AN: Not much to say here, so enjoy!"If it's like this, it's speech."

If it's like this, it's a thought.If it's like this, it's an AN.

We made our way back to the guild hall a few minutes after, and I noticed the other people didn't bother me like normal. I had this feeling in the back of my head, that as long I was with Megumin, I would be okay. A sense of security I hadn't had since before things with my family went sour, and for a moment, it brought a genuine smile to my face.

I sat, just enjoying the company of my first true friend and Aqua for a while, until I was tapped on the shoulder.

Turning my head, I saw the same Crusader that had bothering me lately, yet she looked different. Her armour, once scuffed and worn, was brand new. Shinning white with gold accents, it was certainly fitting for a Crusader. She carried an air of confidence and maturity, unlike our previous meetings. Overall, she seemed more sure of herself and ready to protect others. Maybe too ready, knowing her.

She started me dead in the eye, and instilled a sense of resolve into those around her, including me.

"Now that you have seen what I am capable of, I would like to request once again. My name is Darkness, and I wish to join your party. As a Crusader, I vow to be your shield. How about it?"

She spoke with clarity, and extended a hand for me to shake.

Hmm... Do I let her join? She seems to have suddenly gained some self control but... Will that be enough? Well... She tanked Megumin's explosion...I shook her hand. Anyone who can tank what is basically a nuke must be stupidly strong, and I'd be idiot to turn this down.

"Fine. Welcome to the party I guess."

I wasn't letting her know I was so enthusiastic though. I earned a glare from Aqua, though Megumin seemed unfazed. If my guess is right, she completely saw through me again.

It always gave me a strange warm feeling when she did that, though I couldn't say why. Maybe it's just because she cares enough to notice.

Part 2

Life seemed to go a lot faster after that day. Quest after quest, one shot explosion after one shot explosion. Darkness definitely proved her worth too, after saving our asses a stupid amount of times. She had been in the party around a month, and the quests were beginning to run dry. Apparently, a demon general had moved into that castle me and Megumin had gone to on her first explosion trip, and was scaring most monsters into hiding.

This meant, unfortunately, we had to fight some giant toads. 15 of them, to be exact.

The first sign of something wrong was Darkness panting with a blush on her face, I ignored it.

Next, an unusually scared Aqua. I ignored it.

After that, a... Depressed Megumin?! That one was much harder to ignore. Not hearing her chuuni ramblings was jarring. Of course, I asked her what was wrong. But all I got was a quiet mumble and a sad glance.

Me? I'm scared to be honest. I'd rather not get eaten, and those bastards seem pretty eager to do so.

Memories of our first quest came into my mind, and I shuddered.

"Darkness! Fall back you idiot! Stop running towards them!"

"Aqua! Attack already! Stop running away!"

"Megumin, use explosion already! What do you mean it's not enough of a target?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"How Fucking useless can you guys be?!"

Oh. My. Days. I think that was the worst quest of my life. Darkness got herself eaten by choice right away, and Aqua ran and ran until a toad ate her too. Megumin eventually cast explosion but it missed. It fucking missed. THE MASSIVE NUKE OF A SPELL MISSED. I dealt with every. Single. Toad. Fuck my life.

Part 3

Returning to the Guild hall that night was awkward to say the least. I was clearly pissed, and the whole room seemed uncomfortable and seemed to be staring at me. I slowly picked away at toad meat while the others went to town on a whole buffet's worth of food. My anger slowly died down, and was replaced by a painful sense of emptiness. I felt guilty, which was strange, because I had done quite literally all of the work. I felt sad too, which was stranger, because I should be angry right now, not feeling sorry for my self. Then I realized why. While the others were were eating away in ignorant bliss, Megumin was shuffling uncomfortably in her seat and like me, had barely touched her food.

I groaned, and prepared for the possible shit-storm rant that might come from asking what's wrong.

But now wasn't the time. I didn't have the words of even knowledge of why she was so upset. Well, on second thought, I kinda see why. The pain was in her eyes and it was clear as fucking day. God I could be so insufferable at times.

Without a word, I stood up and went outside. I looked up at the empty sky. It seemed not even a single solitary star would shine for me. I deserved it I guess.

Part 4

I stood there for a while, just thinking about life. My mind flickered over my life before, and my family. I wonder how they are? Does it matter? I hope my brother is okay at least. He was a little shit, but he didn't look down on me.

Huh? Why does my shirt feel wet?

Then I noticed. I was crying. As I stood there, silently solemn, contemplating my both my previous and current life.

I heard the large metal door of the tavern creak open slowly, and I bolted for the back of the building.

I could tell from the short breaths and small shadow despite the nearby lantern that this was either going to be a night to remember or a night I will always wish to forget.

Part 5

"K-...Kazuma?" was the first thing I heard, breaking the silence of the cold night.

"Are... Are you there?"

I held my breath, I wasn't ready for this conversation yet.

...

...

The night was quiet again, and the door of tavern slammed shut. Safe at last, I let out a sigh of relief.

"I knew you were here!"

Shit.

I stayed silent. To my knowledge she hadn't actually found me yet, but that could change quickly, so I had to act fast. I ducked into the bushes and watched as she walked around the corner, and stood right in front of the bush with her back facing me.

Then she smacked me with her staff, right on the top of my head. It looked like she was scolding me, but I couldn't hear much. Come to think of it, was it this dark before?

As she continued to ramble on, I started to feel more and more sick.

I could make out the words "What should I do with you Kazuma..." before a bad realization dawned on me. I got smacked over the head hard with a hard wooden staff. I had a fucking concussion didn't I.

I passed out. I hope that doesn't become a habit. I woke up in an inn in the outskirts of Axel. Looking around, I spotted megumin and Aqua sat in a chair in my room, with darkness being stood talking to what seemed to be a doctor.

I slowly sat up, and immediately layed back down when I felt my head.

Fuck that hurts.

Eventually my head calmed down a little, and Darkness went home. Aqua went to another room, but stopped to tell me that Darkness had payed for our rooms. Huh. Guess she had a good use after all. I figured I was by myself, and of course, being a teenage male, I had one thing to take care of first. Then I got a bad feeling. Looking over, I saw Megumin still sitting in the chair across my room, and visibly blushing.

"W- Were you just?..."

"I-I-I was just scratching my leg!" I sputtered.

"Well I guess I shouldn't expect anything else from you Kazuma. A-Anyway... Um... S-Sorry."

I groaned in pain, before letting out an ever so slightly sarcastic "Oh it's fiiiiinnneeeeee" which earned me a glare. I took a quick glance out the window, and it was still night, and a quick check with Megumin confirmed that. Looks like my guess earlier might still ring true.

Megumin stood up and sat on the end of my bed. We talked for a while like that, about a lot of things really. But my head started getting worse. I didn't mention for a while, but it got hard to ignore, and after one particularly bad moment of my headache, I groaned loadly in pain and clutched my head. I went quiet pale too, which Megumin told me afterwards.

"Kazuma are sure you're okay?" Megumin asked with a scared look on her face.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, though I guess that's hard to believe when I'm holding my head like this-"

"You're damn right I don't believe you!"

E-Eh?

Then Megumin shocked me. Why?

Because she grabbed my hand. And held it. She wouldn't look at me, but she did say, very quietly, "I'm sorry I caused this..."

For some reason the pain wasn't getting to me at that point, but the exhaustion absolutely was, so I fell asleep there and then. The one thing in my mind as I drifted off to sleep wasthis,

Night to remember...

Part 6

The next morning, a lady from the guild had a request for me. A hotshot adventurer called... I think it was kitzurigi? Anyway, he had broken a seal in a dungeon recently, which me and Aqua had fixed, but apparently another effect of his mistake was a strange hoard of living dolls coming from the very center of the dungeon.

Due to the extra money from checking it out, and being the only party with a skilled enough priest for purifying them all (it hurt to call Aqua skilled).

So where was gang going next?

A hole in the wall hell called Keele's dungeon.

AN: I'm back! And I'm well aware it was almost definitely not worth the wait D: Oh, and yes the order of events has changed quite a bit, don't worry, it's all planned I just thought this would work better for the story I'm trying to tell. The next chapter will hopefully be out soon, until then, have a good one, and thanks for reading :D