Consequences
Today was the day. A common consensus held amongst most societies in Belzerg would be the celebration of events based on multiple milestones throughout the year. These would range from holiday-related festivals like Halloween or Christmas, to even honorary festivals like those for a Goddess's birthday and whatnot. Presently today, there held a particularly new and recently established celebration with the sole purpose of honoring the Goddess of Water herself, Aqua. Unbeknownst to the people in Arcanletia, the Water Goddess herself was concurrently posing as an arch-priest in disguise. This movement had started all the way back from the year beforehand when Aqua had suddenly started complaining about how Eris had her own festival dedicated to having her followers praise her status as the Goddess of Luck. And so, both her alongside a resident nun in the city started preaching for an Aqua festival to be celebrated every year on the same day as Eris day. This specific date was only been chosen out of spite as a means to overshadow the Luck Goddess's celebration.
When the festival did happen for the first time today, it had only become an upfront disaster mainly due to poor planning and the fact that store vendors were auctioning off the same products they'd usually sell everyday, but at a higher price. It also didn't help that the shows performed during the festival were less than stellar, to say the least. But then again, by the middle point of it people had come to enjoy the mediocrity of the whole ordeal, opting to laugh with each other instead.
'I can see that everyone here's having a jolly good time, I guess. Despite how terrible things have been, I do hope that Aqua can only learn from this experience; better for her to take this in stride rather than cringe upon it in retrospect.' These were but one of many thoughts flowing through Kazuma's head whilst he was strolling through the festival for the first time.
"These Axis Cult people really are quite tenacious, aren't they?" Kazuma casually remarked with both hands firmly placed in his pockets.
The leader of said cult had been walking ahead of him, humming along as she looked around in awe of having her own festival. She then heard his query and reacted accordingly, "Hey, don't say it like that, Kazuma. We're more of a sect rather than a cult.", Aqua turned as she responded with a hint of annoyance in her tone.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say then, Goddess of mine. I just hope that we can spend this week goofing around and doing stupid stuff like how we used to back when we were in Axel.", Kazuma lamented with a sigh.
"Trust me, then. I'll make sure this year's festival will turn out amazing! I'll see if I can make any extra arrangements for us just in case.", Aqua proudly proclaimed with a fist placed onto her chest.
"If I remember correctly, I don't ever recall you having a degree in managing more than one person at a time, for obvious reasons. But hey, I'll at least feel less bored if the Goddess of Party Tricks herself is helping out with this festival." Kazuma jokingly said, chuckling along to his own witty remark.
"Laugh while you can, NEET, soon enough you'll all gaze and be amazed at what I have in store for my own celebration today." Aqua brashly declared.
Soon afterwards, as the two of them began reaching closer towards the city's center, they'd noticed that the town itself had become more crowded as a result of the festivities. The area around them felt more alive, to say the least.
During which Kazuma himself couldn't help but have his eyes pop out at the mere sight of the crowd in front of them. He felt amazed at not only the decorations of both the shops and stalls, but also the energy brought upon by the residents of Arcanletia. He felt as though they were trying to push for more elegance over simple vibe when it came to both aspects.
Right as he was in the middle of trying to get himself into the festival mood by admiring the scenery, his blue-haired companion dragged him by the hand towards the bustling crowd with only adrenaline and joy pumping through her veins. She ran with all her might to reach the heart of Arcanletia; to where annual celebrations were held every so-often. The streets were filled with laughter, music and vibrant colors all around. The atmosphere was rich with excitement as the citizens of Arcanletia came together to celebrate their worship in the name of the revered Lady Aqua, the Axis Sect's Goddess. The both of them continued forth to revel in the festivities, navigating through hordes of crowds, occasionally stopping by to window shop at various stalls along the way, and lastly coming across some street performers entertaining every and any onlooker nearby.
To sum it up, they ended up having a lot of fun by just walking around and traversing around town. During which Kazuma slowly became aware of how many couples they'd come across, their faces radiating pure happiness with how close they all were together. He then noticed his hands becoming more colder on the inside despite walking through quite a crowded vicinity.
The brown-haired boy just couldn't stop focusing his attention onto each couple that passed them by. It served to only be a stark reminder that he still longed for a romance of his own someday.
Eventually they did stop at a tavern nearby to eat. Once inside, the two of them sat down for some well-needed lunchtime after all the sightseeing they'd been through in the past hour or so. Kazuma could be seen talking to his fellow companion when a beautiful young maiden walked past him. He couldn't help but stare.
Said girl turned around and caught the relatively young boy looking at her, to which he quickly looked down in embarrassment, fumbling around to try and hide his face behind the menu.
Thankfully for him the girl only giggled at his own expense and continued to walk on ahead.
He could only feel embarrassment coursing through his head straight afterwards. He didn't exactly want his companion to make fun of him in the moment, so he tried starting a different conversation instead, "I guess your followers do know how to celebrate, huh?", Kazuma awkwardly chuckled at his own remark in hopes that his friend wouldn't say anything about his shameful encounter moments ago. To his surprise, she actually did exactly what he expected her to do for once. "I didn't think you'd be into axis girls now, Kazuma. Wow, that girl over there really grabbed your attention just now, didn't she?"
"I mean… *PFFT, trust me, I've seen better.", Kazuma scoffed off, attempting to take control over the conversation again. Soon after they started bickering with each other once again, whilst he was simultaneously trying to hide away the red blush he felt on his face in the meantime.
Aqua eventually stopped talking once she knew that she'd won the argument when it came to the facts and evidence. It helped that she also knew that his words certainly didn't match his actions at all.
"I take it you've never taken a girl on a date before, have you?"
Kazuma instantly felt a sense of epiphany the moment she asked that question; to which he shot back in response.
"Are you kidding me, Aqua? Of course I can, I just choose not to.", he defiantly declared as a means to knock her smugness down a peg.
"Awwhh, are you scared that these "oh so so not cute" girls will reject you? Is Mr. Money Maker Mastermind here too scared to talk to any other girl than me, then? PPFFFFHAHAHAHA! Chicken!", Aqua began mocking the boy in front of her as she made chicken sounds to further ridicule him, flapping her arms in the air as she did so.
All of this resulted in Kazuma becoming quite infuriated in response to her antics, to the point where he'd inadvertently accepted her challenge by jumping up from his seat, chugging down the glass of water on his side of the table in one gulp, and walked off towards the counter.
He headed towards where a group of girls were all standing by and waiting for their table to get ready. He scanned them all individually and spotted one singular girl standing a bit further away from the rest of group.
His eyes quickly locked on to his target. He looked back, gave Aqua a swift nod whilst she signaled to him an apathetic thumbs-up as a show of light encouragement.
Kazuma smiled confidently and strode on forward, 'Come on, man. You yourself know that you're a genius up there. With these smarts, you could easily pull for any girl you want if you try hard enough. I mean, you technically live with a Goddess already, so chatting with girls should be a breeze now that you've had experience talking to one beforehand. *Exhale* Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine.', the boy reassured himself, slowing his pace down as he approached closer towards his destination.
He went up to the window at the front and leaned onto it, crossing his arms together and looking away for a bit to give off a cool guy type of energy before turning his gaze over towards the girl of his eyes.
"Hey there… good day for drinks, isn't it?", he nervously asked, staring nonchalantly at a rack of bottles on display.
The girl sat there confused and looked sideways to verify if she was the one whom he was speaking to.
"Yeah, beautiful, I'm talking to you.", Kazuma callously clarified in response. He gave her a nod and a wink as a means to ease her in to his sudden appearance, to which she could only smile back half-heartedly towards him.
She remained like that for a bit until something had eventually caught her eye, leading to her smile reaching full sincerity in only a short few seconds. The boy meanwhile assumed that his pick-up line strategy had worked, meaning he could start having a nice conversation with her now that she's suddenly non-hostile towards him. He internally pumped his fist up in triumph. As he was thinking about what to ask her now, she immediately stood up from her chair and ran past him to hug her partner waiting idly behind Kazuma. He had been waving for her the entire time, attempting to silently save her from the brown-haired boy's questionable antics as a way to avoid engaging in conflict.
The boy looked back towards the two. In a state of shock and embarrassment, he tried saving his grace by immediately assuring the two partners that he didn't intend any harm with what he had said moments ago.
"Um, I'm sorry if I weirded you out, by the way! I didn't mean to creep on you or anything!", he spouted out while shaking his head and bowing in remorse. He quickly walked away soon after without looking back.
'Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Stupid me, what was I thinking?!', he internally cursed to himself, muttering a bit as he sat back down with Aqua on the other side of the table. He looked up to see her offering a glass of whiskey out of nowhere. He would've appreciated her gesture had it not been obvious that she was giggling a bit doing so.
"Hey there, *giggle* it sure is a beautiful day for drinks." She teased, echoing his exact statement whilst belly laughing the entire time.
"Hey, stop that. It wasn't that bad, okay? I was just trying out the strategies all the cool guys use, ok? Sometimes you gotta Fake it till you make it. It definitely would've worked if her boyfriend hadn't shown up.", Kazuma bitterly retorted.
To which Aqua raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms and asked, "Which one?", pointing a finger gun at the same girl in question walking around behind him. She herself was surrounded by an entire group of handsome guys, all of them giggling and smiling alongside her.
"Looks like you couldn't fake it enough to make it work, my friend.", Aqua said, closing her eyes as she sighed discontentedly, "You should've just been yourself.", Aqua remarked, raising up one of her elbows in the midst of her giving advice.
"I don't need any of that self-help bullshit, okay?! Especially from you of all people! They always say 'be yourself' when they themselves don't actually want that when it comes to real-life relationships! It's all just a ploy in order to get one side of the relationship to bend over to their needs and service them like a goddamn slave!", the boy cried out angrily.
Aqua, having taken no such offense to his earlier remark, responded right after finishing the same drink she offered him moments ago, "I mean, you're both wrong and not wrong at the same time. Girls like me don't want a boring guy to be their boyfriend, but we also don't want them to order us around like slaves either. No girl actually wants a boring guy to be their soulmate. In all honestly, I myself would like an actual person be my boyfriend, and not some boring people-pleaser."
"Come on, Aqua, we all know you're just saying that because you can't handle an actual nice gentleman, Let alone a guy who just wants to be himself.", Kazuma rolled his eyes sarcastically.
"What, you think I'M bad? I was just talking about it if it actually COULD happen. You realize that us deities aren't permitted to elope in such affairs? If I myself was allowed to indulge in some actual romance, then there'd be no doubt that I could definitely get any guy to bow down and worship me like the Goddess I am. *Haaa* And if that were to really happen, I'd be eternally happy, even if I were to lose my holy status.", Aqua daydreamed as she involuntarily tapped her feet with joy.
"Certainly not with that attitude. Well then, let's say you were allowed to fall in love with a mortal being here in this world; you'd really be confident enough that you could actually get someone to date you?", Kazuma inquired the obvious question on his mind.
"A date? Now that's just too easy.", the Gleeful Goddess answered with clear pride.
"Okay, hear me out, then. Let's make a deal. If you successfully manage to get a date today without causing any trouble for them, then I'll reward you with ten bottles of your favorite bubbly. How's that sound?"
the Blue-Haired girl immediately nodded with excitement, "Okay then, Aqua. Go ahead and pick out your target, then. I'll be watching you from a safe distance nearby."
Soon afterwards the Blue-haired girl stood up from her chair. She scanned around the entire tavern to find at least a single man who'd be willing to go out on a date with her for even less than a day. It was more than just about her pride in this instance, it was about sending a message.
Aqua soon fell deep into her own thoughts after a while. the prideful girl skimmed through countless of options until something struck her lightbulb nerve. She initially dismissed it as another stupid idea of hers, but as she pondering about the results of achieving the best outcome for her in the long run, it became viable for her to try pulling off this plan of hers without hesitation. If she could accomplish this on her own, this could result in her not only winning the bet against her stubborn friend, but also winning the war in general.
All the while Kazuma kept on sitting idly in front her, whistling about waiting for her to inevitably make a bad choice. He felt certain that anyone there could never in a million years be able to keep up with her antics. They'd dump her within an hour or two of their date. He kept up his whole smug demeanor until suddenly Aqua made her choice. Her picking someone to go out with her was expected to happen, obviously, but whom she picked was the unexpected part of her choice. She pointed a finger directly towards the brown-haired boy in front of her, his eyes widening cartoonishly in response.
"Umm... what are you doing?", the boy raised an eyebrow as a means to perfectly display his confusion.
"Picking out my date, duh.", she replied boastfully, showing only a hint of redness on her cheeks as she kept on smiling.
"Wha- me?!", Kazuma briefly shouted aloud. For at least half a minute the entire tavern turned their attention away towards the pair. The two stood and sat there in silence until they all went back to what they were during prior to their slight disturbance. the flustered boy took Aqua by the hand and dragged her over towards the back of the tavern.
"Aqua, I thought I told you to pick someone easy. You're essentially just jumping straight into the final boss here by asking me to go out with you."
To which she looked away from him with a smug look on her face. "Let's see... now if the only thing I want is to show off my feminine prowess to you right here and now, then why not just do so directly with the person who challenged me in the first place? If I go on a date with you specifically, Kazuma, then I'd have a better chance of proving myself as a woman to you. Mark my words, by the end of the day you'll soon acknowledge my charm and greatness; you'll even shower me with compliments and tell me how of a majestic goddess I am! Huuuhuuu~"
Kazuma could only stand there in disbelief for a few seconds or more.
"Are you scared, Kazuma? Are you scared that this dumb little girl here might make you regret your words later on? Or maybe you just can't wrap your head around the idea of me being your girlfriend for even a day, huh? Be honest with me here."
After observing how scarily confident she felt as of now, the boy with fragile nerves soon accepted her offer, seeing this as an easy win due to having known her as a person for at least a year now.
In response to his acceptance, the blue-haired girl took a step back in astonishment, to which her brown-haired betting friend remarked back with a smile plastered onto his face now.
"Awww, are you afraid that this NEET here might sweep you off your feet now? Remember, if I win you have to do what I tell you to and admit that you aren't as great as you say, o'Goddess of mine."
"PFFF, in your dreams, NEET.", Aqua retorted back as she began styling her hair behind her head into a twin-tail hairstyle.
"Say, you kinda look like Hatsune Miku with that hairstyle.", Kazuma curiously remarked.
"Who's that?"
"...Never mind."
A few moments later Aqua then proceeded to puff up her cheeks and pat them lightly. The pigtailed girl took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's do it."
She took her companion's hand and enthusiastically pulled him towards her, "Let's go, honey! The sun is still up and about.", she delightly enticed him with the sweetest tone she could muster. It was quite a sight behold, seeing the Goddess of Water act so cutely for someone outside of her own followers would make one heavily befuddled and confused.
As they buzzed through the tavern and out into the city, Kazuma could feel a slight trail of excitement beating through his chest for some reason unknown to him.
He realized that he might end up enjoying this bet of theirs, whether he wins in the end or not.
Aqua proposed to be his temporary girlfriend for the day, offering him a chance to practice for the real thing whenever he decides to fall in love on his own. In return, she demanded for the highest of praises and applause from the boy, a condition he found to be annoying yet amusing.
Their makeshift date began with a simple stroll through the bustling fairgrounds. Aqua, now sporting an adorning festival attire, exuded a radiant charm that captivated the attention of every onlooker in the vicinity. Her brown-haired "boyfriend" couldn't help but notice an abundant amount of admiring glances directed straight towards the girl. He couldn't help but think that it might just be a side effect of her divine presence in the area.
They then explored various stalls around the streets, indulging in some fine festival delicacies and trying out all sorts of different games. Laughter and banter echoed throughout their entire date together whilst they were trying to navigate through hordes of people celebrating alongside them. Aqua's usual carefree nature and infectious enthusiasm slowly chipped away at Kazuma's initial worries for how the date would go, making the day feel all the more bubblier and fun in general.
They played various games together, most which Kazuma easily won at because of his high luck stat. But soon enough, there happened to have been a painting competition in which Aqua managed to excel at due to her own creativity. She painted Arcanletia from a high-up perspective, making it look as though it was a photograph taken from the top of a large skyscraper. The canvas itself housed many little details, a lot of which couldn't be easily explained to the average person watching her paint.
The Goddess of party tricks also managed to pull off an entertaining magic show amidst all the mediocre performances on the street. A lot of the performers themselves watched in envy as she flawlessly drew audiences in to watch her conduct a wide array of party tricks in her arsenal. Eventually their one-sided hatred for the arch-priest died down as they soon started cheering her on at some point.
'Damn, these people sure changed their mood fast. I mean, I guess Aqua does have some sort of an attractive aura to her...' Kazuma thought to himself, smiling along as he continued to watch his date have fun without a care in the world.
Eventually the day had come to an end, their date having mostly been finished by that point. Kazuma tried his best to refrain from actually enjoying his "first date" even if it is not completely real, but by the end even he became aware of how much fun he had with his partner. He couldn't not smile whenever she tried to impress him by partaking in every single event they came across. "Yeah... maybe losing to her for once doesn't sound so bad.", he silently murmured to himself.
The sun soon dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the city. Kazuma eagerly suggested that they visit the resident fortune teller, the mystical baba. She was known for being shrouded in mystery, freely giving out glimpses to people's future out of the sheer kindness of her heart. The two partners briefly looked at each other before heading inside the baba's tent.
In the case of Kazuma, the fortune teller vaguely fortold him about some upcoming responsibilities he'll have in the future, and the joy that'll come out of it.
In the case of Aqua, she was warned about losing something precious to her, but at the same time she had also been foretold of a bright and happy future that'll stick with her for ages to come.
The pair left the tent with secrets they chose to keep to themselves, an air of mystery weighing over them irritably.
They then finally had dinner and ate to their hearts content; Afterwards the two of them drank a lot and partied the hardest they could, with them not having to worry about passing out at some point.
In the midst of which they soon found themselves performing an improvised dance sequence underneath the tavern's illuminated festival lights, with lively music playing around them. Kazuma and Aqua began swaying along to the rhythm, their movements appearing somewhat fluid and synchronized together. With every activity they did alongside each other, they grew more closer together as the respect one shared for the other turning a little into feelings of intimacy with how close they became, emotional and physically.
Though their wheels were perfectly sound for the most part, at some point Aqua tripped on her leg and fell down whilst they were still hand-in-hand. The boy holding both her hands tried catching her by pulling her back up, but he instead was thrown onto the ground alongside her. Ending up face-to-face with each other, their noses just inches away with Kazuma lying down belly-first on Aqua's frame.
He didn't even notice his lips shaking heavily as he stared into the blue girl's navy eyes. As soon as he realized the kind of predicament he found himself in, he immediately jerked his head upwards in a state of shock. He soon picked his date back up by her hand, letting go once she found herself standing up straight again.
"I think it's about time we head for dinner, okay?", he awkwardly suggested as he turned his head away from Aqua out of embarrassment.
To which she grasped his hand firmly once more with a smile beaming across her face. He felt the warmth of her hand seeping through as she tightly held on to his. This soft and gentle feeling made Kazuma's heart tingle a bit on the inside.
After heading back outside again, they proceeded to walk through the ongoing festival's magical ambiance as they waited to find a lesser dense area to talk to each other in privacy. They gazed at the twinkling lights casting a soft glow above the centre of the city, whilst the only the thing on Kazuma's mind was on how he could be able to show his appreciation to Aqua for being there with him in general.
As they continued walking back together in silence, Aqua kept her hand softly conjoined with her partner the whole time, her hair shining bright beneath the full moon's night sky.
The boy eventually decided to break the silence between them, "Hey, Aqua. I know it's hard for me to admit this, but I actually really enjoyed our date today. I don't exactly regret having you as my first "girl" friend, if I'm being honest. I mean, I guess you can give off a kind of holy maiden vibe if you put your mind to it."
Aqua, upon hearing this confession, threw her unoccupied hand up in the air. Her clutched fist showed off her way of celebrating with a victory sign filled with contentment and satisfaction.
"See, I told you I'd win in the end.", she remarked as she placed her hand onto her chest in a boastful manner. "Even I'll admit you were great to be around for once. I enjoyed all the things we did today, they were especially fun since I'm the one there after all."
The tension between them dissipated the moment she ended her previous statement. All Kazuma could feel was a hint of annoyance with how self-centered she became yet again.
"Hey, Kazuma. You see that Ferris wheel over there?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Last one there is a rotten egg!", Aqua yelled out as she sprinted towards the Ferris wheel with adrenaline rushing through her veins. The boy followed suit, shouting out how unfair it was that she cheated by using a headstart.
Their night continued on once they became sidetracked on the ferris wheel. The sights from up high offered a breathtaking view of the city from a top-down perspective. In the quieter moments between their laughter and excitement, that lingering feel of warmth, fuzzines tingle in his heart crept again. He shrugged it off as him simply basking in the city view, but this feeling would only remain consistent the entire time he was in close proximity with the blue Goddess in front of him.
As the festival soon drew to a closure, both Kazuma and Aqua finally became dead-set on returning back to their luxurious home. They walked back together underneath the star-dotted night sky, the air around them being filled with nothing but a certain tension held between the two quiet partner. Their connection had drastically changed within a day to the point where them just grazing hands against each other warranted an immediate reaction from both sides. It felt as though their dynamic had changed in a weird and confusing way to them.
Their date had secretly planted the seeds for a type of affection that was unknown to the. The two of them eventually returned safely to their humble abode.
The two home owners arrived tired and exhausted from the day they just had, and yet for some reason they didn't feel the need to sleep at all; it was as if something was keeping them awake for the time being. As they laid bare on their own carpet, they gazed above to admire the night sky through their glass roof.
They remained there on the carpet in complete silence, a sense of tension growing between them. When Kazuma turned his head sideways, he found his blue-haired companion looking right at him the same way he was looking at her. The difference was that she looked at him with a gratified smile on her face, as well as having both hands behind her head.
The moon helped to illuminate her navy-blue eyes and make it so that her sparkling blue hair dazzled within the moon's ray of light. It was then that Kazuma himself started to realize just how pretty she looked right next to him, that he indeed lives with a Goddess, times like this where he finds himself starting to like her more than he should. All he ever wanted at that very moment was to be able to take their platonic relationship and turn it into something more.
Despite still being slightly intoxicated, he desperately wanted to speak out the truth here and now. Even if he messes up now, he could always forget about it the next morning.
"Hey Aqua?", He softly asked her.
"Hm? Is there something wrong, Kazuma?", She curiously replied with both of her eyebrows raised.
"Did you have fun today?"
"Yes. Yes, I did...", She answered sincerely with a smile on her face. "What about you, then? Did you like me as your pretend girlfriend? I guess even if your answer is no, I still hope you take advice from me for when you actually want to find someone special to marry in the future.", the blue-haired girl genuinely advised him, looking up at the night sky whilst doing so.
"I really enjoyed having you as my first date, Aqua, I truly mean it. As a matter of fact, I do have a special someone i just realised it now. I don't know if I should approach her, she is complicated."
"Oh sounds like maths, but really. I'm happy for you then, Kazuma! My blessings go out for you to succeed in finding love, then. I hope that I can still look after you and your future wife from heaven, that is if I ever have a chance of returning there someday."
"Thanks, Aqua. Thing is, I just don't know if we can even be together at all, y'know? Think of it as if we're from different planets, thousands of miles away from each other. It's not like I'm afraid she won't like me, it's that I'm afraid she can't like me."
"Ah, I see. Don't worry then, Kazuma. Even if fate doesn't allow for you two to be together at all, then it just means that it wasn't meant to be in the end. I don't mean to sound cliché' and all, but there's always plenty of other fish in the sea. Don't be sad if you can't get it right the first time, y'know?", Aqua solemnly gave the boy some hard-hitting truth, patting him lightly on the shoulder as a way to show him some comfort.
To which Kazuma turned his head around towards her again and said, "That could always happen, but in my eyes, I've never met anyone else like her in my life. I hardly doubt I'll ever find someone else to rival her friendly aura and rich beauty in the future.", he insisted on his belief as he kept looking into Aqua's eyes, whilst he remained trapped in a contemplating mindset.
The blue-haired Goddess continued to remain quite oblivious as to who Kazuma kept speaking fondly of. She knew he liked her as an acquaintance, but anything past that seemed foreign to her. In her perspective there was no way he'd like or even tolerate her as more than a friend.
"What about you then. Aqua? Do you have someone you like?", Kazuma further questioned the perplexed Goddess.
She then went silent again, her face hinting to the fact that she's in the midst of trying to remember something.
She recalled seeing her trusty disciple Cecily playing around with a few kids. Aqua herself eventually came up to her and said:
"I see you're getting along really well with the kids, Cecily. That's honestly quite surprising for someone like you.", she lightly mocked her devoted follower whilst leaning her hand on her shoulder.
"Well, I guess the children like me a lot, then. I especially like playing with all the little girls over there.", she humbly reported as her eyes darted towards the area where all the kids played with each other. The robed girl shamelessly smiled to herself upon seeing them have fun together.
All the while the Goddess she worships looked to her with a blank smile on her face. She spoke out some annoyance in her tone, "Just so you know, Cecily, the Axis sect is very accepting of all kinds of love, but the line gets drawn only on certain groups. For example, one mustn't fall in love with a demon, for obvious reasons. Another one is that one mustn't go after children, both older and younger if you get what I mean."
"Wait, what?", Cecily quickly blurted out in a befuddled manner.
"What I mean is: at least go for someone the same age as you, dear student."
Aqua then went on an entire lecture, with her intention being to sternly talk her disciple into staying within the moral boundaries placed on the Axis church and all its members. Despite being lost as to why her own Goddess had started talking to her like this, Cecily opted to just listen to what she had to say and took it as a form of wisdom. Eventually she got tired of hearing the same statements being made, so she spoke out to Aqua, interrupting her in the middle of lecturing Cecily.
"Okay, I get it, I won't touch kids. You've definitely made your point, lady Aqua. With your holy wisdom and divine knowledge, I shall remain pure and devoid of any sin. All I want ask of you right now is this: do you have anyone you personally like in a romantic sense? I know tons of people who'd instantly fall to the ground with hearts in their eyes if they had even a small chance to go on a date with someone like you. Believe me, I've seen it first-hand."
"Come on, Cecily, you know us Gods and Goddesses don't have time for stuff like that, let alone the permission to.", she tried to discard the question entirely.
"But still, at least tell me what type of man you're interested in."
As she was thinking about how to answer her student's hypothetical question, a certain familiar voice dragged Aqua out of her train of thought. Her eyes snapped back to reality when all she saw in front of her was Kazuma face as he was sitting on top of her, with his legs placed between hers.
She looked at him with an embarrassed look on her face, all the while Kazuma himself gazed into her eyes with a beet-red blush slightly showing on his own face.
After the brief awkward exchange, the boy tried pulling Aqua up to his level, positioning her to where she sat there on her knees in front of him in a maiden-like manner. They continued to stare at each other for a while until Aqua suddenly pounced onto Kazuma, swapping the roles they found themselves in moments ago. She pinned him down with her hands above the boy's arms, and her legs confining his entire waist. The blushing Goddess cupped both of Kazuma cheeks with her soft hands and stated to him what was on her mind.
"If I was a mortal just like you, Kazuma, I would've gone on a date with you earlier today for realsies, not even as a prank or joke. I trust in you, NEET. I always know you'll be there for me whenever I'm in trouble. There's really no other guy out there who could tolerate the real me on the inside as much as you do.", Aqua smiled with all her heart as she brought her hips down closer towards the boy's crotch, rubbing it sensually. She initially hesitated a bit before gulping down her worries and proceeded to seal the deal but falling right in chest asleep.
Kazuma woke up in a panicked state. He felt afraid for some indescribable reason, and after taking a look over to his side he realized exactly why he felt that way. The girl next to him fell asleep right on top of him, so the boy opted to tuck her in with a blanket he fetched from his own room. He quietly sighed to himself as she continued to sleep right next to him on the carpet.
He felt relieved, yet disappointed at the same time. Just as he was to take a piece of the blanket for himself, it seemed as though Aqua tightly latched on to it right after he put it on her. With no other options, Kazuma decided to just roll over to the side, his eyes dozing off as he soon fell asleep again.
The morning light gently shined through the curtains, casting a warm glow onto Kazuma's face as he slowly woke up. The memories of the festival from the day before still lingered in the air, but something was amiss. He turned around to see that Aqua was nowhere to be found. In a state of confusion and panic, he quickly searched the house. his heart sank deeply once he realized that Aqua must've left the house. All he could now was clean up the mess they'd made last night. He picked up the small traces of blue hair left behind by the girl of the same hair color. What confused him was seeing a hint of black hair mixed in with it; and since his own hair was brown, he knew it certainly wasn't his. That alongside the abundance of hair strands clued him in as to where it came from, which made him worry even more.
The boy became utterly afraid as he began to piece together all the events that transpired on the night before in order. Fragments of their lewd and forbidden act last night surged through his mind, the weight of it dropping onto him like an anvil. He couldn't shake this sense of regret and turmoil within' him, so he instead started to question the events that happened right after they slept.
'I remember waking up in the middle of the night to fetch Aqua a blanket at some point, but I can't recall if she still had blue hair at the time or not. If so, then why did it turn black all of a sudden now?'
Slowly but steadily more and more pieces of their steamy actions the night prior had started to surface.
The boy rubbed his eyes and noticed that his hair was a mess. He suddenly recalled not wearing anything when he woke up earlier in the night, which was confusing because when he woke up just now, he found himself fully-clothed, so he assumed he slept the entire night like that. But once he put all the pieces together at last, he fearef had they done the deed together.
He couldn't remember some parts clearly, but he knew something terrible must've happened prior to him waking up earlier, something that made Aqua leave the house so suddenly without telling him. With all this in mind, he anxiously went outside in his pajamas to look for her.
Determined to find his partner, Kazuma roamed through the streets as everyone else in the city of Arcanletia began waking up for the day. His steps became heavier with uncertainty as he passed by the empty fairgrounds, a place that was once filled with joy the day before. He couldn't see Aqua hiding on any rides of the sort, nor did he sense her watching him from afar. He figured that she must still at least be somewhere in the city, so he continued to look for her.
Meanwhile the girl in question found herself sitting by a secluded spot near the river, watching as the water flowed gently down the stream with no real destination in mind, a reflection of her own state of mind as of recently. She sat there contemplating on the repercussions of their actions last night, crying immensely as she recalled all the things the two of them did prior to waking up in the morning. Aqua knew the risks, the forbidden nature of the act, yet she still did it anyways. She had an entanglement with a mortal outside of the divine realm, and as such her appearance signaled the end of her divinity and purity as a Goddess. She tried reasoning with herself, thinking that it was probably just the adrenaline of the festival and the date they had yesterday that got her carried away and clouded her judgement. She didn't want to admit that it was entirely her fault that this happened.
As Aqua continued looking into her reflection on the river, a certain someone called out for her. "Aqua!", she turned around to see that it was none other than her best friend running towards her.
Instinctively she turned away and covered her hair with both her hands quickly in order to hide something from him.
"There you are, I've been worried sick about you. What made you leave just now without telling me, Aqua?", the boy asked in a concerned voice, to which Aqua refused to turn around to even look at him. He had a feeling something was wrong, so he decided to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Her tears eventually stiffened a bit, allowing for her to slowly turn around to look at him face-to-face.
Their eyes finally met once again, this time with a mix of emotions running through their heads: feelings of regret, affection and an unspoken acceptance for what has happened between the two of them.
What Kazuma saw in front of him was a girl with the same clothing as who he was looking for. Same height and body shape, but her hair and eyes were different, as if they were dyed black. What once was a face perfectly smoothed together like a porcelain doll became now had blemishes some spots and sooggy eyes due to her excessive crying.
The air between them felt awkward with a sense of silent tension between them. Kazuma hesitated for a bit before sitting down next to her and breaking the silence. One look at her friend and the dreading conclusion hit him like wrecking Ball.
"I... I can't believe we... did that.", he stammered, struggling to find the right words to say.
During Aqua could only nod with her expression being that of pure sorrow and acceptance. "I should've known better with what they said to me back in heaven. Kazuma, acts like these can never be undone, no matter how much we pray for forgiveness."
The weight of what they had done soon settled over them, with Kazuma only wanting to know one thing. "What happens now then, Aqua? What's happened to you as a result of what we did?"
Aqua's gaze fell onto the river in front of them, with the girl softly sighing to herself. "I've lost my divinity, Kazuma, and my connection to heaven has been severed. This is simply just karma for allowing myself to get carried away that. Thing is, I'm surprised it doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would; but even so, I still feel terrible about it."
The brown-haired boy's heart sank once he fully absorbed the gravity of what Aqua has lost because of him. In that moment, the image he saw of a playful and arrogant Goddess shattered before him once he realized just how vulnerable and humane she had become now that she was faced with a harsh reality check. Despite putting the blame mostly on himself, he soon understood what he needed to do now.
He wiped the tears off her tears and held her hands together. "Aqua, remember that the girl I wanted to be with, that was out of my league and far apart for me to reach her, but now I see that she isn't anymore. The girl I was talking about last night that was you, Aqua. You're the one I want to be with forever, and I… I love you, okay! There, I said it!"
The girl in front of him stood there in silence, with no clue as to what she could say to him in response.
"At first I felt like everyone else was to blame for how I ended up, that life itself sucked because the people around me never gave two shits about my own well-being. I used to think you were like them as well, but then I realized you never left me after all this time, despite always going about how much of a loser I am. We've been with each other for so long that I assumed you just thought of us as friends the entire time. But yesterday when you chose me to go on a date with you, I saw how much fun it is with you around, I don't care if it was pretend, You convinced me that I shouldn't run away from mistakes anymore, Aqua, and that life is still worth living after all! I aslo dont care if that was just a line you tell everyone. I did give me another chance."
You know I am selfish very selfish and I am going to make the most selfish request. I want you. I want you all to myself. I don't want you to go. Ever." Kazuma said with conviction in his eyes. A gentle clasp on her friend's hand but filled with strength. There was no hesitation he knew what he was doing.
"But Kazuma… if you felt that way about me before, then what about now? I'm not a divine Goddess anymore. *sniff* My hair is different, and my charm is gone *sniff*. I'm not even pretty anymo-ore. That star crossed girl is no more." The girl could no longer hold back from crying her heart out. She wept and sobbed out her eyes while Kazuma held her on his chest.
"Idiot, your divine status wasn't what made you special to me, neither was it how pretty you were. The reason you're beautiful is because you are, both inside and out. Being a Goddess had nothing to do with how kind-hearted you can be at times."
"Kazuma…", the girl tried speaking up, only for Kazuma to continue cheering her up.
"So what if you don't have a perfect face or body anymore, so what if you don't attract demons with your aura, SO What if you don't have the most powerfull attacks now.
This doesn't mean you have no other redeeming qualities to speak of… actually I can't think of any right now, but trust me, if I can handle being around a Goddess like you, then I can handle loving one even if they're not as holy as they used to be."
"But isn't that the point, Kajuma? *sniff* I'm not a Goddess anymore, I've lost what made people like me in the first place. All I am now is just a whiny, stupid and annoying brat who's useless without someone to care of them. I have nothing to give.", she tried shaming herself once more.
"Even if all of that is true, you'll still at least be MY stupid Goddess. No one has ever pushed me to my limits as much as you have, hell I reckon my own parents didn't give me as much pain as you have, and they laughed at my own damn corpse! But know also what anyone have given me. The amounts of happiness you have given."
The two partners shared a smile between them for a few moments before dissolving into silence again.
"Aqua, even if these feelings I have for you only popped up recently, it were they i could always feel the moment we arrived here, from the moment you revived I kept getting pulled towards you. It didn't happend overnight. It doesn't change what we have between us. Our bond is really special in a way; we started out hating each other, then slowly we began to accept our different flaws and worked past them. The thing is, we might not have changed in attitude or appearance, okay sorry you mwy have, but we certainly have in affection. What you mean to me now has become so, so much different than you what you meant to me back then."
"You're no longer just a "cheat item" I picked out of spite, you're someone I cherish deeply now. Aqua, I want us to be together. I want us to be able to take on whatever life throws at us with a smile on our faces. Even if trouble comes along, or if one of us feels sad at some point, we'll always have each other to lift us up on our feet."
"What I'm trying to say is… god, this is gonna sound out of left field… what I'm trying to say is: Aqua, would you marry me?", the boy passionately asked with gentleman in his eyes. He poured out all of his thoughts and wishes to her, with this being the biggest one he's made without a doubt.
All while the girl clad in black hair now stood there in shock as a result of what Kazuma had suddenly blurted out. Throughout all the revelations and emotions she'd felt ever since waking up that morning, this one in particular left her stunned and speechless. She always assumed that she might as well be dead if she ever lost her divinity, but here she was being told that losing her status as a Goddess didn't have to mean that she'd be alone and worthless anymore. Finally she was shown comfort from the one person she least expected it from.
Aqua knew that her friend was the type of person who'd do the right thing when push comes to shove, but this was a very extreme case of it. He wasn't just comforting her in her darkest hour, this was him confessing his love to her and showing his tender side towards her.
This level of affection terrified her. It felt wrong for her to feel truly loved after all, she actually felt undeserving of such devotion. The hurtful things she's said to most of the people who came into contact with her, from wandering souls to her own student. Truly she wanted to see if the man in front of her sincerely meant what he said.
"Kazuma… you really want me to marry you?"
"Yes. I do, Aqua. I want you to be my wife so that we can be with each other forever until death do us part."
"I don't know how I should feel right now. *sniff* You've always been the grown up in our relationship; all I had to offer were my silly party tricks and magnificent beauty. Now that I'm not pretty anymore, you still want to devote your life to someone as stupid as me? Please, Kazuma, think it through. If you want someone who's actually smart and dependable to marry you, then I'm afraid that I'm not worthy of such an offer. It's like I said before, there's always other fish in the sea, I know there are. Any one of them would accept you with all that money you have.", Aqua pleaded, trying to rationalize her not being worthy enough to marry Kazuma.
"I highly doubt any of them would willingly accept a NEET like me into their lives, let alone be willing to commit to a life-long bond with me. Think about it, your helpless nature ends up driving me to become more pro-active in life. Before I used to sit around my ass all day playing games and watching anime in my room with no restraint, but now I have to take care of my financial income, I have someone special to take care of at home, and I have never felt more alive than now, honestly. You being here with me has certainly made me a better person, and I hope to be able to do the same for you."
After witnessing such conviction burst forth out of her partner's spirit, the black-haired ex-Goddess couldn't help but cry even more now. She felt happy again after all the troubles and downpours in her life after she was kicked out of the Divine Realm a long time ago. This is the gusrt time she getting love just for herself and this devotion and care would never be topped again. Her eyes began to shine again with life, the difference being the eye color itself and the flames that ignited from inside of them. Once again, she spoke her mind, this time with a more positive attitude.
"Perhaps losing my divine status means I've gained something else in return: a new chance at living a different kind of life, one that I never thought I'd see in the countless of years that I've existed. I thought romance is dead for me."
Seeing how happy she was now, Kazuma charmingly reached his hand out to Aqua. Once she accepted his form of gesture, the boy pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her to initiate an intimate hug between them. With his own feelings still grappling around inside his head, Kazuma blurted out what felt right for him to say in that very moment, "I may not know what they future holds, but with you around it'll make it much more bearable to go through. Even after all that's happened, I don't regret ever meeting you in the first place. Call it fate or whatever else, but I feel as though we were meant to be together, and if not we will make the way doing it till now."
Aqua's eyes glistened with a mix of emotions flowing through her head. "Well then, Kazuma, it seems like I found not only companionship in a mortal, but also love as well. I can't promise that things will be easy for us in the future, but if you really want to be with me then I guess I'll have no other choice but to accept your offer. After all, there's no one I'd rather have by my side than you, my precious NEET."
Their gaze lingered for a bit, a silent acknowledgment passing by between them. By now they had fully understood the complexity and repercussions of their actions, as well as the challenges they'll have to face going forward. Their one-off date on the previous day had somehow changed the course of their lives forever, but it did help bring them together in both a spiritual and bodily sense.
The boy in brownish hair beamed ever so more with glee after processing all that Aqua had said to him just now. His biggest dream had finally come true: he finally has someone who'll love for him for who he is, and someone whom he'll love for who they are as well. Here he was, standing on the edge of a river, ready to start a new life with his ex-Goddess best friend, a person who's worth living for and caring for at the same time. The only thing left was one small, significant thing on his mind.
"So uhh… you remember what we did last night?", Kazuma tried to downplay the inevitable question he was doomed to ask at some point.
To which Aqua instantly went red in the cheeks and hid her face out of embarrassment. In Kazuma's eyes, this told him that she was back to her normal self personality-wise. Whilst he continued to smirk at her expense, he proceeded to approach her more closely and tilted her chin around so that she could face him in the eyes once more.
"Can I ask you something, Aqua?"
Aqua nervously answered to him, her face filled with dreadful anticipation for what he had to say.
"W-what is it?"
"We did all of… THAT last night, but I don't remember if we kissed once. Wanna help me jog my memory."
"Wha- you're asking me to do that now?! After all of this, you're only concerned with wanting a kiss from someone like me? You really are a perv, aren't you?", Aqua bashfully teased while blushing like crazy.
"Yeah, I guess so; but if I'm being honest I just want to seal the deal on our new relationship here, and what better way than to smooch right here in front of this beautiful river. It sounds weird, but my lips felt dry from the moment I woke up this morning, so I know you definitely didn't touch it at all last night."
Aqua was caught off guard by how Kazuma felt confident with all the weird stuff he was saying to her. It might have had something to do with her just now losing her divinity, but soon enough she began to give in to his demands willingly and went in for the kiss,
The two of them stood side-by-side with other, both of them sweating nervously as they waited for the other to make a move. Soon enough, the boy put his left hand on Aqua's shoulder, and his right hand on her waist from behind. With no chance of backing down now, Aqua then faced Kazuma in the eyes with her hand on his chest.
Their eyes locked in on each other, and it seemed as though the world around them stopped at a standstill with how long time passed between them. They simultaneously leaned in, only for their teeth to collide with each other's.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.", they simultaneously cried out in pain.
"Just uh… make sure you aim properly next time, okay, Kazuma?", the black-haired girl suggested.
"Same to you too. Sorry, I was just too distracted by your lips.", Aqua rolled her eyes in response.
The two now lovers let their insecurities fade away for just this one moment now. They leaned in perfectly in sync for round two, their lips touching each other gently as they felt a sweet jolt of energy burst from their chests, reverberating all throughout their intimate exchange.
Aqua's lips felt tender and warm against Kazuma's. It felt as though an eternity had passed for them, but they still savored it for as long as they could before they would inevitably part from one another. Once they did separate, a timid smile could be seen on the Aqua's face whilst Kazuma smiled confidently as if he was a conqueror.
He proceeded to hug her tightly, with Aqua melting into it as she wrapped her arms around him in return. They were once star-crossed lovers divided by rules and fate, but after all this time, they finally felt secure and at home for once when embracing each other.
"You know, I would've loved to have bragged about this to all my friends and family if this was still Japan, I wanted to see how jealous everyone would have been. I know that makes me sound like a narcissist, but it's the truth.", Kazuma admitting while rubbing his nose.
This in turn helped bring back a little bit of Aqua's own pride and ego. "Well they better be jealous cause you have me as your girlfriend, after all."
They both laughed once again. All was well until they heard the sound of hands clapping nearby. They turned to their side to see a small crowd gathered on top of the bridge between the river. They had all started applauding the two out of nowhere.
"Way to go, boy! I sure am jealous of what I saw down there. Make sure you treat your lady with some love and kindness, ya hear me? *sigh* to be young and in love…", this and tons of other compliments were thrown around towards the new couple.
They stood there by the riverbank, hearing nothing but the sound of the city's residents' applause and admiration for fruitful relationship. As the rest of the town began to awake, Kazuma and Aqua held each other by the hand, ready to embrace the consequences of their forbidden love together.