Chapter 14: The Night is Still Young
"Thanks again Raven for sneaking out of the dorms with me tonight." Giggled Rena as she hugged the boy named Raven's arm. "N-no problem…" he replied as a blush crept across his face when her soft and ample chest pressed up against it. The boy coughed into his nasod hand to try and regain his composure. "So, what exactly was so urgent that you had to sneak out of the dorms tonight?"
"Hmph~" pouted Rena as she stopped the boy in his tracks. She squeezed the boys arm tighter into her chest as she looked up at him coyly. "Are you saying that you'd rather be at home in the dorms than out here with me?"
"I-I never said that…" stammered Raven; his mind clearly losing the battle against her ample chest lulling him into jelly. He took a quick breath to regain his composure again. "I mean… I get that your friend has had a rough time recently but is it really necessary for you to go out and get her a gift tonight? This couldn't wait till the weekend where we could go out during the day?"
"Well when you put it that way…" began Rena as the logic of his question hit home. "I guess I could've waited till the weekend… but… I kind of wanted to see you again…" she replied innocently as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her cheek; her face flushed at her confession. Raven just chuckled at the comment and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "It's not like I'm going anywhere… you can see me whenever you want." Rena looked up at him at the sound of his words; starry-eyed as a heartwarming smile beamed across her face, instantly infecting Raven causing him to blush even harder at the sight. The two were so busy flirting with each other that they didn't notice the trouble approaching them.
A block ahead of the young couple, small squad of what looked like three thugs was heading straight for them. These thugs, for lack of a better word, seemed to be fed on a diet of salt, piss and vinegar as they stomped down the street, plowing through towns folk along the way. They each wore hooded trench coats and scarves that hid most of their faces; rather elaborate but not questioned given the change in weather. "So, what's the plan for tonight?" asked one of the thugs. The lead thug turned to his cohort as he grimaced at him. "The same thing we do every night man, doing the order's bidding." "Speaking of which boss…" the other thug began. "I heard another battery has been depleted."
"That it has rookie." Responded their leader. "I got wind of another team disposing of the remains… pretty soon we will have to go on the hunt again."
"Awesome, I love the hunt!" laughed one of his subordinates as they all walked across the street. The maniacal thug was in fact laughing so hard that he wasn't paying attention and walked full on into someone.
"H-Hey! Watch where you're going will ya!?" shouted Rena as the trench coated stranger nearly knocked her over from the collision. Raven gripped her closely to keep her from falling. "You okay Rena?" he asked as he straightened her up. "Yes, I'm fine…" she replied as she smiled at him. The smile quickly faded as she turned to face the trio who bumped into them. "You guys aren't going to apologize?!" The trio just looked amongst themselves as they ignored her. Unable to keep his cool any longer, Raven stepped in between Rena and the trio, his sharp orange irises piercing into the lead thug's eyes. "Your associate there nearly knocked over my girlfriend and I want an apology…"
"An apology huh…" the leader of the spoke slowly; his eyes narrowed in on Raven, then he shifted his gaze to Rena. Alerted to being within his icy glare, she instinctively hid behind Raven's nasod arm, thus prompting Raven to increase the ferocity of his stare. "Listen here mutt… I think it'd be best if you and your little elf bitch run along and forget this ever happened… no need to make things… messy… over a little accident, am I right?" Raven winced as he heard the threat and protectively raised his nasod arm to shield Rena.
"Rena..." whispered to her as he kept his eyes on the group. "I don't like the vibe I'm getting from these guys… be ready to run…" "Run?" she asked in response as she gripped his hand nervously. As the lead thug was focused on staring down Raven, the other two were busy eyeing Rena up and down. 'What are those disgusting perverts doing?' she thought to herself and she tried to adjust her jeans skirt to cover a little more of her thighs, granted she was wearing a pair of black tights to go with her beige sweater and jeans jacket, she still felt their eyes undressing her.
"Hmm…" spoke up one of the thugs, breaking the long silence that filled the encounter. "Isn't this one of those friends of that dark mage Ronan told us about?"
"You mean the one that gave him so much trouble earlier today?" the second thug responded.
"Yes, the very same." Said the other thug as he pulled out his phone and started to flip through it. "Yup…" he began as he turned his phone to face the other two thugs. Raven and Rena watched nervously as the other two looked at the phone and then back to them as they narrowed their gaze on them.
"Well now that changes everything…" said the lead thug as he turned to face the couple. They tensed up as they could feel the sinister gaze from behind his scarf. They flinched as the lead thug suddenly pointed his finger directly at Rena. "You there girl… you are to be placed under arrest for the crime of heresy!"
"Arrest!?" a shocked Rena. "What for?! What heresy has she committed?!" shouted an angry Raven as he moved in front to shield a distressed Rena, still taken aback by the perplexing news being presented before them. Then lead thug then proceeded to laugh manically at the question posed to him.
"What for he asks…" he says as he stopped his feverish laughter. "Why for the simple act of being a dark mage sympathizer, that's why. What greater heresy is that?"
"Dark mage sympathizer?!" responded a perplexed Raven. "What kind of nonsense is that?"
"The nonsense is how that dark mage has been allowed to roam free al this time in that so-called school of yours!" retorted the thug. "Our officer informed us of one in the school, befriended and defended by a nasod woman and this elf woman right here. The simple fact that they're her friends is an act of heresy and warrants their arrest!"
"What the!? So, you're saying that just because they're Aisha's friends, that they're heretics and deserve to be arrested?! By whom?! What gives you the right!?" shouted an angry Raven as he clenched his nasod hand as it trembled in rage in front of his face.
"Raven…" said Rena as she called out his name softly and held onto his shoulder, smiling gratefully at how he passionately defended her and her friends.
"Ugh, what's this?" the lead thug said in disgust at the display in front of him. "Are you saying that you side with these heretics? That alone makes you a co-conspirer and you are just as guilty as they are."
"What the hell?!" questioned Raven as he heard more psychotic nonsense spew from the delusional man.
"Well this conversation bores me now…" the lead thug proclaimed as he outstretched his arms; his two underlings joining him on each side. "By authority of the Holy Order, I charge thee as heretics. Seize the girl and kill the man. Although not a mage, her elven magic might prove useful to our benefactor. Her abomination of man and metal boyfriend is of no use to us… Grant him a mercy and cleanse his sins of heresy with his life!"
I let out a yawn as the bus stopped at a stop light downtown. "You know kid..." The bus driver began to speak up. "You scored a ton of points with that girl tonight." I chuckled at the comment. "You think so?" I replied. "I know so!" The bus driver exclaimed proudly. "Many knuckleheads today don't know that little things like what you did there go a really long way with winning them over."
"You don't say… um..." I stumbled as I realized that the guy I've been conversing with I didn't know his name.
"It's Lenphad kid." He chuckled.
"Ah, thank you." I replied. "My name is Elsword. Oh, and thanks again for going out of your way to drop me off downtown." Lenphad laughed heartily. "Don't worry about it lad. After all, you went out of your way to drop the little lady home." I chuckled at the comment. "Well I guess so..."
"So, how do you two know each other?" He asked. "Aside from two other girls, she doesn't seem to have any other friends... And the other kids… avoid her...she usually sits alone if those two other girls aren't with her." I let out a small sigh as I was told that bit of news. 'Yeah... That sounds probable...' I thought to myself.
"Well, I had stepped in on her behalf today against some bullies...and I wanted to make sure she got home safe and sound. I'm new around here and I never saw anything like that before."
"Well, welcome to Elder Elsword." Said Lenphad. "And thanks for stepping in for her. You're a real hero." I blushed at the thought. "Aw I didn't do that much-whaa!" I yelped as the bus suddenly stopped short.
"What the hell are those crazy kids doing!?" I hear Lenphad yell as he honked the horn angrily at the cause of the commotion. I looked up and out the window and nearly did a double take as I saw boy with what looked to be a nasod arm and an elf girl in tow, running across the street with a trio of trench coated thugs hot on their tails.
'Isn't that...one of Aisha's friends?' I thought to myself as I saw them continue to run down the street and make a hard right into an alley. "Crazy lil bastards..." Grumbled Lenphad as he began to pull off again. 'Shit!' I cursed internally 'I need to go help them!' "H-hey Lenphad! Thank you so much for the ride. You can let me off here!" I yelled as I grabbed my things and headed to the door.
"What the hell kid?" He shouted as he slowed down and pulled over. "You couldn't have told me sooner?!" I raised my free hand to my forehead as I nodded sorry. "So sorry man, I didn't realize this was my stop. I'll make it up to you!" He grumbled as he opened the door to let me out. "You'd better kid. Take care of yourself." He said as I hopped off the bus.
"Alright so they went down that way..." I said to myself as I started to run back down the block. I didn't get very far however as my lungs began to burn. I placed my hand over my heart as I struggled to catch my breath. 'Damn it sis, you and your stupid nerf ring!' I cursed internally as I pulled off the ring of restraint. Within a matter of moments, I could feel my strength, mana, all my progress over the last three years return to my body. "Ha-ha...yes..." I said to myself, a smile plastered across my face as I clenched my fist. "Ok Elsword, enough boasting. You've got an elf and a bionic man to go save!" I said to myself as I ducked into a nearby alleyway.
'Hmm...looks like I've run out of alley to run through' I said internally as I stared down a brick wall. "Time to take to the skies." I said as I snapped my fingers and flicked a rune in front of me. I snapped my fingers again and flicked another one at a higher altitude. I hopped off the first rune and on to the second one, continuing the pattern until I reached the rooftop.
"Hey what the hell is that racket!?"
"Hey people are trying to get some sleep! Don't make me call the cops!"
"Shut the hell up! Don't make me come up there!"
Shouting and more came from the windows of the apartment building I had hiked up and landed on top of.
'You know... It would probably be a good idea to change my outfit before someone identifies me.' I thought to myself as I as I carved a rune into the air and snapped my fingers. The rune flashed and sparked as it disappeared a d left a portal its place. I tossed my bags from school through the portal with reckless abandon. I knew they would just fall on the floor of my room anyways. I drew another rune above my head and snapped my fingers again; this time a portal formed spinning portal that descended on me. As the spiraling portal descended on me, the clothes I was wearing before transformed into the rune slayer garb I had donned the night I saved Aisha.
The transformation rune and the portal rune... Two creations I created shortly after my assertion to that of a rune slayer. The portal rune, a rune enchantment that connects to another marked location and creates a bridge between them; creating an easy way to store and collect equipment. The transformation rune was something I added on top of the portal rune. It works similar to the portal rune as the objects have to be marked first before it can be usable. The marked objects then switch places with the matching rune to create a quick way for changing clothes on the fly. I developed these since I was always out in the field most of the time and needed to change my uniforms at a moment's notice.
'But now I use it to change clothes in a jiffy' I chuckled at the thought as I pulled out my red eye mask and tied it over my face masking my eyes. 'If I ever figure out a way to market this I could make a hell of a lot of money... But for now, I need to hurry.' With that final though, begin to dash off in the direction I saw Aisha's friends run off; my body much lighter now that it was no longer restrained by the ring as I effortlessly hopped across the roof tops. 'I just hope I'm not too late.'
"Damn it, a dead end!" Cursed Raven as he and Rena stared down a brick wall. "What will we do now?" She asked as she caught her breath. Raven grimaced at the thought of having to fight their way out. "Looks like the hunt is over..." A voice causing them to shudder, called out from behind them. They both turned around grit their teeth as they faced the trio that had been chasing them the past few blocks. The trio stood at the entrance to alleyway, their shadows of bodies encroached upon the cornered duo. The boy pulled up his fists into a boxing stance as he prepared himself for the imminent fight.
"Rena...this looks bad..." Raven said as he waited anxiously for their assailant's first move. "When they attack, I want you to stay behind me."
"What the?!" Replied Rena, astonished at his idea. "Now not the time for foolish bravado!"
"It's not bravado, it's strategy." He reiterated. "Did you forget that they're after you?"
"No but..."
"Besides..." He said as he turned to face Rena. "Someone needs to call the cops if we somehow hope to get out of this in one-"
"Is this a private conversation or can I join too?" Snickered one thug as he appeared instantly in front of the pair.
"When did he!?" Shouted Raven as braced for a fist coming straight towards his unguarded ribs.
"Hyyyaah!" Shouted Rena as she flew through the air, landing a corkscrew drop kick into the thug's chest; kicking and backflipping gracefully back to Raven's side; the thug flying backwards from the force of her sudden attack giving the duo some much needed breathing room. "I'm not going just to sit on the side lines and let you do this by yourself Raven." She said as she reorganized herself into a proper fighting stance. "Now come on, let's beat these guys!" Raven smiled as he gave into her demands. "Okay, you win Rena, just make sure to call the cops when we get a chance."
"Do not get so confident just because you got off a lucky hit, heretics." The second thug exclaimed as her ran towards Raven.
'He's fast!' he shouted internally as he blocked the thug's barrage of left and right jabs. The barrage seemed endless as it pinned the boy into a defensive position. "Raven, I'm coming!" Cried out Rena as she proceeded to jump kick his opponent in the back.
"Not today Missy!" Interjected the first thug as he grabbed hold of her calf midair, and using the momentum, twirled and tossed her aside.
"Eyaaaah!" She cried as she crashed into the alley way trash cans.
"Rena!" He cried out to her.
"Pant... Don't worry about me!" She tried to reassure him. "I'm fi-Aaack!?" She cried out as the fist of the first thug impacted straight into her stomach knocking all the air out of her.
The elf gripped her stomach tightly as her eyes blanked out from the pain. She knelt forward on her knees before collapsing to her side.
"Renaaaa!" he cried out again to her as he watched her writhe in pain, gasping for breath as she held her stomach tightly.
"Hey! Eyes on me!" yelled the thug as his left fist hooked a distracted Raven right in the face. The boy stumbled, dazed from the blow but remained upright.
"Rrrraaaaaaaagh!" shouted Raven in a fit of fury as his nasod arm collided with the thug's ribs in a counter attack. The thug cried out in pain as Raven capitalized with a series of hooks from before opening the palm of his nasod hand and placing it on the thug's chest. "Maximum Cannon!" he shouted as a fireball built up and erupted on the thug's chest, damaging him badly as he fell onto his back, grabbing his chest in pain. He then turned to face the thug who felled Rena, currently snickering at his handiwork. This worked into Raven's favor as he leaped ferociously at him and latched onto his shoulder into a hand stand using his nasod arm.
"Arrraaaaagh!"
"W-what the?" I said to myself as I woke up to the sound of a man screaming. I opened my eyes to see the assailant who had punched me, screaming in pain as Raven launched himself into the air from his shoulder.
"R-Raven?" I called out as I watched him leap into the air and somersault dive face forward.
"Wolf Attack!" he shouted as he slashed at the thugs back before flipping forward at the last second to land on his feet.
"Gyaaah!" screamed the thug as he flew, leaving a trail of blood flying through the air as he landed into another set of trash cans.
"Raven!" I called out happily.
"Rena!" he called out to me. "Are you alright?" he asked; his face showing signs of relief.
"Yes" I responded back as I winced in pain. "Just recovering from that attack."
"Good" he replied as he gave me thumbs up. "Go ahead and call 911. By the time I'm done here, the cops should arrive." He said as he aimed his nasod arm at the lead thug. I turned to face the lead thug but was surprised to see that he wasn't even fazed at the fact that his two underlings had been dispatched. 'Why's he so calm about this?'
"I don't think there's a need for the cops, do you?" the lead thug asked as he outstretched his arms.
"Binding Circle!" I heard someone shout out from out of nowhere.
"W-what? I can't move!" Raven shouted in his head as he struggled to break free from whatever had a hold of him. I looked over to see the first thug had recovered and had cast the binding spell on him
"I think it's time for some divine retribution, wouldn't you agree?" leered the lead thug as he gestured to the first thug who had pinned Raven in place with his spell. "Whole heartedly boss!" Responded the first thug as he walked up to the immobile Raven.
"Gwaaah!" Cried Raven as I watched the first thug's fist collide with his jaw. The thug didn't stop there as I watched him unload a barrage of punches, battering Ravens immobile body.
"No! Stop it!" I screamed in protest, but my pleas went unanswered as he continued to wail on my immobile boyfriend.
"Rena gaack!" He cried out in between the blows. "Hurry... Call the... police... And get...out of here..." His breathing was labored as he struggled to stand up but unfortunately couldn't fall over given to his body being stuck in place. I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't move, the damage from the first attack had still grounded me.
'Damn it!' I cursed internally as my hands fumbled through my coat pocket as I searched for my phone. A wave of relief came over me as I found the phone and pulled it out. "Just hang in there Raven, I'm calling them now!" I shouted as I began to dial 911.
"Not so fast there Missy! This is a private party!" shouted the second thug that Raven previously launched into a garbage heap. Not even a second after he spoke my body was paralyzed, just like Raven's. "Now be a good girl and sit tight here as we finish this up." Snickered the thug as he walked past me and towards Raven; his hand emitting a purple glow as he raised and aimed it at Raven. "Divine lightning!" shouted the second thug as his hand flashed bright purple as several lightning bolts shot out and collided into Ravens body.
"Gyaaaaah! He screamed as his body radiated with purple light. "Nooo! Raven!" I cried out as a watched his eyes go white as he body wobbled before giving out and falling forward onto his face; his nasod arm outstretched in front of him as the rest of his body twitched in pain.
"Hmm…" pondered the thug as he shook off the after effects of his spell. "Still alive eh? You're a lot more durable than I gave you credit for." He said as he walked up towards his handiwork; pulling a long knife from his trench coat. "Any last words mongrel?" "Go…to…hell…" he stammered as he had his eyes closed. "Be sure to tell them who sent you." He snickered as he readied himself for the kill. Tears began to well up in my eyes as watched the sight unfold before me, powerless to do anything about it. Not knowing anything else to do, I did the only thing I could think of as I sucked in as much air into my lungs as possible. "SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PLEASE! I BEG YOU! HELP US!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, startling everyone in the vicinity; the three thugs turned to face me. 'Good…' I thought to myself. 'At least I bought us a little more time… but the question is what now Rena?' I was still under the effects of the binding spell and couldn't move. "How about we do something about this noisy woman boss?" said one of the thugs as he walked slowly over to me. 'Oh no…' I said internally as a wave a of dread washed over me the thug approached me.
"How about no?" I heard someone shout just before I saw two feet press into the thug's chest and kick off it, launching the thug backwards. The mystery man did a backflip as he landed gracefully onto his feet; his left palm on the floor as his right was stretched outward. Flowing red spikey locks tied into 3 ponytails, two down the side of his face and one longer one down his neck side, hung over an equally as red mask that was covering his eyes, save for his mouth; still dangling in some unknown breeze as if he were in a comic book. Time stood still as everyone in the vicinity tried to process what had just happened. The previous thug who had just recovered from being tossed into the garbage heap was the first to break the silence. "Hey, who the hell are you punk?" he shouted as we walked up to the mystery man.
'Yes, good question…' I thought to myself as the mystery man stood upright. 'Wait a minute here… spikey red hair…a red eye mask…a half top vest and black and white pants and long red belts…no way…this can't be the guy that Aisha-chan was talking about… can it?'
"They call me the Crimson Mask." He said as he pointed a finger at him. 'Oh my El… Aisha was right… he does exist…' I said mentally as I watched the thug clench his fist in fury. "Do you have any idea the kind of blasphemy you've committed just now?" I watched as the crimson mask tilted his head in confusion to the question that was just purposed to him.
"Blasphemy? I'd Like to think I just prevented a double homicide from ending up on the evening news."
"Well, now that you're here, maybe this will be a triple homicide…"
"Well, depending on my mood… maybe it will be." The Crimson Mask replied as I watched him stretch out his arms.
"What are you doing numbskull! Rub him out!" I heard the lead thug yell out to his cohort.
"You heard the man!" shouted the thug as he lunged towards Crimson with straight jab aimed at his chest. I watched in awe as the masked man just swayed to the side as if the thug was in slow motion. Not amused the thug continued his assault with a flurry of hooks and jabs, all of which the Crimson Mask effortlessly dodged; at one point even put his hands in his pockets as be bobbed and weaved just out of reach of each of the thugs strikes.
"Grraah! Stand and perish you coward!" shouted the thug as he angerly threw a left jab at Crimson. "Well if you insist…" responded Crimson as he side stepped his jab; at that time, he had pulled out his right hand from his pocket and threw a punch which collided right in the thug's jaw.
"Wow…" I gasped in amazement at the sight unfolding in front of me, for what he threw was no ordinary punch, but a bunch that exploded like a mini firecracker upon impact.
"Guwaaagh!" yelped the thug as he flew like a missile through the air, corkscrewing through the air from the apparent force of Crimson's punch before crashing ungracefully into a pile of trash.
"Hmm… I guess I don't know my own strength…" he said as he shook his right hand while looking at his handiwork. "I would tell you guys to scram, but… I can't very well leave menaces such as yourselves to roam free, now should I?"
"You cocky little heathen…" growled the lead thug. "I'll be sure to punish you before sending you off to hell!"
"Binding Circle!" I heard being shouted from a distance behind Crimson. I looked to find that the second thug had launched the binding spell that had pinned both me and Raven in place. "Crimson!" I shouted. "That spell locks you in place when it's casted. You won't be able to move and be completely defenseless!"
"Hahaha, that's right you little bastard!" laughed the thug as he raised his hand and took aim. "Now, burn to ash!" he shouted as he launched three fireballs towards him.
"Hmm, I do seem to be stuck in something here…" responded Crimson as he half-heartedly tried to shift his immobile body out of the spell's hold. "I should probably do something about that..." he said before shouting "Hyaaa!" and balling his hands into fists and pulling his elbows to his sides, effectively going into a horse stance and breaking out of the hold.
"Look out!" I cried out but by that time, it was already too late as the three fireballs collided and burst into flames on his back, engulfing his whole body. 'No...' I said mentally as I watched the scene play out before me. 'But wait a minute… how is he still standing through all of that? Much less, he's all quiet as well…'
"Well… not bad…for someone of your caliber anyways…" I heard a voice come from within the flames. I watched as the flames engulfing Crimson's body transform into something that resembled what looked like wings briefly before the fire started to disappear as the flames were absorbed into his body, leaving behind a fiery aura around him.
"What the hell? How are you still standing?!" shouted the thug, fuming with rage and confusion as for how this boy still standing even after taking his attack at full force. 'I too would like to know the answer to that question as well...'
"I guess it's my turn now…" replied Crimson as he turned and faced his opponent and got into a fighting stance. "Like I'd let you!" shouted the thug and he unleashed another barrage of fire balls straight at Crimson again. Astonishingly, Crimson didn't even dodge them and instead ran right into them. 'What in the world...' I said mentally as I watched the fireballs crash into and get assimilated into his body as he continued to run towards his target and jab him straight in the gut.
"Gowwwoooah!" yelped the thug as air and spit flew out of his mouth from the strike. "Splash Explosion!" I heard Crimson shout as he launched his palm into the same gut he just jabbed and a giant rune manifested around the thug, damaging and trapping him inside of it. He then pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist, causing the already large rune to increase in size and explode in a flash bang of red magical energy. As the residue from his attack subsided, the crispy remains of an unconscious thug fell face forward onto the ground. "Well, that's two down…" he said as he turned to face their leader, who was fuming mad that one guy took out his subordinates so easily. "Looks like you're the only one left. Would you like to give up quietly or do wanna do this the hard way again?"
"Hard way?!" the flabbergasted thug responded. "I'll show you the hard way! Divine Lightni-"
"Phoenix Talon!" shouted Crimson as he thrust his fist forward, a flame aura surrounded him as a blinding flash of flame energy flew out from his fist. The energy blast which in turn took the shape of a bird, phoenix to be exact; its loud cry filling the alleyway as it flew towards the thug at blinding speed and engulfed the villain.
"Gyaaaaah!" screamed the thug as he writhed in the agony of the attack. After a few seconds, I watched as Crimson pulled his hand back and the giant firebird, as if it were on a leach, returned to him; re-entering his body and leaving Crimson radiating in an aura of flame.
"Y-you…monster…uuuaaagh…" stammered the char broiled thug as he wobbled side to side before succumbing to his injuries and falling forward onto his face unconscious. "Monster?" questioned Crimson as he dusted his palms "Isn't that like the tea calling the kettle black? Just be glad this monster didn't take your lives, although it was really hard not to."
'Oh my El…he did it. He really did it!' I cheered internally at the fact that we were saved from what would've been a certain death. I felt tears of joy begin to well up in my eyes as I heard Crimson turn back around and walk over to me. 'This is probably what Aisha felt when he had rescued her last week…no wonder she was so shaken up. I'll have to apologize to her the next time I see her.' "You okay?" he asked as he pulled a bottle of blue liquid from out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Here, drink this. It's a complete recovery potion, though save half of it, as I'm sure he could use some as well." He said as he gestured behind him.
"R-right… thank you." I replied as I shook my head of my thoughts and opened the bottle. 'It smells like blueberries…' I thought as I began to taste test the potion like the first time a child tries vegetables. The cautious sip soon turned into a generous helping as I swigged down the delicious elixir. I had almost nearly forgotten to save some for Raven the way that it tasted so good. "H-hey…" I said as most of the pain from my injuries had begun to subside. "This stuff is pretty potent… I'm nearly healed" I picked myself up off the ground and made my way over to Raven and knelt down beside him.
"Make sure to try and feed him some of the potion until the cops and ambulance arrive on the scene okay?" stated Crimson. "Ack! I completely forgot!" I shrieked, my face was red with embarrassment and worry.
"Hey, hey, you're alright." He said as he gestured his hands in a calming motion. "I mean, you were fighting for your lives after all, so I took the liberty of calling the cops before I arrived." He said with a smirk. "Thank goodness…" I said as I closed my eyes and smiled; a few tears strolling down my cheek as pulled Raven's body towards me and rested his head on my lap. "honestly, I can't thank you enough… I don't know where we would be if you hadn't shown up when you did."
"I didn't do anything much…" he chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "I just didn't want innocent high schoolers to be hurt by a couple of whack jobs and misguided beliefs… Anyways, they should be here soon. I must be going now. You two take care alright?" At that moment, time stood still as he waved his hand good bye and turned his back to me.
'Hey Rena, wake up!' I shouted internally. 'You've run into Aisha's Crimson Mask, and you're just going to let him walk away?! This could be your chance to help Aisha right now!' With new vigor I called out to him. "H-hey, wait a second!" I watched as he stopped and turned around to face me with a confused expression.
"Hmm? What's up?" he asked in a confused tone. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine… It's just that…" I took a deep breath as I set my plan into motion. "Well last week, you saved a friend of mines, a girl with purple hair, named Aisha. I was a little skeptical of the whole story but she… she was truly grateful to you for saving her life. I too now know how she felt in that ordeal and how it felt to be rescued from the brink of despair…"
"Ah well, you're too kind miss-"
"Rena, my name is Rena." I interjected. "I also know how it feels to thank my savior… so I ask you now… won't you please see her again so that she can thank you herself properly?" There was a moment of awkward silence before Crimson decided to break it.
"Wait, what?" he asked in bewilderment. "Why would she want to do that?"
"Because, she had passed out before she was able to thank you properly." I responded. "When I saw her at the hospital on Sunday, I saw the trauma she went through… I know how hard that was… now that I've gone through the same thing myself. I also know that when she talked about you that day… and how you rescued her…that she was glowing radiantly. I know in my heart, especially after doing so myself, that getting the chance to thank you in person will release her from this traumatic experience." I watched as Crimson closed his masked eyes and let out a sigh, raising his hand to his face and gently stroking his forehead. 'Did that work?' I asked myself as I watched him mull over the words I said to him.
"I see…" he began as he opened his eyes. "So, you're a friend of Aisha's huh?" I nodded my head yes in response. "Well, I am glad to hear that she's doing well after her event… but I'm going to say the same thing to you that I told her. Do not get involved with me… it's for your own good."
"For our own good?" I asked him. "Is it really so bad for any of us to be associated with you?" "Yes, yes, it is bad…" he responded as I watched him look up at the night sky. "The world I live in... is way different than yours… The work that I do… is too dangerous for civilians to be a part of."
"So, what?" I retorted. "It can't be any more dangerous than the wild monsters outside of town, right? Besides… we do take combat classes, even Aisha-"
"And how well did those combat classes fair you today hmm?" he interjected.
"Umm…Well…" I stammered, at a loss for words to retort his claim.
"Exactly…" he continued "If I hadn't come along, both of you would be dead…and that's the reality of the situation. I deal with things and villains a lot more fearsome than these jokers. Fiends who wouldn't think twice about taking your life… I couldn't deal with it if someone got hurt again because of me…" I furrowed my brow as I processed the weight of his words. I didn't want to admit it, but he was right about the reality of the situation.
'So…someone he knew got hurt because of him huh?' I thought to myself as he unwittingly opened to me. 'It was painfully obvious that our strength alone would not have been enough to save our lives tonight… and if he goes up against things that are even stronger than these guys… I can see how civilians wouldn't be a match for them and only wind up getting caught in the crossfire. He must have made a mistake in his past he doesn't want to make again. So that's why he pushed her away that night…'
"May I ask what it is that you do Mr. Mask?" I asked in my sincerest of tones and I looked him in his eyes.
"I can't tell you that… its classified." He responded gruffly.
"Hmph." I pouted at his answer. "Would it really be so bad to see Aisha again just one last time?"
"Didn't I already tell you why that would be a bad idea? The answer is no." he replied as he crossed his hands across his chest.
"Fine, fine... I get it. But it's a shame really…" I said as I gently combed Raven's hair in my lap. "What's a shame?" he asked, clearly his interest peaked by my vague statement. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean..." I started as I drew out the pronunciation of the word. "I get that you want to protect her from harm by keeping away from her, but in actuality… doing just that will cause her to chase after you." I said with a smile. "She can be quite stubborn when she sets her mind on something. No doubt she will begin to search for you wherever she can… and going by the nature of your work, that would be quite hazardous dontcha think?" I said coyly. I didn't have to look as I could already feel the daggers of animosity shooting out figuratively from Crimson's eyes as he glared at me.
"WHOOP WHOOP!" went the sirens of the cop cars in the distance as me and Crimson both turned towards the sound. "That's my queue…" he said as he flicked a rune into the air and hopped on top of it like a platform.
"So, will you visit my friend Aisha so that she can properly thank you?" I yelled up to him.
"Grrr…I'll think about it alright?" he grumbled as he hopped onto another rune platform he created. "And if you agree to do so? How will you find her?" I asked him.
"I have my ways…" he replied coolly.
"Ah, so you'll be keeping an eye on her huh?~ I didn't know you were that kind of guy stalker-kun~." I giggled as I watched him pout and hop off. "Y-you two stay out of trouble!" he shouted as he hopped onto the rooftop and disappeared from my sight as the sirens and flashing lights grew closer. I gently hugged Raven's body closer to me as I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, releasing all the built-up stress that I'd accumulated during the ordeal. 'Well…with all things considered, I think this will be the best gift of all… I'll be rooting for you Aisha-chan.~'
End of chapter~
Digi: Hi Everyone, I had planned to make this chapter even long as I had wanted to add more things into it to progress the story along but as you can see the chapter was long enough lol. I guess I'll work on the next chapter now. Hope everyone is enjoying the story far. Take care~