Hey this is My take on what if Hajime falls into the Abyss with someone else concept. I'll be using my favourite character in the series Shizuku. I've adjusted some things, especially Shizuku's and Hajime's relationship. Now they have a more substantial history as friends, certainly stronger than in canon.

I Don't Own Arifureta, or its characters.

Without so much as thought Shizuku Yaegashi leapt to save Hajime Nagumo. She couldn't help but feel that acting like this was irrational for her. She was known as the level headed one of her group of friends.

Yet she jumped without hesitation. Because she needed to save him, more than anyone else.

Using her enhanced speed, she managed to catch Nagumo mid-air. However, the momentum of her approach propelled them down the gorge even faster.

From this point onwards, their classmates could no longer hear them. They were lost to the chasm of this dungeon. All that could be heard was Kaori's inconsolable screams.

Shizuku Yaegashi had failed.

Soon after falling to the area that she would quickly call the "Abyss," a demon bear attacked Shizuku and Hajime.

They stood no chance. The bear's presence alone overwhelmed Shizuku, making her hesitate and fail to react to the bear's powerful claw attack aimed directly at her. Hajime had pushed her out of the way, and in doing so, had lost his left arm. Out of shock and the lost of blood Hajime was rendered unconscious. Reacting as fast as she could, she pulled Hajime towards her, quickly grabbing him and using her enhanced speed to flee as soon as she could.

Out of sheer the desperation she kept running, the adrenaline and fear propelling her beyond her limits. She found a crack in the rock wall that could fit both of them. When she could no longer hear the roar of the bear, she turned her desperate attention to saving Hajime.

She ripped off part of her pants to form a makeshift bandage. But it was no use; the blood continued to escape, no matter her attempts to stem the flow of Hajime's blood.

Yet even in the darkest Abyss, a miracle occurred. Just a single drop, one tiny drop against all the odds fell into the mouth of Shizuku Yaegashi. The single drop was enough to heal her bruised and broken body. Her body was restored in stamina and mana. Shizuku noticed the revitalizing effects of the liquid almost instantly.

She struck at the rock above her sword sheath to increase the flow of the liquid, until consistent drops began to form. After pooling some of the liquid, she gave the liquid to Hajime.

The blood stopped flowing. His breathing steadied. As far as Shizuku could tell he was out of the critical condition he was in.

For what seemed like hours, the Synergist awoke.

"Nagumo-kun!"

With her eyes close to bursting with tears, she immediately embraced the disorientated Hajime Nagumo.

"I thought that you were going to die! I rushed in to try and save you, but I failed!" She cried out.

Openly weeping, Shizuku embraced him even tighter than before. Hajime Nagumo simply rubbed her back with his good hand. He knew that Shizuku's rational and composed side had a limit. She had spent so much of her time being everyone's protector and 'mum' that it felt natural, the way that it was meant to be. Hajime knew that deep down, Shizuku wanted some to look after her.

"Yaegashi-san. Do you remember what I said to you before when you asked me to help you bury your family cat?"

Shizuku's family cat died when the rest of her family was away. She couldn't bury the cat on her own. It wasn't because she wasn't strong enough; she just couldn't bring herself to bury her beloved cat. Before she considered calling anyone else, she called Hajime to help her.

"We can take turns being strong. You will be by my side if I need you." Shizuku recalled.

"And You'll have my back the rest of the way. So thanks for rushing and saving me. I had your back when you needed me most, and you did the same for me when I was knocked out. So you didn't fail me."

Hajime kept rubbing her back until she calmed down.

After being told that it was a strange liquid that prevented his death, he carefully transmuted the surrounding area around him.

"Divinity stone. I see"

Hajime explained that this was stone made from super condensed mana, formed after centuries of collection. It was called as such because a 'so-called' god had given the liquid it produces to heal their worshippers.

Hajime quickly transmuted several vials to help collect the 'ambrosia.' Using his full mana, he expanded the size of their 'hovel' into a six tatami sized room.

Then, the two of them sat down to deliberate on their next course of action.

"We need to find a way out of here."

"We are getting out of here. Not just from this shitty dungeon, but from this shitty world as well. This world isn't just for shits and giggles, and I don't trust their god or their church." Hajime explained.

Shizuku agreed. She hadn't agreed with the class becoming "heroes." Kouki had just appealed to everyone's 'heroic duty' and strung everyone along. They had no idea about the world that they were in, and she didn't trust people who sent a bunch of 17-year-olds do their bidding.

"And as for our' classmates…"

Hajime's face began to scowl and twist as if recalling an utterly disgusting memory.

"Fuck them!"

"One of them fired that magical blast on purpose! You can't misfire a magical spell! The rest didn't even help! I risked my life to defeat that Behemoth, and what I got was betrayal! Being sent to die in godforsaken hellhole!"

"They bullied me! They tormented me; the rest stood by! They don't deserve anything!"

Shizuku sat there in silence. She was slightly taken aback at how sudden Hajime's change was, but she wasn't entirely surprised at his transformation. He had endured so much, and honestly, she was beginning to hate the rest of them.

She had made a promise to herself when she jumped into the Abyss. She meant to keep it no matter who stood in her way.

"Yaegashi. Are you with me?" Hajime asked a little hesitantly, unsure whether his sudden change had turned his closest friend away.

"I am. You gave your left arm away to save my life. I'll be your new left arm until the day I die. I'll be by your side, and you'll be by mine. I'll protect you from anything and everything. This is my promise." She responded firmly.

She had no problems with standing against her former classmates. But one person remained in her mind.

"Kaori…."

"All the more reason to get out of here. I think I know the asshole who shot me. And the longer he is left alone with Kaori, the worse her situation gets." Hajime accepted.

With their general direction decided upon; they began to prepare to survive the hellhole known as 'Abyss.'

Insert Line Here

Firstly they had to find some food. And for that they needed to craft weapons. Hajime had no weapons to begin with and Shizuku's curved sword had shattered upon impact. Using his Synergist skills, he identified a durable ore called [Taur Stone] which was reasonably sturdy and could be made into a crude spear. He created two spears.

"Sorry. I simply don't have the skills or the mana to create a katana at the moment."

"It's okay. Grandfather and father still taught me the basics of most weapon types."

Their hunt began with carefully observed the area immediately surrounding their' hovel.' They had identified one monster that seemed weaker than the rest. The twin-tailed wolves. They often hunted in packs, however after hours and hours, they spotted one wolf by itself. It was the perfect target.

"I'll go distract the wolf. I'll try to fight it and bring its attention solely on me. Then when you see an opening, stab it." Shizuku ordered.

Hajime complied, after all, Shizuku was physically stronger than Hajime on account of the 'God blessing' and she had a better chance at operating a spear on the account of having two hands.

Shizuku immediately begun their plan. She had caught the attention of the singular hungry wolf. It could tell that the humanoid creature was starving; it was weak. That's what the wolf thought.

The wolf soon saw how wrong it was. The humanoid creature had managed to keep it away from getting too close. Usually, this would not be a problem. When the wolf was in a pack, they would simply rush the creature and end it. Since the wolf was alone, each thrust aimed at his direction prevented him from eating his prey. At points, the wolf managed to get past the spearhead, but the humanoid creature swung the shaft of the spear to slam the wolf away.

With each second, their fight began to tire out both combatants. Shizuku began to inch closer ever so slightly to the hole in the wall. The wolf noticed this and began to use the last of its energy to launch more vicious attacks in hopes of overwhelming Shizuku.

The wolf launched one powerful attack aimed at overwhelming her through sheer strength and momentum. But the wolf's desperation had gotten the better of it. The wolf had committed the rest of its remaining stamina to one final attack, Shizuku had not. She dodged the lunging attack by a hair's breadth, and the wolf slammed straight into the rock wall.

"Now Nagumo-kun!"

Leaping from the hole in the wall, Hajime began charging at the wolf. With his right arm, he slammed his spear into the wolf's body. These twin-tailed wolves had an innate protection system. If wounded, they would send an electric field around themselves to shock and disable their assailants.

And the wounded wolf, in its desperation, mustered all of its power and fear at the strongest lightning field it could produce. The weakened Hajime began to scream. But he wasn't out of the count yet.

"FUCK YOU! You tried eating us, right?! Kill or be killed is the rule of this dungeon, right?! It's the rule of this shitty world, right?! So don't blame us if we kill you!"

Gripping the spearhead even tighter, Hajime used all of his strength into his thrust. Not missing a beat, Shizuku followed up with a final blow to the head. The wolf was dead.

Shizuku and Hajime carried the wolf back to their 'base' and had the wolf grilled in a makeshift grill using their spears.

Hajime ravenously ripped into the meat. It was absolutely disgusting, but Hajime was determined to stay alive and forced his throat to swallow the wolf meat.

"Gagh! That was the worse thing I've ever eaten!"

But even if he could force the wolf meat down a human body could not handle digesting monster meat. Hajime's body was wracked with intense pain. The meat ate his body from the inside. He dropped and began convulsing in absolute agony. He knew he had only once chance.

"AMBROSIA! Gragh! Yaegashi!"

Unfazed Shizuku uncorked the vial, held open Hajime's mouth, and poured the ambrosia to heal him. As the monster meat ravaged Hajime's body, the ambrosia repaired the damage. Hajime's body underwent continual damage and healing. The muscles in his body overcompensated and grew in strength and size. This process changed his body on the cellular level, causing his body to become a human-monster hybrid.

When the process was over, Hajime had lost all the colour in his hair; his eyes turned blood red crimson. Blood red mana permeated throughout his body. He awoke soon after, gasping and hyperventilating. Once he calmed down, he gave Shizuku a cheesy grin.

"Nearly died again. Oops," He stated matter of factly.

"Don't joke around. You nearly died again!" Shizuku admonished.

"I feel fine Yaegashi. I feel a lot better, a lot lighter and a lot stronger to boot."

He checked his status plate. His stats were as follows:

Level: 8

Strength: 100

Vitality: 300

Defence: 100

Agility: 200

Magic: 300

Magic Defence: 300

Alongside his Synergist skills, he gained new abilities [Lightning Field], [iron Stomach] and [Mana Manipulation]. As he felt around, it seemed that his mana had increased and changed to a crimson red colour. By Shizuku's estimation, Hajime had grown in stature by at least 10 centimetres. She stared a little bit too long at his developed muscles.

"What the fuck!? I gained 6 levels! And all my stats increased by at least 10 to 30 fold!"

At things considered he now ranked as high as his 'blessed' classmates.

"Perhaps I somehow merged with the monster meat?"

After briefly glancing at Hajime's status card, Shizuku grabbed some of the monster meat that was left and prepared to eat it.

"I guess there's nothing for it. Hopefully, it's not as bad as you made it look."

Hajime strenuously objected. He would not let someone else go through the hell that he went through. Surely there was some other kind of food that he could find. He would not let Shizuku throw her humanity so easily…. Not for his sake.

"Even if I had the luxury to choose, this place won't be so forgiving. That demon bear is still out there. Who knows what other things lurk in this place."

"And what happens when we get out of here? Even if you decide to ditch our classmates we will come into contact with them. If we want to save Kaori we need to fight them. Kouki won't let her go without a fight, and everyone will side with Kouki."

"If you intend to be strong enough to fuck this world and find a way back home by force if necessary, I'll have to be just as strong. I intend to fight by your side as your equal, not your damsel in distress."

In the face of such stubbornness and determination, what else could Hajime have done? Shizuku ate the meat, and with it, the endless screaming began.

As predicted Shizuku had undergone a similar transformation to Hajime. Silvery white hair replaced her black hair colour. Her eyes were always originally red, but now they have begun shimmering with her crimson red mana. Her strength, speed, and various other stats had increased alongside new abilities, like [Lightning Field].

Her stats were as follows:

Level: 10

Strength: 200

Vitality: 300

Defence: 200

Agility: 400

Magic: 300

Magic Defence: 300

With an enhanced Shizuku by his side, they began to explore the dungeon carefully encountering several different species of monsters like the kick master rabbit. This particular creature was difficult for Hajime to content with given his lower speed. Shizuku had been slightly reluctant to kill the rabbit, given how cute it looked. Hajime teased her endlessly for her' reluctance.'

Using his synergist skills Hajime had been in charge of weapons creation. He had created a katana and sheath for Shizuku by condensing the taur stone to make the ore far sharper and stronger. Shizuku now had the full breadth of the Yaegashi style at her fingertips. He initially wished to name the blade the [Schwarze Klinge], however…

"Chunnibyou…." Shizuku deadpanned.

At with a searing pain to his head, Hajime relented to naming the blade the [Raikiri].

Hajime himself had gone through several reversions of his desired weapon. After finding combustible ore, he initially set out to make a weapon that could fire projects. At first, he came up with a design based on the ancient Chinese Fire Lances (which he called [Feuerlanze]), which were, however too inaccurate to be effective in combat.

After several attempts and failures, Hajime had created his masterpiece, one revolver which he named [Donner]. He could fire the bullets by triggering the combustion ore inside the rounds or if he required extra firepower using his [Lightning Field] to turn the gun into a railgun, thereby enhancing the power of the weapon to almost ridiculous levels.

Upon asking why he had such an in-depth knowledge of guns, Hajime simply shrugged and said that he absorbed most of this knowledge when he was asked to do a research project for his father, who need this information for some new work that he was planning.

Eating the Kick-master Rabbit had given Hajime and Shizuku [Air Dance], and the derivative skills of [Supersonic Step] a skill which propelled the user at breakneck speeds and [Aerodynamics] which allowed the user to create invisible footholds in the air.

Shizuku had done wonders with the skills [Lightning Field] and [Supersonic Step]. She had enhanced her reflexes and speed by focusing the electricity throughout her nervous system. Her [Supersonic Step] was turned into [Lightspeed Step], which increased her speed.

As they traversed the floor, they eventually came across the Claw Bear that took Hajime's arm. Having no real need for revenge, Hajime simply shot the monster with one of his electromagnetically enhanced bullets. It fell in once shot. Eating the monster gave them the [Gale Claw] skill, which allowed them to produce sharp wind attacks. Shizuku was particularly adept at this skill, which allowed her to add a long-range effect to her sword slash.

After several days of exploring and killing anything that they could find, they eventually encountered stairs leading further down. They never found stairs leading back up.

"I never been able to transmute stairs to get out of here. I've always hit a part of the rock where it been impossible to transmute. We have no choice."

It was clear to both of them that they had no choice.

"If we encounter something hostile, we know what to do with them. We kill it, eat it, and we survive." Shizuku affirmed.

Fade to Black

It was a dream that Hajime had dreamt ever since his transformation. It always started so well. He had returned, he was home! But then the colour faded from the world, and there he stood in front of two familiar figures.

"I don't know you anymore."

"Where did our son go?"

The two figures rejected his presence. They moved away from him, crying.

"No, it's me! I've come back home. I did everything I could to go back home to you!"

He tried reaching out, but something held him back.

"You can't return to them. You monster. Justice demands that you be put down!"

The self-righteous figure of Amanogawa Kouki held Hajime back, threatening to drag him back into the Abyss.

"You! I've already rejected you! Out of my way!"

Hajime screamed and pulled out Donner and begun to shoot indiscriminately. The figure's head simply reformed into a new face, every time he shot at it.

"Seems like the otaku turned into a monster. Serves you right….."

"Creep"

"Monster."

"Go back into the Abyss."

The distorted figures kept pulling him down. He couldn't struggle anymore. Then he saw a final figure. She stood in front of Hajime.

"I can't protect you anymore. I'm sorry."

"NO! NoNoNoNoNo! Don't send me back there! Someone help me! Anyone save me! Don't abandon me!"

Hajime was pulled back into the darkness, never to see the light of his world ever again.

Shizuku was keeping watch as Hajime slept. Suddenly a loud cry erupted from the makeshift cabin that Hajime had created.

"Don't abandon me!"

He was wide awake, with tears streaming down his eye. By his side was the concerned face of Shizuku Yaegashi.

"Yaegashi… You… Of course, you're still here. It was that dream again…"

Looking increasingly concerned, Shizuku asked him about the dream.

"What kind of the dream was it?"

"Nothing….. It was ridiculous."

"Just a silly nightmare, eh?"

Shizuku wasn't convinced, she had dealt with evasive answers before. She would have her answers. With precision, she aimed her sheath right at a bruise that Hajime sustained the day previously. Ever so slowly, she increased the pressure. She smiled a little too sweetly.

"Nagumo-kun….. I don't appreciate evasive answers. So please answer me properly this time."

She kept applying pressure, just enough to make it hurt.

"Ouch, ouch! Okay, okay!"

I always keep dreaming about this. I make it back home to our world. Initially, it's all nice and warm."

"But then the colour drains from the world; it all turns cold. Then I see my parents. They told me that I was a monster that they didn't know me anymore."

"And then Amanogawa, and the rest…. They appeared to drag me back into Abyss. They kept calling me a monster. I kept shooting and shooting, but nothing helped."

After a a brief pause, Hajime glanced up to Shizuku's face. She had tears streaming down her eyes.

"And then you appeared. It was the worse part…. You said that you wouldn't be by my side anymore. And then I screamed, begged for you not to go…."

"That's where the dream ended."

After a a brief pause, Hajime felt the warm embrace of Shizuku Yaegashi.

"You big idiot… Don't keep this sort of thing to yourself….."

"You know I felt really disgusted when I first killed something. It was horrible. I kept smelling the stench hours after it died. I kept crying for hours. I felt like a monster…"

"Even as I keep killing, and even when it became all to easy, I still feel horrible after the fact."

"I'm no expert but those dreams seem like you fear becoming a monster. A horrible monster that the people around you will never choose to accept."

"Monsters are created by their actions. Evil intentions create monsters. Indiscriminate violence creates monsters…."

"I think its important to hold on to that fear. That doubt about whether your intentions and your actions where correct. Or else you will turn into the monster you fear."

After a brief pause Shizuku took a deep breath, she looked down a for a minute before steeling herself.

"And besides you aren't becoming a monster. You're not that much different from the Nagumo-kun that I know."

Gradually getting redder and redder, Shizuku continued with her confession.

"I've always admired you. You always seemed completely determined to do exactly what you wanted to do, never wavering with a will of iron."

"Yet you're aware of others. You're kind to others without ever being annoyed. You endure all their bullying and Kouki's pontificating. Yet you've always been able to look out for me."

"You've hadn't changed one bit Nagumo Hajime. Did your best when no one else could, protected everyone even though no one expected you to. And even as you where betrayed, you kept protecting me, never once regretting the decision to save me."

"I never thought I'd be able to say this. I always thought that Kaori would get to you someday. And you'd be all lovey-dovey with her, and you'll forget all about me. But circumstances as they are, it's about as a good time to tell you as any time."

"I love you Hajime Nagumo. I fell in love with the Nagumo-kun that you were, the Nagumo-kun that you are, and the Nagumo-kun you will always be. I'll never let you become the monster you fear becoming."

Hajime simply looked at his partner. The person that he looked up to the most. The person who was ever by his side even when things were rough, also when the bullying seemed to be getting worse. Her confession got to him. He had always admired her, wondered why she stuck with a guy like him.

"Hey, Yaegashi…. I won't stay the same "Nagumo-kun" that you know forever, you know."

"Why not?" She asked, still confused, still embracing him.

"I mean after all of this, you can call me "Hajime" I mean with how close we are you don't have to call me "Nagumo-kun" all the time."

"Idiot, you that line was not cool… As expected of someone who hasn't graduated from 8th grade yet… If you're going to be like that, then call me "Shizuku." Go on."

"S-S-S-Shizuku."

Shizuku blushed a deep crimson to match her eyes. Who knew having the boy you love call you out with your given name felt so embarrassing yet so elating.

"H-H-Hajime-kun"

"Does this mean that you accept my feelings?"

Swallowing deeply, he responded as best as he could.

"You keep telling me that I always seem unwavering. "

"I'm not. No one ever is. But you always reached out your hands towards me. You always understood me like no one ever had. One hand was all that it takes, and it was always yours."

"Thank you Shizuku. As far as my body can, I'll always be by your side, now and til death do us part."

Shizuku blushed her trademark crimson once more. Once the implications of what he said to her were understood, she simply dug her face into his chest…. It was just like her dreams, just like the Shoujo manga she loved to read secretly."

"You'd better take responsibility for making a maiden blush like that."

Deep in the Abyss.

A lone figure stood in the deepest parts of the Abyss. She was shackled by magical contraptions.

Lost and all alone she cried out the only words that formed in her thoughts.

Help me…. Please…..

That's chapter one done. Hopefully, this reads pretty well. Hopefully, anyone that reads it enjoys it.