From the Side
Chapter 7
A/N: The start of the 5-in-one-week update... and the start of my second favorite part of the story. Also, I find the disclaimer pointless at this stage so let's just remember from now on I don't own it.
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A monster in the audience kept his gaze locked on the fight, having been simply amused to watch the two groups tear each other apart. There was one point, though, where a fire caught the smaller team's swordsman's hair and broke it free that caused the monster to focus entirely on him. Whether or not he lost, there was something about the samurai that intrigued him. What was it...
"Overlord Ogrin, what a surprise to see you here?" a soft voice said, causing the monster to turn to the speaker. A Majin and a white dragon, though the white dragon was the one to speak.
"Ah, Demon Lord Spectre, Demon Lord Eclipse, what brings you two here?" the monster grumbled, putting on his best smile though it was still hideous.
"We've had a few teams of our own join with the hopes of taking out a dangerous opponent," Eclipse explained. He looked a little annoyed though.
"You're interested in killing Overlord Zenon?"
"No, someone else."
Spectre kept silent, his gaze following the fighters on the arena. The battle was just about over. As the bell rang to announce the winners, a smile crossed his face that practically said "just as I expected." He was enjoying this far more than Ogrin was.
"There's something about that swordsman down there," Ogrin mumbled, watching the guy walk off. "I didn't notice until his hair came loose but... he reminds me of someone." He looked at Eclipse who suddenly had his own grin on. Then it dawned on him. "Overlord Kazuhiko, the samurai looks like your Overlord." He spun quickly around to look at the man in question again. Yes, that was it. "Is that the young brat from so long ago?"
"Yes, that is Zarame Prince, younger brother to our Lord Kazuhiko Prince," Spectre explained.
~*~
"Hey, Aerin," Zarame called from his seat next to the healer of their party. "you've got two ponytails, mind donating a ribbon? I forgot an extra one and my clip broke too." He had pulled out a brush to make the long, burnt hair at least manageable. Really, he hated ponytails because in the heat of battle he could still feel the loose strands hitting his shoulder, which led to an occasional concern for an opponent behind him. However, it was better than it just hanging loosely, where there was always that feeling.
"Go buy one at the item seller," Aerin growled. "I'm not going to donate mine."
"I'm not going to waste our expenses on that," Zarame murmured, but he dropped the point, apparently too exhausted to argue. Healing fixed the wounds, but it didn't return energy.
Kuno sat beside Zarame, watching the samurai brush his hair free of knots. "I didn't realize how long your hair was while it was up. It rivals mine, in length and beauty." She grinned at Zarame who stared at her wide-eyed for a moment. He turned away from her so she couldn't see his face, but Aerin's smirk told Kuno everything. That and his red ears that were still visible.
"Yeah, well I'd prefer it short," the ronin replied.
"Why? You look so much better with long hair!" Kuno protested.
Before Zarame could answer, Miriam stopped her healing spell for a moment, staring quizzically at her patient. "Why not cut it then? I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find someone to do a decent haircut."
The archer stared at Zarame for a few moments, knowing what his response would be because she had asked this very question once. The samurai finished the brush's stroke and looked back at Miriam. "Pride, I suppose. Having your hair long was sort of a sign of ranking where I was born. For men, the longer the hair you have the more power you hold, but if a man is found trying to grow his hair out to trick people, he's put to death. Women, on the other hand, only show rank with their clothes."
"That's a weird system," Miriam stated. "Who came up with that crazy law?"
"I suppose my parents were just hair and clothes freaks, such things affect others. I thought it was perfectly normal until I left my world as an emissary," Zarame responded.
"Your parents? With long hair you had to be pretty high rank, what were your parents?" Kuno asked, sitting anxiously now as she tried to figure out her companion's past. It was the wrong question to ask, though, because Zarame suddenly realized what he was saying and changed the topic quickly.
"I'm going to grab some flan real fast to get my energy back," he said, standing and moving away quickly. Once he was gone, Kuno looked at the two girls with her. Even Aerin looked surprised, meaning no one realized that Zarame might very well be more than the mercenary he acted.
~*~
After a short time of haggling, Zarame managed to buy flan and a ribbon. He sat at a nearby table where he once again saw a gunner and ninja talking, though this time it wasn't a fight. Decidedly, those two must be in a team too. Thinking about it was a welcome distraction to what he almost let slip.
"Zarame?" Brandon asked, walking up. He was drinking a bottle of garlic water. Not one of the most popular drinks, but it worked wonders on revitalizing a worn out warrior. The quiet and mostly absent member of their party, Whisper, was with him. Somehow, the ghost was holding his own bottle. "What's wrong? Weren't you just celebrating your victory with Miriam and Aerin?"
"I was, but I opened my big mouth and said something stupid," Zarame answered, shoving another spoonful of flan in his mouth.
"About what?" the gunner added, sitting down next to his best friend. The ghost joined, though he chose to gaze off at nothing. Whisper was never all there.
"I talked about my home world." Zarame began poking at his meal. Brandon knew about Zarame to an extent farther than the rest. It wasn't on purpose at first. The two and their mage friend that they lived with had had a night out on the town after a super successful mission they had all gone on. The result was loosening up just a little too much and Zarame stating that he wasn't only royalty at his home, but he was in line to become the next Overlord. "It just kind of slipped out when I was talking to Kuno. The cat gives me the impression of innocence at times and I tend to forget to watch what I say. I should have realized who else I was with a bit more, rather than just asking their questions." He let out a heavy sigh and took another bite. When he swallowed, he pointed his spoon at his friend. "Now, I doubt I'll ever relax with those three again."
"Hey it's not so bad, you were comfortable to tell them it then they must be getting close, right?" Brandon suggested. Zarame glared at his friend.
"No, and I don't know why you're thinking that's a good thing. Ending up on opposite ends of a battle would make things difficult. Being a mercenary means avoiding creating relationships. Even having a friendship becomes complicated. I accept you and our other roommate, and I accept being a team with these guys, but I'm not going to get comfortable with those girls. I told you, it just slipped because Kuno's an odd character."
Brandon sighed and then stood up. "Okay, Zarame, but remember that being a mercenary doesn't mean you need to break off relationships. I think you do it just to avoid getting hurt, to avoid losing someone you love."
The swordsman froze for a second and the gunner realized that tears were starting to form. Shoving his face into his hands, Zarame muttered one final word before closing up completely. "Aki..."
~*~
Round two of the fighting was decidedly going to start without Zarame. Aerin, Kuno, and Miriam believed it had something to do with their previous conversation, but Brandon in the far back, feeling extremely guilty and confused. Shito and Ran weren't there to help him figure out anything about the person Zarame mentioned, and that only made him feel more stressed. Did Zarame have anything to do with the death of the Aki they were trying to avenge?
No, he should be concerned over his friend's sorrow. After all, he was hurting and besides, he had mentioned that earlier it was a different Aki that he knew. However, just in case, Brandon walked over to the one person who might know anything about the dead Overlord. Zane, the other ninja, and his hell hound, Fenrir, were sitting by themselves. Rozy, Adell, and his family were talking with a druid about puzzles. There would be enough time for a short conversation only.
"Zane, I have a few questions," Brandon asked, walking up. The ninja nodded, his steel eyes locking onto the face of the gunner.
"It's about time someone approached me," he mumbled. "Someone outside of Nagi and the other ninjas, that is. I didn't expect anything from you though, what do you want to know?"
"About Aki. You worked for her right?"
"I said that didn't I?" Zane raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"
Not even sure why he asked it, the first words out of his mouth once again hooked his best friend with the two sibling ninjas. "Did she ever do anything that would make her mistaken as a healer?"
Zane closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "There was a year or two that she took a lesson as a healer. I was still working for her at the time, so it was a very interesting thing to watch."
"Did you realize that there might be a connection between her and Zarame?."
The ninja's eyes shot open after Brandon said that. "I knew the moment he got introduced to the group, Brandon. But that's not my place to say. Yes, Zarame knew Aki too, but what he knows isn't going to help you out. There's also a limit on what secrets I will spill. If you want to know, ask him yourself, but realize that asking may ruin your friendship." He glanced at Adell who was gesturing at a red geo. "Come, the battle's about to start."
As it turned out, the battle was rather straight forward. Everyone obediently followed Adell's orders, standing on the squares that caused invincibility according to the puzzle. Of course, the leader druid couldn't move, sitting in the very center where another invulnerability panel sat. So the team defeated his minions first until Zane used his speed to reach the red geo. When it broke, the entire field went up in a chain of explosions.
Everyone was hurt, but there was still enough people to defeat the druid in the center and the battle was won. Brandon quickly rushed off the stage once announced the victor and headed to Zarame. He had been thinking and finally came to the conclusion about what to do.
When he arrived, though, he hesitated. Kuno was standing over Zarame who was still at the table where Brandon left him. His flan was gone and Zarame had laid his head down on the table. He was asleep and tears had stained his cheeks. Completely open. It was something Zarame almost never did. The Nekomata pulled a chair over and sat next to Zarame, brushing his hair softly. She truly looked concerned, but her shaking body told Brandon that she was nervous.
Zarame opened his eyes after a few minutes, his entire eye as red as his iris. He glanced up and found Kuno's eyes immediately. For a second he just stared, then his eyes widened again and he stood up. "Kuno?" he asked hesitantly.
"You worried about your Aki again?" Kuno questioned. "Did she die too?"
Zarame forced his gaze away from hers. "I... I don't know. I have to go. Forget everything I told you earlier." He walked away, stopping only when he spotted Brandon around the corner, trying to sneak away unnoticed. "Brandon, come with me."
"Ah, yes sir."
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A/N: Short chapter but R&R anyway please!