Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.
Neither of them spoke for a while, both too caught up in memorizing the other's face after all of their years apart to even begin. Then, like a spell was broken, Bell turned away, missing the flash of hurt and resignation in the swordswoman's golden eyes as he did.
He turned and kneeled on the ground in front of his daughter, giving her the most stern look he could muster. She fidgeted nervously under his stare, entirely uncertain on what it means and how to proceed.
Bell sighed out a soft, defeated '.. Suko.. ' that had her wanting to either melt into his arms or apologize for everything she'd ever done wrong.
She chose the first option.
Her father gathered her in his arms easily, all too aware of the rather large standstill on the street around them as just about everybody decided this was far more important than anything they had going on. He'd probably glare at them all if it weren't for the girl pawing at his chest. "You did a very dangerous thing, 'Suko. You had your mother very worried; can you promise me not to do something like that again?"
She shook her head into his chest, her pale, golden locks sweeping out and getting caught amongst the fabric. He frowned momentarily before he started carding a hand through her hair gently. His mouth opened to speak but the child beat him to the punch. She looked up at him through tearful eyes and quivering lips, speaking in a quiet voice that he could only hope he'd never hear again. It was too quiet for the energetic girl he knew. Too sad.
"Will you promise to stay?"
He didn't even hesitate. "Oh, darling. There isn't anything that could make me leave and uumph– !"
She barreled into his chest, not even coming close to knocking the wind from his lungs thanks to Hestia's blessing but shocking him none-the-less. Her small, little arms journeyed upward to encircle his neck, wrapping him in a tight embrace as she cried joyful tears. Bell glanced up toward where Aiz was watching with an unreadable expression, sparing her no more than a passing glance before returning his attention to their daughter. "Your mother and I are going to need to talk things out later, I need to make sure she's okay with all of this, okay? Can you go with her now, I think she wants to see you."
Etsuko wanted to say 'no,' she didn't want to leave the dad she just found. Not in the slightest. But she knew her dad wasn't lying to her, if he said he was going to be back then he would. Reluctantly, she pulled away, gracing the older man with one last smile as he planted a kiss on her forehead just as he had done the day before.
"I won't be gone long, but I think your mom deserves some time to collect her thoughts. I'll be visiting my familia for a bit while you get settled in, okay?"
"Hmph! Fine. I'll allow it."
Bell snorted and brought a hand up to ruffle her hair lovingly as she finally came back with some of the sass he missed (not that he'd ever admit that to her, she was a little demon).
Aiz tried to ignore the way he maneuvered around calling her by her first name since their first greeting. She could take solace that she still was not downgraded back to 'Wallenstein-san' but it didn't mean it didn't hurt. Bell wasn't at fault though; this was all her doing.
After all, it had been what she wanted, hadn't it?
She left without another word, her gaze lingering on Bell for just a moment too long as Etsuko waved goodbye, her other hand firmly locked inside her mother's.
Bell watched the child disappear down the street, not courageous enough to lift his gaze and watch her mother too. Eventually, he had to get moving. He had no desire to entertain any of the crowd's questions as they milled about around him. With a single jump, he was gone, bounding across the rooftops of the city and out of public view as he crossed from east to west.
He wondered briefly if his familia would be happy to see him. They'd grown since he was last an active member, with Lili at the helm it wasn't exactly all that surprising to see the mansion hadn't changed much at all. She never was one for spending unnecessary money. However, even from just outside the gates he could tell the building was far busier than it had ever been during his time in the city.
He shifted back and forth on his feet uneasily as he stood before the external gate, debating whether to just hop it and walk inside or to ring the bell. Truthfully, he didn't really fancy being skewered by anybody thinking he was a burglar, so doorbell it is.
He popped his lips a few times as he waited, his fingers drumming along his bicep.
"Hm."
He looked around, trying to see if anybody was sneaking up on him. Nope. Nobody.
"Hnngh."
Certainly, it didn't take this long to answer the door? Right? Haruhime had always been far quicker to the draw when it came to these things. Had her role in the familia changed? Was she still in the familia? Maybe she was just out for the day?
Another thirty seconds passed.
Bell let out a sigh.
Another thirty.
Hopping the fence started seeming really convincing, but he'd just pressed the doorbell again (much harder this time) and it would be rude to not wait.
A minute.
Fuck it!
Bell cleared the fence with extreme ease, accidentally using a bit too much force and overshooting what was necessary by a lot. He landed with a muffled thump, the grass beneath his feet blowing outward with the sudden gust of wind that followed him on his arc.
The walk to the front door was quick, nobody showed up to check the gates in that time either. He considered knocking on the wood but opted to just shove his way in. He'd already waited a while anyways.
They hadn't even bother to lock it.
Why does it feel like he's about to walk onto the scene of one of those horror books Rei had always raved about?
Cautiously, he stepped inside, quietly removing his boots before tip-toeing around the halls until he made it to the mess hall..
.. where everybody was eating.
He coughed into his hand and immediately all of the attention was on him. He blinked.
"I think your doorbell is broken."
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. "
She shifted nervously as they all stared him down, more than a few of the ones he didn't recognize reaching for their weapons. Blessedly –
"Bell!"
–he was tackled into a six-person dog pile by the remnants of his original team plus goddess. He chuckled good naturedly as Welf groaned somewhere inside the mass of people, apparently his status was not nearly high enough to deal with the weight. Lili at least had the boon of artel assist to take some of the stress away and the others were all sitting prettily at the top. Welf just drew the short straw.
"Hello, everyone."
Hestia scowled playfully. "That's all you say when you come to visit for the first time in years? Hello? I swear! This boy– "
The white-haired man was fairly certain she could have gone on had Mikoto not graciously gagged her. With a smile, the samurai smiled down at him even as she slid the goddess across the dining hall's floor like a curling stone. "It is wonderful to see you again, Bell-dono."
There was a chorus of agreements from Haruhime and Lili, a grumbled 'aye' escaping Welf's lips as he mourned his back.
"There are a few new faces here."
They each blinked in unison before turning and finally remembered the large numbers of confused familia members watching the scene wide-eyed. They all flushed in embarrassment at the attention, seemingly unsure of how to proceed now.
"Would you mind introducing me?"
Bell would come to realize that was a mistake. There were just so many (too many) faces to remember and far too many names that sounded far too similar. He probably could have done it had even been paying an ounce of attention, but as it stands his mind was elsewhere.
Namely, his daughter and former lover.
Had they known?
Of course, they had. So why did nobody ever tell him? Etsuko was nine. He'd had a daughter for nine years and nobody had ever thought he deserved to know.
He'd missed her first.. everything.
Sitting. Crawling. Standing. Walking. Grabbing. Speaking.
He couldn't think of a single damn reason for why that needed to be the case.
What reason was good enough for this to be kept from him, and by everyone? Had he not earned their trust at some point? He had trusted them implicitly, with his secrets, with his life, everything. Did he do something to not deserve the same?
His mind flashed back to the skill on his back, the same one that had gone inactive just over nine years ago. Liaris freese. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, was it? They'd done it before, lied to him that is. They'd done it a lot.
Even then, this was so much different. There was no danger in him knowing Etsuko, of him being there for her. They stole away something he could never get back and for what? He just couldn't wrap his brain around it. Why did they do that? Why did they think it was okay? Why? Just–
"Why?"
Lili's face contorted as she scrunched her nose up in confusion, the young dwarven girl she'd been introducing already forgotten as she cocked her head to the side. "Why what?"
"Why did nobody tell me?"
Lili didn't think that explained anything. "What is Bell-sama talking about?"
"Etsuko."
There was a shared look between the five of them that had Bell sucking in a breath.
It was true. They knew. They knew. They–
"Who?"
Bell stumbled.
"W- what?"
"Who's Etsuko?"
He balked, his mouth opening and closing with absolutely nothing intelligible coming from inside. They didn't know? How did they not know? Was it not common knowledge that Aiz had a daughter?
The wind had thoroughly been swept from his sails. He'd honestly thought they'd known about her and never reached out to tell him. In his defense, how did they not know?
Bells hands swept through his hair as he scratched at his head in sheer, dumbfounded confusion. The white locks parting between his fingers.
Where did he go from here?
".. my.. daughter?"
Did that sound like a question? It felt like he was asking them more than telling them.
"You have a daughter! That's amazing, we thought you'd never get over Aiz! Eee! We're so excited for you, Bell-kun! I'm going to be a grandmother!" Hestia grabbed Lili by the shoulders and shook her back and forth harshly. "Did you hear that, Lili? A daughter! Isn't this great? Bell-kun! Bell-kun! How old is she? Do I still have time to get her a little Hestia onesie? Can I hold her? Ohhh! Has she walked yet? Please tell me she hasn't! I've never seen a baby take their first steps and I really want to! Please! Please! Please!"
Well, it was nice to know Hestia hadn't changed since the last time he'd seen her. As excitable as ever. He was slightly worried about the pallum though, he doubted even a god's blessing would protect her from that much whiplash.
Lili's body was sailing through the air like a kite without a string, being swept side to side mercilessly.
Truly a horrible fate.
"Umm.. well.. "
This was really awkward.
".. she's nine?" He wasn't actually sure on that. He really should have asked her for her age but in his defense, he found out she was his daughter less than an hour ago. Could he really be blamed? "So.. it's probably too late for a onesie but maybe she'd like one? She was very fond of napping.. umm.. you'd have to ask her if she was okay with you holding her.. she's walked.. sorry.. "
The silence was deafening.
".. nine?"
Bell winced and nodded.
"She's nine."
He nodded again, he wasn't really sure but nine sounded right.
"Nine years old. You have a daughter who's been alive for nine years."
Oh. It was Haruhime this time. Her voice was a fresh and welcome change even if it was accusatory and she was definitely glaring at him right now and man did the tables turn really quick.
"I just learned about her!"
It lacked all grace and sounded more like the squeak of a bat than the words of a man safely into his twenties.
"I– I– I didn't know! She just showed up at my door, I didn't even know she was my daughter until I saw her mother, I swear!"
That shut them up for the time being. Of course, it only ended up making things worse overall.
".. her mother.. "
".. nine years.. "
".. Bell.. "
Uh oh.
Bell chuckled.
"Now.. let's not be too hasty.. "
"She broke your heart!"
"You two had a daughter and she never told you!"
"I will never forgive her from keeping me from my granddaughter!"
Bell couldn't really argue against anything they were saying (even if Hestia was missing the point just a little), but he also didn't have Aiz's side of the story. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why she would keep this from him.
Like..
.. like..
.. like..
She had a reason!
Hestia groaned and Lili's face fell into her hands, catching onto something that still eluded the rest of the people in the room.
"You're going to forgive her, aren't you? Even after everything?"
Welf quickly joined in on the groaning and the holding of the face. Haruhime's tail and ears drooped and Mikoto simply fixed him with a disappointed look.
It hurt. He wasn't going to lie. He didn't like being on the receiving end of any of it. But what were his options? Despise the mother to his child for the rest of his life for what she stole from him? He couldn't– shouldn't– wouldn't do that to Etsuko. It wasn't right.
One upon a time the two of them had been engaged, they'd been in love. A part of him still loved her, would never stop loving her. And–
"We don't know her side."
"Bell– "
"No! We don't know why, not yet. You all know how things were before I left, we don't why. I'm not going to forget what happened, how could I? I missed everything in my daughter's life up until now."
His teeth were gritted and his face tilted up toward the ceiling as tears of frustration burned in the corners of his eyes. He'd never be able to forget. Not when he'd never see everything he should have. Not when he couldn't be there for his daughter as she grew up.
".. what's her name?"
It was such a simple thing. Only six letters. It shouldn't mean as much as it did.
Still, all of the tension slipped from Bell's shoulders as he spared his closest friends a small smile that barely displayed the sheer joy and warmth that filled his body at the thought of her. It was such a wonderful sensation, the energy thrumming throughout his entire being. It reminded him of the bestowing of the blessing, that unrestrained boost in power that came with it.
"Etsuko."
They smiled.
"It's beautiful."
The streets outside were noisier than when he arrived in the city and Bell found himself appreciating the normalcy far more than he thought he would. He needed it right now. More than anything.
The new father let out a tired sigh and rubbed at his eyes before stopping briefly at a market stall. Of all the things to be seared into his mind over the years, of all the things he'd forgotten, he could never forget her favorite order.
The clerk stared at him with an incredibly bored expression, like she'd rather be anywhere but there. He couldn't blame her. He appreciated her honesty; it was a nice break from the torrent of emotions that seemed to sweep over him at every turn. At the very least, he could always count on the world to keep turning and teenage workers to hate their lives.
It was refreshing.
"I'll just take a dozen of the sweet beans."
As the worker got to work gathering together the order of croquettes, Bell found his eyes and mind wandering. What was he going to say to Aiz? She'd kept Etsuko a secret for years now, almost a decade. Why? What had made her break apart with him in the first place? Why had she sent him away? And most importantly–
Bell's eyes locked onto a new addition to the stand's menu.
– what the hell is a french fry?
He asked the clerk and did his best to ignore the pure, udder loathing in their voice.
"Fried potato."
Helpful. He bet it was wholly different from all of the other fried potatoes on their menu.
"How is it different from a jagamarukun?"
"Just is."
Bell frowned. "I'll take a full order of those too then." As empathetic as he was to the girl's plight, she wasn't the only one having a bad day. Well, honestly, his day has been terrific. He has a daughter. Not even the drama with Aiz could ruin the high he was running on. Still, if she was going to be rude about it, he had no problem dishing it out in return.
The girl scowled before picking up a pair of tongs and sliding the lid off another container, lowering the utensil in and pulling back a large bushel – does bushel sound right? – bushel of 'french fries.' He didn't even really know what 'french' meant but they certainly smelled good. Perhaps it was that? Did 'french' mean good smelling? He had no idea.
The girl dipped back down for a second bushel of fries and Bell glanced around the stand. There were a few containers he hadn't seen before, each in a different container. Ketchup. Mustard. Mayonnaise. Now, he had heard of mustard before, or mustard plants at least, but he hadn't the faintest idea what the other two were. They looked red and white respectively but what did that mean?
He shrugged to himself before grabbing a container of the red sauce and hoping he picked right.
(He did.)
Quickly, he paid the exorbitant amount of money, waved back at the clerk's middle finger, and head on his way.
The plaza around Babel tower was far less busy than he remembered, most likely a result of the dungeon's more or less useless status. Without the continuous spawning of monsters in its depths there really wasn't much for people to explore. Nowadays, most 'adventurers' served as guides for those wishing to venture into the different regions.
He couldn't fault them; it wasn't like rich people hadn't paid to be escorted to the Under Resort when the monsters still roamed the caverns. It was just weird to think that the sacrifice of so many adventurers had led to one of the continent's biggest tourist attractions.
That wasn't to say people ever stopped exploring. Quite the opposite. The dungeon was but one of the three great unexplored regions of the world. Even now, people are venturing into the Dragon Valley and the Trench of the World Snake. Even with the Black Dragon and Leviathan slain, their bodies reduced to nothing but bones and dust, their homes remain some of the most treacherous areas to traverse. The Behemoth's home in the Desert of Death Ash was still remained but there was little to map besides ash and sand.
The tower still stood proudly, its tip piercing the heavens above. It is said that at the very top you can see both Gekai and Tenkai. Bell didn't believe it, but it made it no less impressive.
The retired adventurer strolled casually over the square with his two bags of various friend potatoes. His boots thumped over the cobbled streets as he turned from the southwestern district toward the northern. He wasn't really sure if Aiz still lived with her familia at the Twilight Manor, but it was the best place to start.
He drew a few stray glances as he moved northward, a few dawning looks of recognition while others eye's flashed with something far more dubious. Bell shuddered and picked up the pace whenever that happened. He'd spent long enough under Lady Freya's watchful eye to know that feeling well.
He'd only made it a third of the way up the street before something slammed into the back of his legs with a high-pitched squeal. Bell only just caught himself from toppling over in surprise.
He tilted his head back and looked over his shoulder, smirking at Etsuko's beaming face.
"You came back!"
Apparently, he mused. He glanced around the street. Where on earth did she come from? He wasn't confident it could be said that he 'came back' when he hadn't even known she was here. He really hoped she hadn't run from her mother to find him again, he wasn't confident in his 'disappointed father' voice and had been hoping to get a bit more practice in.
"Of course, I did, darling! I promised you I wouldn't leave, didn't I?"
She smiled and nodded before tightening her grip on his leg. It was adorable.
"Do you think you could show me where you live, 'Suko?"
"Mm!"
Bell was just going to assume that was a 'yes' because she immediately retracted from his legs and snatched one of the bags from his hands before replacing it with her own. She pulled him along toward a side street on the eastern side, only pausing to reorient herself when she accidentally skipped but couldn't figure out her footing with her body weighed down by fried potato.
Like he said.
Adorable.
They only made it a few feet onto the next street before Etsuko spoke up again.
"You're moving here."
The father lifted an eyebrow. Of course, he was, but he hadn't told her that yet. So, how did she know?
"Is that so?"
She nodded without a hint of doubt. "You're buying another comfy couch."
"I can't bring the one in my cabin?"
"No! That's our vacation home now."
"Mhmm. Anything else?"
"Cat."
"Cat?"
She nodded. "Cat."
Bell was hard pressed to find a defense against such a strong argument. It looked like he was getting a cat.
".. "
".. "
".. mama is acting weird."
A frown. "How so?"
The nine-year-old shrugged helplessly, only her left raising despite her efforts. The bag of croquettes simply being too much for her young arms to handle. "Quiet."
Bell squeezed her hand reassuringly. When she chanced a glance up at him, he smiled warmly. "It'll be alright, little one. You didn't do anything wrong."
She didn't say anything, instead turning back to the road ahead of him. Soon enough, Aiz came into view, standing in front of a food stand of her own. He'd damn near passed the two of them by had Etsuko not run over. The food stand was only two buildings down from the end of the street and the girl's mother's eyes had not left them the entire time.
Bell was the first to break eye contact, his rubellite irises trailing away to look at the bag of food being prepared by the vendor.
He groaned.
"Aiz."
She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
He waved his bag of food through the air, the grease stains on the bottom easily identifying its contents. Etsuko was quick to follow suit, pulling her hand away from Bell's so she could lift her bag with both and wave it around.
The Kenki merely shrugged in response, a gesture that seemed to say 'you can never have enough', before nodding her thanks to the vendor and closing the distance between them.
Bell had assumed the two's home would be at least a little bit further down the street.
Bell assumed wrong.
Etsuko ran ahead first, waving happily to the vendor of the potato stand, and ducking around back to the door behind the stall. Aiz followed behind silently, though Bell attributed that mostly to the food already in her mouth.
He smiled despite himself. She never was very good at being patient.
Bell wasn't really sure which came first: the apartment or the food stand. He wouldn't put it past Aiz to intentionally rent from a location nearby to her favorite vendors, but he also couldn't say a merchant wouldn't have sought her out. A true paradox.
Aiz's home was quaint. That was about the best Bell could do to describe it. He wasn't really sure who it was who picked out the furniture, but he could understand Etsuko's infatuation with his couch. What even was that.. that thing. He was fairly certain a park bench would be more comfortable, and he had slept on one before. Long story.
Bell elected to sit on the floor, something that was apparently a unanimous decision as the two girls quickly joined him. Aiz leaned her back against her 'couch,' her legs stretching out into the space between then before she drew them back toward her chest and tucked them under her chin. Etsuko was a little bit slower to sit, whether it be by her unfathomable energy or her indecision on who to sit by. Eventually, she elected to sit alone with two large bags of potatoes to keep her company.
If there was any ever doubt that she was Aiz's daughter, all they would need to see is her demolishing food.
"Papa! You got my favorite!"
"I did? Err.. I mean I did! Of course, I did, sweetie!"
What are her favorites exactly? She was devouring the croquettes and fried with equal ferocity that it was hard to tell.
The young girl hummed happily as she slid a ketchup-lathered fry through her parted lips, succeeding in getting more of the condiment on her face than in her mouth. Bell smiled as he watched her, he doubted he'd ever grow old of this.
(He'd eat those words after the forty-third time cleaning her face. How can she even be so messy? It shouldn't be humanly possible.)
Etsuko's gaze broke away from her two large bags of food and met Bell's. She frowned and glanced over to Aiz to see the woman also watching her with the same smile. "Heeeeyyyy! You're supposed to be talking to each other, not watching me!"
Heat rose up the two adult's cheeks as they flushed, turning to meet one another's eyes, but ultimately finding the wall or ceiling far more important to look at it. Bell sighed. "It's not that easy."
And it wasn't.
Etsuko just didn't care about that.
"You're my dad. She's my mom. Just admit you're still in love and then move in."
Bell balked at the girl, trying to work up the countenance to glare at her but only managing a twitch of the eye and a bodily squirm. Wonderful.
"Sweet bean," Bell glanced back over to Aiz to see her frowning as she stared down at the floor, "it's not– we can't just– " She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, opening them only to stare resolutely down at her daughter. "What I did was wrong and," she paused as her eyes flicked back over to Bell's face for a brief moment, "it's not something that'll be okay right away. Things like this take time."
Etsuko shook her head. They just weren't getting it.
"You're not even willing to try. You're still wearing the ring, he's looking at you like auntie Tione looks at uncle Finn– "
Bell quickly looked away when Aiz whipped around to stare at him with wide eyes, trying hard not to whistle away his innocence.
" –so just apologize and be done with it! He even stopped to buy you Jagamarukun, see?"
She did see. It was very sweet of him to do.
But still, it didn't change what she did to him. It didn't mean he would forgive her, and she almost didn't want him to do. She didn't want to force him t–
"I'm sorry."
Aiz turned and stared wide-eyed at the man across from her. He fidgeted nervously when her golden eyes fell upon him but stayed steadfast in his resolve. "I don't know what I did wrong– "
Nothing.
" –but I'm sorry. I'll tell you everyday if I have to, I just– "
You didn't do anything wrong, Bell. It wasn't you who ruined things. It was never you.
" –I don't want you to push me away again."
She wouldn't.
She was broken, she knew that. She always had been. That wasn't Bell's fault, it wasn't anyone's. It just was. Bell had always been good, Aiz had always been broken. Corrupt.
She lashed out just as she always had done.
And she'd done things she never should have and said things she never would have. She did it over and over again, day after day, until finally her fiancé reached his breaking point.
And he left.
By the time she'd realized what she'd done, when the weight of her crimes had finally cut up to her, he was gone and she didn't know where to.
His familia had been tight-lipped, not trusting the girl for an instant. They'd been the ones there to pick up the pieces she left behind, to comfort him when he broke down after another fight. They saw, first hand, exactly what it was Aiz was doing to him, how she was tearing him apart. It wasn't something they could just forgive. Nor was it something they could forget.
So, when Aiz came to their door, asking, begging, pleading with them to tell her where he was? They refused. They weren't going to lead her back to him when he'd finally gotten away. They weren't going to condemn him to more pain.
It wasn't right.
It wasn't fair.
He'd been nothing but a hero for everyone, nothing but perfect. What had he done to deserve such a cruel fate? To love somebody so broken.
They hadn't known about Etsuko. Aiz never told them.
She was proud of her daughter, yes, and she wanted to flaunt her to the world. She loved her. She loved her so much.
But Bell's familia had been right.
He would be better without her.
She would have done nothing but drag him down.
But, even then, even after everything she had done to him, after all of those wrongs. Even then, he was still here. After she'd given up years ago, resigning herself to a loveless life raising their daughter alone, he came back. He looked at her the same way he had all those years ago, like she was the center of his world, and nothing could be done to make her any better.
'Perfectly imperfect,' that's what he'd always say.
And unshed tears were brimming at the corners of his eyes as he gave her a shaky, hopeful smile. She didn't deserve it. But she was greedy. She wanted it.
Aiz didn't really know at what point she'd slammed into his chest, her hands pawing needily at his back as she pressed her face further and further into his shoulder. She didn't know at what point he started to hold her tightly, nor when his own tears started to fall. She didn't even know when Etsuko had joined in, snaking her way in between the two and surging upward so she rested in their arms together.
It wasn't perfect.
Things weren't perfect.
It may be a long time before they were. There was a lot of hurt there, a lot of pain that would take many years to mend.
But it was a start.
A first step.
A new adventure.
And that was good enough for them.
".. "
".. "
".. have you guys made up yet because I'm bored."
The two parents sighed.
"Hi, bored. I'm dad."
Etsuko frowned and pushed out from her parents' chests. "Hm." Her fingers drummed idly across her chin. "Hm."
Bell blinked.
Etsuko tapped the ground with the tips of her toes.
"You can go home now."
"W- what?"
"Bad jokes mean you get sent home."
"But my home is a day's ride away?"
"You should have thought of that first."
Aiz smiled despite herself, happy to see the two people she loved most in the world finally meeting. It shouldn't have been like this; this introduction was nine years late. But it was the best she could hope for.
Bonus:
"Suko! We're going to be late!"
There was a thump coming from the girl's bedroom before she came scurrying out her door in a flurry of limbs. "I'm ready, I'm ready!"
Bell raised an eyebrow at her disheveled appearance. Sighing to himself, he kneeled down in front of her and got to work remedying her clothes and hair. A few swipes here and there removed the wrinkles from her sweater then all there was left was her hair. Bell raked his hands through the girl's pale, golden locks, smirking in the closed eye smile she let out when he scratched at her scalp.
"Mmmmmmm."
"Good?"
She nodded, her shoulders slumping as she relaxed her entire body. "Mhmm."
Bell snorted. "Come on, goober, we've got to hurry you on to over to class." He checked the clock hanging from the wall. It was later than he thought. "Actually, I think I have a better idea."
Two minutes later, Bell and Etsuko stood outside the gates to the education district of Orario.
"Fun?"
His daughter nodded frantically. That was amazing! So fast! Her mother would never let her do something like that! A piggy back ride at the full speed of the Argonaut? She never wanted to go any slower!
She cursed her stupid level one legs. She'd never be able to run that fast.
Bell chuckled and pat her on the shoulder.
"Now.. where are these bullies?"
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Hey everybody! Guess whose back?
I'm happy to let you all know that I've got a great drop of fics for you all this week and next, starting with 5 today! I've written over 100,000 words and nearly 40 chapters for all of your enjoyment! (Though with twelve whole days to release them all you can bet your butts I'm going to be writing more!)
Story releases will continue around 5 p.m. EST every day between December 13th and December 25th. Happy Holidays!
Now, you may be asking "why?" which is fair. I said I was taking a little bit of a vacation and now I'm proving that I did the exact opposite of that! Well, the answer is pretty simple! I'm asking for all of your support in raising money for a charity fundraiser I help head with my university, all of the information is included in my profile but I can assure you it's for a very good cause! Head over there to check out more about it.
Any amount you can spare will be truly helpful, if all of my followers alone (and that's only about 1/10 of my viewers) were to donate just $2 that's already over $700 we'll have raised which is honestly crazy!
Oh, also I've started doing my own artwork for some of my characters. Check out my Deviant Art page to see the first few members of the Astraea familia that I've been working on for Great Spirit of the Skies. More coming soon!