Chapter 11
Solace
"Hey Tiro!" Katashi called out. "Catch!"
Katashi held the kickball out, dropped it and punted it. The ball flew high in the air, before arching downwards towards Tiro. He kept his eyes trained on it, his hand outstretched, ready to catch the ball.
As soon as the ball was within his reach, he clasped his arms around it and pulled it towards his chest to ensure it'd stay in grasp.
"Good job Tiro! You're doing a lot better that last week!" Katashi cheered.
Tiro smiled proudly. "Thanks Katashi!"
He then threw the ball back to his friend who caught it after a few bounces. Katashi wasted no time and readied to punt it again.
"Get ready Tiro!"
Once again, he held the ball out and dropped it before lifting his foot up to punt it. Only this time, the ball came down awkwardly and was sent flying more to the right.
"Crap!"
But, just as the ball went flying to the side, Tiro did as well. He found himself running to catch the ball, which seemed too far out to be able to reach in time.
Although, that only seemed to make Tiro faster as he zoomed to catch the ball that was in its downward arch. Just when it looked like it was gonna touch the ground, Tiro reached out and caught it just barely.
Tiro let out a sharp breath before turning back around towards his friend. When he turned around, Katashi, along with a majority of the kids in the grade school courtyard were staring at him, stunned.
He shrunk down and looked away nervously due to the attention he drew himself. He only looked back as Katashi jogged up to him.
"Woah! Dude, you never told me you were so fast!"
"W-What? What do m-mean?" Tiro asked nervously.
"You were like a race car! That was so cool!" Katashi exclaimed enthusiastically.
"R-Really? It can't be anything special…" Tiro said dismissively.
"No way! It totally is something special! Maybe you could be a professional track runner or something when you grow up!"
Tiro laughed sheepishly, looking to the side. "I d-don't know about that."
"Well you should definitely keep in mind that you'd make a great runner." Katashi commented with an encouraging smile.
"Yeah… I guess I can keep it in mind…"
"Hey freak!" A voice called out from behind Tiro, making him freeze up. "Is super speed one of the powers you get for being a freak?" He asked in a snarky tone.
Tiro turned around slowly, his heart dropping for every step taken by the approaching group of kids. Leading them was Kano Itzamura, the same kid who began to bully him the same minute he arrived in his seat two weeks ago.
"You're fast, I'll give you that, but that doesn't matter. You're still just a creature that no one could ever like."
He and his group stopped only a few feet away from the frozen Tiro.
"Hey! Go away!" Katashi demanded, walking up next to Tiro.
"Shut up Izuma! You actually hang out with this freakazoid!" Kano fired back, glaring at the green eyed boy.
Katashi let out a growl before turning on his heel towards Tiro. "C'mon, let's just go somewhere else."
Tiro hurriedly nodded and turned around. Before he could take a step however, a hand grabbed a hold of the back of his uniform top and pulled him back.
"Nah ah ah, you're not going anywhere. Not until we settle this."
Settle… this…? Tiro stood frozen, fear displayed on his face due to what the words implied. He felt his whole body start to shake and the ball he held onto slipped from his hands, bouncing away.
"Let him go!" Katashi ordered as he began to storm towards the group holding Tiro, until two boys stepped in between him and his target.
"Stay back Izuma." One of the boys said, scowling at him.
Katashi gritted his teeth, only being able to watch as Kano forcibly turned Tiro around and grabbed him by the collar of his blazer. Tiro closed his eyes and flinched, expecting his face to be met with a force. Much to his relief, it never came.
"Open your eyes freak." Kano said in a low commanding tone.
Tiro hesitantly opened his eyes one at a time, terrified for what the black haired boy had in store for him.
"Now," he began, gripping Tiro's collar tighter. "You probably think that being kinda fast makes you less of a freak."
"N-No, I don-"
"Shut up, I didn't tell you to talk." Kano said in a raised voice, making Tiro flinch. "Anyway, I bet you think you're cooler than everyone because of that."
No, not at all! Tiro screamed inside his head, too afraid to speak up again.
"And because of that…" Kano paused, glaring at Tiro who only swallowed a lump in his throat and trembled before the boy. "We're gonna race."
Huh? Tiro thought, thinking he hadn't heard him quite right. His thought also must've leaked into his expression, since Kano tightened his grip even more.
"You heard me freak. Me. And you. Are gonna race."
Kano pulled Tiro with him as he turned to the left. He pointed towards the other side of the courtyard, where a water fountain stood next to the chain link fence that enclosed them.
"The first one to get there wins. But I know I'm gonna win since freaks can only be losers in life. So get ready."
Kano let go of Tiro and got in a runner's start stance. Tiro stood upright, fidgeting his fingers and still trembling. Kano noticed this and glared daggers into the boy, as he quickly got into a stance as well.
One of the boys from the group began a countdown, starting from ten.
"Ten!"
Tiro began to ponder if there was any way the bully would benefit from this. Bragging rights? More ammo to bully him with?
"Nine!"
And what would happen if he simply didn't race at all? Tiro assumed the worst would happen in the form of Kano… I should just race in case that does happen.
"Eight! Seven! Six!"
Oh no, half the courtyard is staring. I think I'm gonna barf…
"Five! Four!"
What happens if I win? What happens if he wins? And where's Katashi?
"Three! Two! One!"
I should just do my best, even though he's probably gonna beat me since he's so sure of it. Well, anyway, Just run Tiro.
"Go!"
In a flash, both boys shot forward and began to dash towards the water fountains. Tiro narrowed his eyes in front of him, only focusing on the target. Everything else was blocked out. The stares, the cheers and boos, everything.
And before he knew it, Tiro reached the water fountain and skidded to a stop just before it. Through his panting, Tiro made out several gasps from the group of boys and the unmistakable sound of footsteps that have yet to reach the water fountains.
Kano skidded to halt in front of the other water fountain, staring at Tiro in bewilderment. Tiro too couldn't believe it.
I won…
"How?!" Kano yelled angrily. "You're just a freak! You weren't supposed to beat me!"
"W-Well, I d-didn't think I'd…" he paused, seeing the furry seeping out into Kano's expression. "Beat… y-you…" Tiro finished off in a meek tone.
At that point, Kano was practically fuming with anger. His fist balled up and began to March towards Tiro, who in turn started backing away terrified.
"I'm gonna make you wish you were never born, freak!"
Just as he brought his fist up with the intention of making Tiro's face its target, he stopped. Tiro, who closed his eyes on instinct wondered when the punch was gonna land, but it never did.
"Mr. Itzamura! What do you think you're doing?!" A female teacher inquired angrily. "Step away from that boy this instant!"
Kano gritted his teeth and took a step back. Tiro barely opened his eyes to see his bully glaring holes through him. Though it was short lived when another teacher walked over and wordlessly told Kano to follow him.
The bully mumbled under his breath as he passed Tiro, who still stood paralyzed with fear.
"Tiro! Are you okay?!"
Tiro opened his eyes completely to see his friend standing there with a worried look on his face.
"K-Katashi…"
"Sorry it took me so long! I ran as fast as I could to find a teacher!"
"It's o-okay…"
"Mr. Takada, did he hurt you at all?" Another female teacher asked, walking over, concern in her voice.
"No ma'am, I-I'm fine."
"That's good," she motioned for Tiro to go with her, wrapping an arm around his shoulders which still shook. "Even still, we're gonna take you to the nurse. After that, the principal is going to want to see you, okay?"
Tiro meekly nodded his head in response.
"Wait!" Katashi called out from behind them. "Can I come? He's my friend…"
The teacher hummed in thought for a moment. "Sure, but I can't promise you'll be able to be with him for that long."
"Okay."
A small smile came onto Tiro's face as his friend walked alongside them. I'm glad Katashi's my friend.
July 5, 2023
"Look what we have here…"
Liz's breathing was put on hold, under the presumption that they were about to be caught. She looked to the side to see The Ghost reaching to his back, making sure to be ready if things get dicey.
"What is it?" The boss asked.
"Think about it… Think about how much the man who owns this place gets freaky on this bed."
". . ."
". . ."
". . ."
The boss could only stare at his cronie in agitation, before pointing towards the door.
Through gritted teeth, he spoke. "Get your ass out there and wait for the rest of us. They're obviously not in this room."
"Y-Yes sir!"
The man quickly shuffled away and out of the room. The boss let out a long sigh while muttering under his breath
Liz and The Ghost exchanged constant glances with each other. Through the mask he wore, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing she was.
What the fuck…
"Alright! Let's move out! They're not in here!" The boss suddenly ordered, raising his voice.
Several pairs of footsteps followed until the sound of the door to the bedroom closing made way for returning silence from before.
Both teens gave it another minute before making any sounds, The Ghost exhaling through this nose before sliding out from under the bed. Once out and in a kneeling position, he held his hand under to assist Liz in getting out.
She took his gloved hand and began to move out as well, until a black box a few feet away caught her eye.
"Wait, hold on…" she told the boy before reaching out and grabbing the box. "Alright."
He continued helping her out and up onto her feet. Letting go of her hand, he motioned to the black box she now held in her off hand.
"What's that for?"
"It caught my eye before you pulled me out."
She turned around and started to place the box on the bed before remembering what that NPC said. She shuddered at the thought, instead opting to open it while holding it.
The box opened like any conventional shoebox, and had a white interior. At the bottom, written in black ink was a code.
"16, 4, 23. Try that."
The Ghost nodded and walked to the safe, stopping in front of it. After a moment of turning the dial, a loud click emanated from within the safe.
Liz walked up beside him as he opened the safe. Inside was a baseball sized, transparent, purple orb. Within the orb, a purple smoke like substance swirled around, giving it a small fortune teller ball feel.
The Ghost grabbed the ball and held it out in the palm of his hand for Liz, who took it and placed it in her item storage, while also bringing back out the sheet of paper, which now had a line crossing out the second task.
"Alright, three more to go. Although, I suppose the last task is more of another quest on its own since I'm pretty sure you need a key to access the basement, and once again, you get the key from doing every other task."
"Well, if that's the case, then I guess that makes it easier on our part."
"Yeah," Liz paused for a moment, glancing back at the bed. "Although, we should hurry up and get out of here. After what that NPC said, I can't shake the feeling that this whole room is contaminated."
Liz hugged her chest and shuddered once again at the thought.
"It's a game. You'll be fine."
"Yeah, a hyper realistic game. I wouldn't doubt if one of the programmers really implemented it somehow."
The boy shrugged. "Who knows… but yeah, let's get out of here. Not sure if those NPC's are gonna end up coming back or not."
"Oh yeah, speaking of; who do think they were?"
"No idea. Maybe guards on alert since we're in the restricted area? Maybe the "competition" the salesman was talking about?" He turned and motioned for her to follow, as he began for the door. "All as I know is that I don't intend on getting caught by them."
"Yeah, that'd be no fun." She said, walking up beside him.
Once at the door, he cautiously turned the knob and peered through the crack. After a few seconds, he opened up the door completely, motioning to Liz that it's safe.
Moving back through the hallway, they kept cautious, scanning each room that had a door open and making sure to be quiet.
Thankfully, the two made it to the stairs and back to the first floor unscathed and undetected. They took a moment for a small breather before continuing on back into the area where the most of the party was.
Next on their list was helping the alchemist with her poison. Using the knowledge from before about the NPC possibly calling out to them when they got close, they walked around the large, three section room, hoping for the same results as before.
When no one called out, they started for the hallway. There, they once again ran into Seven, who gave them a thankful nod as they passed him, walking into the ballroom where couples slow danced and another small group played classical music with instruments.
Once again, they walked around the room hoping an NPC would call out, but ultimately came up with the same result as the other room.
A while was spent walking through each and every room on the hallway, still no luck on finding the alchemist. However, they were able to find the lawyers documents in the museum room.
Each room on the hallway was unique and the sizes differed for every room. A notable room for Liz was one which held a mighty looking greatsword in a glass case. The sword looked too magnificent for even the greatest blacksmith to be able to forge.
Eventually, the two teens found themselves at an intersection in the hallway. Two doors on either side, not far from where the intersection was, separated the hallway and whatever sat behind them. The left door was locked.
The right door however was unlocked and when opened, revealed a huge greenhouse. Though the size wasn't very surprising to the two, being that everything this mansion had to store was excessively large.
"Wow…" Liz let out, admiring the plethora of beautiful flowers, plants and other flora.
The greenhouse on three of the four sides was completely glass that gave a nice view into the backyard of the mansion, which was a green field that sloped downward, with a lake settled at the foot of the incline.
The roof was also glass, letting the afternoon sun, shine its bright rays down into the spectacularly majestic greenhouse.
"Hey, look over there." Liz said, pointing towards a girl on the opposite end of the greenhouse.
The girl looked young, maybe in her late teens or early twenties. Her dark green hair hung just below her shoulders, with matching green eyes and black lipstick.
She wore a dark gray long sleeve dress, which hugged her body and fell just before her ankles and dark gray slippers.
What made the girl stand out, and give not so subtle clues to what her profession was, was the small box she was holding. Several empty and half full vials poked out.
As they started towards the girl, she noticed them and her eyes went wide. She raised her free arm out in front of her and waved them over.
"Excuse me, could I speak to you two for a moment?" She asked, her voice also sounding young.
She let her arm rest at her side once they were close enough and a pleading expression took her face.
"I beg you two, please help me." She pleaded. "I'm almost out of time making my poison, but I haven't had anyone to protect me during the process. Please, assist me by protecting me from the creatures while I craft my poison."
"Okay, we'll help you." Liz responded.
"I thank you with every ounce of my being. As to not take much of your time, let us begin."
The girl turned and began jogging through the greenhouse. Taka and Liz followed behind, arming themselves with their weapons since the alchemist mentioned "creatures" they'd have to protect her against.
The girl came to a stop by a large green and pink colored plant and began fiddling with its leaves and stem.
Just as she did that, a low rumbling could be felt below them. Both teens, knowing what it was were immediately put on guard.
"Liz, hydrangea! Watch out!"
Liz nodded, scanning the greenery that surrounded them and the soil where the plants were rooted.
After a few more seconds of rumbling, a few spots in the soil began to stir. Sickly green hands, covered in thorns and small white flowers raised up from those spots and pushed down on the soil next to them, slowly pushing the rest of the body up from the ground.
The hydrangea, a humanoid plant creature, closely resembling the Ivy from Resident Evil 2. Vines slithered over their bodies and could be extended when on the arms to be used as a whip-like weapon.
White flowers covered a majority of their upper body and head, only staying shy of a gaping mouth, with piranha plant fangs and beaming red eyes.
"Liz," he started, turning his head towards the girl. "Remember, don't let them touch the girl… and stay safe."
"I will. You stay safe too."
Taka gave a quick nod before turning back around to face the now approaching group of hydrangea, who growled and twitched while walking.
He held his stance, waiting for the hydrangea to strike first. When it did, vines slithered down its arms down to its wrist before shooting out and lashing towards Taka.
With an underhand swipe, the vine was severed, giving him the chance to shoot forward and hit it with an upward slash before it could use its other arm. Due to the large difference in level, the hydrangea was killed with one well placed hit.
Liz charged forward, dodging a vine by side stepping. The monster was able to shoot out its other vine, which grazed her shoulder after another side step.
The whip gave her a chance to attack, which she took with no hesitation. After her mace began glowing yellow, she slammed the head into its side, easily disposing the monster with the sword skill.
After about thirty seconds of fighting the creatures and making easy work out of them, the alchemist backed away from the plant.
"I need one more ingredient! Follow me!" She called out, already breaking out into a jog.
Liz and Taka both pushed back a hydrangea that got close before following the girl. Once again, she came to a stop, this time by a smaller plant, with a yellow teardrop shaped fruit head, which hung over due to the stem not being able to support the weight very much.
She pulled out a small syringe, fidgeting with the plant just like the last one. Also, just like the last one, more hydrangea rose up from the ground and began their assault on the three.
The two teens defense never relented, keeping the vine monsters a safe distance away from the alchemist as she worked. This time around, the girl took noticeably longer and the hydrangea came in slightly larger numbers.
"Okay! I only need to craft the poison! Protect me for a little bit longer!" The girl called out, kneeling and beginning the crafting process.
Once again, the ground rumbled, only this time, it was accompanied by a low roar.
"Shit." Taka cursed, knowing what caused the roar.
"Behind you!" Liz shouted out.
Taka just barely spun around and blocked a hit from a huge, sickly green hand! Although, the hit was powerful enough that he skidded back, almost losing his balance.
The hydrangea brute, a larger and much tougher version of the normal variant. It's right arm was a huge clobbering limb of power while it's left was a scrawny little arm with no muscle. It stood a few feet taller than Taka and was the biggest threat the floor had to offer when it was reached.
With another loud roar, it charged forward and brought its fist down on Taka! He just narrowly avoided the hit, the giant fist cracking the stone they stood on.
Taka leapt to its side while it recovered from the hit. He was able to get off a small slice before it spun around, swinging its arm horizontally. Taka ducked under the arm and backed up as it once again slammed its fist down where he stood.
"Liz, now!"
With a cry, Liz jumped up, her mace glowing yellow once again and brought it down on its back in an overhead downward swing.
The brute stumbled forward a bit, only getting so far before Taka finished it off by shoving his blade through its chest. With an explosion of polygons, it died.
The teens wasted no time in getting back to the smaller hydrangea, once again disposing of the monsters with ease, only taking a small amount of damage through the whole fight.
Slowly, the numbers dwindled until there were none left. At which time, the alchemist stood up, observing the small vial of green liquid she currently held.
"It's done!" She exclaimed, placing the vial back in the box. "Thank you adventurers so much! I was able to craft the poison just in time! I am forever in your debt." She said with a bow.
Liz responded with a quick bow of her own. "Your welcome."
"Then with that, safe travels adventurers. Goodbye."
She gave a thankful smile, then proceeded to walk back towards the area they found her in. Liz brought out the paper, which now had a third line crossing out the quest they just completed.
"Alright, we just need to find the lawyer and then it's basement time."
"Considering we've already been through most - if not all of the rooms - he could be outside." Taka pointed out.
"Do you wanna check there first?"
"Yeah."
"Alrighty, then let's get to it."
After a short walk back through the greenhouse, passing the alchemist, who was back in the spot she was before and through the halls, back into the large three section room, they made it past the crowds of party goers and outside.
It didn't take very long at all to find the layer in question. Interacting with him was just about as simple as the client they delivered the package to earlier. Just giving him the documents and receiving a thank you.
Although, this time a key was added to Liz's item storage. The key to the basement, and the solution to their last task.
The pair made their way back to the intersection where the greenhouse entrance was, being the fact that the door opposite of it was the only locked door in the hallway.
Liz, who held the key, inserted it into the lock. With a small click, the key shattered into small blue pixels. At first, the two were alarmed, thinking maybe they messed up by inserting it into the wrong keyhole, but thankfully, the door opened after Liz twisted the knob and pulled.
Upon taking the paper out of her storage, the final task crossed itself out before the paper -just like the key - shattered into small particles.
"Okay, I think all that's left to do now is to find the Red Illuminiom shard and then go talk to the NPC who gave me the quest afterwards."
"Got it." Taka responded, nodding. "Let's make this quick. This outfit is starting to feel uncomfortable and it's making me itch." He emphasized this by scratching the fabric covering his collarbone.
Liz let out a small giggle. "You're strong, you'll make it…" she looked down and started fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "But yeah, the clothing may be nice looking, but it sure isn't very comfortable."
"Agreed." He said before beginning down the stairs, Liz right behind him.
The basement looked like a typical eighteenth century-based movie basement. Hanging lanterns lit up the room, which had a stone floor and ragged stone walls, wooden beams acted as support and there were two doors opposite of the entrance.
Old looking wooden shelves stood against the walls and bags of soil were stacked on each other beside one of the beams. The shelves held just about any small garden supplies you could think of from tools to pots.
Once they reached the bottom step, the same 'restricted area' box popped up.
"Keep your guard up Liz." He began, "Those NPC's from earlier could very well be tied to these restricted areas."
"Right… and I just had a thought." She turned her head towards the stairs. "If we get caught down here, that's probably our only way out."
"Hm…" he hummed, "Then let's hurry and find this thing…"
The thought of possibly having to fight human-like NPC's isn't sitting well for me right now. Please for the love of god don't let us get caught; or at least don't let the NPC's be hostile.
"Alright then, c'mon." Liz said, fast walking to the door on the right.
The door was locked, so she tired the other one which was unlocked. Taka periodically used his tracking skill as they kept going to listen out for any enemy/possible hostile NPC's that may have a bone to pick with them.
They walked through a short hallway into another room, this one containing larger gardening equipment like wheel barrels and hoes. Other than that, it was basically an exact copy of the other room.
Another door on the left side of the room led into a longer hallway with a steel door at the end. Thankfully, the door was unlocked.
The room itself looked similar to the other two, with an exception of a lack of any shelves, equipment and what not. What's more, is in the back of the room, there sat a square glass glass case containing a red glowing crystal.
"There it is." She said, approaching the case with caution.
"Wait," Taka said, causing her to stop and turn her head to him. "Do you know if it's rigged with a trap?"
"I've been told that it's not, but at this point, I'm not even sure what to expect. As a precaution, could you be close enough to pull me back if a trap does go off?"
Honestly, me testing the waters sounds a whole lot better, but… "Yeah. I will."
She gave him a quick nod and took a deep breath, turning around and walking up to the case. She slowly and cautiously raised her hands to the top, where you could flip the lid.
Taka watched on, hands raised up behind her in case of a trap triggering. Damn secret dungeon has got me more edge lately. But still, better to be safe than sorry.
Carefully, she flipped the lid back so it was leaning on the wall. Very slowly, she reached down into the case and took a hold of the crystal. Just as slow as she put her hand in, she took it out, putting it in her item storage quickly.
"Phew…" she took a few steps away from the case, turning around to Taka. "Alright! I think we're good now!
"Yeah, seems like it. But still, don't let your guard down - not until we're out of this place."
"Gotcha."
Taka took the lead, using his scanning skill periodically as they made their way back through the basement and up the stairs onto the first floor.
Both teens kept an eye out for the men they encountered earlier. Only, they didn't seem to be anywhere within the party itself. Maybe they were NPC's limited to the second floor only?
Either way, they didn't want to stick around for answers. They made their way back through the foyer and out the front door, where the man from earlier bowed, and wished them safe travels.
It was quiet, as both teens kept vigilant until about halfway through to the main entrance.
"Woohoo!" Liz celebrated, startling Taka. "We did it!" She raised her arms jubilantly.
"I guess so. I'm thinking those guys were just something for the second floor, huh?"
"Probably. I mean, it was the only time we saw them."
"Yeah, my thoughts as well. Anyway, you don't mind me changing at your shop do-GH-"
Taka was quickly cut off as he felt something sharp pierce his upper back. Turning around, he threw his arms up as a man wielding a dagger plunged the small blade down.
The dagger sunk into his left forearm, the point sticking out the other side. Taka leapt to the side, making the man lose his grip on the blade, as it stayed embedded in his arm.
He pulled the dagger out and threw it to the side, exploding into small polygons as it hit the ground, just as he spotted two more men charging in from behind the first.
Taka hurriedly unsheathed his sword and blocked a simultaneous strike from the men.
The first man pulled out a sword and charged towards Liz, who already had her mace out and ready. She blocked a strike with the pole of her mace as the man swung downwards. She pushed up, causing the man to stumble back and give her a moment.
Taka repeatedly blocked attack after attack, the men not relenting and moving noticeably fast.
For a reason Taka didn't know, he couldn't bring himself to attack back. He hoped there would be an opening for them to run or use a teleport crystal. But they just wouldn't let up.
Taka became increasingly nervous and a sick feeling began to bubble in his stomach. Attack after attack rang through with no sign of the men slowing down even slightly, therefore keeping him on the defensive with no opening to escape.
After more blocked strikes than he could count, he was finally able to cause one of the men to stumble back and lose his balance.
The other guy swung diagonally, with Taka narrowly avoiding the blade. In a quick movement, he sidestepped and brought the blade of his sword down on the man's wrist. He screamed in agony while clutching his now severed hand, little red pixels leaking out like blood.
Just then, Taka felt the urge to vomit, an overwhelming nauseous feeling surging through him, the man's screaming only serving to make it worse. He focused hard on not losing his composure.
Feeling his muscles grow weaker, he turned around and made a run towards Liz. His eyes widened once he caught a glimpse of her, several orange cuts lining different parts of her body.
The man wielding a sword attacked with speed and ferocity, causing Liz to struggle and take continuous hits. She gritted her teeth and swung horizontally with a grunt, only for the man to dodge to the side with an opening to impale her.
He only got so far in doing so before a white blade pierced through his chest first. The man let out strained croaking sound before exploding into particles.
If he felt nauseous before, then he felt sicker than ever before now. He could barely keep himself from collapsing now, but knowing they weren't safe yet, he kept going.
Almost subconsciously, Taka took hold of Liz's hand and sprinted down the path and out of the property. They ran until the mansion was out of sight and they were at a bench on the side of the path.
Taka suddenly let go of Liz's hand and fell on all fours before the bench, not being able to suppress the nauseous feeling any longer.
"What's wrong?!" Liz called out, kneeling down next to him.
Taka's breathing was heavy and ragged. He was dry heaving, as in SAO, you couldn't actually vomit.
"Hey, I'm gonna get you on the bench, okay!" She said while attempting to wrap his arm around her shoulder.
He pulled away however, holding up a shaky hand.
"I-I… I'm f-fine… Just… just… hold o-on." He got out between heaves and pants.
"No, you're not fine! It's clearly not fine!" She insisted, wrapping his arm around her anyway and lifting him up.
She felt how shaky he was. No matter how many times he would say it, she knew he wasn't fine. Getting him calmed down though would be her first priority.
"Really L-Liz… I'm a-alright-"
"Stop, no you're not." She said, cutting him off while placing both of them on the bench. "Just calm down, try and breathe, okay?"
Not feeling well enough to protest, he nodded in acceptance. He worked to calm his breathing and after a while, the dry heaving stopped.
Why is this happening? Why did I feel sick after what I did to the NPC's. They're not human, so why? Was… was it a panic attack? Why the hell- actually… I can't, can I? It wasn't like last time. It was just an NPC, it wasn't human.
It was nothing more than an NPC…
It wasn't human…
"Just an NPC… not human…" he muttered unconsciously. "It's not like… I-It's not- it can't be."
"Hey."
Taka was brought back to reality when he felt a hand in his shoulder. He slowly turned his head to see a concerned expression on Liz's face. "S-Sorry, I-I don't know w-what came over me."
"No, there's nothing to apologize for. Are you feeling any better?" She asked in a gentle voice.
He gave a weary nod, with the fatigue of the day and with what just happened stacking on top of each other making his body scream for rest.
"Okay, good. Now, would you be willing to tell what's wrong? I wanna help if there's any way I can."
Shifting his gaze in front him and staring down at the palms of his opened hands which laid on either knee, still covered in the black leather glove, he spoke in a quiet voice.
"I don't know… I-I can't…"
He felt her hand leave his shoulder and watched as she placed it on the palm of his right hand. His eyes widened slightly and his cheeks felt hot; and he knew it wasn't just because of the sick feeling.
"It's okay, I understand it's something you're not comfortable with. Remember what I said though, I'm all ears if you ever need someone to talk to." She assured him with a warm smile.
The foreign feeling he felt back in the cave began to creep its way back. That, along with Liz's words and actions left him speechless. The nagging feeling of getting close to anyone being detrimental was slowly starting to change within his mind.
Taka averted his gaze from their hands to her face and nodded. "I'll hold you to that." He responded back, a tinge of playfulness in his tone.
She let out a small giggle while bringing her hand back to rest in her lap. "Sounds like an honor coming from The Ghost." She replied with a smirk.
The Ghost.
An idea popped into his head at that moment. After giving it some thought, he hesitated pulling up his player menu, but ultimately pushed through any feeling of doubt.
Liz nearly jumped up in surprise when a window popped up in her face. She almost didn't believe what she was seeing.
Taka… wants to be your friend.
"Taka."
He seemed to shrink down some at hearing his name leave her mouth for the very first time.
She smiled warmly at him and pressed the accept button.
"I thought that since you allowed me to call you Liz, it'd only be right if you knew my name." He said almost sheepishly.
Her eyes widened again for a second before her expression turned sweet. "Thank you so much Taka. For this and for helping me out today."
"No problem; and thank you as well. I'm gonna be honest here and say that I find most things hard to enjoy, but I did enjoy today…"
"I did too. Other than the one tedious task we had to do, it was really nice. I-I hope you don't mind me asking you in the future if we can do something like this again."
She averted her eyes elsewhere as her cheeks went rosy.
Under the mask he wore, he felt the edge of his lips raise up ever so slightly to form a small smile. One of his first real smiles since November.
"Of course, I don't mind."
Her smile turned bashful and she shifted her body to face forwards. Taka did the same and finally relaxed after what he theorized to be a panic attack.
They sat in silence, enjoying the greenish landscape being contorted by the setting sun and now giving off an orange glow.
For Taka, the setting sun and Liz sitting beside him was enough to let him push all the negative thoughts to the side. The more time he spent around this girl, the more he felt at ease.
A/N
Got nothing much to say for this one, unless I go on about how I was late again. As always, leave a review if you want to let me know how I can improve and change things in the future.
Anyway, have a great day/night and stay safe!
