It took me a little while to actually wake back up. My head was pounding, and there was an awful burning sensation in my nose. Sitting up, I tried to rub the bleariness out of my eyes, only to realize that my hands were tied together. I was confused for about a second, before I remembered what had happened.

Yuri had kicked me in the balls, and knocked me out. She must've tied me up after that, for whatever reason. That spark of anger was back again, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Maybe that was because I'd just woken up? Who knows?

Yuri was sitting against the wall, reading one of her many books. Strangely, her pants were nowhere to be seen. She had bandages all over the area in between her legs, thankfully covering any obscene sights from view. I found that odd, but ultimately unimportant. I still needed to go to town, and I couldn't do that with my arms tied behind my back.

Yuri noticed that I was no longer unconscious, tossing her book to the side and quickly rising to her feet. She loomed over me, looking mildly annoyed.

"Alex..." She said, her voice deadpan. "You're grounded."

...Excuse me?

"W-What?" I asked, wincing as I heard my voice crack. "Yuri, I'm an adult! You can't just ground me!"

She raised an eyebrow, as if I'd said something unreasonable. Her expression made me want to hit her again, but since I was restrained, that wasn't an option.

"I'm your mother." She stated, narrowing her eyes. "I can punish you however I see fit. You might physically be an adult, but since you're acting like a child, I'll treat you like one."

I felt my eye twitch as I bit my tongue, desperately trying not to make my situation any worse by saying something stupid.

"You will not be allowed to leave the house without me." She continued, either oblivious or uncaring of my mounting fury. "Whenever you go on your hunts at night, I'll be watching you."

...Shit. How was I supposed to go to town today? I certainly couldn't just walk in with Yuri! They'd call me a heretic!

"Yuri, I have shit to do today!" I yelled, feeling panic worm its way into my stomach. "I have to go train my friend!"

Yuri shook her head, crossing her arms in defiance. There was no convincing her. She was dead-set on this for whatever reason. Frankly, I didn't give a shit about her opinion at that moment. If I could've ditched her and run into the forest, I would have. However, she was stronger than me, faster than me, and a hell of a lot better at tracking than me. I would never escape. Not without a day's head start, at least.

"You really should have thought about that before you attacked me." She grunted. "Alex, you hurt me. I'm in a lot of pain, so forgive me if I'm not willing to compromise."

I felt a little guilty when she said that. Don't get me wrong, I didn't regret that fight one bit. Yuri had said some hurtful shit, and I responded the only way I knew how. Just... I felt a little bad. She hadn't really meant to be mean. She was just worried at the thought of me leaving home without her...

Eh, that's still not ok, now that I think about it. Yuri was clingy, and while I could excuse some things, she had gone too far this time. I was an adult, okay! Maybe I did some dumb shit, but that's no reason to basically limit what I can and cannot do.

...Actually, the more I think about it, the more stupid I sound. Wow... that actually kinda hurts.

My wounded pride aside, this was still an issue that needed to be addressed. Luka would probably start to worry if I didn't show up. Knowing him, he'd jump to all kinds of conclusions (which, in this world, wasn't exactly unreasonable). Worst case scenario, he'd assume I'd been captured by a monster, and go heroically charging into the woods, probably getting his dumb ass killed. That was more probable than I'd like, so I couldn't just sit here.

"...Can I at least let him know I'm okay?" I asked Yuri. "My friend is the type to worry about things. He might get antzy if I don't show up today."

She looked at me for a long time, searching for any hint of deception in my face. After finding nothing, she sighed, and nodded.

"I'll walk to the border of the village with you." Yuri decreed. "If you stay for more than an hour, I'll come and drag you out of the village."

Briefly, I pictured the ramifications of such an act. To everyone in the village, it would look like I was being abducted by a monster. Someone would probably attack Yuri, which would inevitably cause a bloodbath that left dozens of people dead.

...Ok, it probably wouldn't be that bad, but it would still be disastrous. I'd definitely have to be mindful of the time. Yuri wasn't a liar. Sure as shit, she'd come for me if I took too long.

"Alright." I muttered, nodding slowly. "Now, could you please fucking untie me?"

*LINEBREAK*

The journey didn't take all that long, but it was still very awkward. Yuri wasn't in the mood to talk, and neither was I. So, the entire walk was carried out in silence. Upon reaching the edge of the town, she stopped, hiding in the bushes.

"Remember, one hour." She grunted, giving me a hard glare. I rolled my eyes, nodding tiredly. Then, I turned on my heel, and made my way towards the village entrance.

The guard was just as apathetic as I remembered. Though, this time, he mentioned my crooked nose as I walked past. My face had been hurting, but until that point, I had just assumed I was sore. So, on top of everything that had already happened today, now I had a broken nose too.

Since I'd started training Luka, I would always find him out in the fields, practicing what I had taught him. He was improving rather quickly, which was good. He had a hell of an adventure coming up soon, and it wouldn't do to be unprepared.

After spotting that distinct head of purple hair, I quickly walked over to him. He didn't notice me, even as got close. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he practically jumped out of his skin, stifling a small scream.

Heh, that never gets old.

"Hey Luka." I said, feeling a shit-eating grin slip onto my face. "How's it hanging?"

He looked at me, frustration clear in his expression. After looking at me though, it changed to worry.

"Alex, are you okay?" He asked, frowning. "Your nose is... broken."

I gave him a nonchalant shrug, as if to say 'Shit happens'. Funnily enough, he didn't seem any less concerned.

...Now that I think about it, this isn't the first time I've shown up looking like I've had the shit kicked out of me. That's... probably a bit suspicious, actually.

Ah, whatever. Luka's denser than lead. He probably won't think anything's amiss. He's just concerned for my wellbeing, is all.

"...Anyways," I continued, pretending nothing was wrong. "I'm gonna be gone for the next few days, so I won't be able to train you for a while. I've... got errands to run, and I don't know how long they'll take."

I felt a small twinge of guilt as I spoke those words. Luka trusted me, and I was lying to his face. Still, it wasn't like I could tell him what was going on. That would just be stupid..

"Where are you going?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

It was a simple question, and yet, I had no answer. If I wasn't such an idiot, I would've made up an excuse ahead of time. Now, I had to make something up on the fly.

...Hmm. I hadn't told him much about my personal life. Perhaps I could say I was visiting relatives?

"I'm going to see family up in Iliasburg." I heard myself say. "I haven't seen them in a while, and I don't want them to worry."

Luka stared at me for a moment, his eyes narrowing minutely. It was a very minor detail, and had I been less worried about sounding suspicious, I would've completely missed it.

"...Alex." He said evenly, his gaze never leaving me. "Is everything alright?"

That was an absolute landmine of a question. Okay, maybe Luka wasn't quite as dense as I thought. Clearly, he knew something was up. That's... inconvenient. Whatever, if he asks anything else, I'll just stonewall him. It certainly wouldn't make things better, but it wouldn't worsen things, either.

"I'm fine Luka." I answered. "Don't worry about me. I'll be back soon enough."

He opened his mouth to argue, but I started walking away before he could say anything. I half-expected him to come running after me, but he didn't. That made things easier, at least.

Quietly, I walked back to the spot where Yuri was waiting. She was standing against a tree, with her arms crossed.

"I'm done." I grunted, giving her a slight glare. "Let's just get out of here already."

Yuri nodded wordlessly, and began walking back to the house. I followed behind, giving her the stink-eye as we traveled back home. It was a quiet, tense journey, just like it had been before we arrived.

Once we made it to the house, I stalked over to my room, and shut the door.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Yuri's muffled voice called out from behind the door. "We haven't sparred today. Get out here already."

...This bitch.

*LINEBREAK*

As Luka watched Alex speed off into the forest, he felt a sick feeling worm its way into his gut. Something was definitely wrong, and that made Luka nervous. At first, he hadn't thought anything was off. Alex was a little beaten up, but that wasn't very concerning in it of itself. Alex was tough as nails, and it would take a lot more than a few cuts and scrapes to actually hurt him.

His declaration that he would be gone for a while made Luka a little worried. Travel was dangerous, even for someone like Alex. Many monsters would surely try to ambush him on his journey. Still, he trusted that Alex knew what he was doing.

He'd claimed that he was going to visit some family up in Iliasburg. That sounded easy enough.

A shame then, that he was completely full of shit. Alex had no family.

It was such a seemingly small lie. In fact, if Ilias hadn't informed him of the man's past, Luka would've believed it without question. The thought that Alex would lie to him made him feel sad. Did he not trust him? Why would he try to deceive someone who called him a friend?

Clearly, something bad was happening. Alex was abrasive and sometimes mean as hell, but he wasn't the type of person to lie without reason. The situation must've been serious then.

He had to get to the bottom of this. If something was happening with his friend, it was his heroic duty to help him.

But how could he? The forest was incredibly dangerous for someone without a weapon, and Luka didn't think his wooden sword would cut it. Without something better, he'd be in extreme danger.

With that realization, he let out a resigned sigh. There wasn't much he could do at the moment. He just had to trust that Alex was smart enough to avoid trouble. Silently, he prayed for Ilias to watch over his friend.

After that, he did the only thing he was capable of doing.

He waited.

*LINEBREAK*

As I found myself being tossed around like a ragdoll, I began to wonder if this "spar" was just a flimsy excuse for Yuri to take her anger out on me. She was being unusually vicious today. Like, she was doing all kinds of shit, some of which she would never normally do. I swear, at one point she dropped a people's elbow on me! I didn't even know that was a thing here!

Yeah, I was getting batted around like a damn ping-pong ball. In my mind, I tried to convince myself that this was good for me. However, it was getting harder and harder to do that when my nerves were screaming with pain.

Of course, I did get a few hits off on Yuri. I wasn't sure whether or not they did anything, because she never seemed phased. Though, I think I did knock one of her teeth loose at one point, so I'd consider that a win.

Eventually though, this fight came to an end. She'd tried to kick me in the balls, which I blocked, of course (See! I am learning!). However, that was merely a feint. With an almost savage grunt, Yuri sent her fist right for my face. I tried to block, but I couldn't bring my arms up in time.

The blow rattled me, snapping my head to the side. With a muffled curse, I fell over, closing my eyes to escape the horrible dizziness I felt.

...That might've given me a concussion. Fun.

I groaned in pain, holding my head as I felt white-hot pinpricks race through my brain. I could hear Yuri walking up to me, but I was in no condition to fight anymore. She must've known this too, as I clearly felt the tip of a wooden short-sword pressed against my neck.

"Hmm." She hummed, looking down at me. "That's enough for today."

I responded by saluting her with my favorite finger. She raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't comment. That was good, because if she'd said anything, I probably would've responded with something venomous.

I grunted as I flipped onto my stomach, before managing to get a knee up. I tried to stand, but quickly gave up any notions of such an action when I was hit with a horrible wave of nausea.

"Ohhh no." I grunted, feeling my stomach practically tie itself into a knot. "Ohhh good lord. That doesn't feel good."

Yuri walked up to me, her somewhat smug expression changing to that of concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her eyes quickly scanning my half-crumpled form. "Alex? Are you okay?"

A fresh wave of pain radiated through my body, starting in my skull and traveling all the way down in my toes. I opened my mouth to groan, but quickly closed it once I felt bile begin to creep up my throat.

...I was gonna hurl.

Evidently, Yuri came to the same conclusion, as her face became rather pale. As I began to unload the half-digested food in my stomach, she practically jumped backwards, barely avoiding being splashed by vomit.

After I finished puking up the red substance (such a color would probably be concerning for most people, but considering my diet, I wasn't really surprised.), I once again tried to stand up. This time, I was actually successful, climbing to my feet with an unfortunate amount of effort. I could barely see past the tears in my eyes, but that was fine. It wasn't like I was in any kind of danger.

As I continued to stand, immobilized by a putrid mix of pain and nausea, I began to feel the pain slowly recede. It didn't go away, but it became... muted. It felt like I had been injured the day before, rather than about a minute ago. That certainly wasn't normal, but I wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, so I accepted this event wholeheartedly.

Slowly, I trudged over to a clean patch of grass, and promptly collapsed on it. My nausea still hadn't gone away, so I fixed it with a healthy dose of the red, straight from my flask.

Who says self-medicating is a bad idea?

Once I was done savoring the delicious substance, I placed it back on my belt, and sat up, feeling an involuntary groan escape my lips. Man, that spar fucked me up!

"...Aw hell." I grunted, wiping the corner of my mouth with my sleeve. "Was that a spar, or just an excuse to kick my ass?" I chuckled mirthlessly.

Yuri winced, which was proof enough for me. She had enjoyed that fight just a little too much for my liking. Perhaps this was just further punishment in her eyes. Either way, I was not a fan.

"...Sorry." She mumbled, looking down at her feet. It seemed like she was going to say something else as well, but no other words came forth. For what seemed like hours, the only noises I could hear were the rustling winds, and the distant chirp of birds. Strangely, it was somewhat soothing.

This awkward silence could only last so long, however. With a sigh, Yuri plopped down beside me, sitting with her legs crossed.

"Alex..." She began slowly. "You know that I love you."

I nodded simply. That just went without saying. If she didn't love me, then she wouldn't have put up with all the bullshit I caused over the years. Still, it felt nice to hear that you were loved. It gave out that warm, fuzzy sensation that almost everyone feels at least once in their life (I say almost everyone, because there's always that occasional unfortunate bastard that everybody hates, deserved or not.)

For a short moment, she was silent again. Her expression was one of concentration, which probably meant that she was trying to pick her words carefully. Man, I wish I had enough patience to put thought into the dumb shit I say.

"I'm always worried about you whenever you go out into the world." She said finally, a frown working its way onto her face. "I know you can handle pretty much anything around here, but that doesn't stop me from being paranoid."

Her hands, which she had previously laid in her lap, were fidgeting nervously. That was an unusual sight to see, but I didn't comment on it. Yuri was trying hard to say something, and I would feel like a massive dick if I made her lose her train of thought.

"That isn't the case on Sentora. There are many monsters out there who could easily overpower you. I wouldn't be able to protect you either, because a good amount of them are stronger than me."

Her words continued to remain neutral, but I could faintly see her body trembling. Man, now I really felt like shit. She'd be heartbroken when I left with Luka, and I couldn't really do anything about it. I had to go.

God, I hate Ilias! I don't even want to be part of this bullshit! Why do I have to babysit her fuckin' grandkid? Why couldn't she just leave me the hell alone?

I felt red-hot anger fill my chest at the thought of abandoning Yuri. She was my best friend in this fucked up world, and I had to leave her just to go on some stupid, horseshit quest! My life had been happy up until that bitch of a goddess decided to stick her nose where it didn't belong! It wasn't fair! It just wasn't fucking fair!

Swiftly, I dug my thumb into leg, wincing as I felt it pierce the skin. Warm, sticky blood trickled down my leg, giving off that coppery scent that I knew so well. Closing my eyes, I let out a shaky sigh, trying my hardest to let go of the incandescent rage which inhabited my body. I was only partially successful.

Yuri looked at me, startled. quickly, she glanced down at the wound in my leg, before turning around, and letting out a sigh. For a moment, I was confused by this reaction. She knew that I would occasionally hurt myself to curb my anger. In fact, she'd seen me do it multiple times. So why was she suddenly acting strange?

Realization slammed into me like a runaway train. Yuri knew that I was angry, but she wasn't privy to my inner thoughts (which is great, considering all the horrible things I know.) So, she assumed that I was angry at her.

"Yuri." I said hastily, looking over at her. "I'm not mad at you. I've just been... frustrated for a while now."

To emphasize this point, I reached over, and wrapped her in a hug. She hugged me back, but remained quiet.

After a moment, I broke away from the hug, and stood up. Silence reigned yet again. Eventually, I decided to do what was just about the only thing I could.

"Welp, I'm gonna go take a nap." I grunted, walking back toward the house. "It's not like I can do much else."

With that, I entered the house, opened the door to my room, and flopped down onto my bedroll.

Sleep was quick, and merciless.

*LINEBREAK*

I awoke suddenly, feeling a familiar scratchy pain in my throat. Groaning in discomfort, I reached for my flask, and popped off the lid. Closing my eyes, I raised it to my lips, and tilted my head back.

...Nothing came out.

Seconds passed by, as I sat there, as still as the dead. As my brain finally caught up with reality, I felt my eye twitch.

My stash had run dry.

Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. I'd just walk into the woods, find some animal (or a hostile monster, if I was lucky), kill them, and drain them. However, since I was grounded, I couldn't do any of that. Sure, Yuri would probably come with me if I asked her, but it just didn't feel the same if I wasn't by myself. Besides, she'd take issue with my... unorthodox eating habits. It would be a real bummer if I couldn't eat my prey, after all.

So, I just laid back down, feeling the annoying, itchy pain in my neck get worse and worse. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it still brought tears to my eyes.

This wasn't normal. Usually, I'd only start getting red withdrawals after a week or two. And yet, despite having had a drink only a few hours ago, it decided, for whatever reason, to rear its ugly head.

The pain spread to my skull, thudding and pounding like steam engine. It was horrible, and I could feel it getting worse as I laid there. It was sickening.

I had to have a drink. If this went on, I'd go insane. Already, I could feel a haziness tugging at the corners of my mind. It felt as if I had been doped up on some really awful shit. I'm not exactly sure what drug I'd compare it to, just because I never had much experience with that sort of thing.

Fuck it, I don't care if Yuri follows me. I need red, and I need it right-fucking-now!

Suddenly, I realized that I was moving. My hand was opening the door, and my sword was tucked into its sheath (which itself was hanging from my waist, of course.). Digging my nails into my arm, I hissed as what felt like hot spikes jammed into my bicep. The pain banished the fogginess I felt in my head, but didn't do much for any of the other symptoms.

...I really needed to get ahold of some red.

Walking out of my room, I spotted Yuri almost immediately. She was leaning against the wall, giving me an interrogative look. That quickly turned to concern when she actually processed my appearance.

"Alex, are you okay? You look sick." She said, marching over to me. "Are you feverish?"

I shook my head, wincing at the pain in my skull as I did so.

"No." I grunted, my throat feeling as if I'd eaten an entire nest of fire ants. "I need some red."

She frowned, letting out a sigh as she strode into her room.

"I'll come with you." She called back to me. "Just let my get my sword."

I sighed, waiting impatiently. It took her only a few seconds, but that didn't make the pain in my body hurt any less, now did it?

As I left the house, Yuri began to follow me, just as I knew she would. Whatever, that was fine. I had expected that to happen, so I wasn't too disappointed.

We journeyed in silence. The only noise, apart from our quiet footfalls, was the incessant buzzing of insects. Mostly, they were just crickets and mosquitos. It was around dusk, which meant those shitters were going crazy.

God, I hated mosquitos. You'd think that I'd be more partial towards them, given their unique and iconic diet. However, this was not the case. It was my firm, unassailable opinion that those little abominations needed to die.

As I slowly traversed the foliage, I kept my eye out for any kind of leftover track. Animals tended to leave stuff behind, whether it be broken branches, footprints, or shit. I wasn't the best at tracking, but I could certainly find something, at least. Besides, I was faster than pretty much any nonmagical creature. If a deer, or something else was trying to run from me, it wouldn't get all that far.

I won't bore you with all the details. This shit is boring, and it takes time. That's all you really need to know.

So, after an hour or two of not-so-mindless wandering, I spotted a suitable target to sate my thirst. A rather large buck, standing out in a small field. It seemed nervous, which, I supposed, was fair enough. It was about to die, after all.

Seeing as it was about to bolt, I chose to forgo stealth in favor of just rushing the fucking thing. As soon as it spotted me, it turned tail and began to flee. Unfortunately for it, I was much faster. It had almost made it to the edge of the field when I slammed into it, executing a rather magnificent shoulder-tackle upon its wretched form.

The buck dropped like a sack of bricks. Before it could even think about attempting an escape, I grabbed it by the neck, and tore its throat out with a flick of my wrist. Feebly, it kicked against me, but it was no use. The beast had been doomed the second I spotted it.

I took a moment to fill up my flask. After all, that was the whole point of this operation. After I'd sufficiently refilled my emergency stash, I helped myself to the rest of its red.

As the savory liquid touched my tongue, I shuddered in relief as I felt the pain fade away from my body. Sure, this stuff wasn't nearly as good as what I could get from a monster, but hot damn, it still did a fine job!

After I'd practically drained it dry, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I looked up to see Yuri looking over me with an unreadable expression.

"Alex." She said calmly. "It's getting late. Let's go home."

I shrugged, and grabbed the buck by one of its horns. They were decently sized, and would probably be worth something to the right buyer...

Oh well, that was something to think on later. I was still grounded, after all.

A/N: Abrupt ending is very abrupt indeed.

So, it's been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, my life's been pretty busy. To make a very, very long story short, some relatives of mine moved in with me, then they left. After that, I had to help renovate a room in my house, and then the relatives moved back in again. They're gone once again, and dear lord, I hope it stays that way.

While all of this was going on, I rewrote this chapter about six or seven times, because I just couldn't get around my writer's block to save my fucking life. Then, most recently, my car broke down, and I needed to get my dad to help me fix it.

Just... Life's been pretty busy, ok.

So, I'm not entirely sure about this chapter right now. It's better than the previous attempts, and I'm not sure It'll get much better, but still!

As always, tell me if you find any grievous errors, ok? I'm tired, and nearly blind. I miss things.