Sora and Neo had not known each other long, but they already felt like best friends, maybe because they were each others first human friend or maybe they had a real connection either way they had real friendship. They had both decided they wanted to go to Magnolia they heard of a way to get stronger there. So they started their trip and a few days later, not far outside Magnolia Sora held a map Neo walked next to him there was a gentle breeze blowing their hair back and forth. Their exceeds flew above them chatting. The breeze shook the map making it difficult to read for Sora, Neo tied her hair back Sora left his hair alone which was fairly long for a guy. Soon they came to a split in the path with two directions Sora stopped and looked at the map.
"Why'd we stop." Cobalt called down.
"Ya." Tigrera added.
"I'm deciding which way to go." Sora called back to them.
"I think it's this way." Sora added, pointing down one of two paths before them.
"What do you mean you think and you thought wrong its this way." Neo responded, pointing down the other of the two paths.
"How would, you know." Soras said defiantly.
"Cause the sign right there says "This way to Magnolia" you have the map you should know this" Neo retorted.
"Shut up its a confusing map" Sora defensively argued.
"Let me see the map." Neo criticized she snatched the map and immediately pointed out." It's been upside down you fool." whacking him in the back of the head.
This reminded Sora of when he hit his head during the tsunami, sending a chill down his spine.
.
"Okay, let's just go."he mumble.
"Did I hurt you, " she teased him.
"Shut up and lets go" Sora growled aggressively.
"Let's calm down guys" Both exceeds added.
"Okay gosh, let's just go then" Neo replied.
They started to go again, they traveled in silence as they got closer to Magnolia and they finally saw it appear from over the trees and it got bigger and bigger as they got closer. When they finally arrived it was still midday but they were exhausted so they went and found a hotel they could afford. They soon found a shabby one with one bed and they rented it for two nights once they got it they had just barely enough money to pay for what they really came to Magnolia to do and it was the worst hotel in town.
"So how about I get the bed tonight and you get it tomorrow." Neo proposed.
"You can have it both nights I'm fine with the floor" Sora volunteered.
"Is this because of earlier Sora" Neo sighed.
"No, it's fine, don't you remember where you found me." Sora replied, reminding Neo of walking up to a stranger on the side of a road next to a bench and to think they were best friends now even if they do fight sometimes.
"Fine if you say so" Neo added.
So they put the blinds on every window because it was still midday and they couldn't sleep if it wasn't dark they had both found this out about each other. Soon they had the room very dark. Neo lay in the bed with thick blankets pulled up to her chin and Tigrera lay above her head on the pillow. Sora lay on the ground with one pillow under his head and a thin sheet pulled up to his chest and cobalt lay on his chest right over top of the sheets where he normally slept. When they woke up they decided to go look around town and see what was in town so they looked around and didn't see much they just walked around town for the day later they passed a muffin shop on the way to where they were going. When they heard the laughter of men they went to check it out and in an alley a girl stood shorter than Sora, but taller than Neo had a blue dress blue hair and a white jacket. Two men stood in front of her getting closer and closer
"I will hurt you if I have to" the girl threatened the men, even though she was much smaller than them.
"We're really scared of the little girl" the men laughed.
"Let's help her guys" Cobalt said.
"Whatever" Neo sighed, standing right outside the alley and continued to watch.
"How about we all just talk about this" Sora started approaching them, but got cut off by one the men swinging a punch at him.
Sora and the man began to fight throwing punches back and forth.
"I can fight for myself go away" the girl yelled as she fought one man and Sora fought the other.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Sora" he joked while dodging a punch aimed for his head.
"Stop messing around Sora" Neo sighed.
"But it's fun" Sora argued.
"Pay attention to me" the girl roared and began to yell "WATER DRAGON".
In the middle of this Sora and Neo simultaneously interrupted "Wait what".
"ROAR" the girl finished shooting a vortex of water out her mouth aimed at the men, Sora and Neo.
As the girl attacked them a white exceed with orange spots flew out from behind her. Neo jumped behind a building since she was standing outside of the alley. Sora and the two men were caught in the vortex. When the water drained away the two men were unconscious and Sora lay on the ground, whispering to himself, his face pale white.
"Get up not this again come on Sora" Cobalt said, shaking Sora looking embarrassed.
After Sora had lain there for a couple of minutes Neo stepped in
"Sora get up" Neo demanded kicking him in the back of the head.
Neo turned her head to the girl and broke into another conversation "So your a dragon slayer too"
"What do you mean too" the girl replied as Sora regrouped and stood up.
"We are dragon slayers" They both announced.
"WOA!" she started very excitedly "I mean oh well, I didn't need your help as you can see, by the way I'm Izuma" she continued more seriously trying not to look excited.
"Ya" the white spotted exceed added.
"Good for you I guess" Neo retorted as she and Sora walked away Cobalt and Tigrera sat on their shoulders.
After they had walked a little Neo asked Sora "What happened back there with the water it was kinda pathetic."
"Oh... , That was nothing" Sora nervously patting his hair down.
"Come on, I just want to know." she added.
"Okay, I guess" Sora sighed "Well, when I was a boy before I met Genjiro there was a tsunami in my village and my parents died and me and my brother were separated, that's when Genjiro saved me and told me my brother survived but I have never found my brother and ever since I've been scared of water" he admitted.
"Oh, I see" Neo started before they heard giggling behind them.
They turned around to see the girl from before. "What's so funny." Sora growled.
"You're scared of a little water." she teased.
"Shut up and go away" Sora yelled very angrily.
Neo glared at Sora threateningly and then said "Can you please stop following us" to Izuma.
"I'm not following you we just happen to be going in the same direction as each other" Izuma grunted.
"Well, we are going to the lacrima parlor and it hardly looks like you would get a lacrima so where are you going?" Neo questioned.
"As a matter of fact, I am going to the lacrima parlor" she said wearily.
"Well, don't get too close to us then and don't make fun of my friends, that's something only I can do" she raged.
"You definitely don't want to make her mad" Sora told the girl.
"Okay, I'm sorry." she mumbled and continued behind them at a steady pace.
Soon they arrived at the lacrima parlor and found the Izuma really was following them considering she cried her way out of getting the lacrima implant. Also to get a lacrima implant isn't a very common thing even though there is a parlor for it to get the implant you had to find a lacrima or pay for the few weak ones the shop had but and they were very, very expensive, but if you found your own, it was definitely worth it the power boost it gave was enormous not to mention if you were a dragon slayer you could go in dragon force on command. So they got there and the short boy that was sitting at the front desk was asleep and when people actually came in and woke him he was surprised since people came so rarely. He explained that the procedure was to get a blood sample from the people getting the implant and leaving it lay with the lacrima for an hour to let it get used to the body of the one who would get the implant and then they would use a healer mage that could open a gateway in the back where you could put medicines poisons and in this case lacrimas. They could choose who made the small incision in the arm for the blood sample Sora and Neo choose each other.
They high five each other and roared "Lets do this".
Neo went first and when Sora went to make the cut he fell backward and the knife he had slit a small cut under Neo's right eye. This made her so mad she took the knife and made a long cut down Sora's arm that would cause pain but would not damage his body permanently. They sat around for an hour Sora had dozed off and was snoring and Neo was in the chair, two down from him chatting with Tigrera when the boy came back out and told Neo she could come get her implant and woke Sora up by accident. She entered looking confident, but Sora could tell she was nervous about it, ten minutes later she came out looking very sleepy and the boy took Sora in as he passed Neo he asked about it she told him "It doesn't hurt but it's very tiring"
"That's the body adapting to its new energy" the boy added.
They walked into a room with a long table and a desk, a man in his 40s, sat at the desk and on top of it were a few different small lacrimas.
"So you're next" the man said. "I'll be implanting the lacrima in take your shirt off and lay down on that table chest down" the man directed Sora.
Sora lay down like the man had said, and the man walked over and said "Okay, I'm going to start now your back will feel a little weird and numb while I do this" the man started spinning his arm around over top of Sora's back when Sora's back got numb, then the boy came in with the lacrima which was now blood red oppose to the blue it was before when the boy had made it over he placed the lacrima over top of Sora back where it was numb. The man continued the same movements as the lacrima slowly moved its way into his back and after about five minutes the lacrima was in Sora's body and the man did the opposite motions then he did before and feeling came back in Sora's back. He felt tired just like Neo said he would be. He walked out Neo lay asleep on the chair she sat down at before Sora was tired he wanted to sleep too so he sat down and they both slept. When they woke up they didn't know how long they'd been asleep, but Izuma was still there.
"How long have we been out" Neo asked.
"An hour or two" Izuma replied.
"You waited all that time for us, me and Sora would have just left" Neo looked surprised " I can't believe you didn't even get a lacrima "she added.
" Well, I'm still pure, so I know a cool spot around here want to come with me and see it" Izuma asked.
"Sure, we got nothing better to do and I have so much energy now" Sora answered.
When they got there they found it was a cliff that looked over all of Magnolia and you could see almost everything. Sora and Neo talked about their new lacrimas and Izuma felt a little left out. Soon Neo started to tease her how they would be stronger with their new lacrima and Izuma tried to throw a rock at her, but Neo dodged quickly and it missed and hit a stranger that walked up behind her who had pink hair, black eyes and had a tattoo of what looked like a fairy on his arm he got knocked out by the rock and Izuma took an interest in the boy for some reason and sat with him the entire time.