I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment purposes only, no money involved.

Godou fitted a rope around the small crate of forks he would be delivering to the 'Hostess of Fertility', the pub that Shizuka and Pandora worked at. It wasn't all that heavy, but it was still going to be a long walk to the little inn, so Godou tied the rope to make a backpack of sorts before he went on his way.

The city of Orario was a massive place, since every God and Goddess wanted to be as close as possible to the Tower of Babel, the city was a continues stretch of building for miles around the godly spire, consisting of nearly a hundred castles, and thousands of residential building and stores.

Though their were patches like the one that Pandora's little Familia lived in. Small discarded areas that the gods had abandoned and all those who had worshiped the god or goddess left with them, leaving them empty for people who were unable to gain entry into Familias, or gods and goddesses who were not well known enough to attract followers.

The entire area had an unkempt feel about it, the pavement was cracked and the plaster flaking off of the buildings, exposing rotting support beams and spots were animal had pulled out the building's insolation in order to make their nests. The grass was filled with weeds and fallen trees laid rotting where they had fallen.

But even so, Godou rather liked the place. It was quiet, and peaceful, mostly populated by craftsmen and dreamers rather than the more violent thieves and adventurers.

It wasn't that Godou thought that all adventurers were bad, but with a profession were the strong were considered more important than the weak and it was every party for themselves, some apples went rotten, really rotten. Betrayal, abandonment and murder were not unheard of, or even that uncommon. The death toll was extremely high. But even so, there were always people either foolish enough or dispirit enough to do it anyways. It was a really profitable profession and one that earn lots of honor and glory to those who were successful.

Godou walked for about five miles to the inn where his sister and mother worked, in on of the many marketing districts just outside of the inner residential areas.

The pub was a cozy looking place, even though it was a rather large, two stories plus an attic. The sign over the door boosted a fork crossed with a knife, so it was fairly obvious what the place was, and even if it hadn't, the two long windows by the double doors that made up the front entrance let everyone outside see the tables full of people celebrating the ending of another day as they ate, drank, and talked about their various luck and findings.

There was an almost palpable energy in the air as Godou pushed the door open and walked in. The noise made Godou a little uncomfortable, being more used to the quiet or the steady sounds of hammer on metal, but that didn't stop him from coming to visit whenever he got the chance.

"Oh Godou-kun! Is that for me!?" Mia Grand, the owner of the store shouted from behind the counter when she saw Godou coming in with the small crate on his back.

"Sure is." Godou said as he when up and handed her the box which she opened to look in at the forks inside before putting it with the others.

"Thanks. For some reason our forks just keep disappearing." Mia said with a laugh, scratching the back of her head. Mia was a kind woman with long brown hair that she had up in a ponytail. She was a bit on the big boned side and had a lot of pride in her step and heart in her smiles, making her instantly likable and a mother figure to may who had only met her.

She was a retired adventurer, just like many of the girls that made up her staff. Each one had suffered some form of tragedy while in the dungeons underneath the Tower of Babel, though none of them talked about it.

"I should be the one thanking you for putting up with us." Godou said as he glanced behind Mia to see his Shizuka and Pandora walking the stoves. "You not only commission me for work, but you even gave Shizuka-chan and Kaa-san jobs as well."

Mia laughed loudly again, giving Godou a slap on the back that nearly knocked him off his feet. "You're a good kid, and you're all good hard works. So I've got no problems hiring you."

The staff was divide in two, and were made easily recognizable by their different uniforms. Those who worked in the kitchen, like Mia, Shizuka and Pandora all wore blue dressed with short sleeves that wouldn't restrict their hands or be likely to catch fire, and white aprons. While the waitresses all wore green dresses with long sleeves that concealed small daggers, just incase any of the customers got to uppity. They had the same white aprons, but also wore headbands to finish the waitress look.

"Now sit down. We need to get some food in you." Mai said grabbing Godou by the shoulder and pushing him into a chair at an empty table. "Hey, Shizuka, Pan, you're little boy is here! I assume you want to eat your dinner with him like usual!?"

"Yes please!" Pandora said with her usual wide smile.

"Huh oh! Hey everyone! Shizuka-chan is on break! Stop ordering food!" On of the repeat customers at the counter shouted, drawing laughs and complaints from the rest of the people at the pub.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" Mia shouted loud enough for everyone to hear her as she pulled the outspoken man into a headlock. "I'll have you now that I've been running this place for years before she came along, so you best not insult my cooking!"

"Sorry, Grand-san." Shizuka giggled as she walked over to the table Godou had been sat at.

Mia laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm not begrudging you your natural talents in the kitchen." Reaching out one of her large hands that once held a mighty weapon to lovingly ruffle the little girl's hair. "You'll make yourself a fine wife someday."

"Won't she." Pandora nodded in agreement, causing the little girl to blush.

"Wh...what are you two saying!? I'm to young to be thinking about things like that!" Shizuka squealed to the delight of the older woman.

"Don't say that. If you don't start looking around you might find you end up like me, old and single, with no children of your own." Mia said, shaking her head.

"Come now Grand-san, you're not old." Godou assured the inn keeper.

"Yeah, all the men here just don't think they're good enough for you." Pandora giggled, bringing up a round of good natured laughter from the nearby tables.

"You got that right, none of you fools is man enough for me!" Mia boasted, pushing out her chest with her hands on her hips. "But I thought a boy had already caught your eye, Shizuka-chan. That kid with the white hair. What was his name again, Bell-kun?"

"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Shizuka said, turning a bright shade of red. Godou raised an eyebrow, but knew that he wasn't allowed to join in the teasing of his little sister. At least, not without consequences.

Bell Cranel was a relatively new name. He had only came to the city less than a month ago with the hope of becoming a hero of some kind. It wasn't that unique of a story, but much more uniquely was the fact that he still wanted to be one even after the first two weeks.

Godou had seen the boy once when he was making early morning runs to pick up scrap metal. He was just a year younger than Godou himself, with a rather pale complection and hair that was so white that it seemed to glow in the dark.

Bell was the only member of a Familia to an almost unheard of goddess, so he was rather poor, even when compared to Pandora's little Familia. But that didn't stop him from running around with a big smile on his face. Shizuka took a liking to the boy and started making him lunches for when he went into the dungeons. Though Bell seemed rather oblivious to the fact that the little girl like him.

"What's that, Shizuka-chan's found a boy?" Someone said. Shizuka turned her head to see Mariya Hikari standing behind her with a huge grin on her face.

"Hikari-chan!" Shizuka shouted in surprise at seeing her friend. She got up and the two twelve year old girls quickly hugged in the manner little girls did.

The two could have been twins. Though Hikari's brown hair was just one shade lighter and her eyes were brown instead of green, the likeness between the two was almost uncanny. And it was this likeness that had drawn them together when they were even smaller children, causing the two to become quick friends.

"It is good to see that you all are still doing well." Mariya Yuri, Hikari's older sister said as she walked up to the table as well.

"It's good too, Yuri-chan." Godou said as he noticed the girl. Yuri was the same age as he was and the two had met through their little sisters. Yuri was just a head shorter than Godou, with long brown hair that stopped just above her waist and the same brown eyes as her little sister. Both her and Hikari were dressed in traditional shrine maiden outfits with white tops and green bottoms.

Yuri was a priestess for the Sun Wukong Familia, and Hikari was in training to be the same. It was the priestess's job to look after the health of the adventurers within their Familia, keeping them in top condition, though priestesses sometimes joined parties to go into the dungeons themselves.

"It's been a while since you two have come around. Why don't you join us for dinner and we can catch up." Pandora said cheerfully as she gestured to two open seats.

"Yeah! You guys can celebrate with us!" Hikari said happily as she ran behind her sister and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Onee-chan just became a level 2 yesterday!"

"Well then, I suppose congratulations are in order." Mia said, her hands going to her hips.

"That's really great, Yuri-san." Godou nodded in agreement.

"It... it's nothing, really." Yuri said, blushing a bit at all the attention she was getting.

"It's not nothing!" Shizuka said, her eyes full of admiration. She had always looked up to Yuri, seeing the older girl as the apex of grace and beauty. "Most people take over a year to level up, but you managed it in just nine months!"

Leveling up was not like stat building. Every day activities could help build someone's stats, but in order to level up you had to achieve something, usually overcoming a personal obstacle. And since it is not easy to do, or very predictable, it could take years to level up, even if the individual was talented.

"When then, I'll whip you all up something special." Mia said, turning and walking back into the kitchen to get back to work.

"I told you, it isn't anything special." Yuri said weakly, not being one to enjoy attention.

"Come on Yuri-san, there isn't anything wrong with celebrating." Godou said. "Hey Kaa-san, don't you and Shizuka have tomorrow off for that festival that Ganesha-sama put together?" Godou asked his adoptive mother. Ganesha was a god of a very large and wealthy Familia who enjoyed throwing large events to entertain the masses. He was often referred to as the 'god of the people'. "How about we all go together? It could be fun."

"Um... That sounds nice." Yuri said, nodding in agreement.

"Oh! It will be Godou-kun and Onee-san's first date." Hikari squealed causing the two named older siblings to blush.

"Hikari!" Yuri pouted, trying and failing to cover up her embarrassment.

"I don't know what you are talking about. My Nii-san isn't nearly good enough for Yuri-san." Shizuka said shaking her head.

"Huh? Why not? I think they would make a cute couple." Hikari said, turning to her friend. "And if they did get married, then we would totally be sisters!"

"You two are just making fun of us, aren't you?" Godou sighed as he got over the initial shock.

"Don't worry Godou. The two of you have my blessings." Pandora said putting a hand over her chest. "Just make sure you make me lots of grandchildren."

"Kaa-san!" "Pandora-sama!" Godou and Yuri said together in shocked embarrassment, getting a good laugh out of Hikari and a smaller chuckle out of Shizuka.

But the laugher stopped when they heard the sound of plates shattering on the floor. "Let go of me!" Chloe Lolo, one of the waitresses who worked at the 'Hostess of Fertility' shouted, trying to pull her arm out of the grip of one of the costumers who had drank a little to much and was acting up.

Chloe was a cat person, an individual who had a body that was almost exactly the same as a human's, only with the addition of cat ears and a tail. Chloe had shoulder length black hair with her cat like ears sticking out of it behind her maid's headband.

Cat people were none to be rather quick and flexible people, but that wasn't going to help Chloe now that she was already in the man's grip.

"Come on little girl, why not show me some love?" The drunk said, his tongue hanging out slightly. The man was a Boaz, something that could easily be judged by his sheer size and his dark brown hair with massive side burns. If a cat person was a human that was part cat, then a Boaz was a human that was part boar. They were generally huge in size and had lots of raw strength, so once one had a grip on you, it would be hard to get out of it.

"What do you think you're doing!? Let go of her!" Godou shouted as he jumped from his seat and went to help the waitress. He reached up and grabbed the man's hand, trying to pry open the fingers, but the grip was too strong. "Someone get Mia-san!" Godou shouted, knowing that the shop keeper could defuse the situation.

"Get of brat!" The man shouted, swinging his free arm, clipping Godou in the head with a gantleted hand, breaking the sick and knocking him off and into the neighboring table. "You should stick to the younger ladies kid. This one is too old for you." The drunk man said shaking his head.

Godou looked up at the man. The guy was clearly drunk, so they just needed to calm him down before the situation got any worse. But Godou didn't know how to reason with him. The guy was clearly too far out of it.

"Now were was... ah!" The man shouted in pain and let go of the girl as a saber was pressed throw his shoulder. Chloe pulled away as the man fell to his knee, clutching at the injured shoulder.

"How boarish of you, to try to force yourself on a lady." A young woman said as she pulled the saber from the man's shoulder. Godou looked up in shock at the girl.

She looked as if she was the same age as Godou himself. She long bright blond hair that came down to just below her shoulders, and the smile on her face seemed so out of place for the current situation, as if she found it amusing. She wore a crimson red dress with a few black strips and long red gloves and came up past her elbows.

"Why the hell did you do..." The Boaz started before he was cut off by the presence of the girl's blade in his mouth.

"Since I doubt anyone here would care if I killed you, I suggest you leave now." The girl said with that same out of place smile. The Boaz stumbled back, fear clearing his head enough for him to turn and stagger as fast as he could for the door. "Hmm. Animal." The girl said with contempt.

"You went too far." Godou said, surprising the girl. "He didn't mean any harm, his head just won't very clear. There was no need for violence."

The girl looked long at Godou's face as a small bit of blood trickled down into it. "Those strike me as the words of a coward." She said with a shrug. She walked up to Mia who had come out of the kitchen and pulled out a purse. "Here, I beleive that man forgot to pay before he ran off." She said, paying the shop keeper before turning and walking out of the pub.

"What is with her? Who does she think she is?" Godou said angrily.

"Erica Blandelli, the Diavolo Rosso." Yuri said as they watched the door close behind her. "She's one of the top adventures for Hermes' Familia. She's a level 5." Yuri said as she knelt down next to Godou and started to cast a small healing spell to fix the wound on his head.

"That doesn't give her the right to go around hurting people." Godou said serious. "Violence is not the answer."

"I'm just glad everything was cleared up." Mia said as she came closer.

"I'm sorry, Mia-san. I shouldn't have let him grab me." Chloe apologized as she when to pick up the broken glass.

"Don't apologize. It isn't your fault." Mia said, waving the girl back. "Hey Shizuka, can you take care of this?" Mia said, pointing to the broken plates.

"Alright." Shizuka said walking over to the fragments. "The world is memories; a collective dream of thousands of dreamers. If it is remembered, then it happened. But if it forgotten, then it can be undone. Let the hurt pass away, like water under the bridge, and let all things return to the way they once were." Shizuka chanted softly. Her hands glowed a dim blue and the piece of plaster and glass began to shimmer as well, piecing themselves back together.

There were astonished whispers as most people rarely saw the little girl performing her magic. Godou sighed as he watched his sister's work. And when she was done they all went back to there table to eat. But Godou couldn't help but to think about the girl in red. Why was it that people could be so violent?

After dinner the group had agreed to meet up the following day. Godou stuck around to help with some heavy lifting behind the scenes at the inn while his sister and mother went back to work, and then that night they all walked home together, enjoying the quiet in their small far off house. So far away from the troubles of the dungeons.

Kusanagi Shizuka : Level 1

Str: I: 39

Vit: I: 41

Dex: I: 36

Agl: I: 39

Mag: D: 534

Luck: E

Magic Spells: True Flavor, Repair, Nurse, Aqua Edge

Skills:

I am really find it hard to motivate myself to write these days. So don't be surprise if sooner or later I just quit writing on cite all together.