Alright, alright…before any of you say anything…I know I screwed up *Laughs nervously* As I didn't realize it, I accidently uploaded the first Chapter 'Unexpected Arrival' AGAIN instead of the actual Chapter 'Many Ways, Our's ahead'…whoops?
Lucifer: "At least you managed to correct your error in less than a day worth of time…"
Yeah…for everybody who got disappointed and 'maybe' mad at me for that mistake, I deserve that. Now the correct Chapter is in its place and if you haven't read it yet, you'll be able to now do that.
Lucifer: "Good to know for them, even though I would have preferred it when that Chapter wasn't live…"
Oh, yeah…You're still unhappy about the result with the b-
Lucifer: *Glares* "Don't you dare to finish that sentence or not even the entirety of heaven may help you once I'm done with you…"
'AH! I forgot that his glare is just as bad as Sietta's! And he's not even fully mad at me!' D-don't worry, I'll k-keep my trap shut about that!
'G': "Give him some rest, Lucifer. After all, he has a small announcement to make before we move on to the disclaimer and start the next Chapter."
Lucifer: *Glares slightly, before sighing* "…Alright, fine. Fire, may you do the honors?"
Oh, yeah! *Coughs* Ladies and Gentlemen, not only are we close to the 50k and more work-mark, but we finally got 10 people to follow this fanfiction! I'm so happy that you really want to read this more and are visiting my story regularly! It's true that this doesn't sound like much, but for my first work that I ever openly published, this is a nice refresher!
'G': "Good to also see that we can expect something close to a regular update-schedule from now on. For the duration of his summer break, you can expect regular releases for up to 3 days prior. After that (and once Fire is back to school), this will change drastically but don't be too disappointed. He will try his best to upload updates over time." *Glares* "And, should he again forget about it…"
Fine, I get it! But yeah, when you check in regularly, the will mostly be a new Chapter available for you all. With that out of the way, and because there aren't any new reviews-
Lucifer: "Maybe next time. Maybe not~."
-We will skip right to the disclaimer! 'G', it's your turn again.
'G': "Okay." *Clears throat and turns to the audience* "Any OC that appears in 'Daylight's End' and this fanfiction itself has their rights reserved by MrFiretank. Other than that, he doesn't have any rights on 'Fairy Tail' or its characters."
Alright, now without further ado-
Lucifer: "We move on to the next addition to this fanfiction~."
…Are you proud of yourself?
Lucifer: *Grins* "Care to take a guess~?"
…Yeah, that was stupid to ask of me. Well, like Lucifer said.
*Speaks mentally* Roll the next Chapter!
'G': "I heard that."
...Dang, I forgot.
…
CHAPTER 9 – THE 'KIRIN' DUO ROARS
(For more Intensity, play from 'Derek Fiechter – Woodland Fairies')
After we joined Sietta, Yorc and the other members for our travel we finally started moving towards 'Colossus Mountain' at a calm pace. Yorc, who still had the bandage around his arm kept walking in the front of us. Sietta stayed in the back and decided to keep watch at anyone who would slack off. The other members either walked alongside the carriages or decided to take the reins of them.
During the first hour we traveled I decided to get closer to the village-watchers themselves. So when I saw the pair that assisted me and Trecht in the last days, I just started talking to them.
Ulm and his 'Bro' Marko (so their official names) actually were partially in the bar when 'Full Blood' showed up on my first day in Loeyur. To their opinion, they would have ran straight at them and mopped the floor with them if I wouldn't have interfered with that plan. Ulm had visited the 'Loeyur Mountain Tavern' right after his shift, so his light crossbow was on him that time.
During the fight, he was so close to ignore my wishes and fire a bolt straight at 'Scarface's' visage, but his weapon slipped right out of his hands from shock when I blinked out of the guy's range.
Marko however had a night-shift that day, so he was part of the unit that took those jerks into custody. Sadly they bailed out of their cell and two of them made a run for it via. horseback before him and his team could catch them. The last guy (the one who Trecht knocked out cold) was still unconscious that time, so he was pretty down when he woke up in his cell alone.
Even though they had him still in there, Marko got punished by Sietta (and I quote, for "Letting those incompetent jerk wads out of his sight!") and got assigned to kitchen duty for that.
Fortunately, and since Ulm had been pretty good friends with him didn't want to leave him alone, he voluntarily took kitchen duty as well. There he told Marko of the latest events he witnessed and…well…they were so happy about me that they also decided to help me out.
Remember the delicious steak that I got to eat in the infirmary's bed? Turns out that these two cooked it! When they told me about it I also asked about their hobbies, and I learned that they worked part-time for a restaurant near the town hall!
They promised to make another dish for me once I would visit there, but I was supposed to tell them beforehand of the date, so they could cook it themselves. After that they told me a bit about the weeks before I got here and both commented on that. Even a few of the other watchers that eavesdropped on our conversation told their stories and comments.
Ulm and Marko got pretty down once the towns funds started to drop drastically, so they couldn't maintain their part-time jobs anymore. For them, their village was on the line. And because of this, they joined the village-watchers together.
They weren't the only ones though. Most of the people that joined their ranks had similar reasons for such decisions. They either lost their jobs, their loved ones or simply were fed up with the situation. They knew that this would be a fight for their lives once they joined, but that didn't matter. Their proud Loeyur was everything to them, and seeing it decay from the hands of a Dark Guild was too much for their pride.
After that I got slightly drowsy and was 'requested' by Sietta to take a nap in one of the carriages. These looked like in the old western movies (and thus offered coverability and privacy), so nobody would interrupt my sleep there. Since it was still miles away from our destination, I complied and used my knapsack (which even had a blanket for me in it!) as a cushion and laid myself down.
(Stop playing 'Derek Fiechter – Woodland Fairies' if you've played it)
When I woke up somewhere around afternoon, I wasn't alone in there anymore. To my surprise, Yorc was leaning on the carriage's cover with his eyes closed and arms crossed. His own sword resting close to my own, which I discarded into the hands of Trecht for my nap. Seeing as his posture didn't look relaxed, I figured he wasn't actually sleeping.
'Maybe he is just meditating?' I tried to lay down again, and not interrupt whatever he was doing, but hearing a small grunt from his direction informed me about my already failed attempt…
"Uh…h-hey Yorc! H-how are you doing?" I was pretty nervous, since I may have disturbed him or so, but maybe that was just my social anxiety speaking…
'Yeah, it probably was.'
"I'm okay…It's alright…couldn't sleep anyway." He opened one eye to look directly at me, but he seemed calm right now. 'Alright, so I at least didn't interrupt him or anything.'
Well, why was he here anyways? Didn't he protest when Sietta tried to force us here? 'I wanted to make conversations with them anyways, so why not?'
"Yorc, why are you here? Uh, not that I don't appreciate you company or anything, but, uh…uh…" My question came out so wrong, that I simply gave up with correcting myself and sighed while I was still laying down.
He seemed to raise a nonexistent eyebrow at that, but didn't me about my anxiety. "…Sietta came over…and ordered me to." 'Well, that explains everything.' I was still sleepy, but I had more than enough rest, so I sat upright and stretched before proceeding to put my blanket back into my knapsack.
While I was doing this, my mind was actually focused on Yorc. I mean, he fought me already and proved his strength quite well. But what did I know about the man in question exactly? Beside his name, his current role and his strength, I was clueless about him! 'Well, maybe I can ask him a question or two, seeing as he doesn't mind to speak around me…maybe how he and Sietta met?'
"Can I…ask you a question?" Yorc turned his head to me again and gave a small grunt of allowance, so I elaborated. "How do you know Sietta so well…no, no wait. That didn't sound right, uh…rather how did you meet her in the first place?"
That seemed like a huge question for the silent man, so he closed his eyes in deep thought while I was waiting for his explanation. He was taking his time, but seeing as this must be a big topic for him, I patiently waited until he opened his eyes. And then…
"…It began 2 years ago…"
(For more Intensity, switch to 'Fullmetal Alchemist OST – Harmony' [on loop])
The traveling swordsman was walking on a small path through the forest in the search for a town nearby. He had worked as a mercenary around the region for all kinds of clients. Elders, Authorities, Soldiers…you name it to him and he could tell you about the experience with them.
Straight ahead he saw a not too big village in the distance. Since he was looking for a place to stay for the night, he walked further ahead until he passed the entrance. He spotted a flag floating from a small pole near the town square that had 'Loeyur' sewed on it. Figuring that the village wasn't too big, he decided to explore the streets a little.
While walking around he spotted a few places, like a popular tavern that was filled to the brim with customers and visitors alike. An inn was standing proudly on the outer edges of this place, which seemed to have treated travelers quite well. Maybe he would go there later to rest for tonight…
There was also a cozy restaurant near the biggest building of Loeyur. '…Perhaps the town hall?' From the restaurant's windows he could make out two cooks that happily chatted with each other while serving their customers. The smell that was noticeable could have caused him to go there. But he didn't want to stop his little tour just yet.
There was a small trail that lead to…somewhere at the north end of the village. Since that looked like the last place he could travel to at afternoon, he wandered down the path until he came across a training field. The grass was unevenly cut and it looked like nature had already taken this place back. But what he failed to notice until now, was that he wasn't alone.
Standing on the training field was a teenage girl with a small ponytail out of cleaned, red hair. She wore short, brown pants and a dark-brown vest over a white shirt while also sporting regular boots. She was holding a wooden spear and was in an offensive stance that…well…left him deadpanning.
'…Her stature is sloppy…the weapon's positioning leaves much to correct…' He watched intently from the background as the girl charged at a tree with a war cry of her own. She managed to put a decent-sized dent into the tree, but couldn't handle the recoil from the impact. While the spear was stuck to the ground, her face met the floor and stayed there for a solid couple of seconds.
He decided to help the girl out, so he slowly walked towards the girl. As he got closer, he noticed small injures on her forearms and scrapes. Before he was in front of the girl, however, she sprung up and not looked directly at him. Her breathing was a bit rigid and she seemed to grab the spear, only to point it at…him?
"Who are you? Are you here to mock me too like the others!?" The teenager was glaring heavily at him, but he didn't move or showed any signs of reaction on his face, but rather kept a neutral expression.
"Did you just spy on me!? Well, you must have gotten a good laugh out of that, didn't you!?" The spear's end was now pointed at his chest, but he still didn't make a move. He just stared at her passively while thinking to himself.
"Come on, just say it out loud! Just say that I can't do it! Say that I can't get strong because I'm supposed to be a "Lady" by now!" That confused him, as he watched the girl slightly tremble with her arms. The girls look got even madder, but she seemed distressed. Was she just trying to get better in fighting…or was there something else…
"GRRR! DAMMIT, JUST SAY SOMETHING!" The girl was now getting enraged, as she was a second away from running out of the training field to not throw a bigger tantrum. 'IS THAT GUY TAUNTING ME!? WHY DOES EVERYBODY HAVE TO MOCK ME LIKE THIS!? TALK TO ME ALREA-'
"…Arms higher." And just like that the angry facade on her face was dropped for pure confusion. She had expected him to actually mock him. Hell, she even expected him to laugh at her, but…did he just…help her?
"Wh-…what?" He saw the girl in front of him freeze up in a state of pure confusion. So with a small sigh he walked the last two steps towards her and put his hands over the girl's on the spear. He then slowly adjusted her hold on the weapon before walking in front of the tip.
"…That's how you hold it." The girl was flabbergasted. She looked towards the tired man and then to the spear and repeated the same process before she just gaped while being shell-shocked at said person before her. 'Why…d-did that guy just…?'
She managed to get over her shock eventually and still saw the man before her own spear. '…So it wasn't my imagination.' Her face slowly regained control, and managed to squeak out her single thought.
"Why?"
He didn't want to dwell too long it this place, so he turned around while shortly answering. "…You… needed help…" The sounds of his own boots was echoing over the small breeze that swept through the grass. He was almost at the end of the field, before he heard the girl speaking up with an almost unnoticeable timid voice.
"…Stop..."
Before he had set another foot further and complied, he heard the shifting of grass before the same voice returned.
"…What's…your name?"
He moved his head to the side, so he could see her from the corner of his eye. She was still standing on the same spot, but the spear was resting upright in the ground and was held by a lone hand. The girls' eyes were covered by her shadow, but he noticed a small glint sparking from the sunlight in her eyes. He then spoke in his ever-calm voice. "…Yorcin."
The girl seemed to think about that for a while, before replying in a happy voice. "Alright! Thanks for that!" He could have walked away by now, but something inside his mind told him that there were some words left unspoken, so he waited…
…With what sure seemed to be a long pause the girl's expression shifted again into distress until she spoke up. "C-Could you m-maybe…t-teach me?"
With that request he actually rose an eyebrow. A teenage girl who he just randomly encountered and gave the tiniest bit of advice just request teaching…and from him of all people. The idea in itself was so ridiculous that he should have just walked away. It was so surreal, so…childish to ask…
But (and he wasn't too happy about admitting it) maybe…just maybe…
"…Your name?" The girl didn't seem to get his question, but spoke up in a confused tone regardless.
"Uh…Sietta…" And that was all he needed for now. He started to walk away while turning his eyes forward. The girl thought he coldly declined her like the others, but then she heard from the distance his voice.
"…Tomorrow…Noon…don't be late, Sietta." He was almost out of hearing range, but just wanted to walk to the inn and sleep. With the request he just complied to, he would have a day full of mental headaches and-
"UNTIL TOMORROW, YORC!" –already felt one coming to him. He so badly wanted to relax and just rest…but he still allowed himself to turn around one last time for today. And in the distance was…that girl…no Sietta, waving at him with a bright smile.
He then turned around again…but not without giving a tired wave himself backwards. He surely didn't realize in what spot he had put himself into, but now…he had no chance to ditch her.
'Well…there no turning back now…also…Yorc?' What that was supposed to mean…he didn't know. But he may as well let her be…it wasn't like he didn't hate that nickname really. And with that he returned for the night and thought on how he would train somebody.
That day then turned into days, then days into weeks, weeks into months and faster than he could have realized it an entire year passed. Sietta had gain some proper strength now and could wield a spear with decent skill…it wasn't much but for her it was enough. For some reason she chose a trident instead of a casual spear though…and when he asked her why, she just replied:
"Well why, Yorc? For fishing of course!" Oh yeah, Sietta had an unhealthy habit of eating fish, okay? Any kind, any race, as long as it was fish she tried to grill it and eat it on the spot…he actually cracked a smile when he heard about this for the first time. Luckily he did turn away in time, or she would have teased him for ages about it...
A month later Sietta then walked up to the headquarters of the village-watchers, the local guards. Yorc decided to follow her…after her student bugged him nonstop for the said thing. When she requested to join their ranks, they simply laughed at her and said to her: "Go back to being a dress-up doll, miss!" Well…he didn't need a reminder of what happened afterwards.
But to be blunt, she decided to beat-up the entirety of the village-watch in less than two minutes. Bare-handed, he might add. When her tantrum settled down thought, she got accepted into their ranks and immediately asked who trained her like that. Sietta simply pointed at Yorc and after a rant from her side with the occasional praising of the watcher's members, they had two new recruits that day.
During his stay there they rapidly climbed up the ranks, and when the two of them received the promotion for the chief after two months prior, Sietta of course tried to persuade Yorc…
"You teached me everything, Yorc! Just put your damn humbleness aside and accept it for a change!" Well, they needed three entire days before 'their'…or rather her argument settled after Yorc offered her a deal after their daily spar on the same training field he met her.
"…You become chief. And…the day you beat me…or leave…I'll take the spot." Sietta wasn't truly satisfied yet, he noticed. But, that wasn't his entire deal…
"And…I'll become your…2nd-in-command…for the time being." With that offer it didn't take long for Sietta to accept. She became the hot-headed chief of the village-watchers and Yorc was under her command until any of the two conditions would be met.
To be honest, Yorcin…no…Yorc never intended to stay in Loeyur for longer than a week at most. He simply wanted to take some time off to relax, but now…he was a major figure in the lives of the people living there. They always greeted him when he was spotted, and sometimes he even received gifts from the shops around…and anything that involved fish got sent anonymously to Sietta's room.
He trained that woman for over a year, and the weirdest part…he was ok with that. He actually enjoyed his life since then. No chasing, no killing or fighting (real challenges came around rarely, and he'd get excited about every single one), but only teaching a redhead with twin ponytails and a temper worse than the heat of Fire Magic.
It was only her and Loeyur. And after all those times meeting up with that woman, helping the villagers with their local business and remembering his past...he accepted it.
He wasn't the mercenary Yorcin anymore who'd do others dirty work for Jewels, but now he was Yorc, 2nd-in-command under Sietta herself and a resident of Loeyur…
(Stop playing 'Fullmetal Alchemist OST – Harmony' if you've played it)
"So your real name isn't Yorc…but Yorcin?" After I heard his story, I had so many questions open. Why did Sietta always get so mad at the calling of 'Miss', or how was the village doing before 'Full Blood' decided to basically ruin them?
He grunted softly before adding: "…I prefer Yorc…with Yorcin, I…remember." It really seemed like his past nothing short than sucked. His face even showed a small grimace…he had a grimace on his face…oh my…
"Don't worry. I'll keep calling you Yorc it that's alright with you. Also, I'll not talk about anything that you said to me except you're okay with it." His own face was still looking slightly sad…but then he smiled and nodded towards me. 'Success!'
We had a small comfortable silence over us, before Yorc sat up on his feet and walked towards the front of the carriage. I actually had a decent conversation with the silent swordsman, and it was nice. Now, who could I talk to-
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"AAAHHHHH!"
'WHAT WAS THAT!?' Just as I was calming down, the deafening sound of explosions roared outside. So we rushed out of the carriage in record-time to see something that I would have loved to avoid today…
(For more Intensity, play from 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OST – Dark Rebirth' [on loop])
On the path itself there were three small craters on the ground where smoke was still coming out from. Four of the village-watchers laid out cold on the ground, and Ulm and Marko were two of them, crossbow and dagger stayed limply beside them. And before us on the street stood two figures…
"Walk no further." The left man had messy, blond-brown hair in a surfer-like fashion on his head with azure-blue eyes that gazed through all of us. He wore a…yukata? No…a kimono…yes. A black kimono with a golden shoulder guard at his right. He also wore white socks and…straw sandals (weird fashion-choice). However, every other thought of mine got silenced when I laid eyes on…how… to describe that…
Imagine yourself the most menacing sword you could think of…and multiply that fear in you for it times 10! The sword that he held in his left hand and rested upon his shoulder guard was at least 9 FT. LONG (OR ALMOST 3 METERS) AND WAS OVER 11 INCHES BROAD (OR 30 CENTIMETRES)! That weapon put the term "Broadsword" to shame! And that wasn't all…there was a golden cross-guard that was even wider than the blade itself, a cloud-shaped pommel was also there. And just over the guard was a beautiful yellow, opal-formed lacrima…and judging from the glowing light it currently radiated plus the sparks that emanated out of the blade that meant three things:
First, this guy is a Lightning Magic user.
Second, said mage just attacked us…
And last…he must be a mage from 'Full Blood'…
"We're only here for the enemy mage…" Oh, that's right. Before I got absolutely terrified (which I STILL AM!) there was also another person standing beside that guy. The girl actually looked pretty similar…siblings perhaps?
Her hair was done into a medium-high ponytail with dirty brown-blond bangs on the side of her face. She sported the same black kimono and also wore that shoulder guard, but on the left shoulder instead of the right one. Same footwear and eye color. Her weapon though…
It looked like a sleek rapier with TWO BLADES! Two blades that were shaped like a regular dagger, but only longer with the height of 3 ft. and 3 inches (or 1 meter) and seemed razor-sharp…they were even glinting in the small rays of sunlight between the clouded…wait…
'Since when did the weather change into this anyway? But I- NO! Wrong thoughts! Focus on the previously mentioned evil mages before you!'
Okay…seeing as 'Mr. Menacing' (like in JoJo, but WAY more terrifying) before us was a mage, that meant that she also must have some kind of magic…
"And what if we refuse to back down?" One of the village-watchers broke the tension between us and the mages, but even I think that question was a stupid idea…and- 'OH MY GOD, DUCK!'
Before I could even blink the girl performed an overhead slash…that sent out a crescent-shaped wave of air to the poor soul that spoke…and inflicted a huge gash on the guy who now collapsed! 'There is…s-SO MUCH BLOOD SEEPING OUT OF HIM!'
"Crap! Treat them, fast!" Sietta called out to her men before glared at the two figures while staying on the defensive. Yorc also had his sword out and prepared himself for anything. I was keeping my own sword beside me, but was ready if any fight would break down now…and even Trecht and the rest of the village-watch got their positions set…
"As we said…we're only interested on the mage. Once we have him or her out of the picture, we'll leave you alone." And to make sure that we didn't try anything stupid right now, he rose his gigantic sword from his shoulder guard with a tiny movement of his hand! 'Geez, how strong is that guy!?'
His companion scanned the crowd and looked at all of us. But when her eyes landed on me, she seemed to focus on something…like…oh cra-
*SLASH* "GAH!"
"JESSICA!" Before I could even try to dodge, another wave of air flew straight at me and hit my upper right calf which caused me to drop on one leg. The others reacted as fast as they could by running to me and forming a protective barrier. Even Ulm (who was now conscious once more) ran to me with a bandage roll.
"Matsuri. This is her?" The guy looked still calm, but the longer I looked at him, the more noticeable it was that he was hiding his emotions. Like a façade…and even the girl looked exactly alike him, but there was a sad tinge to it…
"Yes, Fujimaru…she is the only person who possesses a big enough magic pool." They both looked straight at me…and their blue eyes… 'It's like they bore straight through me…'
I was actually trembling by now. I knew that any mage worth his salt in Earth Land was powerful in their own right…but…how was I supposed to-
*SLAP*
"Now's not the time to piss yourself! GET A GRIP ON, Jessica!" Oh, thank god Sietta. With her help I was calming down now…but still…
"Move away now. Or else…" Even with myself ready for actual combat situations…and my little grip on magic…
"…No chance…" Is there any possibility…?
"…" / "…Then we're sorry." *RUMBLE* *SHING*
…Any possibility for us to win?
...
(Stop playing 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OST – Dark Rebirth' if you've played it)
(To be continued…)
(Fire Me): Oh man! This is going down right now! I am currently writing on the next chapters and MAN, I'm EXCITED!
But anyhow, I got to go sleep now, so without any dawdle tonight…
The Sir's out!