Chapter 4 RW: Bell Cranel (A Boy's Desire)
Author's Notes(A/N): Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in this chapter rewrite. Hurricanes suck. Aside from that "slight" issue, this rewrite has been MUCH smoother than the others. There have been no major alterations, unlike Chapter 3 RW, and any additions are nominal at most.
Chapter 5 RW might take a while as well because... Sparking Zero, and I've started playing Fire Emblem: Awakening (I just finished Path of Radiance as well). And in case anyone asks, I will be running Future Gohan, Future Trunks (teen, sword), and the one and only Goku (Mid) in Sparking Zero.
Just understand that I am very... very eager to continue the narrative with all the lessons I've learned while doing these rewrites. I can almost guarantee that the first arc finale will be legendary (if I do it right). But I think I've rambled on long enough. I hope you all enjoy this much-improved Chapter 4.
[Start SoundTrack: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - Father's Back]
"He'll live Riveria. I... I know he will."
She had uttered that phrase toward her mother figure whilst by his side, her golden hair hanging low as she sat upright in her seat. Eyes of the same golden shade honed in on him, spectating his toughest battle to date.
This trial of his took no interest in testing his physical capabilities; they had been challenged earlier. Rather, he was against the foe of his own passive desire, the desire to step into that light. It was a longing that all those whose minds achieved a state of peace following the breakage of their bodies experienced. And broken was too shallow of a word to describe his.
More of his body was wrapped in bandages than not, and there wasn't a part of him that flinched, let alone moved. It had been that way ever since she stumbled across that... horrid sight. His unintentional performance of masquerading as a corpse convinced several members that he, indeed, was one. If it weren't for the faintest of wheezes accompanying his shallow breaths, she would've been fooled as well.
Her hands were clasped together in front of her, sweat traded between them. There wasn't a moment when her muscles were at ease, and her body remained tense. How could she relax when her gaze attached to the face marred with pain buried beneath an empty expression? She brought her left hand to her chest, feeling the heavier beating of her heart.
"I know you'll live, but... why do I still fear that you won't? You've faced and overcome so many things, so why am I nervous? Was it because of what Riveria said?"
Raising her left hand to her face, she stared deep at her palm. At the center, a portion of black wind dispersed from where an ember housing an equally dark flame was.
"Ever since you've got here, this disgusting flame rages on. Why is it messing with my wind like this? It... shouldn't be doing that-"
Through the gaps in her fingers it was like her fears started to manifest into reality. His already troubled breathing continued to slow; the wheezes became less common and even quieter. She squeezed her hands together, and her expression remained blank, emotions boiling underneath.
"Bell... who did this to you?"
"..."
The wheezes ceased, and she waited, holding her breath. Each passing second made her eyes twitch, and she displayed her teeth. She felt the ember gaining heat, increasing the amount of black wind exiting her body, gathering by her feet. A minute of waiting made everything, except the impure wind, stop. She leaned forward, sight falling to the ground, and her hair became a curtain, obstructing what her heart did to her face.
"Bell... please live. Please..."
After voicing her inner thoughts aloud, her body became unaware of the passage of time. But when the manifestation of her childhood self, wearing the same green dress from that day, tugged on her leg, her head tilted back up.
"H-He's..."
"Gramps..."
One of the corners of her lips raised, the tension in her muscles quelled, and any trace of the unintentional leakage of her dark powers dissipated.
"He's alive, and he's smiling again."
Off to the side, her child self stood on her tiptoes, marveling at his smile.
"After everything, you still have that precious thing. To think you've still managed to hold onto it. I wish... I wish I could've been like you-"
He grabbed onto the bed, and his breathing accelerated. The joy in his smile was replaced by despair, and his head started to shake.
[Wh-What's happening to him?]
It was enough for her little self to back up.
"Her... r-relying... I... ca-can't... won't, but..."
"What are you saying, Bell?"
"I want... tnaw ot teg regnorts rof reh..."
His incoherent rambling caused her to raise an eyebrow before she widened her eyes, and a memory overlaid on top of him.
"Are you... having a nightmare?"
"I'm llits rekaew naht reh!"
"I... know what it is like. I have a lot of experience with them."
Reaching her left hand out, she held onto his while maintaining eye contact with his pained face.
"He's still squeezing my hand a lot."
"Pots... oooon... esaelp."
Sucking in part of her cheek, she pouted.
"This isn't working, and I don't think I should move him, so I can't place him on my lap..."
She looked to the ceiling, thinking of what to do.
"Maybe this will work for you... like it did for me."
Using her right hand, she rested it atop his forehead. The pained look on his face soon vanquished to nothingness. His attempt at crushing her hand weakened, and he returned to a neutral state.
"It's... okay, Bell. I'm here. I... won't leave your side."
[End SoundTrack]
"Uckkkk... argghhh..."
Exhales of agony exited him, each sounding rough and course from the dryness of his throat. His eyelids twitched, struggling to find the strength to open against the luminosity of the room. They would soon achieve victory, and his gaze met the ceiling.
"I'm... alive?"
[BELLLL!]
That scream was the last thing he heard, and it silenced everything when it replayed in his head. Firing open his eyes, he gasped and shot up.
"Lefiya! ACK!"
From his sudden movement, it was as if his entire nervous system was set ablaze. His body twitched and convulsed from the influx of pain.
Arkkk! Ackk! Ughhh! "T-This exactly how I felt before passing out- guhhhh!"
When control was granted back to him, he held himself, trying to quell the additional strain he added.
Arghh! "Where... where am I-"
"Are you alright?"
Turning to the distinctive voice of a person he could never forget, a haze in his sight made it difficult to see anything past her outline for a moment. But when he locked eyes with her, he could see the worry in those golden beauties.
"Ais... san?"
"Are you... alright?"
Rubbing his head made an image of his elven friend appear, arrows lodged inside her. Powering through any torment, he shook his head and tightened his hand.
"Where is Lefiya?! Is she safe?! Is she alright?!"
His face filled with desperation and only continued to be so when Ais hesitated, leaning back in her chair, tilting her head, and opening her mouth. His very eyeballs began to quake while his mind raced through a grim possibility.
"Don't tell me..."
"She's alright."
His thoughts slammed on the breaks, and his shaking vision focused.
"R-Really?!"
"Yes. Riveria tended to her after you were brought here."
The corner of his lips raised despite the unbearable pain it may have caused.
"Thank goodness... uckk!"
His smile was not long-lived, for it and the adrenaline proceeding it fell. All of the pain he had been ignoring and compounding upon had crashed into him. There wasn't any strength to even remain sitting up, and he collapsed back onto the bed. Impacting the mattress with his back forced his face to wince as his ribs cried out.
Nghhh! "Why-Ackkk! Why does it feel like my body is still on fire?! Urgg!"
"You did wake up sooner than I or anyone else thought you would. There were even talks about you not waking up until tomorrow... that is... if you ever woke up."
The veins on his neck became pronounced while he tried to get his accelerated breaths under control from the chaos still stewing in him. Although breathing slower wasn't going to revoke any pain, it did reduce the amount of jolts his body experienced.
"I'm sorry, but is it alright if I talk to you like... like this? Eckk! I... don't think I can... get up again for the time being."
"Of course."
She grabbed his left hand and held it up.
"A-Ais... san?"
"There's a reason we listened to Lefiya, and it wasn't because she begged us to. The state you were in... people were talking about how there was nothing we could do for you."
"I was- ugh... I was that wounded?"
"You didn't realize?"
A poor attempt at a smile, followed by a rich delivery of misery, painted his looks.
Eck... "I... made a promise to her. That I... would get her back here. When we made it here, I think the pain my mind closed out... hit me all at once. But... Lefiya begged you all to focus on me first?"
"Mhm. She wouldn't take any healing until we finished with you. Since her injuries were nowhere as severe as yours, everyone decided to listen."
He held his hand over his chest, it shaking in the air.
"It's odd. I still feel those arrows in me. Ahh! And the charring of my skin from their magic."
"You did only sleep for a few hours, and..." she leaned forward. "Please hold still for a moment."
She released his hand and adjusted the bandages on his head. He stifled the sound of his wince as she tightened the wrap to not come undone again.
"How's your head?"
"Hurts... like the rest of me."
"No."
She leaned back into her seat.
"I mean, while you were sleeping, you were tossing and turning a lot in my bed. It was like you were having a nightmare. Do you tend to have them?"
"I... don't think I do..."
"How about talking when you sleep?"
"Was I?"
"Mhm."
He massaged his eyelids.
"With how real those dreams felt, I guess I would be speaking during them. Still, that second one... what was all that about? And that golden figure-"
His eyes snapped open.
"Wait! If I was talking during that in the second dream, does that mean... she might have heard...?!"
He ratcheted his head over to her.
"Uh... d-did I say anything you could understand?"
"Only a few words: Her, relying, I, can't, won't, but, want. Nothing else made sense to me."
Phew! Ack! "Thank goodness", he uttered underneath his pained breath.
"Why?"
"Oh uhh..." His teeth started to chatter. "N-N-No reason..."
His body began shivering, and attempts to warm up were futile.
Ack… "W-Why am I so cold all of a sudden?"
"You did lose a large amount of blood."
"So whatever that golden thing was, argh... woke me up before I was supposed to? Why did it force me to?"
His eyes started drooping, and when she noticed, she stood up and covered him with a blanket.
"Are you still tired?" she asked with a soft smile on her face.
"Yes... sorry."
"No, it's alright. You can fall back asleep if you want."
"And... what about you?"
She sat back down, sitting upright in the chair.
"I'll stay here."
Forming an equivalent look was out of the question for him when he had brushed passed one of the bruises on his chest.
Argh...
She was the last thing to fill his vision before his eyelids were hoisted down. In almost an instant, he could feel everything about his being slowing down. But he did start feeling something soft caressing his forehead.
"A-Ais-san...are... are you rubbing my head?"
"Yes."
"Umm...why?"
"You seemed to calm down when I did this. Do you want me to stop?"
"N-No, it's fine. It just caught me off guard..."
He began smiling in his mind.
"This actually hurts a little, but it... still feels nice. I haven't spoken to her since the celebration. And now she's watching over me, almost like she's my..."
[Nothing has changed!]
[He's just some lousy little peon!]
The pleasantries ended as pieces of the nightmare entered the forefront of his mind. First, in the form of echoing words, and then a collage of each of the memories the abyss had forced him to watch again surfaced.
[I'm not strong enough...]
"How could I think about something like that now? I'm still nothing compared to her. My laying here only proves it."
Tightening his hands, he gripped the sheets.
"I know that golden shell told me to be strong, but... it's hard to when I still feel so far away from her after all this time. Laying in her bed like this... it doesn't feel any different from when she saved me, Welf, and Lili. Heck, it doesn't feel too different from when she saved me when I was first starting out-Wait a second!"
She had spoken something with such normality that it masked the depth of those two words, allowing them to slip by until he had repeated them to himself.
"Uhh, Ais-san... whose room am I in?"
"Mine", she answered without any pause in her response.
"...eh... EHHHHHH?!"
His face turned tomato red in an instant, he started to drip sweat, and his jaw opened as far as it could.
"We're alone together... in her room?!"
[Cheer up kiddo! Someday, you'll get used to waking up in the room of a girl with big breasts. That's when you'll know you're a real man!]
Any sensation of coldness was replaced with heat that continued to grow when one of his gramps' quotes floated in his mind.
"N-N-No! I can't think like that!"
He shook his head.
"Like Welf said, just be a man- Ahh, I can't! This is too much!"
Slamming his hands into his face, he sent agony coursing through his body and muffled his words while he rolled from side to side in the confined space.
"Ais-san's an airhead! Ais-san's an airhead! She's an airhead!"
Amid his freakout, she interlocked her hands, twirled her thumbs, and began swaying side to side.
"Is this why Riveria said that having you in here was 'the most idiotic idea' she's ever heard?"
A tint of red came across her cheeks as she said her thought aloud before he ceased his rolling and peered through his fingers.
"Eh... no. It's more like..."
"Like what?"
"I... I'm sorry, it would be better if you asked her... instead of me."
His face returned to its regular skin tone, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I'm... not tired anymore." An obvious lie stated for an even more obvious reason.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Besides, I have a feeling Finn-san and Loki-san want to talk to me about what happened, right?"
She scratched her cheek.
"Loki is... unable to."
"Huh?"
"She... may have passed out drunk not long before you and Lefiya arrived."
A slight chuckle came from him, followed by an immediate wince.
Ugh. "At least I'm getting used to that."
"Can you stand?"
"Let's see."
Sitting up, he turned his body so his legs dangled off the bed. Pushing himself off, he managed to remain standing... until he tried to step forward. Had it not been for Ais standing to catch him, he would have landed face-first onto the floor.
Arg! "T-Thank you."
"Are... are you sure you don't want to rest longer?"
"Y-Yes. Not that I would be able to now." That last part was uttered under his breath.
"Do you have a shirt I can borrow?"
She nodded and walked over to her dresser, pulling out a plain white shirt. Once he had put it on, she waited by the door, looking over her shoulder.
"Please follow me."
"I'll be waiting out here, Bell."
"Alright." He nodded, turning his head to face the double doors of the office.
"To think I was here with Hestia-sama not that long ago. Now, here I am again."
Pushing open the doors, he entered the office, seeing the three leaders known together as the Loki Trio. Gareth was in a seat at the center of the room, Riveria leaned against a wall with her arms crossed to the left, and Finn sat behind his desk with several documents in hand. All of them turned to him the moment he stepped inside, and the pallum set down his papers.
"Ahh, Bell Cranel! It is pleasant to see you moving around again. And so soon at that."
Taking a few steps forward, he stood next to Gareth and tried to bow.
Ughhhhh...
A painful groan exited his mouth, and he crossed his chest with his right arm and lowered his head.
"Th-Thank you for saving my, ack, life!"
Lifting his head, Finn was waving away his words with a smile.
"Haha! There's no need to thank us. If anything, we are the ones who ought to be thanking you for protecting Lefiya. Ensuring, or at least trying, you didn't die was the least we could do. Besides..."
Finn shrugged and winked.
"I doubt the friends you've forged in our familia would be too fond of us letting you bleed out."
He...he. "F-Fair... point- argh..."
Gareth turned to him, rubbing his chin.
"Bein' honest, lad, I've got no clue how you're awake, much less standing!"
"Yeah... Ais-san told me that I was pretty injured, but..." Looking past the dwarf sitting next to him, his sight locked onto the woman responsible for treating him. "But how injured is... 'pretty injured'?"
The royal tilted her head, supporting it with her fingers.
"Let's see. Numerous broken bones, twice as many fractures, excessive blood loss, shoulder dislocation, charred skin, and a mind down. In summary, it is beyond a miracle you survived, let alone without any permanent afflictions. And considering I couldn't get you to a state to be classified as stabilized, I expected the worst."
"Ahh, here she goes again!"
Gareth rolled his eyes before pointing at him.
"After everything ya did in that war game, I knew you were gonna make it! There wasn't a doubt in my mind that you'd go down to some puny arrows, so don't mind her underestimating you, alright?"
He rubbed the back of his head, offering a shy, reserved smile.
"Th-Thanks-"
"I'm sorry, but were you the one who spent an hour straight treating his wounds? Making sure that each of those 'puny' arrows didn't cause something to puncture his lungs or heart?"
A chuckle came from behind the desk, and the pallum captain pulled one of the bolts out from a drawer.
"She has a point there, Gareth. I'd say it's less about underestimating Bell Cranel and more so understanding how dangerous these things are. I might not be well-versed in archery, but I can tell these are quite special. They've got a broadhead with extended protrusions to cause more damage upon removal, a metal core running inside deadwood, and hawk feathers for fletching made into a spiral."
His face drained of color upon seeing those infernal things, and he began sweating. One of his hands hovered over where one of the arrows poked out of him.
Ack...ugh...
An apologetic giggle came from behind the desk as the bolt was put away.
"I guess seeing those again doesn't illicit the most pleasant of memories."
"It- aghh... It's fine. I've pushed through worse."
"I'll say!" exclaimed the dwarf while crossing his massive arms.
"Well, I won't deny that", stated Finn while he leaned back in his seat. "But could you recall how fast these, as Gareth puts it, 'puny' arrows traveled?"
"The ones shot into me were moving far faster than Iguza, though I would've been able to outrun them if I didn't have to worry about Lefiya. But the ones shot into her..."
His fist squeezed as the discussion brought that very instant to the forefront of his mind.
"Those felt like they were faster than me, and... I could imagine Bete-san getting tagged by them."
The tension in the room grew; each of the Loki Trio shared an expression and concerned look amongst themselves.
"Even their nervous? That... that can't be."
"That fast?! It would explain what my familia saw", announced a feminine voice.
"Huh?"
From around the corner came a woman with dark blue hair and a spear on her back walking up to him. Authority defined her gaze, making his eyes shudder.
"Shakti-san..."
She pointed at him with her finger just a few inches away from his chest."
"You owe me an explanation, Bell Cranel. I want to know everything that occurred earlier!"
Urkkk!
If her sight didn't send pain shooting down his back, her finger jamming into his chest would.
"Tha-That... was where one of the arrows was."
"My apologies then."
"It's... fine. But..." he looked up at Finn. "D-Did Lefiya not tell you all what happened?"
Riveria sighed.
"She passed out after stating you protected her without providing details as to what happened. She is resting in her room with, I believe, Elfy watching over her."
"Point being we don't know the specifics behind anything and would also like to know", chimed in Finn before pointing toward the chair where the dwarf sat. "Please, take a seat and tell us as much as you can recall."
He exchanged places with Gareth, flinching in pain when he sat. Lowering his head, he mumbled to himself.
"There's a lot to cover... I guess I'll start at the beginning."
[Start SoundTrack: Danmachi II OST - Bad Intentions]
When he raised his head, Shakti stood next to the pallum.
"Lefiya and I were talking when she got fired at. I moved her out of the way, and then five dark elves dropped into the shadows in front of us. Four of them had gray hoods, and the one in the center had a green one. I knocked out the four before the fifth kneeled when a voice told him to stand down."
"How strong were the four?" inquired Shakti.
"They were-arghh! They were around level 4, on the higher end. When the leader of the force jumped down, he introduced himself as Centi and that his group was called The Conquerors."
"Haha!" Gareth's laugh filled the room. "What a pretentious name! Tell us, lad, how many members did he have?"
"Lefiya said something similar... before Centi snapped his fingers and showed that there were fifty of them."
He looked over at Shakti.
"Their rank structure was very clear... thanks to Centi's explanation. Each of their divisions had its own leader who answered to Centi, his second or personal guard. They didn't use names, just rank and divisions."
"Very military-like... carry on."
"In the order they were introduced to us, there are the scouts. They had bows, daggers, and gray cloaks. Their leader was the Captain, who had sickle swords and a green hood. Then it was the mages who had staffs that had a blade at the bottom. Leading them was one titled Sorcerer, who had a large scythe. After were the elites, wielding half-spears and led by the Executive who had a glaive. Last was the Top-Elites and their leader, the Commander. They had a pair of twin-swords. As for Centi, he had a rapier."
"How were they divided up, and how strong was each?" asked Riveria as she inserted herself into the conversation.
"Let's see... including each division's leader, there were twenty-one scouts, around high level 4. There were seventeen mages who Lefiya guessed to be around a level 5 based on her magic not harming them by itself."
Shakti's eyes widened. One hand massaged her temples, and the other was close to trembling.
"Don't tell me the next group is level 5 to level 6..."
"Umm... okay."
Her eyes began twitching, and a bead of sweat rolled down her face.
"The elites had seven. For the rest, I... I couldn't get a good read on them."
Finn rested his head against his palm.
"Give me a moment while I try and understand. These "Conquerors" have an average strength of, let's just say, mid-level 5, and there are fifty of them. Does that sound correct?"
"Y-Yes..."
Quietness retook the room, and the uneasiness was palpable. Even Gareth's seemingly more laid-back demeanor turned serious, and none of them dared say a word until Finn leaned back in his seat.
"Hehe..." One could feel the nervousness in his chuckle. "I know this might be unfair to ask, but where are those ex-Freya Executives when you need them?"
"We're lucky that a portion of her familia still ended up joining us. Expecting the same from any of those eight is beyond wishful thinking", commented the elf.
"No one knows", remarked Shakti. "There have been no reports of any of them entering the dungeon, and even the guild is oblivious to their whereabouts."
She spun back around.
"Bell Cranel, please continue."
"Not so fast." said the pallum. "This Centi, describe him to me, and what did he want with Lefiya?"
He scratched his head as he tried to search for the words to describe such a 'person'.
"I'm not sure because when he asked who I was, he... he laughed and suggested that I wouldn't have any trouble dealing with the Captain. But almost every time Lefiya spoke, it was like something just snapped, something inside of him. He wanted Lefiya dead, and he kept blaming her for his shrunken force and kept referring to her as-"
"Wait a moment."
Riveria walked up to him.
"I apologize for however rude this might sound, but how in the world did you manage to protect her? If they are as numerous and as strong as you state they are, they should've had no difficulty in dealing with you."
He felt the sting of those words as his fight with the Commander played in his mind.
"That is true... very true. But there are a few reasons that I guess also reflect on Centi. He referenced the honor she stripped from him and that by making her stand trial for her crimes, he would recover it. Although, Lefiya claimed she didn't know anything about what he was talking about."
He glimpsed back at the blue-haired captain.
"Another reason was that he wanted to avoid your familia getting deployed. So, at first, all Lefiya and I had to deal with were the scouts and mages, a portion of them at that. It wasn't that he was scared of you guys, but he knew that he'd lose his chance at capturing Lefiya and that he would lose most of his men. It sounded like he cared for each of his members. Either way, when I heard that from his mouth, I fired my magic into the sky."
Ganesha Familia's head relaxed her stance.
"So that's why you did that."
Followed by Finn leaning forward, his hands clasped together.
"So, he isn't willing to throw his own away? Intriguing... anything else we should know?"
Uck. "There's seven less of them now: four scouts and three mages. But when they died... they vanished into a puff of black smoke, leaving only their weapons and armor behind."
"...Creatures." A word uttered by the Loki Trio at once.
He pivoted to the elf on his left, a puzzled look on him.
"They're beings who were once people, turned into half-monsters. And just like monsters, they can consume magic stones to grow stronger. Admittedly, we don't know much else about them."
"Do creatures carry a demonic-like aura?"
Riveria's eyes expanded.
"No? At least the two we faced in Knossos didn't have that."
Finn covered his mouth.
"So they might be something else after all. Either way, anything else you can tell us?"
He covered his chest with one of his arms.
"D-Don't underestimate those scouts at a range..."
"What about their magic?" inquired Riveria.
"I'm sorry, but Lefiya was the one dealing with the mages. It would be best to ask her about that. However, they're no pushovers up close, and I did get hit with half of the Sorcerer's magic. Just that half was almost enough to knock me out. Oh, and they all could speak in a language I couldn't understand."
"Hmm, probably elvish. I'll still double-check with Lefiya."
"How about a possible location as to where they might be held up?" asked Shakti while walking up to him.
"I-I'm sorry, but nothing comes to mind."
Tsk. "Damn it... Sigh. Royman isn't going to be thrilled to hear that. In any case, thank you for your information. It has proven instrumental in knowing the kind of threat my familia is dealing with, and if there's nothing left for me to hear, I shall take my leave."
"Oh, could you tell Ais to come in?" asked Finn.
"Very well"
And like that, Shakti exited the office.
"Umm... I left this part out because it just involved Lefiya. After those arrows crippled her, she and I hid, and before Centi found us... she..."
He hesitated, adverting his eyes from any of the Loki Trio and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Should I tell them? About her..."
His reluctance sparked a heavy suspicion in the elf and pallum, the latter raising an eyebrow.
"Continue."
"She... asked me to... to leave her behind."
"What?!" exclaimed Finn and Riveria.
Riveria covered her mouth while she was deep in thought, and Gareth had a fist on his hip when the dwarf faced him.
"Mind tellin' us why the lass would say something like that?"
"After I tried... and failed to remove the arrows in her legs, she healed me as opposed to herself. I tried to convince her that I'd still get her back here, but she wouldn't listen and said that if she died, it wouldn't be that bad. She told me she missed Filivs-san and tried to give me her knife. That I shouldn't throw my life away for her."
Riveria looked over at him.
"So that's why her blade was on you. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Bell Cranel. I... must have overlooked how she was handling herself after her friend's passing. I will talk to her when she awakens."
The doors behind opened, and Ais entered, standing next to him. When she had, Finn reached inside one of the drawers of his desk.
"Speaking of knives, here's yours."
Catching it, he reattached it to his waist and stood up.
"Ais, would you be so kind as to escort Bell Cranel back home? We wouldn't want anything to happen to him on his way back, would we?"
She nodded, and he turned to her.
"Thank you."
"It's no problem."
Right as he turned to leave,
"Bell Cranel..." stated the Loki captain. The pallum covered his mouth, and his sight kept bouncing between his thumb and Riveria. But a minute later, he shrugged.
"Nevermind. You're free to leave."
[End SoundTrack]
Once the pair had, Finn let out a long-winded sigh, covering and supporting his face with his hands.
"Yer alright there, Finn?"
He smiled from the pent-up frustration escaping from him.
"I'm... fine. This is going to sound like needless complaining, but as of late, Bell Cranel's affairs have always found a way to be woven into ours. The war game was only a few weeks ago, yet here we are. A mysterious group seeks to kill Lefiya, and he's right there to save her."
The dwarven high executive nodded before scratching the back of his head.
"Ay, I hear ya. If ya ask me, the main problem is that it's only the boy."
"Meaning?"
"Meanin' he's the only one with a real 'connection' to our familia, which makes it hard to call his even unofficial allies. Not to mention, the bickering between his goddess and Loki makes that idea look like a fantasy. Sure, the rest of them, except Gale Wind, are level 2, but we saw how they pulled their weight and more in that war game."
Finn swiveled his chair over to Gareth.
"Well, we do have that favor he owes us for our participation. I could try and get it to expand to the rest of his familia when the time comes.
Ahem! "Speaking of prerequisites..."
The elven princess stood right in front of Finn, who leaned back to look her in the eyes.
"You looked right at me when you decided to let him go without us having the discussion with him regarding his feelings for Ais."
Gareth threw his hands into the air.
"AH! Again with this?! You elves really don't know when to-"
"Well, excuse me for thinking that my portion of the deal should be held up." Her eyes sharpened at Finn. "Especially when information is kept from me..."
Finn formed a sly but regretful smile, one that hid remorse for a certain action taken.
"Hehe... Don't get me wrong, I was considering it. But... it didn't feel appropriate, given everything he put himself through to protect Lefiya. He deserves a chance to recover before we berate him with questions. There's going to be a better time for that discussion."
Sigh. "I suppose you're right."
As the high elf rubbed her forehead, an audible laugh came from Gareth despite his 'attempt' to stifle it.
"You went from being the first to support them to being the first against them. After hearing all he did to protect Lefiya and seeing the aftermath of his choice, he got nothing short of all my support! Everything he did tells me that he's a guy who'd lay down his life to protect Ais! Also, why'd you let him stay in Ais's room if you don't trust him?"
"If I'm being honest, I'm more on the fence. That said, I do somewhat agree with you", stated Finn.
Riveria rolled her eyes.
"First off, YOU can attempt to explain everything wrong with having a boy in your room to someone like Ais. Secondly, you're right. I was supporting the idea of them getting together. But when I was informed of Bell Cranel's outing with Syr on the first day of the goddess festival, that made my opinion of him quite sour. Sure, it was Freya and the influence from her familia, but that doesn't make me forgive the things he did with her when he claims he's in love with Ais. The only reason I didn't tell him off was not to hurt Ais, and after he protected Lefiya, I will concede that he is in a far better standing. That said, unless something substantial occurs, I don't see myself going back to supporting the idea."
Walking down the corridor containing a few of the executives' rooms, they stopped when they reached hers.
"I'm going to change into my armor. I shouldn't take long."
"A-Alright."
She entered her room, and he leaned against the wall across from her door, hands in his pocket.
"She's going to change into her armor?"
His brows furrowed, and confusion defined him.
"Why would she phrase it like that? Doesn't she put her armor over her?"
Looking at the door, he noticed there was a gap from it not being shut, and a small smile was formed.
"I mean, it's not like Ais-san to change into different clothes while forgetting to close the door. She isn't the type to do that. Although, she did have me sleep in her bed, and not know what was wrong with it..."
It was as if a clock was ticking inside his mind, and when the minute hand reached twelve, his eyes widened, and his smile dropped.
"Oh my gosh, she is the type... meaning..." Red lined his cheeks when he saw the door hadn't been fully shut. "Is she actually changing and she forgot to close the door?!"
Without input from him, his hands began twitching, and echoes of two perverted men rang in his mind. Both sounded as if they were on each shoulder.
[Come on, Bell-kun! Peeping is just a man's way of romance!]
[Always remember one thing, boy! Whenever a girl goes to change but tells you while keeping eye contact, it means she wants you to take action!]
He shook his head, attempting to dispel those voices off of him. His redness continued to grow.
"I-I can't! I shouldn't! I..."
"Don't believe it."
He escaped his inner turmoil when he heard a man's voice from outside the hallway.
"You can ask anyone there! That's what happened! What's there not to believe?" The voice was followed by a woman's.
"The fact that you're trying to grasp at straws! Anyone would be mortified if someone they cared for remotely ended up like that!"
"Hehe... someone they care for."
"Oh, for the love of!"
He started pacing down the hall.
"What...are they talking about? Are they talking about L-"
SLAM!
He froze in place as a door flung open and almost struck him.
"DON'T SLAM OPEN THE DOOR! HOW MANY TIMES DO I GOTTA SAY THAT?!"
That shout came from the larger of two amazon sisters as Tiona came out into the hall, her head facing inside the room.
"Calm down! I only knocked out two people!"
"THREE!"
"Yeah, yeah. Imma head to Ais's room to see how Argonaut-kun is do-"
Before she closed the door, he entered her peripheral view, and her face lit up.
"Hey, Tione! Argounaut-kun is already up!" she yelled back into her room.
"Huh?! Already?!"
And sure enough, when Tione joined her little sister in the hallway, there he was, wearing one of Ais's shirts.
"T-Tiona-san and Tione-san. It's... nice to see you both again."
Tione crossed her arms and leaned forward.
"Come on! We've known each other long enough that you can just call me Tione."
Tiona leaned in as well, pointing to herself.
"Yeah, and just call me Tiona!"
His mouth widened before stopping for a moment.
"I guess I've been calling Lefiya just that..."
"Ok... Tiona and Tione."
Both sisters stopped leaning forward, and Tione looked him up and down, scratching her head.
"It really is surprising to see you moving already. I was one of the people who didn't think you were going to make it. I guess you proved me wrong, though."
"After Riveria-san told me my injuries... I'm surprised I'm alive myself."
Tiona joined him at his side.
"I knew you were going to make it! You were one of the people who helped take down Ottar, after all! What's a couple of arrows compared to that!"
Pat!
Eccckk!
His face collapsed in pain, and he almost fell over. The 'pat' was not just hitting a still-healing wound but was closer to a punch. Tiona started backing up and chuckling under her breath.
Hehe. "Sorry about that..."
Boom!
Tione smashed her fist over her sister's head, making the latter crouch down with her hands covering the impacted area.
"Idiot! He's already been through enough! He doesn't need you to put him through even more!"
"Hey! What was that for?!" Tiona yelled while standing up.
"It was for not having a brain to think for a second!"
Backing up to avoid the brewing argument, he reversed into someone.
"Are you alright?"
He looked over his shoulder, and it turned out to be Ais, decked out in her full adventurer gear with her sword hanging from her hip.
"Ais-san..."
She walked to his side, keeping her head angled toward him.
"She didn't hurt you too bad, right?"
"N-Ack! N-No, it didn't, but umm..."
His sight broke off her to fixate on the twins.
"Do they often act like this?"
"No. Sometimes, they fight."
His face went pale.
"Th-This isn't fighting for them?"
"Oh, Argonaut-kun!" Tiona had abruptly covered her sister's mouth and turned to him. "I saved your jacket. Let me get it!"
The second Tione was about to shout, Tiona ran back inside the room, causing the former to sigh and rub her head. Looking over at Ais, she tilted her head.
"Are you heading to the dungeon at this hour?"
"No. I'm going to escort Bell back home."
"Oh... I see..."
Her gaze bounced between the two as her lips curled up into a teasing smile. It appeared as if several remarks flooded her mind but were abandoned after a shrug. Not that she could, for Tiona had rushed back outside.
"Here you go!"
She handed off his jacket to him, and he stared at it. It was a tattered mess, ripe with holes. Putting it on was the perfect reminder of the gauntlet he faced.
"You know, I don't think there's been a time where I've seen Lefiya concerned about you. I expected her to say something along the lines of 'this damned human' followed by everything that happened", said Tione. Her impression of their elven friend made her sister giggle.
Haha! "Yeah! It was enough that some people started speculating, even though we know the only reason you carried her the way you did was because her legs were broken. But that sure didn't stop her from insisting for you to be taken care of first!"
"Insisted?! More like she prevented anyone from even giving her a little bit of healing and kept saying that they should focus on him."
"Hehehe! True! I'm guessing that didn't do much to quell the rumor going about."
He stepped forward.
"Wha-What rumor?"
All he was met with was Tiona smiling.
"Oh... don't worry about it!"
As expected, that string of words had the opposite effect. But he wasn't given a chance to pry as another voice came from down the hall.
"Huh? The Rabbit is up?"
Tiona turned around.
"Oh, hey, Bete!"
The werewolf walked up behind the twins, hands in his pocket and a... grin on his face.
"Ain't this a surprise. After that mess you left on the floor, I expected you to not be waking up anytime soon."
Tione rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of messes, did you clean it up?"
Tsk! "I had Raul do it."
Bete walked past both amazons and stood right in front of him.
"How are you holding up, Rabbit?"
He hesitated to respond for a second due to Bete being the only member he still didn't feel confident in conversing with.
"I'm alright. The pain hasn't subsided yet, but... I'll live."
Bete crossed his arms.
"I take it everyone else has drilled it into your head about how screwed up you were, so I don't see a need to say anything."
As the werewolf started walking away, Tiona hunched over, getting tired of waiting for the inevitable.
"I'm surprised you're managing to go a minute without insulting someone."
"Eh?! The hell is there to make fun of aside from that puddle of blood that you guys tried to have me clean up?! He put his life on the line to protect Lefiya and..."
Bete placed his hands in his pocket and looked over his shoulder with a serious look.
"If whoever attacked the Rabbit can mess him up to that extent... then we all have to be careful."
[So much can change in a day... within seconds.]
Those had been the words of his elven friend, and what had happened to the city was the perfect representation of it.
What were once bustling roads turned into barren stretches of nothingness. Where there were once civilians and adventurers returning to their typical lives was stuffed with a fog devoid of joy. What was once a city where the sun beamed down now hid behind clouds; the sole source of shine was relegated to the soulless magic stone lamps.
Orario was no stranger to the whiplash events like these caused. And what The Conqurors had done in their quest was far... far from the worst thing this city had endured. Nevertheless, walking down a main road with Ais, he couldn't help but have a remorseful look in his eyes from the dreadful scenery.
"All this happened because of The Conquerors? Even if I were as strong as Ais-san, I wouldn't have been able to... no."
His eyes sharpened. His teeth pressed down on each other.
"If I were like Ais-san, I would've gotten Lefiya home without almost dying. If I were like Ais-san, my name wouldn't be something he laughed at! If I were like Ais-san..."
Around him, the fog took lessons from the void, and each of the endings of the scenes played out in his dream returned as hollow outlines.
[I'm not strong enough.]
[I'm not strong enough.]
[I'm not strong enough.]
He gazed down at his palm.
"I want to be stronger for her... no, I need to. I can't keep relying on her like this! I-"
"Bell."
He broke free of his lamenting, dropping all signs of it.
"Y-Yes?"
"You were only carrying Lefiya because her legs were broken and nothing else, right?"
"Huh? I-I mean, of course! If we weren't in that situation, I wouldn't have been carrying her like that! Not that she would let me in the first place." That ending part was spoken out the side of his mouth.
"Ah. I'm glad that's the case. I'll have to try and stop that rumor then."
He displayed a concerned look as his eyebrows raised.
"Uh, Ais-san. Could you tell me what that rumor is?"
"People think that you and Lefiya are a couple", she replied without an ounce of reluctance.
"Eh... EHHHHHH!"
Had it not been for the damning wounds, his panic would've been much greater than just shaking his head.
"T-T-That's not the-ack! The case at all!"
"I know that, but the people outside of the dining hall overheard people like Aki and Alicia talking about it."
"I-"
He cut himself off, and his embarrassment continued to rise when he peered down at his hand. The very same one he used to drag Lefiya along.
[Maybe they are on a date!]
[Forbidden love!]
"I did all of that?!"
Echoes he had silenced sounded on blast in his head, and he turned bright red, covering his face.
"Th-That's why Lefiya was acting that way?! Argh!"
He lowered his arms, and the red faded.
"Wait... why did you say that you were glad when I confirmed I was only carrying Lefiya because of her injuries?"
"...I... umm-"
"Oi! You two!"
They stopped in place and spun around to three people approaching them through the fog. The person in the center was a woman with the two on her side carrying lanterns.
"It's suggested that wherever you two are heading- huh?! Rabbit Foot and Sword Princess?!"
"Hello, Ilta", remarked Ais.
The amazon got up to them, placing one hand on her side and the other scraping the side of her head.
"I guess it's pointless to tell you guys what happened earlier." She flicked her head toward him. "Especially since you were a part of it."
"Wh-Why did you stop us?"
"Well, after Sis got nothing out of talking to you, she just told us to keep patrolling and advise people to head inside. Ya think that a group of fifty dark elves wouldn't be hard to find, but they've disappeared without a trace! It's unbelievable!"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Don't go apologizing. It ain't your fault. Although, I got a feelin' that if we don't find 'em today, we'll have to start checking the dungeon. And that's gonna be a real pain in the a-"
...boom!
A rumble of a distant thunder caught all of their attention.
"AH! Now it's going to start raining soon! Great!" shouted the amazon toward the sky.
She waved to the two familia members at her side, keeping the pair in sight.
"This goes without saying, but you guys should also start heading to your homes!"
The three Ganesha members reentered the fog; the lantern remained the only thing that was left visible.
"I... guess that's another reason why there's almost no one out."
"Mhm. Let's keep going."
"Wait a second, Ais-san." He pointed to an alley next to them. "This is a shortcut." And he began walking down the side passage with her next to him.
Boom!
Blue lightning parted the sky in the distance, and a drizzle had begun. But even the addition of rain couldn't mask his troubled expression.
"I'm not sure why", uttered Ais from out of nowhere.
"What?"
"You asked me why I was glad and... I don't know. But..."
Her eyes rounded as they focused on his face.
"Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"You look like something's bothering you."
"I'm..." He added a smile to his appearance while attempting to erect a barrier between his emotions and the world, something he wasn't used to doing... unlike some others. "I'm fine."
"I see. In that case, what were you going to tell me that day before Hestia dragged you away?"
"Oh! I... umm..."
Sweat mixed with the rain rushing down his face.
"There's no way I could tell her. I couldn't then, and I definitely can't now!"
"Haha", his laugh was about as fake as his smile. "Believe it or not, I forgot! Haha..."
Her look remained unchanging.
"I... understand..."
"B-But if I do remember, I'll make sure to tell you."
"Thanks..."
He glanced ahead to see Hearth Mansion straight across the alley.
"It looks like we're already here."
He performed a slight bow toward her.
"Thank you for walking me home, Ais-san."
"Of course..."
"G-Goodbye."
He began walking toward his home, still holding the strain from his forced expressions.
Phew! "I'm sorry for lying to you, of all people; I really am. But... there's no way-"
Snatch!
His hand was grabbed by Ais, preventing his march forward. When he looked at her, it felt like her eyes concentrated on every detail of his and nothing else. The ticking of time slowed, and the sound of the downpour started to be tuned out.
"Bell..." Her other hand encased his. "... What is wrong? Please, tell me."
Continuing his pitiful attempt at a smile, he shrugged.
"L-Like I said... I'm f-fine. Nothing is wrong..."
"That... That's not true! The nightmare you had, our walk here, even that smile you're trying to put on, everything is telling me that something isn't right! So please... tell me."
Her words and golden eyes pierced his, and the pseudo wall he set up to block him off crumbled.
"I'm... that obvious, aren't I? Even you can tell when something's up..."
[Start SoundTrack: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - A World of Sorrow]
The rain increased in intensity and began soaking them while a visible pain seeped onto his face. He glanced down at the darkened ground.
"When I was sleeping, I... I was reminded of just how weak I am. I'm always running away and falling back on others to save me and the ones I care about."
His voice came out warped, making her eyes soften.
"Bell, you're not weak."
"I am..."
"N-No, you're not! Everything you did in that war game wasn't something someone weak could do-"
"But I'm still weaker than her!"
"...Her?"
Ais leaned forward, their faces not too far from each other.
"Bell... who is she, and… what does she mean to you?"
Their hair became drenched as it started to pour with even greater intensity, forming small puddles at their feet and more thunder rumbling in the distance with occasional flashes of blue beaming down at them.
"She... she..."
But staring into her golden eyes, he struggled to find words.
"You want to know? Fine..."
His teeth pressed down on each other.
"She's... the reason why I'm alive. She's the reason I want to get stronger. She's the reason I've continued to push myself the way I have. Yeah, other things drive me, but... she's the main reason for everything I've done. Who is she? She's the person I want to catch up with, to be worthy of standing by her side. To be able to protect her... as she protected me that day. She's... the first person I've ever fallen in love with."
Ais's mouth opened, and her pupils shook.
"Before today, I thought I was close to catching up to her. But now..."
An intense anger unlike anyone else has seen from him fumed in his sights. And it was all directed toward himself.
"Now I realize I'm the same pathetic guy she saved! You want to know how much she means to me?! The first skill I developed allowed me to grow as fast as I could, and I formed it ALL because of how much I wanted to catch up to her! That's how much she means to me!"
Both of their bodies began shaking, and it wasn't due to the frigid rain. All the joy that she could see in his eyes while he slept dissipated. His pureheart was put into question as his mental state was being torn to shreds in front of her. His cold cheek met the warmth of her hand, and neither said a word for a minute.
"Bell... I don't want you to give up on your desire. But..." For what seemed like the first time, she hesitated, like she was searching for words of comfort rather than bluntness.
"It... would be best to put it on pause."
"!"
"I understand that I'm in no position to tell anyone else that they shouldn't concentrate on achieving a similar goal. As I told you on that wall, I, too, have a person I want to reach. But that's not what I'm asking of you. I... I want you to take a break from working so hard for that dream because I've seen... no, I've experienced what being so determined to catch up to someone that everything else fails to matter does. And... I don't want the same thing to happen to you, and do what I've done in an effort to achieve your goal. I don't want you to become like m-"
He pulled away from her without warning, returning his sight to the ground.
"I know you're trying to make me feel better... but I can't. Catching up to her means everything and more to me. I want to be worthy of her attention, someone she will recognize. I won't ever sideline either my feelings for her or my desire to finally reach her!"
She placed a hand on her chest before turning away.
"I... I should get going now. I-I will see you another t-time."
"Wait..."
She glanced over her shoulder to see his face brightened by nearby lightning. His eyes could only be described as dead, and he had a manufactured smile without an ounce of real emotion behind it.
"Thank you... for... everything."
"..."
She opened her mouth, but no words exited. Instead, she ran off, and when she was far enough, three words fell from his.
Sniffle. "I.. love... you..."
He wiped the cocktail of rain and tears away.
Sniffle. Sniffle. "Everything starts with reaching you. I won't stop until I'm as strong as you and tell you how I feel to your face. I'll get stronger! I will! I-"
His gaze sense tripped, and he looked to the sky.
"That's the... same feeling I had when I was protecting Lefiya."
A golden feather floated down to his hand, and the gaze was now right behind him. Turning around, he locked eyes with what was this odd, neutral sight.
"Is... that an ea-"
BOOM!
Crash!
A bolt of lightning parted the sky above him, shining down yellow instead of its typical blue. When its roar passed over, his body went limp from slamming into the ground; the last thing he felt was a hand covering his mouth before his near-lifeless body was thrown over a stranger's shoulder.
"You and I have much to discuss... Cranel."