Study abroad, they said…
Go to Japan, they said…
Just one semester, they said…
They fucking lied, even if they didn't know it. Should have just driven to Sydney for the weekend or something.
Bright flashing lights, people in white and blue yelling at me as they ran through a hallway, with me in tow on a bed, pressure on my face, probably from a gas mask or respirator or something like that… That's all I remember before everything went black. I was being rushed to and through a hospital on a gurney, with the doctors assessing my situation and trying to communicate with me. Unfortunately, my Japanese, whilst not awful, wasn't exactly fluent. I could get the gist of it though. They were asking for my name, if I could feel any pain, what I remembered, shit like that. I was too battered and weak to respond.
I was on my way home from one of my night classes, and I ran a yellow light. Nothing wrong with that, but I was unfortunate enough to make that decision right as some trucker decided to run a red light on the perpendicular side of that intersection. He might have been drunk, as he was reeling to the curb of the road, and would have hit three teens standing on the island between the lanes, had I not been there. And some other unlucky sod.
The last thing I saw before being rushed to the hospital was some fat guy pushing one of the teens away, which saved the kid in question, but he ran right across the street to do it. I saw him and immediately pulled on my motorbike's brakes, but it wasn't fast enough. I slammed right into the fat guy, though at a significantly slower speed than the truck slammed into me. And that guy was lucky, being hit by me sent him rolling off to the side. He'd probably have a few broken bones, but he'd survive, as would the three teens, thanks in no small part to him. Sadly, nothing was stopping the truck from turning me into paste.
Taken out by Truck-kun… What a joke.
And that's how my life ended.
Or at least, I thought so.
Not a moment after I took my final breath, I opened my eyes again and was in a completely unfamiliar surrounding. I could barely make anything out, my eyes were so hazy, but I saw the face of a young man, about the same age as me, right in front of me, though looking significantly larger, I let out a startled yelp, one that did not sound like me. The man's smile practically split his cheeks open as he started to talk in some strange language that I didn't understand. I could barely move and he actually kissed me, hard, on the forehead like an over-enthusiastic aunt or grandmother meeting their grandchild or nephew for the first time. He then turned to face behind him and spoke some more, again in that strange language, before handing me over to a young woman.
The two of them looked European, with different shades of blonde hair, with green eyes on the man, and blue on the woman. And though I don't usually say this kind of thing out loud, I just have to this time. She has HUGE boobs. There, it's out of my system. In my defence, she was barely clothed with only a robe on that barely covered her chest.
Anyway, the woman was clearly ecstatic to be holding me in her arms. That should have been what tipped me off, but I actually only understood what was going on until I tried to push myself away from her, and noticed how tiny my hands were.
I was a fucking baby…
It took a minute before I was able to wrap my head around that, a minute that was probably a fair bit longer than I thought, as when I snapped out of the trance, I found myself laying in a crib, my finger wrapped around the man's… my father's finger as he and my mother looked down at me. My stomach felt full. Did she feed me? I can't tell if I'm relieved or disappointed to have blanked on that. Anyway, after listening to them talk, I was able to ascertain that their names were Paul and Zenith. I thought they were going to call it a night, but Paul started feeling his wife up, and though she resisted at first, she gave in to her own desire and they started going at it on the bed right next to my crib…
Great way to end my first day as a new person, let me tell you…
XXX
6 months passed, and eventually I picked up on the language. My vocal cords and tongue muscles were still developing, on top of not having any teeth yet, so actually speech was beyond me for the moment, but I could understand most of what everyone said. I have read before that the brains of infants and children learn very quickly, but I was always a smart guy. I'd like to think that had at least a little bit to do with me picking it up quickly.
"Niklaus! Niklaus, where are you?" Zenith, called out as she searched the house for me. I ducked her at every turn, swiftly crawling through every room to get a feel for the place.
Niklaus.
Niklaus Greyrat, that was my new name.
Hopefully I wouldn't turn into a werewolf later down the line, heh.
As I learnt to crawl and started exploring around the house, it became more and more evident that I was living very differently than I was before. Everything seemed mediaeval here. Houses were made with stones and wood, fire was used for heat and cooking, no indoor plumbing, and not a hint of plastic anywhere. Either I reincarnated into a different time, or I'm just somewhere that the modern world hasn't touched yet. I don't see that happening in Europe though.
I continued crawling, before making it to the kitchen where I found Lillia, our live-in maid.
Lillia was just as buxom and voluptuous as Zenith, but the key difference between their looks was Lillia's striking red hair, compared to Zenith's golden blonde. Lillia also wore glasses. She was great at her job. She cleaned well, her cooking was top notch, and if I'm being honest, she's better at changing diapers than Zenith is.
In the beginning, Lillia seemed a little apprehensive around me, maybe even outright scared. Through listening to their conversations, I'd learnt that Lillia was the superstitious type, so it made sense somewhat. I mean, I hardly acted like a normal baby, and who would guess that the strangely acting baby was actually a grown man in a baby's body. With time, she started to see that I had no ill intentions. I don't think her fears went away, but she started acting fairly normal around me quite quickly. I mean, it wasn't like I was staring at her with lecherous grins and rummaging through her underwear drawer, which I could easily do. I kept to myself most of the time, and she seemed to pick up on that.
With my knees getting sore from crawling so much, I decided to cease my exploration for the day. I crawled over to Lillia while she was cooking and grabbed onto her dress, using her as support while I pulled myself up. Still couldn't stand, barely any leg muscle, but I could hoist myself up to just my knees with some support.
Lillia let out a startled yelp and dropped the ladle in the pot as she felt me, but sighed as she saw what it was. This wasn't the first time I'd startled her like this, but she didn't mind. I was a baby after all. With a fond shake of her head, she knelt down and picked me up. I let out a coo, knowing it was expected of babies to respond to people they liked or knew. They were already bewildered that I barely cried, they don't need to be concerned about me not making sounds at all right now. That would make things annoying for me.
"Young Master, you shouldn't be pulling on a woman's dress like that." Lillia said with an exasperated sigh as she stood up with me in her arms. I gave her a gummy smile and a coo, gripping her hair. It was so much fun to annoy her, startling her by pulling her dress and grabbing her hair when she held me. "Master Niklaus!" She sighed as she gently pried my fingers off of her hair.
"Nicky, there you are!" Zenith said as she approached us. "Are you pulling on Lillia's dress again? You're definitely Paul's son." Zenith gave her own exasperated sigh as Lillia gently handed me over to her.
"He's trying to use my dress as support to stand. I've seen it before, my Lady." Lillia explained she straightened out her hair and dress. "I don't think the Young Master is going to be skirt-chasing anytime soon." She assured Zenith, a smile of amusement on her face.
"Maybe I should start wearing longer dresses." Zenith said, looking at her short skirt and brown pants. "I don't want to miss Nicky's first steps!" She held me closer, terrified at the thought.
"I don't think Master Paul would be appreciative." Lillia quipped, making the two women let out a giggle. I'd noticed how close these two were some time ago. They were like best friends, and even though she didn't have to, Zenith often helped her with the daily chores, cooking food, and whatnot, which is actually what they started doing once Zenith put me down on a bench by the window. I took the opportunity to look out the window, since I hadn't gotten the opportunities to see outside yet, since Zenith never opens the front door when I'm anywhere near it, and sneaking out has proven a challenge.
When I managed to get up to my knees and straighten out my torso, much harder without the dress to grip I might add, I was finally able to look out the window. I tried climbing up to this bench before, but it was a little too high. Outside the window, I saw the lush green fields and hills that surrounded the area around our home. There was a wooden shed, and a round flower bed with many flowers of various colours growing. Then there was Paul, and I noticed two things about him. One, he was incredibly ripped. Two, he liked swordplay, a lot.
He was training with a sword outside, going through some incredibly powerful and elegant motions at incredible speed. He must have been practising since he was very young. That gave another point to me being born in a different time. People haven't practised swordplay to that extent in a long time, there was no need to, even if this part of the world was untouched by modern society. Anyway, as Paul gave a particularly harsh swipe upward diagonally, the force of the swipe sent some of the dirt and stones flying, and some of it hit the window, giving me a fright. I let out a yelp, and fell backwards, straight to the ground, landing on my back and slamming the back of my head.
"Nicky!/Young Master!" Zenith and Lillia both yelled as they heard my yelp and fall, and they dashed over to me.
"Oh Nicky!" Zenith hugged me tight, her concern evident. "Are you Ok? You're not hurt?" She felt the back of my head frantically.
"No, sweetheart, I'm not, but pawing at my head like that isn't pleasant when it just got whacked on the floor." I thought to myself as I tried to not let my discomfort show.
"He doesn't even cry after a fall like that… Master Niklaus is truly an enigma." Lillia observed, looking at me.
"That's my strong little man." Zenith gave me a quick squeeze before standing up. "But just in case, I'll *something-something* for the pain." She said as she sat me down on the table.
What did she just say? I haven't heard those words before.
Zenith placed her hand on my head, and closed her eyes before speaking.
"Let this divine power be rich and nourishing, granting he who has lost his strength, the strength to rise again. Healing." She whispered. I was about to roll my eyes and shake her off, when suddenly a green light emitted from her hand, bathing my head. My eyes widened as the admittedly mild, but very real throbbing in the back of my head faded. Within a few seconds, the light vanished, and I felt absolutely nothing at the back of my head, even when I momentarily forgot that I was supposed to be a baby and pawed at the back of my head, trying to feel for the injury.
Holy shit…
XXX
So, magic.
That disproved my earlier two theories. I wasn't in some speck of land that hadn't been touched by modern society, nor had I travelled through time. I was in a whole different world. That explained the magic, the lack of technology, the house's structure, Paul's swordplay, and just about everything else that seemed strange here. It took a while for that to really sink in.
Anyhow…
I was able to walk perfectly at about 16 months, so I was able to start walking around outside, so long as I had supervision, and I had access to the second floor of the house now. Sometimes I went with Lillia or Zenith to purchase groceries, but other than that I didn't leave the house that much. There wasn't much point. I was also able to see into Zenith's mirror now to get a look at myself. Everyone always said I looked just like Paul, and though that was true, I had Zenith's blue eyes, and her golden blonde hair, compared with Paul's darker shade. I also think his face was sharper than mine, but that was probably a result of a toddler's chubby cheeks. It would likely change once I hit puberty.
At two years old, I came across a chest in what seemed to be a study of some kind on the second floor. It was big enough to fit at least 3 of me in there, so opening it was a challenge, but I managed, and found a couple of books inside. Like with the spoken language, the written language was also different, so I had to learn how to read again. Thankfully, with the sponge-like brain of a toddler, Paul reading story books to me every night, and my own natural intelligence(read with modesty, of course) I was able to pick up on the language by the time I was three, which meant I could start my studies into magic.
We only had one book on the subject, which happened to be a manual, explaining the basics, background, and intricacies of magic. It was long and winding, going into detail about the categories and rankings of magic, the two methods, the access of magic power, and so on and so forth. One thing did stick out to me though; it said that magical ability is set at birth. This includes the potency and quantity of magic, whether or not one can use magic or not from the start, and the odds of inheriting power from one's parents. If this was true, I might not even be capable of magic at all. That would suck. It's been the only thing on my mind since Zenith healed my head.
"Well, one way to find out, I suppose." I said as I stood up from the ground of the study, turning the pages of the book to the elementary magic. Not wanting to cause any damage to the house, I opened the window and aimed my hand at it. "Let the protection of fire converge, and call forth the bold heat of a torch here and now." I read. Nothing happened. "Fireball?" I half asked the air. Was I supposed to say the name of the spell as well?
*Ba-bump!*
Whoa…
I felt this strange sensation soar through my whole body. It was almost like an electric shock, but not quite, running through every nerve in my body. It was so quick, I almost didn't notice the fact that it ran from my feet upwards, then through my arms, and right in front of my palm, a ball of fire appeared.
Holy shit.
I smiled widely, but as quickly as it appeared, it vanished into thin air. The air around where it was wasn't even warm.
"Ok, good start, but did I do something wrong?" I asked myself, looking at the book again. It didn't seem like it, so I tried again.
Still aiming out the window, I closed my eyes and thought back to that feeling, letting the memory play through in my head over and over again, focussing on each part of my body from my feet upwards, one after the other, and then…
I let out a gasp as I felt the magic pulse, and another ball of fire appeared before my hands. Startled, I pulled my hand back, which seemed to cut off the flow of magic, resulting in this fireball vanishing too.
"What?" I asked myself in a whisper. I didn't even say anything.
Shaking my head, I looked at my palm with narrowed eyes and tried to concentrate once more. The book never explicitly said that the incantations were mandatory, but that could be something everyone believed, so there'd be no point in pointing it out. However…
On my third attempt, a few flickers and sparks of fire did appear above my palm, but I stopped when I quickly felt a wave of fatigue and exhaustion hit me. I immediately stopped and sat down on the ground. That doesn't bode well. If my mana is so low I can't even cast an elementary fireball spell three times, there's no way I'd be able to…
Oh, apparently I passed out.
XXX
I spent the next few months experimenting with the conjuration of a fireball. I'd noticed that with each passing day, I was able to create more and more fireballs, which contradicted the book's statement that magic power was set at birth. I thought I may have misinterpreted the book in the beginning, but upon revisiting it, it said very clearly that there was no possibility of one's magic power growing. But mine very clearly is. Either the book's wrong, or it has to do with me being a kid. Maybe it grows as one grows older, and this hasn't been discovered yet, or maybe there's an eventual cap that is set at birth.
Dwelling on it wasn't doing me any good, so I set it aside in favour of mastering the Fireball spell.
Even after 6 months practising, I wasn't able to send the fireball flying. I could hold it as long as I wanted, even move it around my hand and arm, but firing it still escaped me. It wasn't until I re-read the incantation that I realised I wasn't following the order of the words. The spell stated the protection of fire needed to converge, and then the bold heat of the torch would be called. It took some creative interpretation, but I eventually realised I had to let the fireball's size settle before giving a set speed that would release the spell. I'd been focussing on speed and size both at the same time.
I almost got caught when the first fireball I managed to send whizzed past Paul during his training.
Progress.
It wasn't long before I'd mastered the elementary spell. I briefly branched out into water, wind, and earth magic, but they were all a hell of a ton easier once I got the initial fireball spell down. Anything else, like healing magic, required either hurting myself, or someone else, two things I'd like to avoid for now. So, with that in mind, I decided to give Intermediate magic a try.
Thinking back, that was the decision that set everything into motion.
"OK, let's see what we got here…" I mumbled to myself as I aimed out the window, looking at the page I'd turned to, showing the Intermediate spell I'd found. "Great spirits of Fire and maiden of flames that raze the Earth, burn all that stands before me with your mighty blaze. Burning Path." I read.
*ba-bump!*
Oh dear… That was a fair bit stronger than the last time I tried a spell for the first time.
I'd barely finished that thought before an orb of flame formed before my palm, this one significantly bigger and hotter than the elementary one, and before I could stop it, it burst forth, the force throwing me straight at the door, whilst the spell destroyed not just the window I was aiming through, but also the entire wall. When I managed to sit up and saw the damage, I was shocked. The edges of what remained of the wall were smouldering and flickering with flame, and there was a long streak of what looked to be scorched earth stretching off into the distance, part of it being a streak of the neighbour's wheat farm being on fire.
"Nicky! Are you…" Paul burst into the room, stopping when he saw the damage. "Nicky!" He dashed over to me, seeing me having a coughing fit due to the smoke in the room. He immediately grabbed me and pulled me out of the smoke.
"Paul, what happened?!" Zenith demanded of her husband as she arrived, Lillia in tow. Seeing the damage, she immediately snapped into action, casting a spell to douse the flames in water. "What could have done this?" She asked no one in particular before she blew the smoke away with a wind spell.
"Not likely to be a monster, it's the middle of the day." Paul said as he put me down. My coughing had stopped when Zenith cleared the smoke.
"What's this?" Zenith asked as she crouched down and picked up the magic manual. Uh oh. I don't like that look she's giving. "Nicky~" She sing-songed, looking at me with the same look my ex gave me when she wanted to try something I'd rather not think about. "Did you read any of this out loud?" She asked. That look can mean one of two things, she's either ecstatic, or ready to burn me at the stake. Dare I risk it?
"I'm sorry…" I mumbled out, trying to be as cute as possible.
"Eeeeeee!" Zenith squealed as she jumped to her feet, hopping in place. "My baby's a genius!" She squealed in delight as she kept hopping.
"This is Intermediate magic…" Paul mumbled as he looked at the page I'd turned to. Lillia, true to form, wasted no time in calming down, and started wiping the soot off of the walls.
"We need to look for a magic tutor immediately!" Zenith kept hopping in anticipation as she grabbed her husband's hands.
"We haven't even taught him to read…" Paul kept trying to make sense of the situation, but Zenith didn't hear anything.
"With that kind of talent, our boy will grow into one of the greatest Mages ever!" She just wouldn't stop hopping. Not until Paul, also true to form, burst her bubble.
"Hold on Honey, if you recall, we promised that if we had a boy, we'd train him to be a swordsman." Paul stepped back, crossing his arms. Seriously?
"That was before he started using Intermediate Magic at the age of 3!" Zenith protested, all excitement gone. "We can't let him waste that talent!" Yeah!
"Becoming a swordsman is not a waste of anything." Paul shot back. "And a promise is a promise, he'll be a swordsman." He said firmly.
"Don't lecture me about promises." Zenith snapped back. "You've broken more than one over the years." She reminded him, hands on her hips.
"We're not talking about me, we're talking about what's best for Niklaus." Paul responded.
"How could swords be what's best for him when he has this kind of power?!" Ok, this is getting a little heated.
"Why not have the young master learn magic in the mornings, and swordsmanship in the afternoons?" Lillia suggested as she left the room, probably intent on finding better suited equipment for cleaning the mess I'd made. Sorry Lillia.
And once again, true to form, Paul and Zenith hugged, looking lovingly into each other's eyes.
"Regardless, we shouldn't be fighting like that in front of Nicky." Zenith said, snuggling into Paul's chest.
"Agreed." Paul responded, his hands on her butt. Christ you two, get a room! Fucking in front of me wouldn't be any better than fighting! To be perfectly frank, I'd prefer the fighting!
XXX
Within a few days, the hiring of my magical tutor was settled. A letter has been sent to god knows where by god knows what method, and less than a week later, we receive a letter from god knows who, explaining that the tutor is en route. Now, I wasn't alone in expecting what could essentially be defined as a Gandalf. You know the type; old, or at least middle aged, wavy cloak, with a long beard and an old worn out staff that somehow stands up to solid steel. That's what we were all expecting, imagine our surprise when we hear knocking on the door, and open it to find a bloody teenager.
"My name is Roxy Migurdia, pleased to meet you." The young woman, girl, greeted us. She had long, water-blue hair that was tied into two long braids that went past her waist. Her eyes were the same colour, with a hint of perpetual sleepiness in them. She wore the stereotypical black witch's hat, and a brown robe over some kind of dress and white boots. She carried a staff with her. I wasn't quite sure what kind of material it was made of, but it was white, and a squared off C shape at the head, with a blue, diamond-shaped gem floating between the two points. It was small, so I didn't see any points of connection, but it did seem as though the gem rigidly moved with the staff, it wasn't hovering all wispy and floaty-like. Strange.
I wasn't certain I'd get a Gandalf-looking tutor, it seemed feasible any kind of person might be a mage, but I certainly didn't expect a teenager with resting bitch face.
"A shy teenager with resting bitch face." I corrected myself as she fiddled with her hair, her cheeks going light pink. "Approved." I kept my grin internal.
"You're… the magic tutor?" Paul asked, just as shocked as I was.
"Aren't you somewhat…?" Zenith trailed off, not quite sure what to say.
"Tiny." I whispered out loud.
"Taller than you, shrimp." She responded dryly. Touchy. "So, where's this brilliant student of mine?" She asked, looking around.
"He's right here!" Zenith said happily, ruffling my hair.
"Hi!" I waved at her.
"Ugh, one of these…" Roxy sighed as she slumped. "A kid shows signs of magic, and suddenly everyone is convinced he's a genius. Idiots." She whispered. We're standing right in front of you, you know?
"Excuse me?" Zenith asked, a dangerous smile on her face.
"Nothing!" Roxy snapped to attention. "It's just… I'm not sure a boy his age can properly grasp magic theory." She said professionally.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Nicky's a genius, you'll see." Zenith promised her, eliciting a sigh from the young mage.
With that, Paul and Zenith left me with Roxy in our backyard, where she sat me down on a chair and started her introductory lesson. Lillia took her luggage inside whilst Paul and Zenith left us for our lesson. I could tell Zenith really wanted to stay and watch her baby at work, even though Roxy would be working more than I would, but she held off, knowing that a doting mother would not help her son's studies, thank god. I didn't need to deal with that.
Anyway, the lesson.
"Barring a few exceptions, there are three main types of magic; Attack, Healing, and Summoning. Spells and Mages are divided into seven ranks; in ascending order, they are Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced, Saint, King, Emperor, and God. In order to use magic, one must first tap into magical power, whether it be one's own innate power, or a dedicated magic circle for whatever spell you're trying to cast." Roxy lectured as she paced before me. It wasn't anything I hadn't already read in the magic manual, but I listened. She might mention something that wasn't in the book. "Any questions so far?" She asked, I shook my head. She seemed surprised, but didn't comment. "I'll start by showing you an incantation." She said, pointing her staff in the distance.
"Actually, one question." I piped up, getting her attention. "Is saying the incantation important?"
"Well, yeah. You can't use magic without them." She looked at me weirdly. Interesting. "Anyways, moving on." She gave a tired sigh and turned back again, aiming once more. "Let the blessed protection of water converge, I call forth a refreshing and burbling stream thereof." She chanted. Yeah, I've used this spell before, it was in the magic manual. "Waterball." An orb of water appeared before her staff, and shot forward, hitting one of the trees in Zenith's garden and snapping it clean in half. "What do you think?" She asked, looking at me, probably expecting me to be impressed.
"I think my Mom's gonna be angry when she sees you chopped her favourite tree down." I responded dryly.
"Eh?" Roxy stopped dead after she heard me. "One second!" She squeaked as she dashed over to the tree. "Let this divine power be rich and nourishing, granting he who has lost his strength, the strength to rise again, Healing!" She chanted quickly as she brought the downed tree over to its trunk, struggling due to its size in comparison to hers. Almost immediately, the tree snapped back into place and a couple dozen blossoms suddenly popped into existence on its branches. Whoa, impressive.
"My Mom uses the same magic." I said as Roxy walkeds back, her posture relaxing. "She's Intermediate, what's your rank?" I asked, mildly curious.
"I'm a Water Saint, but I can also use Healing and Detoxification Magic up to Intermediate, and Advanced in the other elements." She answered.
"Wow, you must be talented." I thought out loud. And I meant it too.
"Not… really." Roxy's cheeks gained a light dusting of pink as she looked away from me. "I mean, anyone can reach Intermediate at the very least with the right tutelage, but it's kind of you to say…" She mumbled. Hah, she's so easy. Wish I had met her in high school. Might have punched my V-card before turning 20. "Let's move on. You give it a try." She instructed, unsubtly changing the subject.
"Understood." I nodded, sitting up from the chair I was on and holding out my arm. Roxy has just confirmed that casting spells without incantations was impossible, at least as far as anyone knew, so I chose to just say the incantation for the moment, and find out more later. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes as planned. "Let the blessed protection of water converge, I call forth a…" I trailed off, not quite remembering how the incantation went. "Where does it go from there?" I asked. Before she could answer, the familiar warmth of magic coursing through my nervous system flared, and the waterball formed and shot forward, startling both Roxy and myself. "Uuuh…" I murmured as she looked at me with wide eyes. "How was that?" I asked sheepishly.
"You cut the incantation in half…" She whispered in shock. "Do you always do that?" She asked, bewildered. Dammit. No point in hiding it now.
"Well, normally, I… Don't say anything…" I mumbled, scratching my cheek.
"What!?" Roxy suddenly yelped, making me jump. Suddenly, she slumped, holding onto her staff for dear life as she seemed to be losing all strength in her legs. "Silent Spellcasting… Well alright then…" She mumbled out with a glass smile on her face. "This kid might be a genius afterall…" She whispered, thinking I didn't hear her. I chose not to comment, but I was relieved that she wasn't taking it negatively.
"Aaaah!" A scream suddenly snapped both our attention towards Zenith, who happened to be approaching at that exact moment. She looked distraught over something, and when we followed her gaze, we saw that the tree Roxy had healed, the one she'd knocked down moments ago, had been knocked over once again, this time by my spell.
Oops.
"Roxy! Please don't use my trees for target practice!" Zenith snapped in the girl's direction as she marched over to her garden, intent on healing the tree herself. Roxy flinched before slumping, falling into a crouch with her knees to her chest, drawing imaginary shapes into the ground with her finger, a hopeless expression on her face. Isn't that a trope in anime or something.
"What a surprise… I screwed up on the first day…" She mumbled, sighing to herself. "I guess I'll be fired then… Pity…" She continued as the images in the ground got more and more frantic.
"Sorry Miss, I should have been paying attention." I gave an honest apology. "I don't think Mom will fire you though. She yells when she gets mad, that's all. You should hear some of the things she's said to my father." And I wasn't kidding. Even before I could fully understand the language, the things I heard her saying to him when she was mad made me want to laugh like a madman. I had to control myself, or risk being exposed. "Besides, Mom always says a mistake is just an opportunity to learn." I added.
"Well, when you put it that way…" Roxy mumbled in response, standing up. "Thank you, Niklaus." She said, smiling down at me as she ruffled my hair.
"With that done." Zenith said as she approached, her tree healed and any trace of annoyance vanished from her. "Why don't we go inside? We can have some proper introductions over dinner." She suggested with a gentle smile. Roxy seemed taken aback by this.
"Not to seem ungrateful, but I can't repay your hospitality…" She mumbled in response. Zenith giggled and walked over to the girl, grabbing her by her arm.
"We're not asking you to, silly!" She said happily, dragging the girl into the house.
That evening, we engaged in a welcome party for Roxy, much to the girl's surprise, and mine too. There was a veritable feast waiting for us on the table, complete with bread, meat, a whole roast bird, cheese, pies, a pizza-esque flatbread with meat and cheese over it, the works. As we ate, toasted, and cheered, I couldn't help thinking back to my old life. After we moved overseas for my father's job, I'd been all but cut off from the rest of my family, barring my siblings and parents. I let depression and laziness become a way of life, and for almost seven years, I'd done nothing but vegetate in my room.
I only went to university and had a part-time job because my parents told me they wouldn't let me be a freeloader forever, and that they'd kick me out if I didn't work something out. The job and the studies I had weren't what I really wanted though. Thinking back, I spent the last ten years of my previous life on autopilot, only ever reacting to what happened around me, never acting. Hell, spending a semester abroad in Japan was the first thing I ever actually decided to do for myself. I don't ever want to end up like that again.
I've been given a second chance at life, and no way in hell am I going to waste it.