Author's Note: Welcome back, guys. Another chapter means more to the story. And please enjoy the chapter.
[quote]"The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: if you pursue happiness you'll never find it."[/quote] ~ C.P. Snow
"Come on, we can't let him get away!" Naofumi hopped over another crate, almost falling and slamming face first, but a quick roll with the momentum helped to stay upright.
The chase was on.
"How can a Yak be this fucking fat, but so agile; I don't get it!" Valiant panted as he used his magic to move the crates that looked to be too tall to vault over. He had plenty of questions that he really wanted to have answered, but the most relevant would be why Storm Song was here so soon; and without backup, no less. This Yak didn't have much when it came to speed on account of the trouncing Storm Song gave him, but he made up for it by navigating the docks with such ease.
In the chaos, Captain Fleet and his shipmates left, taking the barrels with them as the pair worked to chase their only possible lead.
''Damn it!'' Naofumi came around a corner a bit too quickly as his footing gave and he slipped, running into a woodpile. His legs ached and the snow and dirt covered his back as it spread over his entire being. He could faintly make out the shape of the figure hopping on a few crates in the hope to gain higher ground. Valiant came speeding around said corner as well, using his metal grips on his hooves to slid to a controlled stop by the otaku.
''You ok, kid?'' Valiant asked, adjusting his helmet so it would remain tight. ''I think I can catch up to him,'' Valiant frowned a bit as Naofumi laughed.
''It's fine, I got this,'' Naofumi thrust his hand out and angled his shield facing upwards as the gem on his shield glowed. ''[i]Air Strike Shield![/i]'' Naofumi's green shield shot outwards towards the Yak, catching off on the side of his body as he tried to climb up another crate before sending him to a long descent to the ground. A plume of snow and wood shot upwards, the sounds beginning to rouse some of the drunkard Yaks or those who slept near the docks. "[i]Shield Prison![/i]"
''Question,'' Valiant asked as he helped Naofumi up, his face displaying an unimpressed reaction as the green ball of interlocking shields stood still. ''Why not do that the second he ran?''
''We stopped them, that's all that-watch out!,'' Naofumi pushed Valiant out of the way, the figure of a shadow landing in the spot where the pair stood a moment ago. Another figure crashed into Naofumi's shield, pushing the otaku back as he growled, barely managing to hold his ground. ''Get back!'' Naofumi summoned his Chimera Shield, using the snakes to strike at the Yak in the neck, the thrashing that followed after frantically picking up with each second until the Yak's body tensed and the light in his eyes slowly began to ebb, soon slumping over on the ground.
''Ahhhh!'' Valiant summoned his war hammer in a flash of magic, the small symbols of the head and star-shaped spike bathed in his magical glow as he poised to strike, his faster instincts managing to make the difference as he swung, catching the unfortunate Yak by the temple with the head, knocking him down as he came back with vengeance, managing to buck into the guard, catching him across the face with a hoof before another Air Strike Shield appeared, providing space between the pair.
''You bastard!'' the Yak cursed, wincing at the dent that formed in his head, slipping once he attempted to step forward, adrenaline rushing through the pair's veins. Naofumi prepared to step forward before Valiant turned the hammer on the other side, the spikes facing the Yak as Valiant swung in an arc, every second appearing to take an eternity as the Yak's face deformed on impact, tearing through tough skin as the Yak fell for a final time.
Blood began to look out of his open wound and onto the ground as his eyes, opened as wide as possible stared at the night sky.
"Hwuah, take that, prick," Valiant took a step back, panting and setting his hammer down for the moment as Naofumi gazed at the attacker, and instantly came to the same conclusion he knew his partner did. "You killed him."
"Yea, kid; either him or me," Valiant hocked some spit in an off-direction, gingerly rubbing his chin. "And I prefer living, if it's all the same with you."
Naofumi defended his point. "We could have gotten information out of him before you did that."
"That wasn't the priority." Valiant bluntly said, looking at Naofumi as he stared down the otaku. "Surviving was a bit more important." Naofumi hmmped and looked at his own victim. The sound made Valiant challenge what he knew Naofumi tried to say without saying. "Look, kid; you ain't no saint either; your guy's dead too. Sometimes-" a sigh came from the guard as he sat down, all sound around them seeming to ebb for a moment. "-sometimes, you don't always get what you need, and we have to improvise."
"I get that," Naofumi said, agreeing with his friend, but he knew that wasn't the whole truth of why he wanted to stake his point. "But we-"
"-Have you killed before, kid?" Valiant's question came as a bit of a suprise.
"Yea, but I-" Naofumi was cut off again by Valiant who swept a hoof in front of him, making his lips go flat and his eyes narrowing.
"Have you actually killed another creature with sentience?"
Naofumi instantly thought back to when he was the one to kill Pope Biscas; that was a situation that was unavoidable as he wanted to kill everyone who he deemed to be impure or of little faith. The kill was justified; he was a terrible person to have even been born, if half of the thing he heard about him were indeed true.
And then there was the immense, immeasurable hatred to kill all those who wronged him from the very first moment in Melromarc.
And, if he didn't know any better; Glass.
"Yea, I had; another human like me, possibly two, and there even was a time where I wanted a lot of people dead for things that happened to me, but I don't see how-"
"That's cause the way you see things are flawed; that's not entirely your fault, you just haven't been accustomed to digging graves and putting some creature in them, in a manner of speaking," Valiant thought back to a few of his less than spectacular moments where he had to make a choice, often times in front of very young witnesses who eventually rose up to enact revenge.
Only to fall in the same pit as their parents, friends, or whatever relation. . .without fail.
"You probably think how I handled that was brutal; but I can assure that that was probably the least messy I've ever had to do one away." Valiant said, rubbing his head as he felt a headache coming from thinking too much. He hated discussing the past, as it reminded him too much off her, of his own failure, and the pony he once was that he swore to never be again. "Something tells me that you just had thing lingering on your chest, I know the face of one playing the part."
Naofumi tried to argue the point, but grew to understand that what Valiant said was right, and that he merely found a moment of uncertainty. He never did like killing, at the end of the day, even if he grew somewhat numb to it.
But it was a necessary evil to escape from the shackles of wrongdoing by others and his way of making things final.
"Look, I don't expect you to understand right away, or get over how fierce I handled things if you feel that way, but we have more important things to worry about; we need to find out who our friend is, what's in those barrels, and where Storm Song went," Valiant used his magic to store his hammer again, beginning to drag the bodies off to the dock. When Naofumi stared at him like he had grown a second head, the thought came to him. "Don't worry, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Cross the bridge? How do you think this looks? Prince Rutherford might not share your positive attitude if he finds out we murdered two of his people." Naofumi said, walking along side Valiant.
"In self-defense," Valiant replied.
"Only issue; who do you think will believe the visitors who just got here?" Naofumi's question made Valiant think for a moment, tapping a hoof against his chins as he dropped the current body just shy of the edge of the dock.
"We have Pagus; he's a Yak. And Storm Song, if we can find her." Valiant pushed the first body. "I gotta feed the sharks."
Naofumi pinched the bridge of his nose, only wanting to know one more thing. "Why dump the bodies in the water? I'm sure someone will come looking for whoever these two are." Naofumi watched as Valiant shrugged and finished pushing the second body over with his head, whispering little encouraging words under his breath the whole time. "Wait, what did you say?"
Valiant looked back at the otaku, smiling. "I said I gotta feed the sharks, I gotta feed the sharks," Valiant chuckled at his own morbid sense of humor. Naofumi looked very confused, the next set of words that attempted to come out dying right in his throat. "What? Some creature will love me for me, at least I hope so."
"You're one in a million, Valiant," Naofumi chuckled at his partner; who was a bit rough around the edges, but so was the otaku himself. He saw a lot of himself within Valiant, but to what extent was good or bad remained to be seen.
"Damn straight." Valiant replied, a smug look of knowing on his face.
[hr]
Raphtalia stared at the flame in front of her with a lazy eye, watching the wax on the candle slowly melt with each passing moment. Oftentimes, things would sate her boredom included Master Naofumi; be it farming for exp, cooking, or even having her hair cut.
Though she wouldn't admit the last one openly.
Prince Rutherford was gracious enough to have the group put up in a modest wooden house, complete with beds, insulated walls, and a fire bath. The entrance long dried from their shoes and boots tracking snow in, all the way to the padded chair that Raphtalia sat in, admiring the room.
If only Master Naofumi could be here to enjoy it with her.
"Hey, Raphtalia, come join us in the bath; the water's really nice!~" Filo exclaimed as she came out of the bath, steam trailing off her body as droplets of water hit the floor. Maneuvering around the raised circular covering that housed the cauldron for cooking, Filo bounced up and down in excitement at all the little things that they were provided. "There's even bubbles!"
"It's fine, Filo; I'm waiting for Master Naofumi and Valiant to come back," Raphtalia huffed, returning her attention to the flame.
Fill pouted, also wondering what was taking her Master so long. He was missing out on all of the nice things the Yaks gave them. Filo often had a knack for reading emotions, even young as she was; she tell Raphtalia was worried. She was too; but she would be a big girl and but on a brave face. For Raphtalia, for Melty.
And for her Master.
"Huh? What are you doing?" Raphtalia asked, the younger girl ensnaring her in a hug, not particularly minding the gesture. Filo did hug pretty tight, however.
". . .Big sis, you can talk to Filo. Filo will listen, even if I don't understand everything you might say, but Filo cares; you know that, right?" Filo sounded unsure of herself, but still felt the need to say something. She was trying her best to be a good girl.
Raphtalia stood up and returned the gesture, noting the surprised look as she pet her hair with one hand. It was nice; having a support channel, other than Master Naofumi; however small. And Filo was probably the best person right now to be that channel.
"Thank you, Filo," Raphtalia said back, kneeling down to her level as Filo's looked to gloss over a tad. Any tears that almost came out were wiped away by Raphtalia's hand. "I can be your support channel, too. You can talk to me about anything, and no matter what; I'll always love you," Raphtalia gave her sister a chaste kiss on the forehead as she giggled.
"So will you bath with Filo and Melty?" Filo wondered, a look of playful innocence in her voice.
Who could say no to that face?
"Yea," Raphtalia smiled, standing up. "Why not?"
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