Hi guys! It's me, Haru again with another RPG AU chapter! If you've survived the slow, introduction chapters than probably good news for you! I'll try to make things more interesting since we're getting into the actual story now! I hope you'll enjoy and well that's it .

CHAPTER 5

FIRST MISSION

Kotori's POV

After parting ways with the three younger girls, me, Umi-chan and Honoka-chan went to the Adventurer's Guild to find a quest that would be easy enough for our new friends to help with. The best option seemed to be a simple delivery, it wasn't quite the most interesting task but we wanted to start with small steps, after all we wouldn't want the other three to get in trouble because of us.

Later we went back to the inn where we stayed at the moment to get some rest.

- We won't be able to spend too much time with the others, after all they'll meet their guardians after their team is officially formed... - I said with a dissapointed tone as i sat down on my bed. It seemed like we would never see them again if we went in our own, separate ways, so i wanted to treasure the time we spent together as much as possible.

- You worry too much, Kotori. They'll be fine, they seem like promising warriors... - Umi looked towards me and smiled gently, as if to calm me down. I wasn't really stressed or scared but maybe she was right, i worried too much about everything.

- Maybe you're right, Umi-chan, they'll be fine – I smiled back and looked at Honoka who seemed suspiciously quiet, but soon i realised what was the cause of her not saying anything. While me and Umi were talking she was stuffing her face with sandwiches, but at the same time she seemed to be paying attention to our converation.

- Of course they'll be fine! Maki-chan seems like a good leader, Hanayo-chan is really calm so i bet she can solve problems easily and Rin-chan's a great fighter! I bet we'll get to see them again sooner or later! - Honoka finished eating and said with a wide grin on her face. As always, her confidence in everything was a good thing when it came to cheering me up. It almost made me forget about all of my negative thoughts. I nodded and looked around the room before standing up.

- Alright! Let's clean this place up a little and go to sleep, we can't oversleep before meeting with the others, right? - My friends nodded at my words and we quickly cleaned up the mess that was left here, mostly because of Honoka, but it was still important to keep the room clean. After we were finished we talked for a little longer and went to our beds.

- Goodnight! - I said quickly before the lights went off and i was left in complete darkness – Tomorrow will be a long day! - I thought and closed my eyes.

The next day we all woke up pretty early, so that we were sure we wouldn't be late. After taking a quick bath and eating breakfast we all went to the meeting place that we were supposed to wait for the younger girls at. For a while it seemed like no one was going to come and i started nervously looking around, trying to find the red haired girl and her two best friends in the crowd.

- Where are they- Oh! Maki-chan! - Honoka looked at one of the food stalls on the street and waved at the girls we were supposed to meet. It seemed like Maki noticed her and so the three of them walked towards us. Unlike the day before, now the girls were all wearing something like their usual "armour". Maki was wearing a full armour set, kind of like what Honoka usually wears during missions, just designed differently. Rin wasn't really wearing any armour, but she had a green hood and i could see she was hiding a knife under her coat. Hanayo also didn't change much, now she was wearing something like a cute mage hat and she had a small bag with her, there seemed to be something like a book in it but i thought it was natural for a mage. After i stopped checking the changes in the other girls' clothing i smiled towards them and nodded towards Umi and Honoka.

- Alright! Let's go, we took an easy task so you guys would know that being a warrior isn't all about fighting monsters! - I said with a proud look on my face and took a small box out of my bag – We have to deliver this thing to our client, seems simple, right? - The others nodded, though it seemed like they were bored already. "So they just came to fight, after all?" I sighed and looked up, once again focusing on my own thoughts.

Soon we arrived at a big mansion in the middle of the forest. It seemed to be the right place so i just decided to walk in.

- Wait, Kotori-chan! - Honoka grabbed my arm and pulled me back while pointing at three other figures standing in front of the building. I looked closely, wondering who could they be. It seemed like three girls were standing in front of the building, watching it closely. One of them was wearing heavy armour but even despite that i could see her blond hair even from far away. Another girl was wearing something that reminded me of Hanayo's clothes, just in darker colours. The third one was quite small and she seemed to be wearing some sort of white robes that i couldn't quite recognise.

- Who are they? What are they doing here? - Maki asked with a confused expression and took a step back.

- I'd like to know too...should we just talk to them? - I asked and looked at my teammates. Honoka nodded but Umi seemed hesitant at first, so i just looked at her with a dissapointed expression and she shook her head as if to ignore me but after a moment she just sighed and took a step forward.

- Well i guess we could...but if they're dangerous let's just get out of here, okay? - Everyone nodded and we started walking towards the three strangers. Who could they be? I thought to myself and tried to recognise who they were, but nothing came to my mind yet. "I guess we'll know soon" With this thought i continued walking and finally approached the three, trying to think of a reason why they would be here, though nothing came to my mind.

-Umm excuse me...are you searching for something? - I asked and the armoured girl turned around to face me. The moment i saw her face was the moment i realised who she was.

-Ayase...Eli? - I took a step back, surprised by this sudden realisation. How could i not notice it earlier? Well, it wasn't time for that, we had to explain ourselves to one of the heir of a famous warrior family. "We've gotten ourselves involved in such a mess again, didn't we?" I sighed and waited for the other girl's response.

Alright! That's it for today! I guess you could call it a cliffhanger but i guess it's way too late for me to keep going xD I'll explain stuff in the next chapter xD Well that's it for now, also if you're reading this, feel free to send me possible ships that could happen in this fic, i have no idea what to do about them so yeah, i guess i need help xD For now, bye! I hope you like this late fic XD