A certain group emerged from Babel, with the leading figure stretching her arms before shaking her head, causing her red pony tail to wave in the air with a satisfied breath.
"Ah, fresh air!" Solaris put her hands on her hips with a satisfied nod."Feels like we've been down there for weeks!"
"And whose' fault is that?!" Liliruca shouted, throwing her arms up in the air, causing the large bag on her to shake and almost let some of the magic stones fall out. Solaris in return scoffed, waving her hand dismissively before spinning around playfully and spreading her arms open.
"C'mon, Lili, when is the next time I get to have so much space with my Familia?! Team training is important!"
Haruhime and Bell laughed awkwardly, remembering the impromptu session near the waterfalls within the dungeon. It was quite a shock when their heads were almost taken off by the weight attached to the Kira Kusari. After that however, it was quite the enjoyable bonding moment, as they frantically dodged and parried Solaris' storm of chains. It wasn't often they got to exhaust themselves like that, especially their captain. The occasional monster that arrived was torn apart with ease, if not taken out by the three from the Takemikazuchi Familia. It certainly helped get used to their new status, the disconnect slowly disappearing the faster Solaris went in trying to take their heads off. Kojiro chuckled at the memory and nodded in self satisfaction.
"And I could not miss the chance to slay some proper swallows." He frowned a bit. "Even if they only flew in a straight line."
Their supporter exhaled slowly, trying to let the frustration seep out of her. Naturally it failed as she threw her arms up in the air and pointed at Solaris accusingly.
"Lili just wanted to get home! We already filled your quota ages ago!" She snapped her head to the other three that had to accompany them. "You agree with me, right?!"
Chigusa and Ouka shared an awkward look while Mikoto's eyes sparkled at the memory.
"I mean... "
"It was great to see them in action in person."
"Haruhime and Bell were incredible, dodging that chain!"
The two individuals in question blushed as they looked away. While doing so, Bell spotted someone and his blush intensified. Seeing his reaction, the two ladies' smiles grew, even when the elf of the duo turned a bit red herself. Ryuu came to a stop in front of him and nodded in approval.
"Welcome back."
"H-Hey!" Bell hated how his voice cracked and tilted his head as he scratched the back of his head with a laugh. "Uhm, how long have you been waiting here?"
"A bit," Ryuu responded with a gentle smile. Kaguya coughed, raising an eyebrow at her partner before grinning at the boy.
"A while."
"Kaguya!"
Bell covered his face. Ahh, this was too much. And in front of everyone too! He tried to hide his derpy smile, at the thought that he had a girlfriend waiting for him for so long. What was he supposed to do?! As Ryuu glared daggers at Kaguya, the latter replied with a flat look.
"If you didn't want to get embarrassed in front of your boy toy, you wouldn't have brought me with you."
Ryuu raised her hand, lips pressed together before slowly lowering it again, her eyes closed.
"...Fair enough." She coughed into her knuckle before brushing her hair back with a somewhat shy expression. "I know it has been a while but... do you rem-"
"Tonight, in front of the arena, adventurer gear, yup!" Bell shouted, standing in attention. The others blinked at him, causing his head to turn into a tomato. Kaguya giggled, covering her mouth before raising an eyebrow at him.
"Someone's excited."
"Is that why you were distracted all the time?" Solaris asked, crossing her arms. "Cause if yes, I gotta reconsider the Hestia Familia policy about dating."
Lowering his head in shame, Bell bit his lip. It hurt even more that Ryuu sent him a look of disapproval.
"Sorry."
"Eh, whatever floats ya boat." Solaris said with a sigh. Cracking her neck, she tapped Lili's bag, almost causing the small girl to stumble over. "Alright, Imma bring this stuff with Lili to the tax sharks so that they won't punish us with even more debt."
"The guild?" Haruhime asked, causing Solaris to turn to her with a flat look.
"I know what I said." Grumbling, she crossed her arms. "Taking all the fun out of expeditions by making them mandatory, I swear... "
"It is kind of a hassle," Kaguya said, touching her cheek as she remembered the past. Ryuu smiled wryly as she nodded.
"Thankfully we have some leeway due to our other duties."
"You'd think we get the same courtesy extended to us." Solaris clapped her hands together and did a swift head motion at the Pallum. "Alright, Lili, let's go."
"Finally!"
The Takemikazuchi group took that as their own cue, together with Haruhime, as she waved at Bell and the others before leaving.
"See you tomorrow!"
Kojiro himself rolled his shoulders and was about to move out as well. Worry filled Bell's expression and he tugged at his arm sleeve.
"Are you sure you're good to train with Aiz today?"
The swordsman raised an eyebrow at that.
"It's not like we did anything exhausting the last few days."
"Stop saying stuff like that, you make us feel inadequate."
He chuckled at Kaguya's expense, who only rolled her eyes in exasperation. Then they all separated as well, but not without Ryuu giving him one last smile. Bell tried his best not to stare at her retreating back and instead slapped his cheeks. Right, he should prepare as well.
First, he had to go to Welf. Then, get a proper bath.
/
Maybe he was a bit early, Bell thought wryly as he stood in front of Orario's arena. Freshened up and a talk that felt went on a bit too long, he fidgeted a bit with the box in his hand. Was it too cheesy? Too cliche? Whatever it was, it was the source of his anxiety, that was for sure. Bell took a deep breath. Now that he was here and listened to the people talk, he at least knew what they were here for. Not exactly the ideal spot for a date, but sometimes adventurers had to improvise. Besides, if what he heard was true, he would at least get to see a nice play with Ryuu, as the arena was repurposed for a theatre act. Normally it would have been done in the entertainment district, but given the past events, even when it was getting repaired, most were leery of going there.
"Bell. You are early."
He almost let the box fall. After bouncing it around a few times in a panic, he managed to catch it before turning around and spotting Ryuu with her mask down. The girl raised her eyebrow as Bell laughed awkwardly before quickly presenting the box.
"H-Here."
"Oh." Ryuu blinked before smiling a bit, accepting it and opening it. Her eyes went wide as Bell blushed a bit, scratching his cheek with a sheepish expression.
"W-well, I thought since we are trying this, I…" He trailed off, before looking at his girlfriend being mesmerized as she raised the Hestia Familia symbol attached to the chain, almost shining from the moonlight. Welf may have claimed he wasn't most for accessory, but with the way Ryuu smiled gently as she attached it around her neck, Bell swore to pay his friend double for a job well done.
"It's wonderful. Thank you." Her smile wavered as she played with the pendant in her hand. "I didn't prepare anything for you…"
"That's alright!"
Yet Ryuu caught his waving hands and intertwined her fingers with his, frowning deeply at him, ignoring his blushing stuttering.
"It's not. Relationships are about give and take." She nodded with determination. "I'll make it up to you." Then, letting go, she moved forward. "Let's go, the play is about to begin. It's not exactly a date but it should help with relaxing tonight."
Soon enough, the entered the audience area, overlooking the makeshift stage in the middle. He and Ryuu were at the higher spots, to keep a good eye on both the actors and the spectators, to make sure nobody would try anything. As they approached their spot however, they met someone Bell didn't expect to meet.
The blue haired woman nodded curtly at them, her hand resting against the hilt of her sword. Ryuu smiled and extended her hand, shaking hands with the woman.
"Lion. Good to see you."
"Shakti."
Bell straightened up his back. The captain of the Ganesha Familia was infamous to say the least. She didn't have quite the long record of accomplishments like the King or the Braver, but a level five was still a level five, thus someone above him. He was about to bow his head when the woman lowered her head first with respect.
"We didn't have the personal honor yet. Shakti Varma. Ankusha." A smile appeared ever so slightly. "You stir up the city quite often."
"Err, sorry?" Bell wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. But given the amusement in her eyes, he just hoped it was the latter.
"We, the Ganesha Familia, appreciate your support." Shakti's smile disappeared and she rubbed her temple as she faced forward. "We've been a bit understaffed lately."
"Haha, I can see that... " Bell cleared his throat. "I didn't expect the damage in the Entertainment District to be so severe."
"It's not just that. The Ganesha Familia and by extension the Guild has many fires to put down." She shook her head. "But Lord Ganesha is a god of the masses. So it's up to us to live up to that title." She smiled at Ryuu, even winking before walking off, waving her hand."Don't let me stop you on your date, Lion."
"S-Shakti!" Ryuu shouted in outrage. Bell coughed, before overcoming his own embarrassment.
"I look forward working together with you in the future!" He yelled after Shakti. She stopped for a short moment before smiling back at him. Then she moved on, checking on the other areas.
"She was nice."
"Once you get to know her, she is quite the caring person," Ryuu said in agreement before pressing her lips together. "My apologies. This isn't exactly the sort of date you imagined."
"Well, not a lot of alternatives in these current times." Bell squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Besides, I like to help."
"So do I." Ryuu looked down at the stage, her voice a whisper. "So do I."
They kept their senses sharp as the actors did their play. Suffice to say, Ryuu was squirming a bit next to him, feeling guilty for the act they watched, for it was anything but romantic. Quite frankly, it was actually very depressing, even for a tragedy. A shy, innocent woman just wanting to tend to her garden would be possessed by a vicious demon. She could do nothing but watch as a prisoner of her own body as the demon committed atrocity after atrocity, occasionally releasing control and taunting her with true freedom, as the blood stained her hands. The story ended with a reversal, believing that a certain flower would give her peace, when all it did was put her mind into an illusion and surrender control forever to the demon. The hardest scene to watch was the woman killing her sister, screaming for her name while her own hands pierced the heart.
If nothing else, no actual demon emerged and caused chaos in the arena. Unfortunately, the air was awkward between Ryuu and Bell, as they left the arena.
"I should've looked up what the story was going to be about... " Ryuu muttered, her head down. In a panic, he tried to cheer her up, putting on a smile for her.
"It-It's alright! It was really interesting!"
Unfortunately his words fell on deaf ears, as a dark cloud formed above her head, as she let her arms hang.
"I can just see Alise and the others making fun of me for this... "
Ah. He was a terrible boyfriend. How could he distract her?!
"Anything new?"
Ryuu turned to him, eyebrow raised while Bell bit his lip, trying not to scream. That was his best idea?! Not only that, it did nothing to cheer her up, instead just diverting her down another, just as depressing path.
"I worry about Aiz."
Bell's eyes widened immediately.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Lately her mental state didn't seem... well." Ryuu clicked her tongue in thought. "Ignoring the fact she seems to have a problem with me now, which kind of hurts, the... scars against the wolf monster seem to be everlasting." She sighed, shaking her head. "We can only hope her sessions with Kojiro help."
He bit his lip. He hated the thought that Aiz was suffering like that. He could only imagine what kind of pain she is going through, ever since Tiona lost her legs. He heard she got replacements by now, but it didn't seem to help a lot. Not only that, Ryuu's last sentence filled him with worry.
"Uhm, Kojiro is not exactly the kind of person you go to for that kind of stuff."
"Whatever helps." Ryuu gave him a pointed look. "Maybe you should talk to her."
Bell flinched before closing his eyes.
"I've been trying, but... she keeps avoiding me... Do you think she hates me?"
"I don't think she is capable of hating people like that." Ryuu held his hand and smiled reassuringly. "Just keep trying."
... Was it weird that his... first girlfriend was so encouraging when it came to Aiz? Bell didn't know a lot about elf culture but he was always under the impression they were monogamous. Maybe he should ask someone else. Like Lefiya. The moment the thought entered his head, Bell grimaced and shook his head. Nope, bad idea. If he asked the girl, she'd just throw a spell at his face. He didn't meet her in person since the War Game debacle and after Brundhilde's less than flattering words towards the Thousand Elf... yeah, he was going to delay that confrontation as long as he could. Before he could ponder about it more, like why Aiz would avoid Ryuu as well, they both heard something from a dark alley. Well, dark for most normal people. For their eyes, it might have been daylight. The tow shared a look and slowly approached the figure rummaging in the trash, their hands reaching for their weapons.
"Slowly show yourself," Ryuu said calmly but with authority. The figure flinched but heeded the order, slowly raising herself, for it was a she, as she looked up with a hood over her head. Bell winced at the sight. Tattered clothes, dirty skin. It was the definition of a homeless person.
"Ah. H-Hello," she spoke with a soft voice. Bell took a step forward, carefully, as he tilted his head with concern.
"Are you alright?"
"J-Just fine!" She seemed to shrink in on herself. "No need to mind me... "
"You have to understand, we are a bit on edge due to recent events," Ryuu crossed her arms with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"...Avoiding people. Finding food." She fidgeted and played with her fingers before staring behind them with a look of yearning. "C-Can I leave?"
Bell wanted to ask yes, but he was concerned with the way she seemed to shake. It wasn't that cold, so it must have been something else. Ryuu had no such softness, instead drawing her weapon instead with narrowed eyes.
"Remove your hood."
"D-do I have to... ?" The girl whispered and the Royal Gale nodded with resolution.
"Yes."
Slowly, but in resignation, the girl removed her hood. What they saw caused Bell and Ryuu to widen their eyes in shock. Ryuu almost let go of her weapon as a single word escaped her mouth.
"Kaguya?"
It was like seeing the spitting image of Kaguya's face, only a lot less confident and frail. Purple eyes, a battered kimono underneath her cloak. She even had the same bangs, if not the same hair style, as it was in a short ponytail, but with the same ornament Kaguya wore, a kanzashi if Bell remembered correctly.
"You... " Ryuu tilted her head. "Who are you?"
The girl flinched before looking away, nervously.
"I'm... I'm Gojouno Nana. K-Kaguya-nee's little sister."