himself with slight worry as the two approached the other side of the gate. Ragna saw many of the town guard was there (including Emily's father) armed and poised at the ready along with Ruth. Standing across from them was a filthy group of what appeared to be bandits, who also had their weapons drawn with daunting snarls upon their faces, but they didn't advance just yet. Ragna counted close to thirty of them, which outnumbered the twelve town guards placed at this gate. Gritting his teeth, Ragna made his way forward past the front lines.
"What are you doing!?" Joshua hissed at the Reaper.
"I'm finding out why they're here and getting 'em to leave," Ragna said with a scowl. "I doubt the lot of you are here to stay at the inn we just finished."
"Not on yer life," one of the bandits (apparently their leader) said to him. "We're here for a fair share a' yer... supplies. It's going ta be a cold winter, and methinks you've got plenty to share."
"Hardly," came Ruth's voice from behind the guard lines. He wasn't armed to fight, but Ragna figured that showing up here and talking back to a group of bandits at least showed some courage. "We're going to need those supplies for the winter and you're not getting any of it unless you have the coin."
"What's this? Is a little piglet talking back to me? Is he the one that runs yer town!?" The bandits then delved in a bray of laughter. "Now all of you listen; we're kinder than most of our kind. Give us what we want and you'll all live to see another day, if not the maggots and worms will have a good feast tonight."
"...What is it that you want?" Ruth asked with rage. If he could give them a small enough share for now, he figured that when the mercenaries hired to protect the town arrived they could try to lay siege to their hideout and recover their supplies before they were eaten.
"Oh, let's say half the harvest and coin, four cattle, and..." The bandit gave a filthy and perverse grin. "Eight of yer best women."
"...In your fucking dreams," Ragna said as he drew his sword. Despite having a tenancy to swear every other sentence (especially when he was pissed), language this intense was a rare occasion for him.
"Aw, thinking of fighting us? Your size don't scare us none when you're so outnumbered!" one of the bandits jeered at Ragna who said nothing. "Alright, how's about this for ya; what you see here is only half of us."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruth demanded.
"Exactly what it sounds like piglet," the bandit insulted yet again. "We've got just as many men on the other side of your town as we've got here. As soon as you start fightin' us, they'll slaughter anyone on the other side and ransack the town." The bandits then let out a vicious laugh. "Let us into town and we'll be quick about it. Ya weak farmers have no chance against us now matter how you try to-"
"I've heard enough of this shit," Ragna growled, interrupting the bandit and stopping the rest of them cold. "All of you listen to me because I'm only going to say this once; get back to the other gate and defend it with your lives... I've got these sons of bitches right here."
"What the hell are you saying!?" Joshua shouted. "I don't know how cocky you are, but-! ...You'll...You..."
(Cue BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Blood Pain)
Joshua's words fell flat as he watched Ragna's body become shrouded in fiery Azure aura. The truth was Ragna's harnessed his power only well enough to make this effect look terrifying, but for now it was enough. All of the members of the town guards to a step back in utter shock while the bandits seemed to tense their muscles and prepare for a fight.
"...EVERYONE! MOVE!" Emily shouted. "WE NEED TO LEAVE THIS TO HIM!"
"B-But-!" Joshua stuttered. "Emily you should-!"
"GET TO THE OTHER GATE!" Ruth bellowed with all the authority he could muster. The men finally taking the command and running off along with Emily. "THIS IS THE ONLY CHANCE WE'VE GOT! IF YOU DON'T FIGHT THESE BASTARDS OFF YOUR FAMILIES WILL BE AT THEIR MERCY!" He then gave on last glare in Ragna's direction before leaving himself.
"Now that I've got you all to myself..." Ragna began darkly as his aura began to travel along his body as a wisp before it coated his sword.
"KILL HIM! WE'LL RANSACK THIS TOWN AFTER ALL!" the bandit leader began as his henchmen surged forward. Ragna easily met their charge and sprung forward to meet their charge with a roar.
Ragna's blade cleaved through one of the bandits, cutting through their arm and waist like it was nothing. The bandit fell to the ground with a weak death rattle as his rust sword was sent into the air. Giving a perfect roundhouse kick to the pommel, the Reaper sent the blade through the chest of another of the bandits. As another of the bandits charged forward with a heavy lance, Ragna deflected the attack to side and forced it through another bandit before cleaving the head off of its wielder.
One of the heavier bandits managed to come at Ragna from behind with a large warhammer. Ragna positioned his sword behind him and managed to block the attack without lurching. He then delivered a powerful kick to his target's chest and sent it into it's allies and cause many of them to topple over. A thug wielding a two-handed axe swung at the Reaper with deadly force. Ragna swung to counter, figuring he'd managed to deflect the attack, but his opponent's axe actually managed to sink into his blade's metal, though it did stop the attack. Shrugging the axe off of him, he managed to cleave the bandit's head off, only for the blade to shatter in the process.
"He doesn't have his sword! He doesn't have a weapon!" one of the lance wielding bandits shouted as he lunged forward with his weapon. Ragna managed to deflect the point using what remained of his blade before closing the distance and cutting his opponent across the neck. Ragna then stabbed the sword behind him, catching another bandit in the chest before finally throwing the sword and impaling a bandit with a bow and arrow.
'There goes the sword I bought from Kenneth,' Ragna thought to himself as the thugs to the short few moments to surround the Reaper instead of charging blindly. 'If I take one of their weapons I doubt it would last half as long given all the rust on 'em. I guess I'll just have to hope my Azure's strong enough to get me through this...' Bracing his body, Ragna channeled his Azure into his arms causing them to become coated in the violent blue flames. "GRIMOIRE SCYTHE!"
Similar to his Grimoire Blade technique, the Azure flames flowed out of his palms and condensed to form the weapon blue weapon; a 7 foot long pole with a 4 foot long curved blade at the end of it. One of the biggest features Ragna had missed about his old weapon, BloodScythe, was its ability to shift between a sword and the aforementioned Scythe. Since his bastard sword would never be able to transform into a scythe, he'd created this move over the last few days. It was by no means as good as a real weapon, but he'd already committed to improving the technique.
Using both of his arms, he swung his conjured weapon with great force, messily carving a bandit to shreds. It was imperative that he used both of his hands while wielding this weapon; since the form was weak he would need every ounce of force he had so that it would be able to cut through his enemy's thick armor. As an few archers let loose a small barrage of arrows at him, Ragna twirled his scythe in front of him like a propeller, deflecting every arrow with as before he leaped into the air and spun into a massive horizontal slash, cleaving through four bandits at once.
"Wh-what the hell is this freak!?" one of the bandits shouted. "He just wiped out more than half of us by himself!"
"And I'm wiping the other half too, none of you are getting out of here alive," Ragna told them darkly. "You came here threatening my home and the people inside it, I'm not stopping until all of you are dead."
"Rrr... CHARGE HIM ALL AT ONCE!" the bandit leader shouted and his men followed orders as quickly as he could. "HE CAN'T AVOID ALL OF US AT THE SAME TIME!"
Three of the bandits swung their weapons at the Reaper, only for him to block them with the pole part of his conjured weapon. Giving a quick swing to his opponent's legs, the bandits were thrown into the air, vulnerable for the follow up slash Ragna delivered to cleave the three in half. Ragna's scythe then managed to catch one of the axes from the air before throwing it using his weapon and sending the axe blade into yet another archer. Three lance users tired to impale him with a desperate charge, but Ragna used his scythe to force two bandits in front of him to take his place before cleaving the ground in half.
Now all that was left was the bandit leader and six of his men. Using the spacing to his advantage, Ragna made his fist well placed swing at two of the bandits, taking their heads of in the one swing. As the remaining lance users tried to keep their distance with their weapons, the Reaper leaped into the air before bringing the scythe down with a massive slashing, killing another four of the men before his scythe finally faded.
'I guess that's my limit at the moment,' Ragna thought to himself as only the bandit leader remained, the fool's mind wasn't thinking clearly at the Reaper's display of force. Charging forward at Ragna the man made a vicious slash which Ragna easily dodged, only for the man to swipe again as he kept swinging just to try and stay alive. Ragna gave an annoyed sigh as he channeled Azure to his right hand and made a fist. He then slammed the attack as hard as he could into his opponent's face, the force was strong enough to send his head flying off his body in a gory display.
(End Theme)
Ragna didn't bother giving a final glance back at his opponent's, the town was likely still under attack at the other gate and if the leader had been telling the truth about the numbers it was still in danger. With that thought in mind, the Reaper headed for the West Gate.
Earlier -West Gate-
"Keep them back!" Eric shouted as he blocked a bandit's sword with his twin axe before swinging back and sending him scampering back. "Don't let any of them into the city!"
When the bandits had first arrived on this side of the city, Eric and the town guards hadn't started fighting them first off, much like the other side waiting until they saw who would make the first move. That tension filled stand off had abruptly ended as the other half of the town guard charged to his rescue along with Emily. Eric had been slightly concerned as he saw that Ragna wasn't going to be present in the battle, before remembering that someone had to guard the east gate.
"Watch your back!" Emily yelled before she let loose an arrow that managed to catch one of the bandits in his chest. Because of the armor it wore the thug didn't crumple, but the guard that he'd been about to attack wasn't at the receive end of its axe. Quickly nocking another arrow, she fired again at the bandit, this time managing to catching it in the eye. While Eric did whatever he could to take down any bandits quickly, there were just too many of them.
"Come on! We can pull through this!" one of the guards shouted as he rushed forward with his lance.
"Idiot! Don't go rushing blindly!" Eric shouted.
Too late, as the guard thrust his spear point at one of the larger bandits he lurched forward as the massive man caught the blade in his bare hand. The guard barely had time to register his fear before he was cut across the neck by a rusted axe. The muddle crumpled to the ground as blood pooled in the dirt around him. The pain filled gurgling was proof that the bandit's attack hadn't been a clean blow. The bandit was in mood for finishing his off, putting a heavy foot upon the guard wound and cause it to flare with pain as he cut down another guardsman across the chest, leaving this one to suffer a similar fate.
"Bastard!" Emily sword as she fired an arrow aiming for the man's head. The giant proved to be agile and used his axe to shield him self from the arrow. Noticing that the one that had shot him, the bandit gave a filthy smile before barreling forward towards the huntress, its axe hitting shield of one of the town guard and sending the man flying. Emily fired off another arrow at the man, but the puncture in its bicep did nothing to slow him. Slashing it's axe at Emily the huntress's instinct kicked in as she defended herself with her hunting bow, only for her prized weapon to shatter to splinters. "No..."
She quickly went for her shortsword and managed to guard against the bandit's first strike, though she stumbled back slightly. Stabbing her sword forward, the bandit managed to block the attack and riposted. Emily yelled as she crouched to avoid the attack, a powerful wind hitting her back from the force of the swing alone. Gathering up all of her strength she brought her blade upwards, cutting him from the the chest at the way along his face.
'Got him!' Emily thought to herself... right before she he bandit turned back to face her with seething anger. Swinging it massive axe once more, Emily watched as the blade in her hand shattered to pieces. The man swung again missing her by a hair's breadth and sending her to the ground. 'No...'
"Emily!" Eric shouted as he tried to get through to her, but there were too many bandits in his path.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Emily watched as Joshua approached the massive man with his sword drawn, she saw as he father's blade pierced the man chest, the spray of blood the followed as the bandit violently lurched...
...right before the bandit planted his axe's blade inside of Joshua's skull.
Though the battle around her continued to run violent, Emily was hit by deafening silence. Crimson red completely covered her father body as his eyes were bugged out almost cartoonishly. Violently yanking the axe blade out of his victim's body, the giant bandit didn't even flinch as he was spray in a violent torrent of blood. Emily watched as Joshua fell to the ground, his bloody body flopping uselessly to the floor.
"DAAAAAAAAD!" she cried only to realize that her target's rage had not subsided. The figure snarled at her a he raised his axe for the final strike. Time slowed as Emily looked to father then the device that would spell her end. '...Rag...na...'
The blade swung through the air with deathly precision.
"Protect friends."
The bandit was instantly vivisected into eight pieces in a sanguine burst of blood and viscera. As the clumps of flesh fell to the ground, Emily slowly turned her head and saw Silvana standing behind her, her normally calm and emotionless voice now replaced with a look of anger. Her hood was down, revealing her pink hair and half-elven ears in full stopping many people in their tracks at the sight of the display. Silvana waved her hand and managed to carve another bandit to pieces with her wind magic.
"The hell!?" one of the bandits shouted before being struck down by Eric's axes in a gruesome display.
"WE'VE GOT MAGIC ON OUR SIDE!" Eric bellowed at the top of his lungs. "WE CAN WIN NOW!" Giving a final triumphant shout, the town guard continued the battle... by the time Ragna had appeared the outcome had already been decided.
That night
(Cue Rufus Wainwright's Hallelujah)
Ragna didn't say anything as he stood before the funeral pyre, the crimson flames lighting his darker clothing and jacket. With the fighting over, he'd put his favored coat back on to watch the ceremony as a strange form of respect for the fallen. Out of the seven that had died in the attack, Joshua was the only one that Ragna had considered that he'd known. Three others had been Ruth's cronies or boys from town that had joined the town guard to avoid working in the fields, all had parents that were in tears at the loss of their sons. The other three casualties had been adults who were well known throughout the town, but people that Ragna had never connected with personally.
All around the pyre were families and friends watching as the remains of their loved ones were turned to ash. Ragna saw Emily's family; Elizabeth was completely devastated as she knelt close to Joshua's pyre with her face buried in her hands. Her children were doing whatever they could to comfort their sobbing mother while Aaron knelt beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Ragna doubted that it'd be that easy... in fact he didn't think he'd seen Elizabeth stop crying since Joshua had died.
The Reaper didn't say anything throughout the burning nor did he seek anyone out to talk to. When the fires had finally died however and some of the villagers were helping Elizabeth home he noticed Emily finally make her way over to him.
"I... I think it'd be best if I stay with my mom," she told him, trying not to choke on her own breath. Ragna could see that her eyes were already slightly puffy from her own crying. "I'm sorry to end it like this."
"Don't worry about it, you're doing the right thing staying back with her," he promised. "If I were in your shoes I'd be doing the same thing."
"...Are you still going to leave?" she asked, her voice quiet but even.
"Yeah, but I'll be back to check on you every now and again," Ragna said as the two started walking, not exactly going anywhere, just trying not to be stuck in a single place too long while grieving. "You're not going to be alone while I'm gone; Eric's staying behind and I'm sure the kid will look after you too."
"...I don't need to be looked over," she tried to protest.
"Well, you still need someone to have your back," Ragna told her before he sighed. "...I'm sorry I didn't get there in time."
"What are you talking about? ...It's thanks to you we..." Saying that he saved the town was hard for her when she'd just lost her father, but Ragna had gotten the message. "Besides, what else could you have done?"
'Blasted the bandits apart in one shot if I was half as strong as I used to be,' Ragna irately thought to himself, angry at his own weakness. "I know this is coming late, but is there anything I can do to help you now?"
"I... I doubt you can do much more than you've already done," Emily told him as her friend. "Aaron's been talking to my mom and comforting her since it happened... Turns out there were... some things about my parents I didn't know."
'...Is there something else keeping Emily here then?' "Do you need to talk about it?"
"I don't know, but I don't think my mom's ready for anyone else to know about it... As far as I know, my mom, Aaron, and myself are the only ones that know about this now that..." Emily's eyes began to well up with tears as she thought about her father.
"You don't have to say anything," Ragna told her with a sigh before he noticed Eric, Naoto, and Silvana were watching the two. Not spying on them, just making sure it was alright if they approached. Ragna gave a quick nod and the three made their way forward.
"Sorry," was all Naoto said mournfully, though the youth knew how hollow the word sounded.
"Emily... going to... be okay?" Silvana asked sadly. Emily gave a small smile, but embraced the young half elf. While they did so, Eric came up to Ragna.
"I was watching the gate during... well, I just came from there and it looks like the sell-swords that Ruth requested finally came in. All twenty of 'em."
"Talk about cruel timing... Well I guess that works for me 'cause I'm going to be heading out tomorrow," Ragna told the group surprising everyone.
"Ragna... Listen, I know what you just came from, but don't forget you're still a hero to the town," Eric tried to tell his friend. "I mean, I hear even Ruth admitted that he'd need to do something for your-"
"Not interested," Ragna told them, like it was final, because it was.
"Where are... we going?" Silvana asked as her hug with Emily slowly ended (it looked like Naoto was trying to get the next comfort hug in with the huntress). Despite the half-elf's contribution to the town, many still couldn't get over her race and tolerated her only because Ragna was there.
"North, I think it's finally time I got you to the Mage's guild," Ragna said as before he allowed a few wisps of his Azure to dance around his palm. "That and I want answers on this; there has to be someone with some idea about my powers at the guild... right?"
"I don't know where else they'd be," Emily admitted in agreement. "Are you sure you want to leave tomorrow without saying goodbye to anyone?"
"I'm with you ain't I?" Ragna said before groaning. "Then again, if I don't talk to Aaron personally I'm going to get a lecture when I get back."
"Lecture either way," Silvana remind him.
"That's true," Emily said. "He's always going to... wait, was that three words Silvana?"
"Was it?" Silvana asked apparently oblivious to what had happened. "...Neat."
"Either way you should probably get to bed," Ragna told her. "We've got a long journey tomorrow kid, and I'm not carrying you like I did last time."
"Don't be so sure about that," Eric said with a snarky smile of his own before he turned to Ragna to say their goodbyes. "I'll be seeing you when you come back then, hopefully the bar will be done by then so we can have a drink. My treat." With his promise said, he gave Ragna's shoulder a rough tap.
"Tch, I'll hold you to that," Ragna said as Eric and Silvana began heading back for the church. He then looked to Emily. "Want me to take you home?"
"I... I'll be fine," she promised him before abruptly hugging the Reaper, leaving Ragna stand there awkwardly. "Just... don't die out there... please... Whatever you do..."
"...I promise," he told her, returning the hug and letting it linger for a few moments. Eventually, Emily let go of him and left for home, leaving Naoto and Ragna by themselves. "Time to head back..."
(End theme)
"Not yet," the youth told him, it was then that Ragna finally realized that Naoto had his practice sword. "You still owe me..."
"Naoto, after the day I had you really want to make me do this?" Ragna asked with a groan. "It's not a good time."
"It's the only time we've got!" Naoto yelled at him. "You told me that you wanted me to look after the village, and I need your sword skills to do that!"
"Kid, one lesson isn't going to make the difference right now," Ragna told him. "You're still young, if you practice what I taught you-"
"I don't want to have anyone else killed! I don't want to be too weak to do anything about it! And I don't want to see Emily cry again!" Naoto interrupted with a shout, surprising Ragna.
'Wait, does the kid have a... I mean I guess he could, but why would-?' Pushing that thought out of his mind for the moment Ragna sighed. "You're not going to take no for an answer are you? Friggen' great... Fine, let's do this."
Ecstatic, Naoto followed Ragna to the edge of the woods as the Reaper grabbed a small branch of a reasonable size. Naoto kept his weapon ready to begin their sparring.
"Don't tell that you're going to regret this, 'cause after what you just said I won't be listening," Ragna told him and Naoto only nodded eagerly. "Good, now show me what you can do."
The two then ended up sparring well into the night, Naoto taking into account Ragna's actions and incidence trying to learn from the Reaper. Ragna's teaching may have been harsh, but it managed to keep the two's minds off of what they had lost that day... and on their hopes for their paths ahead.
Character Relations
Kagura Mutsuki: 1st Rank
Naoto Kurogane: 2nd Rank
Emily: 1st Rank
Eric: 1st Rank
Town Relations
Hometown~Galevon: Revered Member~Protector
Fortune's Step Inn: Boar Killer (Still)
Trudalla: Blue Flamed Man
Author's Note:
Okay, so that ending was a little cheesy, but I rushed it a little to get this out by Friday... this is what happens when you go a few weeks without posting a chapter. The next chapter of this will be a little more serious and have some more changes that I think you'll like. Anyways, not much else to say except for a non-poll question; what next?
I'm thinking either "A Reaper's Game" or "Bloodedge of Fairy Tail" so let me know what one you want by Sunday. Anyways, take care and until next time.
Ciao.
