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.
3/07/2021 Hey Hey guys. You might have noticed that I have just been doing some editing here. As I was making the changes to chapter 3, I decided that I would review previous chapters I had noticed that some reviews had criticized me for some tonal problems, so I decided to make some changes to fit the gravity of the situation, especially when the two characters make the plunge to become inhuman monster hybrids.
I also noticed that I had neglected to explore Shizuku's mental state. Hajime's was originally my interest in exploring, after asking the question what would happen if the story took his trauma seriously? What would happen if he did have someone there beside him, through it all? But soon I discovered that Shizuku had to develop beyond her canon limits and my story could only do her justice by exploring her psyche through all of this as well.
I hope you guys enjoy the edits. I'll be making more soon, in the coming days.
I Don't Own Arifureta or its characters.
Black Blade and The Gun;
Chapter One: The Betrayed and the Fallen
Her first interaction with Hajime Nagumo was an odd one.
Don't worry about me, Yaegashi. You've got burdens of your own. There no need to be considerate of me.
It was a treasured memory that she kept secret. No one save for the boy himself knew about this.
She was not used to being looked after and ever since that moment Hajime Nagumo never stopped looking after her and protecting her.
When they had arrived at Tortus when Shizuku found that Hajime did not possess a combat class, she insisted him staying behind, she insisted that for once that she protect him.
But in true Nagumo fashion, he refused, insisting that he had to do his part despite the weakness of his class. He insisted that he needed to protect her. Her heart fluttered as it always did when confronted it Hajime's insistence that he protect her.
She wanted to object and tell him that it was too dangerous. To tell him that she loved him too much to lose him in a dangerous dungeon. But she knew Hajime too much, he wouldn't be stopped.
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. He who saved her and protected her for such a long time. He who she held a special place in her heart for.
It was no her turn to return the favour. She would fulfill her promise to protect him.
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. He found a blue stone, which excreting a pale blue liquid.
"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 to 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 back in Japan. She had gradually begun to resent her own classmates for their part in Hajime's pain. This was was the straw that broke the camel's back.
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 Shirasaki the worse her situation gets." Hajime accepted.
With their general direction decided upon; they began to prepare to survive the hellhole known as 'Abyss.'
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 to 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 began 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.
They had won their victory over hopelessness and despair, taking one step into the dawn.
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. As his body digested the meat into its component parts, its magical essence acted as pure poison for the human body. A being that is formed by magic, is permeated with magic. Too much magic and cells in the body overwork and overmultiply like cancer. He was currently experiencing the suffering of a cancer patient sped up by 100 times, with cancer ravaging his entire body.
His body twisted beyond his control, all the cells in his body cried out to be released from the limits of the flesh. His bones snapped under the pressure. Torrents of blood erupted from his body. Wracked by the pain he forced out his last hope.
Shizuku had stood there shocked and horrified, struggling to move, traumatized by the pain that he was forced to undergo. In heart, the darkness clawed away at her psyche, flashing back to the events of the days before, accusing her, condemning her as the source of all the pain and suffering that he went through. As her heart was gripped by fear she heard his desperate plead.
"AMBROSIA! Gragh! Yaegashi!"
She could still save him, even if it was all her fault, she could still save him. Forcing her heart to move, forcing her muscles to act, she uncorked the bottle containing the life-giving liquid. She had no time to be gentle, she grabbed him by the jaw and forced the bottle's contents down.
It was now a battle between the ambrosia and the poison. His body had already become one with the raging monster's blood and its magical essence. The ambrosia could not undo what was already done. It could continue to heal every wound, every broken bone, every snapped tendon. It was a battle of endurance, would the poison overwhelm the healing power of the ambrosia? With each muscle healed, every bone righted, his body grew stronger and stronger but the poison would bite back, snapping more bones and opening new wounds.
Hajime lay there screaming, his thoughts consumed by the pain. He cursed. He cursed this world. He cursed the church that bought here. He cursed the god that used him. He cursed Kouki Amanogawa. He cursed Daisuke Hiyama. He cursed until he had no more curses to give. He felt that the pain would kill him through the shock, that it would finally be all over.
But a single woman's tearful sobbing cut through his hatred and pain. He had already sworn to protect her. He had sworn to get back to Earth with her. He had sworn to come back to the light that gave his life in Japan such meaning. And even though she didn't know he had sworn to love her until his dying days.
Hajime Nagumo had a duty to uphold, a life he had to hold if not for his sake, but for the sake of the one whom he loved.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to fight. To embrace the pain and survive. All so that he could reach out and wipe away her tears.
And so the cycle continued until his hair became white, his eyes a dark crimson to match the monster's blood coursing through him. His body bloodied and bruised but clearly transformed through continual over-compensation.
His body ached with pain and he couldn't move without hurting some previously unknown part of his body. But even through all of this, he stretched out his arm towards Shizuku. He crawled to her, dragging himself to her.
"Nagumo-kun, what are you doing?!"
His bloodied hand reached for her, as if to stroke her cheeks and comfort her.
"Its. Okay. I'll. Never. Leave you." He spat out with the last of his strength.
He collapsed in her arms, leaving bloody marks all over her.
Exhausted and broken, she too collapsed.
She awoke, to barely recognizable Hajime. He was standing, with his clothes ripped. His back was much larger than she remembered. He looked toned and muscular.
"Oh Yaegashi, you're awake!" He greeted.
Walking over to her he offered her a drink.
"You're better?" She questioned, trying to stop staring at Hajime's new body.
"More than better." He replied happily.
He offered her his status plate. She recalled that his one was sky blue, reflecting the colour of his mana. The status plate was flooded with crimson red, a testament to the raging mana that now coursed through his own body.
She 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].
His stats had improved by leaps and bounds. He was likely now on par with the strongest members of the Heroes party. He had inherited the skill of the wolf that he ate and as a sign that he was no longer truly human, he inherited a monster's constitution able to freely manipulate mana without the use of circles or artifacts.
"I'm not a human anymore. Yaegashi." He stated grimly.
As if to make his point, he took a piece of the wolf meat that was still left and swallowed it. There was no longer any sense of pain, just the overwhelming foulness associated with monster meat.
It was at this moment that her stomach growled.
He sat down, looking grimly.
"When you were asleep, I tried to find a way out. I had tried to transmute stairs, but I couldn't go any further up."
"The only way out is down." She finished, looking dejectedly.
"I tried to find other sources of food..."
All he found were weeds and small fishes. Nothing that could reasonably sustain two teenagers.
Hajime could survive on monster meat, that much he proved with his earlier demonstration.
Understanding the gravity of the situation she nodded. Picking up a piece of the burnt wolf's meat, she thought about the weight of her decisions.
There was no guarantee that she would survive the process. There was no telling whether what happened to Hajime could be replicated.
She was going to willingly abandon her humanity. All to survive. All to go back home. All to protect that which she held most dear.
"It is a small price to pay." She responded resolutely.
She would not be a damsel in distress, she would carry out her responsibilities, carry out her duty, carry out the debt of sacrifice and love that she owed to him.
"If I die. I want you to survive. I want to you find a way back to Earth."
"You won't die. I won't let you." He declared.
He had no basis for saying such things, but his words comforted her like the thousands of other times that he had in the past.
Swallowing the meat whole, she tried to ready herself for the pain. But no one could resist the pain of having every cell in your body violently ripped open and forced to transform, into something less than human, more than a monster. She collapsed into a violent convulsing mess, dashing her exposed skin on the hard rock floor.
She howled in agony, the same agony that Hajime went through. This pain was her punishment for failing. A trial set by reality for a failure who could not prevent her beloved from falling.
In terrible desperate pain, she demonstrated her amazing force of will. Forcing herself to an upright position on the rock wall she forced her mouth to stay open. It was an opening that Hajime could exploit. Uncorking the bottle that he had ready, he poured the ambrosia, into her mouth.
All that he could do now was wait and pray that her will would not be broken.
Despite the hours of pain and suffering, her will did not break. Thoughts of her family, of Kaori and Hajime, strengthened her, forged her will into something beyond human. Her will transformed like her body, a monstrous, inhuman will for a monstrous, inhuman woman.
At last, the ambrosia won the day and she collapsed into the waiting arms of Hajime.
When she awoke, she was greeted by a new Shizuku. Her messy hair turned snowy white, with hints of silver. Her clothes ripped to shreds revealed 'developments' to her boy that she had not anticipated. Her chest was now noticeably larger in volume (though not to a ridiculous degree), her hips wider than normal. Her exposed midriff revealed a highly toned body. Gone were the traces of childishness in her body, she was now a woman fully grown.
She giggled slightly when she noticed that Hajime was unsuccessfully trying to he the fact that he had been staring. She wondered if he enjoyed what he saw. She certainly hoped that he did.
She felt the mana coursing through her, like crimson lighting erupting from her cells to her fingertips. Her eyes too had changed to a deep red crimson.
Hajime handed her status plate to Shizuku.
As predicted Shizuku had undergone a similar transformation to Hajime. 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
"So how do you feel?" Hajime asked, purposely trying to avoid staring at her 'developments.'
"I'm fine. Better than fine. It might take some getting used to."
Twirling around had exposed more of her body. Hajime looked away and blushed furiously.
She giggled, at his boyish reaction. Some things would never change.
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 one 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 have 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."
"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 brief pause, Hajime glanced up at 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 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 too 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 were correct. Or else you will turn into the monster you fear."
After a brief pause Shizuku took a deep breath, she looked down 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."
"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 were betrayed, you kept protecting me, never once regretting the decision to save me."
"You've saved me Nagumo-kun. Saved me more times than I can remember. You've saved my heart more times than my heart can beat."
"I love you Nagumo-kun. More than anyone else in the world. More than my heart can bear."
"But I don't deserve you. How can I when I've hurt you like this? How can I when I failed you so badly?"
She pushed down her emotions, knowing that her responsibility needed to win out.
"Now its my turn, Nagumo-kun. I promise that I'll stay by your side and protect you."
"I won't let you become anything that you don't want to." She declared.
"I'll be your right-hand until my dying days."
"Yaegashi, We're in this together... I guess this means that we're partners then. Then we need to make a change then..."
She looked at him questioningly.
"I'll stop calling you 'Yaegashi'. I'll call you Shizuku from now on... So call me Hajime."
He blushed furiously at his own suggestion.
Her heart beat furiously, she was still a maiden after all. She knew what this meant. She wasn't exactly unaware of Hajime's own feelings. Shizuku was undeniably his closest female friend. She knew that Nagumo-kun looked at her as a woman, and her 'recent' transformation hadn't gone noticed by Hajime's hormones.
But she had decided that her own feelings didn't matter. No matter how much she wanted to indulge in them.
"Surely this much is okay?"
She nodded. Readying herself, she gulped several things to prepare herself.
"H-H-H-Hajime."
His eyes twinkled, in the darkness, his delight and happiness clear. Grabbing one of her hands, he bought one of them closer to himself.
"Thank you, Shizuku."
As the sleep overcame her, the darkness overwhelmed her. In the darkness, a chant of condemnation grew ever louder.
IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT.
The dead bodies of her friends joined in the chorus until the chant reached its climax. The dismembered, desiccated corpse of her beloved spoke to her.
It spoke not of comfort but the same condemnation. There she saw the culprit for his murder, the dark snarling beast that was now Shizuku Yaegashi.
She awoke suddenly, in a pool of tears and sweat. Her nightmare was over or was it truly just beginning.
As not to awake and worry her beloved, she wept silently, cursing bitterly at her hypocrisy.
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.