The Crimson Mask

by DigiDawg2

Ever since pursuing the path of a dark mage, Ashia's life at Elder Academy was, for lack of a better word, lonely. So when one her few friends invites her to a blind date, she jumps at the chance to end some of her loneliness. When things go horribly wrong, a boy with red hair and a red mask comes to her aid. Unbeknownst to her this meeting will snowball into something much more.

15. Chapter 15: Too Much to Drink

Chapter 15: John Doe had too much to Drink

Earlier that day:

I had arrived on the scene of the crime where Aisha was held captive last week. The SWAT team that was dispatched before was already combing the grounds for any traces of magic and or evidence to identify our mystery vigilante. Although this vigilante isn't really a mystery or rather my idiot little brother. As I hopped out of my car and locked it up, I caught the attention of one of the swat team members police calling the grounds outside of the warehouse. This member must have been a lower enlisted man because as soon as he saw me, he stood up straight as an arrow and saluted me. "Group! Atten-tion!" he shouted as everyone one else around stopped what they were doing to stand at attention and salute me. I let out a silent sigh as responded to their courtesy and saluted them back. "At Ease!" I commanded as everyone stopped saluting when I dropped my hand down. I honestly couldn't stand it when everyone dropped what they were doing when I walked onto a scene, but what could I do? Customs were customs… they were here long before me and they'll be here long after I'm gone. "So Private, who's in charge around here?" I asked him. I giggled internally as I watched him quake in his boots as he tried to recollect a name. "Ah- um yes ma'am. That would be sergeant Sota ma'am." "Right… take me to him then." I commanded as he nodded and did a 180 into the warehouse. As I followed the young private, I looked around at the handiwork that Elsword had caused.

'Okay…' I thought to myself as I surveyed the area. I looked up to see the busted window in the ceiling. 'This looks like the entrance you used…' I looked down on the ground where a chunk of the glass had landed from the ceiling to find a large gash in the ground. 'And this is probably where your luna blade entrance landed… but other than that…' I looked around my surroundings again as the SWAT team and forensics team was busy searching for clues. 'This place looks pretty clean to me aside from that gash on the floor. That Lowe I swear, he's such a worry wort.'

"Ah, Captain Elesis. We were expecting you." A tall man called out to me, waking me up out of my thoughts. "Ah, you must be Sergeant Sota." I said as I greeted him and shook his hand. "Tell me, how goes the investigation here? Found anything new since the last time you and your team surveyed the area?" I watched as the sergeant's face turning into disgruntled frown. "No ma'am, nothing new to report since we swept the area last week." "Yeah…" I responded as I cupped my elbow and cupped my chin with my hand. "To be honest I wasn't expecting you all to find anything out here today anyways."

"I second that idea ma'am" he began. "So, if there really isn't anything here then…why are we here?" "Believe me sergeant, I wish I knew… but I do have an idea-" I was cut off when one of his troops came running up towards us. "Sergeant! Sergeant!" he called out in a panic. "At ease private!" Sergeant Sota commanded as he gestured his hands in a calming motion. "What's wrong?" "W-We found something sergeant! Down by the river bank behind the warehouse!" "What's down by the river bank private?" I interjected. "A cadaver ma'am." "Oh Shit!" I cursed out loud as I forgot my composure. "Quickly, lead the way!"

"Right ma'am!" the private saluted before running off as me and the sergeant followed in tow.

As we approached the riverbank, I was startled at what I found. "Oh my El…" the sergeant began as he approached the sight. "You took the words right out of my mouth…" I said as I witnessed the horrible sight of what used to be a young man, only shriveled up like a mummy. "Quickly private! Run and fetch the forensics team ASAP!" I shouted. "Yes ma'am!" he exclaimed as he took off behind us. I turned back to the horrible sight of the cadaver. 'Rest easy now… we're going to figure out what happened to you…' I said to myself as I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my partner. "Lowe..."

"Ma- I mean Elesis?" he stammered. "What's up? How's everything at the crime scene?

"We found something…" I responded grimly. "And you're not going to like it…"

---

I stretched my arms above my head as I waited for the elevator to make it down to the ground level. 'Some night…' I thought to myself as I let out a long yawn. 'Just who were those jokers tonight anyways?' As I questioned myself, the elevator gave a little *ding* as the doors opened. I hopped in and pressed the button to the seventh floor where me and my sister resided. 'Those guys were too bold…' I continued mentally as I walked in auto pilot to my apartment. I just couldn't get over the fact that these delusional guys were out on the street. 'And the way they were carrying on about heathens and blasphemy… is kind of like that holy order guild that was disbanded some time ago…' I reached the door to my apartment and put the key in the door. 'Well, hopefully sis is home early today, and we can talk about this some more… hope she made dinner, I'm famished.' I thought to myself as I pushed the door open and walked inside.

"I'm home." I announced as I took off my sneakers and left them on the door. I looked down to see a pair of black heels by the door as I stepped into my slippers. 'I guess she is home...' I said as I made my way to the living room, blissfully unaware of what awaited me. If we weren't related, I might have been turned on into the sight I walked into as I turned the corner into the living room. "Oh, hey there boyo~" she greeted me lazily as she laid on her back in the couch; her stockinged feet waving playfully as they hung off the arm rest. Her black dress pants open at the hip, open enough to see her panties through her pantyhose, was halfway off her butt. The top half of her body didn't fare any better as her white blouse and tie were undone and nearly unbuttoned; her black lace bra poking out from the unbuttoned shirt was only still in the shirt due to one stubborn button, holding on to dear life in an attempt to save any decency she had left. "Hello Sis…" I responded as a bead of sweat rolled down my cheek. "You seem…relaxed…" I looked on the table to find the culprit of this show I was witnessing, two empty angry orchard bottles and the rest of the six-pack laid on the table. 'Ah… it all makes sense now…' I said mentally as I let out a sigh. If my sister had any weaknesses, it would be that she loved apple flavored beer. This… normally wouldn't be a problem, except that she was a featherweight, much like myself, and about 2 or so beers would leave her extra tipsy.

"Rough day sis?" I asked as I grounded my bookbag. "Not necessarily…" she responded. "But it was long...and I could use a hug…" I watched as she outstretched her arms and motioned me to come closer; her face flushed with a red blush. "Aaah…I probably shouldn't…" I waved my hands in protest.

'Yup…she's tipsy.' "Mou…" she pouted, still lying on her backside. "Huggie now!~"

"S-shouldn't you have a boyfriend do that with… you know… the way that you're dressed now?" I stammered in retaliation. I don't think she realized that she was partially undressed at the moment. I realized I had stepped on a land mine as I felt the temperature of the apartment suddenly spike. "Elsword… HUG! NOW!" she shouted at me, her arms still outstretched. "C-coming!" I stammered as I knelt down and into her arms. She wasted no time as her arms wrapped around my back and pulled me in closer, my face pressing up against her neck as she nuzzled her face in my hair. "Mmmm~" she cooed as she caressed my back softly. "See? Isn't that much better?"

I struggled to stay sane as the scent of her perfume invaded my nose, intoxicating my mind. That paired with the softness of her chest squishing themselves into mines was deadly combo; not to mention her hands gently caressing my back, lulling my body into a euphoric state of comfort. 'Its times like this that I almost wish we weren't related…' I thought to myself as my brain fought to muster what little will power I had left before turning to mush from her affectionate assault. "E-Elesis…" I said weakly. I was nearing my mental limit as a man. "Yes~" she answered, blissfully unaware of her actions as she was enjoying herself too much. "I love you and all…but before I do something I regret… could you please, stop teasing me?" There was a slight pause in the room as it seemed that my plea got through to her. Unfortunately, my pleas fell on deaf ears as I felt her make her way to my ear literally. "You say that but you're pretty excited yourself.~" she said seductively as I felt her pull me closer onto the couch, toppling me on top of her. "Oh~ Are you sure you're not teasing me as well boyo~?" she said soft bewitching tone, the heat from her breath was on my ear…right up until the latched on and nibbled it tenderly. My mind went blank as my eye turned into two blank white circles as my face turned about as red as my hair.

Gyeeet yer sexy ass off-a-me!" I shouted as I used the last bit of will power left in a tiny corner of my mind to shoot up out from her grasp, nearly toppling her, couch and all backwards. My eyebrows furrowed; my eyes still blank as my face was still bright red. I didn't even notice that I had my hands up in the air as I was taking in deep breathes in an attempt to calm the guy downstairs down… only it wasn't happening as he was still at attention.

"Mooou… you're no fun." She pouted.

"Be quiet and sit up damn it!" I shouted. "Party pooper…" she grumbled as she eventually sat upright in the couch. The guy downstairs was still trying to take control of my mind, so I grabbed one of the cold beers on the table and sat down next to her; resting the cold drink on my crotch in a feeble attempt to get him to chill out. Elesis reached over and gabbed another beer as she opened it and took a big swig to the head before resting it down on the arm rest, a big satisfied smile across her face told me that she enjoyed it. "So…" she began as she closed her eyes and leaned back into the couch. "I'm guessing you got lucky today and some girl satisfied you hmm? I guess that's why my advances didn't work today." "Your advances don't work any day." I retorted, a small vein throbbing on my forehead as my eyebrow twitched. Even though I say that, I'd be lying if I didn't say that they never had any effect. I grumbled at that fact as I unwittingly glanced at her chest before taking a swig of my beer. "And no, I didn't get lucky today." I grumbled.

"So then why are you so late today?" she asked coyly. "It is nine pm… School was over at least six hours ago. Why else would you be so late and be able to resist my charms if you didn't get lucky tonight?" "Are you sure you sure you only had two drinks tonight?" I replied as I gave her a long conflicted "What the flying fuck" stare; my face still bright red from the whole situation. "The only thing I got today was into a fight trying to rescue two people from some whack jobs on the way home." I began as I finished off my first beer. A serious face popped up on my sister's face as she heard the news. "A fight?" she asked, concern lacing her tone of voice. "Are you alright?" "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." I said with a smile. A blush returned to my face as I watched her bring her hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. It was truly a beautiful sight that would have drove any other man in the room wild. I chuckled internally at the thought before shaking it out of my mind. "But why so worried though?" I asked her. "You of all people should know I'm pretty capable." "I know…" she replied; I watched in intrigue as she uncharacteristically furrowed her brow and gripped her forearm. "I know you're a good fighter… but I'm still allowed to worry about you, aren't I?" I watched as she closed her eyes and gave me a smile, a smile I could easily tell was fake. "I guess you can…" I replied as I scratched my cheek, deciding to give in and let her have her way.

"So, why exactly did you get into a fight tonight?" she asked again. "Well…" I began as I finished the rest of my first beer and opened another one. "I was riding the bus on the way home when I saw an elf girl and a boy with a nasod arm running from a group of thugs wearing trench coats." "An Elf girl?" she asked, suddenly snapping into attention.

"Yes, I believe she was one of Aisha's friends… I think her name was Rena." I said as I recollected my memory of the evening. Easier said than done at the time given it was already getting buzzed from the beer. "Yes, I remember her from when I first interviewed Aisha after you rescued her as the Crimson Mask." "Oh yeah?" I asked. "Well It was a good thing I decided to hop off the bus and tail them then. When I finally caught up to them, I had gotten there just in time to prevent them from killing the boy and doing something sinister to Rena."

"Wow." smiled Elesis as she reached over and playfully ruffled the top of my head. "Good job boyo. That's my little brother." I chuckled as a blush washed over my face. "Thanks sis. I had called the cops before I beat those guys up so you should be getting some news of this in the morning." "I'm pretty sure I will be." She said as she nodded her head yes. "So, did you wear your little disguise of yours Crimson~?"

"Yes…" I replied, a hint of annoyance in my voice. "Good job." She said as she nodded again. "You know how important it is to keep our covers out here in the field. Speaking of field, how badly did you beat up these guys anyways? Was there collateral damage this time?" I closed my eyes and smiled at her as a small sweat bead dripped down my cheek. "Umm... they'll live?" I laughed weakly. "Just an explosion and a few burns for them…" I trailed off as I saw my sister's frown intensify as the temperature began to raise in the room. "They're fine! They're fine! Calm down will ya?!" I exclaimed. "Besides the only damage I can think of is a few singed trash cans and it wasn't even from me… those guys…were weird." The room temperature went back to normal after my last statement. "Weird…how?" she inquired as she raised her right eyebrow higher than the other. "Well…" I began as I gulped down some more beer. "They were carrying on about heresy and blasphemy the whole time… Apparently, they were going to punish the two for being friends with a dark mage. The only person that could even be related to that would be Aisha. And with that display from this morning-"

"Wait. This morning?" interjected Elesis. "What happened this morning?" "Well, I was walking down the hallway after you had dropped me off to school…" I began as I took another swig of beer. "I ended up walking right into a mob of students, hyping up what would've been a fight had I not stepped in. In the center of this mob was Ronan, who was bullying Aisha and egging on the mob and riling them up to join his cause." I looked up to see my sister hard in thought as she closed her eyes and tapped her index finger on her forehead. "Ronan… Ronan… why does that name sound familiar?" "You forgot sis?" I asked in a perplexed tone. "That was the kid you ended up kicking in the balls before you left on your deployment all those years ago?" "Oooh!" she lit up as her memory returned to her. "You mean that douche bag who was bullying you?" "Yes, the very same…" I confirmed for her. "He's also still very much a douche bag, though it seems these days he's more into tormenting Aisha, ironically spouting similar nonsense like those three thugs I beat up tonight." I stretched my arms out across the top of the couch as I looked up at the ceiling, bobbing my head side to side as the apple beer was lulling me into a state of relaxation.

"Tormenting Aisha?" queried Elesis as she sipped some more beer. "How so?" "Well, just going off observation…" I said as I twirled my index finger in the air. "He accused her of wooing me under a spell like the others, so I can only deduce that he was referring to Rena and her other friend-" "Eve." Replied Elesis as she interjected. "That was the name of the other girl who came to visit Aisha in the hospital yesterday… He must have been talking about Rena and Eve then, since with all that you said so far, I doubt she has many friends." In all honesty I don't think that I had met all of Aisha's friends but thanks to my sister's explanation, seems like I can count all her friends on one hand. "Anyways…I don't think this was a simple matter of prejudice against dark mages. Ronan was seriously out for blood this afternoon." I grimaced as I remembered the fight. "Had I not been there, he might have found a way to actually kill her in that sparring arena." "Really? I thought the sparring arenas in the schools were made to train students to fight without fear of serious injuries or dismemberment?" she asked curiously. "Yes, it's supposed to." I affirmed. "But he was ruthless… even though I managed to save her and defeat him, no thanks to your stupid nerf ring; we didn't come out unscathed and succumbed to our wounds and passed out… we awoke later to find ourselves in the nurse's office after hours."

"So, I was right." Snickered Elesis as she brought her hand to cover her mouth. "Right about what?" I asked as I glared back at her. "You were late because you out getting lucky with Aisha this afternoon~."

"YAAAAH!, NO I WASN'T!" I shrieked as my eyes were replaced with two blank circles as my face got as red as a cherry again. "Then why were you late~?" she giggled coyly. "Because I was knocked out and recovering from that fight thanks to your stupid nerf ring!" All I got was hysterical laughter in response as my probably drunk sister held her sides and laughed away at my anguish. 'Must be nice to be so free spirited…' I grumbled internally as I let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling again. "Seriously though Elesis…" I began again. I suspect that I got through to her since her laughter had died down. "Both of these incidents have the same thing in common… a disdain for dark mages and a talk about heresy… it all sounds similar to that Holy Order guild you told me about, doesn't it sis?" "Sickeningly so boyo…" she grimaced at the thought. "That is some good intel there Elsword…" She replied solemnly. I glanced over at her to see her gripping the bottle tightly as she wore a disturbed look on her face. I let out a sigh as I looked up at the ceiling.

"So, you gonna come clean and tell me what's going on sis?"

"Come clean?" she tried to ask in a confused tone, but I wasn't going to buy it. "Don't play dumb…" I replied. I knew her way too long to know when something was troubling her, and something was definitely troubling her. "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong." She replied with a pout. "Don't give me that." I said as I furrowed my brow. "I come home after a long day and what do I find? You…half drunk… sprawled out on the couch… falling out of your clothes… and to top it all off, trying to seduce me."

"Hue hue, is it working?~" she asked me with a mischievous grin. "N -No!" I shrieked in protest as I tried to wolf down the last of my beer, nearly chocking in the process. "Aww, you're no fun…" she commented as she slowly laid down on her side and rested her head on my lap. "E-E-Elesis!? W-What are you d-doing?" I nervously stammered out; my face a full-on bright red again. "Just… let me have this… please Elsword?" she asked in a troubled yet sincere tone. 'Sis…' I said internally; her plea calming me down enough to mull over everything that has happened this night. "Alight…" I said as I let out a gentle sigh, petting and combing through her hair gently. "You win." I heard a light chuckle as I felt her snuggle up on my lap and get comfortable. "And here I'm supposed to be the older sibling…Shouldn't I be the one taking care of you?" "It doesn't matter…" I said as I continued to rub her head comfortingly. "We all need to be taken care of sometimes, even you… So why don't you tell me what's wrong? What happened today to spur this on?"

I heard her let out a sigh as she reached over to the table to pick up her cell phone. "Well, today, I was ordered to revisit the crime scene of where Aisha was being held captive over the weekend. My boss wanted me to search for any remaining clues and or particles of mana from you that might still be there at the site." "Mana particles… from me?" I asked in a confused tone. "Well the vigilante… in this case you Elsword." She replied. "Though I honestly didn't think we would find anything there anyways. I suspect it was just a wild goose chase because I gave him some flack about some nonsense he pulled with those thugs you hospitalized during your rescue mission. I was supposed to pick up the thugs from the hospital this morning and I get there to find out that he transferred them to some special in-house hospital at a different jail overnight." "Well that's very odd…" I said in a perplexed tone. "Very odd…and suspicious." "That's what I said too boyo." She replied as she re-adjusted herself on my lap. "And when I grilled the commander about it, he assigned me to re-scour the crime scene."

"I see…" I began as I continued to pet her head. "So, I can get that you'd be annoyed by that but what else happened? That can't be what's troubling you like this." I felt my sister's body tense up as flipped through her photos of her phone. "You're right Elsword, being assigned to re-examine a clean crime scene isn't what's bothering me…" she said as she stopped on a photo and handed me her phone. "This is…"

"Just what is this you got here-" I stopped mid-sentence as the picture registered in my brain; my heart beginning to beat harder as an unpleasant memory began to resurface. "This…this looks like…" "Yes… I know right?" she replied as she gripped her hand into a fist and held it against her chest. "It looks just like the corpses from that mission in magmanta's cave a few years ago…" No sooner than I said that, the world around me faded away as I droned out into the inner recesses of my mind. As I sat there, dead to the world, an image of a beautiful woman slowly began to appear. She wore long white robes that came down to her waist; orange trimmings ordained the edges. Long black hair cascaded down her back as it came to a point into an orange bead down by her waist. A white hair pin in shape of a fox, tied two braids of hair together with small white and orange-tipped cloth, much like her robes. Almost ethereal, she stood still looking out into the darkness. In her hand, she held a long, orange spear; beautifully decorated as it came down to a red pointed blade and a golden colored halberd on the side. Unconsciously, I reached out my hand towards her. As if I had triggered some sort of security system, an antenna of her hair stood upright, warning her of my presence it seems because immediately afterwards she turned around to face me; her hand resting into a gentle fist on her breast. A mixture of confusion and innocence turned to face me as golden orange irises gazed back at me. She stood there agape as she we locked eyes for what seemed like forever before her mouth closed softly into a loving smile; her cheeks filling with a rosy blush that was slowly creeping across her face. At that point, all I could feel was my heartbeat thumping in my chest as I was lost in the woman's beauty.

---

"Elsword…Elsword?" I asked as I looked up at him. 'The lights are on… but nobody's home…' I said to myself as I got off his lap and studied him. He wore a solemn expression as he stared a hole into my phone; his eyes seemed to be fixated on something far, far away like a deer staring down some headlights. I let out a sigh as I place my hand on his shoulder. "Hey boyo… time to wake up okay?" I said as I shook him gently. He gasped and looked at me with a troubled and confused look. I returned the gesture with a compassionate look and smiled at him. "It's okay Elsword… I had the same relapse too when I saw the body… I know you were thinking about back then." I watched as Elsword grimaced at the sound of my statement. "Yes… I was." He replied somberly before letting out a long sigh. "So… what's the story with guy?" "Right…" I replied as I took back my phone from him. "He's currently at the morgue getting the autopsy done but I had someone slip me some details before they got down to the in-depth investigation. They managed to find out that this person died of an extreme loss of mana and there was also traces of dark el in his mana circuits." "An extreme loss of mana did this-" he stated as my phone began to buzz. "One sec." I said as I opened the phone to find a long list text messages from Lowe. I furrowed my brow as I scanned through the text messages he sent me.

"What's wrong sis?" Elsword asked. "Well, Lowe just got some news about our friend here at the morgue." I said as I looked up at him. "His name was Vincent Spire, and he was on the missing persons case I was working on when I got assigned here… well…not missing anymore now. Now the traces of dark el make sense now because Vincent's job class was a dark mage." "Well… what's that got to do with him being missing…and now dead?" he asked. I crossed my arms and laid back into the couch as I looked up at the ceiling. "Well little brother, not much…" I began. "But him being a dark mage would explain why no one here has had any real motivation into finding this man in the first place. He was reported missing three weeks ago by his girlfriend and now…" I let out a sigh as I looked back down at my beer. "This is going to suck…" I reached over and opened another bottle before taking it to head. "You're not done drinking yet?" I heard him scold me. I ignored him as I finished off the last of the bottle and placing it on the table in front of me, letting out a sigh of relief before resting back into the couch. "Well…"

"…Well what?" he asked, after some silence had past.

"It looks like my hunch was right after all.~?"

"What hunch?" he asked in a confused tone.

"The hunch about changing your assignment to guard that girl Aisha."

"Wait what?" he exclaimed. "How were right about that? Its barely been four days."

"And yet, in those four days, all of these events have happened?" I said as I winked at him.

"Events?" he asked me again in a confused tone. "I don't understand sis."

"Now don't be a block head boyo." I replied to him. "Your rescue mission, that fight in the hallway, that fight in the gym's sparring arena? Hell, even that rescue mission you just pulled now, all had something to do with her… I'm telling ya, something strange is going on around here and its revolving around her." I leaned back in the couch as I watched my claims roll around figuratively in his head as he was trying to process their validity. It's not as if my claims were without merit either. Try as he might, my brother couldn't deny that my claims had some truth to them. I watched as he laid back into the couch, crossing his arms and letting out a sigh and closing his eyes, conceding defeat. "All right then… you do have a point that a lot of things have been happening, and strangely enough, all revolving around her… but what's your point?" "My point is that you should increase your protection efforts for her." I said as I waved my finger in the air. "With all do respect is, its only been one day…" he began as gave me a glazed look. "Anymore more efforts to beef up security around the ruse of protecting her, would just come off as creepy and would most likely have the opposite result…and probably a restraining order… she is a little tsundere from what I saw…"

"Well, to be honest, so are you.~" I said followed by a chuckle, much to his dismay as he frowned and pouted. 'But he's not wrong though…' I thought to myself as I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, resting my chin on my chest. 'I would be pretty creeped out someone I just met was obsessively trying to be my guard dog and trying to protect me, especially if I never asked for it… the only way that would fly is…! "That's it!" I exclaimed as I raised my index finger in the air.

"What's it sis?" he asked in a confused tone. "What are you talking about?"

"Aisha… do you think she's pretty?"

"W-what?!" he yelped as he bounced backwards in his seat, his face flushed. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Well? I reiterated back to him. "Do you think she's pretty?" I chuckled internally as I watched my little brother pout and turn his head to the side in an attempt to hide his blushing face. "Well…yeah…I do think she's pretty…" he replied. "But I thought we already established this fact… Why are you asking me this again?"

"Well I think I have the perfect solution to this predicament?" I said with a smile.

"Which is?" he responded with glazed eyes.

"To date her and make her your girlfriend!~" I responded with a smirk.

"Come again?" he asked in bewilderment.

"I said to date her and make her your girlfriend." I reinstated. "If you end up dating her, then you will be able to spend more time with her without it being creepy or awkward. You see, it's the perfect plan. You get to complete your mission and you also get to have some fun. More fun than me I can say. You're gonna get to have your cake and eat it too." Sadly, I was too wrapped up in my own ideas as I hadn't noticed how Elsword was reacting to this suggestion.

"You can't be serious about this sis?" he asked in a somber tone.

"Come again?" I asked in bewilderment. "Of course, I was serious about it. It's a good idea, no?"

"You know sis… I'm all for fun and games but fooling around like this… is something a wont stand for?"

"What the? What are you talking about Elsword?" I asked in confusion. "What fun and games? I don't understand why you're getting so bent out of shape over this." With those words I had stepped on a land mine as my brother's face twisted into a ferocious glare.

"Don't understand?!" he shouted "Did you forget why you were here moping on the couch this evening?! Did you forget why we don't get close to anyone like that!? Did you forget about that day in Hamel?! "How can you even ask me something as foolish as this knowing what we've been through, huh!?" As he yelled, I could feel the temperature around him begin to rise, though at the moment, my temper was also beginning to rise as his outbursts also struck a nerve of mines as well.

"You think I don't remember that day Elsword!?" I yelled back in retaliation. "Well I do damn it! I live with that pain, every single day, just like you do… But if I dwell on that pain, then how the hell would I be able to live, huh?! You can't live that way!"

"Live?!" He retaliated again, this time rising to his feet, his fists clenched and trembling with rage. "Did you forget who we lost that day!?"

"Of course not!?" I shouted back, my flames fully flaring at this point, my fists clenched as I stood to face him. "I could never forget! But…at that same token… he… wouldn't want me to live this way… wallowing in sorrow and hate…" As these words left my mouth, I could feel a tear stream down my face. 'Oh no… don't you dare…' I scolded myself internally, but it was too late. Like the first drop of rain in a down pour, the rest of my tears began to pour out uncontrollably.

"Elesis…" I heard him call out in a remorseful tone. "I-It's alright!" I replied as I shook my head no. "But Elsword…" I began as I wiped the tears from my face. "I know how much you two loved each other…It was the same for me and him… but don't you think she would be sad to see you as you are now, living in the past? Afraid to move forward?" Elsword grimaced at the sound of my questions as his fist trembled slightly. "She wouldn't want you to live this way Elsword… She would be happy to know that she's still in your thoughts… but she would also be happy if you moved on in your life and found someone else who makes you happy." I rested my closed fist onto my chest as I flashed him a sincere smile. "That also goes for me as well. We can't just keep crying over spilt milk. And that's why I suggested that you give dating Aisha a try. I didn't mean any disrespect or trying to sweep our past lovers under a rug with this. I just thought this would be a good way to kill two birds with one stone… you know? I'm sorry if I was out of line back there Elsword." With my apology, I stepped forward, pulling him into my arms for a hug, which he surrendered peacefully into. "I'm sorry too sis…" he replied, his face resting above my chest as I rubbed his back lovingly.

"But sis…" he asked timidly. "Isn't this just like before? What if the same thing happens again… and I lose her too…" I chuckled lightly as I ran my hand softly through his hair. 'Still blaming yourself for her death huh Elsword? When are you going to realize that none of that tragedy was your fault?' "And what makes you think that the same tragedy that happened to us before would befall us again huh?"

"Because… we're Red Knight's sis…" he responded somberly. "Our world is too dangerous for civilians…If she were to get involved with us, then I'd have no doubt that our work would end up dragging her into that world."

I smiled weakly as my eyes narrowed off into the distance as I reflected on my brother's reasoning. 'Well he's definitely not wrong in his reasoning there… Even though we made it through the ten years of darkness, that doesn't mean that there weren't more demons left to fight against. Even though we got rid of the remnants from the invasion, they persist on breaking their way into Elrios. Even till this day, some still manage to make it through to our side… The ones that do, are on a different level than the army of grunts we fought against before. These demons were much craftier and much more sinister in their movements and intentions. I wish Elsword didn't have to face them… but unfortunately, we weren't so lucky and had to face them, right during his training of all times. Right when he was the most vulnerable. We, both, were vulnerable…And we both were defeated by them that day… the day we lost Aren and Ara... But…' I pulled Elsword out of my hug as I placed my hands on his shoulders and stared him in the eyes ferociously.

"So, are you saying that just because we're Red Knights, that we aren't allowed to be happy as well?"

"W-What?! No! No, I never meant it like that." He stammered as he waived his hands in opposition to that claim. I chuckled at the sight as I softened my fierce glare into a soft smile. "I know boya… I know that our work can be a dangerous one a times. But, regardless of that fact, are we not people too at the end of the day?" I watched as he lowered his head as he reluctantly agreed with this fact. "I know that our work can be dangerous at times, and if we aren't vigilant, not only we but our loved ones could lose their lives. But…that still isn't reason enough to alienate yourself from others and sacrifice your chance to be happy. Hell, even that worry wart Lowe has a special lady back in Velder…"

"Wait, he does?" Elsword asked in disbelief, momentarily breaking out of his melancholy.

"Yeah he does." I responded with frown. "An Elemental mage by the name of Noelle. They've been together for about nine months now. Surprisingly the deployments have only made their bond stronger, especially since he spends most of his free time video chatting with her."

"I…I see…" responded Elsword as I could see the gears turning in his head as he meditated on this recently discovered fact. "So little brother…" I said as I began anew. "If you're so worried about Aisha getting hurt if you get involved with her… then why don't you become stronger so that you can protect her from whomever or whatever threatens her?" A blush flashed across his face for a second before he looked down at his side. "You…really think I can become stronger?" I squeezed his shoulder firmly as I gave him a fiery smile. "Of course, I do! You are my brother after all. But it's as you've said, it's only been one day. The world wasn't built in a day and neither is love."

"W-Who said anything about falling in love…" he grumbled, still looking down at his side.

"We shall see." I said with a wink. "Anyways, don't let fear be the thing to ruin a second chance at love boya. You never know when you're going to get another chance. Life usually isn't this nice. "

"Hmmph, I didn't say I agreed to go through with this you know…" he pouted as he shook himself free of my hands and turned to head to his room. "Hmm, where are you going Elsword?" I called out to him. "You haven't had dinner yet have you? There's some pizza on the stove."

"I'm not hungry right now" he replied still walking to his room.

*GRRRRRRRRGLE*

We both paused as we the monster in his stomach growled loud enough for both of us to hear. "Are you sure you're not hungry Elsword? That growl sure says otherwise…" I asked, breaking the silence. "Yeah… I'm sure sis." He replied. "I'm just suddenly feeling very sleepy all of a sudden, so I'm going to hit the hay." "Well if you say so…" I responded as I shrugged my shoulders. "I'll go put up this pizza then, have a good night Elsword"

"Yeah sis, you too." He said as entered his room and closed the door behind him. I let out a sigh as I walked down to the kitchen and picked up the pizza box from the stove. I opened the fridge door and slid the box in before closing it and heading back to the living room. "There's still one left huh?" I said to myself as I picked up the remaining beer from the table and sat down on the couch. "All that arguing has burned up my buzz…time to fix that." I said as I opened it and drank down half of it. I let out a sigh of satisfaction as I looked at my phone. "Oh yeah…" I said as softly before I unlocked it and scrolled to Elsword's number opened a text message.

'By the way boya, thanks again for tonight, I really needed that. Sorry again about that little argument.'

*BING*

'It's alright sis, it's my fault for lashing out anyways. Don't worry about it.'

'Alright then boya, sleep tight. I love you.'

*BING*

'I love you too sis, good night. ^_^'

I closed the messenger app as I rested my head back on the couch, releasing a fatigued sigh. 'I hope you do decide to take advantage of this opportunity Elsword. She really is a sweet girl… she might even be able to repair your heart… if you give her a chance.' I finished the remainder of my beer before letting out a long, tired yawn. "I'd better head to bed…I do have some bad news to give out tomorrow." I shook my head from left to right at the thought as I got off the couch and headed to bed for the night.

-End of chapter

Hi everyone, I wanted to get this out for valentine's day… hell, I wanted to have a more romantic chapter out for valentine's day, but work saw to it not happening that way. So, I figured some sibling fluff would be okay, though I wasn't expecting it to end up into that little drama at the end. I hope everyone is enjoying them selves with the story so far and I look forward to creating the next chapter soon. Till next time,

Take care everyone.

-Digi