The Cure

DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.

Chapter 13: Ten Times, No, a Hundred Times!

Part 15

Thirty spell casts.

An hour of fighting.

That was his current body's limits.

He was weak, far too weak.

His companions, Alise, and Ryuu attested his weakness to it being his first time in the dungeon, and the first time he fought against the monsters in it.

But he expected to be better than that.

For all those years of his infancy he sacrificed in order to become strong enough to support his mom in their daily lives, he should've been far stronger, smarter, better.

As it was, he was far too weak to even think himself capable of lifting his mother's curse.

The road to becoming that strong was far too long, and he did not have enough time to reach that point before life became difficult for Alfia again, before her time was up.

Even with the extensions provided by Hephaestus's Falna and Riveria's help.

He needed to become stronger as fast as possible.

…

He needed to become stronger.

…

"You will work twice as hard tomorrow."

…

Ah, that's where he had failed.

He had forgotten the resolution he made to himself when he was young, the promise he gave to his mother when he was a child.

To work ten times harder, for her sake.

He had already wasted far too much time, as much as he loved the new experiences the beauty of life gave him through his new friendships, he did not have the time to continue enjoying them to his heart's content.

Not unless he gave up on his mom, and he would never give up on her, no matter what. She had sacrificed so much for him, and he would pay her back for all of it.

Therefore, he would go back to that diligent mindset.

To work ten times harder.

Regardless of his body breaking in the process.

Regardless of his mind shutting down.

If he didn't commit at least that much, then he would never be able to give Alfia the kind of life he promised when he was a child. A carefree life, one besides their many new friends, without the worry of impending doom looming over them with every passing second.

He needed the diligence to strive farther than anyone else.

And he had the tools to do so at his disposal.

Alise and Ryuu, his first friends who were willing to teach him everything there was to be about an adventurer and the Dungeon.

Hephaestus, his self-called opportunist Goddess, who saw talent in him and wanted him to become a Runemaster, her Runemaster.

Airmid, an unexpected young teacher, one that said the possibilities with his magic were endless and was willing to teach him how to make those possibilities a reality.

Riveria, a kind and helpful mentor, who despite the dark past she had with his mom, wanted to make amends, and start anew.

And…

Freya, whom even though he hated for everything she had put Alfia through, saw something in him, and wanted nothing more than for him to become 'even more'.

…

In the past, it was his childishness he sacrificed to become someone his mom could rely on, someone she could always be proud of, and now…

It was time for him to sacrifice more of his youth to reach the goal, to cure Alfia.

The only thing holding him back, was himself, after all.

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

Give or take, fifteen minutes after Ryuu admonished him for pushing himself too hard, Bell came to a conclusion of his own and gave a brief nod to both, himself, and to Ryuu who was waiting for him to mention whether he was good to go or not.

"I'm feeling better," Bell started while pushing himself off the cave wall and floor. "Thank you again, Miss Ryuu, Alise."

"You sure?" Alise asked while throwing another rock, the sound of a monster dispersing echoed in the far distance, "We can give you a couple more minutes."

"No, this much's enough." Bell affirmed, he tested himself by balling his hands into fist several times. "Yeah, we'll be heading out right? I can rest properly once we're out of here."

"Yes, we're leaving for today." Ryuu confirmed Bell's question, she walked a circle around him with narrowed eyes before giving a satisfied nod. "Alise, let's go."

"Alright~" Alise took the lead this time, with Ryuu taking the rear, and Bell in between them; the red-haired woman glanced back at him, grinning. "So, what are your thoughts?"

"Hm?" He hummed.

"About the dungeon." Alise pointed at their surroundings.

"Ah." Bell looked around. "It's more challenging than I thought. Keeping track of where you're going while fighting monsters, and without falling for dungeon-made traps, it's hard."

Alise grinned at that.

"To be honest, I think I would've gotten lost after the first few scuffles if I was on my own, I'm glad you two came with me."

"Told you point number five was the most important one," Alise winked, making him chuckle. "I'm glad you asked us, thought it would've taken longer to make you cave in and come with us into the dungeon."

That made him scratch his cheek, "Well…"

"You don't have to answer that, Mister Cranel." Ryuu made him pause his thoughts.

Alise blew a raspberry in Ryuu's direction before they turned a corner that revealed the exit of the dungeon which made them walk faster in order to leave behind the dangerous zone.

As soon as they climbed up the spiral staircase and hit the streets of Orario, Alise, and Ryuu gravitated towards one another and turned to face him, one with a grin and the other with the slightest hints of concern.

"Guess I'll be seeing you two tomorrow, then?" His voice had a hint of exhaustion in it, and that only made the concern on the snow fairy become more visible.

"Sure, but only if you're up for it though." Alise ruffled his hair; her vibrant grin matched the hum of her noise.

"Is fine," Bell shook his head, both to move Alise's hands away from his hair, and to quieten her noise in his mind. "I'll make time, even if only for a little bit."

"Awwww, you!" Alise cooed and went to smother him again, though he was quicker in stepping out of her reach and hiding behind an unamused Ryuu. "Tsk."

"Mister Cranel," Ryuu called his name and turned to him. "Raise your hand."

"Uh, like this?" He extended his hand in Ryuu's direction, curious, before the elven woman grabbed him by the wrist and turned his hand over several times, a look of dissatisfaction that increased with every turn. "Miss Ryuu?"

"You're out of Mind." Ryuu stated with a pronounced frown., "How are you… No, Mister Cranel, I'm afraid I can't let you wander around if you're like this."

"Huh?"

Ryuu ignored his stupefied look to speak to Alise, "Alise, we're taking Mister Cranel to dinner with us."

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

And that's how he found himself sitting across Alise in the Hostess of Fertility who happily grinned at him while drinking from her own mug; for the first time he was finally seeing her without her armor, and she was quite…

"You know, it's been a while since I've seen Ryuu worried about someone else like that." Alise teased and leaned forward onto the table, the low cut of her shirt distracting him from what she said for a second.

"Er, aren't friends supposed to care about others like that?" Bell deflected the implications behind Alise's words, mostly because while he felt he had grown closer with both Alise and Ryuu, the later and him still had a lot to work out before even dreaming of possibilities like that.

"Hmm, if that lets you sleep better at night, sure." Alise's grin didn't go away, though she did ease the attack on his hormones by easing back into her seat and glancing at the counter of the restaurant where Ryuu was speaking with one of the waitresses, a black-haired one, before looking back at him with a serious expression. "Jokes aside, are you sure you're fine?"

"Huh? Yeah, why would you ask that," Bell tried to deflect again, his serene expression fell in place to hide his thoughts.

"Because you're just like Ryuu," Alise supported her cheek with her hand, "I can see there's a lot on your mind, even if you try to hide it behind that expression of yours."

"Ah."

"You do know you can trust us, right?" Alise gave him what he recognized as a reassuring smile, supported by a thrumming tune from her soul.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

"Yes, it's why I asked you two to accompany me today." Bell let his mask fall for a second. "Thanks to you, I learned more about myself than I expected, and now I know what I need to do."

Alise almost asked what that was; however, before she could, Ryuu returned to their table.

"Chloe said our order will be ready in a few minutes." Ryuu stated and looked between Alise and Bell, and from Bell's perspective, he was surprised to see the snow fairy fret over which side to sit over before scowling fiercely.

Ryuu remained standing for a second longer while she waited for either of her friends to reply to her.

Totally not to buy more time before making her decision.

Nope.

"Will Mama Mia cook for us again?" Alise excitedly rubbed her hands.

"… Yes," Ryuu glanced in Bell's direction, a very well-hidden grateful glint behind her monotone stare, "She's taken a shining to Mister Cranel, or so Chloe said."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?" Bell carefully asked.

"Good!" Alise chimed; her vibrant noise rose a decibel. "At this rate, if you're around, we'll always get the best of the best."

"Is… that so?" Bell tried to wrap his head around Alise words, but because he had no knowledge of what she was talking about, he just went ahead and…

Trusted her.

Huh.

Interesting.

"Yes, that is so." Ryuu confirmed, and sat down next to him, "How are you feeling, Mister Cranel?"

Was that… worry in Ryuu's blue eyes…?

"Um, okay?" Bell replied slowly, "Just… a lot on my mind?"

"Hmm," Ryuu tilted her face towards him, her concern becoming more evident, "Is that all?"

"I… guess?"

Ryuu's eyes narrowed, "Mister Cranel, your hand, please."

Again, he found himself following the elven woman orders before realizing it, and as soon as his hand rested on the table closer to hers, she took it into her own and turned it over several times, though unlike earlier, there was no frown accompanied with every turn.

Instead, Ryuu seemed to be… pleased?

"Good, you were pushing yourself too hard in the dungeon." Ryuu said as she released his hand and continued in a light, scolding, tone. "You need to learn how to pace yourself, Mister Cranel, otherwise you'll irreparably injure yourself."

That made Bell blink in thought, "But if I don't push myself, how can I grow stronger?"

That was the crux of his diligence, after all.

Without trying ten times as hard, without pushing himself ten times as hard, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was, to where he could finally see the goal post for Alfia's recovery.

"You're mistaking my words, Bell." Ryuu's use of his name without honorifics stopped all his thoughts. "I understand there's a lot you strive and try hard for, and there's nothing wrong with that; in fact, I…" Ryuu paused and shook her head.

He really wanted to ask what she skipped over, especially since the snow fairy slapped her hands over her mouth the moment she said those words, but he guessed it must be something personal if she decided not to say it.

Ryuu continued, "Never mind, what I mean to say is that when it comes to the dungeon, you need to be more careful in the way you treat yourself. Today, you joined us on the verge of a Mind Down from your training, and if you fell unconscious in our presence, we would've taken care of you however…"

Bell understood where she was going, "But if I fell unconscious in the dungeon…"

"There would be nobody to take care of you if you pushed yourself just as hard as you do in your training," Ryuu nodded, a small, satisfied smile of how she was glad he understood what she meant. "Today, you were with us, but next time?"

"There's no telling what may happen." Bell finished.

He had thought of that before, in passing, and discarded such thought as he believed himself to be stronger.

But after his first experience with Alise and Ryuu in the dungeon, after learning of his limits…

Ryuu words rang true.

His aunt wouldn't kill him during training, beat him black and blue, sure, but kill, never.

She loved him, just as he loved her.

But all the monsters in the dungeon wouldn't hesitate to maim him if he so much gave them the slightest of chance, and if he tried to overcome his limits by foolhardily pushing himself to the edge…

A look of realization and gratitude fell over him. "Thank you, Ryuu. I… really needed to hear that."

Not only did he have to grow stronger.

He still had to mature and realize that the world wasn't just black and white.

Off in the sidelines, their mutual friend chesirely grinned from ear to ear while watching the interaction between the two of them, for once she decided to keep her thoughts to herself and stay quiet.

"I'm glad you understand, Mister Cranel." And Ryuu was back to honorifics, and monotone stare. "I ordered the same steak as earlier for you, will that be fine?"

Talk about a change of topic, though he didn't blame Ryuu for that, because he didn't know how to continue that conversation from there, lack of social interaction and all that. "Yes, that'll be fine, it was really good, would you like some?"

"If you wouldn't mind sharing." Ryuu replied with another well-hidden smile. "It's been a long time since I've tasted more of Mama Mia's cooking."

That gave Bell an idea, "Then how about we always order different things every day and share? That is, if Miss Mia cooks, of course."

"Yes," Ryuu did show her smile at his words, and…

…

She was…

…

Well, he did say it the first time he got a good look at her.

Ryuu was beautiful, and now, without the animosity between them, and after growing closer, her exotic beauty was all the more apparent.

"Let's eat something different together, every day." Ryuu's quiet voice, softened gaze, small smile, coupled with the snow fairy dancing happily was almost too much for his young heart to take.

Every day huh…

That sounds… Nice.

But would he have the time?

No.

He would make the time.

Because all he had to do to reach every goal of his; to cure his mom, to finally live a carefree life with her and his friends, to be happy.

Was to work a hundred times as harder.

- 0 - Chapter End - 0 -

Author's Note: Update, yay! Short, aw... Apologies, had a really bad week (which is still somewhat ongoing) but I'm getting better! So, update for every fic, yay~

- Jas / Shiiva

P.S: Yes, I'm taking care of myself... Mostly, teehee~