He sighed and closed the door.
"Maybe we were a little too harsh?"
El sighed, feeling very tired, pained and desolated.
The village was attacked several times, he lost precious companions to the monsters, and they just didn't fall because he was there to protect them.
… But he was human too, so even he felt that he was reaching his limits.
Well, at least Ranmaru is here. He yawned, And I don't know much about the girl, but she has a soothing aura.
Tap tap.
He heard sounds of steps, feeling curious he followed the sound until he met a peculiar sight.
"Why are you carrying a blanket, a pillow and the girl's clothes?", he arched an eyebrow, staring his friend.
"As fancy as the pretty is, she needs to something easier to move if she wants to fight", Ranmaru defended.
"Right", He deadpanned, "Ok, I understand, but what are these blankets for?"
"… She said that she was staying on the temple a bit more to rest. After all, the last mission was very tiresome for her", the other explained.
"Hum… I see…", El pondered a bit more before he opened a small smile, "Did you two make up? You're being pretty caring"
"Don't be ridiculous", Ranmaru frowned, "I'm tired too. If we fight against enemies of large scale her help will be essential, she needs to be strong for that"
El arched an eyebrow.
Honestly, his friend never changes.
"… You know, you could be a bit more honest with yourself", he pointed, "If you want to spoil the girl, just say it, there's no need for excuses"
"We aren't close", he negated, but El could tell that the tone had an edge and was very defensive, "I just acknowledged her efforts, that's all"
He shook his head and didn't comment on anything as his friend passed him.
"I feel a bit worried about you", he said, not turning back. But he could tell that his friend was listening, "You should not be so isolated from the others and learn to trust them"
"… I don't need anyone's help. I can do well by myself"
There were sounds of steps, and he knew that his friend already went out.
Don't need anyone's help huh?, he chuckled, Liar, you already told me that you would need the girl's help.
-00-
When Ranmaru arrived at the temple he found the girl sleeping on her side, not looking bothered to use the hard floor as a sleeping place.
He didn't say anything. He covered her with the blankets he brought and gently lifted her head so he could put the pillow to make it a bit more comfortable.
She moved a bit when she felt his touch, but didn't give signals of waking up.
He stared again at the girl and her elegant attire.
It looks very tricky to put this whole fancy getup, but even on this state, sleeping on the floor, doesn't make this robes look less fitting
He shook his head, trying to sway the weird thoughts and traced his fingers along her hair, taking the flowers and decoration tying it so the soft and silky strands could be free.
Her face turned a bit, and she leaned on his touch.
The skin of her face also felt very soft, and without thinking he started run his fingers along the curves of her cheeks, the corner of her lips and her chin, making the girl shudder as his touch went to her neck.
He stopped suddenly, taking his hand.
What the fuck am I doing? He angrily scolded himself, avoiding looking at the girl and letting his back rest on the nearest pillar, Ugh, I should be on guard, if anything happens I need to be prepared to wake her up.
He looked at the flower on his hand, trying to not think about the girl, but ending on sneaking glances at her more often than he would admit.
-00-
She heard sounds of birds nearby.
Blinking a few times, she stood up, letting the blanket fall from her frame.
"You finally woke up"
She stared her silver guardian, who was resting his back on the nearest pillar.
"Good Morning", she nodded, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear when she suddenly noticed that the bum was unmade.
When did I…
She noticed one of the flowers, close to the man's reach.
She felt a bit curious, but decided to not ask.
"Your clothes are here", he pointed to the neatly folded dress close to her, "If you pretend to fight then it's better if you change on something more practical"
"Ok", she nodded, picking the dress and going to one of the temple's room to change.
After she returned she felt lighter.
Sure, the robes are truly a piece of art and she could admit liking them, as she once used a cloth like that, but the simply dress really felt comfortable and let her movement more.
"I'm ready", she smiled.
The silver guardian didn't reply as always, but there was a weird look on his face as he stared her.
There's something on my face? She blinked a few times, feeling puzzled.
He approached her and held her chin, which made the girl gulps as her golden eyes met with his silver and amethyst eyes.
She felt his thumb run along her lips, and felt her breath hitch at the sensation.
"… There", he said, letting her go, "You forgot to take your lipstick"
"Oh…", she replied, licking her upper lip in a self-conscious way.
"…It would look weird if fought with it", he turned, leaving, "… I will patrol the city, if I need you I will summon you using the White Seal"
When he was out of sight she let a breath that she didn't know she was holding back. Feeling her knees go weak she dropped on the floor, gently placing her fingers on her lips while her face felt warm and her cheeks got red.
W-What was that? She thought as her heart pounded hard against her chest.
-00-
Why did I do that? Ranmaru lent a frustrated growl, feeling very mortified.
As soon as she changed her clothes the first thing that caught his eyes were her lips, still decorated with the pink gloss that made the lines of her mouth more apparent and look soft to the touch.
It was too distracting; he needed to wipe it off.
…
At least was the reason his mind tried to think of.
Then he remembered her small and red tongue tracing her upper lip to remove what was left of the pink gloss and he felt his face go slight warm.
What am I? A virgin? Get a hold of yourself! He shook his head, as if it would shake his thoughts away.
"… Are you ok my son?"
"Elder…", Ranmaru stopped, bowing slight, "What are you doing, being up so early?"
"I couldn't rest", the older woman replied looking at the mountains.
"… Look, if you're feeling bad because of what we said yesterday then I want to apolog-"
"It's Ok", she stopped him, "It's true, my beloved son is dead, and no matter how much I pray he wouldn't return to us"
"…"
"I… Want to apologize for my behavior yesterday", the old woman crouched down, her body trembling a bit, "I guess that I was so desperate to see a light of hope that when I saw the girl I… Thought she was the deity that we always prayed for"
"Elder…"
He didn't know what to say when the old woman started to sob.
But he was aware that she wasn't the only one.
Visiting other villagers he was greeted with tired smiles, and some looked grateful and even hopeful when they saw him again.
His people were suffering for years, they looked very dead and hopeless, the pain and fear showing on their eyes or faces.
Cursed monsters! He cussed.
He would rip them apart. He wouldn't let them hurt anyone while he was there!
"Ranmaru!", El ran, holding his lance, "They are coming!"
"Ok", he nodded seriously, feeling his tattoo aching, "Elder, warn the villagers to stay in their houses and be safe in your own"
They are going to fight.
-00-
"Say… Are you not going to bring the girl?"
"It's a relatively small distance", he answered, focused on running, "But she's too slow to follow us, so I will summon her when we arrive there"
The red haired man nodded.
…
The situation was worse than they expected.
There was a great swarm of monsters running, like waves of violent waters of like an exploding volcano, the monsters coming nonstop from the tip of the sumit.
"Dammit!", he heard El curse, "I thought we killed a good deal of these assholes!"
"… They don't look like the monster we usually have", he took his gloves, "… There's something fishy here"
"Well, we will try to discover it after we deal with these guys"
Ranmaru slowly whispered, and the white sigil shone as a great and white ball appeared, dissipating, and making Haruka appear.
"Where…", she looked around.
"Be prepared", he said, "Our enemies are coming"
Haruka turned and saw the fast approaching creatures of bony features.
Taking a long breath she concentrated on her power, covering the whole place with a veil and protecting the village with a barrier.
"It will take a while until I can force myself to use destructive force", she said, looking determined, "But I will protect this place and you two until then"
"Fine", Ranmaru nodded, "You need to do that alone as I can't use the White Seal without you almost collapsing"
They exchanged looks, neither noticing that they shared a feeling of trust.
'I don't need anyone's help' my ass, El snorted, his tattoo glowing.
The silver and red warrior advanced.
El summoned his blessing's power so a scorching blaze appeared every time he brandished his spear, burning his opponents alive and breaking their hard shells while melting the metallic fangs and claws that from the enemies.
Ranmaru's tattoo glowed too as it was powered by the small beasts hungry desire to destroy, blasting their heads or bodies to oblivion with a strike of a great explosion.
They advanced the lines and killed everything in sight, but the waves of attacks continued, and they began to worry.
"How's the girl?"
"She's still holding the barrier", Ranmaru gritted his teeth when his hand went through the chest of a monster, "The monster are punching it and trying to overcome her, but she's holding them off"
"Oh… Good", there was a nod as two enemies were sliced open, "… Do you think she could hold her barrier for long periods of time if we need rest?"
"I don't know"
"Heh, then I guess we need to fight until we faint"
Think back then… Haruka tried to concentrate, How you used your power… You need to summon it now!
She needed to protect those people, she could hear their praying, the look of devastation on their faces…
She couldn't allow it.
She felt her heart beat fast with her resolution, and the painful power of destruction engulf her until the tip of her fingers.
"Stand back!", Haruka warned, being barely audible along the screeches and sounds of battle.
But somehow, her incredible presence made the strange beasts flinch as her golden eyes glowed with a fiery light.
The barrier expanded, but it didn't push the monsters away.
No… They entered the field of her attack and were disintegrated, not standing the huge amount of holy power pouring from her.
"Holy…!", El gawked.
"She's strong", Ranmaru noted for the second time as the reach of her powers expanded.
Now it was the reverse, the creatures tried to ran away in a frenetic dash, but they were eventually caught by the energy or by them.
"… Hey, wouldn't we be wiped out if that thing caught us?", El glanced at Ranmaru who looked strangely calm.
"She won't", he crossed his arms as the barrier caught them.
They felt being flooded with a soothing and refreshing energy, like they never felt as calm and peaceful in their whole lives.
It was a strange and somewhat aspiring feeling.
"I feel like the tension of the last days were gone like a joke", the red headed commented, surprised and in awe, "How are you feeling?"
"Ok, I guess", he shrugged.
"Goddamit man!", he was exasperated, "It's impossible for you to not be affected! Show more reaction!"
Ranmaru ignored him and walked back, until he was in front of the girl.
"…How are you?", he asked.
"I… Am… Fine", Haruka's voice sounded strained, her body shaking as she let her arms drop.
"… So you're still affected by it", he commented, "Even when using your power on your own will"
"…Yes", she nodded, "It's not bad as the first time, where I used for large periods of time"
"…"
"… I think it's easier when you use the White Seal"
"The White Seal?", he arched an eyebrow, "If my memory is right you were almost to the point of collapsing the first time I used it"
"… Like I said, it's easier when I can relate with my guardian"
"… Why are you so keen on approaching me?"
"Why not?", she asked back, "I already told you, I'm willing to help, so there's no need to avoid me"
She sighed.
"I'm tired of losing people close to me… Otoya, Tokiya, Cecil, Natsuki, Satsuki, Sho, Masato and Ren… They were all dear to me, and it hurt being separated from them"
"…"
"… I tried my best distancing myself from you four, just trying to think of my reality as something to be accepted", she said, closing her eyes.
There was a long pause after that, and her shoulders dropped a bit.
"But… I… Felt slowly getting closer to you, the four of you", she said in a whisper, not daring to look him in the eyes, "You were a bit harsh yes, but I guess that I needed it so I could finally wake up and face the consequences of my actions"
She finally looked up, her stance looking stronger, and her golden eyes shining bright, "I… Am grateful. For the four of you, I hold you dear and that's why I don't want to part ways"
"Che, I don't believe you can say something so embarrassing with a straight face", Ranmaru avoided looking at her, but it was clear that he was feeling embarrassed as his pale cheeks was slight tinted with red.
"Please", she begged.
"Ugh! I already told you", he looked back at her, "We don't have anything in common, using the White Seal won't work!"
"… Why are you so against at working together?"
"Because it's the way I am"
"It's unhealthy"
"I was already told that"
"… It's lonely"
"…"
"And I can identify myself with this feeling", she smiled, as if she was getting a point across.
"… What you understand about that? You made all of those morons fall for you"
"When I first arrived in this world I was scared and couldn't fully trust anyone", she explained, "It took me a long time to open my heart, and even after the pain of partying with each guardian I still didn't regret knowing about them… Maybe I regretted causing pain to them, but not meeting them"
"…"
"Besides… Do you think you were the only one who had your full trust betrayed?", she looked hurt, "I was betrayed once, and the cost was very high… Like you, I lost a lot of my own people for trusting someone"
She fell into a silence, clearly uncomfortable for revealing such intimate and personal information about herself.
"… It's not impossible to relate with each other", she avoided talking more about the issue, "If you just try…"
"Fine"
"Hum?"
"I will make an effort", he frowned, "But don't you dare to faint or blame me if anything goes wrong"
He started walking towards the summit.
"… What are you doing there? We need to climb", he furrowed his brows, "I'm pretty sure that the source of this problems in inside the mountain"
"You sure are something", El appeared besides her, which made her startle.
"H-How long were you here?"
"Since the beginning", he replied, "You two were so much into talking with each other that you forgot about me"
"Oh… Sor-"
"It's the first time I see him opening up to someone besides me and grandmother", he smiled, "I was worried that he would be always alone when he wasn't here but… I'm glad he met you"
"El…"
"I know he can be a stubborn idiot who can never admit anything, but…", he scratched his head, "Please, continue staying by his side"
"…Yes", she smiled as they nodded and went after the other.
-000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000-
See? I said that I would make up for him 8D
anonimo- Don't worry, you will know about Haruka when it's the right time, but about her past with STARISH Hum... Not sure if I will write, because it's too much focus on them and the story in mainly QN
InnocentSerenade- Hahaha don't worry, she's the sweet grandma, I'm a dick but I wouldn't do something so cruel XD
Haruka was always powerful, it's just that her meek and mellow personality that never allowed her to show it, but she got more of a spunk after enduring the QN harsh shenanigans.
Oh... I see... Well, good to know, this way it wouldn't feel off if he joins her harem*bricked*
MWAHAHHAA, I started college again, so it may take a while to write as I work too, probably I will update only at mornings or Sundays XD
Portgas D. Monica- Muchas Gracias! No tengo ningun problema, te entiendo perfectamente, soy Brasileña, entoces mi lenguaje es cercana, pero creo que por esto yo puedo decir algunas tonterías cuando escribo. Nuevamente, muchas gracias XD
Maracas-senpai! XD(Me río)
PassionMusic- Well, it's my trademark, I can't write anything that doesn't have a tint of fluff XD. A bit, but not that much, it's just that he's a tsundere that can't express himself well and avoids her to mess things up, but I guess I showed more of his deredere side in this chapter(and he denies the obvious JFC)YEAH!STARISH next chapter, and lol, Ai is just clueless, poor him, when Aine wakes up there will be one more man for the competition XD. Don't worry, Ai will have his own chapter to use his Seal.