*November 6th, 2030*

Even though nothing should be said about Melanie and Rikka's past, that doesn't mean I shouldn't change the way I acted. Both Rikka and Melanie have gone through experiences that were similar to mine, but there was an event that shook it beyond my comprehension. I could never know what it felt like for a mother to kill my brother or sister. I could never feel so damaged and hurt by my parents' feuding to resort to such a brutal and harmful practice. I didn't feel like I was stronger than Melanie; maybe I got out before things went too badly when it came to how my siblings fought. Regardless, I had a difficult time seeing myself as one of them.

This was especially apparent when Alliot was training me in the boxing ring. It was nearing the end of the late-night training session when he decided it would be a good idea to the sort of training Rikka and Doble were doing. Most of the time, Alliot and Merak have been training me in swordplay with the occasional lesson on hand to hand combat. There will be times, in battle, where my sword has been bashed away or destroyed. I would need to rely on something else. Even though I would still have my magic, Alliot was determined to test my boxing abilities. He must have grown tired of watching Rikka and Doble seemingly flaunt their skills. We had been doing this for a week; Alliot would wear the mitts while I would punch them, gloved and all.

Because this was during my physical training session, Arkaid and Melanie were off to the corner while Mizaru watched the latter practice magic. The only ones watching were Rikka, who observed the sparring in the corner of the ring. On the sidelines were Meglax and Doble, though Meglax was the only one who visibly looked intrigued. Merak continued to watch quietly; I couldn't get a good read on him. That may be because I wasn't too focused on him; as I jabbed into Alliot's right mitt, my eyes would occasionally look to the right, noticing the glum, bored look on Doble's face.

I initially expected for Alliot to get on my case about how distracted I was. However, as I pulled back a punch, Alliot angrily took off his mitts. I gasped, leaving my battle-ready position. He looked to Doble with an annoyed look on his face. "If he's doing something wrong, the least you could do is tell us."

Alliot must have been distracted a bit too; Doble's been on his mind ever since we started training. I meekly turned to face Meglax and Doble, watching as the former turned to his red comrade. Doble rolled his eyes before he felt the need to speak. "You won't like what you'll hear; I think CJ still leaves much to be desired."

Rikka huffed noticeably before crossing her arms. "I figured you would say that," she mumbled back. "He's not training in one thing; he's training in both physical combat and magic. He won't be as good as me in fist fighting, but that's because of the very nature of his training." I understood her reasoning; my training was divided between fighting physically and with magic; I had to be trained in both areas, but I can only do so much because of it. Because I didn't have much of a specialty in the two areas, I became "decent" or "above average" in both. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. "That's why he's a sword mage. If he was in a situation where he could use both magic and swordplay, I'm certain he would perform well."

"I'm including that part," Doble returned with a shrug. "He just doesn't interest me. It's like he isn't involved in the fight itself."

Rikka scoffed at him. "Doble, he quit his job. You can't give him the corporate crony excuse."

"I know that, and it's good that he stuck up for Alliot," Doble began. He hoisted himself into the ring, soon standing before Alliot and I. He looked angrily at me, catching the attention of Alliot immediately. My buddy stepped a bit closer to me, only to be met with Doble mocking him. "You really think I'm gonna hurt him?" Doble asked in a slightly offended tone. Alliot didn't necessarily know what to do at that point. However, Doble walked closer to me until we were right in front of each other. He was slightly taller than me by a few inches, but I didn't care about such a trivial detail; it was only noted because, as he stood proudly over me, he appeared to take pride in the fact that he was taller. I could see it with that cocky grin of his. "However, you still have a long way to go. Sure, you're a nice guy, but there are plenty of nice guys." The emphasis he put on those last two words mutilated them, destroying their credibility in one foul sentence. "I know you came because of Arkaid, so I still don't think you're suited here."

I glanced over to Rikka and Alliot. The both of them observed in their own ways; Alliot's body was on edge, so I assumed that he was waiting to see if one of us broke first, then he would swoop in and stop the fight if one occurred. Rikka, on the other hand, looked anxious, almost like she knew where Doble was going with this. I sighed, annoyed by this dragon's constant doubting of me. I didn't truly care about it, but it really annoyed me since I was forced to see this jerk every single day. "Is that all?"

"Oh, 'is that all,' he says!" Doble mocked me. "We're here to perform a duty; a duty to protect the Fifth Omni Lord, Tenbu. Why is it that, out of everyone here, you are the only one I doubt that actually puts something else above that?"

"It's because you're hotheaded," I returned.

"Try again," Doble returned. "Not a good insult if you ask me."

"No, I mean that you really are hotheaded, and that's getting in the way of good judgment," I retorted. "May I go on?" I didn't need the jerk's permission, but he still gave me a half-assed hand wave. "Everyone here has another reason, and I hate that you yourself have blinded yourself with pride. When you went to Rikka-"

"Don't." Doble's tone went dark, tensing the atmosphere in the room. "Don't even think about going there."

"Why shouldn't I? It makes sense, right?" I kept going. "When you went to her, you mentioned her family. Why did you even find the need to do so if that's something so unimportant to your overall cause? Protecting Tenbu isn't about family, right? It's about protecting Tenbu. You still offered her the chance to have a new family. What makes you think that isn't the reason she joined." Doble bared his teeth at me, encouraging Alliot to step even closer. However, no physical conflict had begun just yet. He didn't step in; he must have been intrigued by watching his rival be completely picked apart in such an intellectually-fueled debate. "But let's forget that, right? Rikka herself already said that you have a bias when it comes to her since she's your buddy. So let's go to someone else. How about Mizaru and Melanie?"

"Why bring them up?!" Doble roared at my face. I immediately heard footsteps. My eyes glanced over, noticing Arkaid, Melanie, and Mizaru peering from their corner. "Why does that even matter to you?!"

"Because your shit makes NO SENSE!" I yelled back. "If Mizaru and Melanie put Tenbu first, then they wouldn't have even met! Mizaru would've searched for a better, older buddy, and Melanie would still be in that hellhole!"

"You're walking on thin ice, CJ!"

"I can go on, too!" I gritted my teeth, watching as Doble's muscles tensed up. "Yet, despite everything I've tried to do, despite what I was able to do, you still won't see me as a part of this family. That says more about you; you're so prideful in your beliefs that you won't give me a fucking chance!"

"You don't deserve a chance yet!"

"Yet?! What the hell do you mean?" I barked back. "So there's a yet? Tell me what I need to do."

"I can't do that."

"Well, why not?!" I yelled back. "Why are you so against me?!"

Doble's eyes went blood red. His hair resonated with his fiery mind. It was like his very essence was enveloped in hellish flames. "Because you didn't go through what they did!" I went quiet, but not out of guilt. I was furious. However, my body wanted him to go on. What he said was so vague. The air fell silent as Doble breathed heavily, attempting to calm himself down. As he spoke to me there was still so much more anger in his voice. "Rikka lost her brother to a horrible mother! Melanie harmed herself—she hated herself—over her parents fighting! She thought she was the cause! We came to help them, and then there's you!" Doble held a tightened fist right in front of my face. "A corporate crony. You had a bad family, but boo hoo hoo! So did they, on a worse scale! It was disgusting watching you fall apart because of that when Melanie and Rikka went through much worse; no one was taken from you, and things weren't bad enough to the point of self-harm. You never experienced what they went through, and the fact that you still say you're 'one of us' fucking disgusts me!"

Even after Doble had finished his series of roars, the only thing that was left was the horrible sound of silence. Doble hunched over with each breath; he was exhausted. He must have been keeping his feelings pent up inside of him for a long time. Whenever he saw me, he must have been thinking about telling me off like this. His mouth was begging for air, but the edges of it were curled up; he was exhausted, yet triumphant in his speech. My eyes were only on him, oblivious to the other people in the room. I had no idea what they felt; all I could hear was their silence.

It was then that Melanie spoke up.

Her innocent, yet frightened voice broke the silence. "I wouldn't want that." Everyone's eyes turned to her in astonishment. Even though all of us were stunned, she innocently looked back to us like this was the easiest thing for her to comprehend. She was on another intellectual level. My mind then saw everything; it saw the horrible flaw in Doble's words. "I would never want anyone to go through that."

Doble shook his head, finally getting his energy back. "That isn't the point, Melanie," he quietly replied. "But I appreciate your words."

I shook my head. "No, that is the point." Doble angrily looked back to me. His teeth gritted from anger. Even when I won, how can he find it in himself to fight back? That's probably what Doble felt. However, that's the problem; this shouldn't be about winning. "She's saying that she doesn't want me to go through the same pain she did. She's going against your words."

"What makes you say that?"

"You said yet," I returned. "Yet: meaning that there was a chance that I could earn your trust. And, as you've just stated, you don't see me as a member because I'm some corporate crony who didn't go through enough crap in my life," I continued. "According to you, the only way I'll earn your trust is if I go through the same fate as Rikka and Melanie." Doble's prideful demeanor shook from its very foundation before shattering completely. Soundless words left his now nervous mouth. If anything, I hated him even more in that moment than any other. The inconsideration in his thought process, the amount of arrogance in his words, and finally the illogical and flawed reasoning of his argument was enough to see him as a tainted individual. I shook my head at him, more disappointed than anything. "It isn't enough that I nearly died fighting Sinblade for you? Wasn't it enough when I abandoned my old life for this cause? Well, I'll tell you something, Doble; I actually almost killed myself!"

"Wait, what do you-"

"It was when the third buddy of mine left me," I scowled. My hands were shaking uncontrollably. The very memory of this infuriated me. "Everything was building up to that. I left my family, so I had no one. I was painted as a creep at school, so I really had no one. Then, when my buddies left me without a word, I thought that it could be true that I should have no one, and that thought scared me. No… scaring me is an understatement; I was horrified!" My breathing picked up. "Remember when Liam said that I was face down in a puddle of alcohol? Well, that's what happened. One night, I was drinking to relieve myself of the pain, but the pain wouldn't fucking stop! First, my family was too much for me from how they tore each other apart, and then I was labeled as a creep, a monster, a disgusting excuse of a man, and then three of my last chances fix my loneliness was gone without any reason why! With each realization, I took another drink. I kept drinking more and more until, finally, everything went dark. I woke up in the hospital with Fridrik sitting at the end of the hospital bed and Halia crying in my arms. From what they told me, if I had been left alone and untreated, I could've died of alcohol poisoning!"

Silence fell in the room again. Not a single person could speak. I had let my emotions run wild, screaming angrily into Doble's face for the past five minutes. However, even after I stated my mind, after I let everything go, I felt nothing; I didn't feel happy for 'proving him wrong.' I didn't have to mention my experience to prove him wrong, for I had shown his flawed reasoning before it. So why did I go that far? Regret overcame me. I had said so much. Weakly, I looked away as I grasped my arms. "Why did I even tell you this? You feel happy now that you got your way?!" Without thinking, I raced out of the gym, leaving the others behind. I heard footsteps racing for me, but I was too overcome with emotion to even dare to look back.

I kept running until I was a few blocks away from the gym. I didn't want anyone to see me; I just wanted to be alone for a few moments so I could get myself back to normal for just a second. However, that didn't stop my buddies from racing to me. Arkaid noticed me from the distance and rushed over. "CJ!" She called out, soon kneeling by my side. Alliot stood over me, almost protecting me with his very presence. I couldn't say anything, so I just shook my head; I didn't want them to be here. Even so, I felt the need to try. However, just as I attempted my mouth, Arkaid pressed against it with her pointer finger. I stopped myself as she sat herself down next to me with Alliot soon doing the same. "You don't need to say anything. Just know that I'm here."

"Arkaid…."

Alliot forced a chuckle before ruffling my hair with his right hand. "H-Hey, don't get like that now, bro. You stood up to Doble. You really knocked him flat."

"Thanks, but… I didn't want that," I muttered quietly. A soft chuckle left me for a short moment. "I don't want anyone to go after Doble about this. I don't want another fight."

"Hey, CJ, come on," Alliot encouraged me. "Doble said some cruel stuff."

"I don't want to have this family break apart because of me," I returned. Arkaid and Alliot knelt closer to me. I shook my head back. "Guys, I'm fine. I recovered from that; I got help. I drink only enough to get a little drunk but I now know how to drink right. I'm fine."

A familiar voice came from out of nowhere. Within the dark of night, the voice called out to me. "CJ?" My buddies and I turned to face the source. Standing in the distance was Alvis, with Sitri at his side. The two of them rushed over to me. They must have figured that my situation was too odd even for them. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," I returned weakly. When I started to pull myself up, Arkaid and Alliot assisted me. It felt weird, but I was extremely thankful to them. "I got into an argument with Doble, that's all."

Sitri wasn't convinced. "Don't believe it."

Alvis nodded in agreement. "Look, it's late out. Sitri and I were going to get a late bite. Do you three want to join us?"

We were nearing the later part of the nightly dinner. On Alvis's dime, he decided to have the five of us eat at a specialty restaurant. However, I only ordered Takoyaki, for I didn't feel all too hungry. Neither did Arkaid, but that was because she was worried. Even after I continued to reassure her my well-being, she didn't believe me. Regardless, it was difficult explaining everything to Alvis and Sitri. Explaining what happened to Rikka, as well as detailing Melanie's past, was difficult for me. I tried exceptionally hard to make sure that each detail ingrained in my head was portrayed with the utmost amount of accuracy. I was given the floor, and it lasted until most of the food was already gone.

Alvis, at first, couldn't utter a word. He was anxiously fiddling with a fork in his hand in an attempt to think of something to say. Time went on while silence continued to be the only noise in the room. Sitri, hoping to resolve this sudden bit of tension, spoke up with a chuckle. "Least you showed Doble, huh?"

A snicker came from Alliot's mouth, but not from the others. "I tried that, and it didn't work," he replied.

"My bad," Sitri returned. "I just… don't know where to go from here."

Sitri's buddy leaned forward in his chair. He focused his attention over to me, occasionally glancing at Arkaid who sat next to me. "I just wish you told me, or Abigail. I know she's been busy doing her own thing, but it would've been nice to go talk to her." I lowered my head. It felt like ages since I last saw her. "She's angry that I got fired, and she might be taking it out on you. I guess she believes the possibility that I did actually call you, despite me admitting not to."

I took in a nervous breath. "So… how have you been holding up?"

"I'm doing alright," Alvis replied with a casual shrug. "I've had my money saved up, thanks to your old advice. What I'm more worried about is how you two are doing." As he finished speaking, he directed his two pointer fingers at Arkaid and I. Intrigued, Alliot grinned slightly. "I'd like to know how you two have been handling it."

Before I could say anything, Arkaid spoke up. She sounded like she was caught off guard base on the tone of her voice. Despite her dialect being unchanged, the quickness and hastiness of her tone did. "I'm not sure what you mean, Alvis."

"No offense to Alliot, but you two have been buddies for a longer period of time."

Alliot shrugged. "None taken. I joined late, so I expected that Arkaid and CJ would be closer."

"She's also the one who chose CJ while you had to be won over," Alvis continued. With guilt, Alliot slightly nodded his head. "I remember you asking CJ to be your buddy while on our first flight to Japan. You mentioned that you and CJ would be buddies for all eternity, due to the ageless curse put upon you two due to your duties." Alvis looked away meekly. "I… also remember not taking the news well, but I've gotten over it."

Arkaid lowered her head. I looked right into Alvis's eyes as he spoke, feeling the weight above his shoulders. "What… what allowed you to do so?"

"Hm?"

"I mean… I still think about it," I replied back with weakness. "But… I was able to find comfort in knowing that, no matter what, I would always have a family, albeit small, to rely on. I have Alliot, and I have Arkaid. I trust them more than anyone."

"So now you want to know what comforts me?" Alvis asked. I nodded back to him, encouraging him to go on. "In a way, I have someone too. But I don't want to get into that. I want to know more about you and Arkaid."

"What do you mean?"

"After I went to the bathroom to hide my sorrows, I began to wonder to myself… what can happen during an eternity?" Alvis mused with a soft hush. Arkaid and I looked at each other. However, with a quick snap of his fingers, Alvis brought our attention back to him. "With all the time in the world, anything can happen. You can reach heights mere mortals can never hope to reach, so I need to ask you something." Alvis leaned in. "What do you plan on doing next?"

"Doing… next?"

"Right, yes," Alvis returned. "Over these past couple months, you three, more specifically you two, have gotten to know each other. With an eternity, there is going to be a point where you know absolutely everything about each other, but what next? What does your relationship hold in the future?"

"Relationship?"

Arkaid muttered in confusion. "In the future?"

"Where do you two see yourselves going?" Alvis asked before leaning back in his chair. "Hell, I saw where I was going. I'm sure CJ remembers the night I confessed my love for him. I did that because I saw a possible future that only a pair of lovers could really have. I was prepared for anything." I blinked rapidly, finding Alvis's conversation to be a bit too abstract for me. I understood that French people were supposed to be somewhat artsy, but this conversation was beginning to make me lose track of where his mouth led. "I was ready to go all the way because I felt like I knew enough about you. After looking into my feelings, I knew that I was willing to take a chance to be your boyfriend," Alvis continued. "But… right now, I just see two people unable to figure out where to go next."

Arkaid kept her head hung low. I knelt down to her. "Arkaid, what's wrong?"

Alvis took no notice of it. He continued speaking. "Are you two close friends? Do you see each other as family? Or do you see yourselves as something more? I ask, CJ, because, and I need to speak with an open heart here, I'm angry," Alvis's tone darkened. "All this time, I felt like I was someone who was going to be there for you when others wouldn't. You told me about your drunken story, yet you forget that I would've been there! I would've helped you. I wouldn't have left you so alone! It's been years since I confessed to you, yet after you said no to me, you haven't made an effort to see anyone else!"

"Arkaid, what is it?" I tried to bring her back to reality. Her eyes continued to eye the floor.

"So tell me, CJ, why do you deny me? Do you have someone else? I want to know!"

Alliot slammed his fist against the wooden table, bring us all back. We looked over to the angry dragon, seeing his sharp teeth as he leaned close to the blonde man. "I think I've learned enough about you."

Alvis winced, finding the dragon's response confusing. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"You're angry," Alliot growled back. "Not at him, but at us; the Fifth Omni Cavalry. Ya want to be ageless too so that you could live alongside CJ, is that right?"

"I… um…."

"I'm sorry, but that's not how we make choices here," Alliot leaned back in his chair, soon taking the last bite of his food. "Arkaid and CJ may be too afraid to tell you this, but the cavalry dragons don't want someone like you."

Sitri growled back to the dragon. "How dare you! Alvis is a good man!"

"No, he isn't," Alliot lowly growled. "He is too selfish. Instead of being happy for CJ and excited for his success, he is only worrying about himself."

"You don't know that!"

Alvis turned away as Alliot continued speaking. "We can only let so many in; we can only trust so many people. We have to be careful who we choose. During this entire talk, he talks about how their relationship could have gone. He talks about how he would've been there for him. If he truly cared about him and only him, he wouldn't be bringing up himself and his feelings," Alliot growled. "He wouldn't be trying to make CJ feel so guilty." Alliot stood up, towering above Arkaid and I. "Arkaid left CJ because she saw herself as unfit. She saw herself as a burden. She cares so much about CJ that she is willing to discard her own wants in order to do what she believes is right. When Arkaid was gone, CJ only thought about her feelings and didn't care about his own. All of his self-doubt and self-hatred left him, for he knew that someone else was in so much pain. That is only one of many reasons as to why CJ and Arkaid were meant to be buddies. These are the kinds of people we want, and you are not one of them." He turned to me. Just from the look in his eyes alone, I could tell what he wanted. I looked to Arkaid and gestured for her to stand. She and I did so, soon leaving from our chairs. When we were about to leave the restaurant, I looked back, seeing Alvis's guilty face. Sitri was by his side, nudging against him out of comfort. Something made me want to stay there, but then Arkaid grasped onto my arm. We exchanged a long look before deciding to walk away.

(POV: Third)

Alvis couldn't even cry. He knew that Alliot was right. The man could still feel the anger and rage burning inside of him whenever he saw CJ without a partner. After he confessed, he thought that there was someone else that CJ loved. However, as the years went by, and as CJ continued to have no one with him, it only furthered Alvis's anger. He wasn't sad; he was angry, and angrier when he realized just how right Alliot was.

Sitri patted his buddy's shoulder. The panther's yellow eyes were piercing, striking Alvis's fragile heart. "Ignore that dragon. You're a good man; you're just angry right now."

"No… I…."

"Alvis, I've known you for years," Sitri returned with a strong voice. "I remember our laughter, our goofy acts, our live; we've done so much. I know you're not the kind of person Alliot says you are. I know you. He doesn't."

Sitri was wrong, and Alvis knew it. However, he didn't have the energy to resist. He could only return a soft smile before nodding back to him. The sounds of moving footsteps drew near, bringing Alvis's attention away. His heart froze, for his eyes caught the notice of Liam. Demios wasn't with him, for it was just the young man standing before him. Alvis and Sitri couldn't say a word, yet Liam could say plenty. "Is this seat taken?" The lack of a response prompted him to sit down. "I … saw everything. CJ and I aren't on good terms right now, like. I didn't want to get involved with ye just yet, but I need to say something."

Sitri, taking the initiative, spoke for his buddy. Alvis was still in a somber mood, so it was up to Sitri to speak for him. "What is it?"

"If you know what I'm talking about," Liam began with a slight sigh. "… Look, I just need to confirm something. I know ye are friends of CJ, so I don't want to ruin that. Still, I need to ask you to stop."

"Stop… what?"

"Ye know exactly what I mean," Liam returned slowly. "Just… stop. Stop what you're doing; you're only going to make things worse if you keep doing this and I don't want to ruin things between you and CJ." Sitri couldn't follow the pattern. In his eyes, Liam was speaking so vaguely and oddly. He turned to Alvis, soon frightened by the amount of fear on Alvis's face. Alvis's eyes were widened. Sitri could see the man's throat tense up. Alvis was trying hard to hide the truth. It was then that Sitri knew exactly what Liam was saying. "The last thing I want to do is ruin another friendship."

It was out of courtesy. Alvis ignored the call, shrugging his shoulders in a casual manner. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then… I'm sorry for bothering you." Liam got up from his chair, soon leaving the table. "I thought one of CJ's friends was getting themselves into trouble, but I guess I was wrong." He gave a friendly wave, soon leaving the restaurant with his hands dug deep into his pocket. A sudden wave of anger rushed over him. A truth that his mind had gone to settled itself in his mind. He said he was wrong about one of CJ's friends getting in trouble. However, in his eyes, the only truth was that Alvis wasn't CJ's friend at all.