The Promise
"Is that my name? Hazama? Or was it Kazuma?"
Trinity froze. What? He doesn't know his name? She gazed at his questioning gold eyes. They held no malice or mischief but she kept her guard up. It could just be a ploy, after all. I fell for it once before but never again.
"You don't know who you are?" She asked hesitantly.
"Afraid not. I awoke here washed up with you," holding onto me as if your life depended on it. Hazama paused and considered mentioning the thought before deciding to continue on, he could ask about it later. "You were bleeding and unconscious so I laid you away from the tide and casted a healing ars on you while performing CPR."
"What about your own wound?" Trinity blurted out before she could stop herself.
Hazama tilted his head. "What wound? Maybe you should lay back down before talking again."
Trinity knew he was obviously antsy for an answer but was polite enough to hide it. She leaned back gently into a nearby tree, with Hazama's coat acting as a cushion. Here she was, having a civil conversation with Hazama of all people. She could only stare at him, astounded at how gentle and polite he was being. She could even make out the lightest of blushes when he mentioned CPR. It was so out of character. So his body has healed already. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it while I was unconscious, so why is he...? Unless he really doesn't remember? He even healed me... the normal Hazama wouldn't even consider doing such a thing.
Trinity sighed deeply, drawing his attention. She was still wary but she would give him this chance and hope it would not come back to bite her in the future. She really wanted to trust this Hazama. She wanted to save him unlike how she couldn't save Kazuma. With Terumi out of the picture, she could help him every step of the way without it being a tug-of-war over his conscience. He had every right to live his own life.
"Well, thank you for saving me then. And your name is Hazama. I am Trinity Glassfille." She offered with a gentle smile.
Hazama blinked owlishly. "Just Hazama? No last name?"
"No."
"I see. Thank you, Miss Trinity." Hazama watched her as he wondered what to do. It didn't feel right asking Miss Trinity every detail of his life, if she even knew him very well that is. She looked no older than fifteen so what was such a young girl doing with him in a lake? And who was Kazuma? Some case of mistaken identity? There were so many questions and he wanted to have them all answered.
Hazama's silence was unnerving. Trinity was expecting him to ask more questions but he hadn't said a word in minutes. She took the rare opportunity to stop and assess the situation – gods above knew she never had a chance to do that with everything happening at once. I wonder how it was he got amnesia. Trinity closed her eyes and thought back to the events at the monolith.
How long had it been? She couldn't even fathom a guess, as the tall trees blocked a good portion of the sun and Platinum's small frame did not help matters. I remember stabbing him, Hakumen using the Time Killer, and then Hazama- Trinity's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a pounding headache, causing her to flinch. Oww, my head. Wait... that's it! He was already unconscious when he fell in the lake so he likely drowned and that was what caused his brain damage. Eureka! Her eyes snapped open at finding the logical answer.
"Are you alright over there, Miss Trinity?" Hazama was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a twitch on his mouth that threatened to become a smile. The sight was so strange on him that Trinity couldn't help but laugh. That bubbling joy quickly spread to Hazama who joined in laughing.
The pair finally stopped after a good minute of laughing. Hazama's smile was genuine and infectious and Trinity couldn't help but smile as well. Oh, how I wish I had my phone to take a picture of this moment! She squealed in her mind. But there was one issue to clear up...
"What was that look for?"
Hazama snickered as he stood up. She didn't notice? Heh, well actions speak louder than words. It'd be more funny to show her anyway. This ought to be good.
Trinity could only look in bewilderment as he struck a pose, legs spread evenly on the ground with his right index finger pointing to the sky and a large, open smile following it.
"Eureka!"
Trinity promptly fell over in laughter and noticed that she had in fact been standing previously. Color flushed her cheeks. "I-I said that out loud?" She asked after righting herself back into a sitting position. It must have been Luna's personality seeping into the body. Yes, that must be it. How embarrassing.
"You certainly did, and it was pretty cute if I do say so myself." Said Hazama as he sat back on the ground.
Trinity blushed and felt like she was reliving a moment back on Ishana when Kazuma had called her cute before. Maybe I'm the one with the brain damage here and I'm just imagining a nicer Hazama. It still reeled her thoughts that Hazama of all people called her cute.
"So what was it you discovered?" Trinity breathed a sigh of relief at the change of topic.
"I think I know why you have amnesia." Hazama instantly perked up at this.
"Really? Why?"
Trinity hesitated. She had to tread carefully, it would do no good to tell Hazama they were in this situation because he had tried to kill her. She wanted him to live as himself, not as Terumi's vessel. "We... fell into a lake together but you were unconscious at the time so the lack of oxygen had caused you brain damage."
"Well that would explain why we're both sopping wet." And probably why you were holding onto me then, hm? I wouldn't have wanted to get swept away either if there was someone I knew that was going to suffer the same fate. I guess that means we were on friendly terms before this. "But thank you."
"You're not going to ask about anything else?"
"No, why should I? It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't want to see my life through a bent glass – through someone else's eyes. I don't know if I'll get my memory back, but I'd like to experience things as myself now."
Trinity smiled. I never knew Hazama was so open-minded. Or was he always this way? If only Kazuma could have let go of finding out his past. She rose and walked over to Hazama, gently placing a gloved hand on his shoulder. "I'll help you."
"You need not burden yourself for my sake, Miss Trinity." His gold eyes locked on to her light emerald ones as she sat on her knees next to him.
"This is something I want to do." Something I have to do.
Hazama could see the determination in her eyes. Who was he to refuse such adamant help? "As the lady wishes. Let's get out here first, shall we?"
Trinity nodded. "The lake we fell into was near Ibukido," she said, pointing at the body of water in question, "but it's getting late and I don't know how far these woods are from the city."
"So we stay here for the night." He concluded.
"Correct. I would not advise going to Yabiko though because that is where the NOL branch is..." She ticked the city off on her finger.
"Am I a criminal or something?"
"Quite the opposite actually. You are a Captain in the NOL but there is an order for your arrest by Colonel Mutsuki."
Hazama frowned. What had he done to get an arrest warrant after him? Did it even matter?
"Kazamotsu is not an option either," Trinity continued quickly, ticking off another finger. "As a tourist spot, there would a lot of people that could spot you."
Now Hazama was starting to get concerned. He had an arrest warrant on him and people looking for him? What the hell was going on? He had to know. Now. "Please Miss Trinity, what did I do?"
Trinity tensed. This was not something she wanted to answer so soon but she knew that not answering him would only make her less trustworthy. No, she needed his trust if she wanted to help him. She hoped he wouldn't throw out his plans to live his own life so soon. "It wasn't what you did. It was what someone else made you do."
That wasn't enough of an answer for him. His eyes narrowed, expression growing serious. "I believe I have a right to know what's going on."
She nodded. "Yes. It all begins with a man named Yuuki Terumi, who was the creator of the Black Beast. One hundred years ago, we had brought him into the Six Heroes to fight for our cause against his creation. But what we didn't know then was that he was a life form with no physical body of his own – thus he requires a vessel. Long story short, you were his second vessel and you had committed many sins in his name."
Hazama waved his hands frantically. "Wait, begins? You mean whatever he's doing is still going on? And I was his vessel? So he's not a part of me now?" He had noticed the pained glint in her eyes when she said the last sentence but before he could ask, he was engulfed in another hug reminiscent of the one from when Trinity woke up.
"That's right... that's right. Thank goodness for that." Trinity said as she held him close, tears brimming at the thoughts of her lost love. Terumi had taken away Kazuma's existence but she would not let the same happen to Hazama.
Hazama was left in awkward silence. He didn't know what to do that wouldn't shatter this fragile moment when it was clear his companion's emotional stress was taking its toll on her. There was something strangely personal about how she sought comfort from him and the way she spoke of Terumi. But now was not the time to ask.
As soon as she collected her thoughts and realized what she was doing, Trinity pulled away. "I'm sorry."
"That's alright, we all have our moments. Are you feeling better now, Miss Trinity?"
"Yes, thank you." She smiled in gratitude. "And as for Terumi's plans, you are correct. He has summoned the God that beholds our world – Amaterasu – and plans to destroy her."
"Is there any way we can stop him then?" The phrase 'Nemesis Horizon' came to mind but Hazama had no idea as to what it was.
Trinity shook her head. "He is already dead, but that does not mean his allies will stop their plans." Nine...
"So there is nothing we can do?" Hazama asked, disappointed. He felt a strange desire of wanting to meet Terumi.
"Not at this moment. For now, we should try to find your memories." Trinity yawned.
"And we should go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow after all." Hazama fought to the urge to yawn as well.
"Before that, there is one other thing..." Trinity trailed off, gazing at the lake.
"Yes?"
Trinity turned to him and clasped his hands with hers, smiling all the while. "I promise to stay by your side until we find your memories, okay?" Just like Kazuma, he deserves a chance to be himself. And maybe, just maybe we'll run into Nine somewhere too. She promptly fell asleep after, still holding his hands and with a smile on her face.
Hazama stared in shock at her and their conjoined hands. Why is she doing all this for me? Were we really that close before or something? Even then it must be hard to be so kind to someone with no memory of you. Somewhere deep in his mind, he could hear a voice say, 'Don't keep promises you can't keep, Miss Trinity.'
He laid Trinity on the grass before layering his coat over her and laying down as well. As he closed his eyes, a vision of a beautiful blond and pink haired woman wearing glasses flashed in his mind. Hazama didn't sleep at all.
Before anyone calls out "IMPOSSIBLE!", it's actually very possible. Drowning really can cause brain damage, which can in turn cause personality shifts and amnesia among other problems. Bet'cha guys didn't see that coming as to why amnesiac!Hazama is so nice right?
Trinity's getting pretty cynical at the start there huh? After all she's had to go through, I wouldn't be surprised.
Jin can cast healing ars so I don't see why I can't have Hazama doing that too. He's not that good though.
Smartphones are a thing in the BB-verse if Remix Heart and Valkenhayn's gag end are anything to go by. Not sure if they existed in the Dark War era, but it still makes things pretty funny.
AND THIS IS WHY I SHOULDN'T WATCH Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword VIDEOS AT 1AM, I START IMAGINING OTHER CHARACTERS IN PLACE OF LINK DOING STUFF LOL. In this case it's Trinity and Hazama [sortakinda] doing the item acquired pose but without an open hand or item.
How were the interactions between Trinity and Hazama? I didn't want to drag it out too much but I wanted to show her going from suspicious to friendly while throwing in some silliness. And yeah he's making the wrong assumptions all around, he'll be doing that quite a bit. Yes I can see Trinity as the type to do some goofy and funny poses, I blame the Six Heroes Gag End. No she is not in love with him at this point, if anyone is wondering.
Aww, no one got the reference in the intro. There's another one here but it's from an even lesser known fandom so I don't expect anyone to get it.
Heh, didn't expect to get so many people in line with just the first chapter. Thanks everyone! Happy holidays all, I know I'll be enjoying mine playing the new Guilty Gear Xrd (fans of Ky/Dizzy and/or Sin/Elphelt can check out Bright White if you like my writing style. I'll be spreading out my time for GG fanfiction too).