Chapter 6:
"Aya, you really like that huh?" Yunyun says with her hands holding her chin as she watches the child in question frantically shoveling food into her mouth.
"I mmn- haven't tasted mmph- food in years!" She said while scarfing down the food. "Plus this is the only way for me to gain mana."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
She puts down her spoon while wiping her mouth with her arm. "This device allows me to have a physical body, but it constantly needs mana to run."
"So basically, the device converts food into mana in order to run?"
She nods with a smile, "mhm!"
"I was wondering if you could use magic, or are you unable to?"
"William!" Yunyun scolds.
"I can, but I would be borrowing from the glowy thingy."
"I see, oh well."
"William, you better not be doing what I think you're doing..." Yunyun's voice turns serious, as she glares at me.
"Don't worry, I would never think about using her as a party member."
She glares harder, "The fact that you specifically brought that up says something William."
I snapped, "Well, I'm sorry if I wanted someone to protect you!"
She stared at me in shock that I'd raise my voice like that.
"I-I mean-" I instantly regret raising my voice, she didn't deserve this; not after what we've been through this past week.
She stared at me before turning to the scared Aya, "Aya, let's go take a bath while your... father cools his head." She picks up Aya and carries her.
"Y-Yunyun- I'm s-s-" I reach out but didn't even get to finish as she was already out of the room I was staying in.
Geez, what the hell is wrong with me today? I never act like this...
-Meanwhile-
Undressing Aya, I couldn't help but stare in awe at the blue glowing symbols on her body. In the middle of her chest was the orb, pulsing like a heart. Black vine-like shapes sprouted from the orb into her 'body.'
We both rinse off, before sinking into the bathtub, Aya on my lap.
"Mommy?" Aya spoke up, looking up towards my eyes.
"Hm?" I still feel uncomfortable that Aya calls me 'mommy'
"D-Does daddy hate me?"
I flinch, her question catches me off guard; I felt like I wanted to cry, I knew he didn't but just the idea of him hating her makes me tear up a bit.
"No, he doesn't; I think that d-d-daddy is a little bit stressed over the situation that happened last week. You should have seen how happy he was when we rescued you. I think he's just a bit scared about losing us..."
I think back to when he cried when I was a doll. He was beyond scared when I didn't respond, thinking I was gone forever. Even when he realized that I was alive he was still terrified.
I just hope that it was him scared about losing us, and not something up. There is one question that I didn't like to think about: Just what were you doing in that cave William?
-Meanwhile-
My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. Yunyun came in followed by a timid Aya.
"So, anything to say?" Yunyun looked at me like a disappointed child, hands on her hips. She didn't seem mad anymore, just disappointed which somehow felt worse.
"I'm sorry! I don't know what was up with me, I never would think about something so awful. I've just been worried about both of you, especially since last week; I just wanted to keep you all safe! I don't know why I thought of something that would endanger Aya, she is special to me. I just felt so unnaturally angry and-"
"And?"
"I-It won't happen again."
She held a satisfied smile, "See Aya, there was nothing to worry about."
"Worry about?" I asked.
"She was worried if you hated her..."
My eyes widened, "H-Hate!? I would never hate her, she's so precious to us- to me!"
I turn around, "I-I'm sorry that you felt that way, I won't make you feel that way again."
"I-It's O-Okay," Aya said while beginning to sob.
I pulled her in a hug while making a promise to never do this to her again. All the while, cursing that part of my mind that thought such a thing.
"B-Better?" I asked while wiping tears from my eyes.
She smiled with tears in her eyes, "Mhm!"
I pat her eyed before turning towards Yunyun.
"So what's on today's agenda?"
"Well I was going to ask you to watch Aya for a couple of days while I go back to the village, but after what happened today; I have a change of plans."
"Grk." I flinch, not liking what was happening.
"I think I have a good punishment for you..."
I gulp as she looks at me and dramatically points at me with a smirk, "YOU, are coming with me to the village!"
"WHAT!?"
000
"Where will we be staying?" I ask.
"There is a newly built inn that you can stay in."
I rub the back of my head, "alright, sounds nice."
I turn towards Aya, "What do you say, wanna see the place where mommy was born?"
Aya's eyes sparkled with wonder and excitement, "Yeah!"
"Say, what brought this idea on?"
"Well, you never had a proper tour of the village. You were only there for a couple of hours from what you said." She then grinned excitedly, "So I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to show you around!"
Maybe this trip wouldn't be too bad.
000
We packed our things and teleported outside of the village.
"My name is Hiropon, Ex-chief of Crimson Demons and the Father of Yunyun!" A man posed dramatically in front of us.
Hiropon paused and noticed Yunyun, "Yunyun, you're baaaaack..." He then noticed the child that she was carrying in her arms.
He looked confused before looking towards me, then back to Yunyun, and then back to me. "MY GIRL HAD A CHILD!?"
"WE CAN EXPLAIN!" x2.
000
...
We awkwardly sat on Hiropon's couch as he stared directly into our souls.
"So... please explain what this is about." He said, his head resting on his intertwined hands.
We proceeded to explain the whole reason for Aya's existence. Along with our relationship being 'just friends.'
He stared at us for a moment before laughing while rubbing the back of his head, "Well, that's a relief, my daughter is too young to lose her purity!"
"DAD!" Yunyun screeched.
Aya tugged on Yunyun's sleeve, "So mommy, is that grandpa?"
Like a switch, Hiropon's eyes turned lifeless, "Mommy? G-G-Grandpa..."
He collapsed onto the floor causing Yunyun to panic, "D-Dad!"
000
"S-So, is he going to be okay?"
"Y-Yeah, just needs rest."
"That's good..."
"He was always overdramatic..." She muttered.
"Really... you wouldn't say, it's almost like everyone in this village is overdramatic..." I retorted.
"That's not what I mean, not in the typical crimson demon way. He always wanted to be a grandfather, but even though he knows Aya isn't my daughter; I think him hearing her call me 'mommy' broke him."
"You wanted to bring Aya so you could brag that you have a daughter, didn't you..." I deadpanned.
She looked away, "I did not..."
...
"Look at me when you say that..."
000
When Yunyun's father calmed down, we both started discussing 'chief business' as she calls it. I decided to take Aya out for a stroll, allowing her to see the 'interesting' tourist attractions.
"See anything you like?"
"Daddy, daddy, why is that man acting strangely?" Aya pointed out to a man who was following some random girl. I figured that he was stalking her considering how he was lurking behind a bush.
"That is what we call a stalker, if someone does this to you make sure to inform someone you trust, okay?"
She nods her head, "Mn, kay!"
We wonder a bit more until we come across a... cat girl figurine? What the hell is that doing here?
This is the most confusing town I had ever seen in my life, what cracked addicted person thought of this?
"W-Well, we should probably head back..."
"Aww, but I wanna see what's over there!" Aya pouted.
I sigh, "Fine, last thing though."
"Yay!~"
It seemed like a long walk from where we are but we managed to move along until we came across a telescope.
Luckily the walk took long enough that the stars started to shine.
This seems like a beautiful spot to look at stars, so it wasn't so bad.
It was nice to look at the stars, I don't know why this spot isn't popular.
I was lifting Aya so she could look through the telescope, it was honestly endearing to see how fascinated she was by the stars. Her eyes sparkled every time she saw a star, even the moon 'looked super duper cool' up close according to her own words.
"Daddy! I see a shooting star!"
"Quick, make a wish!"
"Okay!" She remained silent for a second, "Done!"
"What did you wish for?"
"Can't say, else it won't come true!" Aya said with excitement in her eyes.
"Hmph, very well..." I faked a pout before ruffling her hair.
"Still this place is amazing, I wonder why it looks unused. Maybe I misjudged them..."
"Let's go see if mommy is done with her chief business."
"Kay!" She cheered.
We both walked hand in hand back to the hotel.
000
"Mommy!" Aya rushed towards Yunyun and wrapped her arms around her.
"Aya! What have you been up to?"
"I went and walked around the village, I was a weird guy stalking a girl! Then we went and saw a cat girl statue and then we saw stars!"
"S-Stalking!? Must be Bukkororii again... Honestly, I hoped he stopped that..." She said in disapproval before lifting her head in confusion, "Wait, saw stars?"
"Yeah, I thought every tourist attraction was weird but they had a telescope on top of a hill."
Unexpectedly, Yunyun's face became sweaty and pale. "U-Ummm, t-that's..."
"That's what?"
She got close to my ear, "They... used that to spy in the demon king's daughter's bedroom..."
...
"Let's go to bed..." I lifelessly say.
"Y-yeah..."
000
The next morning we went out to eat at a local restaurant.
"So, how was the meeting yesterday?"
"It was interesting, there have been reports of something happening in the facility..."
"What do you mean?" I was confused, the only thing in there was the mage killer, right?
"Everyone's heard a strange droning noise at night. So I have to go there and explore, the problem is that no one knows the code."
"Code?"
"Yeah, there is a code, somehow it was opened once when Sylvia opened it..."
"Is it alright if I go?"
"Yeah, that should be fine." She then sighs, "As much as I don't want to, I'm going to rely on my father to take care of Aya."
"Yeah, no offense but, he doesn't seem like someone very reliable."
She chortles, "None taken, he really wasn't when I was a child."
000
"Isn't that..."
Yunyun stares at me in shock, "You know what this is?"
"It's a game controller?"
"Does this mean you know the code?"
"Yeah, let me see if this works."
I input the Konami code hoping that it works. To my amazement, it works.
"Wow." I scratch my head, "I didn't that would actually work..."
"That's incredible, though how did you know the code?"
"Well, it was common knowledge in my world..."
"I see- WAIT YOUR WORLD!?" She shouted in shock.
I sheepishly rub the back of my head, "Oh right, I forgot to tell you..."
"You forgot!?" She stared at me with a dumbfounded expression, "That's something crucial you know!? How do you simply forget?"
"Oops!"
"Don't think saying that will change things." Yunyun rubs her temples.
000
"Wow, it's massive!"
I stare in awe at the sight, the inside was quite dark and torn. A lot of the walls were damaged, and wires hung from the ceiling like vines. It felt like an electrical jungle, busted machines and human-sized tubes scattered the room. There was a large chamber where the great mage killer once stood, given the torn diagram. This room saw the most damage, metal claws lay upon the ground, while others still stood supposedly used to hold the machine in place. Water dripped down on top of us, it felt less of a fantasy and more like a sci-fi world. A slight mist was in the air, my spine shivered at the cold air around us.
"This feels so... eerie." Yunyun points out.
I look at one of the doors, a simple set of glass sliding doors. The glass seemed heavy-duty, cracks were there but remained strong.
Yunyun jumped when the doors slid open albeit slowly.
"W-Woah..." Yunyun gasped in awe.
The room looked like an ingrown forest. Multiple trees scattered the place, vegetation grew from the branches.
"Who knew that they would-" Yunyun suddenly covers my mouth and puts a finger to her lips.
I was confused at why she wanted me to be quiet until I heard a low droning noise.
We walked further in, hiding behind the trees to make sure that it isn't someone or something hostile.
The droning got louder as we closed in.
A large wall stood before us, runes scribbled across it, glowing bright red. In the center was a small device attached to the wall. A closer look made me think that it was a scanner of sorts. Considering its shape, it looks more like an eye scanner.
"What is that?"
"I think that's an eye scanner."
"Eye scanner?"
"It's basically a machine that... uhhhh, scans eyes and if one matches it will unlock..."
She looks at me with a confused face, "I have no idea what you just said."
"L-Look, just put your eye close to the hole thingy! Like looking at a telescope."
"A-Alright."
She put her head against the device, and afterward, a 'ding' played.
Yunyun jumped back as the ground began to tremble. The wall slid downwards, revealing an elevator.
A deep robotic voice boomed from the speakers causing us to jump, "Crimson Demon confirmed, please step forward."
We both step onto the platform, the wall closes behind us.
Yunyun jumped in shock as the elevator descends. "Wh-What is all of this?"
We waited until the lift slows and a screen lit up displaying my face.
"What the hell?"
A digital square moves around my face causing me to realize it is a facial recognition program.
After a moment the door slides open, "Welcome Chief Yunyun and William."
I flinch, how did it know my name?
Yunyun looks at me but doesn't say anything.
We walked along the hallway in silence. A large arena surrounded us, a large dome roof covered the ceiling. A robotic beast clung to the ceiling, held up by metal chains. It's bigger than ten houses stacked on top of each other, I already had a bad feeling.
A voice came from the speakers, "Threat identified, running defense program."
"Shit this is bad."
Chains rustled before a snapping sound could be heard. The colossus robot stood on its four legs, four red eyes stared at us. One of its eyes was on its tail staring directly into my soul. It had no mouth but did have multiple copper poles lining part of its face, heat radiating off of it.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me..." Yunyun said.
"Y-Yunyun!?" I stared in shock as Yunyun broke her character.
"How are we supposed to beat this thing!?" Yunyun angrily pointed at the machine, "Giant skeleton abomination, fine; shadow beasts, great; giant flies, gross but easy; but this!? This is ridiculous, how the hell are we supposed to kill this!?"
"I-I don't know!"
Before I know it, it started to move its way toward us at an alarming and unnatural speed.
"That thing is way too fast for itself, this is too overpowered!" I shouted.
Its eyes began to glow bright red, "Yunyun, be careful, it's gonna charge a beam!"
"Understood!"
We split up, two eyes were focused on her while the others were on me. I thought we outsmarted it, but its tail whipped around; shoving me into a nearby wall. My eyes widened in pain, I never thought I would feel this amount of pain. I wanted to cry out in pain but I couldn't move my lips. Surprisingly, the pain only lasted for a second before it disappeared; in fact, I couldn't feel anything at all. I tried to lift myself off the ground to no avail. That's when I realized that the impact broke my spine, I was paralyzed.
-NO ONE'S POV-
"Light of Saber!" Yunyun cast a blade that pierced its eye. Unlike any normal creature, it didn't react to pain which baffled the girl. She thought for a moment before concluding that it must be a bizarre type of golem. It reminded her of that creature with all the metallic insides. What struck her as odd was that little magic was detected in this beast, sure there was some but it was powered some other way.
She had no time to think as a tail swiped just above her head. She needs answers, and she knows damn well that she's going to get them. She notices the weird coils on the front of the beast were turning bright red as if they were heating up. Suddenly waves of fire burst out of its 'mouth,' rushing toward an unsuspecting Yunyun. She screams in agony as waves of heat and pain surge through her.
She collapsed to the ground as she felt her skin blister. She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst before suddenly all of that pain went away. She looked around confused at what happened before spotting two familiar figures.
-YUNYUN'S POV-
"Aya, DAD!?" I stared at them with a dumbfounded expression on my face. "What are you doing here!? I thought I told you to stay back home to take care of Aya!"
I stare with a bitter expression as he laughs sheepishly, "Well that was the plan, but Aya insisted she sees you... I couldn't resist the eyes she gave me!" He then gave me a serious expression, "It's a good thing too, who knows what would have happened to you if we waited any longer..."
"Wait, how did you get here? It only allowed access to those who know the code."
"Oh, well; your boyfriend left the door open for us. As for the way we got down here, we kinda brute-forced our way in."
I felt my cheeks redden, "H-He's not my boyfriend!"
He laughed before looking around, "Speaking of him, where is he?"
"Huh, what do you mean, he right there- Oh shit, William!" I began to sprint to where I last saw him, I completely lost track; I need to make up for this.
"I turn to the others, "Dad, distract the creature; Aya, come with me."
000
I stare in horror at the sight, William looked exhausted, and sweat covered his whole body. "William!" I lifted him off the ground, he seemed almost limp as he smiled at me weakly.
"Yunyun? Aya?" He weakly said, he was in a daze and was out of it. "I-I c-can't move my body."
I felt horrible, I shouldn't have taken them here, let alone take William here. At least they wouldn't have gotten hurt.
I watched Aya heal him, his bones made disgusting popping sounds as they popped back into place.
"William I-" but he cut me off.
"It's not your fault... let's get going."
He picked himself up, still weak but able to move.
"I'm, coming with!" Aya declared with a smile.
"Absolutely not missy!" Yunyun scolded.
"Why not?"
"Because you might get killed! I-I can't stand the thought of any of you dying!"
She stared into my eyes with a determined look, "I don't want you to die as well! If mommy and daddy die, then I will be alone again! I don't want that, I don't want that, I don't want that!" Tears flowed down her face like a river. She tightly wrapped her arms around my leg as if I'll disappear if she lets go.
In a small weak voice, she said, "P-Please, don't leave me..."
"I-" She was right, I couldn't leave her behind; where would she go, my parents? No way, like I'd trust them with my child, err, I mean her.
"F-Fine, but no funny business, and you have to do exactly what we say!"
She looks up while wiping tears from her eyes, "You mean it?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"Yay!" She cheered.
"Now, stay behind me."
"Kay!" She moved behind me.
There has to be a way to destroy this thing. Its large body means that attacks won't be too effective. That's when it clicked, "The eyes!"
I shouted, "Everyone, aim for the eyes!"
"Got it!" x2.
"Light of Saber!" x3.
Three large spears pierced the remaining eyes.
"Wait, why the hell is your dad here!?"
"Long story, wait until this battle is over!"
"Got it!"
"Since when did you learn Light of Saber?" I smirked.
He let out a teasing smile, "Long story, wait until this battle is over!"
I couldn't help but chuckle, "Then let's finish this quickly!"
"Agreed!" x2.
The beast seemed to still be able to see despite the damage done to its eyes.
"I think it's using ultrasonic sonar sensors!"
"Ultrasonic?" x2.
"Basically using sound to see."
Using sound to see, made no sense; how could you see sound, that's impossible! I didn't have time to argue over it, so I went with it.
I noticed it was about to do its fire attack when I noticed a way to kill it.
"Guys, use your strongest ice magic on the coil things!"
"Got it!"
"Crystal Prison!"
"Ice bind!"
"Freeze!"
Three waves of ice hit the coils. Though something was unnatural about William's simple freeze spell. It looked less like a simple freeze and more like a tsunami of ice. I was also surprised by dad's 'Ice bind' I never heard of the spell before.
Sure enough, the ice rapidly melted; but it was too much. The fire burst forward but the ice trapped it creating tons of pressure. Before no time, the top of the machine blew apart causing it to fall to the ground.
We waited for something to happen, but nothing did.
"Is... Is it over?" William asked, breathing heavily.
"I think so..."
A loud whirl could be heard from inside the machine, causing us to be on high alert. A hatch opened in front of us, and a staircase flung outwards.
"The hell?" I heard William mutter under his breath.
We cautiously stepped into it, the door latching back. As soon as the door closed behind us, we were blinded as the lights clicked on.
We walked inwards, the walls illuminated with a blue hue. We stumbled across a sign written in the same language as the stones.
"Says that it's the power room." William pointed out.
"You can read the language!?"
"Yeah, it's a country in my world."
"You're from another world!?" Dad shouted.
"L-let's leave that aside for now." I suggested.
"Alright, but you owe me an explanation later."
The door opened, and we stepped into a large room with a large glass box and buttons.
-WILLIAM'S POV-
I stepped into a large room filled with nothing but a door and what appeared to be a console. I step forward and noticed a mouse and a power switch.
I flicked it on and the computed whirred to life.
"What's it say?"
"Let's see, 'Prototype 011...' It seems whoever created this place wanted to create genetically modified humans. I guess these first iterations fused humans and demons into one being."
"Wait, isn't that what it says on that stone? Kazuma said that we were created or something."
"Then these must be the first ones, I guess these humans actually have part demon in them."
"Despite our names, we have no relation to demons." Hiropon pointed out.
"Wait, there's an 'open core access' button."
I clicked it and a large vault-shaped door slid open.
-YUNYUN'S POV-
I jumped back when loud sirens went off followed by a voice, "Hatch unlocked, please stand by."
We all watched as the door the sounds of gears turning littered our ears.
As soon as it opened the sirens shut off followed by the hissing of smoke.
I stared at the interior, the room was lit with an ominous red hue.
We stepped in, I was shocked at how barren the room was. Several metal circles were placed next to each other in a triangle. In front of us, was a small square with eleven buttons.
"Seems like we need some kind of code."
"Let me see..." Dad said as he looked at it.
"We might be screwed, it's not like we know the password..."
"No, all we need is to do... THIS!" Dad repeatedly hit the box.
"D-Dad! Stop it, you're breaking it!" I rushed towards him and tried to pry him off.
"Fine..." He sighed.
I let out a sigh of relief, at least that's over.
"Lightning!"
"DAD!?"
As the lighting went directly to the box, something shook.
"Access granted..."
Dad turned around with a smug grin, never have I wanted to hit him in the head more than now.
The eleven circles rose from the ground, causing us to jump. I walked around to have a closer look at one of the cylinders.
I gasped at the sight, there were people in them. Well, what I assumed to be people, their bodies were distorted. They had human features but also extra limbs, mouths, and even eyes. Some didn't have arms or were replaced with sharp boney limbs like a weapon. One had no legs, it had a tail where its legs should be. One even looked like they had something burst from their chest.
I don't know how they were so well preserved, but they clearly died long ago.
"The hell, so these were the prototype of the crimson demons, huh?" William stared in awe.
I could feel Aya grip tighter on my clothes, "M-Mommy, I'm scared."
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you..."
"O-Okay."
Even dad looked disturbed.
Some were men while others were women.
"Guys, there's another door." William called out.
I turn towards him and gulped. This was already disturbing, what else could be lying past that door?
"Alright..."
He pressed a button and the door opened.
We stepped into a large room with one more chamber. She looked different than the others, her body was mostly human; her other arm was more fleshy, and had five eyes in various sizes scattered around her body. She wore a weird mask with a tube attached to it. On top of the chamber with a box displaying a red line that kept moving up and down.
"SHE'S ALIVE!?" William shouted.
"What do you mean?"
He pointed at the box, "That line is supposed to represent your heart rate, so if it's moving like that..."
"It means she's alive..." I finished.
"Then let's get her outta this place!"
We stepped closer before metal sheets shot up, covering the glass.
"Intruder Alert: Backup generators are online. Relocating all power to the central chamber."
The door behind us slammed shut, causing me to go into a panic.
The chamber containing the girl descended and a hatch closed behind it.
-WILLIAM'S POV-
We anxiously waited for something to appear and appear it did.
A mechanical snake appeared, and the top of its head carried the chamber. The snake was too big but around the size of the skeleton monster, we fought when I first met Yunyun.
We charged forward, I used 'Light of Saber' on its body.
Yunyun charged at the monster with full force. "Cursed lighting!"
A burst of black lighting hit the machine causing a hissing noise. It seemed to falter before recovering.
Its response was to shoot a cannon of fireballs that would explode upon impact.
One of them hit me causing a burn to appear on my arm.
I decided to retreat for a moment, and that's when I saw it; an emergency shutdown switch covered by a metal case. "Everyone, there is a shutdown switch on its back! "Hiropon, freeze it in place; Yunyun, help me melt the case."
"Got it!" x2.
-YUNYUN'S POV-
I tell Aya to stay behind me as we rush over to him.
As dad froze it, we both started using fire magic to melt the metal case.
Once a hole was made, William swiftly flicked the switch.
I hopped off of it and went over to where I told Aya to stand.
"Warning: Emergency shutdown protocol is now activated."
I heard an odd sound before hearing dad's voice.
"Hey, the metal curtains are opening!"
I sighed in relief.
"Backup generators: online."
"WHY HAVE A SHUTDOWN SWITCH IF YOU'RE GONNA ADD STUPID BACKUP GENERATORS?" William shouted.
Suddenly, the tail hit William causing him to fly back. Luckily, it wasn't too bad.
"Yunyun, break the container..." William told me.
"Got it! Aya, stay with him, okay?"
"Kay."
I rushed to the front, I need to end this quickly; I was already exhausted and William was even worse. He looked like he would faint any second.
"Dad, attack that glass with your strongest attack!"
"Understood!"
"Light of Saber!" x2.
In an instant, the glass shattered.
Dad rushed in and got the girl out of the
machine.
"Core removed, commencing shutdown..."
Just like that, the machine shut down.
We all sighed in relief as it was finally over.
I looked at Aya and noticed she finished healing him.
"I-Is it over?" He asked weakly.
I gave him a tiny smile, "Yeah it's over."
"Finally..."
He started to sware before collapsing.
Fortunately, I caught him in my arms before he hit the floor. I sighed before playing with his short hair, "You deserve to rest..."
-WILLIAM'S POV-
I woke up, I looked around and noticed I was in bed. I turned to my side and saw an anxious Yunyun lost in thought.
"Yunyun?"
"Ah, you're awake!" She smiled before frowning, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"If I hadn't brought you here, you wouldn't have gotten hurt; I even put Aya in danger! I'm a terrible friend."
"Please, don't think of it like that... We're adventurers getting hurt is part of our jobs. Like I said back there, if we weren't there, who would take care of Aya? I could, but you're important to her just like you are to me. We need to trust each other, so please trust me when I say that this isn't your fault."
She gives me a teary smile, "Okay, I trust you."
"Good," I then give her a smirk. "Besides, you're father was quite easy to manipulate considering a kid did it."
She giggles, "I guess you're right."
"So, how is that girl we rescued?"
"Still asleep, should wake up soon. You've slept for two days!"
"Two days!?"
"Yeah, I was seriously worried about you."
I looked down, "Sorry."
"I'm just glad you're okay, you should get more rest; I'll get you some food."
"Alright, thanks."
She smiles and shuts the door.
I sigh, seems this world gets more interesting by the minute...
