Knock-Knock-Knock*
"Kazumaaa?" asked Megumin, hoping for a response.
Unfortunately she got none.
"Kazuma, are you in there?" Darkness asked.
Still no response.
"Kazumaaaa! Answer us you Hiki-NEET!" Aqua shouted.
"...Shut up..." Kazuma quietly responded from room.
The three looked at each other.
"Kazuma, please come out..." Darkness said.
No response this time.
Aqua banged on the door. "COME OUT YOU SHUT IN NEET!" She shouted.
That got Kazuma to get up from his bed and punch the door that was louder than she was. "SHUT UP YOU BACKWATER GODDESS! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" He shouted back.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! COME OUT HERE YOU-" Aqua was cut off by Darkness grabbing her, putting on hand over her mouth.
"Now now Aqua, please calm down. Kazuma, can you please come out?" She asked, Aqua struggling in Darkness' hold.
"..." They got nothing but silence again.
Darkness and Megumin sighed and looked at each other before they walked away from the door, Aqua still being held by Darkness.
Once they got to the living room Darkness let Aqua go.
"The nerve of that guy, he should be exalting me!" Aqua said, earning the wary gazes of the other two in the room.
"This is the first time he's ever been like this, he's never just shut himself in his room before." Megumin said.
"It is quite concerning, there's no way he'd be fine cooped in his room." Darkness said, concerned for Kazuma's health.
"No way, he'll be fine." Aqua said, waving her hand dismissively.
"You say that like you've seen him do this before." Darkness said.
"Well, yeah. Before coming here he lived a life as a shut-in NEET. If anything this is just him reverting back to his natural state.
"You say that word a lot, but what exactly does "NEET" mean?" Megumin asked.
"It means he wasn't working, going to school, or anything useful. He simply stayed in his room, leaving only to eat, go to the bathroom, or buy new games."
"How do you know this so well? How did you two meet?" Darkness questioned.
"Well, he died, and as a Goddess, I was there to greet him in the afterlife."
"Is that a lie you made up?" They both deadpanned at her.
"NOOOO!!! IT'S THE TRUTH!!!" Aqua cried, not helping her case.
"A-anyways, we should go back to the Guild and tell them that we're cancelling the quest, since Kazuma is unable to participate." Darkness said, which the two agreed.
Kazuma heard the front door of the mansion open and shut, indicating they had left.
The moment he got home he immediately went to his room, got under the covers and just curled up.
"That goddess... she came here just to insult me more, just like they all do..." Kazuma mumbled to himself.
Memories washed over him of the many days of school he endured at the behest of his parents.
Each and every day.
The names.
The stares.
The ridicule.
He had never asked for this, he just wanted to enjoy anime and video games, is that too much to ask for? Apparently to them it was.
Was it too much to hold onto a promise made with your first love as children? Apparently to her it was.
Was it too much for people to ask for context rather than jump to conclusions? To ask what happened, why it happened, and if he really is at fault? Apparently to them it was. Hell with Megumin he was essentially being forced to accept her into the party or else Axel would label him as the guy who covers girls with slime and abandons them. And they already do now anyways so that didn't matter.
"Enough..." Kazuma choked out amongst his tears.
He didn't want to be labeled as a bad guy, he didn't want to be looked upon with such disdain as many do.
But of course... He is, and they do.
"You wish to cancel the quest you accepted?" Luna asked the three, to which they nodded their heads in response.
"Understood, I will do that immediately. Also... I hope Kazuma is alright... He didn't seem well earlier." Luna said.
"Things are... complicated... but we will make sure Kazuma is alright." Darkness responded.
Luna nodded in response, bidding the three goodbye before they seated at a table.
"Sigh... What are we gonna do now? Kazuma's holed himself up in his room." Megumin asked.
"This is problematic, it will be difficult to complete quests on our own without him. As embarrassing as it is to admit as a crusader, Kazuma has gotten us out of difficult situations many times."
"Come on you guys, it'll be fine without him." Aqua said.
"Without who?" Asked a familiar voice.
The three looked to the side to see Chris standing by the table.
"Oh, hello Chris! It has been a while." Darkness greeted.
"It has, how have you been?"
"Not so great, we're kind of in a bit of a mess right now..."
"Why's that? And where's Kazuma? By now he'd probably be using his steal to snatch my panties and waving them in the air."
"That's the problem... Kazuma is currenty... unwilling to be with us right now."
"Wait really? Why's that? Does it have something to do with yesterday."
"It does, we were just eating lunch when Aqua came in crying, begging Kazuma to lend her money." Megumin started explaining.
"Which that baka-NEET should've done in the first place..." Aqua mumbled, which everyone else ignored.
"And then suddenly he just got really mad, then just... sad. Not even sad, just... broken. As if all the joy and energy had been sucked out of him. And then he left."
"He did seem off when he bumped into me. He looked like an empty person. But the question I guess is why exactly did he get so mad, so depressed like that?" Chris asked.
"I don't know, everything seemed at the norm. Aqua begged him for money, he refused, she called him names, and then he just snapped." Darkness said, recounting the events.
"Wait, called him names?" Chris asked, giving Aqua a confused look.
"What?! Why are you looking at me?!" Aqua said in defense, feeling like she was being targeted.
"Well it's just... You were begging him to lend you money and you were insulting him?" Chris asked, trying to confirm something.
"W-well, when you say it like that..." Aqua said meekly, poking her fingers together.
Chris gave Aqua a hand chop on the head.
"Ita-! Why did you hit me?!" Aqua cried out.
"You're an idiot Aqua... What the hell did she even call him?" Chris asked the other two.
"Just the usual stuff, Baka, Crapzuma, Hiki-NEET, Loli-NEET, Shut-In NEET" Darkness listed.
"Trashzuma, NEET, Otaku, Baka-NEET. I think even the table of girls that was nearby were chanting Scumzuma while looking at him too." Megumin said.
Chris hit Aqua over the head again, even harder.
"WHY ARE YOU HITTING ME?!" Aqua cried out.
"Jeez Aqua, I knew you were crass and dumb, but you've really taken it to the next level haven't you? Even going as far as to call him a NEET and a Shut-In."
"But he was!"
"That's still no excuse to use it as an insult!"
"Wait, Chris, you knew what NEET means?" Darkness asked, surprised at how she knew it.
"O-Oh! Yeah! I asked Kazuma once what it meant."
"Oh, I see."
"Anyways, Aqua, why did you have to use that as an insult? You knew what he was like before coming here right?"
"He was a shut-in NEET, that's all there was to him." Aqua said.
"That's it? You never looked into why he went into that kind of a life style?"
"Well no, I had no need to- Wait, how do you know this stuff so well?!" Aqua questioned.
"Yeah, you sound like you know a lot about Kazuma too! Where did he even come from?" Megumin asked
Chris put her palm to her face and sighed.
"Aqua, you never told them, have you?"
"Told us what?" Darkness asked, causing Chris to let out another sigh.
"What I'm about to do might break several rules, but I think it's important that you guys know the truth. Kazuma and Aqua are not from around here. Not from Axel, not from Belzerg, not even of this world."
"W-Wait, so you mean..?" Darkness trailed off with her question.
"Yes, Kazuma and Aqua came from another world."