Just a warning, this chapter may be a little bit upsetting...
Chapter 11 - A Tour of Kuoh
[Perspective of: Tylia Griffin]
I'm not sure when the last time I was wandering around town with someone other my mother or sister was, actually. If I'm being honest, I don't recall a time where I have done that. It's a strange experience, being completely friendless most of my life and suddenly being thrown into a friendship with a girl who knows less about it than I do. The town, much like it always was in the after school times, was lively and bustling with students walking home from school, chatting and talking on their way, talking about...whatever normal people talk about. Asia and I, on the other hand? We walked in silence, not a word spoken between us. It appeared that Asia was getting a tad weary, as she gazed around at all the people, seeming to struggling to comprehend the crowds.
"Are you okay, Asia?" I asked her, turning my attention towards her at its fullest. "You seem to be struggling a tad."
"O-oh, no. I'm fine." Asia squeaked, smiling at me softly. "T-there's just a lot of people around...I've never seen any place this busy before."
"Welcome to Kuoh." I chuckled, putting a hand on my hip, continuing on. "Despite the fact that this place is fairly small compared to many other places in Japan, it can get really busy sometimes."
"I-I guess so." she responded, giggling a tiny bit and moving a little closer to me. "We shouldn't get lost, should we?" I shook my head in response, a bead of sweat dripping down my brow. It was a somewhat empty promise, due to the fact that other than attending school and occasionally going out with my mother, I never really leave the house, I spend most of my time practicing with my sword, or playing games on my laptop, alwhile hoping that a certain something doesn't interupt me. In other words, I honestly don't know much of the city's layout.
"You can count on me!" I spoke, giving Asia a thumbs up, cringing a tad inside due to the cheesiness of the words that just came out of my mouth. Asia blinked, before giggling and grinning, seemingly happy with my words. At least one of us enjoyed the cringey trash that I just said.
"I'm starting to sound like my sister, sheesh." I thought in silence, walking with Asia without a word. "So...Where first?" I asked, trying to get some idea of where to go on account of the fact that the Occult Research Club's president gave me little to no information to go off of.
"O-oh! Um...What are some fun places around here?" she stated, gazing up at me with sheepish green eyes. "I've already seen the old church and some of the neighbourhoods, but not much else..."
"Fun places? How am I meant to know that?! I barely ever go outside!" I mentally grumbled, feeling a tad irritated for not knowing where to go. "I mean...There should be an arcade around here somewhere."
"A-a what?" she stammered, tilting her head at me quietly, confused by the name. Perhaps she'd never heard about arcades by name before? Surely she must have some kind of knowledge about it.
"An arcade? They're places where they have a lot of different game machines, such as crane games and video game cabinets." I responded, continuing to walk with her, racking my brain and trying to explain what an arcade was. "You can win prizes there too, like stuffed animals and small little toys...It's normally rather expensive to try, though." Asia seemed to think for a moment, seemingly very confused. "...I will show you, don't worry."
The walk to the arcade was quiet and honestly a tad annoying, not because of Asia, mind you, if anything, it was a blessing that she was with me, otherwise I probably would have had a breakdown over the fact that this town is a fucking labyrinth.
At least, for me it is. As I mentioned, besides occasionally going out to the nearby shops or going to and from school, I never go outisde. I'm what you'd call a 'shut-in', except unlike many pervy NEETs my age, I don't sit on my ass, masturbating to pornography on a screen, or browsing internet forums looking to cause bother, instead, I simply keep myself occupied by practicing with my sword, with the occasional break to play video games on my old ratty laptop, or at least, that's what I used to do, thanks to my laptop getting a downright annoying virus that bothers me whenever I turn it on, so now I just practise my sword skills and read old books my mother gives me. As much as I would like to go into the details of it all, it would possibly be the most boring thing to ever explain anyway.
The arcade was soon in sight, it's neon lights and loud music visible and audible from half the street away, but what made the journey worth it was seeing Asia's expression. Her eyes had lit up, much like the very lights that we were approaching, a look of amazement on her face as we neared the flashing building. Clearly, she'd never seen anything like it in her life. It was quite endearing, and it frankly made me feel a little warm and fuzzy just looking at her like that.
As I thought on it a tiny bit more, Asia herself was rather endearing...might I say 'cute'. She looked a fair bit like me, but with longer hair, a smaller body and a more innocent and pleasant face...It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who was on the brink of being violated just last night.
"Um...Tylia?" I heard Asia say, snapping out of my thoughts, realising that she was stood in front of me, looking a tiny bit concerned. "Are you okay?" It took my mind a moment to parse what was happening, but I responded promptly.
"Yes, I'm fine." I had responded, smiling at her and chuckling a tad, before looking over at the arcade. "This is the Arcade that I was on about, it's got plenty of stuff to do there, like video games, prize games, ticket machines, and a fair few other things." Asia's gaze drifted back towards the large neon light-rich building in front of us, a small smile finding it's way onto her face.
"It looks really bright and colourful!" she squeaked, a cute little giggle sounding from her, before she looked at me, tilting her head. "A-are we going in?" I hadn't intended on taking her in there, but considering the fact that I had my purse on me, and a tiny bit of money to spare...
"What's the harm in letting her try a few things out?"
"If you want to, yes." I responded, putting a hand on my hip and nodding. "I'm sure the club's president won't mind if we goof off a little." I'm sure that Gremory would likely mind that we goofed off a little, but unlike my sister, I'm not contractually obligated to listen to her fully.
"I love bureaucracy."
My words were met with a small cheer from Asia, who smiled brightly as she looked at me. I giggled, beginning to walk into the arcade, the J-pop that played over its speakers being naught but background noise, a simple repeat of the same single from that idol I can never remember the name of that I've heard a billion times on the radio. I never understood why people like this sort of stuff, but I guess that's just me. Asia had her face pressed up against the glass of one of the claw machines, her eyes shining as she eyed all the stuffed animals inside of it.
"And so it begins." I thought, going over to Asia and looking inside of it with her. "Are you wanting to have a go on it?" Asia made a small yelping noise, turning to me with a bashful look on her face.
"I-if that's okay!" she exclaimed, looking up at me with a hint of puppy-dog eyes. I sighed, passing over 100 yen to her, smiling gently, nodding slowly. Asia's eyes lit up once more as she eagerly put the money in the slot, her gaze directed at the crane as a little jingle played from the machine, the claw juttering a little as it was released from its locked state. Asia looked at the controls, fidgeting a little, clearly confused as she looked to me for help. I moved next to her, looking at the control panel myself, blinking.
I didn't understand why she didn't already know how to do this stuff already, had her parents ever took her to an arcade or anything before? Did she even have parents? It certainly didn't seem like it, otherwise she wouldn't have been with the Stray Priest and his Fallen Angel retinue. All these thoughts crossed my mind as I idily moved the control stick, moving to the nearest prize in the machine and hitting the button, watching the crane go down upon it, snagging it in it's three claws and to my surprise, it brought it straight over to the prize area. I blinked, a look of surprise crossing my face.
"Did I just do that?"
The soft thunk of the stuffed animal hitting the bottom of the prize payout compartment confirmed it. For the first time in my life, I had won a crane game and got something from it. Asia looked at me with a look of joy on her face, her eyes shining as I stood there, shocked by my own luck. I blinked, coming back to my senses, before looking at Asia.
"And that...is how you use a claw machine?" I told her, not even sounding 100% convinced myself, still in shock from the fact that I actually won for once.
"That was so cool! You must have practised a lot!" Asia gushed, looking at me with wide and glistening eyes. I twitched a little, an awkward grin finding its way onto my face as I chuckled nervously.
"Y-yeahh...I practise a lot." I lied through my teeth, feeling my face heat up a tad as I squatted down, opening the prize compartment and looking at the thing I won: A small, cutesy plushie of a cat, it was very soft and squishy, as a plushie should be. I stood up, passing the toy to Asia- I did kind of just steal her turn, so I figured I should give the prize to her. A quiet squeal emenated from the blonde as she gazed at the small stuffed toy, cuddling it to her chest lovingly.
"It's so cuuute~!" she exclaimed, snuggling up to it rather hard, stuffing the little toy into her bust. I couldn't help but go a bit red-faced, the warm, fuzzy feeling returning to me as I studied Asia's chid-like wonder. If I'm being honest, seeing her all happy like this...It makes me feel happy too. I was happy to have made her happy, knowing that if I hadn't saved her last night, she wouldn't be like this at all.
Never, in my life, have I felt such an urge to protect someone as I felt right then. My heart leapt as Asia stopped snuggling her new toy, looking up at me with an adorable smile on her face.
"Thank you, Tylia~!" she cried, her voice ecstatic and joyful as she rushed closer to me and hugged me softly, her face in my chest as she wrapped her arms around me. It was nearly enough to make me cry, nearly, as I had to choke back tears. I'd never been thanked so sincerely in my life, and for it to come from someone like this...It was close, very close. I could barely articulate words, with the only thing I could say being a strained:
"Y-you're very welcome, Asia~!"
My mind is made up, no matter how I slice it: I will protect this girl with my life.
[Perspective of: Lyonette Griffin]
It's the same as last time. Rias tells us to go hand out flyers, and instantly, Issei launches himself out the door, leaving me in the dust. Anyone would think he hates my guts, with how quick he is to run when he hears the order. Where does that leave me? Standing in an alleyway, out of the way of pedestrians, sorting out my stack of flyers with a frown on my face.
"Stupid Issei...I hate it when he runs off without me." I muttered to myself, fumbling a tad with the papers as I felt a small bit of movement in my bag.
"Do you need help out there?" I heard Ragna ask, her voice muffled by the bag which she was wiggling around inside of. "I can feel you struggling from in here!"
"Nope! I'll be fine, just stay in the bag!" I hissed at my bag, surely looking like an absolute mad-woman.
"Well, I'm coming out anyway!" with those words, I felt the wriggling in my bag grow more vigourous as the zipper of it came open and the small dragon squirmed out, hopping onto the ground in front of me, trotting to my side and shifting into her human form in the blink of an eye, catching me by surprise.
"Sheesh...Let's hope no-one saw that..." I grumbled, looking at her and shaking my head, watching her simply giggle and curtsey, her dress making her stick out like a sore thumb. Hell, everything about her makes her stick out like a sore thumb- she really doesn't fit in a place like Kuoh, but then again, I suppose that could be said about pretty much everything to do with this...stuff.
"I assure you, I don't think anyone will think much of it." she stated, a bright smile on her face, before she straightened the flyers out for me, grabbing them off me. "Shall we get to handing out flyers, my lady~?" I blinked, my cheeks reddening a tad at the new moniker I apparently had.
"Um...Sure." I stated, nodding slowly as I cleared my throat, putting a hand on my hip. "Let's get going, I guess..." and so, Ragna and I set off out of the alleyway and into the street. I slowly pulled my scarf over the bottom of my face, covering my mouth and nose, a small change in Ragna's expression, that of befuddlement catching my attention, prompting me to raise an eyebrow at her questioningly. "...Something up?"
"Not really?" she stated, keeping her gaze trained on my scarf, blinking her eyes. "Your scarf just looks a little bit familiar, that's all." she giggled and patted my head softly, smiling brightly once more. "It looks very cute, though!"
"T-thank you?" I responded, keeping my scarf over my face as we walked along the street. It was less than a minute later that Ragna had grasped my scarf, seemingly feeling the material it was made of, much to my surprise.
"It's so soft, too!" she spoke with a giggle, a happy grin on her face as she continued to mess with my scarf, giggling like a little kid. "I bet it's really comfy to wear!"
"I-I mean, it is, but..." I stole a glance at my companion, who was relatively close to me, her face being only a few inches from my own as she played with the small frills at the end of my scarf. A small blush crossed my face, a small 'eep!' noise escaping me. "W-why are you...feeling it up?"
"Hm?" Ragna tilted her head, blinking her odd eyes at me. "Am I...n-not meant to do that?"
"I-it's kinda weird to do." I mumbled, too embarassed to elaborate further, which only seemed to further her confusion, simply nodding and clearing her throat, looking around, before looking down at the flyers, clearing her throat.
"So...Who do we give these to? Or do we just...place them around?" she asked, swiftly changing the topic as she looked to me with confusion on her face.
"I normally just place them around." I responded, looking back at her. "It looks a little less suspicious than just giving them normally, if people see me giving out weird flyers, they're gonna think even worse of me."
"I see, I see..." she mused, looking down at the flyers, blinking. "I assume that...people don't normally give out flyers like this?"
"Not flyers like this, no." I replied, shaking my head as we walked. "I don't know if there are many Devils around here, or anyone who knows about the supernatural...Hell, I'm still pretty new to it, so..." I shrugged, sighing a tad, turning back to the path in front of us. A few heads turned to us as we walked down the street, seemingly paying the most attention to Ragna, presumabley due to her strange attire, but then again, seeing a gothic lolita on the street handing out flyers is probably no sort of weird occurrence here, since I think Rias has someone similar run errands for her. Ragna seemed to have fun placing flyers randomly around the area, seeming oddly content and happy with it, a little bounce in her step as she put them where she saw fit, even with all the strange looks she got from people.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself." I stated, a slight spark of intrigue in my voice. Ragna blinked, looking back at me, tilting her head slowly to the left.
"...Is that a problem?" she asked, a small bit of innocence in her voice, blinking her eyes at me slowly as she stood up straight.
"N-not really." I responded, my voice still muffled due to my scarf. "I just didn't really expect to see anyone who enjoys doing...well, this." Ragna smiled once again, giggling softly.
"Well, it's my job, is it not?" she spoke, looking at me with a hand put on her hip. "I'm meant to help you out with things and enjoy it! That's my job as your familiar.~" she ended her sentence with a small curtsey and a small giggle. Ragna had always struck me as weird, but today had ramped that idea up a lot, from her behaviour, her appearance, speech patterns, everything about her was weird.
Since she brought herself into things a few days ago, this girl has tried to help me where she can, and here she was, openly saying that her whole purpose is to help me with things, suddenly, some of those things were making a bit of sense, although, not much. There's still the question of where she came from, or what caused her to start serving me of all people, she said that she was tied with the Destruction Gear, which I guess is the name of my Sacred Gear, but from the looks of it, it already had something like Ragna in the form of Equinox. Albeit, Equinox seems to be nowhere near as clueless, or kind as Ragna.
"Come to think of it...Where did any of this come from? Why did I of all people have this weird gauntlet thing?" I thought, looking down at my hand, frowning a tiny bit and blinking. "And then there's Issei's Sacred Gear...What does that do?"
"Thinking awfully hard about things, aren't you Lyonette?" Equinox piped up, sounding somewhat pleased with this. "Frankly, if I could remember much more about some of this stuff, I'd tell you the answers, but alas..."
"...You haven't said anything about that though. What DO you remember?"
"Nothing that can't be said later on at home. I'd suggest getting this task done before you start bothering this old Devil about her memories."
"Fine, be that way..."
After a while of Ragna and I walking, we found ourselves walking down a street, the bustle of cars passing by making up most of the noise we heard, along with the chatter of idle pedestrians. Ragna gazed at the road, observing the cars with raised eyebrows- Anyone would think she'd have never seen cars before, which considering where she came from, makes a lot of sense, who knows how long she's been tied into my Sacred Gear?
"The human world is more exciting than I could have imagined!" she exclaimed, putting her hands to her cheeks, that big smile still across her face. "I didn't notice anything while we were putting out the flyers, but-" she hopped a tad, bringing a hand around to point everything out as she looked at me with shining eyes. "Such tall buildings and refined arcitecture! Not to mention the strange metal objects on wheels that I've seen trundlling around!" her words told me everything I needed to know. If Ragna is so out of the loop with everything around us, then she must have literally been born a few days ago when I found her, it was the only reason I could think of off of the top of my head for her lack of general knowledge...either that, or she's just that much of a dunce.
"Then again...She's a familiar." I thought, watching Ragna as she hopped down the street, enjoying the sights around us. "I don't exactly know what one is...but I don't think they're very smart, if Ragna's any case." it was after a small walk, where I had watched Ragna skip around and act excited about everything she was seeing, that we soon happened across a small playground, which was strangely empty, surely enough, Ragna was staring at it in wonder and befuddlement.
"Such a quaint little place!" she exclaimed, her eyes scanning over the various monkey bars and slides. I let a small giggle slip out of me, shaking my head slightly. It was weirdly cute, seeing her act so excited over something so boring...I guess being impressed with things you never knew about works both ways, huh?
"Man, you're really easy to impress." I observed, leaning against the fence as Ragna stared around at the apparatus, before her eyes found their way to me.
"O-oh! It's just that...I've never seen anything like this before..." she stated, turning her head to me with a smile and a giggle. "It's...quite a lot better than being cooped up in a bag, no offense." I sighed, shaking my head, looking around the crosswalk we were stood near, a small frown crossing my face.
"I mean...I-I can't exactly let people see anything weird, can I? Pretty sure we're meant to keep the Devil stuff to a minimum..." I stated, peering around the crosswalk and the neighbouring playground, blinking my eyes and turning back to Ragna, clearing my throat, trying to keep the conversation going to keep my mind off of the bad memories I had of this place.
"Don't think about it..." I sighed, crossing my arms, my frown deepening, my attempt to take my mind off it failing, as I began to remember what happened on my birthday 5 years ago.
It was during summer, that one of my closest friends, Sylvia, was hit by a truck at this very crosswalk, leaving her mangled and dead. Issei, her, Copper and I had all gathered at my house to hang out, but...I kinda started taking notice that Sylvia and Issei were a bit more distant from each other than they usually were. Normally those two would be getting on just fine, but...neither of them looked like they wanted to be near the other. I was curious, not to mention really worried, and approached Sylvia, asking her if she was alright...next minute, she's asking to talk to me in private, as...
"I don't want to make Issei mad more than I have."
We'd arrived at this very playground, sat on a set of swings, underneath the flaming hot August sun, I was sat on the left, idily swinging as I watched Sylvia, sat still, her gaze cast at the ground, wiping some sweat off her brow.
"Sheesh...This is why I don't like summertime..." she'd muttered under her breath, folding her arms around herself, blinking slowly.
"Yeah...But hey, at least we're gonna be back in a ventilated place soon..." I said, tilting my head. "...So, what's up, anyway?"
"W-well..." Sylvia had stuttered, beginning to relay to me what was on her mind. "I...did what you told me. I confessed to Issei..." I raised an eyebrow, beginning to piece together what was going on.
"...How did it go?" I asked, a small frown on my face, already knowing the answer before she even spoke.
"H-he...rejected me." she sniffled, her eyes beginning to water, her tears reflecting a tiny bit of sunlight. "He called me crazy, and just...left me!" a small hum came from me as I thought over this information, my brow furrowing.
"W-what? Why?" I asked, unsure of why Issei would do such a thing, ceasing my swinging to stare her down inqusitively.
"Sheesh...that's rough. Issei would never pass up that sort of oppurtunity." I remember thinking to myself, finding myself getting a little mad at what I was hearing.
"He said he couldn't handle it..." she mumbled, her gaze still down to the ground, small tears running down her face. "H-he was panicking a lot, but...still. I don't know what I did wrong."
"I don't..." I was unsure of how to respond, still trying to think over why Issei would respond like that. "I don't know...I don't think you did anything wrong." I patted her back softly, trying to help keep her calm, unsure of how to make her feel better about it.
"I-I must've!" she exclaimed, her voice sounding shaky, full of discomfort and stress. "Why else would he have responded like that?!"
"I-I..." I'd stammered, blinking slowly, trying to think of a possible explaination, my lips curling into a small frown as I thought to myself.
"Damn it...This is the last thing I need right now...Think Lyonette, think..."
"You said he was...p-panicking, right? Maybe he might not have been thinking straight?" Sylvia had looked up at me, tilting her head. "Maybe...Maybe you might need to say to him again! He...might have made a impulsive decision...You know how Issei is, after all." there was a moment of silence between us, as Sylvia seemed to think over it, sniffling softly, her gaze drifting down.
"...I-I suppose...I could try it." she'd mumbled, looking back up at me, nodding slowly, a slight smile on her face. "...Y-you're right...Issei is a bit of a dummy..." she giggled a tiny bit, staring at me with teary blue eyes, seemingly cheering up somewhat. "...Y-you know what!? I'm going to ask him how he really feels! M-maybe..." the typical spark returned to Sylvia's determined eyes, a small grin of resolve on her face. "Maybe him and I can become a couple! Like you and Copper!"
"Damn right!" I giggled, breathing a sigh of relief, happy that I'd somehow made her better. "You go, girl~!" Sylvia, in her excitement, began to dash away, leaving me feeling like it was a crysis averted, a mission accomplished...
But...Things are never that easy, are they? Of course they fucking aren't. Next thing I knew, I was yelling Sylvia's name, reaching my hand out to her as a loud, blood curdling shriek resonated across the crosswalk, an ear-bursting, deafening crash following in its wake, assaulting my senses with the horrid stench of burning rubber and...blood. It took my mind a moment to catch up, but when it did...All I saw was red. Red, splattered across the street, decorating the pavement with a sanguine paint, reeking of death. My body shook as I stared at the scene in front of me- A truck, a large one, had screeched to a halt, slamming full force into her...Sylvia was nowhere to be seen, gone was the silver haired friend, who was just moments before full of such determination, all that was in her place- the only thing that could be barely recognised as her...
Was a mangled, gore splattered corpse. Forever screaming silently.
"No! This can't be happening!" I'd screeched in my mind, my face a perfect picture of disgust and shock as my eyes welled up with tears. "She can't be dead...! She can't be!"
But, no matter how much I wished- she was dead. No matter how much I denied what was in front of me, no matter how much I screamed at the stain that used to be my friend, Sylvia was gone, and nothing I could do would change that. It was a chore, but I supressed the urge to vomit, my stomach churning as I stared, paralysed with despair.
"S-Sylvia...?" was the only word I could squeak out, before breaking down and blacking out...
The following days were hellish and agonising, as the news quickly spread to Issei, who had just come looking for Sylvia, as well as Copper, who Issei had told upon arrival back at the house. Over time, Copper and I had managed to keep ourselves in check, never forgetting our friend, but tried our best to keep the ball rolling...But Issei? He was devastated. For the first two months of our time at Kuoh, he hadn't left the house once, nor responded to any texts or messages, he became a shut-in and grieved in silence, and for a while, Copper and I thought he'd offed himself...which was a horrible thought. So imagine our relief when Issei came to school one morning...albeit, he wasn't himself. He was quiet and barely ever spoke to us, barely ever showing emotion, falling asleep in class a lot...A lot different to the pervy dork we'd gotten used to. It was horrible, even now, I feel my heart sink whenever I think about that empty, hollow look in his eyes...And even if he's back to normal nowadays...
He still insists he sees Sylvia around, standing in the corner of his vision, watching him with a pained smirk, never speaking or moving, but always disappearing upon being noticed.
No wonder the guy was so quick to accept Yuuma's offer to be his girfriend...the poor bastard just wanted someone he could love. And who robbed him of that happiness the first time? It was yours truly...I was the one to tell Sylvia to confess too early, as well as the one who encouraged her to run to find him, resulting in her death...It happens to anyone around me, specifically on my birthday...
It's because of me that Sylvia is dead. It's because of me and my stupid cursed birthday that all these horrible things happened. It's because of me that Issei never got to experience being loved by someone who truly cares for him...and here I am, thinking the same thoughts I'd been thinking when I was tying a noose around my own neck, ready to throw it all away.
"If I never existed, then everyone would be happy."
And...to be honest, ever since then, that noose hasn't looked any less inviting.
"...Lyonette, please, calm yourself." I snapped back to reality, breaking free of my horrid memories and looking around with blurred vision, blinking tears in my eyes and finding myself being hugged close by Ragna, sniffling and sobbing quietly onto her shoulder as she patted my back, rubbing it gently. I hadn't even realised that I'd zoned out, nevermind crumbled onto Ragna and started crying. "Ly-Lyonette...My lady, please...stop crying." I sniffled, glaring up at Ragna's face. Who the fuck does she think she is? Telling me to stop crying as if she knows the shit I've seen, or the people I've fucked up the lives of.
"S-shut it...You don't know how I feel!" I snapped, my words shaky and shrill, unable to get my words out correctly in my rage. Ragna tilted her head, simply putting her hand on the back of my head, rubbing up and down gently, irritating me further. "Y-you...You'll never know how I feel! N-nobody does..." Ragna stole a glance around, seemingly wincing a tad at my words, like she actually cared for what I was saying, as if she was in pain from hearing me.
"...I-I know...You are very right, but..." she hugged me tighter, rubbing the back of my head and putting her own next to mine. "I'm your familiar. I'm here to help you. I..." she stopped for a moment, her normal smile now replaced with a worried frown. "...I want you to know, Lyonette, that whatever it is that's made you so sad, and upset...I'm here for you to talk to." I sniffled, looking at her, feeling a slight bit of warmth from her words, but...in the end, it doesn't matter...Does it?"
"You're only saying that because I'm your fucking master!" I whined, shaking as Ragna continue to embarace me, a small blush creeping onto my face. "You don't care...You're just my familiar...!" Ragna seemed to tense up a slight bit, taking a small gasp of breath in, before her grip softened once more as she moved her face in front of mine, looking at me with a stern expression, a slight warmth in her eyes.
"...Then, don't think of me as your familiar." she stated, sounding a lot less chirpy, sounding a lot more serious than she had before. "Think of me as...Your big sister." a small gasp came from my mouth, her words seemingly hitting a nerve, my eyes beginning to tear up once more. Thinking of Ragna as a big sister...it makes no sense, she's more clueless than I am and barely knows me...but, her eyes, despite her expression, her eyes are so warm and gentle...it's like I'm not even looking at the same goofball who was I was walking around with not too long ago.
"...Big sister...?" I repeated, my voice tremoring as I blinked tears out of my eyes, a small smile finding it's way onto my face as I repeated the words in my head... "Yeah...I-I...I'd like that."
I could feel my heart raising slightly, my arms slowly wrapping around Ragna as tears ran down my face. It was comfortable, very much so...
I guess I didn't power through my grief as well as I thought I did, huh? But...it doesn't matter. I've got someone who can help me now. Ragna, my familiar...and, my honourary big sister.
"L-Lyo?!" I heard a boy's voice cry out, surprise clear to me. I turned my head to look at him, finding none other than Issei, standing there, hauling that silly bike of his, looking gone out at me. "Wh-who is that?"
"...Hey." I mumbled, feeling too emotionally drained to act out at this point, at this point, I just felt happy that he was okay. "...It's a long story."
Hello! Thank you for reading this story's 11th chapter~ I worked hard on it, as you can tell. Next chapter will be more based around Asia and Tylia, as I feel like I didn't give them enough time in the spotlight...But, either way! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you think in the reviews~
And, to kpop1392as, the person who left 11 reviews on this story? Thank you very much, you gave me a rather big motivation boost when I really needed it~
Anyway, see you all next chapter!