A/N
Heeeeey, I'm not dead, just lazy, sorry for the long wait.
I did my best, hope you all like it!
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5,298 Words in total.
Eina has been getting more annoyed with Bell lately.
"Are you sure I shouldn't walk you there?" The white-haired boy looked to her again as they stepped through the mansion's doorway, coming to stand on a stone landing above matching stairs ahead.
She sighed for the second time in a minute, the blue hair going to her upper shoulders now, tied up in a small ponytail no longer than three inches from the tie. At the present, the mortal woman once goddess had uncertainties regarding her looks, still on the fence of returning to the brown for the sake of avoiding questions, or keep it blue because… well… Bell said he liked it.
But right now he was just a nuisance.
"I'll be fine! I walked to work every day, by myself, for over a year and a half. I'll be fine, Bell."
"..."
She could tell more by the lack of response and the worst poker face in the history of poker faces that he by no means was swayed by this.
"Bell." Eina called, straightening her back to stand as tall as possible given that unlike when she was still a full goddess, he was Eina's own height. "I am just as capable now as I was all the other Nineteen and a half years of this life, I am not made of glass, get that through already!"
Bell could only stay silent, his eyes reading of the intimidation brought on by putting her foot down. He was much stronger than her physically right now, the woman not sure if any of her godly abilities from before were accessible even if she were to get a Falna, but even so, Bell still held hefty respect and fear for the woman.
Bell seemed to slowly look down, seeming not to be saddening, but anxious before voicing the next words on the boy's mind. "Can I still stop by before the dungeon…?"
Eina had to fight back a smile at the sight, Bell showing off the more clingy side of himself.
She shook her head, Bell catching the motion from where his head hung, but not seeing the direction. "You can stop by, just stop acting like I'm still hurt."
Bell nodded once in return, a firm and neutral look crossing at the compromise.
In reality, as she turned away starting down the stone stairway slightly damp from the now passed off and on rain storms seen in the last few days, the woman was never really injured aside from a bump on her head from Lefiya falling over with Eina in arm the day of her memories coming back.
She nor Bell liked to call it anything but, and many of the others who knew about her did the same.
"E-Eina!" Bell called out, nervousness palpable.
She for a flash of time lost control, eye twitching and an anger of sorts bubbling like when he'd claimed to protect her 'because you're a girl' back before they'd lost each other. She stopped dead at the second of eight steps down, standing straight up and taking a visible and deep breath, chest rising and falling as her black vest and shirt below a larger black jacket tightened a bit with the swelling of her lungs.
"Yes, Bell?"
"..." He hesitated at the sound of suppressed anger.
"..." She waited, shifting her feet to turn her side to him, looking straight up into his eyes with a weak glare.
"Y-ou…" He raised his arm up, a box wrapped in cloth hanging from it. "You're lunch…"
Her eyes fell from his eyes to the dark purple fabric. "O-Oh… right…"
She quickly hustled up the two stairs, Bell stepping forward to meet her in unison. Eina couldn't help the bashful red crawling out into her face at the fumble, and after she'd been so mean already.
The blue-haired woman brought the lunch to both hands, holding it up to her chest with the smallest of bows with the word "Sorry."
"No- I was being annoying so don't-" He was cut off.
Eina quickly stepped into his personal space just off to the side of his direct front, leaning forward, and kissing his cheek.
Bell's mind switched off, the soft and unbelievable sensation of her nose brushing his cheek, the soft breath catching the back of his chin, and most importantly how unbelievably firm yet soft her lips were.
She turned and ran down the stairs, kicking herself mentally for how big of a pain she'd been lately in a moment of reflection, hoping that some time finally not coped up with Naaza watching her every move for two weeks straight would do some good for her.
Bell could only watch as she went, racing slowly down the walkway, arms crossed in front as the purple covered box was kept as safe as possible. He couldn't help the thought, not as he watched her go in that slightly oversized coat while coming to and opening the gate at the walkway's end. Eina, Artemis, whatever anyone wanted to call her, she was beautiful and nothing would ever change his mind about that.
Bell smiled as the gate closed, a final look shared between them for a half-second, a smile on each.
He went back inside a few seconds after Eina disappeared behind the buildings down the road.
Bell came to enter the primary living room of the mansion at the front right side parallel to the front left's main medical facility for the less than critically injured or sick.
The door was audible as it moved, creaking with every degree it opened in a low and soft tone. From the main hall coming in Bell saw a set of two couches forming a ninety-degree angle with space for a tall, round coffee table at the corner, a longer and wider rectangle one center where Lili prepped her towering bag. The furthest was facing him horizontally, to its right was one at its side to him with the back to the mansion's front windows. True sat asleep on one, though he'd awoken to look but not move in curiosity surrounding who'd dare enter HIS territory.
"Hey."
"Hey." she responded in a more grumbling tone.
Though the move was done finally after two days ago, Lili was especially tired from it still, her being the biggest help with the skill 'Artel Assist'. She wasn't the best in the mental state either, though Naaza and Miach were good about cutting her off when they felt she'd done more than enough (and then some), the girl was unreasonably excited to prove herself to Miach and Naaza as the newest member of a Familia she for once wanted to stay apart of.
Bell locked the door behind him as just outside was the showroom for the brand new 'Blue Pharmacy'.
As part of the renovations, a room at each side of the main door was knocked out so they could actually do the business associated with what everyone knew them for, selling potions. Though they'd need to work on that image now, since they still intended to keep prices low, but also draw more valuable customers in.
But all of this meant one thing in particular, that being when the shop was open, people they likely wouldn't know would be in the showroom right behind that same door Bell locked.
It took all of one person accidentally wandering through the door labeled 'KEEP OUT' to make this request from Naaza an official rule.
Bell turned away from the door, looking again to Lili as she lifted a cup of coffee up, now done packing the monstrous-sized bag beside her. She at the very least deserved it, the small prum enjoying the bitter taste of the drink diluted with vanilla extract.
It took all of two strides for the door locked a moment before to ring with the knock of knuckles on wood.
Bell dropped his head and swung it to carry momentum for the turn, returning towards the door with the backtracking of those same two steps. Lili couldn't help but let the cup fall from her mouth a small distance, giving him a weird look for the abnormal action.
He reached to the lock, flicking it open and grabbing at the handle to pull, thinking to himself about requesting a door peephole so they didn't need to open it to find out who stood behind the thick wooden slab. The dull creaking began again, wondering if Eina had forgotten something else, maybe Naaza was carrying something and needed the door opened for her, but no, none of those.
"Oh-" Bell leaned to peer through the crack. "-You two are here earlier than expected." He came back from his lean, opening the door more for the expected guests, both holding smiles of different intentions.
One was a girl of golden locks, hell bent on catching a certain cat going into full panic upon seeing her bolt through the door. The other was a tall, regal looking elfess stepping with three feet if her staff counted as a third, especially given how often Bell'd seen her almost fall over while not holding it.
No, really, Bell had one time seen Riveria in the Loki Familia library reach out to lean on air then immediately face plant over a table, she even had that red bump on her chin all day.
Both older beings watched as the half-spirit girl rushed Trje across the room, vaulting over the coffee sable in murderous determination. True at the first sign of Ais dug his claws into the couch cushion and propelled like a bolt from Lili's crossbow over the furniture's backrest. With all the grace of a Level Six with skills to match, Ais landed better than the cat itself into a full dash right where the small feline dashed at full speed around the couches corner.
Bell recalled as this occurred how Trje made the mistake of prancing up to, then balling himself up in Ais' lap during the two's training at Twilight mansion some days ago, the cat making its biggest mistake in… well… ever. Ais claimed him as her own from then on and tailed him like a demon every chance she had until finally, as the very girl dove into the closer and sideways-to-him couch, she had him firmly in arm.
All the while Trje screamed bloody murder, not capable of handling the consequences of his lollygagging in days past while trying and failing to tear Ais' arm length and armored blue gloves.
Riveria sighed beside him. "So, how are the new facilities? Calling them home yet?"
Bell, slowly dragging his eyes from Ais to her with a huff of amusement. "A little surreal, but everything's in order, a good deal thanks to Lili."
"Ah!" Lili almost broke her neck from turning towards him. "Master Bell did a fare-!"
"Lili."
"Lili will call Master Bell- Master Bell! That is non-negotiable!"
Riveria sighed at the two, then got off track at the simplest and realistically least important of problems.
"No! I never agreed to that, so stop, just call me Bell or Captain for pete's sake!"
"Master Bell is Master Bell! End of discussion." Lili turned away, an angry pout surfacing with her arms crossed in front.
"Lili, please jus-"
"ANYways…" Riveria shouted out, this time Ais flinching for real at the sound of 'Mama Elf' shout. "I do believe there is a more pressing objective today than what miss Lili calls mister Cranel."
Bell couldn't help but give her a stink eye for that, the elf trying to pretend she didn't notice him after making light of something she herself had a folly of. Bell was quite adamant that armed with her new knowledge, she does not start calling him 'Sir Cranel', or 'His Highness', both of which were said aloud at some point, Lefiya and Alicia still had an annoying habit of calling the white-haired boy by those anytime they could get away with it.
Bell did his best to stay away from them within reason, but deep down knew the teasing would only get worse the more he let it fester, just grateful they hadn't tagged along.
He took a deep breath while carrying himself slowly towards the room's center at his side of the coffee table, helping Lili by grabbing the bag by a set of straps on its back, hoisting it up onto the pallum as the table wasn't tall enough for the normally one-person job.
"We'll be going as deep as we can under just my strength, we already know from training that I seem to have grown outside of just Falna in the last few weeks."
Ais looked down from where she was, the far side of the couch to his right, readjusting her firm hold on Trje as he fought for his freedom.
"We don't really know exactly how far I can go with just strength, skill and foreknowledge is just as good together as the prior, and though I have outside Orario knowledge, there isn't a seamless transfer."
Riveria walked over towards Bell and Lili, eying the backpack on Lili and finding it hard to believe even after years as a Level Six that such a tiny girl could carry so much.
"Lili will stay back with Ais and Riveria-" Bell emphasized her name in the hopes to make her do the same, though it is lost on her. "-and not to stray until a for-sure all-clear is given."
She nodded when his attention fell on the prum.
"Good, we'll all stay together, and all stay alive. Anything we should be extra worried about?" He turned to the two taller women, eyes going from Riveria beside him, to a ways behind her at Ais paying less attention than he'd like.
"Ais!"
Bell was startled for a moment as Riveria called out firmly, his niece dropping the can and speed walking over to her.
"No, I don't think so as long as you have the antidotes, correct?" Rivera asked more towards Lili than Bell, Lili nodding firmly as a response.
"Then that should be all, is everyone ready?" The princess of emerald hair asked.
With the lack of response, they set off.
They left without much rush, though they were worried about the late hour they might arrive back to the surface, they were planning to cap it off around floor thirty, the two Level Sixes confident they could make it, but wanting to start off at a reasonable goal for the day. They could always go back later, and preferably with the resources to pull off such a feat without starving.
As they filed out through the gate, Bell opened the metal entrance so as to signal the shop's open hours. Naaza requested it as they headed out with their goodbyes and good lucks.
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The town was abundant with people just after the adventurer rush, stalls and food carts easing into regular business modes once the ravaging breakfast rush ceased into calmer hours. The cobbled streets were just as active now as any time of day, the few children out and about playing as they do in ways Bell has seen time and time again. Games like 'Catch-Can' disappearing into the night only to return as 'Tag', 'Sneekle' turned to 'Hide-and-Seek', and 'kickball'... well... It was still kickball, but you get the point.
Things change with time, for better or worse, and lately Bell was happy to see this corner of Genkai getting better, though much of it didn't share this slice of sane living.
They eased up towards the first of two stops along the path to Babel, this one all too familiar sadly for both Loki Familia members. Each having completely different memories of dragging various familia members from these wooden stairs.
'The Hostess of Fertility'
Lili stopped a good ways back while moving off to the street side, though the area wasn't congested by any means, she was still courteous to an extent as Riveria and Ais were motioned to do the same from the pallum. They were confused for a second, each looking between her and Bell until the mop of white hair landed a hand on the railing and planted his first foot on the first level of stair.
Ais was still planning to follow until Riveria grabbed the back of her neck guard, dragging the surrogate daughter along towards Lili.
Bell found the top of the stairs as usual, walking swiftly to the door, reaching out with his hand and finding a trigger style handle that he pulled with familiarity, the door clicking as it swung open with ease. The inside was noticeably warmer, Bell only in that moment noticing how much the weather had changed over the last few weeks.
As time passed and the world moved on, solstice after solstice came and went for the near ageless boy, and every time he never noticed a thing just like now. The give away was never the sun's position, not the stars moving unnoticeable north or south, but the heat from a stove wherever he ended up for food on the first truly cold day of the new season.
It would seem May was hard at work given that the smell of morning breakfast with some form of egged toast, the smell doing wonders in tempting him further within the building, but this couldn't be as he had no intentions of working today nor spending valis with three companions waiting in the cold.
"Bell!" Syr popped up from nowhere on his right, him looking over to see a damp cloth clutched in her fingers and a half whipped table.
"Don't you do that in the evenings before closing?"
"Mh? Oh, yeah, but this one didn't seem to take." She smiled.
At the end of that, Ryuu appeared from the stairs in a blocked view from where he was, she stepped out into the precipice of the dinning room only to see him. She paused for a moment, turning around quickly with a speed to her through the kitchen door, holding it and reaching off to the left while holding the free swinging wood until walking back through with a box in hand.
"I-It's ah- Potato and cheese, jalapeno, and pulled-pork perogies." She handed it off, Bell taking it carefully with a wondrous look in his eyes. Though Ryuu seemed rather timid, she was excited to hand off the food each time like this where she'd risked making a new food for his lunches. "I cooked the jalapeno longer so they're the darker ones, the Pork refused to dry out right so they're a little more damp, but the potato and cheese should be normal."
She fidgeted with her hands, placing each tip against its parallel with a slightly lowered gaze pointed a foot or so off Bell's right.
Bell couldn't help but smile. "That sounds amazing! I didn't know there were pulled pork perogies."
Syr giggled. "Isn't she amazing!"
Ryuu couldn't help looking a little lower in bashfulness.
The elf boy smiled. "You aren't wrong."
Ryuu's shoulders scrunched up, not going unnoticed as she was bad at taking compliments, but especially from him lately. "M-May helped too."
Syr smiled still, though with a bit of a gleam in her eye. "But you're the one who insisted to keep trying after you burned all the first three batch-"
"SYR!" Ryuu stopped her.
The lone non elf could only smile all the more brightly to her dear friend, the elfess burning and appearing just the smallest bit like a tomato.
Bell huffed quietly in amusement. "Sorry for the trouble."
"No!" Ryuu quickly turned back, shifting a half step forwards. "I-I wanted it to be good since… since it was the first time you'd be going back down… I wanted it to be as good as possible… Even though I couldn't get the pork ones right…"
Something came to rest on Ryuu's head.
They all froze at what Bell had done, Syr quickly beginning to emit light as her mouth went agap in a smile, eyes sparkling like diamonds from seeing Bell suddenly place his hand on the worrying girl's head.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're just as good as everything else you've made me."
Syr only continued to gape in awe, the planets seeming to align in favor of her own wishes, though there were still some major roadblocks ahead.
"M-m-Mr. Cranel! Please s-top." She was growing warmer and warmer in the face.
He smiled while pulling away, waiting till she found the strength to look back up. "Thank you Ryuu, I'm sure it will be wonderful."
She could only meet his eyes for a moment before turning away for the kitchen again, fast but soft steps battering at the floor in her wake, shouting as she went. "Please stay safe Mr. Cranel!"
She disappeared behind the swinging door, a cry from May echoing as Bell was almost certain she'd accidentally run straight into the short cat person.
Syr broke the new silence with a giggle, Bell turning to her as he always did anymore, a soft but ever irritated look.
"Why do you keep doing that?" The boy asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She lifted her nose with a smile.
"..." He only hardened the look, 'Syr' feeling the stare almost like he could feel the woman's stares from Babel every night.
"Well… You both move too slow!" She pouted at him.
"I wasn't aware we were 'moving' at all…"
The girl jumped to cover his mouth. "SSHHH!- What if she heard you!"
Bell only looked at her as the grey-haired bun on her head bounced around in her struggle to reach him, leaning away and lifting an arm sideways as a barrier. "I have no intentions of leaving Eina, I have nothing against Ryuu, but I won't do that to her when Eina is here already."
Syr could only pout with her struggle turned weak attack, bashing at his arm. The goddess in disguise had nothing against Eina, but she just knew there was something between him and Ryuu, everything pointed to it.
They got along swimmingly, Bell liked her food and showed genuine concern for her whenever possible, and Ryuu… let's just say she'd maybe… sorta… got her tipsy enough to admit she liked him. The tactic was underhanded as hell but she got her answers and a kick in the pants when Ryuu found out the next morning, so it all worked out!
He sighed, wanting to entertain the goddess for longer, but there were still people waiting just outside.
"I need to get going, Syr."
She remembered something. "Ah- Wait!" The girl ran back to a table in the back corner, snatching something off the booth seat and quickly hopping back over. "Please take this!"
She handed off a piece of rope that looked an old and sun damaged red. For a second, Bell was absolutely baffled by the item of no more than two feet in length, there was no real situation he could see himself needing exactly two feet of rope, so why would she…
'Hmmmm… yeah, that tracks.' He thought.
Syr was about to open up a dialogue to better cover up the true purpose of this item, but then Bell spoke up.
"This is a tracking device, isn't it?"
"..."
"..."
Well, that failed miserably. "Yes." She fessed up.
He sighed. "Understood, I'll keep it on me." He sounded off in a tired voice.
Syr only looked worried after this, him somewhat sorry for making it seem like such a little thing.
Freya spoke. "You better come back."
He took a second, fixing his tone. "I will, promise."
They kept their eye contact for a few moments before she nodded and set off away, Bell turning back and leaving into the cold but warming morning.
Next stop was also a daily tradition, the guild, even if he did just see Eina an hour or so ago at most.
As the door closed behind him, Bell noticed a stressful sensation wash over from seemingly nowhere, before hitting a hitch in his step in realization. Bell wasn't here to work for the first time in five days, the daily occurrences of the guild were no longer his issue, the people who came in were no longer his issue, and most of all…
...He didn't have to deal with Misha anymore…
This was a good day.
Bell was smiling as he stared towards the counter though that faded after reaching it and not seeing Eina. He leaned over it and looked as far over it as possible, but the pressure of it's edge digging into his ribs cut the search off fast.
Luckily nobody thought twice of Bell taking swift steps over to the counter side off at the left, swinging his body around the tight turn and peaking around, but she wasn't there. He stood back to full height taking a stiff once over of the hall, but again, nothing.
The elf took a big breath, letting it all out in one go while thinking on where she might be, so he took a guess and started off towards the meeting rooms. The hall leading to them was the same place that the counter ended, so he didn't travel far, walking down the hall with haste to spot anything that would give an occupancy away, like the light being brighter under the third door down when the sun was at the opposite side of the building.
He took a few more purposeful strides, finding a place on the handle with a smooth twist as the simple carved door swung open. His mood bettered as he saw Eina and Rose, the redhead standing cross armed over Eina on the couch, the werewolf's back to him as the half-elf blazing through paperwork like it was her purpose in life.
"No." Eina muttered out for the hundredth time.
"I'm not leaving till you tell me." Rose was continually putting her foot down, though this unmoving object called Eina really wasn't going to budge.
"N-" Eina seemed to notice, or maybe sense him, but she looked over from her paperwork, Rose mimicking just after.
"Am I interrupting something?" The white-haired boy tried to play neutral, though having not known what was causing this disgruntlement, he truly was and not just playing neutral.
"She still won't tell me why her hair is blue." Rose snarled, but he knew now after his five days that she was in reality pouting.
Eina sent a pleading glare at him, one which he was shocked to understand, never having seen such an expression if he recalled and especially not from her.
"Uuuh, how was that show last night Rose?" He smiled rather awkwardly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Smooth Bell." She came off as done with him after the bad attempt at a change in topics, but sadly for Bell, he actually was interested in the play on 'The tale of Oedipus' she'd supposedly gone to see.
He could only smile awkwardly before the redhead sighed heavily, taking the first step towards the door, needing to get started with her work rather than stay in here and bum on whatever reason Bell had shown up for.
The door clicked closed, Eina watching Rose the entire way as did Bell up till she had opened the door, now they were alone as each turned to find the others eyes. Red locking onto light green.
"So you're headed down now?" She asked.
The room felt a bit too quiet as they talked.
"The plan's to test me are good, we're gonna see how far down we can make it, ah- stopping at Floor Thirty of course, so I'll probably miss you here before closing." He shifted weight to the other foot, one might think Bell was asking permission to go over to a friend's house, but at the same time, Eina could only fill with frustration.
They looked each other down as if in a standoff as seconds added up in the quiet room.
"S-So what's all this?" Anxiety crossed him. "Ah- I hope those aren't forms I messed up."
Eina was quick to jump on board this new topic. "N-No! You actually did quite well, this is just stuff for one of my other… my other advisees." She sighed.
The tension unintentionally returned, they just weren't able to escape it.
She trusted her friends, truly, she did, but this was Bell, and his life was on the line down there. "I recommend Rose." But even after two weeks of consideration… She still couldn't handle giving him the okay for anything more than she has.
Bell looked down, but understood just fine, nodding. "I'll talk to her sometime soon."
"...Good..."
"..."
"..."
Eina cleared her throat. "In the meantime, you're not the only one who wants to give me paperwork!"
"Oh?" He called out with interest, a small smile coming while moving to be at the couch behind her, leaning to see over her shoulder. "Who's the headache?"
"Mmh, a girl from that new 'Nusa-kor-kamuy' Familia, she's one of the newest members and hit Level Two in only eight months, not as fast as you, but still very-very notable." Eina leaned back, not having realized the tension in her back until it was released.
"Impressive."
Eina nodded. "So much so that she's getting like you, running down the floors like nobody's business."
Bell looked at her, then back at the papers. "Can I help?"
Eina scrunched her eyebrows, surprised at this. "How?"
"W-Well, she could come on trips with my party for a little bit, get to see the floors she'd headed into with people who already visit them."
"..."
"..."
"You went to Floor Thirteen once and nearly died…"
"Yeah, and that's once more than she has!" He pointed a finger towards the stack of papers from where his hand lay on the couch backrest in his lean.
She couldn't help but smile, a small laugh coming out.
Bell blinked, smiling still.
It was a magic sound even now to him, something about it was just fascinating to him, nothing could compare exactly the same as it.
"So is that a no?" He inquired.
"Mmm, I'll think about it, that's not the worst option ever." She smirked while twisting her neck to look him in the eye.
He couldn't help but smile more. "Alright, just let me know beforehand."
She nodded.
They smiled on for a few moments, then Bell knew he needed to drag them back to why he was here.
"I'll see you later."
She waited a moment to respond.
"I better."
"I promise." He reassured.
"You did last time too."
"..." He could only take that hit, nothing to return with.
"If you aren't back before closing time, I'll be on the mansion's front stairs-" SHe lifted a hand, pointing up and back in his general direction. "-and I'm not moving till you get back, understand?" She felt her neck tighten with each word, looking down to the side towards the hand.
He moved before speaking, moving to the side and wrapping an arm across her collarbone, grasping at the shoulder opposite while lowering his head to be beside hers.
"I'll be home for dinner, promise."
She leaned into him, their heads bumping lightly. "You know where I'll be."
It took him some time, but Bell got up, slowly making his way out the meeting room door, out of the guildhall, then all the way to Babel to arrive at the dungeon with Ais, Riviera, and Lili by his side.
He needed to make that promise, and keep it this time because, after all, the last time she'd seen him off for the day-
It took him three to come back.
A/N
And that's it for now, hope it was good, sorry for the long wait. I originally wanted this out last Saturday, but I am lazy, sorry again.
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This one was packed with lots of emotional stuff so I took some extra time for that as well, so I hope I conveyed that all in a decent fashion that seemed understandable.
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Best of luck to everyone this week, stay safe!