Chapter 1: Joining A Familia
Author's Note Part 1: Well guys, I've started on yet another story, amongst all the other ones that I've already posted, and the other ones that I'm working on at the same time that I haven't posted yet. But, that's what having ADD will do to you if you watch a lot of good animes. So, depending on if I finish this first chapter before the other ones in my other stories, here's a list of categories that you can (hopefully) look forwards to me writing stories for!
Black Lagoon
Arpeggio of Blue Steel x Gurren Lagann
Kill La Kill x SAO
SWR (Star Wars Rebels) x SAO
Bioshock
COD Zombies
Magi x SAO
Along with a few Re-Writes that are in the works!
Code John - Code Lyoko X SAO
For Whom The Bell Tolls
A Different Telling: TPS
My HTTYD Series
So, you guys can hopefully look forwards to reading all of these sometime in the future! But, you guys aren't here to know about that, so let's get to talking about this story!
Now, as you can tell from the categories that this is in, as well as the title of the story itself, this is going to follow an OC of mine from the SAO-verse, who will be a part of the Hestia Familia as well as a brother figure to Bell. Now, after watching through "Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in dungeons?" I've noticed how the leveling system is definitely different between the two. However despite this, if I compared the two leveling systems, and take into account the arcs that my OC has gone through with the SAO characters… Let's just say that Hestia is going to gain quite a bit of fame amongst the other Gods…
For this story, there will only be a few changes from Canon. Bell will still be the same, but as of the Hestia Familia's finances, the state of their home, and other small things, they're gonna be better at the "beginning" of the canon thanks to my OC. There's also the fact that while he is going to be fairly powerful, he's not going to "take the spotlight" from Bell. Instead, he's going to act more like an older brother, and give a helping hand to the white haired teen, instead of "kill stealing". Oh, and at some points there are going to be Japanese honorifics simply for situations that involve teasing, respect, status differences, and other situations.
Anyways, now that I've finished up with the first part of the Author's Note, I guess that I should get started on the actual story. So, here's the first chapter to one of my newer stories, "From The Skies To The Caves"!
[ IMPORTANT NOTICE: This is for everyone who reads my stories! For those of you who have been paying attention, I've been gone for a little over a month. And the reason for this is that I've started my senior year in highschool. So now, I have maybe two free hours a day that I'm able to type, watch stuff on YouTube, as well as find and watch new animes, which includes "Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?". So, expect long periods of time between updates for all my stories from now on guys. Sorry about this! ]
3rd Person POV:
Above the countryside, the sky was a clear blue, with a few fluffy, white clouds drifting into view as the sun slowly sets towards the distant mountains. Standing in front of a small wooden house, two teenagers can be seen. One was an 18 year old with hair whiter than snow, red eyes, and Caucasian skin. He was currently wearing brown boots with black soles, black pants that were held up by a brown belt, a dark grey shirt, and a brown jacket. This is Bell Cranel.
Standing beside him was a 19 year old with hair blacker than a raven's feathers, azure eyes, and Caucasian skin. However, he also had ears that could be seen to end in a slight point poking out from underneath his hair. He was currently wearing black combat boots with grey accents, black pants held up by a black belt with a light grey buckle, and a black T-shirt. This is Ethan Kirigaya. Both of them are looking out across the empty fields in front of them with small smiles on their faces at the silence and peace, before the two hear a voice calling out to them.
"Bell! Ethan! You two have to come quick!" They hear a man call out to them, and turn to find one of the local farmers running towards them, before he slows to a walk as he gets closer, a pitchfork in one hand, and the rope of a large sack, which is slung over his back, in the other. He had on the stereotypical farmer's gear, had wrinkled Caucasian skin, and grey hair that made up a mustache and short beard, while his regular grey hair was hidden underneath a straw hat.
"Huh? What happened?" Bell asks as him and Ethan turn to face the man as he stops in front of the two teens.
"It's about your grandfather boys. We have to go right away." He says with a grave tone, making the eyes of the teens widen, before they run off with the farmer as he directs them where to go, both of them fearing the worst possible scenario for why they had to go and talk to others about their grandfather. And when they arrive at the meeting place, they realize that they were right to fear the worse as they see the gathered men and women send pitying glances in their direction, while some look at the ravine that they're standing beside.
Later that night, the two are sitting alone in the house that they'd been standing in front of earlier that day, watching as the fire that had been burning in the fireplace slowly died. They'd returned a few hours ago in low spirits after learning that they're grandfather had been killed by a monster, and fallen into a ravine where no one could go look for him. However, the people who had been there had already seen him suffer a fatal wound from the creature even before he fell, so it was certain that he'd died even if he reached the bottom. The only relief that everyone felt was that the monster had fallen after him, and had no doubt died from the fall.
As the last of the flames finally sputter out and die, Bell stands up, gaining the attention of Ethan. "Hey Ethan… Grandfather, I've made my decision… I'm, going to become an adventurer." He says into the nearly empty house. His words make Ethan smile as he pushes himself onto his feet and walks over to stand beside Bell.
"Then I'll be there beside you the entire way." He says, getting a thankful smile from the white haired teen beside him in response.
"Thanks, brother." He thanks Ethan, making the teen pat him on his shoulder as the two head into the house to collect the materials that they're going to need on the road until they start to collect money to pay for better and more durable materials. However, after collecting the different items and food for the road, Ethan picks up two large objects wrapped completely in white cloth, and holds them out in front of him with his mouth in a thin line.
…I never thought that I'd use you two again. But then again, this must be my kind of lifestyle. He thinks as he lets off a light chuckle, and the objects are suddenly turned into blue pixels that fade away into the air as he turns around and starts towards the doorway, joining Bell as they close it behind them, and start off towards the closest town, Orario Town, both of them looking forwards to the new life ahead of them, but still mourning their late grandfather.
"Please, let us into your Familia!" Bell pleads with the man, only for said man to kick the white haired teen outside and onto the ground beside Ethan, who's leaning against the wall of the alleyway with his arms crossed, and a large black coat with light grey accents added onto his outfit, the rest of his clothes now having light grey, armor pieces connected as well. He scowls at the man that had thrown Bell onto the ground as the white haired teen pushes himself up into a sitting position.
"Come back when the two of you get stronger." The man tells them, before slamming the door in their faces and making Bell sigh in response. However, before he can sink deeper into depression after the umpteenth denial the two had received, a new voice speaks up from their right.
"Hello, young men." The voice of a young female says, making them turn in the direction it came from, Ethan raising an eyebrow at the sight that greets them as a teenage girl that appears to be around 16 walks towards them who has long black hair styled into two pigtails, Caucasian skin and blue eyes. She's wearing a white dress that's held up by blue string and a blue bow, white elbow length gloves, and white sandals. "Are you looking for a Familia?" She asks them, making Ethan look at Bell to see if he would agree to the Goddess in front of them, the power that she was giving off even subconsciously revealing that she definitely wasn't human.
In response, Bell just stares at her in confusion and surprise, before she lets off a light laugh as she tilts her head. When this happens, Bell nods, and the girl holds out her hand for him to take. He does so, and clasps her hand in his as he bows in front of her. Ethan pushes himself off the wall and moves to stand in front of her as well, before bowing beside Bell. "Thank you Goddess, for accepting the two of us into your Familia." He thanks the girl in front of them, making her get flustered slightly.
"W-Well, I don't have any members yet, so that makes you two the first ones." She tells them with a slight blush, making the two brothers share a looks, before looking back at her with bright smiles.
"That's alright Goddess, We're sure that it will grow in time." Bell says, Ethan nodding beside him with an identical smile on his face, before the two of them realize something. "Oh, right. Goddess, please forgive us for not introducing ourselves. My name is Bell Cranel, and this is my brother Ethan Kirigaya." Bell introduces himself and his brother with another bow, while Ethan smiles at the Goddess.
"It should be fairly obvious that me and Bell aren't biological brothers, but after a little over a year of living together, we feel as if we've known each other our entire lives. So for us, we're pretty much brothers." He explains to the Goddess with a smile.
"Ah, I see. I'm the Goddess Hestia." The now named Hestia tells them with a smile, making Ethan look at her in surprise.
"Hestia? As in "The Greek Goddess of the hearth"?" (Thank you Percy Jackson) Ethan asks her, making the other two look at him. Bell with his eyebrow raised in confusion, while Hestia looks at him in shock.
"You, know who I am?" She asks him with wide eyes, making Ethan smile and nod in response.
"Yeah, you might not be one of the more powerful Gods, but what you represent, and your domain… Well, I'd say that if anyone deserves to have a large Familia, it's you." He says with a smile, making Hestia give him a teary one in response that someone finally recognized her status, since she was fairly used to being looked down upon by the other Gods, and only a small handful were actually friends with her. "Well, I suppose we should head off to wherever you're staying." He says with a smile, getting a nod from Hestia in response as she turns around, with Bell and Ethan following her.
Later, the three are in the basement of a rundown church, where there was a worn out couch, a spotless bed that looked like it had never been slept on, and a small table in the main area. Off to the right there was a makeshift bathroom, and behind them were the stairs that led up to the ground floor of the run down church. The two male teens look around the room as Hestia makes her way to the bed, and stands beside it as she turns to face the two.
"Well, since you two want to join my Familia, I'm going to need to give the two of you my blessings. So, Bell you're first." She says, making the white haired teen look at her in surprise for a second before nodding as he walks over to her. She then proceeds to tell him to take off his shirt, and lie on his stomach on the bed. Afterwards, Hestia sits on his legs, and places her hands on his back. A bright blue glow is emitted for from the place that she'd put her hands on for a few seconds, before it fades away to reveal a new "tattoo" on Bell's back.
Once this is done, Hestia places a piece of paper on his back, before runes appear and glow on it. When she takes it off, it reveals a set of "stats", which Bell takes from the Goddess with a large smile on his face. As the white haired teen is leaping around the area with joy at becoming a full-fledged adventurer, Ethan shrugs off his coat and shirt, and lies on his stomach on the bed just like his brother did. Hestia places her hands on Ethan's back, and the same bright blue glow is emitted from the area for a few seconds, before he can feel the paper being placed against his back. When it's removed, he braces himself for the sound that he's about to hear. And sure enough…
"EHHH?!" Ethan still winces at the volume of the shocked yell, which causes Bell to flinch as he turns to face his brother and Hestia, who's looking at the sheet in front of her with trembling hands, and wide eyes. "Th-th-this is..." She trails off as Ethan sits up and rubs the back of his head.
"Yeah, I kinda figured this would be your reaction." He says with a light chuckle. In response Hestia rounds on him and shoves the Stats Sheet in his face so that he can read them as she continues to sputter in shock and awe, while Bell looks over at them with an eyebrow raised in confusion. Meanwhile, Ethan simply reads over his Stats, noticing how they'd changed slightly from the work he'd done with his brother and grandfather.
Ethan Smith
LV 7
STR : 999,900 - : 1,000,100
VIT : 199,925 - : 200,100
DEX : 199,955 - : 200,200
AGI : 999,925 - : 1,000,100
MAG : 199,945 - : 200,000
MAGIC:
TRANSFORMATION
ILLUSION
SMOKESCREEN
MAGIC SWORD SKILLS
SKILLS:
SWORD SKILLS
WALL RUNNING
NIGHT VISION
FLIGHT
MENU
After looking it over, Ethan could only lightly chuckle at the stats shown to him as Hestia's mind was still attempting to put itself back together after finding out that the person that she'd accepted into her Familia was easily one of the most powerful adventurers out there. When Bell came over and asked for the paper, Ethan handed it over to him, only for Bell to let it drop out of his hands and float to the floor a few seconds later as he stared at his brother in shock.
Finally, Hestia is able to return to reality as she points her finger at him accusingly. "Why didn't you say anything?! Better yet, why didn't you say anything to any other Familia you tried to join?! I'm sure you could have joined a better one than mine…" She mutters the last part. In response, Ethan bends down and picks up the paper with a smile.
"Because none of them would accept Bell." He says, breaking the white haired teen out of his shocked stare, while Hestia looks at him in surprise and confusion. "I mean, sure I could have just said it to any other Familia when we tried to join them, "Hey, if you want someone powerful, just get your God or Goddess to check my Stats." However, then they would have wanted me for their Familia. Not my brother here. So, I figured that I wouldn't reveal my true skills until we found a Familia that would accept him as he is right now." He says, turning to face Hestia with a smile.
"And what do you know? It turned out to be Hestia, "The Greek Goddess of the Hearth" that accepted him. The Goddess of the place that feels the most peaceful, and the most home-like, is the Goddess accepted my brother without question." He says, before turning back to the paper, and letting his smile turn slightly sad. "As for how I got all of these Stats and skills… Well, I'll leave that for another time Goddess, brother. After all, I'd been working on a way to actually show you Bell, as well as grandfather, my past, and I'm almost there. However, with all the work around the house and fields that we'd been doing, it took away a good deal of time that I would have had." He tells them.
"But, why didn't you tell me and grandfather your Stats? You only told us you were an adventure before. You never mentioned your skills or anything…" Bell says in confusion, making Ethan chuckle in response.
"Because my story is highly unbelievable. In fact, I'm fairly certain that even when I actually start to tell it, you'll be the only one to believe me, Goddess Hestia." He says, turning to the Goddess sitting on the bed beside him, and making her look at him in confusion, while some shock and awe remain on her face after finding out just what a diamond in the rough Ethan had been. However, she also sensed something powerful residing in Bell, but she couldn't place what it was just yet… But that train of thought is broken by the two male teens yawning in unison.
"Well, I guess that we should get to bed, huh?" Bell asks, getting a nod from his brother, who turns to face Hestia.
"Hestia-Sama, you can take the bed since you've been gracious enough to allow us into your Familia, as well as your living space. Bell, you take the couch, and I'll take the floor." He tells them, the other two teens in the room confused as to where he'd gotten the black sleeping bag that he was currently unrolling as they look around, but can't find a backpack or anything else that he could have gotten it from.
"Ethan, where did you get that from?" Hestia asks in confusion, making Ethan look at her, before turning back to his sleeping bag with a chuckle.
"It's a part of my story about my past Hestia-Sama. You and Bell will know when I tell you two, along with any friends we've made by the time that I'm able to show you. For now though, it's been a long day. So I think I'll go to bed. Have a nice night Bell, Hestia-Sama." He tells them as he zips the sleeping bag closed, and falls asleep. The remaining two teens in the room look at one another after he falls asleep, and share a sigh as they get ready to sleep themselves.
The next day, Bell is waiting outside the dungeon for his brother, since he'd stuck around the bank after they'd opened an account for anything and everything that they found in the dungeons so that they could convert it all into money to use. Bell snickers at the thought when he remembers the blush that had appeared on their new Dungeon Advisor when Ethan had complimented her, as well as the fact that the reason he was waiting outside the dungeon for his brother was most likely because he was still talking to her.
A few minutes later, Bell sees Ethan walking towards him with a small smile on his face, and the black handle of a sword sticking out from behind his right shoulder, which would make it easier for him to grab it. However, Bell wasn't the only one to notice Ethan, as other adventurers started to glance at him, and mutter amongst themselves. Some of them recognize him from when other members of their Familia had refused to let him and Bell join, while others have no idea who he is. Finally, he stops in front of Bell with an easy-going smile on his face, ignoring all the looks that he was getting.
"Well Bell, I'd say we should get going, right?" He asks, making Bell nod in response as they head towards the stairs that lead into the dungeons. However, before they can enter, another group of adventurers yell out to them.
"Hey! You two newbies heading off into the dungeon?" The apparent leader of the group calls out with a smug grin. He had light Caucasian skin, brown eyes, and short, dark brown hair. He had on bulky armor, and there was a broadsword sheathed at his waist, while a shield was strapped to his left gauntlet. "If you want, we can show you the ropes… For a price." He says, his grin getting slightly wider as Bell glances at Ethan, who simply continues to give his easy-going smile as he looks over his shoulder to reply.
"No, that's alright. I think that we'll be just fine on our own." He tells them, getting mocking laughter in response as other adventurers start to pay attention to the conversation.
"You hear this kid? He thinks him and his pal are gonna be able to take on the first floor of the dungeon with that gear on their first time through!" He exclaims, getting laughter from his group, as well as a few of the bystanders in the crowd who thought along similar lines. In response, Ethan simply continues to smile as he shrugs.
"Well, I've gone through worse with less. So, this should be a walk in the park." He says, making the laughter stop as everyone simply stares at him, Bell looking around nervously since some of the onlookers had scowls on their faces. Most likely due to the fact that they didn't like how Ethan was simply brushing everything off.
"Is that so kid?" The man from before asks, making Ethan turn to face him and nod.
"Yup. So, it shouldn't be too hard to get through the floors. You know, I wonder when it'll start getting difficult for me. Twenty-fifth floor? Nah, maybe the fiftieth? Yeah, probably around there." He says, making everyone look at him in disbelief, and slight anger at what he was implying.
"Are you out of your mind?! The fiftieth floor?! HA! I'd like to see you make it to the fifth floor with gear like that!" The man exclaims. In response, Ethan just gives another shrug as he turns around and starts to head towards the stairs, Bell right beside him as he continues to glance around at the onlookers.
"We'll just have to wait and see then, I guess." Ethan says as he raises a hand to wave at the gathered adventurers, before descending into the dungeon with Bell. As they continue to walk down the stairs leading to the first floor of the dungeon, Ethan starts to chuckle, making Bell look at him in confusion. "Ah man, it's so fun messing with guys like that. They think they're all high and mighty, and try to get as much out of the new adventurers as they can. I'm gonna love seeing the look on his face when he sees all the Valis that we rake in today." He says as him and Bell step onto the first floor.
"Bro… Did you actually mean what you said?" Bell asks Ethan, making the raven haired teen turn to look at him in confusion. "About the floors not being hard until the fiftieth?" Bell elaborates. This makes Ethan put a hand to his chin in thought.
"I'm not really sure Bell. I don't know how this dungeon works. But if it's anything like the last place I was in, then yeah, it's not gonna be extremely difficult until then. Granted, since I'm with you, it's actually more likely that the floors will become more difficult around the fifteenth floor or so since I'd have to make sure to focus on keeping you alive, but if I was on my own… I'm not really sure when it would actually start to get hard." Ethan admits, before turning to face the cave that they were standing in front of.
"But anyways, enough about that. Guess it's time to mob farm again." He says as he starts walking towards the cave, Bell staring at him in surprise for a few seconds, before he realizes that Ethan is leaving, and runs after him.
"NANI?!" Hestia exclaims later that day after the two brothers walk into the basement of the church and reveal the bags of Valis that they'd collected from the first floor to her. "20,000 Valis?!" She exclaims as she looks at the two in surprise, Ethan smirking beside Bell at the amount of loot they'd raked in.
"Yeah, Bell did a great job out there for his first time. And with a few of the item drops that we got, in addition to the total amount of monsters that we slayed, we managed to make that much Valis in a single trip. Just think about how much we'll get if we keep going!" Ethan exclaims with a smile as the Goddess continues to look between the two of them and the bags of Valis in shock.
"Ah, come on bro, we both know that you were the one that killed most of them… I mean, I couldn't even see you when you started to cleave through them." Bell says, making Ethan give a sheepish chuckle as he rubs the back of his head, while Hestia simply stares at the two, still not over her shock at the amount of Valis they'd collected on their first trip into the dungeon.
"Alright, alright. So old habits are hard to break. I'm just used to tougher monsters, alright? Especially since these ones don't regenerate lost body parts. I mean, most of the monsters that we faced today wouldn't be that tough for beginners from where I come from." Ethan admits, before he thinks of something. "Oh, that aside for the moment though, we should probably figure out what to do with this Valis. I'd say that the main focus should probably be… Food and drinks." Ethan says, making Bell nod in agreement.
"Right, of course, we can't forget Hestia-Sama." Bell adds, finally snapping the Goddess in question out of her shocked state as Ethan nods.
"You're right. So we should probably buy more furniture as well so that we can have a more healthy living area. Not only that, but we need to repair the church as well. It won't do us any good to have all those holes and the decay around the place. That'll just make it easier for the rain to get in during storms and make its way down here. Along with the fact that one bad earthquake, hurricane, or even a really bad storm could possibly cause the building to collapse above our heads and trap us down here. If anything, we can probably but some tools to either extend the basement, or create a second basement floor beneath this." Ethan says, before Hestia finally speaks up.
"Nani?! But, but what about armor?! Or other weapons for you two?!" Hestia exclaims, making the brothers turn to face her.
"Huh? Oh, we don't need to worry about those right now. Bell's doing fine with the knife, and I already have my weapon that I'll be using for the rest of my time in that dungeon. I've just gotta take good care of it." Ethan says with a shrug. "Anyways, our way of living comes first. After all, with us being on the low level floors right now, there's no fear of us dying. So we can focus on making sure we stay alive and healthy outside of the dungeon." Ethan says with a smile.
"He's right Hestia-Sama. Ethan has been looking out for me since we met. And it's the least we can do to repay you after allowing us to join your Familia." Bell tells the Goddess. In response, Hestia gains tears at the edges of her eyes, before she begins to cry as she jumps at the two and wraps her arms around them in a hug. In response, the two smile down at her, before smiling at each other. Glad that they'd joined a Familia, and that it already seemed to be just that.
A family.
Author's Note Part 2: Well guys, how's that for a start to this Fanfiction? I already stated that things were going to be slightly different at the beginning of "canon", and with this taking place about a month before episode one, you can expect the next chapter to show just what it is that I decided to change over that time.
Now I do have a question pairing wise. I'm thinking about keeping Bell's girl problem identical to canon, while Ethan gets paired with Eina. What I want to know is if you guys want that, or if I should change it so that Bell gets together with Aiz, and then have Ethan get together with Hestia since I know for a fact that if you guys don't want Bell together with Aiz, then he's eventually going to get together with Hestia.
Either way, Hestia is going to end up getting together with one of them and be happy. If it ends up being the second, I'll probably return to this chapter and change the scene where Bell is waiting so that Ethan stayed behind to talk about the account instead of flirting with Eina.
Anyways, that's about it for this chapter. A bit shorter than what I was planning, but since it was mostly original, I had a bit of a problem with writing out situations since there's only 13 episodes for me to gain an inkling of how the characters personalities are. Especially since not every character is present in those 13 episodes.
So, thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this, and I hope to see you all next time!