Formless (Rage)
I don't know how to handle affection. Even back when I lived a normal life, I didn't know how to respond to my mother and father's love. It always felt strange to me that someone would do anything nice for me. I still don't understand the concept of unconditional love very well nor the idea of going out of your way for someone else. And yes, I am a hypocrite. After all, I went out of my way to help Lily. It's just... I don't know. I felt like it was simply the right thing to do for her and I hated to see her hurt. Lily's... she's strangely important to me and I can't pinpoint why yet. Were my parents feeling something similar? Did Aiz and Bell feel something like that as well?
It was because of this uncertain yet strange feeling of affection that I took Lily and Bell's recommendation to take the day off and try to relax. It was just yesterday that I had learned about my status as Capped. And, honestly, I didn't see the reason why Bell and Lily were so insistent for me to take a day so I could digest the information. It's not like anything was truly different for me, I still had the same goal. Simply that the road to that goal was a little different and more difficult than before. Not that it wasn't difficult in the first place. I came here to relax for once. Not continue thinking about that asshole.
Taking a bite from the delicious Omelet rice, a satisfied hum involuntarily rang out from me. Wow, this is really good. I knew their lunch and dinner were good, but I didn't expect even the breakfast to be delicious. I would have... I would have loved to cook here. For a moment, I thought back to my peaceful life and the dream that I had before it all was painted red. It wasn't a big dream, or even a special one. Before that day, I was inspired by all of my father's stories of Orario. I wanted to come to this city, but not to be an adventurer. No, that was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to come here and cook for the adventurers. A lot of dad's stories were of the meals that he had when he was here. Whether they were after a dungeon run, a dangerous event or even just a simple night with his friends, it all happened over food. I wanted to be a part of that for others. I wanted to be the one who made the delicious food adventures would clammer over after a hard day of work. I wanted to make food so good that they could forget about all of their problems, even for a moment.
That dream, however, is dead. I haven't made anything with that same passion since that day and I doubt that I even have the ability too. I'm now the one eating, hoping that it can make me forget everything for a moment. Biting into the omelet, I closed my eyes for a moment to fully take in the flavor. It was during that vulnerable moment that I felt someone take a seat at my table. Opening my eyes, I was met with a familiar maid sitting in front of me. It was the green haired Elf, Ryuu. We've interacted a few times, but only as a maid and a customer. "Can I help you?" I asked, putting my utensils down and wiping my face.
The elf looked at me for a silent moment before nodding. "You are rather close to Bell, no?" Huh? Why's she asking that? She's seen Bell, Lily and I having dinner here a few times. She must have sensed my confusion because she spoke once more. "I apologize, I just wanted to make sure. It's simply that, that young boy is important to a friend of mine. So I'd rather not have him run around with a capped."
"How-" The fact that she knew I was Capped caught me off guard more than her telling me to leave Bell alone, in a rather roundabout way. I am, as Lily said, a goth weirdo. Whatever that means. I just know that's not a good thing. "How the hell do you know that?" But I couldn't care less about her telling me what to do. After all, I wouldn't listen to shit someone I don't know tells me to do. But knowing about my status... I can't have that. It could be difficult for me.
Her face became rather serious. "As someone who went down that path, I can easily see when a fool is chasing down revenge." She... whatever. Her life story doesn't mean shit to me. "I am simply asking-"
"I won't do shit. Now leave me alone." Picking up my utensils once more, I went to continue my food, expecting the girl to leave. She didn't however. Oh right, I almost forgot that Elves aren't the type to let things not go their way. I also knew that none of my words would convince her. So I had a simple plan. Ignore her. Forever.
"I am simply attempting to look out for him. Were you to go down your suicidal path, do you not think that someone like Bell would follow you?" No. Because that's fucking stupid. Bell's not an idiot and I'm sure he'd figure out when to leave. Same with Lily. I continued to ignore her, taking a sip of my water. "Are you going to continue to ignore me?" Yes. With a groan, the maid stood up and began to walk past me. She stopped just as she got to my side. "You'd be surprised, just how far some people would go for you." With those words, she left me to my meal.
She's wrong. There is no way that anyone would be so stupid as to go that far for something like me. I don't know who Ryuu is as a person, but I'm sure her own path hasn't been that bad for her to... no. That's simply an ignorant way of thinking. Only the worst events can birth that sort of hatred. Taking one of the last bites of my meal, it had lost some of its luster.
F-Rank
After breakfast, I walked around the city aimlessly. Unfortunately, that elf's words stayed within my mind as I did so. But it didn't make much sense to me. It was one thing to help someone once in a while, even if it involved a little bit of danger. But, going so far as to throw away your life? No. I don't think even my family would do that. "What a joke." Adjusting my scarf as I walked, my thoughts went back to that girl...maybe she would have. Whoever she was. Perhaps I should rethink my relationship with the others. It is best to go about this alone after all.
Deciding that it'd be a better use of my time to do some training, I walked up to the empty lot up on Orario's wall. Unexpectedly, I found two familiar people having beat me to that plan. In the middle of the lot, Bell and Aiz were dueling. When I caught the fight, Bell had slipped past a stab that Aiz threw towards his head. His action was wrong however, as the sword princess simply punched him with her other hand. Reeling from the counter attack, Bell was unable from defend against the spinning roundhouse kick that came hurtling towards his cheek. "AGGHH!" Falling backwards from the strength of the attack, I noticed that Bell's left cheek was already pretty bruised. That must be Aiz's special move or something, huh?
Walking up to my downed friend, I poked his side with my foot. Is he alive there? The snow haired kid bolted up with a yell from my simple action before turning to me with bugged out eyes. "V-V-Viole?!" Why's he blushing like I just caught him in a lewd act? Don't tell me he's into getting beaten up...whatever. "H-Hey there buddy!"
I gave him a wordless nod and turned to look at Aiz. She was putting her sheath back on her sword, seeing as she was using the sheath against Bell. "I see you're doing your best. Sorry for interrupting you, but I'll-"
"Viole." The sword princess interrupted me as she walked up to Bell and I. She handed Bell a handkerchief which he gratefully accepted. Did he just sniff it? Maybe Ryuu wasn't talking crazy after all. The celebrity didn't pay him any mind as she stared at me for a strange moment. "How are you feeling?" Tilting her head, her blank face bored into me. She looks the same, so why can I tell that she's worried? Am I starting to understand her weird language?
Not wanting to keep her worried, I nodded. "I'm fine. Anyway, I'll be going now." Backing up from them, I didn't want to interrupt them for too long. It seems like the two of them have some sort of agreement for training, add in the fact that Bell seems to have a crush on the princess and now I'm just a third wheel. Got to say, I'm a little jealous. There aren't many better teachers than her.
As I turned to go back down the wall, Aiz suddenly spoke up a bit louder than she usually did. "I simply owed Bell for a certain incident and came up with this idea. Would you like to join us?" Huh? Turning back, I was met with two entirely different reactions to that. Bell, for one, looked like the world was about to end and suddenly became pale. While Aiz was still as stone faced as ever, I felt like she was hoping for me to take her offer.
I don't really want to get between Bell and his crush but... as I said before. There aren't many better teachers here. The only person that I could think would be a better teacher would be Riviera. Only problem is, she kind of scares me. She's always so serious, to the point that I'm afraid that if I say something rude, she'd turn me into a pile of ash. "Sorry, but I'm fine." However, there were two issues. The less important one is that I don't want to get between Bell and Aiz. Clearly it's better to teach a single student after all. The second one was... it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to rely on someone so strong. Even if it is Aiz. What if I really need her one day and she decides that I'm too much work? You can't put too much trust in these high rankers, they only care about strength after all. I ignored the sour feeling those thoughts brought on. Even if it's Aiz. She's still a high ranker. I'm sure she'll just ignore me once she sees just how weak I am.
"W-Wait!" Again, when I was about to leave, I was interrupted. This time by Bell. Come on. Pointing a finger towards the sky, Bell gained that innocent smile once again. "Lady Aiz, why don't you and Viole spar! If he impresses you enough with his strength, then he can leave! If not, you force the both of us to do more training!" You dumbass, she's a level five. She'll demolish me in a minute.
"Perfect." And of course she agrees. Use your strength to get what you want. Of course. I just didn't get why she wanted to train me so badly. Nor why the hell Bell wanted me to be here as well. Fucking idiots, the lot of them. Unsheathing her sword, Aiz pointed it towards me. "Viole, first to draw blood wins."
I doubt there was a way for me to get out of this now. So, even if it was a tiny chance, I might as well try. "Fine."
Rabbit
Every adventurer is different. I knew that, but I didn't. Not really. Not until Viole told me about how he came here and why. Compared to him I... I came to Orario following Grandpa's advice. Get strong and meet girls. Comparing that to why Viole's here I almost feel like a joke. Knowing that he isn't the first and most likely won't be the last to come here for the exact same reason makes me feel even worse. Before meeting him, it never even occurred to me that anyone could have come to this city with the intention to kill someone.
Whether or not I agree with his need for revenge, I can't just act like everything's the same. And I can't just ignore that my friend has been silently suffering while intending to risk his life fighting a god. That man... Susano'o. What he did is unforgivable! Thinking about his story, I felt my fist clench in anger. To destroy my friend's life like that and then go on to toy with him... I'll never forgive him! Calm down, Bell. Now isn't the time.
I turned my attention to the pair in front of me. I didn't understand why Viole would turn down Lady Aiz's invitation. Being trained by her is the boost he needs right now! Not just to get stronger, but being around Lady Aiz is a truly soothing experience! Wait, he must get to see her all the time at home too! AGH! I'm jealous! He's probably bumped into her at the bathrooms and... STOP! I'm going to make myself so mad I challenge him to a duel!
I forced myself to take a deep breath and stand against one of the multiple pillars that separated each section of Orario's wall. Watching them prepare for the fight, I was once again enamored by Viole's magic. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen or heard of. After he placed on his gloves and whispered his chant, slowly his forearms became coated in a strange black magic, starting from the tips of his fingers. I wonder, is that magic tied to his status as a capped? Putting that thought away for later, I put hand in the sky once the two of them was ready. And- "begin!"
Without waiting even for a moment, my team leader flew towards Lady Aiz, kicking off the ground and clawing in front of him. Just as usual, he fought as if in a trance and in an animalistic fashion. With every slash, his magic left a trail behind it, forcing Lady Aiz to block his strikes, rather than dodge out of the way. Taking advantage of this, Viole dipped under one of his trails and slashed upwards at her. It was an amazing plan, conditioning his opponent to block a certain way only to sandwich them between two two angles of attack. It would have worked... if his opponent wasn't Lady Aiz. "Tch." His attack reached only empty space, as my savior leapt into the sky before diving at him, sword in front and ready. Taking no chances, he dodged to the side before attempting to kick her as she landed. Only for his leg to be caught by her. As expected of Lady Aiz! She read not only his attack pattern, but his reaction to her retaliation!
Before she could take advantage of Viole's weakness, magic surged into his leg and forced her to let go before jumping away. "First impression, nice-" Not allowing her a second to breathe, he dashed towards her to attack, only to be kicked in the chest and pushed back several feet. "Good. You don't allow for a moment of rest. Impressive for a level one... ah." Covering her mouth, the sword princess cringed for a moment. Something I'd never seen her do. New expressions unlocked! Keeping that in my Lady Aiz memory section! "I'm sorry."
"Don't fucking apologize." Huh? His eyes did that flickering thing once more as he dusted off his chest. Crouching down, he then launched towards Aiz once more. This time, each flurry became more and more angered and erratic. Making them far easier for the beautiful woman to dodge.
"You're simply attacking recklessly now. Calm-"
"SHUT UP!" Viole? That last comment seemed to be the last straw. In that same unthinking and angry fashion, he swiped at Lady Aiz's head. Only for her to glide past the attack before giving him the same spin kick to the cheek that she'd given me countless times. Is that her signature move or something?! It's cool, but still! Unlike me, who ended up on his butt every time I got hit by that, Viole slid back a bit and stumbled a bit. I hope that just means she went easier on him... otherwise I really am that far behind.
The three of us stood still for a couple of breathless moments. That was until I noticed that his lip was bleeding. Lady Aiz noticed it as well, and began to declare her factory. "You're lip... I've won now so-"
"Haaaaaaa..." A long sigh fell from his mouth just as he rubbed his lip. "Oh come on, Aiz. If you're going to hit me, at least go all out. It isn't fun if it doesn't hurt~" Huh? What the heck?! Did that hit screw up Viole's brain or something?! His entire demeanor changed along with his eyes turning red. Instead of the careful and silent demeanor he usually had, his stance became far more relaxed. Not to mention there was a strange, almost joyful tone in his voice that was usually detached. "Aiz, Aiz, Aiz... seriously. If you're going to force me into this, at least make it more interesting! We can't just end it here! Give me all the punishment I need!" Faster than before, Viole appeared before his opponent and went for a punch towards her chest. Unphased by the sudden change, she blocked it with her rapier but..
"What?" She was pushed back a little bit before retaliating and throwing her rapier forward with a lot more of her strength than before. Her attack was so powerful, it ended up flingling him into the opposite wall. "Viole!" Crashing into the wall, the wind was clearly blowin out of him. Blood and spit flew out of his mouth as he gasped. His eyes changed their color back to violet once more before he fell onward and lost consciousness. "Viole! Oh, no, no, no. Are you okay?" She'd appeared next to him immediately, holding his unconscious body. I wanted to go with her but... my feet wouldn't let me.
"What was that?" Too many things were running through my head as I watched the Lady check his condition. His eyes, why did they change color? They did that before when that guy threatened Lily... but even then! What was that change? His everything changed! "Lady Aiz, be careful! You don't know how he'll be when he wakes up!"
She didn't even give me a glance as she placed his head on her lap. GUH! It should have been me, not him! "It's fine..." Gently, she fixed his messy black hair. "That was just his skill."
"How do you-"
"I know it, Bell." Her eyes never left his sleeping face. "His father told me." WAIT, WHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAT?! "I've met his father many times in the past. Lord Angra made it a habit to visit Loki every two years. After we made an agreement, he trained me every time he came. Viole seems to have the same skill as his father." Wait, Lady Aiz was trained by Viole's dad?! D-Did the two of them ever meet?! No, that's not important right now! But... I can't help but be a little jealous!
Capped
When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by bright blue skies and a beautiful girl with blond hair. Ugh, I hate losing. It was evident that I was lying in the sword princesses lap so I calmly sat up before letting out a disappointed sigh. "You should have gone easy on me." At least give me a chance to get away from your training. Rubbing my head, I realized I had a pretty strong migraine from the collision. Was she trying to kill me?
"I apologize. I simply didn't expect your skill to activate." I felt her eyes staring a hole into the back of my head but I simply ignored it. Skill. So that's what that was. On a certain level, I didn't see or feel the difference, but thinking back on it, that was definitely not how I usually act. It felt like a strange part of myself that I've kept buried came out. Annoying.
"Nightmare Rage. With that sort of name, I expected something more crazy." Something more useful as well. Standing up, I almost stumbled back down until Bell helped me stay on my feet. "Thanks."
When he looked up at me, I noticed a strange look in his eyes. Is he afraid of me? "S-Sorry, Viole. Um... are you alright?" Well, I suppose it's fine for him to be afraid of me. It'll make it easier for him to leave me alone when the time comes.
"I'm fine." Other than the fact that my entire body is throbbing in pain. That girl is way too strong. Said strong girl stood up and began walking back into Orario. "Sorry about that, Bell." I followed the princess and my friend began following me.
"I-It's fine! I... I was just surprised. I never saw anything like that before after all." Yet, Aiz has. I suppose it makes sense, given her experience. "But, I'm glad you're okay, Viole. And look on the bright side! Now you and I get to train together!" Oh boy. I'm so excited.
Following the princess, I couldn't help but get a bit curious. "Do you know anything about my skill Aiz? Is it common in capped or something?" She froze for a moment before going back to walking normally. Hm?
"Well, I've seen your skill in another capped before. From what he told me, it's a special skill that increases your parameters based on your level of anger at the time. He said it could even gain so much strength with the skill it's like he increased levels." Interesting. Now that can be useful later. Only issue is the fact that it's tied to anger. I'll have a hard time controlling myself if I lose too much control. "As for your personality... I suppose that varies." I noticed that her voice was far more even and monotone than usual.
"This other capped, who was he?" If he's still around, then he'd be a much better teacher than anyone else. Sharing the same skills, maybe they could help me control it. "Do you think he'd be able to help me?"
"No." Gaining a faster pace, Aiz began to move further and further away from us. Every time I caught up and tried to ask, all I received was the same result. Leading me to only conclusion. That capped must already be dead. I see, what a shame. I decided to give up on it and just leave it alone. Just another reason to kill Susano'o. I can only hope that capped went peacefully.
Supporter
How do people cope? This life in Orario is a hellish one, so there has to be a way to deal with the feelings it causes. Because of my familia, I know that some of them go to alcohol. Apparently so do gods, if Loki's an example. Others become workaholics or some simply use their strength to bully others. I did those last two. Well, I wouldn't call it bullying, I was just getting my well deserved revenge! It's those adventurers' fault for being pieces of shit! That's just an excuse... But I've decided to stop doing that. I'm still trying to save enough money, money rules the world after all, but I think I may have given myself an impossible goal.
I need to leave the Soma familia, that has never changed. It's a disgusting group filled with drunkards who'd sell their child for a drop of alcohol. The new goal I gained however, is that instead of leaving this city, I want to join Loki's familia. That's practically impossible though! I'm just a weak supporter that's only allowed to be in that castle because Viole is vouching for me. But... maybe if I buy her some of Soma's wine or bribe her, she'll let me in.
Now, I still hate Orario. With a burning passion! But, I can't just leave my savior to die alone. Even if Aiz and Bell are here for him, I'm sure their paths will split one day. After all, that monotone weirdo is way too strong to just hang around him and Snow-Cone 's way too nice to stick around him for long. I'm the only one who'll stick with him... not that I want to or anything. He's just too much of a dumbass for me to ignore! Even my own thought process isn't making sense anymore. "Ugh..."
"Are you okay, Lily?" The monotone weirdo said from beside me. For the past few days, she's been training Bell and Viole in the mornings. I decided to follow Viole every morning to make sure she doesn't accidentally kill him like she almost did the first day. She can do whatever she wants with Bell, but not my Viole. Wait, my? "Your cheeks are red."
"I'm just tired." I don't like her. She's weird, always has this tendency to stare at people, awkward and she keeps stalking us too! Why can't she just leave us alone? Eh, she'll get bored of us sooner or later. She's an adventurer after all. She and I were standing on the side of Orario's wall, watching as Viole and Snow-cone spared. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching them?" I wouldn't doubt that she was just using them as a way to kill boredom.
I wasn't really paying attention to their spar, but when I looked back it seemed close to the end. Snow-cone was fast, faster than Viole could handle. Each time he swiped at him, the dumbass was already gone. However, Bell's attacks lacked the power behind them to really hurt Viole either. After another failed sipe, my savior suddenly threw his hand out and caught Bell by the collar. Before he could do anything, however, Bell reversed the grab by wrapping his legs around his opponent's arm and using his body weight to bring the both of them to the ground. Dammit. "Bell wins." Tch, he just got lucky.
"Yeah! That's 3-2, Viole! You owe me a basket of croquettes!" Jumping like a schoolgirl, Snow-cone celebrated his victory while his opponent just sighed. Oh no. I was overcome by the desire to comfort him, so I ran over to him and put my hand out to help Viole get up.
"Thanks Lily." Gratefully, he took my hand and used me to stand up. Once he was back on his two feet, he gently placed a hand on my head. "I looked lame, didn't I?"
"N-No, of course not! Bell, just got lucky is all! If he fought you like a man and didn't run away all the time then it would have been over in a second!"
"That's just how I fight! You can't blame me for that!"
"I can if you fight like a pussy!"
"HEY!"
Before Bell and I could fight anymore, Aiz stood between us. "That's enough. Good job Bell, Viole. Now, let's begin our training." I reluctantly went back to where I stood before and watched the training session. This has been our routine the past few days. Bell and Viole trained with the weirdo in the morning, then we'd go into the dungeon and after that we'd have dinner. It wasn't as different as usual, though we had been making a bit more money and going a bit further since they started... but I'm not gonna give it to her.
Why her? Is it cuz she's cute? I'm cuter. This was the other reason why I didn't like this arrangement. I feel weird whenever I see that weirdo near him. Even though I know that kind of stuff is the last thing that should be on our minds right now, I just can't help it. I hate this feeling. It'll go away soon, I'm sure. So, I simply closed my eyes and sat down on the ground. Waiting for this training to end so we can do what we're supposed to. This isn't going to make us stronger, only the dungeon can. And Aiz will never be there for us.
Capped
A week has passed since Bell and I began training under Aiz and it's been interesting to say the least. Almost every day I'm left out of breath right before we go into the dungeon, but it's definitely been helping. I don't know if the training is affecting my Flana, but it's I've been growing at a faster rate. Perhaps it wasn't as bad a deal as I expected. Sure, it mostly consisted of Bell and I getting our asses handed to us by the sword princess, but I've learned a few helpful things.
Yesterday was the final day of our training apparently, since Aiz and the rest of my familia were going to do another expedition, this time to the fifty ninth floor. "So, are you doing alright, Snow-cone? You're not having Aiz withdrawals are ya?" Lily said with a smug look on her face as she berated Bell. Seems like I wasn't the only one who noticed his crush. Though, no way she wouldn't notice after she watched our training every day. The three of us were walking through the dungeon, currently on the fifth floor and waiting for a fight.
"I-I'm fine! Stop making fun of me!" With a blush that you'd see on a maiden, Bell yelled at our supporter. "Sure it sucks not being able to see her every day but... I'll cherish the time we spent for the rest of my life!" And Lily calls me a weirdo. I was used to seeing mom and dad be all lovey dovey, but seeing someone fall so head over heels was weird. Is he not embarrassed by what he's saying? "W-Wait! How'd you know I liked Lady Aiz?!"
"Because you're obvious." I stated, hoping that it'd stop this conversation. Hm, we haven't encountered anything so far. Strange.
Unfortunately for me, my statement made him blush even harder and hide his face behind his hands. "AHHH! Don't say that! I don't want Lady Aiz to think I'm..." Suddenly stopping, Bell pulled his hands down and looked around us. "Do you guys feel that?"
"Feel what? You're love for Aiz's boot on your face?" The white haired boy pouted at Lily's smug statement. "But seriously, you're thinking too much. Everything's fine."
I had to agree with her, I didn't feel anything strange at all. The only thing I noticed was that the floor was empty. Wait, empty? That thought made me stop walking in my tracks. We'd been walking through the floor for quite a bit and we haven't run into a single thing. Not a monster, not another adventurer, not even a dropped item. There wasn't a single sound within these caves other than our footsteps and breathing. And... the strange feeling of us being watched. "We need to leave. Now. " Something isn't right. This isn't the natural state of the dungeon, meaning someone had made it this way. Someone had led us into a trap. A burning building surrounded by bloo- Slapping my face, I forced the memory to crawl back down from whence it came.
"Viole! What-"
"We're leaving! NOW!" Turning around, I grabbed Lily's and Bell's arms and began walking away. Unfortunately, just behind us were the sounds of footsteps.
Each of us stopped in our tracks. A primal, almost instinctual fear seeped into my body and I looked ahead of us. Slowly, a red monster walked towards us. It's humanoid, yet monstrous body hunched over and emitting a power that forced me to flash back to that day. It was dragging a large black broadsword, blood dripping from it as it formed a path. "Dammit." Even now, I still can't move. Why? Why am I- The Minatour looked at us with bloodlust.
"OOOOOOOORRRUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
Why am I going to die here?
AN: Hello everyone. Sorry for not posting in a while, sort of slipped my mind to update as I've been recently busy. To make up for it, this time is a double update. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading.
No reviews to respond to this time, but thank you to everyone who's still reading.