Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.


"Mew mew mew."

Two golden eyes moved to glance over at the kitten standing steadfast at the edge of the bathing pool, a frown marring her face. Bean was obviously nervous; anxious about something or other that happened while Aiz was away. Typically, that could only mean one thing, Bell was in danger. But how? Quite literally, she had just seen the boy not fifteen minutes ago.

And he.. he had.. Bell had.. oh.. oh, Kami.

"It's happening again! Somebody catch her!"

The swordswoman's face erupted more explosively than a volcano, her cheeks turning radioactive as she flushed. Not long after, her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell backward.

Tione groaned as she dove under the water of the shallow pool, she was getting real tired of this song and dance. They had thought the fourth time Aiz collapsed would surely be the last.

That was eight times ago.

How could she still be so embarrassed by it? Bell had seen all of them naked, not just her! Even the elves were handling it better than Aiz was and they were elves. Hell, she bet Riveria would have been able to keep her cool for longer. What was with this girl?

It certainly didn't help that Lefiya immediately chased the boy down, screaming something or other about 'hexes' and 'vile, perversions of the sanctity of magic.' Tione didn't even want to touch on whatever that all was about.

Her arms ensnared themselves over Aiz's chest as she grabbed the girl from behind. Kicking her feet out, she propelled herself to the shore, lying Aiz on her side in the grass just past the sandy pond shore.

Bean slowly scampered over to her mother's side, pawing at her face nervously before mewling out something suspiciously close to a sigh and walking away. It would seem like she wasn't getting any help with saving Bell this time, she'd just have to handle it all herself.

The small kitten, her fur a mixture of tan and brown hair, slinked away into the forests of the 'Under Resort.' Her coat actually gave her nigh on perfect camouflage for movement amongst the branches and leaves.

She unsheathed her talons and darted headfirst toward a large Ardoth tree. Its burgundy-esque bark stood out like a beacon amongst its tree companions, as did its silver leaves. They were fairly rare in the forests underground and completely incapable of life on the surface. Early adventurers theorized that they may have been the dungeon's attempt at recreating some spiritually significant elven tree; now, adventurers just say, 'hey look, tree' and move on with their days.

The Ardoth trees were a sturdy species, lively wood that seemed to never dry. It could be a result of them only being found by water or it could just be that the dungeon was providing them with extra nourishment, either way, they made horrible firewood.

Bean ascended with practiced ease, all too familiar with scaling similar heights during her tenure as a stray on the surface.

Her claws sunk into the fleshy wood of a lower branch before she pulled herself atop it, quickly righting herself and darting down its length. She leapt forward, ripping her way through the tree cover, as she made an arc for the next branch, the next tree.

There was a bugbear somewhere in the undergrowth below, foraging for some of the few odd fruits that grew on the floor. Neither one, not kitten nor monster, paid the other any mind as Bean passed overhead. Only a suspicious glance was thrown her way as the leaves rustled around her before the beast turned back to its lunch.

The trail had yet to grow cold, a good thing when it came to Bell. Bean wasn't really sure how the boy managed to get into so much trouble, it seemed like nearly every situation he ever comes into tends to turn from zero to one-hundred. The boy had some seriously bad luck.

Bean had been present during the bestowing that followed his fight with the minotaur and she'd been there when her charge decided on his developmental ability. This was not what she would call 'divine protection,' nothing that has happened to him since entering the middle floors had been.

Of course, it didn't help that he'd left her behind, but still.

Pass parades, floor collapses, Goliath spawns. It was a real mess of a situation.

A gust of wind blew past the kitten amongst the branches, ruffling her fur as she took another sniff of the air. Her pupils dilated as she glanced around at the forest floor, the extra light flooding her eyes allowing her to pick up anything odd in the shadows.

With a feline frown, she hopped down from her branch, landing softly in the grass betwixt the roots. She plodded on forward, her tail high and her posture playful.

She was having fun.

There was a tree with a pretty sizable chunk missing from its trunk. If she had to guess, her charge did something stupid and nearly died for it. Not atypical in the slightest. Judging by the footprints exiting the small pond on the other side, he was caught peaking again.

That was fine.

It was fine.

She'd just rip his throat out for cheating on her mother when she found him. She could do that. She could be patient.

(She couldn't.)

Her head dipped down and her nose quivered as she sniffed the area, trying to pick up the comingled scent of the two furless babies that were here. One was covered in fear, so that furless baby was obviously her charge. The other was a woodsy smell, much more dilute. She was probably the one in the water, the one who couldn't aim. Bean should probably thank her for not splattering her charge's brains all over the forest, but meh.

A small, little, baby, tan, kitten ear twitched as she picked up the direction the scents were traveling. With just the slight coiling of her muscles, she leaped forward and surged through the woods, jumping back and forth as she ducked around the trees and bushes that line the forest floor.

She damn well better be getting something tasty for all of this. Fresh fish at the very least. She'd settle for nothing less.


Not much later, she skid to a half in a clearing. She preened slightly under the warm light from the ceiling crystals, it was no sun, and it would never replace sunbathing, but it was the best she could hope for. Everybody must make sacrifices on occasion.

Peering around the clearing where the scents were the strongest, she found her gaze pulled to a small mound of dirt in the center.

It was a calm little spot. Small inclines rose up from the ground around the perimeter, giving the clearing a private feel. One that was all the more important with the weapons placed around the center.

A tattered flag stood tall, the shreds of fabric only just barely managing to display the image that once was displayed with pride. Faint marks of black ink were scattered throughout, showing what seemed to look like a minimalist impression of a pair of wings curled around a few lines. The rest of the flag was too damaged to make any sense out of, destroying any connection to the once-proud Astraea familia.

In a loose half-circle surrounding the pole, the weapons sat, sheathed into the earth, never to be drawn again. Longbow. Staff. Scimitar. Broadsword. Claymore. Katana. Dagger. Rapier. Axe.

The kitten weaved her way through each one of them, taking in the small cracks that marred the largest sword, spiderwebbing out from several large claw marks that marred its edge. The results of using it as a hasty shield that didn't soak up enough damage.

She spun a loop around the staff, her green eyes staring up at the lilac crystal at the end, a crystal that had probably once shown with hidden energy, ready to be released at its caster's will.

The string of the bow that flitted about nervously in the wind, one snapped long ago.

One of her paws reached up toward the end of it as it swayed to and fro, the offending leg trying in vain to capture the prey. With a soft 'mew' Bean climber back to her feet and slowly walked away from the gravesite, only turning to glance back at the site as she neared the edge of the clearing.

Her tail drooped and dragged through the dirt as she made her way toward where the trail continued.


"Mew."

Aiz turned to face the kitten that had wandered back into the campsite, glancing around in confusion. Her green eyes turned up to face her mother with a cock of the head.

"Mew?"

The Sword Princess let out a long sigh before shaking her head sadly, gesturing over to where the Amazonian twins were searching for a missing elfess. Tiona was lifting up a few stray rocks that remained in the campsite, giving off displeased grunts every time it turned out Lefiya wasn't hiding beneath them. Tione was trying and failing to get permission to check Finn's tent.

Bean mewled softly as Aiz kneeled down into the dirt in front of her, one of her hands reaching down to scratch along the kitten's jaw. "No luck?"

Bean shook her head. "Mew."

Aiz slumped before nodding with closed, resigned eyes. Pushing herself back to her feet, she marched her way through the camp and out into the woods that bordered it, not even bothering to announce where she was headed. She didn't have any time to waste.

The kitten quickly scurried her way up Aiz's boots, reaching the top rim before jumping and propelling herself up to the hem of the woman's battle dress. Aiz let out a silent giggle as she reached a hand down and gave Bean somewhere to stand. No reason for the little one to be dangling from her dress, after all.

Once Bean had arrived at her final destination and nestled into Aiz's hair, the girl took off into the night, two pairs of eyes scanning the trees were better than one.


"Mew."

Aiz's heels dug into the earth as she ground herself to a stop. Her eyes flicked up toward the skies as she tried to see where Bean was looking. Unfortunately, even the better eyesight one gets with the blessing of the gods doesn't give one the ability to see their own forehead. A shame, really, but she'd have to live without.

Bean's tail appeared over her temple. It swayed back and forth for a moment, waiting to gather Aiz's full attention before erecting straight and pointing toward something on the ground between the roots of a tree.

Quickly closing the distance between their location and it, Aiz bent over and plucked the small object from the ground. It was lucky that one of the glowing crystals characteristic of the dungeon was so near to it, the glass vial was only noticeable because of the light it reflected.

Aiz peered over it for a moment, twisting it around between her thumb and index finger as she did. It was entirely empty and only big enough to stretch out of either side of her palm.

"Hm."

"Mew."

Aiz nodded. "I agree but I don't think people littering should be our top priority right now, little one."

Bean batted a paw on Aiz's forehead. "Mew."

Aiz frowned before walking to the nearest crystal and holding the vial up to it. Bean was trying to tell her something, but.. what?

The kitten slipped down from Aiz's head, landing atop her shoulder and mewling to get the girl's attention. Her tail shifted around before pointing to Aiz's face, then to the vial, then to her own ears.

Aiz blinked.

.. what?

Aiz. Vial. Kitten?

She didn't get it.

Bean shook her head in defeat and allowed herself to be picked up and put on Aiz's head before they continued forward again. Stupid kitten mouth, she couldn't talk like the furless babies.

It was bad enough Lefiya had all but catnapped her earlier so she could try to form a bond with the kitten, but Bean was subjected to what felt like hours of Lefiya praising the woman. It would have been fine in any other circumstance; Bean was all for praising Aiz. But all Lefiya did was sob gratefully over her vial of crystal drops.

It wasn't even something tasty.

Like fish.

Or the blood of her enemies.

Why would she care that this weird girl liked to eat rocks? She didn't, that's why.

They continued without further delay.


Bean watched from her perch as Aiz cocked her head to the side as she stared at the bark of the tree, her legs splaying out as she tried to lower her center of gravity so as to not slip off the top. Aiz turned her head, her golden eyes scanning the forests surrounding them with a small, confused frown.

An 'x'?

Somebody had gone through the trouble of scratching a pair of deep grooves into this tree. But why?

"Mew."

Aiz nodded.

Unsheathing her rapier, Aiz quickly slashed for lines into the park, careful to center them around the initial 'x'. In the end, she had made two sets of parallel lines that ran perpendicular to one another. Nodding to herself, Aiz considered her options carefully before quickly marking an 'o' in the bottom left corner.

She'd come back to see what her opponent's move was later.

She hoped she would win.

As Aiz began trekking back into the woods, Bean could only stare down at her mother's face with the kitten equivalent of a 'what the fuck' face. It wasn't just her who saw that 'x' as a marker, right? Aiz knew that, didn't she? It was very clearly just Bell and Lefiya making sure they knew if they'd been a certain way.

How did she manage to think it was a game of tic-tac-toe?


"I feel it too, little one. We must hurry."

Aiz didn't know what Bell and Lefiya had gotten themselves into now, but it wasn't good. There was something in the air, something malevolent, and she didn't like it in the slightest.

Hang tight. Bell. Lefiya.


Aiz faltered in her sprint as the woods went dead silent.

Then, beginning with the smallest of cracks of the earth, a pillar of light erupted from the earth not far from her location. A mixture of white and yellow, spinning in and out, mixing, and exploding up, up, up toward the heavens. Flames flared off toward the bottom, scorching the ground whilst arrows pierced the heavens, shattering the crystalline ceiling and sending the shards raining down upon the earth.

Aiz took off without a second thought, her blade already extended out behind her as she dove into the clearing, striking down one of the snake-like floral heads just as a wooden sword slammed into another.

A cloaked figure landed with her back facing the two injured adventurers just as Aiz landed off in the other direction, unseen and already disappearing again as she was forced to dodge several gaping, slobbering maws.

Beneath the hood and veil, a female voice hummed. "I thought I heard something.. are these the new species?"

Bell croaked through his molten skin as he painfully shifted his attention to the woman. "Ryuu-san.. "

"Do not move, elf. Stay there with Cranel-san."

"Mew."

Bean strutted over toward the two injured adventurers, her tail held high. Bell let out a raspy chuckle even as he winced with pain. Through the haze of pain, he lifted one of his hands up toward the kitten, smiling softly as she nuzzled in between his fingers.

Not soon after, Aiz landed in front of them, scaring the two but not even phasing the kitten. Desperate was already stretched into the space that separated the duo from the monster, ready to lash out at any moment. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes hardening and her soul burning as she took in Bell's face. Still, she forced as comforting of a smile as she could manage to her lips as Lefiya met her eyes.

"Rest, brave ones. We shall handle this now."

She cast a wary glance toward her fellow warrior before relaxing her stance when she recalled the elfess was a member of the rescue party sent after Bell.

Without even a nod of acknowledgment, the two simultaneously exploded into motion, the ground splintering in their wake.

Two winds of equal strength erupted from the battlefield as Aiz and Ryuu wove their way through the tangle of limbs.

Wind of Winds. Wandering Traveler of the Ages.

Wind of Aria. Last Heroine of Men.

From the kitten's perspective, the song the elf sang and the dance the spirit's daughter danced were impossible to understand but beautiful all the same. Movements and words that in the end meant nothing but eviscerated the monster all the same.

Then, almost in an instant, all was silent. Returning the area to the way it was before.

The landscape marred with explosions, fires, and rubble excluded.

Ryuu and Aiz touched back down in the grass, their weapons drawn and their muscles taught and ready for the fight to continue.

When nothing in the surrounding area stirred, they allowed their bodies to relax.

Ryuu flanked around with wide eyes, taking in what most people would describe as a 'wasteland'.

"Perhaps, that was a bit too much.. "

Aiz merely shrugged. "It hurt Bell." Ryuu couldn't find it in herself to disagree. It was a damn good reason for a slaughter. The elven warrior didn't even notice when the swordswoman tacked on a quick 'and Lefiya' almost as an afterthought.

The forgotten elf in question bowed at the waist. "Ah! Th- thank you so much for saving us.. uhh.. lady?" She knew Bell had said some kind of name earlier, but through his pained slurring she couldn't quite make it out.

Ryuu chuckled softly. "That can come later, first we need to.. treat.. your.. uhh.. " She coughed nervously into her hand before averting her eyes. "A- Actually, you should probably.. cover up.. "

Lefiya blinked up at the woman, her head tilting to the side as she frowned.

Bean glanced between the two elves, taking in the younger one's obvious.. exposure, before signing resignedly and taking a step closer to Lefiya.

She promptly bit into the girl's thigh before darting for cover behind her mother. One green eye peeked out from behind Aiz's calf and watched as Lefiya jolted into a standing position, her hands dropping her staff to the ground as she clenched at her leg.

Before she had the chance to gather herself, Bean shot right back out again, biting down into the hem of Bell's pants and playing a strange game of tug-of-war with his leg.

Luckily, his hazy mind managed to pick up on what she was trying to say and he quickly followed her wherever it was she wanted to go. Which, quite literally, was just away from Lefiya before the rather violent girl noticed she was almost entirely naked.

The things she does to protect her charge.

As if answering her inner musings, a shriek rang out from the clearing as Bean carefully covered Bell's eyes with her tail.

Aiz seemed oddly quiet as she watched the proceedings from the side. Bean watched as her mother chewed on her lips and fidgeted nervously with her dress, occasionally glancing over in Bell's direction before her expression sombered.

"The song of a now distant forest."

A green light coalesced around the other woman's hands as she approached Bell, the familiar song falling from her lips as it had so many times before. Bean observed idly after retracting her tail to her side, wrapping it around her paws. Her perch on Bell's shoulder gave her the perfect view to see the incantation do its work.

"The nostalgic song of life."

Ryuu's hand hovered just before Bell's chest, the light they emitted slowly creeping away through the air to caress his skin.

"Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you.

"Noah Heal."

Bean's eyes went wide as the spell was completed. She expected maybe a little more light swelling to the surface at its cumulation, not.. not this.

As soon as the final words were uttered, the forest responded. Soft winds trickling through the leaves and sweeping up the breath of the trees. The breeze spun and twisted and curled around Bell's kneeling form, combining and sweeping the green light up and away with it as it moved closer and closer to his body. The light settling atop his body like a blanket, sinking into his skin before disappearing and taking all of his injuries with them.

Bell released a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding, cracking an eye open to smile softly at Ryuu in thanks, quickly dropping it as she frowned at him.

"Well then, Cranel-san."

Bean knew that tone.

"I may not know the situation, but I am disappointed in your actions."

Yeah. She's out.

She didn't even spare Bell a glance as she returned to Aiz's side. There was no way she was sitting through another 'Bell you're an idiot' lecture. They weren't fun when said with all the 'thys' and 'foolishs' and she doubted they'd be any better without.

"If my memory serves me correctly, I sent you back to camp a few hours ago, yes? I thought I told you how dangerous the forest gets at night.. "

Lefiya's arms flailed out in between them, cutting the other elf off even as she huffed and turned away, her face bright red. "It's.. my fault.. everything.. all of it is my fault. I was the one who," she sighed, "I was the one who dragged him into this mess!" Nervously she glanced out of the corner of her eye toward the three other adventurers (and kitten), turning even more so her back was fully facing them. "He's done nothing wrong, so please, sister, don't misunderstand.. he saved me."

There was a beat of silence before: "Mew."

The elf smiled, ignoring the kitten's declaration. "You don't know how happy it makes me to meet another elf like you." She turned back toward the young boy and dipped her head toward him. "I apologize then, Cranel-san. It appears I spoke too soon."

He sputtered. "N- no! It's.. uhh.. I- I mean it's not fully her fault! I keep doing things like this and getting myself hurt so- "

He cut himself as Aiz whimpered and folded in on herself behind Ryuu's back. Quickly, not wanting to be seen, she turned away. Her shoulders shook with silent, choked back sobs as she tried to take in deep, shuddering breaths.

".. Aiz?"

Bell stood up and walked over to her side, moving around her shoulder, and trying to get her to look him in the eyes. She wouldn't. Her face kept shifting further and further away as he walked around her, eventually resorting to him cupping her cheek and bringing it around by force.

Neither he nor Bean paid any attention to Ryuu as she pulled her mask up and said a quiet farewell to Lefiya before taking off into the trees to follow a pair of prints.

The kitten was rather preoccupied mewling reassurances to her mother from the ground, her forepaws pressed into her shin.

"It's mine fault."

Bell frowned, his eyes flickering over to where Lefiya stood nervously, unsure if she should approach or not. He spoke in a low tone as he tried to get her to look him in the eyes. "No, it's not."

Aiz resolutely shook her head, her tears sparkling in the air as they fell. Her knuckles were clenched tightly at her sides, the skin whitening beneath her gloves. "It is." He brought a hand to her chin and tried to raise it up but it only caused her eyes to fall to the ground. Another choked whimper broke from her throat as she took in his mangled boots, the leather having long since sloughed away to expose the skin beneath.

She had seen what his face looked like with the minimal contact it made with the acid in the Venenthes's pitched trap. She could only imagine how bad his feet had been, how much they'd hurt.

All because she couldn't hold herself together to understand Bean's warning. She could have stopped all of this if she'd just found him sooner. He wouldn't have been lost in the woods of an unfamiliar floor all night. Hungry. Tired. Hurt.

It was her fault.

It had to be.

Lefiya had said it herself, Bell was the hero in the end. It wasn't his fault he'd ended up in the situation he was in, he was just caught in unfortunate circumstances.

It was hers because she wasn't there. Not like she should have been.

She'd be better.

For Bell.