War Games Round 13
Alviss, Nanashi, and Wrath's Training Gate: General PoV
After training for the day, Wrath slumped on the ground, looking exhausted. "O-oi!" Alviss went over to her, checking her over. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine." She mumbled, managing a small smile. "We're not in here for nothing, right? We need to keep going so we can be ready for the games." She stood up and dusted herself off, Alviss sighing at her but smiling a little too. "I'm not gonna take it easy… not unless I have to."
"Wrath-chan…" a whispered voice called. Wrath immediately looked up and looked around.
"Merilo?" the bluenette looked around. "Merilo, what is it?"
"Merilo?" Alviss asked. "Isn't that…?"
"Alviss… Nanashi…"
"A voice?" Nanashi asked, looking up at the spiraling air that Wrath had started to stare at. The voice soon addressed Ginta and Jack, mentioning that she was currently in Snow and Dorothy's training gate.
"I have a message for you all."
"This girl's voice is so sweet!" Nanashi exclaimed with a ridiculous grin on his face. "I bet she must be very pretty!"
"Merilo is Alan's Guardian aRM." Alviss stated, turning to the blonde man.
"It doesn't matter if she's an aRM~ Merilo-chan~ Can you show us your lovely face~?" he asked, causing Merilo to get slightly flustered as Wrath whacked Nanashi in the back of his knee to shut him up for a little while. Merilo began to explain that Alan was in trouble, Wrath's eyes going wide at the mention of it. She also explained that much of his power was being used to keep the training gates open, so he was in a bad way.
"The method to save Alan-sama is… everyone must focus their powers and transfer them to Alan-sama." Merilo stated. "If everyone's magic has met the training criteria targets, you will be able to leave the Training Gate!"
"Alright! Then let's begin!" Nanashi exclaimed. Alviss nodded in agreement as Wrath took a breath.
"Alan-san… hang on." She mumbled, closing her eyes. "… Be strong…" she mumbled as her magic began to overflow, Nanashi and Alviss joining her in sending their magic to Alan via Merilo. But as Merilo gave everyone's magic to Alan, it still wasn't enough. "Damn it…" Wrath mumbled, suddenly falling to one knee.
"Wrath!?"
"Wrath-chan?!" Nanashi and Alviss looked over to her.
"Stop, we can take it from here-"
"No!" Wrath stated, shaking her head. "I won't stop!" she looked over to her friends. "Alan-san… is in pain…" she mumbled, tears in her eyes. "I won't let this continue!" she balled her hands into fists and her magic began rapidly accelerating and flowing up to Merilo. "I don't want anyone else to be killed!" she dropped her gaze to the ground. "Alan-san… I can hear his pain…" she added. "But he believes in us! We can't let him down!" Wrath's magic continued to expand rapidly, a silhouette of someone standing next to her appearing.
"Wrath…" Alviss watched the girl stand back up, the silhouette still next to her, unnoticed by the 14 year old.
"Fastest way to get Alan-san our power… is through the use of our aRM." She stated, gripping the white wing pendant that was once her father's. "Isn't it?" she asked, wiping away anything that might have been tears. "That's what he taught us…" she turned back to the swirl in the sky, Merilo's aRM form floating there. "Merilo! Give this to Alan!" she stated, allowing her power to build as Tsubasa appeared hovering over her. "Tsubasa! Give it all you've got!" The white wings spread wide, gathering Wrath's magic and flying it up to Merilo. "We gotta make sure Alan-san has enough power to pay back the guy who's causing him all this pain."
Reginrave Forest: Wrath's PoV
We now all stood in the forest again, where the training gates had once been. We were back. "You guys were really slow!" Alan commented, grinning.
"Well that's okay, isn't it Old Man?" Ginta asked, looking as energetic as ever. Alan walked over to pick up the aRM that had been used against him. However, as he crushed it in his hand, something happened to the person who was our enemy. He began screaming out in pain, Dorothy telling everyone to be careful. "The Darkness aRM turned that guy into a monster!"
"What is it? It's kind of a disgusting monster…" Nanashi commented.
"That was a person just now, wasn't it…? Snow asked, looking a little worried.
"Yes, that's the price of this Darkness aRM… it changed him into that…" Alviss added. As the fight with this creature began, I was going to step forward to help, but Tsubasa restricted me from doing so, curling around my shoulders and pouring back some of the magic I had over exerted. Only then did I realize how much I was shaking… Snow and Dorothy pulled off a combination attack, but the enemy was still going strong. Alviss and Nanashi stepped up to the challenge, Tsubasa releasing his hold and flying up. "Ready?" Alviss asked me, causing me to look up.
"Of course." I nodded, allowing him to go first. He catapulted the monster into the air, Nanashi shocking it with his Electric Eye, and Tsubasa taking the final move as it fell back to earth, striking straight down to increase the damage of the impact. The monster stood on its last legs, and Jack and Ginta paired up to finish the job with Gargoyle. "It's done."
"Yeah…" Alviss tousled my hair a little. "You're gonna rest when we get back to the castle you know."
"Yeah yeah, I know." I smiled back. But still nagging at me was that feeling of my heart racing from being so close to the boy I had spent the last War with…
Reginrave Castle: General PoV
Everyone had gone to sleep, but Wrath sat awake and staring out the window. The bluenette got up from sitting, climbing out the window and sitting on the rooftop, like she had done with her father on occasion, allowing Tsubasa to cover her like a blanket as she stared up at the moon. It was so clear, and the moon was full… it made her smile a little. "Mama… Papa… are you both well?" she asked in a whisper. "… I miss you both so much…" she felt hot tears roll down her cheeks as she buried her face against her knees. She sobbed as she felt someone sit next to her, the wings moving to accommodate the new comer. "… Alviss."
"You shouldn't be out here by yourself." He stated, holding her hand gently so as not to upset her more. "You'll catch a cold…"
"Ahaha, I don't care already…" she mumbled, leaning into his shoulder. "… Warm…" she mumbled.
"… Idiot." He sighed, letting her lean against him, lightly petting her hair to calm her down. "… Tsubasa, I'll take her inside. You can go back to sleep." He added, the wings releasing their grip before reverting back into their suspended form, Alviss carrying the now unconscious girl back inside and laying her down on her bed so she could sleep properly. But as he was about to let go, he heard Tsubasa's voice.
"My lady is thankful… but please remember to be kind to her… she's still a child." Alviss heard the aRM chuckle at him before falling silent, causing his cheeks to color red. Tsubasa was obviously watching whenever he and Wrath got close, but… it was embarrassing for the ravenette teen to think about such a thing. He simply covered Wrath with the blanket before leaving the room silently. Or at least he would have liked to, but Ginta started screaming and he went to check on it, Wrath waking not a moment later and following him to see what was going on. Apparently, Ginta had a dream about fighting Phantom, and he ended up hurting himself.
"Ahh, Ginta's all worked up for the games to continue." Wrath stated as she went back to her room, Alviss shaking his head at the young captain, following Wrath back towards the other rooms.
Upon arriving back at Wrath's room, Alviss had to escort her to the bed, knowing she was barely conscious as things were. "Go back to sleep."
"Noooo."
"Back to sleep, Wrath." Alviss scolded lightly, making her lay down and covering her with the blanket again. "Just for a while… okay?"
"Nnnn…" Wrath held onto Alviss' hand as she fell asleep, the ravenette teen sighing and letting her do as she wanted. She really was just like a kid… Tsubasa's words resonated in his head as he found himself petting her head gently, running his fingers through her hair.
"… Damn it…" he muttered to himself, feeling his cheeks burning. He leaned over Wrath and supporting himself on his forearms, leaned in to kiss Wrath's cheek gently. "… I'm sorry…" he mumbled, gripping her hand tighter, the sleeping bluenette's hand tightening around his a little in return. "I know you're lonely… but I can't let you get any closer until I've gotten rid of this curse…" he pet her head again and just let her sleep. "… so… bear with me, Princess…"
Flashback: 6 years prior
"Wrath?" Alviss was kneeling next to the little bluenette as she woke up. Misako was rushing down the stairs to check on her child with her husband. "Are you okay?"
"Senpai…?" she asked, looking confused and dizzy. "What… where am I?"
"You're in the castle… are you in pain?" he asked. "You took a fall." He added as a look of confusion crossed Wrath's face. "Do you need any help?"
"No… I'm okay…" she sat up just as her mother made it to the ground floor, checking her over before allowing Elda a moment to heal her child for any unseen injuries. Aaren was panicking over Wrath, but too afraid to touch her since she was still dizzy.
"Mama…? Papa…?"
"My baby…" Misako was practically in tears. "Aaren, love, can you go get me some water for them both?" she asked, her husband nodding and rushing off to go and get water for the two children. "Alviss are you okay?" she asked once she made sure Wrath was unharmed. "Thank you so much for breaking her fall!" Misako pulled the boy into a hug, tears still in her eyes.
"Senpai… broke my fall?" Wrath asked, looking concerned and turning immediately to the ravenette. "Alviss, are you okay?"
"I'm alright." He said, petting the girl's head gently as Misako let them both go. "I'm glad I caught you, that could have been bad." He smiled. Wrath latched onto him, tears in her eyes. "Wr-wrath?"
"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Alviss!" she cried into his shoulder. "I'll be more careful from now on I promise!" Alviss hugged her gently, petting her head so as to calm her down.
"It's okay…" he mumbled, cheeks red. Aaren hurried back into the room with the water, shakily offering the cups to his daughter and her friend.
Reginrave Castle: Wrath's PoV
I opened my eyes slowly; eyelids still a little heavy, to see someone sitting on my bed. I groaned a little before I tried to sit up, the person turning to look at me. "Morning, Princess." Alviss' voice came to my ears, causing me to look up and meet his gaze. "Sleep well?"
"… Alviss…?" I questioned, rolling onto my back. "What happened?"
"Nothing... You were kind of clinging to my hand so I couldn't exactly leave…" he averted his gaze and I looked to his hand to see that I was still holding onto it.
"S-sorry…" I blushed, releasing his hand and fumbling for my glasses. "U-um so…?"
"Are you feeling okay now?" he asked. "You used up a lot more magic than normal… are you recovered?"
"Nnn… I want to say I am but…" I looked at my hand and sighed. "If I tried fighting anyone as strong as the knight class right now, I'd lose… badly…" I put my arm over my face, sighing again. "Fight without me… but win."
"Of course." Alviss pet my head a little. "Do you… want to go back to sleep?"
"No, I won't sleep…" I sat up and stretched. "I'll be watching the match." I smiled a little. "Gotta make sure you aren't too reckless, senpai~"
"Yes yes." He chuckled, smiling in a way that made my face burn in embarrassment. "Come on, let's go before someone comes to taunt us again."
"Right." I nodded, getting up off the bed and following him out of the room, being careful to avoid being seen by the others as they got to the ground floor. "Alviss?"
"Yes, Wrath?"
"… I wanted to thank you… for staying with me last night… I'm sorry for having kept you from going back to your room…" I averted my eyes, feeling bad for the ordeal
"It's okay." He said, stopping near the exit to the courtyard. "I don't mind… you were tired… besides… you seem much happier when you sleep… like when you were younger." I thought I saw some red coloration tint his cheeks as he spoke. But before I could say anything more, he turned away and walked out into the courtyard. I followed soon after and hoped that maybe I'd get the chance to talk to him after the day's matches.
"Mushroom Field?" Ginta questioned as Pozun announced the day's location. The five people who stepped up were Ginta, Snow, Dorothy, Alviss, and Alan. As they stepped up and left for the battle location via Pozun's andarta, I felt a sudden twinge of uneasiness set in.
'What was that…?' I thought to myself as I looked up to the moon. '… Be careful, guys…'
END CHAPTER 13
((Sorry, I know it's been so long since I've posted ; v ;'''
I hope that you all like this chapter and I hope to post again sometime soon.
As always, reviews are appreciated~ ; v ;
-Winter Cheshire))