Hi! Here's the third chapter! I know that I posted this kinda fast, cuz I wrote this thing already a long time ago…
Thanks for reviewing my work, Cerca Versa and Zhang Kai!
I promise that this will be way better that my last two chapters! And this will be longer! Yeah!
There's gonna be some swearing in this chapter, courtesy of Akiru.
I don't know if I should change the rating, cuz there MIGHT be some, well, implied situations in the future… (nothing bad, but…)
I will be introducing some new characters in this chapter too…
Okay, here I go!
Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok!
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Chapter Three-Change
The next day, entrance of Prontera Church…
Hikari walked out of the church with her belongings. She heaved a sigh as she tried to walk in her new dress. She was now officially a priest, headed for the outside world. With that job came a big responsibility: a pretty tight and slightly slutty uniform, what with the slits on both sides of the uniform. She didn't know who created the uniform, but if ever she knew she would like to get her hands on him. The uniform was really hard to walk on, and people kept on staring at her, partially because of the dress and partially because she was carrying a bag full of her belongings (looking like she just robbed a bank or something).
She already asked Father Augustine if she can have the same uniform as Sister Lynna, he simply shook his head and said that the uniform for adventuring priests and priests staying inside the church was different, and that was a rule he cannot break. Hikari left the Church, seething.
Enduring the glances she got from the townspeople, she trudged along the road and made her way to the inn.
After a while she finally reached the inn. She asked for a room and placed a bag of zeny on the counter. After signing the logbook, she was given a key with a label on it. Room 204. She went up the stairs and dropped off her things on the bed inside the room.
She thought of exploring the city in hopes of finding a party. The only time she remembered being in a party was when she was younger…
Flashback
As a novice, she was often boosted by Sister Lynna on the outskirts of Prontera, where numerous Porings, Lunatics, Fabres, Chon-chons, and Pupas. There was also the occasional Creamy, which was fortunately unaggressive. She remembered a time wherein she fought a Pupa (which she thought was dying), only to find out that it was about to evolve into a Creamy. She laughed a little when she remembered running around the field, desperately trying to get the Creamy off her tail.
After training for a few more weeks, she became an acolyte. That's when her duties begun. Those duties included cleaning the church, buying food from the marketplace and joining parties. She earned some money by boosting/tanking/supporting the party.
Unfortunately, she remembered quitting when one of the archers she partied with tried to make a move on her. After kicking the said person in the you-know-what and teleporting away (leaving the whole party stranded in the desert), she made a request to Father Augustine to remove her name from the list (which was immediately approved) of acolytes available to party with.
She decided to stay in the church forever until she had some creepy dreams and Father Augustine's revelation.
End Flashback
And so, she got out of the inn and started her search (nearly tripping on one of the steps…stupid skirt).
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Midori stood in front of the Prontera Chivalry. She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
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Akiru walked inside Prontera Castle. He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
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Alberta, the Harbor City…
There were 2 people selling things in their cart. One of them (a blacksmith), a boy with spiky reddish brown hair (wearing a Bone Helmet) and light brown eyes said, "Aoi, I'm tired of this. Can't we go and fight more monsters?"
Aoi (an alchemist), the girl with jet-black hair (and stellar clip) and multi-colored eyes (one was blue, the other yellow) said in reply, "Can't you be a bit more patient, Ryo? Let's just sell these stuff we made, okay?"
Ryo rolled his eyes and said, "You mean, the ones YOU made. Do you still remember that I HATE FORGING because it is a very difficult and tedious process which make my hands hurt!"
It was Aoi's turn to roll her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she replied. "You say that everytime I sell my potions and stuff"
"Why don't we go to Prontera now?" Ryo suggested. "There are more people there anyway." And a big PVP (Player VS Player) room, but he didn't mention that to Aoi.
She thought for a while then said, "Okay, fine. Let's go there!"
And so they were off to the Kafra…
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Prontera Inn…
Hikari lay on her bed, exhausted. She searched the whole city for party members, but was unsuccessful. She was thinking of her next possible action for the next day.
After lying on the bed for a long period of time and staring at the ceiling she stood up and saw a paper fall out from her dress. She picked up the wrinkled piece of paper and read:
RULES AND GUIDELINES
(for priests)
Priests should always wear their uniform properly at all times, especially when venturing outside.
Priests are required to do their ablutions (spiritual cleansing of self by taking a bath) EVERY DAY. (only exempted if you have a valid reason; you have God to answer to)
Priests are not obliged to party especially with: robbers, thieves, hold-uppers, etc.
Priests may marry but should be approved by head priest in Prontera Church.
Priests are expected to spread the Word of God whenever possible and should not hesitate to help someone in need.
Priests should be gentle, caring and understanding (unless you're dealing with a suicidal maniac—suicide pilots and bombers included, then you are permitted to hit the person on the head with whatever you have—preferably with Lex Aeterna).
The list went on and on. Hikari looked at the paper in disgust. Duh! They didn't need to waste paper on these dumb rules! She thought. She only took note of the second guideline, which reminded her that she had to clean up already.
And so, she headed for the shower…
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Akiru stepped out of the castle uncertainly. He looked down at his new clothing and armor. He passed the test, and is now officially a Crusader.
He walked on (with his bulky equipment) and was surprised to see a female knight riding on a Peco-Peco moving toward him. But when he saw the knight's pink hair and shiny helmet, he knew that no doubt it was…
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Midori gaped at the crusader standing in front of her. "Akiru? Is that you? You…you…CHANGED? But—" she was at a loss for words.
Akiru was also speechless. He stared at awe at the Peco-Peco she was riding and asked, "Where did you get that Peco-Peco?"
"Ummm…the Knight Guild…but crusaders have bulkier armor, so I guess they have to use Grand Pecos instead," she replied, pointing to the soldier tending to Grand Pecos in front of Prontera Church.
Without waiting for Midori, Akiru immediately rushed to the person tending to the Pecos.
"Hi. How may I help you? Would you like one of our Grand Pecos?" the Peco keeper asked.
"Ummm…yeah." Akiru replied uncertainly.
"Pure breed or half-breed?"
"What!"
"Pure breed Grand Peco imported from Gonryun or half-Grand Peco, half Peco-Peco bred here at—"
"WTF! Half-Grand Peco, half Peco-Peco? EWWWWWWWWW!"
"Nah, I was just kidding." The soldier replied. "Man, can't you take a joke?" he muttered under his breath.
"Grr…how much does one cost?" an irate Akiru asked.
"10k. Purebred, all set for fighting."
"OMFG! WTF? Ten thousand fricking zeny! That's enough for a weeks lodging at—"
"Relax. I was just kidding. It's only 1k." the soldier said, looking like he was about to laugh out loud.
"Oh… WILL YOU STOP KIDDING AROUND!"
Then, Midori started laughing hard. "Akiru—If you saw—the look—at your face—10k pecos—" her laugh became a roar.
After shooting Midori a murderous glare (and paying the soldier), Akiru was finally able to get his own Peco…
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"Two rooms, please."
Akiru and Midori entered the inn and went to the counter. The bored innkeeper then asked, "Is it okay if the rooms are FAR from each other?" putting a big emphasis on the word 'far'.
"Ermmm…that's okay." Akiru thought, blushing furiously.
"Yeah, we're just friends." Added Midori hastily.
'I can't believe she thought we were lovers!" Akiru and Midori thought.
"Room 204," the innkeeper said, giving a key to Akiru.
"Room 211," she gave Midori another key.
"That would be 2,000 zeny for both rooms. Please sign here." Handing a logbook to them.
Akiru and Midori paid for the rooms and started climbing the stairs. "Should we look for a priest to party with? Maybe tomorrow? I mean, one would be pretty useful, with us knights around here…" Midori suggested.
Akiru agreed, then added, "Especially if it were a female priest. Gotta love their—" which resulted into a hard jab from Midori.
And so they climbed the stairs silently and went to their respective rooms.
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The innkeeper consulted her logbook before closing the inn. She computed for the number of rooms taken and how much she earned for the day. But there were two entries that caught her attention.
Room #NameTime-inTime-OutSignature
204Hikari8:00am
:
:
204Akiru7:00pm
There was no logout time for the first user of Room 294. And she remembered letting a crusader rent the same room.
Which meant…
The innkeeper immediately reached inside the drawer where she kept the keys. She kept two keys for each room; one of them was for the user and the other was a spare in cases of emergency.
But the spare key was nowhere to be found.
Which meant…
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Akiru unlocked the door to Room 204. He was surprised to see a purple dress neatly folded on the bed. His curiosity getting the better of him, he examined the dress and found out it was made of silk and it was the uniform of a female priest.
The previous occupant probably left it behind, he thought.
He heard some sounds coming from the shower. Forgetting that he was still holding the dress, he cautiously approached the bathroom. Silently, he opened the door.
The room was warm, as if someone just used a steam bath. Through the translucent shower curtains he saw a person taking a bath.
He wondered what the person was doing in the room, but stood transfixed at the sight before him…he knew that he was supposed to get out of the room and have a talk with the innkeeper, but…the person, was so…
When he heard the shower curtain open, he snapped out of his reverie and scrambled for the exit, but it was too late. The person stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around her slender body, staring at him with her piercing blue eyes.
Akiru dropped the dress in shock and exclaimed, "YOU!"
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Oh well. I guess you can guess who he saw, and what probably gonna happen next…
I tried my best not to make the last scene descriptive, lest this turn into an M fic.
Wow! This chapter is ¼ longer than the last one!
Anyway, save your comments for the reviews!
Till the next chapter! Oh I'm getting better at this!
P.S. I'll try my best to post chapter 4 ASAP. I've written only part of it, having redone the story, and stuff…
P.P.S. Yay! I've been receiving more hits to my story lately! Thanks everyone!
Ciao for now!
Kaylee
