-5 Months Later-
(SHIRO'S POV)
"KYAH!" I let out a loud shout as I jumped up and threw a midair roundhouse kick to her face. She ducked under it and responded with a quick jab to my cheek. I recovered and faked a jab to her face then threw a cross to her abdomen.
"Not bad." She said. She stepped forward and threw a cross at me. I blocked it but ended taking a kind to the ribs. I grinned at her and sprinted forward. She swung her left fist at me. I ducked under the hit and tackled her to the ground. I pinned her arms above her head and smirked.
"I guess I won this one Gabs. You know what that means." I said before moving my face towards her. I would've kissed her too if she didn't knee me in the freaking nuts. I rolled off of her and held my tender parts. "Shit shit shit! I think I'm about to cough up my balls!"
"Oh would you relax. I barely hit you." She said with a grin.
"You just obliterated whatever kids we were gonna have!" I said with a tear falling down my face.
"What?! You're an idiot." She said as she helped me to my feet.
"Where's Eliza and Tatsu?" I asked.
"They're still sparring." She said.
"Still?! No way. They've been going at it for like three hours now."
We look towards the sky and sure enough, both of the were engaged in close quarters combat. Their attacks were so quick and fluid that you couldn't tell if they were flawed or not. Tatsu was deflecting he strikes and responded with a quick series of rapid kicks. Eliza shrugged them off and punched him straight to the ground. In order to prevent a nasty fall, Tatsu backflipped and landed softly on his feet.
"You're just as good as I remembered." He said.
Eliza landed next to him and chuckled. "Yeah, but something tells me you were holding back."
"Well I do have about ten years of extra experience." He said to her. "Plus I've trained under you before."
"Makes sense." She nodded. "We've been here for quite a while now. You think we should head back?"
"Yeah...I don't see why not." Tatsu said. I sighed knowing that fact that we were done with this.
"Let's get the hell outta here!" I shouted happily.
"Uh...Not you." Eliza said.
"Huh?! Why?" I asked. Eliza looked at the large ten ton rock next to me. "HELL NO! I'm not doing anymore of those back breaking push ups." I said before running off of the side of the mountain.
-At Home-
Tatsu opened the door and watched as I crawled inside. "You only made it harder on yourself by jumping off of a hundred foot mountain."
"Eat shit and die!" I growled at him. "At least I got stronger!" I saw Clyde walking over the a bookshelf and I couldn't wait to talk my shit. "Well...I'm sorry to tell you Clyde, but I'm officially better than you!"
"What are you talking about, you idiot…" Clyde said unamused.
"My level is now 35! Since Gabby's is 40, it looks like you and Izzy got some catching up to do." I said smugly.
His eyebrow twitched for a moment before he shook his head. "...Only 35?"
"What do you mean only 35?!" I asked with annoyance. "Last time we met you were only like level 23!"
"Did you honestly think that I would slack off for five months while you trained it to get stronger?! Don't be such a fool Shiro. I would never let you surpass me." Clyde said before flashing his ID.
My blood ran cold and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "L...level...46..?! THAT IS SUCH BULLSHIT!!!"
"Oh and Isabel is level 42, so…" Clyde added just to spite me.
"Too strong! Need explanation, NOW!" I shouted.
"It's simple Mages and Healers train through knowledge. When we learn more about our techniques and practice them on a regular basis then we can enhance our skills." Clyde said.
I gripped him by his collar and glared. "So you mean to tell me that while I did all of this back-breaking labor just to train my body to peak physical condition, you read books and still got stronger than me How is that even fair?!"
"Get the hell off of my robe you idiot!" Clyde hissed.
I let go of him and held my glare. "There's gotta be a catch for why you got so strong. What are you planning, Yukio?!"
"If you must know, Tatsugami, there is a tournament being held on Fell-Spire Island. Some of the worlds best mages are going to compete." He said. Judging by the tone of his voice, I could tell that he was leaving out certain details.
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" I asked him.
"Well...The tournament is being judged by Xena, Xeno, Xeto and…" Clyde began to trail off.
"...And…" I muttered.
"Dex…" He said.
"Really?! This must be intense if he's coming to judge." I said.
"He's not so much a judge as he is more or less the decider. With him watching...the pressure is definitely gonna be overwhelming." Clyde said.
"This is getting me pumped up!" I said with a grin.
"..." Clyde stayed quiet.
"What do you win?" I asked.
"You win only the most essential item in order to boost one's mana capabilities. The Crystalline Mana Star. Only one forms every year. This tournament decides who shall receive it." He said.
"What does it do?" I asked.
Clyde sighed. "It opens up a new pathway for someone's mana. Spells you couldn't use before will be obtainable. With this, I can further speed up the process of my ultimate goal."
"...So if I got it...I could finally start casting spells?" I asked.
"Theoretically speaking...Yes." He said.
"ALRIGHT! I'm in!" I said with a grin.
"Unfortunately for you, this is a mage's tournament, meaning that if you can't use magic you can't enter." Clyde said.
"Oh I got that covered. A little bit of soul energy should be able to pass as magic." I said.
"So you're going to lie your way into the tournament?" Clyde asked.
"What...It's not lying...It's pretending!" I said.
"If you are caught cheating or using anything other than magic you'll be killed!" Clyde said seriously.
"Ain't nobody gonna find out. I'm a master at deception!" I said. Clyde rolled his eyes and walked off. Vizeron jumped up on my shoulder and grinned. I gave him a confused look. "Why are you so happy?"
"All the new moves that I learned! I feel invincible!" Viz shouted happily.
"We should start using some of those to prank Clyde." I said.
"I could transform into Isabel and mess with him." Viz insisted.
"That is genius! As soon as I win the tournament, I'm well set it all into motion." I said. I saw the future me walking by and decided to stop him. "Yo Tatsu!"
"What do you want kid?" He asked.
"You know you've been training me a lot lately and I just wanted to know if you could teach me some of those cool techniques that you know how to do." I asked.
"I already told him to you. You'll learn my techniques when it's time." He said.
" Aww come on man! Aren't you supposed to be here to change the past? pretty sure teaching me a couple of things early counts as changing." I said.
"I don't know what effect it will have on the future. Worst case scenario, I end up teaching you a ton of this stuff, you still turn evil and then you're pretty much unbeatable. Not really sure if I want to deal with that. Especially when I have to deal with my own Metagenesis."
"There has got to be something you can teach me. I am literally down to learn anything right now. I need something to help me prepare for the tournament." I said.
Look kid, I told already I can't do anything. All of the new stuff you learn and all the cool weapons you get i'll happen after a certain something takes place." He said vaguely.
"...What?! What happens?"
"Can't say because if I do, you'll end up trying to prevent it which will then lead to you not learning a single one of those skills or meeting any of the new allies you'll need in order to stop the Red Man."
"Are you freaking serious right now?" I asked.
"I'm very serious. Now, do you have any other questions that I can't answer?" He asked me with a raised brow.
I sighed. "When do I get to learn my next skill?"
"Not too long from now, I'll tell you that much."
" When is the tournament?" I asked him.
"In three months." He responded.
"Shit! Do I at least learn my next skill in that time frame?!"
"Yep." He nodded.
"Is it cool?" I asked.
"Meh…" He shrugged.
"Damnit!" I grumbled. "This sucks ass!"
"Would you relax. This is why I don't like talking about the future... people get all stressed about it." He groaned.
"Duh, it's the future…" I said.
"You need to chill out and remember that this timeline should be different from mine. Only certain events should remain the same." He told me.
"How so?"
"Well for instance…we end up single in the future." He said. I gasped.
"But how?! I'm me?!" I said.
"Well… that's the burden you have to carry in order to be the strongest. I went to total isolation to obtain the strength that I have all of my powers and all of my tools." He said.
"Aww man you kinda suck now. What happened to you and Gabby?"
"Did you even hear me when I told you my future story? We broke up…" He said.
"No way! Did you at least follow through with the back up plan?!" I asked.
"I never got a chance they all died…" He said.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! How the hell did you not start the harem?!" I asked with disappointment.
"You try dealing with everyone you know dying! It sucks doesn't it?" He snapped.
"Man… your life is horrible. There is no way I'm going to be like you when I'm older. Even if I end up being weaker than you, I'll still at least have my girlfriend...and if that still fails, then it's on toShiro's crew of lovely women!"
"Wow… I can tell this timeline is already completely different. I do not remember being this incompetent when I was younger. You are on a whole nother level kid." He said to me.
"Think of it like this, you're in a whole new world now. All the women that were too old for us before, are now all yours. I see the way you and Eliza are getting close. I bet you LOVE her. I mean, she kicks ass, she sexy as hell with that skin tight leather armor and she's straight up cool as shit. If I was your age, I'd be all up in that!" I said while nudging him.
"I'm telling you I was not this vulgar I was younger. Plus, don't you think that it's little weird that she'd be dating her apprentice's future self?"
"Hell no! Have you seen Xena when she was my age?! Goddamn! I never wanted chocolate more in my life!" I said, thinking about her.
"...Yeah, I think we're done here. You're starting to make me hate myself." He said.
"What?! I'm trying to help you out! You've been dry for years dude. Getting freaky in this timeline won't hurt. I as a resident of this universe give you full permission to bang my mentor." I said.
~SMACK~
"What the hell?!" I asked angrily as I looked at Tatsu.
"You need a filter, man. You are completely out of control." He said.
-3 Hours Later-
"Please…" I begged.
"No." Gabby declined.
"Please…" I asked again.
"No Shiro." She said.
"...Please…"
"If you ask me again, I'm gonna break your fingers." She threatened.
"But why not?" I asked sadly.
"Because that's completely inappropriate!" She said.
"No it's not. Just don't think about it like that. We're just "sleeping" in the same bed together. We're not gonna do anything...unless you wanna-"
"No!" She said and continued polishing her sword.
"Damnit Gabby! I can't keep staying in that stupid room with Clyde. Everytime I wake up on the floor my back is all stiff and room smells like wolf farts!" I said.
"No! What will Izzy think when she comes in here and sees you under my sheets? We have to share a room now because your future self needed a place to stay."
"She can slide under the sheets with us." I said jokingly. Unfortunately Gabby didn't take that as a joke. She threw her sword at me which damn near took my head off.
"Out!" Sbe demanded.
"I was kidding!" Sorta…
"You're not staying in here Shiro!" She yelled.
"But I love you!" I said. This is my trump card. I had no other choice.
"...I don't care! Now get out!" She growled. Gotta love her temper.
"I'll do whatever you want!" I offered.
"I want you to get out of my room!" She said bluntly.
"Ok...Anything other than that."
"Shiro...Get.Out.NOW!" She yelled.
"I can't go another night, sleeping on that damn floor! Viz lays on my face and suffocates me! You are literally sending me to my death!" I said dramatically. I ran up and hugged her torso. "Please! I just need one night of relief. I forgot what a soft bed feels like."
"...You know what...Fine. You can stay the night…" She said in a suggestive tone.
"...Really?" I asked, still not believing that she gave into my wishes.
"But…" She started.
"Oh goddamnit…" I muttered.
"You're going to owe me a favor. I'm not going to use it now...but just know that you owe me." I didn't like how that sounded. I had to weigh my options. Sleep in an actual bed tonight and possibly...cuddle...with Gabby but risk whatever traumatic thing she has me do in the near future that may or may not leave me scarred for life...Or deal with Vizeron's ass yet again…
"Baby, you got yourself a deal!" I said. Screw Vizeron's ass! I refuse to wake up with fur in my mouth. I need this break from that damn room. To be honest, I deserve it! I trained hard these past five months. I deserve a reward. If Tatsu says that Gabby and I split up in the future, than I'm gonna prove him wrong.
"I'm glad we could come to an agreement. She grabbed a spare pillow and an extra sheet.
"What's that for?" I asked confused.
"Well I'm going in your room. You can have my bed for the night while I take the floor in your room." She said with a smirk.
My eyes went wide with panic. "W...what?! No! C'mon Gabby! Your bed is big enough for both of us." I said blocking her path.
"You wanted the bed, so I'm giving you the bed." She said getting annoyed.
"But...I need somebody to keep me warm!" I say. This was no time to give in. I was losing her!!!
"You can always got back to your room…" She said.
I lost it. I broke down on the floor and started screaming. "WHY WON'T YOU SLEEP WITH ME?!?!?" I asked as I held onto her two gorgeous legs.
"Shiro...I'm going to kill you! LET ME GO!!!" She snarled.
"But I need you soft body to keep me company while I sleep!" I shouted hysterically.
"Isabel will be sleeping right next to you on the floor. You want company? Talk to her!" She hissed with rage.
I had to act fast. I knew I was testing her patience. It was only a matter of time before she got physically violent. "Aren't you my girlfriend?! Why you gotta be so cruel to your man like this?!" I asked.
"I'm about to shove my foot up my boyfriend's ass!" She said. I know that she will too. I needed something. I couldn't let her just leave the room being pissed at me.
"...Can you at least tuck me in…" I asked.
"How old are you?!" She asked.
"Young enough to be tucked in, old enough for you to sleep with me…" I said. She glared at me.
"If I tuck you in, will you finally shut the hell up?" She asked.
"I might…" She narrowed her eyes. "Yes ma'am…" I said.
"Fine...Get the hell on the bed!" She demanded.
"Gotta get in to my pjs first." I said before ripping off my shirt and tossing away my pants leaving me in my boxers. I glanced up at Gabby as she looked away. "See something you-"
"If you say another word, I'll break your spine." She said.
I hopped on the soft bed and stared at her smugly as she forcefully threw the sheets on top of me. She started to walk away but I stopped her.
"What about my story?" I asked.
She glared at me. "There was an idiot that went to sleep before his girlfriend ripped him in half. The end." She said plainly. "Happy now?"
"Not really...Can I at least get a goodnight kiss or something?" I asked.
"...No." She said.
"Please…"
"No...And if you say please again you gonna lose your tongue." She said.
"Just a quickie…" I ask. "Just a tiny little peck on the lips…"
"Will you leave me alone?" She asked.
"You have my word." I said to her knowing damn well what I intended to do. She stomped over to me and leaned in to peck my lips. I wasn't having that though. I snaked my behind her back and pulled her into my. I locked my arms around her and grinned. Her scowl almost made me drop the whole act.
"Let me go!" She growled.
"Sorry but I can't do that. If I do, you'll just leave me in the bed all alone and cold. You're so warm and soft. I need you." I said as I kissed her cheek.
"I need you…" She began and without warning, she kneed me in my nuts...again. I let go and let out a pained wimper. She pushed me back down. "...To go the hell to sleep." She pecked my lips and smirked. "Goodnight dumbass." She said as she hopped off of me, grabbed her stuff, and walked out the door leaving me holding myself in pain.
-1 Hour Later-
I was lying awkwardly in the bed struggling the get myself to sleep. I knew Isabel was still up after the last time we legitimately talked was back during that whole Necro Fall arc. Back when she was my waifu.
"..." I didn't say anything.
"..." She didn't say anything.
"So…" I started.
"...Yeah…" She replied, equally as awkward.
I had to cut the tension. Come on Shiro, say something to break the ice.
"Suck any blood recently?" Goddamnit!
"...Not really. My vampiric tendencies aren't really there anymore. I mean, I'm still a vampire at heart but, I'm not out feasting on people." She said.
"Oh...That's interesting…" Damnit Gabby! Why'd you have to leave me all alone!
"Shiro?" She called out to me.
"Yeah? What's up?" I asked.
"Do you miss the other me? I know that you two got pretty close so…" She started trailing off.
"Well she kinda came onto me but if what you're asking is if I want her back than I guess that I could say that I'm over it. She was cool but, I'm kinda used to having the sweet, innocent, NOT READY TO RAPE ME Isabel." I said.
She smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah…"
"Plus, it's not all that bad. I mean, I have Gabby now so I think I'll be ok." I spoke. I then shifted playfully off of the bed and rolled next to her on the floor. "So what's up with you and Clyde?" I asked.
She blushed at my words but ended up smiling. "Clyde has been my friend for years. We've taken care of each other since we were little. He'd always protect me and make me smile. We traveled together a lot before we met our mentors."
"Sounds pretty nice. I usually traveled alone and had to fight off bandits and thieves. I'd get my ass kicked one minute and the pickpocket the same guy seconds later. It was… a bit of a hassle. I can't imagine what my dad went through. He had to rule a kingdom, fight a King of Hell and the put up with my horse shit all together."
"I'm pretty sure he still loved you. Regardless of your mistakes." She said.
"Of course he did. He was always trying to get me to do the right thing… I loved my dad… It just sucks that I didn't get to tell him that." I said.
"What do you mean?"
"The day of the Red Death, dad and I had a bit of an argument. I yelled at him, said some things that I shouldn't have said… all because I couldn't handle the truth." I told her.
"What truth? What did he tell you?" She asked.
"The truth about my mother… and the truth about how I'm not the true heir. My younger sister would've technically been the next in line to rule Hazen Reach because she's the king AND queen's biological kid. My half sister's mom passed away after giving birth. My mom… was just one of my father's mistakes.That's not what pissed me off though. It was the fact that I kept trying to obtain a power that I could never use." I explained.
"And that would be..?"
"The Gift of the Hazen Lords. It was the power that I would've used to help defend the kingdom. The only problem is that I'm not of full royal blood so is short… My sister would've been the one to gain that godly power and not me. Realizing that made me feel helpless which led me to consuming this stupid sharp the does NOTHING but restrict my goddamn mana!" I ranted.
"Ok… That's a lot to process…" She said.
"Yeah… Tell me about it." I shrugged before hopping back on Gabby's bed. "Oh well. Dad and Maddie died so I can't dwell on that now…" I said trying to brush off this topic. I didn't like talking about this kinda stuff.
"What about your mom?" She asked.
"What ABOUT my mom?" I said while raising a brow.
"Well...Who is she?" Isabel asked.
"I don't know…" I said simply.
"Oh…" She muttered.
"..." I stayed quiet.
"...Well goodnight!" I said quickly.
"Goodnight Shiro…" She said in her soft voice.
(GABBY'S POV)
I set my pillow and blanket down on the floor and prepared myself to sleep. Viz walked over to me and gave me the cute eyes.
"You can stay next to me, but if I wake up with you on my face, I'm plucking your fur off. Strand by strand. Got it?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am…" He said as he snuggled next to me.
Clyde looked down at me with a confused glance. "Should I be concerned on whether or not this'll be a permanent arrangement?" He asked me.
"It's just for tonight. He wouldn't shut up." I told him.
"Why not just stay with him in your room. You two are dating aren't you?" He asked.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "I don't think that five months of rigorous training counts as a date." I said to him.
"Then what are you two?" He asked my before opening up a book.
"I don't really know. Can we really say we're a couple? We haven't really done anything yet?"
"Hmm...Sounds complicated." He said. Not looking up from his book.
"It kind of is. I mean, we play are with each other a lot. We tend to flirt a bit. He does something annoying, I pretend to want to kick his ass… Well I usually pretend. The thing is… Something is missing from it all."
"And that something would be… what exactly?" He asked.
"I don't know...Romance, passion...something like that. Don't get me wrong. Shiro knows how to bring the fun side outta me… but I guess I kinda want him to treat me more like a…" I began losing my words. I wasn't sure of what to say.
"...More like an actual feminine type of girl?" Clyde finished.
"Yeah… Something like that." I said.
"You don't exactly make it easy for him." Clyde spoke.
"What do you mean?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
"Well… For starters, girly girls don't walk around in battle armor and carry huge swords." Clyde said.
"...Ok...That's understandable." I nodded.
"Look, Shiro is a bit of a..." He looked up in thought.
"Pervert." I said bluntly.
"I was gonna say mindless jackass but that works too. You gotta give him more signs that you want to ACTUALLY do something aside from just flirt teasing."
"How?" I asked.
"You can start by being more affectionate instead of ruthless." He said. I couldn't tell if he was being a smartass or being serious.
"So like, instead of threatening, I just give in?" I asked.
He nodded. "He's a hormonal teen. The slightest touch will make him go nuts." Clyde said.
"Wow… Thanks Clyde. When the hell did you become the love guru?" I asked with a grin.
"I'm just giving you the most reasonable approach to the situation." He said as he put his book down. "I'm going to sleep now…" He said.
"Alright… Goodnight Clyde." I said to him. He nodded and turned off the lamp.