(A/N): We have now officially reached the third of the way point. Thanks for sticking with me if you've been reading consistently all the way through!

Following this chapter is a 2 year timeskip. For all those who have been accepted, I'm going to need to know what you want your character to focus on during the time. Training? Working on relationships? Whatever you find relevant, pass it onto me.

This will also give me a chance to finish the whole roster off.

Thank you all for giving this story your attention; I've certainly had fun writing it for you all!

Chapter 8: When I See You Again

"Your...your father was the one who killed my family...the one who had my mother enslaved..."

I watched as Ayame approached me.

"I...had no idea he did," she said.

Half of me wanted to leave her behind; I couldn't believe that after everything that's happened...she would be the daughter of the one who caused me so much pain and torment. But...why did I not hate her?

I should hate her; her family is the reason that mine no longer lived...and if my mother didn't train me, I would've likely joined their ranks. But every time I tried to find a reason to hate her...to give myself an excuse to step away from her because of the way she was beginning to make me think...it was futile.

"Takashi...you know that I would never want to hurt you...we've been through a lot together and you and I share the same mission,"

I closed my eyes and tried to move away but the feel of her hand on my cheek caused me to open them again. She...was smiling at me.

"If I knew my father was the one who did this to you...I've have had him arrested long ago...I'm not your enemy Takashi...I'm your friend,"

I looked into her eyes...and saw nothing but innocence and genuine affection. How could I have brought myself to resent her...she never did anything wrong to me. She never tried to hurt me...she always did her best to support me and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here right now. I slowly allowed one of my hands to reach her cheek as hers dropped. I found myself inching closer to her, suddenly realizing just how beautiful she was.

She had a smile...like no other and even though half of me wanted to alienate her for all the suffering her family caused me...she somehow managed to slip past my barriers. She had somehow become...

The sickening sound of blade meeting flesh followed and her smile...suddenly turned to a completely lifeless expression. I felt warm blood on my hands and I watched the light leave her eyes...

Two Days Later- A Small Campsite, Just Outside Of Arkuno's Stronghold

I jolted awake from my dream and wiped my face from the sweat. I looked around frantically to see that everything was fine. Across from me was Fang, who was still fast asleep. Beside her, Ayame was in her bedroll, also still sleeping soundly. I looked up to see that night had fallen.

"Now is the time to strike...while we have the cover of night..."

I got out of my bedroll and checked my gear to ensure everything was together. I looked to my quiver as I opened three bottles of poison that I brewed before I left Orario.

"Anesthetic, paralyzing and truth poisons...I can't believe I let Ayame talk me out of killing every last one of them..."

I began to coat all of my arrows in the three poisons, giving an even amount to each. Once I was satisfied with my work, I removed a small satchel from my bag that was filled with darts. I carefully filled each dart with a different kind of poison until all of them were filled. I closed all the bottles and placed them back into my bag as I began to examine my armor. Satisfied with all the modifications I made to it, I then made note of my new spell; I went to Eliss a few days ago in order to get my promised grimoire.

The tome granted me the ability to shapeshift into my spirit animal, which was a pure white wolf. Hestia's word resonated within my head.

"Do not shift if you're angry because if you do, your primal instincts will take over and you will not even think of shifting back...only do so when you're calm,"

I sighed softly as I donned my armor, ensuring everything was secure and ready to go once Ayame awakened. Once I was ready, I approached her...to see her in a completely peaceful state of sleep.

"...She hasn't slept so soundly before..."

I instinctively lifted a hand to run across her cheek but as I neared her, I pulled away and closed my eyes.

"Feelings will only distract me...I can't afford to be distracted now,"

I took up my bow and sat by a tree as I patiently waited for her to awaken.

...

"The stronghold is a small compound that doesn't have a great deal of security on the outside...but inside there's a small army," said Takashi.

He pointed to the red X on the map.

"That's where the slaves are being held and the big building next to it is probably where Arkuno is...he's the one who controls the entire slave trade operation near Orario...we capture him, we stop slave trade here," he continued.

Ayame nodded.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.
"There's an entrance at the back which leads directly into the slave pens...if we can get into there, we can sneak them all out and minimize the risk of them getting hurt," he replied.

Ayame nodded.

"I'll go in first...stay right behind me," he said.

Ayame looked to Meiryo.

"Keep an eye on their activity...warn me if they start coming,"
"Yes mistress,"

Meiryo flew high up into the air as Takashi looked to Fang.

"Stay by the exit...I'm going to get mother out of there and you get her back to the campsite,"
"Be careful master..."
"You know I will,"

Fang ran off as instructed. Takashi then turned to Ayame.

"Time...for retribution,"

Several Minutes Later- The Main Building

"Master Arkuno! A figure approaches!"

The man known as Arkuno smiled.

"It's about time he arrived...I've been expecting those kegs of wine for hours," I said.

He turned to his favorite slave and smiled.

"You'll be a lot more obedient when you're intoxicated," he mocked.

She was in terrible condition; Arkuno instructed his men to not feed her more than she needed to stay alive as well as hydrate her with only enough water to ensure she would not die of dehydration. She hasn't slept in nearly two days...but now she was beginning to break down so he could finally get her to follow orders.

"You're a very resilient elf...I'll give you that much," he said.

"Finally...I'll get what I want from this bitch,"

"SIR! THE FIGURE IS HOSTILE!" screamed one of the scouts.

Arkuno eyes widened and before he could issue a command, he heard the deafening sound of a gas keg exploding by the gates of the stronghold. He left the slave inside and put the telescope in his hand to use. The explosion had completely obliterated the front gates of the outpost and sent debris crashing into one of the sleeping tents. The assailant however...was nowhere to be seen.

"WHERE IS HE?" bellowed Arkuno.

He looked to his men and roared in anger.

"FIND HIM AND BRING HIM TO ME SO I CAN PEEL THE SKIN FROM HIS BONES!"

"YES SIR!"

~ o ~

The diversion I created worked beautifully; everyone was in a panic and the debris from the gate had to have taken out at least some of the soldiers. My scouting experience made it easy to discern where everything was.

There was no way Arkuno would keep in hiding; I had learned he was a bloodthirsty warrior even though he tended to hide behind his men. However...after hearing Meiryo's report...there weren't that many slaves in the pens after he flew to the tent and peered through it. What puzzled me even more was that there was no sign of any female elf slaves...mostly Cat Women and Runarls were among their ranks.

I could only conclude that Arkuno was making use of some of them in the main building or that they were tended to the soldiers inside. There was a large building in the middle of the outpost with the only entrance to it now destroyed. I didn't have a lot of arrows to work and I knew that I had only limited stamina so I had to work quickly and avoid being in extended fights. I looked through the looking glass in my hand to see that two more guards had come outside of the gate...

Big mistake. I shot one of them in his right arm after noticing that he seemed to favor it over his left and the second one got a arrow to the left leg, dropping him like a sack of bricks. I then turned to Ayame.

"Let's move," I said.

She stuck behind me as we neared the back gate. My anesthetic poison worked beautifully; the guards had already fallen unconscious by the time we arrived to the gate. I opened the gate and immediately shot the guard in front of us who had his back turned with another anesthetic arrow. I quickly pulled his body out of sight as I urged Ayame inside. We searched around for any sign of guards...but there were none at all. I then searched the guard for any keys and much to my relief, I found a dangling set. I used it to open the pens but I urged all of the women to be quiet.

"We're going to get you out of here...the back entrance that we just came through is clear, move quickly and quietly," I whispered.

Several of the women smiled brightly at me as they made their way past us. However, one of the women stopped to look at me.

"You...look a lot like her," she said.

My eyes widened as I showed her the picture of my mother. She herself seemed shocked.

"Emadriel...you're her son aren't you?" she asked.

I nodded.

"She's being held in the main building...Arkuno has taken a liking to her and makes her his personal slave," she said.

My fists automatically clenched.

"Is she alright?" I asked.
"He takes her during the days and brings her back at night...but for some reason he didn't do so today," she replied.

I closed my eyes and urged her to leave.

"...You have a wonderful mother Takashi,"

She ran out the door as Ayame shut it behind us.

"What's the next step?" she asked.

I gripped my bow.

"Take down Arkuno,"

...

We made it to the entrance of the building as I took a breath. Takashi kicked the door in as I noticed two men in front of me. I quickly rolled into cover as the hail of arrows followed almost instantly after, striking the concrete pillar I hid myself behind. Takashi had already loaded two arrows and fired them together, striking both men in the chest. Considering how quickly the dropped to the floor, I assumed Takashi had used his paralyzing arrows instead of the anesthetic ones. We quickly scaled the stairs.

I felt almost useless; I had no readily available spell that I could use to help in this situation but Takashi didn't seem to be mad at all.

"I can't afford to be off guard..."

I heard soft groaning from a muffled mouth once we reached a small hallway. I quickly made my way towards the sound and much to my relief, I found Emadriel with her hands bound and a cloth in her mouth. Takashi was instantly at her side, cutting the bonds from her hands and the rope from around her neck as he held her.

"Come on...mother please...wake up," he whispered.

I reached into my pocket to retrieve a potion and handed it to her. I examined her carefully and noticed that she was very dehydrated and judging from how loudly her stomach was rumbling, they did not give her any food in at least a few days. She weakly grasped the vial of red medicine.

"I'm gonna get you outta here..." he whispered.
"I-I-It...it's a trap..." she said weakly.

I noticed that her eyes moved from me to just behind me for a moment. I clenched my fists and tried to chant a spell...only for two large hands to grab me and hold both my arms behind my back. Takashi immediately rolled forward and pulled his bow out at the person behind me.

"So you must be the brat that this bitch talks endlessly about," said Arkuno

Takashi's eyes turned to slits.
"Arkuno," he growled.

He smiled as he looked down at Emadriel.

"She doesn't look so good...aren't you gonna help her?" he asked.

Takashi stood protectively in front of her, his bow never leaving the firing position.

"Sick men like you deserve life behind bars," said Takashi.
"Business is business kid,"

I then felt metal against my neck.

"Now unless you want me to rip her throat open...I suggest you drop the bow,"

Takashi slowly let the bow fall to the floor but within the same motion, he reached into his satchel and hurled a dart at Arkuno. I immediately kicked him in the ankle and barely managed to get out of the way of the oncoming dart. Arkuno hissed in pain as he drew it out of his chest. I rolled away from him as Takashi threw another four darts, each of them finding its mark until Arkuno collapsed.

Emadriel managed to get to her feet but she was very weak, barely able to make it to the window behind us.

"Are you alright?" I asked.
"...You both need to get out of here..." she groaned.

Takashi shook his head vigorously.

"I'm not leaving without you," he replied.

Emadriel shook her head.

"I'll slow you down son...I'm very weak because I haven't eaten in several days and I'm barely hydrated...even if we managed to escape, I would slow your return to Orario which is a day's ride away from here," she said.

My eyes widened.

"You...knew we were coming?" I asked.
"I have precognitive dreams...I knew this day would come," she replied.

Takashi's eyes began to fill with tears.

"Mother...I've trained for a very long time to get here...my whole life...all I wanted was to see you again," he said.

Emadriel drank the potion I handed to her and seemed a lot more energetic, though her body wasn't in the best of conditions. She approached Takashi, smiling.

"My son...has grown into such a handsome man...I'm so proud of you Takashi," she whispered.

He hugged her deeply and finally let his tears come out. Emadriel returned the hug, gently stroking his hair.

"You've grown into such a wonderful man...I looked forward to seeing you again...before my time comes,"

He leaned away and looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

She suddenly collapsed to the ground and began to cough up blood. My eyes widened in horror...as I knew exactly what was happening to her.

"She was injected with the venom of a Reapertail Scorpion...she doesn't have much time left..." I said.

Takashi's eyes widened.

"And we...we just..." he gasped.
"Reaperfang venom causes stamina draughts to have the complete opposite effect...and since she drank an elven brew...it's ravaging her internal organs,"

He cursed loudly as tears began to stream down his cheeks.

"Mom...why didn't you tell me..." he sobbed.
"I couldn't...because even if you did not give me that potion...my fate was sealed,"

He held her close to him, clinging as if for dear life. She then looked to me and smiled.

"You...are the daughter of Halor Aledria aren't you?" she asked.

I nodded slowly.

"I can see that much darkness came from your past...and you should know that I hold no hard feelings against your family,"

I gasped.

"You mean...my father...is the one who did this to you?'
"He was indeed...but I do not hold anything against you...you're a beautiful girl Ayame and I knew your mother well," she explained.

I knelt down beside her as she continued to cough out blood.

"Takashi...you and Ayame need to escape this place...a large group of men are on their way here with a shipment of wine," she groaned.
"But..."

She placed her hand on his cheek.

"You're strong...you've grown stronger than I ever would've imagined and I know you can do this my son...you've made use of your skills and saved countless lives with it...I've seen it all in my dreams," she whispered.

Emadriel's eyes began to narrow as Takashi continued to sob loudly.

"You've done all you can my son...you have to let me go," she said.

He closed his eyes as she turned to face me and placed a hand on mine.

"Take care of my son...he's going to need someone now more than ever and I don't think Hestia can do it all on her own...I can tell he cares deeply for you but he just can't bring himself to admit anything...he's always been a stubborn boy but he's one of the purest souls I have ever seen,"

I could hear her heart rate begin to slow down.

"Please...promise me you'll take care of him..."

I nodded slowly, causing her to smile one last time. She then turned to her son.

"Did you save everyone else?" she asked.
"Yes mother...I freed all of them..." he sobbed.

She leaned up and hugged him.

"You're a good boy...you've always been a good boy Takashi...and I'm the proudest mother in the world right now,"

She coughed out more blood as she collapsed back into his arms. She brought a hand to his cheek and smiled.

"I love you...Takashi...and I always will..."

She...ceased all movement. He cried out in a mad mix of rage and sadness as he lowered her body to the floor and closed her eyelids. I immediately caught him in a warm hug as he broke down in my arms. After several minutes of letting out all of his pain, I noticed Arkuno waking up. I stood up to stop him but Takashi moved at an unreal speed, grabbing onto Arkuno's neck and slamming him against the wall.

"You took my father away from me...and now my mother...you have ten words to answer my next question and if I don't like what I hear, I'll rip your throat out," he said.

He looked at me.

"Are you the one who ordered Ayame's parents killed?" he asked.

Arkuno did not respond. Takashi reached into his satchel and pulled out three darts before stabbing them into Arkuno's neck, causing him to howl in pain.

"ANSWER ME!"
"I am not the one who ordered their deaths...but I am the one that killed them," he replied.
"Keep talking...tell me everything you know," snapped Takashi.

Arkuno revealed the name of the man who ordered the hit on my family, a War Tiger named Berkley Stern who made his home across the sea in the mainland. Berkley has the Falna of Ares and is a level 6 adventurer who moved to the mainland in order to make a fortune. After getting all the specifics about his operations in the mainland, Takashi tossed him aside before tying him up. He then picked up his mother's body.

"Let's get out of here,"

One Hour Later

"Are you alright?"

Takashi didn't answer her as he continued to stare at his mother's grave. He had just finished burying her.

"...Goodbye mother,"

He closed his eyes as he turned away.

"Shield her sleeping form until it is ready to return to the planet...Greensprout,"

Beautiful flowers sprouted from the grass and surrounded the stone he carved that read:

"Here lies Emadriel Mashiro...a brilliant teacher, a wise oracle...an incredible mother,"

"There's so much I wanted to show you...so many people I would've loved for you to meet..."

I hugged his kneeling form as his head drooped down over my arms.

"You're going to be okay...she got one last chance to see her son again after surviving all of that time in slavery...you giving her that final wish was more than enough," I said.
"She would've loved Hestia and the others...she would've taught us all so much," he said.

I didn't let go of him.

"She died with a smile on her face Takashi...you are her living legacy and now more than ever, you have to live on...it's what she wanted for you," I said.

He closed his eyes.

"Thank you for coming with me...if you didn't, I doubt I would've returned home after this," he said.

I shook my head.

"That's what friends do for each other," I replied.

He turned around and looked at me, almost as if he were looking into my very soul.

"You saved me from descending into rage and madness...thank you Ayame," he whispered.

Before I could respond, he hugged me deeply.

"I'm truly sorry we did not find the man who was truly responsible for your parents deaths...but we will someday," he said.

I shook my head.

"All that matters...is the here and now," i replied.

I leaned away and held out a hand.

"Let's go home,"

The Following Afternoon

"YOU TWO HAD ME WORRIED SICK!"

I laughed softly upon realizing that both Nana and Hestia said those words in unison. Akio sighed deeply.

"I'm truly sorry that she passed away," he said.
"If I had known you two were going...I'd have tagged along and I may have been able to save her," said Matilda.

She turned to look at Takashi, who was by the window with a mug of mead in his hand.

"I don't like seeing Takkun so broken up..." she said.
"Why aren't you over there Ayame?" asked Mira.

I looked at her in confusion.

"Isn't it obvious?...He trusts you more than anyone else in this room," said Vanna.

I shook my head but Amie tugged on my cloak.

"You're the only one who makes him smile anymore...please cheer him up," she said.

I let out a deep breath as I rose up from the table. Hestia approached me before hugging me.

"Thank you for bringing him home Ayame...but now more than ever, he's going to need you; I know I can't be the one to bring him out of this darkness," she said.

I nodded as I approached him. He didn't seem to notice my presence as I scoot into the opposite side of the booth.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Takashi placed the mug onto the table and reached into his cloak...to pull out a small flute. He brought it to his lips and started to play an absolutely beautiful melody. It sounded so good that other people began to gather around and listen. What amazed me was that he was playing it with his eyes closed and he didn't seem to miss a single note. After about two minutes, he caught his breath and turned to me.

"I'm going to take a break from being an adventurer," he said.

I looked at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to the mainland to find out more about the slave traders...and also to find myself," he replied.

He rose to his feet and walked out of the booth. I was right behind him as I grabbed his hand.

"Why are you leaving again?" I asked.
"...I need a break from Orario; the reason I became an adventurer was to save my mother...now my purpose is unclear," he replied.

He smiled at me.

"I will write to you every single day I am gone...that's a promise," he said.

I shook my head vigorously.

"Don't leave...you can't..."

Much to my astonishment, I felt something soft against my forehead. It was then that I realized he was kissing me.

"I'll come back...I just need to find my purpose," he said.

He then walked over to the familia. Needless to say, Hestia and Nana were not in the least amused. Vanna however, seemed to fully understand his reasoning and actually encouraged him to take a break from the life he's had for the last several years; he hadn't taken any time for himself during all of this. Akio also agreed, though he didn't want his best friend to leave at all. The Lee sisters were also against him leaving, especially Amie who had grown a clear fondness for him. Matilda was furious but despite that...she knew that it was best for him to find his own path to walk. She of all people knew that he would come back; he was always a man who kept his word. Relia and Archon were in the dungeon...so they weren't here to say goodbye. Once he finished speaking to all of them, he returned to the table and picked up his bag. He then approached me and hugged me.

"Wait for me..." he whispered.

My eyes widened as he took his leave. Even though I was really sad to see him go.

It would be all the more worth it when I see him again.